"The Starr Report"

Gov Patrick's biography is a classic rags-to-riches story that makes for a compelling stump speech. Raised by a single mother on Chicago's South Side, he frequently slept on the floor because there were not enough beds. With some lucky breaks — including a scholarship to a prestigious boarding school — he eventually graduated from Harvard Law School. Gov Patrick served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts, from 2007 to 2015. He was the first African American Governor of Massachusetts. A Democrat, Patrick served from 1994 to 1997 as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division under President Bill Clinton. He was a candidate for President of the United States in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Dr. El-Sayed was executive director of the Detroit Health Department and Health Officer for the City of Detroit from 2015 to 2017. He was also formerly an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology at Columbia University. He is a political contributor at CNN, the author of Healing Politics: A Doctor's Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic. He is also the host of American Dissected with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a podcast about politics and public health.

Lori is Co-President of Alliance Partners and is President of BancAlliance. Prior to joining Alliance Partners, Lori served as the Director of the TARP Capital Purchase Program at the Department of the Treasury, focusing on the implementation, investing, and restructuring cycles of the $205 billion portfolio. From 2004-2008, she was a financial economist with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Division of Trading and Markets. Lori received her M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and her B.A. from Yale University.

In his historic 2018 campaign for Attorney General, Sean fought fearlessly for bold policies that put regular Floridians first. Now, as an attorney and civic leader, he's continuing to stand up for working people.Sean Shaw made history in 2018 as the Florida Democratic Party's first African-American nominee for Attorney General. Sean's progressive platform sought to expand rights for consumers and hold fraudsters, corrupt politicians, and special interests accountable. The election results proved the momentum for his candidacy: over 3,000,000 Floridians voted for his bold agenda, more than any other candidate for attorney general in state history.Earlier in his career, Sean was an independent watchdog for the public as the state's Insurance Consumer Advocate — working to protect consumers from price gouging and insurance fraud. Every decision Sean made was centered on what was best for consumers, not wealthy special interests.Elected to the State Legislature in 2016, Sean continued to fight for consumers, and championed equal rights and equal opportunity for all.  As an attorney in private practice, Sean fought for victims of the BP Oil Spill, ensuring families and businesses — whose only fault was having an unlucky address — get what they are owed.Today, Sean continues advocating for working people and is respected nationwide as a leader in the fight for economic and social justice. In 2019, he founded People Over Profits, a non-profit organization dedicated to standing against corporate influence and fighting for the rights of everyday people.Sean is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Florida's law school. An attorney at the law firm Vangard Law, Sean lives in Tampa.

Jeh Johnson is the former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security. He served in that position from December 2013 to January 2017. Johnson now practices law again in New York City at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, LLP. Johnson has been affiliated with Paul, Weiss off and on since 1984, and he was elected the firm's first African American partner in 1993. Johnson now serves on the Management and Partnership Committees of the firm. In private life Johnson is also a regular commentator on NBC, CBS, ABC, MSNBC, CNN, FOX, FOX Business and Bloomberg News.Prior to becoming Secretary of Homeland Security, Johnson was appointed by President Obama to be General Counsel of the Department of Defense (2009-2012) and appointed by President Clinton to be General Counsel of the Department of the Air Force (1998-2001). Earlier in his career, Johnson was an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (1989-1991).Johnson is a graduate of Morehouse College (1979) and Columbia Law School (1982), and the recipient of ten honorary degrees. He has debated at both the Oxford and Cambridge Unions in England and is an honorary life member of the Cambridge Union.

Seema Yasmin is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, poet, medical doctor and author. Yasmin served as an officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where she investigated disease outbreaks and was principal investigator on a number of CDC studies. Yasmin trained in journalism at the University of Toronto and in medicine at the University of Cambridge.Yasmin was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news in 2017 with a team from The Dallas Morning News and recipient of an Emmy for her reporting on neglected diseases. She received two grants from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. In 2017, Yasmin was a John S. Knight Fellow in Journalism at Stanford University investigating the spread of health misinformation and disinformation during epidemics. Previously she was a science correspondent at The Dallas Morning News, medical analyst for CNN, and professor of public health at the University of Texas at Dallas.Her writing has earned awards and residencies from the Mid Atlantic Arts Council, Hedgebrook, the Millay Colony for the Arts and others. Her first book, The Impatient Dr. Lange (Johns Hopkins University Press, July 2018) is the biography of an AIDS doctor killed on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Her second book, Debunked! Pseudoscience, Medical Myths and Why They Persist, is forthcoming in November 2019. A major title about women is forthcoming from HarperCollins in 2020.Yasmin's unique expertise in medicine, epidemics and journalism has been called upon by The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, the Aspen Institute, Skoll Foundation and others.

Nomiki Konst is an American activist and political commentator. She worked for The Young Turks and Our Revolution, a progressive political action organization developed from the Bernie Sanders 2016 presidential campaign.

Rev. Dr. Howard-John Wesley is the exciting, gifted and anointed senior pastor of the historic Alfred Street Baptist Church. Known to challenge the mind and inspire the heart, Dr. Wesley is a much sought after speaker for worship services, conferences, and revivals. His preaching became a favorite of former President and Mrs. Barack Obama who worshipped with their family at Alfred Street Baptist Church on several Easter Sundays. “Faith Forward,” his radio broadcast on the Radio/Urban One network, is one of the most listened to religious Radio broadcasts in the Washington, DC area. His sermons on YouTube have garnered more than 100 million views.

Bakari Sellers made history in 2006 when, at just 22 years old, he defeated a 26-year incumbent State Representative to become the youngest member of the South Carolina state legislature and the youngest African American elected official in the nation.In 2014, Sellers won the Democratic nomination for Lt. Governor and is widely considered to be a rising star within the Democratic Party and leading voice for his generation.Sellers earned his undergraduate degree from Morehouse College, where he served as student body president, and his law degree from the University of South Carolina. He has followed in the footsteps of his father, civil rights leader, Dr. Cleveland Sellers, in his tireless commitment to public service while championing progressive policies to address issues ranging from education and poverty to preventing domestic violence and childhood obesity.In addition to his impressive list of early accomplishments, Sellers served on President Barack Obama's South Carolina steering committee during the 2008 election. That coupled with his uncommon ability to reach across the aisle and get things done has led to numerous accolades including being named to TIME Magazine's "40 Under 40" in 2010 as well as 2014's “The Root 100” list of the nation's most influential African Americans. Sellers has been a much sought after public speaker and has provided political and social commentary and analysis on many major national news outlets.(Link to purchase " My Vanishing Country")https://bookshop.org/books/my-vanishing-country-a-memoir/9780062917454

Dr. Wendy Osefo is the essence of a Renaissance woman— professor, political analyst, and entrepreneur. As a Maryland native, Nigerian-born Wendy joins the ladies of The Real Housewives of Potomac this season. With her strong personality, she knows how to hold her own and speak her mind when it comes to standing up to the other ladies. Wendy's life and upbringing embody the ultimate immigrant journey. Growing up with a single immigrant mother who put herself through college, Wendy learned first-hand the value of hard work and never thought of excuses or failure as options. Now an award-winning Nigerian-American television personality and progressive political analyst, she is on a quest to fulfill her insatiable appetite to succeed and obtain the American dream. Wendy received a Bachelor of Arts from Temple University, a Master of Arts from The Johns Hopkins University, a Master of Science from Rutgers University, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from Rutgers University, where she made history by becoming the first black woman to earn a PhD in Public Affairs/Community Development. Wendy is also a philanthropist who has sought to give back by supporting the next generation of leaders as the founder and CEO of the 1954 Equity Project, LLC, which provides tools, mentorship, and resources to underrepresented minorities to help them thrive in higher education. Wendy is currently a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education specializing in urban education and politics. Prior to joining the faculty at The Johns Hopkins University, Wendy served as the Director of Family and Community Engagement for President Barack Obama's antipoverty initiative, DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative. When she is not busy traveling to exotic destinations or on date nights with her hubby, Wendy loves to cook for her family. Wendy also has a penchant for interior design and hopes to start her own home essentials line in the future. Wendy has been married for nine years. She and her Nigerian husband, attorney Edward Osefo met as teenagers, were friends for several years before making it official after graduating college, and have been together ever since. They have three beautiful children together, seven-year-old son Karter, five-year-old son Kruz, and the newest addition to the family, newborn daughter Kamrynn.

Welcome to another episode of The Starr Report, I'm your host, Michael Starr Hopkins, and on today's show, we've got NBC news anchor and my friend Alison Morris. Alison covers the most important stories of the day for one of the biggest networks in the world, NBC, and today she's here with us, to talk about her path to 30 Rock.  Alison talked to me about her struggles, her successes, and how the worst moment of her career turned into an opportunity for growth.  This is my conversation with Alison MorrisAlison Morris is a news anchor and host for NBC News NOW, the online streaming network from NBC News. Alison anchors the weekend coverage on MSNBC from 2-4 p.m. 

Glenn is a former federal prosecutor with 30 years of trial experience.  He served in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia for 24 years, rising to the position of Chief of the Homicide Section.  In that capacity, Glenn supervised 30 homicide prosecutors and oversaw all homicide grand jury investigations and prosecutions in Washington, DC. Prior to joining the DC U.S. Attorney's Office, Glenn served more than six years on active duty as an Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) prosecutor, trying court-martial cases and handling criminal appeals, including espionage and death penalty cases.Glenn tried hundreds of cases in his 30 years as a prosecutor, including more than 50 murder trials, multiple lengthy RICO trials, and precedent-setting cases.  His cases have been made into major motion pictures (murder conviction of a sophisticated con man who ran in elite DC circles, subject of upcoming film “Georgetown”, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Christoph Waltz, and Annette Bening) and TV documentaries (defendant Andre Burno convicted of the ambush shooting of an on-duty police officer, subject of the Emmy Award-winning HBO documentary, “Thug Life in DC”). Glenn has lectured at Federal Bar Association seminars, judicial conferences and professional association events.  He has presented at the National Advocacy Center on the topic of homicide prosecutions and taught advanced criminal law at George Washington University School of Law as an adjunct faculty member.  He traveled as a Department of Justice representative to address Ukrainian prosecutors and detectives regarding the U.S. Criminal justice system.   As an Army JAG, Glenn served as a prosecutor at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, where he handled dozens of court-martial cases and served as legal advisor to Army commanders on criminal justice matters. He then served as an Army appellate attorney at the U.S. Army Legal Services Agency in Falls Church, Virginia, where he handled death penalty and espionage cases, among others.Glenn attended Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and was First-Team All American football player in 1983.  In 1987, he graduated with honors from New England School of Law in Boston, where he was named a Trustee's Scholar. Glenn has received numerous awards, including the Harold J. Sullivan Award for Fairness, Ethics and Trial Excellence; the John F. Evans Award for Outstanding Advocacy; the Metropolitan Police Department's Chief of Police Medal of Honor; the United States Attorney's Office STAR Award; U.S. Army Meritorious Service Medal; Washington & Lee University Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee; and upcoming induction in September 2018 into the American College of Trial Lawyers. 

With the rise of the Tea Party and the election of Donald Trump, many middle- and lower-income white Americans threw their support behind conservative politicians who pledged to make life great again for people like them. But as Dying of Whiteness shows, the right-wing policies that resulted from this white backlash put these voters' very health at risk—and in the end, threaten everyone's well-being. Physician and sociologist Jonathan M. Metzl travels across America's heartland seeking to better understand the politics of racial resentment and its impact on public health. Interviewing a range of Americans, he uncovers how racial anxieties led to the repeal of gun control laws in Missouri, stymied the Affordable Care Act in Tennessee, and fueled massive cuts to schools and social services in Kansas. Although such measures promised to restore greatness to white America, Metzl's systematic analysis of health data dramatically reveals they did just the opposite: these policies made life sicker, harder, and shorter in the very populations they purported to aid.  Thus, white gun suicides soared, life expectancies fell, and school dropout rates rose. Powerful, searing, and sobering, Dying of Whiteness ultimately demonstrates just how much white America would benefit by emphasizing cooperation, rather than by chasing false promises of supremacy.

Tory Dandy has been close to football his entire life. Tory's experience as a college football standout at Tusculum College allows him the ability to relate to his clients both on and off the field. As an NFLPA agent, Tory is very passionate about supporting his clients and their families both personally and professionally. Tory obtained a Bachelor's degree in Business Management with a minor in Sports Management from Tusculum College in 2002. He earned his Master's degree in Business Administration from Webster University in 2004. Tory is actively involved in the community where he tours numerous schools and churches speaking to and positively encouraging youth. Tory also serves as a youth mentor of the CDC Mentor Program of the Carolinas. In 2013, he established an annual scholarship, “The Tory Dandy Educational Scholarship” for graduating seniors from his high school (Woodruff High) in South Carolina.Tory began his professional career in 2004 and was soon promoted to Director of Recruiting at Synergy Sports. In 2006, Tory transitioned to Director of Recruiting with Maximum Sports with veteran agents Eugene Parker and Roosevelt Barnes. In 2009, at the young age of 29 years old, Tory signed the #3 overall pick with client, Tyson Jackson. ​Tory helped represent numerous clients while at Maximum Sports. After a very successful career at Maximum Sports, Tory joined the Relativity Sports Family in 2013. As a certified NFLPA agent, Tory is involved in all aspects of his clients' representation with his primary focus being contract negotiation, client services, and pre-draft process. Tory is now the Executive Senior Agent at CAA Football. 

Bryan Vastano is an agent, and works at United Talent Agency (UTA). Bryan and I had the chance to talk about how the Coronavirus is affecting the entertainment industry, what concerts will look like moving forward, and what led him to work with one of the biggest agencies in the world. 

Congresswoman Karen Bass was first inspired to give back to her community at a very young age. Even before being elected to the California State Assembly in 2004, the Los Angeles native served her community as a Physician's Assistant for more than a decade, even working as a clinical instructor at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program. In 1990, Rep. Bass founded the Community Coalition in South Central Los Angeles to fight for justice and opportunities for Black and Latinx residents.According to Rep. Bass, the goal of the organization was to “turn despair and hopelessness into action.” After transitioning to politics in 2004, rising to become the second woman to be speaker of the California State Assembly, Rep. Bass continued her fight in the U.S. House of Representatives. As a Congresswoman, Rep. Bass sits on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations, and is a member of the House Judiciary Committee.

I had the opportunity to sit down with Axios Reporter Alayna Treene. Alayna covers the days biggest breaking news stories, including the White House, Congress, and the 2020 elections.  

Comedian Shuler King was born Frank Williams III in Sumter, SC. Known as the kid who cracked jokes, Shuler knew at an early age he was destined to be an entertainer. Shuler grew up in a traditional two-parent household in the Bible Belt of the South, where his parents instilled faith, hard work and education in him and his two siblings. Comedy is his passion, but he took a rather unusual path to get there. Shuler graduated from the University of South Carolina with a B.A. in media arts; while at university, he joined The Mighty Illustrious Zeta Zeta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Incorporated. His comedy career began while he was a freshman in college after he took the stage for the very first time at the NCO Club on a military base, and the rest is history. In 2013, he graduated from Gupton-Jones College of Funeral Service with a degree in mortuary science. When Shuler isn't on the road performing at comedy clubs and special events across the country, he works as a licensed funeral director and embalmer in Georgia and South Carolina, at his family's funeral business. As Shuler works to keep his family's business and legacy alive, he may be the only comedian/funeral director on the comedy circuit. He has opened for some of the most notable and talented comedians and comediennes in the industry. He credits his parent's strict yet loving upbringing, his harsh surroundings growing up and the state of the country today with giving him his "raw" comedic style. "Comedy isn't about being happy all the time.  Comedy is just as much about pain that people endure. When you hear 20,000 people in an arena laugh at a joke, it's because they all can relate to experiencing that same pain," he says. Shuler is one of the most energetic rising comedians in the business. He credits his unwavering faith in God as the calming force in his life, which keeps him pushing forward through the industry's ups and downs. His hilarious social media videos have quickly become fan favorites, and his video post about Donald Trump went viral and was even played on a U.K. television show. The future is definitely bright for Shuler.

Iverson had the crossover. Dikembe had the finger wag.  In the pantheon of Hoya legends, what will Jagan Mosely be remembered for?  He can draw a charge better than any player to have worn the Georgetown uniform in recent decades. He has a superhuman ability to predict the driving player's path and get himself solidly into position.No sliding. No turning. No flinching. He has played his heart out. And refused to quit.Mosely sets and he waits. Then, the contact - he falls, and the whistle sounds. We had the opportunity to talk about his time at Georgetown, what it was like to find out that March Madness was canceled, and what it's like preparing for the NBA Draft during a pandemic. 

I had the chance to talk with Dr. Jonathan Metzl, author of Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland. In the era of Donald Trump, many lower- and middle-class white Americans are drawn to politicians who pledge to make their lives great again. But as Dying of Whiteness shows, the policies that result actually place white Americans at ever-greater risk of sickness and death.Physician Jonathan M. Metzl's quest to understand the health implications of "backlash governance" leads him across America's heartland. Interviewing a range of everyday Americans, he examines how racial resentment has fueled pro-gun laws in Missouri, resistance to the Affordable Care Act in Tennessee, and cuts to schools and social services in Kansas. And he shows these policies' costs: increasing deaths by gun suicide, falling life expectancies, and rising dropout rates. White Americans, Metzl argues, must reject the racial hierarchies that promise to aid them but in fact, lead our nation to demise

Emily Tisch Sussman has been at the forefront of the progressive movement in America for more than a decade and is a leading democratic political strategist with over 150 appearances on cable news networks like FOX News, CNN, HLN, and MSNBC and whose views are frequently featured in national news outlets.Emily serves as a Senior Advisor to organizations committed to driving progressive change through legislation, advocacy, the electoral process, and policy development including Swing Left, The Baker Project, a special initiative of Eleanor's Legacy; Funny or Die: Glam Up the Midterms, and Vote Vets. Previously, she held the role of Vice President of Campaigns at the Center for American Progress (CAP), the largest progressive think tank in Washington, DC. She shaped key strategies to resist the Trump Administration's harmful policies and turned up the heat on the Repeal and Replace debate as Republicans worked to dismantle healthcare for millions of Americans. She also worked with CAP's youth outreach arm to cultivate young activists through Generation Progress and helped establish a Gun Violence Prevention Network.Emily is a staunch advocate of women's rights and helped shape the leading principles for the inaugural Women's March in January 2017 as well as communications consulting for female challenger candidates in New York State Senate races in 2018 through The Baker Project. She served as executive director of Young Democrats of America, and as founder of Think Blue, an organization to increase youth participation in the democratic electoral process. 

Susan Del Percio is a New York-based Republican strategist and founder of Susan Del Percio Strategies. She has advised dozens of candidates in New York and elsewhere on successfully communicating messages to an electorate. Ms. Del Percio has served as a media spokeswoman on many campaigns, both political and corporate, and frequently appears on many local and national news outlets as a political analyst. Susan is also an MSNBC contributor. She served in the Giuliani Administration and holds a Masters degree in political communications.

In times like these, our nation could use a consoler in chief. The type of leader that could ease the fears of a divided country and calm the nerves of frightened families. Make no mistake about it, we are in perilous times. People all over this country are dying - alone. Families are grieving, never getting an opportunity to say goodbye to their loved on - alone. We are all (hopefully) sheltered in our houses, isolated from the outside world, struggling to feel a connection, because we feel ALONE. Any normal, empathetic, decent President, would step to the lectern, or talk to us from the Oval Office, and tell us that we're going to get through this together. They would tell us that there will be time to reflect on how we could have been better prepared for this crisis, but our first priority is saving as many lives as possible. Clinton did it after the Oklahoma City bombing, Bush did it after 9/11, Obama did it after every mass shooting, but not Donald Trump. He's not capable of it. That's not a political statement, that's a reality, a fact. So we're left looking towards each other for support. So as you go through your day, be mindful that we're all in this together. We can be a benefit or burden. We can be helpful or we can be hurtful. We have a choice. I chose to appeal to our commonality. To appeal to the kindness and goodness in each and every one of us. If you want to feel like you're not alone and like someone is listening, I hope you'll find a home here with us on the Starr report. 

KEVIN CATE, founder of CATECOMM, is an advisor and ad maker for progressive candidates and causes, including serving as a senior advisor to Mayor Andrew Gillum. A former 2008 Obama campaign spokesperson, Cate knows what it takes to win competitive, history-making campaigns. His work in 2018 was called "nothing short of brilliant" by the Tallahassee Democrat, and he's been called "perpetually newsmaking" by POLITICO, a "communications savant" by Florida Politics and a "multimedia wiz" by the Miami Herald. Influence Magazine recently named him one of the 100 most influential people in Florida politics and Florida Trend designated him a person you should know. Cate is also a nationally recognized political consultant, including providing commentary on cable news channels CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News Channel.

Shermichael Singleton is a political consultant, writer, commentator, and former Contributing Host of Vox Media's Consider It, a current affairs digital show that aired weekly on Facebook Watch. He is also a 2019 Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree for Law and Policy for his contributions to politics and media.As a political operative, he has worked on the presidential campaigns of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich where he focused on youth outreach and engagement. From there he went on to work on former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in campaign operations and coalitions where he traveled the country during the 2012 election. During the 2015 and 2016 cycle, he worked on the presidential campaign of renowned Neurosurgeon, Dr. Ben Carson where he was the faith coalitions advisor tasked with targeting and building coalitions within the faith community, which would become Dr. Carson's strongest base of support. As a result, Dr. Carson became the only candidate to surpass President Trump in polls for several straight weeks during the 2016 campaign cycle.

Welcome to the Starr Report. I'm your host Michael Starr Hopkins. I wanted to take a second to address where we are in this moment in history. This podcast has launched in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic. Most major cities have sheltered in a place and we're all locked in our houses wondering when things will get back to normal. I want each and every one of you to know that things will get back to normal, but when they do,  we have an obligation to remember this. Remember the heroics of ordinary people like the people who stock your grocery stores or deliver the food to your homes, remember the doctors and the nurses who put their lives in danger, and even gave their lives, to protect each and every one of us. They are the heroes in this moment. We owe it to them to not forget the courage and humanity that they've. We also owe it to them to remember the people who said that some people's lives were less important than the stock market and to remember the people who said we could afford to bail out companies but couldn't afford Universal healthcare. We far too often let the chaos and noise of our politics overwhelm us and numb us to the very things we see with our own eyes. Let's be very clear, this was preventable. Donald Trump didn't create this virus but his failure to adequately respond created this unnecessary disaster.I created “the Starr Report” so that we can figure out how to ensure that when we come out of this tragedy, we come out stronger, and more prepared to create the type of society that we can all be proud of.  Since I can't get into the studio with our guests, we'll have to resort to phone calls and Skype, so be patient with me as I learn the ropes. We'll grow together. This is a moment in history that will literally be a chapter in the history books. Join me as I talk to some of America's most influential voices about their failures, their successes, and how we can learn from each other. This is “The Starr Report”.

William Joseph Walsh is a former congressman and Republican presidential candidate. He served one term in the United States House of Representatives for Illinois' IL-8. “The Starr Report” offers intimate interviews with some of America's biggest influencers. From politicians, to journalists, to titans of industry, Michael Starr Hopkins strips away the facade and allows his guests to open up and talk about the journey that led them to the limelight. If you're looking for an honest conversation about the career paths of some of America's biggest up and comers, “The Starr Report” is the podcast for you. 

Sean Shaw is someone who every single listener should be very familiar with. Sean Shaw is an attorney and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives. In 2018, Sean Shaw made history as the Florida Democratic Party's first African-American nominee for Attorney General. Over 3,000,000 Floridians voted for his bold agenda, more than any other candidate for attorney general in state history. Welcome to the show Sean.

Thanks so much for tuning in to the “The Starr Report”. I'm your host, Michael Starr Hopkins, founding partner of Northern Starr Strategies and Lenny Kravitz doppelganger. Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day to join us for a unique and hopefully interesting conversation with our Countries most influential voices. On today's episode, we've got Kurt Bardella. Kurt Bardella is a columnist for HuffPost and an NBC NEWS THINK contributor as well as a member of USA Today's Board of Contributors. He is also the creator and publisher of the country music platform the Morning Hangover.Kurt is the former spokesperson for Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Senator Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Rep. Darrell Issa (R- CA) and the House Committee on Oversight & Government Reform. He was also the media consultant for Breitbart News. In 2017, Kurt left the Republican Party to join the Democratic Party.