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SCOTUS To Decide the Fate of Reproductive Rights

This week, the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments for a Mississippi case that challenges legal precedent set by Roe v. Wade. If SCOTUS sides with the State of Mississippi, nearly five decades of abortion law will almost immediately be undone, and the effects would be swift and consequential as there are nearly 21 other states with "trigger laws" intended to criminalize a woman's right to choose. We heard from some listeners what Roe v. Wade means to them, and we sat down with Melissa Murray, Law Professor at NYU, faculty director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network, and co-host of the legal podcast “Strict Scrutiny.”

Environmental Defenders Are Being Killed, Threatened for Protecting Their Land

According to a report by Global Witness, an environment and human rights watchdog, 2020 was the deadliest year on record for environment and land defenders around the world. On average more than four people a week were killed as a result of their work. And these numbers almost certainly underestimate the true scope of the violence. Much of this brutality occurred in Central and South America and more than one third of the victims are Indigenous persons. President Josefina Tunki of the Shuar Arutam People (PSHA) and Herlin Odicio, leader of the Kakataibo people in the central Peruvian Amazon joined the Takeaway to discuss.  

BOOK: A Field Guide to White Supremacy

A Field Guide to White Supremacy creates a roadmap for understanding the existence of extremism and white supremacy in the United States and why it continues to persist. Co-Editor Kathleen Belew and Jamelle Bouie, one of the many leading thinkers contributing to the text, join us to discuss the new book.

George McGovern's Impact on Today's Political System

To understand the current polarization of our political system, we need to look at political campaigns in history. In the podcast, Of The People, creator and producer Ben Bradford focuses his lens first on the 1968 Democratic National Convention. While anti-Vietnam war protestors demonstrated outside the convention, party bosses selected pro-war vice presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey, who had not won a single primary. At the same time, South Dakota freshman Senator George McGovern decided to run for president. We speak with Ben Bradford about how the trajectory of McGovern’s campaign impacted our political system.

Transformational Takeaway

Today, we honor the lifetime and legacy of American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim who composed scores for groundbreaking musicals like Into the Woods, Westside Story, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.