Your Call

On this edition of Your Call, we begin a series on the Democrats' scaled down climate, health, and tax bill, which passed the Senate on Sunday without one Republican vote. We'll begin by discussing the climate portion of the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes $370 billion in renewable energy tax credits over 10 years.

Many climate scientists say the bill is historic, but the fight continues. The bill includes unprecedented support for new oil and gas drilling, which is why frontline communities opposed it.

Guests:

Joye Braun, national pipelines organizer with the Indigenous Environmental Network and member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe

Kassie Siegel, senior counsel and director of the Climate Law Institute at the Center for Biological Diversity

Mark Hertsgaard, executive director of Covering Climate Now, environment correspondent for The Nation, and author of HOT: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth

On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss forest fires in California. Last year, more than 2.5 million acres burned and 4.3 million acres burned in 2020. Since 2017, more than 10 million acres and thousands of homes have burned in California. Climate change has led to an increase in wildfire season length, wildfire frequency, and burned areas.

Climate change and land-use changes are projected to make wildfires more frequent and intense, with a global increase of extreme fires of up to 14 percent by 2030; 30 percent by the end of 2050; and 50 percent by the end of the century, according to a report by the UN Environment Program and GRID-Arendal. What will it take to make California forests more resilient to fires?

On this edition of Your Call's Media Roundtable, we discuss the Democrats' scaled down climate, drug, and healthcare reconciliation bill, which is called the Inflation Reduction Act.

The initial bill would have imposed a 15 percent minimum tax on corporations, tightened the carried interest loophole, and provided more funding to the IRS for tax enforcement. Last night, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, (D-Ariz) announced plans to support the bill as long as tax benefits for hedge fund, real estate, and private equity executives remains. What is in the final bill and what does the new taxation policy look like?

On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we discuss coverage of Speaker Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan. Her high-profile visit has escalated tensions between China and the US prompting fears of a new crisis in the region.

Who is providing context about the events unfolding in the region? What is the US role in China-Taiwan relations? And how do people in Taiwan envision their country's future?

On this edition of Your Call, we’ll discuss The Smell of Money, a new documentary about activist Elsie Herring and her North Carolina community taking on Smithfield, the world's largest pig slaughterhouse.

We follow them as they fight for the freedom to enjoy fresh air, clean water, and a life without the stench of manure. The film calls on viewers to see the people behind what's on our plates and join the fight for justice.

On this edition of Your Call, we discuss the effects of abortion bans across the country. Abortion is now illegal or heavily restricted in at least 12 states. These bans have had profound impacts on women, girls, and pregnant people.

Extreme bans are also affecting pregnant women who can't access the care they need when complications arise.

We'll also get the latest from Kansas where voters overwhelmingly supported abortion rights in yesterday's election by 58 percent. Many in the media say this was shocking and surprising, but it’s not when you look at historical trends. The real story is that when abortion bans and restrictions are taken to the voters, they almost always go down. They pass by legislators in gerrymandered Republican states.

On this edition of Your Call, we continue our conversation about the Road to Healing tour, an initiative organized by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to hear from survivors of Indian boarding schools.

The United States operated or actively supported 408 Indian boarding schools between 1819 and 1969, according to the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report. More than 150 were run by churches, about half each by Catholic and Protestant groups, according to the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. Many children who attended these schools were forced to cut their hair, beaten for speaking their language, and sexually abused.

We’re speaking with three survivors who recently shared their stories to find out more about how their lives and families have been affected by their experiences. What does healing and accountability look like?

On the next Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss the Democratic Party's $739 billion Inflation Reduction Act.

It includes $370 billion in tax incentives and other support for renewable energy, a 10-year extension of tax credits for wind and solar, and $60 billion for environmental justice measures. It also includes unprecedented support for new drilling, which has divided many in the environmental community.

On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we discuss a major petrochemical venture between chemical giant Saudi Basic Industries Corporation and Exxon Mobil. Last year, they created a joint venture called the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures manufacturing facility in San Patricio County, Texas.

The complex produces materials used in packaging, agriculture, film, construction materials, clothing, and automotive coolants. The plant is reported to be the largest ethane steam cracker in the world. What are the environmental and health risks for the communities living near these plants?

On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we are talking about a new PBS Frontline documentary, Facing Eviction which offers an intimate look at the United States’ affordable housing crisis through the eyes of tenants, landlords, judges and law enforcement.