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The Only True Democracy in Talk Radio
Episodes
Friday Dec 04, 2020
Friday Dec 04, 2020
During this episode, Leslie is joined by United Steelworkers President Tom Conway(USW), North America’s largest industrial union.
They’re 1.2 million members and retirees strong in the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. They proudly represent men and women who work in nearly every industry there is.
Leslie and Tom discuss how time is quickly running out for Congress – and specifically the Senate – to pass COVID-19 relief as tens of millions of Americans continue to struggle to make rent payments and put food on the table.
Unless Congress swiftly passes a stimulus bill:
- Nearly 7 million Americans are at risk of being evicted and without homes as the CDC’s temporary moratorium on evictions is set to expire Dec. 31;
- Millions more will slip into poverty and become food insecure;
- The pause on federal student loans is set to end Dec. 31, meaning loan officers will soon be able to start charging interest again;
- On Dec. 26, 12 million more unemployed people will lose their federal and state unemployment benefits as the remaining $300 weekly bonus as the CARES Act dries up.
There’s a bill ready:
- The House of Representatives passed the HEROES Act back in May – a $3 trillion relief package that would stimulate the economy and help American people stay afloat.
- And last month a record breaking 80 million Americans voted for Joe Biden, in no small part because they know the country needs more help from elected leaders.
- But the Senate refused to touch the stimulus bill, preferring instead to ram through Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation.
The House updated the HEROES Act this fall. It would provide crucial assistance to Americans fighting to pay their bills by:
- Funneling aid toward local, state and tribal governments to keep necessary public services up and running;
- Expanding paid sick days, family and medical leave, and unemployment compensation;
- Protecting essential workers by establishing a fund for employers to provide premium pandemic pay;
- Providing COBRA subsidies for laid-off workers;
- Protecting essential workers and helping stop the spread of the virus by establishing requirements for COVID-19 testing and contact tracing
- Extending and expanding the moratorium on certain evictions and foreclosures, which is set to expire Dec. 31 and leave thousands at risk of homelessness
- It’d be especially important for workers because it would require OSHA to establish an infectious disease standard – keeping employers accountable for COVID regulations, thereby increasing workplace safety.
A relief bill like the HEROES Act is not only necessary to repair the economy – it is needed to help our health care workers and stop the spread of the virus.
It would give health care workers the resources they need to conduct COVID-19 testing, track community spread, and fight the infection rate, while researchers and manufacturers work furiously to produce and distribute a vaccine.
There have also been a number of smaller solutions proposed that would at least serve as a beginning point for recovery, but Mitch McConnell continues to stand in the way of comprehensive help.
- Some states are scraping together funds to soften the blow of federal inaction.
- This week Democratic senators pushed to bring back enhanced unemployment benefits.
- And a bipartisan group of Senators put forward a much smaller stimulus bill that Mitch McConnell called, "a waste of time."
If you'd like to call Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's Senate office and urge him to pass the HEROES Act, or the smaller bipartisan relief package, his Senate phone number is (202) 224-2541.
The website for the USW is USW.org. Their handle on both Twitter and Instagram is @steelworkers.
Wednesday Dec 02, 2020
Wednesday Dec 02, 2020
Today's guest hosts are Edwith Theogene and Charlotte Hancock, Organizing Director and Communications Director for Generation Progress.
During today's episode, they discuss how, after over a year of campaigning and organizing, a record number of Americans turned out on or before November 3rd to cast a ballot. Although it took several (very long) days for many races to be called, the results for most of them have now been decided—with a couple of notable exceptions.
In Georgia, a battleground state that Joe Biden ultimately won in the presidential race, two different Senate races are heading for a runoff on January 5th. According to Georgia election laws, candidates needed to win 50% of the vote in the November election to avoid a runoff, which none of the candidates for Senate did.
The enormous turnout of young voters, and particularly young voters of color, in Georgia played a significant role in Joe Biden’s victory in the state. Now, Senate campaigns are working hard through the holiday season to sustain the momentum from the November election and get out the vote for the two January 5th runoff elections.
To break down the role that young voters of color played in Georgia in November and what Senate campaigns must do to earn their votes on January 5th, Edwith and Charlotte are joined by two expert guests:
●Krys White, a political consultant and the former National Black Youth Vote Manager at NextGen America, as well as a founding Member of Our Black Party & Co-founder of Black Millennials 4 Flint.
●And Dominik Whitehead, the national civic engagement director at the NAACP
Our Black Party's website is OurBlackParty.org and their Twitter handle is @OurBlackParty. Krys's Twitter handle is @KrysWhiteSpeaks. The website for the NAACP is NAACP.org and their Twitter handle is @NAACP. Dominik's handle is @D_Whitehead87.
The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress. Edwith Theogene's Twitter handle is @WhoIsEdwith and Charlotte Hancock's handle is @CharlatAnne.
Tuesday Dec 01, 2020
Tuesday Dec 01, 2020
Leslie is first joined by Catherine Gray, Co-Founder of the 'She Angels Foundation,' which works to generate funds in order to support female founded non profits that are helping women.
They discuss how, on this 'Giving Tuesday,' America has a female VP on her way to the White House, but still has a 98 percent gap in funding of women-led startups— a glaring indicator of gender inequity and unmet potential economic growth in the United States.Catherine also details the work that she and her organization are doing to address this inequity.
The website for her foundation is SheAngelsFoundation.org, and the Twitter handle for her film series is @SheAngelsSeries.
During the second half of the show, Leslie is joined by Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo. Dr. Nuzzo is a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, and the Department of Epidemiology, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
She is also part of Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 Testing Insights Initiative, which is working to fill the void of publicly accessible COVID-19 testing data.
Dr. Nuzzo shares thoughts from her recent op-ed in The New York Times, titled, "COVID-19 Data Is a Mess. We Need a Way to Make Sense of It."
You can follow her on Twitter, where her handle is @JenniferNuzzo.
Monday Nov 23, 2020
Monday Nov 23, 2020
The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His new show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.
Brad is first joined by Dr. Bob Bollinger, the Raj and Kamla Gupta Professor of Infectious Diseases at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. They discuss the following issues relating to the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Current status of the COVID-9 pandemic
- Prospects for vaccines
- What the Trump Administration should be doing to give the Biden Administration a head start on fighting COVID-19
- What steps President-Elect Biden should take immediately after his inauguration to combat COVID-19- Why Americans should stay home for Thanksgiving (recommended by the CDC)
Dr. Bollinger holds joint appointments in International Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and in Community Public Health at the JH School of Nursing. He is Founding Director of the Center for Clinical Global Health Education (CCGHE). The Center is doing a lot of COVID-19 related work in the US and beyond. Their website is main.ccghe.net and their Facebook page is Facebook.com/CCGHE.
During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with the Boston Globe Opinion Writer Abdallah Fayyad, and progressive activist Mark J. Grimaldi.
The roundtable discusses:
-President-Elect Biden's nominees for his cabinet, including Antony Blinken for Secretary of State, Janet Yellen for Treasury Secretary, Linda Thomas-Greenfield for Ambassador to the United Nations, Alejandro Mayorkas for Homeland Security Secretary, Jake Sullivan for National Security Adviser,
Avril Haines for Director of National Intelligence and John Kerry as Climate Enjoy for National Security
- What President-Elect Biden can do to regarding an economic stimulus package, and an infrastructure bill, if Republicans retain control of the Senate following the two upcoming Georgia runoff elections
- How President-Elect Biden can balance the left and center lanes of the Democratic party as his administration begins creating public policy
Abdallah Fayyad is an opinion writer and Editorial Board member at The Boston Globe. He was previously a researcher at The Atlantic, and holds a degree in economics from American University. His Twitter handle is @Abdallah_Fayyad.
Mark Grimaldi has been a progressive political activist for the past 12 years. He volunteered for the campaigns of President Obama (2008 and 2012), Senator Bernie Sanders (2016), and Secretary Hillary Clinton (2016). Mark is also involved in campaign finance reform efforts around the country, and philanthropic efforts for Cancer research. His Twitter handle is @MarkJGrimaldi.
Brad writes a column every Sunday on the 2020 Presidential race for 'The Hill.' He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.
You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon and watch his previous 'Deadline D.C.' broadcasts at www.Periscope.TV/BradBannon. His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.
Watch a video broadcast of this episode here on Twitter/Periscope: https://www.pscp.tv/w/1lDxLpWEEwPxm
Or here on Facebook Live: tinyurl.com/BradFacebook112320
Wednesday Nov 18, 2020
Wednesday Nov 18, 2020
Today's guest hosts are Edwith Theogene and Charlotte Hancock, Organizing Director and Communications Director for Generation Progress.
During today's episode, they discuss how the 2020 election results were made possible by the record-breaking turnout of young Americans and the decisive voter choice of young voters of color. At Generation Progress, they’ve always rejected the tired stereotype that young people aren’t politically engaged, but this election perhaps more than any other demonstrated the immense political power of millennials and Gen Z. After years of activism and organizing based on the issues they care about and record-breaking turnout in the 2018 midterm elections, young people have managed to not only maintain but build on their momentum to get to where they are today.
To break down how young people were able to impact the election in such a huge way and where they go from here, Ediwith and Charlotte are joined by two experts from URGE (Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity). They are Monica Edwards, the federal policy manager at URGE, and Jaz González, URGE’s digital campaign manager.
URGE's website is URGE.org and their Twitter handle is @Urge_org. Monica's Twitter handle is @monicaredwards and Jaz's handle is @jazz_956_g.
The website for "Generation Progress" is www.GenProgress.org and their Twitter Handle is @GenProgress. Edwith Theogene's Twitter handle is @WhoIsEdwith and Charlotte Hancock's handle is @CharlatAnne.
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
Tuesday Nov 17, 2020
1B. CNN: "Witness corroborates claim that Lindsey Graham asked about tossing ballots in Georgia"
2. AXIOS: "COVID cases are peaking now in most of the country...but our attention isn't"
3. AXIOS: "States enact new restrictions amid record COVID-19 hospitalizations"
4. ABC NEWS: "Fauci: If vast majority get vaccinated life could be close to normal by fall 2021"
5. BUZZFEED NEWS: "Joe Biden Is Moving On With The Presidential Transition With A Diverse White House Staff"
Monday Nov 16, 2020
Monday Nov 16, 2020
The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His new show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET.
Brad is first joined by Lt. Col. Cedric Leighton, Founder and President of Cedric Leighton Associates, a strategic risk and leadership consultancy serving global companies and organizations. They discuss the following topics:
- The national security implications of President Trump's failure to begin a transition to the administrationof President-Elect Biden
- The differences between Trump and Biden's national security policies toward China, Russia, NATO and the Middle East- China’s continuing crackdown in Xinjiang, its recent efforts to curtail democracy in Hong Kong, and what this means for U.S. efforts to keep China in check- The removal of key Pentagon officials as well as the naming of a Trump loyalist to be the NSA General Counsel, a civil service appointment
Lt. Col. Leighton founded Cedric Leighton Associates in 2010, after serving in the US Air Force for 26 years as an Intelligence Officer and attaining the rank of Colonel. His Twitter handle is @CedricLeighton, and his website is CedricLeighton.com.
During the second half of the show, Brad leads a political round-table with the Dem List's Kim Scott, and progressive activist Mark J. Grimaldi.
The roundtable analyzes why Democrats failed to win congressional and down ballot races this election cycle, and what they can do better in 2022. The trio also discusses how Americans voted on 2020 ballot initiatives regarding healthcare, marijuana, abortion, and more.
Kim Scott is the Founder and Publisher of DemList, LLC, a free national daily political column, calendar and resource site for Democrats and allies - a unique, central source that connects people to the who, what and where of Democratic events, issues and activism. You can find out more about them at DemList.com and follow them on Twitter @TheDemList.
Mark Grimaldi has been a progressive political activist for the past 12 years. He volunteered for the campaigns of President Obama (2008 and 2012), Senator Bernie Sanders (2016), and Secretary Hillary Clinton (2016). Mark is also involved in campaign finance reform efforts around the country, and philanthropic efforts for Cancer research. His Twitter handle is @MarkJGrimaldi.
Brad writes a column every Sunday on the 2020 Presidential race for 'The Hill.' He's on the National Journal's panel of political insiders and is a national political analyst for WGN TV and Radio in Chicago and KNX Radio in Los Angeles.
You can read Brad's columns at www.MuckRack.com/Brad-Bannon and watch his previous 'Deadline D.C.' broadcasts at www.Periscope.TV/BradBannon. His Twitter handle is @BradBannon.
Watch a video broadcast of this episode here on Twitter/Periscope: https://www.periscope.tv/w/1LyxBdeLyyoGN
Or here on Facebook Live: tinyurl.com/BradFacebook111620
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Leslie begins the show by giving her take on the latest news in her 'Ripped from the Headlines' segment.
Here are the stories that she covered during the segment:
1. AXIOS: "Coronavirus cases rise by 40%"
2. AXIOS: "More than 130 Secret Service officers reportedly under coronavirus quarantine"
3. L.A. TIMES: "Super-spreading wedding party demonstrates COVID-19 risk posed by holiday gatherings"
4. NBC NEWS: "Left out of Covid-19 vaccine planning, Biden advisers developing their own distribution strategy"
5. NBC News Decision Desk has called the State of Georgia for Joe Biden, bringing his electoral vote total to 306
Then, Leslie is joined by Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist and a Senior Fellow at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington DC, and Chief Health Economist for Microclinic International.
The two discuss U.S. COVID-19 cases rising by 40% over the past week, how U.S. hospitals are close to being completely overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, and the COVID-19 taskforce that President-Elect Joe Biden is putting together to battle the virus when he takes office on January 20th of next year.
In January of 2020, Dr. Feigl-Ding was recognized in the media as one of the first to alert the public on the pandemic risk of COVID-19. He is part of FAS’s work to stop COVID misinformation, and communication with lay public.
He was previously a faculty and researcher at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School between 2004-2020.
His Twitter handle is @DrEricDing.
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
Wednesday Nov 11, 2020
Leslie begins the hour with her 'Ripped from the Headlines' news segment. These are the stories that she covered:
1. AUDIO: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, when speaking to reporters today, refuses to acknowledge President-Elect Biden's victory and says there will be a smooth transition to a second Trump administration
2. AUDIO: President-Elect Biden downplays President Trump refusing to concede
3. AUDIO: President-Elect Biden on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refusing to recognize Biden's win
4. NEWSWEEK: "Fauci Optimistic About COVID-19 Vaccine, Says High-Risk Could Get it in December"
5. AXIOS: "Biden transition threatens legal action on GSA decision"
6. AXIOS: "Team of international observers says it saw no evidence of systematic fraud in U.S. elections"
Leslie is then joined by Jessica Levinson, Professor at Loyola Law School, founding director of Loyola's Public Service Institute, and host of the 'Passing Judgment podcast.' Jessica's Twitter handle is @LevinsonJessica and the handle for her podcast is @PassJudgementPod.
Leslie and Jessica discuss Attorney General Bill Barr's letter to U.S. Attorneys authorizing them to open election-fraud investigations “if there are clear and apparently-credible allegations of irregularities that, if true, could potentially impact the outcome of a federal election in an individual State.”
They also analyze Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's comments today that there will be a "smooth transition to a second Trump administration."
Wednesday Nov 04, 2020
Wednesday Nov 04, 2020
Leslie is joined by Mark Levine, host of 'The Inside Scoop with Mark Levine,' which can be heard Thursdays from 3-4pm ET. Mark is also the State Delegate for Virginia's 45th district, and a former Legislative Counsel to Democratic Congressman Barney Frank and the House Judiciary, Homeland Security and Financial Services Committees.
The two discuss and analyze the presidential and congressional election results, including the results that are still expected to come in as votes continue to be counted.
You can check out Mark's website at MarkLevineTalk.com, and follow him on Twitter where his handle is @MarkLevineTalk, or on Facebook by visiting Facebook.com/MarkLevineTalk.