Thinking CAP

Like with any good project, it takes a team to get you across the finish line. For two seasons, the Center for American Progress has published this weekly podcast in hopes of encouraging its listeners to think about the world a little differently, and share perspectives that can help foster a more inclusive society. From Sally Tucker and Thinking CAP’s original hosts Michele Jawando and Igor Volsky, to our supervising producer Rachel Rosen and season two producer Kyle Epstein, and our researcher Chris Ford, making this podcast has been an exceptional ride. This week, we bring this part of the journey to a close by revisiting an interview Daniella and Ed recorded with A.F.S.C.M.E. president Lee Saunders about the state of the labor movement in the United States. Be sure to follow Daniella and Ed on Twitter (@dgibber123 and @EdChungDC) for news about what projects they have coming down the pike – we hope you come along for the ride.

It wouldn’t be an international convening if President Trump didn’t make himself the center of the attention. Over the weekend, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the G7 Summit with leaders from the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Italy, and Japan, along President Trump, in attendance in Biarritz, France. From skipping a meeting on climate change – the White House described it as a “niche” issue – to advocating for bringing Russia back into what would be the G8, the Trump wasn’t short on causing controversy. Just prior to leaving for the foreign trip, he had spooked the markets once more by tweeting attacks toward Chinese President Xi Jinping, who had announced new tariffs on American goods at the end of the week. Because of the president’s repeated decision to go it alone on the world stage, Ed and Daniella revisit their conversation with former Ambassador Wendy Sherman, who was the lead negotiator for the US with Iran during talks about their nuclear program. Last fall, she shared her insights on America’s moral standing in the world and why coalition building has been a successful strategy for US diplomats for decades.

Halloween may be more than two months away, but something in the air already has the markets spooked. Worries about the end of the bull market and a looming recession has economists and politicos worried about the impact of a sluggish economy. While Daniella is off this week, Ed sits down with CAP Senior Economist Gbenga Ajilore to diagnose the warning signs that could lead to the end of a more than decadelong economic boon. Key among the contributing factors are President Donald Trump’s trade war with China—which has shuttered markets for farmers across the country—and the 2017 tax cut, whose benefits went largely to corporations and earners in top income brackets. An economy, of course, should work for everyone, which is why we also revisited a conversation with Darrick Hamilton from earlier this year about creating an inclusive economy.

For decades, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has been among the most challenging global health issues to contain. Enter Dr. Anthony Fauci, immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. As one of the foremost experts and advocates against the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Dr. Fauci exuded optimism when talking about the progress being made in both global and domestic containment of the disease. He sat down with Daniella for an interview to discuss his work fighting HIV/AIDS and to share his thoughts on the growing, dangerous anti-vaccination movement.

Once again, the country mourns after a weekend that saw two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio, and more than 30 innocents killed. And once again, the blame game—or, rather, the scapegoat game—is dialed up to high, with the disability community caught in the sights of the gun lobby and its allies in Congress, as is too often the case. As the president and his enablers remain eager to avoid any commitment to tackle the growing scourge of white nationalism, others are motivated to pick up the mantle once and for all. This week, Daniella is joined by two CAP colleagues—Chelsea Parsons, vice president for Gun Violence Prevention, and Rebecca Cokley, director of the Disability Justice Initiative—to try and make sense of the all-too-familiar violence, the easy scapegoating of people with mental illness, and the growing tide of white nationalism that is being cheered on from the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump had himself another very bad, no good, extremely racist week, and it seems the rest of the nation is finally taking notice of the trend. With a majority of Americans now believing that the president—the same president who hasn’t backed away from his accusations against the Central Park Five, who propagated the birther conspiracy against President Barack Obama, and who called Mexicans rapists on the first day of his presidential campaign—is indeed a racist, his latest digs against four freshmen congresswomen of color and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) have elicited broad reproach. In fact, last weekend, 149 Black former Obama administration staffers published an op-ed in The Washington Post rebuking Trump’s words and deeds and refusing to sit idly by. This week, Daniella—who signed the op-ed herself—was joined by Khalilah Harris and Clarence Fluker, two former Obama staffers, who reflected on the emotional past weeks and discussed what can be done in the face of the administration’s naked racism moving forward.

Three months after releasing his report investigating Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election, former special counsel Robert Mueller appeared before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees for questioning about his findings. Reluctant to appear before Congress, Mueller stuck mostly to what he and his team outlined in their report: The Russians conducted an extensive campaign to interfere in and influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election; the Russians worked to benefit President Donald Trump’s campaign; and the president participated in obstructive acts during the course of the investigation. Ned Price—a director at National Security Action and an NBC national security analyst—joins Ed and Daniella in the studio this week to parse Mueller’s tight-lipped congressional testimony.

As the president continues to manipulate the news cycle on Twitter—lobbing racist tropes at progressives in the U.S. House of Representatives—the world and all of its problems continue to spin. In a normal presidency, the National Security Council (NSC) is tasked with keeping the president focused on the nation’s foreign policy priorities—Iran, North Korea, the Russians, etc. This week, Daniella and Ed are joined by two former NSC staffers—John Gans Jr. and CAP’s own Kelly Magsamen—to take a deep dive into “the engine of foreign policy” in Washington, as well as Gans’ new book about the NSC, “White House Warriors: How the National Security Council Transformed the American Way of War”. Since its inception in 1947, the NSC has seen its fair share of effective and inept characters. Without a coherent vision of his own for how to manage the country’s foreign policy agenda, and with a supporting cast of self-interested actors, President Donald Trump’s NSC may find itself bogged down in the worst of Washington.

The Trump era has changed the way the free press and the White House interact—that much is certain. So where does that leave a network like C-SPAN, the so-called Switzerland of the media, which aims not to imbue its coverage with opinion but rather let the facts speak for themselves? This week, Daniella sat down with Steve Scully, C-SPAN political director and on-air host of the legendary show, “Washington Journal,” to discuss the network’s agenda of having no agenda and how Scully has had to adapt his approach in this new, polarized climate. As the decibel level grows louder, Scully remains as unflappable as ever. So we asked him: How?

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court reached two significant decisions on cases affecting voting rights in the United States. The first dealt a blow to the fate of fair voting maps, where the court found that partisan gerrymandering was an issue “beyond the reach of the federal courts,” thus punting the decision to the states to decide for themselves. The second questioned the reasoning of the Trump administration’s inclusion of a citizenship question in the 2020 census—a question that has since been struck down and settled by President Donald Trump’s own U.S. Department of Justice, though much remains uncertain. Sound confusing? To parse through the legalese, we spoke with Ari Berman, senior reporter for Mother Jones, about the state of voting rights; the tension between the political and democratic aims of gerrymandering; and what he calls a “new arms race for redistricting.”

Getting to know the supreme leader of the Hermit Kingdom is not a simple undertaking. But Anna Fifield, Beijing bureau chief for The Washington Post and author of the new book “The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade Kim Jong Un,” has come as close as any foreigner to North Korea in achieving that task. This week, Fifield—along with CAP Senior Fellow Mike Fuchs—joins Daniella and Ed to discuss what it was like seeking to paint the most comprehensive portrait of the infamously shadowy dictator in her new book. She also details how she went about gathering information about who Kim is and how he became—and has remained—the leader of North Korea.

Capt. Ersie Joyner never wanted to be a police officer. 30 years after joining the force, he is now a decorated veteran of the Oakland Police Department and heads Oakland’s Ceasefire program, which is responsible for comprehensively addressing serious violence—specifically gun violence—within the community. The program has been a huge success. Captain Joyner sat down with Ed to discuss his reluctant journey into policing and how his police department was forced to innovate in the face of rising violence. With violent crime on the decline in Oakland, and with use of force issues riding the same trend, we asked Capt. Joyner about how a city once plagued with crime and violence navigated such a positive about-face.

Finding political common ground in North Carolina is an art, and Gov. Roy Cooper (D)—now in his third year as the state’s chief executive—is working his brushstrokes. Whether it’s prioritizing Medicaid expansion statewide, changing the way the state is addressing its growing opioid crisis, or blocking repeated attempts at banning abortion, Gov. Cooper is increasingly finding consensus. Perhaps his greatest feat, however, is remaining diplomatic on North Carolina’s many college basketball allegiances; we can’t say the same about Daniella.

As President Donald Trump absconds to the United Kingdom for the pomp and circumstance of a visit with Queen Elizabeth and the royal family, Jesse Lee, senior adviser for Communications at the Center for American Progress and this week's guest, is here to remind us from what Trump may be running away. Whether it’s the question of impeachment heating up in Congress, or his son-in-law, Jared Kushner’s, recent disastrous interview discussing birtherism, or the ongoing drip of corruption stories emanating from the highest rungs of his administration, things are not going great for the Trump team. In this episode, Daniella and Ed break down and weigh the merits of the rising talk of impeachment with Lee, and Ed pontificates on his newest fascination: UFOs.

Hearing President Trump tell it, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the U.S. economy is in a boom like we’ve never before witnessed. But that is not the case, says professor Darrick Hamilton, executive director of the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University. Professor Hamilton joined the pod this week to give us the real picture on the current state of the economy; the meaning behind the numbers; and why current economic measures are not truly indicative of the inequality that many Americans are feeling. Later, professor Hamilton discusses reparations and what they might actually look like in practice. Note: this episode contains explicit language

As Congress attempts to exert its oversight powers over the White House in the wake of the Mueller report, relations between the (co-equal!) legislative and executive branches have grown as tense as they’ve ever been during the Trump administration. To help unpack it all, Ari Melber—chief legal correspondent for MSNBC and host of the network’s popular evening program “The Beat With Ari Melber”—sat down with Daniella and Ed live from the Center for American Progress' annual Ideas Conference. Melber dives into how he’s observed the strained relationship between the branches of government, as well as how the debate about criminal justice reform has changed and reconfigured since Donald Trump became president. The Wu-Tang Clan, importantly, are also discussed.

On the eve of the House of Representatives’ likely passage of the Equality Act—which would explicitly outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity for the first time at the federal level—Daniella and Ed sat down with Charlotte Clymer, press secretary for rapid response at the Human Rights Campaign, and Laura Durso, vice president for the LGBT Research and Communications Project at the Center for American Progress, to better understand how we got to this moment, why comprehensive nondiscrimination protections for LGTBQ people is needed, and how this incredible cultural—and legislative—shift even happened.

You may know Ed Zwick from some of his work directing and producing past films, such as “Glory,” “Blood Diamond,” and “Shakespeare in Love”—the latter of which won him an Academy Award. But Zwick’s latest project hits differently. “Trial by Fire,” which arrives in select theaters on May 17, tells the story of Cameron Todd Willingham, a Texas man executed for the murder by arson of his three children after scientific evidence and expert testimony that supported his claims of innocence were ignored in the courts. Zwick sat down with Daniella and Ed to discuss why he chose to direct this latest film—which he describes as a catalogue of everything broken in the criminal justice system—and how movies and popular culture affect, and often precipitate, change.

Glimpsing the nightly news or scrolling through your Twitter timeline on any given day, it might seem like the U.S. on the cusp of achieving bipartisan, comprehensive criminal justice reform. In reality, however, many of the reforms being proposed or enacted are relatively modest in scope. In this episode, Daniella and Ed are joined by Emily Bazelon, staff writer at the New York Times Magazine, and Rachel Barkow, professor at the New York University School of Law, who have both authored new books exploring system-upending ways to end the cycle of mass incarceration. Bazelon and Barkow consider the role of the prosecutor in these reforms as well as ways to insulate justice reform from political influence or populist whims.

A week has passed since special counsel Robert Mueller issued his redacted 448-page report on Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. After nearly two years—and an additional three weeks of suspense, thanks to U.S. Attorney General William Barr’s stalling efforts—the public finally got a glimpse into Mueller’s investigation, but has largely been left with more questions than answers. Daniella and Ed brought in Max Bergmann, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and director of CAP Action Fund's Moscow Project, to discuss the contours of the report. As Bergmann puts it, the report outlines extensive collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian efforts to elect him to the presidency—and, more importantly, serves as an impeachment referral for Congress. While the Mueller report in no way exonerates the president, it remains to be seen whether or not Congress will act on Mueller’s referral or how the Trump adminstration will continue to fight the facts.

The tides are changing when it comes to how we’re thinking about climate change. Something strange happened in late 2018, when Americans—responding to a series of extreme weather events, a damning government report on global temperature rise, and excitement around the Green New Deal—experienced a surge in awareness, and fear, about climate change. That awareness has ushered in a renewed grassroots energy, led in large part by young Americans concerned about the future of the planet and their own futures within it. This week, Robinson Meyer, a climate reporter for The Atlantic, and Christy Goldfuss, CAP’s senior vice president for Energy and Environment Policy, join the pod to discuss the new politics of climate change and our current era of action.

If you’re a fan of this podcast, you probably recognize this week’s guest. Having just finished his debut book, “Guns Down: How to Defeat the NRA and Build a Safer Future with Fewer Guns,” Igor Volsky, a former Thinking CAP co-host and current executive director of Guns Down America, joined the pod to discuss his new project and lay out his vision to reduce the number of guns in the U.S. by raising the standard of ownership. Volsky, a former journalist, breaks down the current state of the gun violence prevention movement; the National Rifle Association's outsize influence on shaping the national debate; and why the movement to reduce guns and gun deaths is finally picking up momentum in all corners of the country.

While the narratives around the latest developments about the Mueller Report keep spinning in Washington, work across the rest of the country hasn’t stopped. To talk about those daily efforts, Daniella and Ed are joined in the studio this week by two lieutenant governors – Juliana Stratton of Illinois, and Kate Marshall of Nevada. Free from the distractions of inside the Beltway gossip, Stratton and Marshall speak about the challenges and pursuits that drive their busy schedules. The pair of public servants have the unique task of focusing on how to balance and address the needs of constituents living in their state’s dominating urban cores – Chicago and Las Vegas – as well as in the dozens of rural counties that accompany them. In addition to describing some of their biggest responsibilities, like presiding over the Nevada State Senate – as Marshall does – or leading Illinois’s Justice, Equity and Opportunity Initiative – as Stratton does – the lieutenant governors also pitch the best parts of their state. Everyone knows though that few things can beat D.C. during peak cherry blossom bloom.

Special counsel Robert Mueller delivered his final report to Attorney General William Barr last week on his two-year investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and a circus has ensued. As speculation mounts around Barr’s letter to Congress summarizing his “principal conclusions” of the special counsel’s report—which many have read and misread to fit their own biases and suspicions—it is important to remember that neither the public nor Congress has seen the full report. On this week’s pod, Judd Legum, founder of the Popular Information newsletter and former editor-in-chief of ThinkProgress, helps us break down the spectacle that has consumed so much of Washington and beyond.

What does progressive prosecution look like in practice? It’s a label that’s been tossed around a lot lately, but Kim Foxx would rather let her work speak for itself. Foxx, the state’s attorney for Cook County, Illinois, is the first black woman to be elected to that position, presiding over Chicago and its neighboring towns—and she’s already begun shake up business as usual. Her goal? Get to the root causes of violence and crime; bring transparency to the prosecutor’s office; and bridge the gulf of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

It’s 2019, and we still can’t answer a fundamental question: What should our society expect from our police officers and departments? Ed spent the weekend in Austin, Texas, to host a panel at this year’s installment of the famed South by Southwest conference alongside Josie Duffy Rice, Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, and Ron Davis. The panel of four—a former Justice Department prosecutor, a journalist, an academic, and a police chief—offered their personal insights into what policing should and shouldn’t look like in this day and age, and how policing intersects with criminal justice reform and social support systems writ large. This episode is a lightly edited version of their conversation.

“Everything is broken,” laments Vox correspondent Carlos Maza on this week’s pod. Maza has reason to feel jaded: He’s spent hours—days, even—watching Fox News pundits feed on-air talking points straight to the Oval Office, where President Donald Trump gleefully parrots the network’s daily affirmations without a second thought. In this episode, Maza discusses the cozy relationship between Fox News and the Trump White House, and breaks down the growing media trend of appealing to our inherently tribal impulses.

As another Black History Month comes to a dispiriting close, Candice Jones, president and CEO of the Public Welfare Foundation, stopped by the pod to drop some much-needed optimism in our lives. In this episode, Jones reflects on the tumultuous Black History Month we just endured; what it’s like to be a black woman running a major philanthropic foundation; and the merits of pragmatic versus transformational change in criminal justice reform. If February was draining, Jones offers a silver lining with reasons to be hopeful.

It’s a golden age of television, the common refrain goes. But for some traditionally marginalized communities, there’s nothing golden about not seeing yourself reflected in the shows you watch and stories you see. "One Day at a Time," a Netflix reimagining of the hit 1970s show of the same name, is seeking to shift that narrative. Ed and Daniella sat down this week with Gloria Calderón Kellett, Justina Machado, and Isabella Gomez—the showrunner and stars, respectively—at the Eaton Hotel in Washington, D.C., to get their sense of what representation means to them and how their show fits into a broader push for including more diverse voices in Hollywood. In speaking with the three women, it’s striking to hear how the communities they portray on screen—Latinx, LGBT, veterans, and more—have affected them, not just the other way around.

When Jon Lovett left his gig as speechwriter to former President Barack Obama to write for television in Hollywood, he wasn’t entirely sure a career in politics was in his immediate professional future. But clearly, Lovett has found his way back into politics: Crooked, the media company he co-founded with a few White House colleagues, has taken off beyond any of its founders’ expectations. Does he regret it? Hardly. With a full slate of podcasts and projects under the Crooked banner, Lovett joined Daniella and Ed to meditate on the malevolence (or is it incompetence?) of the Trump administration, Jeff Bezos’ stand against blackmail, and the ongoing political crisis in Virginia. *Editor's note: this episode contains explicit language.

Fresh off of an announcement that he would not seek the U.S. presidency in 2020—as well as the fall of his beloved Los Angeles Rams in last week’s rather forgettable Super Bowl—Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti made his way to Washington to tout a slate of bipartisan, comprehensive infrastructure priorities in front of Congress. While here, he dropped by the pod to fill us in on what he’s been up to. The short answer: a lot. Garcetti sat down with Ed and Daniella to discuss how his city remains a progressive model on a number of issues; he also explained that while there may be some bipartisan consensus or movement in Congress around issues such as infrastructure, immigration, and criminal justice, the foundations are being laid at the local level.

After briefly holding her invitation to President Donald Trump to deliver his State of the Union address while the federal government was shut down, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi allowed him to deliver his State of the Union address in front of Congress this week. In this episode, Daniella and Ed discuss Trump’s 82-minute speech with two in-house experts. First, Kelly Magsamen, vice president for National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress explains how the president’s vision for U.S. foreign policy didn’t offer us much of anything new, but did reinforce his tendency to act as an autocrat. Then, Juanita Tolliver, director of campaigns for CAP Action Fund, breaks down the lies that littered Trump’s address; the imagery of some congresswomen wearing white; and how Stacey Abrams, the former Democratic candidate for the governorship of Georgia, delivered a striking response outlining the real challenges that ordinary Americans are facing.

After the longest government shutdown in American history finally ended last week, freshman Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) wants to make sure that it never happens again. Wexton joins the pod to chat with Ed and Daniella about why she forced a vote this week on a resolution stating that “shutdowns are detrimental to the nation and should not occur,” and about what she thought of some of the backlash the vote received. She also fills us in on what it’s been like navigating the halls of Congress as a freshman member during one of the most contentious periods that the Trump administration—and the country—has endured. Also, she really loves "The Wire."

When the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) last summer, some predicted it would be a nail in the coffin for labor unions. But Lee Saunders, the president of AFSCME—the largest trade union for public sector employees—joined the pod this week to tell us that the state of labor unions is, in fact, strong. Despite constant attacks from wealthy special interests working to lower wages for working people and decimate public sector unions, unions have defied their expectations and are enjoying a bout of popularity not seen in years among Americans. The son of a union member in Cleveland, Ohio, Saunders discusses with Ed and Daniella the challenges unions have faced to their viability and membership over the past decade, as well as about the hopeful future of unions with younger generations embracing the power of collective bargaining.

No stranger to the ways of Washington, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) knows a thing or two about the politics of power. As the new chairwoman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Rep. Waters dropped by the CAP Action Fund this week to deliver a speech on what she sees as the chief priorities of her committee—and how she plans to hold both the Trump administration and bad financial actors accountable. She also sat down with CAP Action CEO Neera Tanden to discuss how she sees her committee’s role—especially in the backdrop of an administration ill-prepared to address the challenges facing it—in pushing for stronger consumer protections, tackling the housing crisis, and increasing diversity in the financial sector. This episode includes segments from Rep. Waters’ speech and Q&A.

As President Donald Trump successfully manufactures a crisis on our southern border, an actual American crisis drags on, producing a death rate that resembles a war zone than the United States. This week we sat down with CAP immigration expert Phil Wolgin for a debrief on the so-called crisis along the US-Mexico border. Then physician and “The Atlantic” staff writer James Hamblin joins us to share his perspective on how we’ve let the opioid epidemic get so bad, and what kinds of innovative treatments—such as harm reduction or marijuana—he thinks should be explored to more effectively combat addiction.

Happy New Year! There’s a new House majority in town, and their first order of business is forging a deal to reopen the government. Pressuring President Donald Trump to let go of his so-called border wall to end the shutdown may prove difficult, but Sam Berger and Jesse Lee—both senior advisers at the Center for American Progress and former officials in the Obama White House—are here for our first episode of 2019 to walk us through how we got here, why this shutdown is different from others in the past, and whom this political ploy helps (and harms).

We’re capping off the year with a discussion about the story that has more legs than your garden variety centipede: the Mueller investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election. CAP senior fellow and in-house expert on all things Russia-related, Max Bergmann, joins Ed and Daniella on the pod to take a dive into the web of ongoing investigations that have picked up speed in the final weeks of 2018. Max helps us identify what the major players – special counsel Robert Mueller, Michael Flynn, Michael Cohen, Maria Butina, and Rudy Giuliani – have been up to and what the state of play will be going into the new year. Hopefully your corkboard is as up to date as ours.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), incoming co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, joins the pod to outline her top priorities for the next Congress, which include fighting corruption, reforming immigration, and improving health care affordability. She also reacts to the televised Oval Office spectacle that captivated Washington earlier this week and predicts what it all means for a potential government shutdown.

There’s change afoot in Congress, and Greg Sargent—writer for The Washington Post’s must-read blog, The Plum Line—has some tips for the new leaders in town. His new book, “An Uncivil War: Taking Back Our Democracy in an Age of Trumpian Disinformation and Thunderdome Politics,” is both a deep dive into the Trump effect on our political system and a manual for how the new Congressional majority should seek to restore faith in democratic institutions. Sargent joined Daniella and Ed on the pod to get into the weeds of all of that and more and to explain what, exactly, he means by "thunderdome politics."

*This episode contains sensitive language that may not be suitable for all listeners. In July 2015, Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman from Chicago, was arrested and jailed for failing to use a turn signal. Three days later, she was found hanging from a noose in her jail cell, sparking a groundswell of protests and activism nationwide. Now, three years later, a new HBO documentary explores never-before-told circumstances surrounding her death, punctuated by Sandra’s own commentary that seemed to foretell her own fate. This week’s pod was recorded at the Center for American Progress’ live screening of the documentary, “Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland,” in which Daniella moderated a panel with Cannon Lambert, the Bland family attorney, and David Heilbroner, the film’s co-director.

April Ryan is hardly a rookie. Having covered the past four presidential administrations as the White House Bureau Chief for American Urban Radio Networks, Ryan’s reporting instincts have found new resonance in the Trump era. She has been personally attacked by the president and singled out by his senior staff on a number of occasions, so we wanted to know: How does she keep her cool and stay focused on her work? The veteran correspondent sat down with Daniella and Ed this week to discuss how being one of the most prominent black, female White House reporters has changed under this administration; why she interviewed Steve Bannon; why she would interview David Duke; and why she’s a winner through it all.

As threats against journalists and a free press compound both at home and abroad, a pair of Academy Award nominees dropped by the pod to share the story of their new project celebrating the life and death of the legendary war journalist, Marie Colvin, who died in Syria in 2012 covering the brutal conflict there. Actor Rosamund Pike and director Matthew Heineman—whose new film, “A Private War,” opens in theaters tomorrow—sat down with Daniella and Ed to tell Colvin’s complicated but critical story, and to emphasize the importance of a free press in speaking truth to power, and holding power to account.

There was an election last night—did you hear? In this episode, Ed and Daniella sit down with Neera Tanden, the president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, to talk about the electoral rebuke of President Donald Trump, the policy priorities that will shape the upcoming Congress, the success of female candidates this election cycle, and what she’s watching when she’s able to take a rare break from politics. We also react to the news of President Trump firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions with multiple races still undecided. What does it all mean?

From racially motivated killings in Kentucky, to pipe bombs mailed to prominent officials, to murders in a Pittsburgh synagogue, the nation endured a particularly trying week. In normal times, we might rely on our president to step in and serve as healer-in-chief – a task that past presidents of all political stripes have dutifully performed. But these are not normal times. Five days out from the hugely consequential midterm elections, Jeh Johnson, former secretary of homeland security under former President Barack Obama, joined the pod to break down the past week of hate, the ongoing threats to our election infrastructure, and the imperative of voting in the face of it all.

Joyce Vance—a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, an MSNBC contributor, and current distinguished law professor at the University of Alabama—knows a thing or two about this country’s legal institutions. From the efficiency of special counsel Robert Mueller and his investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, to the influence and legacy of U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Ed and Daniella probe this seasoned prosecutor on a range of issues surrounding our trust in institutions. Vance also shares her thoughts on what to expect from Mueller’s investigation in the coming weeks and how much of the final report—if any—the public will get to see.

The alleged assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul has rattled the world, and attention has turned to how the U.S. government will respond. Against that tableau, Daniella and Ed sat down with Michael McFaul, the former U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Barack Obama, to break down what an American diplomatic response should be to this atrocious alleged crime. McFaul also discusses Russia’s new ideological war with the West and retells the story of when President Donald Trump almost allowed Russian President Vladimir Putin to interrogate him. Editor’s note: this interview was conducted on Monday, October 14.

Hollywood and Washington, D.C., collide in the pod this week as Ike Barinholtz stops by to discuss his new film, “The Oath,” in which he stars alongside Tiffany Haddish, and for which he earned his first major movie directing credit. The writer/director/actor talks about the inspirations behind his satirical take on these sordid times and shares how his early aspiration of being a politician shaped his political engagement—and rampant media consumption—in today’s climate. No spoilers, all laughs.

Michael Steele is probably not who you’d usually expect to be our guest, but these are unusual times. The former Republican National Committee chairman and lieutenant governor of Maryland—and the first African American elected to statewide office in Maryland—joined the pod this week to discuss the present chaos riddling the ranks of the conservative movement with President Donald Trump at the helm and how that disorder has impacted his efforts to motivate voters of color. In fact, he doesn’t even try anymore. Come for the bipartisan conversation, stay for Steele’s take on Kanye.

The pod is in New York City for the second annual Smart On Crime Innovations Conference—an annual convening to change the criminal justice system to be fairer and more just, comprehensive, and effective. Ed and Daniella were lucky to be joined by Valerie Jarrett, formerly the senior adviser to President Barack Obama, and Michael Tubbs, the 28-year-old mayor of Stockton, California. Mayor Tubbs offers his personal philosophy for how leadership at the local level can move the needle on criminal justice reform, and Jarrett provides her take on the ongoing sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh and what they portend for the future of the Supreme Court and the country. Finally, we all find common ground in a certain hit television series. And attention: spoiler alerts within, but don't worry—they're from last season.

As the U.N. General Assembly kicks off this week, Daniella and Ed sat down with Ambassador Wendy Sherman—the former under secretary of state for political affairs and the first woman to hold that post—to reflect on the most recent diplomatic goings-on in North Korea and Iran and how this administration has hamstrung American leadership abroad. As the former lead negotiator for the Iran nuclear deal, Ambassador Sherman discusses her new book, "Not For The Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power, and Persistence," and weighs in on how she learned to embrace power as a woman in Washington.