For The Win

On an all-AI episode, Yochi and guest host Andrea Nill Sánchez talk with media advocate Jessica J. González the co-CEO of Free Press, about how artificial intelligence can spread election disinformation, why tech companies can't be trusted to police themselves, and why lawmakers need to regulate AI before it's too late.

Congress is a mess. From ongoing threats of government shutdowns to turmoil around picking a House Speaker, it's clear that the People's House is in disarray. On our newest episode, Jasmine and Elliot sit down with Kevin Madden, a longtime aide to House Republican leaders Tom DeLay and John Boehner, and presidential nominees George W. Bush and Mitt Romney, to discuss Mike Johnson's recent appointment as Speaker, the current climate in Congress, and what it will take to save the GOP from itself.

Now that Republicans have a new speaker, they are going to try pushing through the harsh cuts to federal funding for HIV prevention and treatment that they've been threatening for months. Here's the surprising thing: that would hit Black women harder than any other. On our newest episode, Jasmine and Yochi sit down with Toni Newman, a leading HIV advocate, to talk about why Black women have the highest HIV rates in the country and what can be done to prevent the epidemic from ravaging them even more harshly.

These have been busy weeks in the world of unions, with an ongoing actors strike in Hollywood stopping production of your favorite shows and movies and a strike by the United Auto Workers slowing production of our favorite cars. On our newest episode, Jasmine, Yochi, and guest host Andrea Nill Sanchez sit down with Faiz Shakir, the founder and executive director of More Perfect Union and former campaign manager for Bernie Sanders, to discuss the current surge in support for unions and what opportunities — and pitfalls — lie ahead.

Conservatives won their long legal fight to eliminate affirmative education in higher education — and now they've trained their sights on corporate America. On our newest episode, Jasmine and Elliot sit down with Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, to talk about the new wave of lawsuits designed to force companies to abandon their diversity and inclusion efforts, why the Supreme Court might hand them another victory, and how progressives should fight back.

Rep. Maxwell Frost is the first member of Gen Z to be elected to Congress — and the first lawmaker to publicly shout "f--k Ron DeSantis" at a rock concert. On our newest episode, Jasmine and Yochi sit down with Rep. Frost to talk about imposter syndrome, why far-right Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene make him worry about his own safety, and the challenge of balancing his own sense of urgency with the reality of being in a slow-moving and dysfunctional Congress.

Generations of Americans have studied Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s heroic civil rights work, but his more radical views on issues ranging from income inequality to war have been largely ignored. On our newest episode, Yochi and Jasmine speak with PEN America Literary Award winner and best-selling author Jonathan Eig about his book, "King: A New Life," what the public gets right about Dr. King, what it gets wrong, and why it matters.

Generations of journalists have been told to be impartial when reporting the news. But how can reporters remain objective when American democracy is under attack? On our newest episode, Elliot, Yochi, and Jasmine speak with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and best-selling author Wesley Lowery about his departure from The Washington Post, the media's white supremacy problem, and his provocative new book, “American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress.”

Elizabeth Booker Houston is a government lawyer by day and massively popular TikTok influencer by night whose videos range from clips of her stand-up comedy routines to interviews with political stars like Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. On our newest episode, Jasmine and Yochi talk to Elizabeth about what it's like to go viral on TikTok, why she worries the app is suppressing both liberal and conservative voices, and how she's managed to maintain a boundary between her normal life and her online identity as bookersquared.

Conservatives are using their hardline view of Christianity to justify banning abortion and waging war on the LGBTQ+ community. With faith increasingly shaping politics, Jasmine and Yochi sit down with Rachel Laser, CEO of Americans United For Separation of Church and State, and The Raben Group's Dr. Derrick Harkins to talk about why progressives have ceded the public debate over religion to conservatives — and what they need to do to take it back. 

From bathroom bans to Bud Light boycotts, Republicans have declared war on the transgender community. With red states passing new anti-trans bills by the day, Elliot, Jasmine, and Yochi sit down with trans activist Charlotte Clymer to talk about why Democrats need to fight back harder, how the bans will hurt Republican candidates in 2024, and what's behind President Biden's surprising evolution from trans skeptic to trans supporter.

Republicans have declared war on "wokeism," but what does being “woke” actually mean? On our newest episode, Yochi and The Raben Group's Jasmine Burton sit down with Dr. Candis Watts Smith, a Duke University professor and author of the new book, “Stay Woke: A People's Guide to Making All Black Lives Matter," to talk about the forgotten history of the word, how conservatives are trying to make "woke" as politically toxic as critical race theory, and what progressives need to do to reclaim it before it's too late.

Ever wonder what it's like to testify on Capitol Hill and face questions from MAGA Republicans like Matt Gaetz? On a special episode of For the Win, our own Elliot Williams takes us behind the scenes of his recent appearance before a House committee probing the alleged "weaponization" of the federal government — and the hate mail that followed.

The GOP was once the party of big business. Now it's attacking corporate America like never before — and reserving special scorn for so-called ESG investing. On our newest episode, Yochi talks with Robert Raben, founder and president of The Raben Group, about the growing ESG crackdown, how Republicans are using government power to punish allegedly “woke” companies, and why the fight will reshape the country's economic and political landscape. 

Historian Ruth-Ben Ghiat, author of "Strongmen: From Mussolini to the Present," joins Abby and Yochi to talk about the modern Republican Party's growing embrace of right-wing extremism and political violence, why January 6 may have been inevitable, and how the former president governed like an authoritarian-in-chief rather than an American president.

Unsubstantiated rumors and lies spread widely through immigrant communities before the 2020 election, and they're spreading again in the run-up to the midterms. On our newest episode, Abby and Elliot spoke with Héctor Sánchez Barba, the CEO and executive director Mi Familia Vota, about what's unique about misinformation in Spanish-language media — and how to best fight it.

The midterms are dominating the news here at home — and obscuring the protests and civil unrest raging across Iran, where hundreds of thousands of Iranian women are protesting four decades of brutal government repression. On our newest episode, Abby and Yochi talk to The Raben Group's Parnian Abunasr-Shiraz, who was visiting family in Iran when the protests erupted and had a front-row seat for the historic uprising being led by brave young women fighting for their human rights.

Three months after Dobbs, Abby speaks with Erika West, principal at The Raben Group and one of the creators of the After Roe newsletter, about the role progressives played in the fall of Roe, the persisting support for abortion legality, and the urgent need for businesses to be vocal about reproductive freedom.

With the midterms looming, progressives are rolling out a surprising new argument: "Trump Republicans" are trying to take away core freedoms, and Democrats are the only ones standing in their way. On our newest episode, Yochi talks with Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, the co-founder and vice president of Way to Win, about how the GOP crackdown on abortion and voting rights means that Democrats, not Republicans, are now the party of freedom — and why progressives are betting millions of dollars that the argument will stick.

School is right around the corner, but America's kids – battered by COVID and the seemingly endless number of school shootings – are decidedly not alright. On the latest episode of For The Win, Elliot and Yochi spoke with Alison Malmon, executive director of Active Minds, about the mental health crisis facing our kids and how the suicide of her only brother led her to devote her life to persuading those who need help that its okay to not be okay.

Christian nationalists are defending Russia's invasion of Ukraine — and openly embrace the use of violence against political opponents here at home. In our newest episode, Yochi and Abby talk to Rev. Pamela Cooper-White, the author of a new book on Christian nationalism, about why the movement is getting stronger, how it fueled the January 6th insurrection, and why its true agenda is white supremacy.

With a leaked decision showing that the Supreme Court will soon gut abortion rights, Abby spoke with Jennifer Welch, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Illinois, about the mechanics of getting an abortion in a post-Roe world, how abortion providers in Illinois are already preparing for a surge of pregnant people from other states, and the constitutional rights SCOTUS might come after next. 

With an array of states considering their own versions of Florida's controversial "don't say gay" bill, Raben Group Founder Robert Raben sits down with Elliot to discuss the true dangers of the new legislation, why conservatives are weaponizing the LGBTQ issue, and why sexuality may again be a major front in the nation's culture wars.

On our latest SCOTUS episode, Abby and Jeremy speak with Brandi Colander, co-founder of #SheWillRise, about the racism and misogyny that marred Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation hearing, what it means for a Supreme Court in peril, and why progressives need to keep the pressure on until the Senate's final vote.

With Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court confirmation hearings just days away, judicial expert Lena Zwarensteyn of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights joins Abby, Yochi, and Jeremy Paris to discuss how some senators will try to block Jackson's nomination, how progressives will defend it, and why this fight will set the stage for the bigger Supreme Court battles still to come. 

With President Biden formally nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, Abby and guest host Jeremy Paris spoke with Fatima Goss Graves, president of National Women's Law Center, about what we need to know about the potential first Black woman justice in SCOTUS history, what progressives can do to support her during the confirmation fight ahead, and how her voice will shape our country for decades to come.

Being involved in one Supreme Court nomination fight is impressive. Our guest, Jeremy Paris, has been involved in eight of them. In the first of a three-part series, Paris — the executive director of the Committee for a Fair Judiciary — joins Abby and Yochi to talk about the impact of Biden's historic choice to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court, how conservatives have weaponized the judicial system, and how to keep Trump-appointed judges from shaping American life for decades to come.

Yochi, Elliot, and Abby were set to discuss the debate over when to send kids home from school because of COVID … and then Elliot's daughter was sent home from school because of COVID. On the newest episode of For the Win, Yochi and Abby talk about the strains school closures are putting on working parents, why some progressives are souring on teachers' unions, Abby's recent bout with COVID, and how primal screaming is becoming the stress reliever of choice for many overworked and overtired parents.

Is the U.S. headed towards a second Civil War? On the newest episode of For the Win, Abby, Elliot, and Yochi talk about the politicization of January 6, why so many Americans are now openly endorsing violence against the U.S. government, and whether our deeply-divided country will actually break apart — or go to war with itself.

Do you care about voting rights enough to risk your health to protect them? On a special episode of For the Win, Yochi talks with Joseline Garcia, a young activist who has been on a two-week hunger strike designed to persuade senators to pass a federal voting rights bill. Garcia, co-founder & national organizing director of Un-PAC, describes using a wheelchair as her body begins to break down, what happened when she met with Sen. Sinema (D-AZ), and why the future of our democracy hangs in the balance. 

How have Republicans managed to turn public education into a powerful political weapon, and can Democrats do anything about it? On the latest episode of For The Win, Yochi spoke with Sharhonda Bossier, CEO of Education Leaders of Color, about the weaponization of critical race theory, why public schools need to change how they teach about race, how HBO taught more Americans about the Tulsa Race Massacre than any textbook, and the glories of Chaka Khan.

Parents around the country will soon have the chance to get younger kids vaccinated against COVID. The question is how many will actually do so. On the latest episode of For The Win, Yochi speaks with Dr. Leana Wen — a Washington Post contributing columnist, CNN analyst, and former Baltimore health commissioner — about how the COVID fight is being slowed by a “pandemic of misinformation,” how the backlash to COVID mandates could lead parents to reject other vaccinations as well, and the cold reality that the pandemic may be with us well into the future.

In the latest episode of For The Win, Abby and Elliot spoke with Edgar Burch, the former director of government affairs for the NCAA and a Raben Group principal, about the new era of student-athletes being able to profit from marketing their own name, image, and likeness — and what that all means for race, gender, and sexual orientation in college sports.

On a special episode of For the Win, Elliot and Yochi talk about Yochi's extensive time on the ground in Afghanistan as a war correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, what it was like to live alongside troops fighting America's longest war, and tries to make sense of what Trump and Biden got right about Afghanistan — and what they got wrong.

In the latest episode of For The Win, Abby & guest host Estuardo Rodriguez spoke with Julie Rodriguez, director of the White House Intergovernmental Affairs, about the Biden administration's plans to bring Americans through the COVID-19 pandemic in the face of increasing misinformation, lessons learned from the bipartisan infrastructure deal, the President's “blue-collar blueprint of America,” and the challenges facing the Latino community.  

On the latest episode of For The Win, former RNC Chair Michael Steele sits down with Yochi and Abby to discuss his battles with former President Trump, what it's like to be a high-profile Black conservative when the Republican Party is adopting ever more extreme policies, and why he thinks the party can still be saved.

Republicans used to be the party of big business. Now ... not so much. From threatening to break up social media giants to promising to revoke business-friendly tax breaks, Republicans are talking tough with corporate America like never before. But how much of that is real, and how much is just talk? On the latest episode of For the Win, Abby, Elliot, and Yochi talk about why big businesses are weighing in on controversial issues like voting rights, whether the long alliance between the GOP and corporate America may actually be splintering, and how that fissure could reshape the political landscape.

In a special episode of For The Win, Elliot talks with Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison about what it means to be a “Dirt Road Democrat,” why his party needs to do more for rural voters, and how a long-ago promise to his grandfather is fueling Harrison’s fight for voting rights today.      

On the latest episode of For the Win, Yochi and Abby sit down with Josh Leach of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee to talk about the situation at the southern border, why the Biden administration is struggling to undo Trump’s damage to our immigration system, and why the phrase “Title 42” sounds benign but is actually threatening thousands of lives. 

In the latest episode of For the Win, Abby, Yochi, and Elliot dive into the political fight over “cancel culture,” look at its surprising origins in the Black community, and tackle the tough question of whether a canceled individual can (or should) ever be given a second chance. Plus, Abby considers if she should spearhead the movement to cancel both Elliot and Yochi ...

In the latest episode of For The Win, Yochi speaks with Wade Henderson, the head of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, about how the growing conservative crackdown on voting rights is bringing back the worst of the Jim Crow era, why lies about voter fraud pose an existential threat to our democracy, and how Congress is facing a moment of truth about whether to make it easier to cast a ballot — or whether to disenfranchise millions of voters.

In the latest episode of For the Win, recorded shortly before Neera Tanden’s nomination to be OMB director was withdrawn, Elliot spoke with Slate's Dahlia Lithwick on how the three of President Biden's nominees who have faced the biggest headwinds in their paths to confirmation — Tanden, Vanita Gupta, and Kristen Clarke — are all women of color. Elliot and Ms. Lithwick talked about how double-standards, deceptive ad buys, and media failures helped get us here, and how it’s a myth that more civility will cure what ails American politics.

On the latest episode of For The Win, Yochi, Abby, and Elliot discuss the growing political debate over America’s student loan debt crisis, whether it should matter if someone went to an expensive private university or a cheaper public one, and how a system created to help students afford college has instead left millions of graduates saddled with debts they can’t afford to pay back.

In the latest episode of For The Win, Elliot and Yochi speak with Kathleen Sebelius, the former secretary of Health and Human Services during the Obama administration, about what she learned from fighting the H1N1 pandemic, what the Trump administration got wrong about its COVID-19 response (hint: a lot), the importance of leveling with the American public about the new vaccines, and how to talk to anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers without losing your cool. There’s also some good political trivia!

In the latest episode of For The Win, Elliot and guest host Audrey López speak with Charles Kamasaki, author of Immigration Reform: The Corpse That Will Not Die, about reforming immigration after the Trump years — an issue that is even more pressing after the results in the Georgia U.S. Senate runoff election on January 5.

In the latest episode of For The Win Abby, Yochi and Elliot speak with System Check podcast hosts Melissa Harris-Perry & Dorian Warren about the coup attempt at the Capitol, the country’s legacy of institutionalized racism and white supremacist violence, and how to move America forward — with or without Republicans.

In the latest episode of For The Win, Elliot Williams spoke with Margaret Huang, CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, about whether there’s a correlation between Trump’s presidency and the rise in hate crimes, whether to expect political violence around the Georgia Senate special election, and why kids are much more at risk of being exposed to all types of hate.

In the latest episode of For the Win, Abby & guest host Eduardo Soto spoke with Luis Davila, former deputy director and general counsel for the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, about D.C. & Puerto Rico Statehood, why it would be a long process, why Democrats believe it would help them gain seats, and how economic factors have impacted the vote.

On a special pre-election episode of For The Win, Yochi, Abby, and Elliot spoke with Robert Raben, a former Assistant Attorney General and the founder and president of The Raben Group, about how far Republicans may go to steal the presidency, the challenges of making sure every vote counts, and why the fight for the future of the courts won’t end on Election Day.

Washington Post contributing columnist and public health expert Dr. Leana Wen joins Elliot and Yochi to talk about why the Trump administration has given up on containing the pandemic, why distributing a vaccine will be harder than you think, and why truly showing your loved ones how much you care this holiday season may mean staying far away.

In the latest episode of For The Win, Yochi Dreazen spoke with Dr. Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary, about why the long alliance between Christian conservatives and the Republican Party is beginning to fray, why some progressives continue to look down at people of faith, and how to finally create a strong and lasting Religious Left.