For the past two years, American children have had their lives upended as schools across the country transitioned to remote learning and introduced harsh measures to help curb the spread of COVID-19. As a result, most students have fallen far behind in school, and many children and teenagers are experiencing grave mental health problems. With districts across the country now navigating the Omicron surge, students and parents are worried that educators will again shut their doors and return online.

The New York Times’ David Leonhardt joined Marc and Dany to discuss the damage school closures have on America’s students, why lockdowns disproportionally affect minorities and the poor, how teachers unions are exacerbating the problem, and the pandemics’ long-term impact on our children’s lives.

David Leonhardt is a senior writer for the New York Times, where he writes The Morning newsletter every weekday and also contributes to the Sunday Review section. Leonhardt has worked at The Times since 1999, in a variety of reporting and editing roles. In 2011, he won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his columns.

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This week, the United States will mark one year since the disgraceful and violent Capitol insurrection of January 6, 2020. The culmination of Trump’s ‘Big Lie’ surrounding the 2020 presidential election, last year’s Capitol riots marked a focal point in America’s political polarization and may have brought the country closer to a constitutional crisis than we previously believed.

Jonathan Karl joined Marc and Dany to reflect on the first anniversary of the Capitol riot and discuss the final year of the Trump presidency, the 2020 presidential election, and his recent book “Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show.”

Jonathan Karl is the chief Washington correspondent for ABC News and co-anchor of This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Karl has covered every major beat in Washington, D.C., including the White House, Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and the State Department. He has reported from the White House under four presidents and fourteen press secretaries. He is a former president of the White House Correspondents’ Association and the author of “Front Row at the Trump Show” and “Betrayal: The Final Act of the Trump Show.”

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Despite President Biden’s vow to leave no man behind, when the last American plane departed Kabul in August, hundreds of American citizens and thousands of our Afghan allies were left stranded and at the mercy of the Taliban. In the face of government inaction, a group of US veterans formed Project Exodus Relief, a non-partisan volunteer effort dedicated to bringing Afghan special forces out.

Mike Edwards joined Marc and Dany to discuss the volunteer effort of Project Exodus Relief, the mess of the Afghanistan withdrawal, and what Americans need to know about those we left behind.

Mike is the Founder of Project Exodus Relief. He served 22 years and 18 combat deployments in the Army, primarily in special operations with the Regimental Reconnaissance Company.

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First detected last month in South Africa, the new Omicron strain of the coronavirus has been designated a “variant of concern” by both the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control. Dozens of countries have detected Omicron infections, and in the United States, at least 16 states have reported cases. While scientists are still in the early stages of researching the new variant, early reports suggest that while Omicron may have greater transmissibility than other variants due to its unique set of mutations, it causes less severe symptoms than other forms of the virus.

Dr. Marty Makary joins Marc and Dany to discuss the Omicron variant, the failure of the CDC, and the underappreciated strength of natural immunity.

Dr. Makary is a professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Bloomberg School of Public Health and Carey Business School. He is the author of “The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care—and How to Fix It.”

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On Wednesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, a landmark case centered on a 2018 Mississippi law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The legal battle is the most consequential test of abortion rights in decades, and the outcome will have direct implications on the fate of the court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion, and its 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that reaffirmed and amended Roe.

John Yoo joined Marc and Dany to discuss the Mississippi law, its effects on the future of abortion rights in the United States, and how the justices might rule on the case next year.

John Yoo is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, and a visiting scholar at AEI. He served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of the Legal Counsel of the US Department of Justice, where he worked on constitutional and national security matters, as General Counsel of the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas.

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One of our greatest hits…. Originally broadcast on June 23, 2021.

The national conversation about race is making its way through the US education system. Seemingly overnight, debates about whether to teach children critical race theory have taken hold of state legislatures and school board meetings across the country. But what exactly is critical race theory and why is it so controversial?

Princeton’s Dr. Allen Guelzo joined Dany and Marc to explain critical race theory’s philosophical underpinnings and why it poses a threat to American democracy. Dr. Guelzo also discusses ways to combat its spread throughout American society and the US education system.

Dr. Guelzo is a New York Times best-seller author, American historian and commentator on public issues. He is also Director of the James Madison Program Initiative on Politics and Statesmanship and Senior Research Scholar in the Council of the Humanities at Princeton University.

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Critical race theory has transformed from a once-obscure academic concept to an issue at the forefront of America's political discourse. In the wake of Glenn Youngkin's victory in Virginia, many have viewed his opposition to critical race theory and his concerns surrounding the teaching of race in schools as a significant factor in his success in this month's election. With the 2022 midterms fast approaching, critical race theory is set to be a hot-button issue as the Republicans attempt to take back control of congress.

Yascha Mounk joined Marc and Dany to discuss critical race theory, the current rhetoric on race in the United States, how the Democrat's lost the education narrative, and the stifling of free speech.

Mounk is one of the world's leading experts on the crisis of liberal democracy and the rise of populism. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the founder of Persuasion.

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This past August, we learned that China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile that circled the globe before streaking towards its target. This advanced weapons capability surprised many in the US intelligence community and has sparked both questions and concerns surrounding the true extent of China’s military modernization.

Thomas Karako joined Marc and Dany to discuss the science behind China’s recent hypersonic missile test, the strategic and security implications of such a weapon in the hands of the Chinese, and what the United States needs to do to safeguard our national security from this threat.

Karako is a senior fellow with the International Security Program and the director of the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). In 2010–2011, he was an American Political Science Association congressional fellow, working with the professional staff of the House Armed Services Committee and the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces on US strategic forces policy, nonproliferation, and NATO. Dr. Karako is also currently a fellow with the Institute for Politics and Strategy of Carnegie Mellon University.

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In this week's Virginia governor's race, Republican Glenn Youngkin defeated former Governor Terry McAuliffe in a state that President Biden won by 10 points in 2020. In New Jersey, a state Biden won by 16 points, Democratic Governor Phil Murphy only defeated his Republican challenger by a razor-thin margin. What do these elections tell us about the current state of our politics and the upcoming 2022 midterm elections?

Political expert Amy Walter joined Marc and Dany for WTH's first live podcast episode to discuss Virginia's recent gubernatorial election, voter sentiment one year into Biden's presidency, the forces driving American politics, and the upcoming 2022 congressional midterms.

Amy Walter is the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter. A contributor to the PBS NewsHour, she provides weekly political analysis for the popular "Politics Monday" segment and is a featured contributor for their Election and Convention special coverage events. Previously, Walter was the host of the weekly nationally syndicated program Politics with Amy Walter and the former political director of ABC News.

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Despite the Biden administration heralding the pull-out from Afghanistan as a "success," America's tumultuous retreat has sparked outrage and shame both in the United States as well as abroad. Following the suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport that killed 13 US service members and close to 170 Afghan civilians, Five For Fighting's John Ondrasik decided to turn his frustration into a song to protest the American withdrawal.

John joined Marc and Dany to discuss his latest track, "Blood on My Hands," his horror after the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, and perform two of his songs, "Tuesday" and "Blood On My Hands."

John Ondrasik, better known by his stage name Five for Fighting, is a platinum-selling, Grammy nominated American singer-songwriter. His songs include "100 Years," "Superman (It's Not Easy)," "Chances," "The Riddle," "Freedom Never Cries," "What If," and his latest single, "Blood On My Hands."

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