
The March For Our Lives took place this past weekend to highlight the number of people who die from gun violence in America. While the march was initiated by students from Parkland, it was organized in conjunction with anti-gun youth activists from Chicago, L.A. and D.C. with speakers highlighting gun violence in economically disadvantaged communities as well as in schools across the country. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHTCharlene Carruthers. Charlene is a community organizer and writer with over 10 years of experience in racial justice, feminist and youth leadership development movement work. She currently serves as the national director of the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), an activist member-led organization of Black 18-35 year olds dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people. Media includes: NPR, MSNBC, BBC World News.

Following the poisoning of a former Russian spy in the U.K., the U.S. is expelling 60 Russian diplomats from the Russian consulate in Washington and the UN in New York. To discuss, we FEATURE Nina L. Khrushcheva. Nina is a professor in the Graduate Program of International Affairs at the New School, where she teaches courses on International Media, Comparative Propaganda, Culture and Capitalism, Film and Empire, and Russia’s Contemporary Politics and History. She is also a senior fellow of the World Policy Institute, where she heads the Russia Projects, which examines the contours of the current national identity of Russians and its impact on Russian politics. Media includes: Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Nation, Wall Street Journal, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times.

A proposed Ohio abortion bill will ban all abortions in the state, even for pregnancies that resulted from rape or incest or to save a woman's life. The bill would also make it possible to charge women that seek abortions or doctors who perform abortions with murder. To discuss, we FEATURE Renee Bracey Sherman. Renee is an award-winning reproductive justice activist and the author of Saying Abortion Aloud: Research and Recommendations for Public Abortion Storytellers and Organizations. Bracey Sherman holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Cornell University and currently sits on the board of NARAL Pro-Choice America Foundation. Media includes: BBC, The Guardian, EBONY, Salon, Fusion, TIME, The Atlantic.

Stephon Clark, an unarmed black man, was fatally shot by police officers in Sacramento, Calif. He was reportedly shot 20 times in his grandmother's backyard by two police officers who claim to have mistaken his cellphone for a gun. To discuss, we FEATURE Judy Lubin, PhD, MPH. Dr. Lubin is a policy analyst, sociologist and president of Public Square Communications, a Washington, D.C. area boutique research, communications and public policy consulting firm. Dr. Lubin is also co-founder of Sociologists for Justice, an independent collective of nearly 2000 experts, researchers and distinguished scholars organized in response to the epidemic of police brutality in communities of color. Media includes: The Wall Street Journal, NBC, PBS.org, Baltimore Sun, Ebony Magazine, theRoot.com, Chicago Sun Times, XM Satellite Radio.

The U.S. and Chinese governments are facing a disagreement over the latters' Made in China 2025 plan-- which the U.S. claims is breaking international rules. The disagreement may lead to tariffs on imports into the U.S. which would impact international trade. To discuss, we FEATURE Ann Lee. Ann is an internationally recognized leading authority on China’s economic relations and an adjunct professor of economics and finance at New York University. She is also a former visiting professor at Peking University where she taught macroeconomics and financial derivatives. She consults with policymakers from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and the U.S. about U.S.-China relations, international finance and trade, and China’s political economy. Media includes: MSNBC, Bloomberg, ABC, CBS, CNN, CNBC, Fox Business, NPR, CCTV, BBC.

Following the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal that saw the companies data mining its users, Facebook is in the midst of an investigation into it's privacy practices. To discuss, we FEATUREChristina Gagnier. Christina leads the Intellectual Property, Internet & Technology practice at Gagnier Margossian LLP, with a specialization in copyright, information privacy and social media. Christina consults technology companies on policy issues ranging from patent law reform to communications issues, such as Network Neutrality. Christina’s primary research concerns issues of cyber rights and the intersection of on and offline action. Media incldues: MSNBC, The Atlantic, Politico, Ars Technica, Inc.com The New York Times.

World Autism Awareness Day is coming up on April 2nd and we FEATURE Susan L. Parish, PhD, MSW. Susan is the Dean and Professor of Health Sciences at Bouvé College of Health Sciences, Northeastern University. Prior, she was the Nancy Lurie Marks Professor of Disability Policy and Director of the Lurie Institute for Disability Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management, at Brandeis University. Her research examines the health and financial well-being of children and adults with disabilities, and their caregiving families. Her work, supported by more than $12.3 million of external funding over the past decade, has resulted in more than 130 articles, book chapters, policy briefs and monographs, including more than 90 scholarly articles in peer-reviewed journals. Media includes: PBS NewsHour, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, Psychology Today, the Huffington Post.

Bill Cosby's sexual assault retrial is scheduled to start on April 2nd. To discuss, we FEATURE Lisalyn R. Jacobs. Lisalyn is the CEO of Just Solutions: Bringing in justice to counteract injustice, and the former V.P. of Government Relations for Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund). She has testified before congressional committees at both the state and federal levels. She has also fought for and secured needed protections for poor women and survivors of violence in a number of key federal laws including two reauthorizations of the Violence Against Women Act (2005 and 2013), the 2006 reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and the 2009 amendments to the Stimulus law. Media includes: the New York Times, NPR, MSNBC, CNN, Fox, Huffington Post.