Your Call

On this edition of Your Call's Media Roundtable, we discuss the Republican Party's plan to use the so-called debt ceiling as leverage to target major government programs such as Social Security, Medicare and food stamps, while pushing for even more tax cuts for the rich.

Guests:

Arthur Delany, senior reporter for HuffPost covering politics and the economy

David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter, founder and advisor DCReport, and author of several books, including The Big Cheat: How Donald Trump Fleeced America and Enriched Himself and His Family

On this edition of Your Call, we continue our discussion about the police beating death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black son and father. He fled on foot after he was violently pulled from his car over for reckless driving, which has not been substantiated by officials. He was then apprehended and brutally beaten by five officers about a hundred yards from his mom's home.

Just under three weeks later, five officers were fired and indicted for crimes including second-degree murder, which is punishable by between 15 to 60 years in prison. Two officers have since been suspended. It is highly unusual for officers to be charged so quickly.

Civil rights attorneys say swift charges must become common practice in order to stop police brutality.

Guests:

Joshua Adams, organizer with Decarcerate Memphis

Tianna Mays Smith, associate director for the Criminal Justice Project at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law

On this edition of Your Call, we’ll discuss the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of 5 police officers in Memphis, Tennessee. Video footage of Nichols at a traffic stop shows officers brutally beating him with a baton and kicking him in the head while he pleaded to go home and cried for his mother.

A police report written immediately after the incident is in stark contrast to the video footage, making no mention of the kicks and punches made by officers, and instead claiming Tyre was acting violent. How did things escalate so quickly?

The 5 officers involved in the beating have been charged with second degree murder, official misconduct, aggravated kidnapping, official oppression and aggravated assault. Two other officers and three Memphis Fire Department personnel have also been terminated over their response to the incident, according to CNN. What brought the department to move so swiftly in bringing charges against these officers, when other incidents of excessive police force have taken months or years to see accountability?

On this edition of Your Call, we’ll discuss how the mass shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay have led to even more anxiety and trauma within the AAPI community.

Between March 2020 and March 2022, there was a massive surge of anti-Asian hate, with over 11,400 reported incidents, according to Stop AAPI Hate.

We'll discuss policy solutions and mental health resources to address this collective trauma.

Guests:

Eddy Zheng, founder and president of the New Breath Foundation, and co-editor of Other: An Asian and Pacific Islander Prisoners’ Anthology

Cynthia Choi, co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action, and co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate

North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction with fewer than 350 remaining. Marine scientist Dr. Michael Moore says the very survival of the species is in our hands. What can we do to save these majestic creatures?

We discuss the ongoing anti-government protests in Peru following the ouster of Peruvian president Pedro Castillo. More than 50 people have been killed, and hundreds have been injured.

Four more members of the Oath Keepers were found guilty of seditious conspiracy for their actions at the January 6 insurrection. Three active duty Marines were also charged with January 6 crimes late last week.

On this edition of Your Call, we discuss the ongoing epidemic of gun violence in the United States.

Over the course of eight days in California, at least 25 people were killed in four separate mass shootings. California has the strongest gun laws in the country, but some of the weakest gun laws in the world, according to UCLA Professor Adam Winkler.

Across the country, there have been more than 1,300 gun deaths, 2,250 gun injuries, and approximately 1,700 suicides in the first 25 completed days of 2023.

We’ll discuss the power the NRA holds over Republican politicians and why this epidemic is unique to the United States.

Guests:

Adam Winkler, professor at the UCLA School of Law, and author of Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America

Ryan Busse, senior advisor for Giffords, former vice president of sales for Kimber, a small arms company, and author of Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry that Radicalized America

Nick Suplina, senior vice president of law and policy for Everytown for Gun Safety

On this edition of Your Call, we continue marking the 50th anniversary of Roe v Wade by speaking with abortion providers about how bans and restrictions have impacted patient care, harassment, and violence by anti-choice extremists.

Six months after conservatives on the Supreme Court overturned Roe, 17 states have banned or heavily restricted access to abortion. That number will soon be 24, according to the Guttmacher institute. We’ll discuss how bans and restrictions have affected patients across the board, from those who want to end their pregnancy to those who've been assaulted.

Guests:

Andrea Gallegos, executive administrator of the Alamo Women's Clinic in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Carbondale Illinois

Dr. Katie McHugh, OB/GYN who specializes in chronic pelvic pain and reproductive health, faculty with University of Cincinnati Department of OB/GYN, and board member with Physicians for Reproductive Health and OutCare Health

Robin Marty, operations director for the West Alabama Women's Center, freelance reporter, and author of Handbook for a Post-Roe America

On this edition of Your Call, we mark the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade by discussing the country's current landscape. Abortion is banned or restricted in 17 Republican controlled states. A total of 24 states are expected to ban or heavily restrict access to abortion soon, according to the Guttmacher Institute.

Republicans in Arkansas and Oklahoma recently introduced bills that would allow authorities to criminally prosecute those seeking abortion care.

The fallout from these bans and restrictions has been devastating, especially for women and girls of color, people in rural areas, and those who can’t afford to travel for care. How are reproductive justice advocates responding?

Guests:

Jessica Mason Pieklo, senior vice president and executive editor of the Rewire News Group, and co-host of the podcast Boom! Lawyered

Becca Andrews, investigative journalist with Reckon News, and author of No Choice: The Destruction of Roe v. Wade and the Fight to Protect a Fundamental American Right

Carter Sherman, senior reporter covering gender and sexuality for VICE News