Today - John discusses Trump ordering the US National Parks Service to reinstall a statue of Confederate military officer Albert Pike in Washington, DC. Protestors tore it down in the wake of the George Floyd protests against police brutality and racial injustice on Juneteenth in 2020. He also talks about the latest in the Texas gerrymandering debacle with Governor Greg Abbott saying democrats have until Friday to return to the statehouse or face expulsion. More than 51 Democratic members of the Texas House left the state, aiming to deny the chamber a quorum and prevent passage of the proposed gerrymandered Republican map before a scheduled floor vote. Then, he chats with Professor Corey Brettschneider about the supreme court paving the way for Texas’s gerrymandering mess and the overuse of the shadow docket in the Supreme Court to hide reasoning behind the court's decisions. These decisions are typically made with limited briefing, no oral argument, and often without full explanation, leading to concerns about transparency and the potential impact on legal precedent. Then, John welcomes back Rev. Barry Lynn who is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and served as the executive director for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State until his retirement in 2017. They talk about Texas gerrymandering, Ghislaine Maxwell, and churches now being able to endorse candidates. Then finally, he plays clips from the recent Nebraska town hall where Republican congressman Mike Flood was booed by constituents.

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