The Venezuelan presidential crisis is still ongoing. To discuss, we FEATURE Shannon O'Neil. O'Neil is the Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies and Director of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher. Her expertise includes U.S.-Latin American relations, trade, energy, and immigration. O'Neil also directed CFR’s Independent Task Force on North America: Time for a New Focus, as well as the Independent Task Force on U.S.-Latin America Relations: A New Direction for a New Reality. Media includes: Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.

Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is refusing to resign following the discovery of a racist photo of him in a school yearbook. The photo featured a man in blackface and another man dressed as a member of the Ku Klux Klan. To discuss, we FEATURE Nadia Aziz. Aziz serves as Program Manager of the Stop Hate Project with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where she works to ensure individuals and organizations targeted by hate have the resources they need to confront hate in their communities. She writes and speaks on issues relating to the representation of minorities in politics, hate crimes, and the securitization of communities of color. Media includes: The Hill, The Huffington Post,The Ed Schultz Show.  

The Pentagon is deploying 3,750 troops to the southern border in order to strengthen border security. They will be joining the 2,300 troops that are already there. To discuss, we FEATURE Lourdes Guadalupe Martinez. Martinez is the Political Director of Mujeres Unidas y Activas, or MUA, a grassroots organization of Latina immigrant women in the San Francisco Bay Area with a double mission of promoting personal transformation and building community power for social and economic justice. Before joining MUA, Lourdes was an immigration attorney, working as an immigration legal educator with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) in San Francisco. Media includes: Univision, Telemundo, NBC Bay Area, KQED News.

The U.S. has decided to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). The treaty was originally created to put an end to the Cold War and mend U.S.-Russia relations. To discuss, we FEATURE Nina L. Khrushcheva. Khrushcheva 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 Project, which examines the contours of the current national identity of Russians and its impact on Russian politics. Media includes: NPR, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Newsweek. 

President Trump's schedules for the past three months were recently released by Axios and showed that the president spent most of his time on "Executive Time." To discuss, we FEATURE Dana L. Gold, Esq. Gold is an attorney and currently serves as the Director of Education with the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. She has unique expertise and perspective as both a whistleblower advocate and corporate governance educator on the role whistleblowers play in promoting institutional accountability and democracy. Media includes: Slate, The Hill, WNYC's On the Media, KUOW, NowThis Politics.

Pope Francis is in the United Arab Emirates, a first visit for any pope. To discuss, we FEATURE Gina Messina Dysert. Messina Dysert is Assistant Professor of Religion and Gender Studies at Ursuline College where she formerly served as Dean. She has taught at multiple universities and is also co-founder of Feminism and Religion, the global project that explores the “F-word” in religion and the intersection between scholarship, activism, and community; now with readers in 181 countries. She has given serious attention to issues faced by women in relation to religion, politics and social justice and is also recognized as an expert on Catholicism and Pope Francis. Media includes: Tavis Smiley, MSNBC, Boston Public Radio, the TEDx Stage.

February is Black History Month and, to commemorate, we FEATURE Koritha Mitchell. Mitchell is an associate professor of English at Ohio State University. Her research centers on African American literature, racial violence in United States history and contemporary culture, and black drama and performance. She examines how texts, both written and performed, help targeted communities to survive and thrive. She earned her PhD at the University of Maryland-College Park and is author of the award-winning book Living with Lynching: African American Lynching Plays, Performance, and Citizenship, 1890 - 1930. Media includes:  ColorLines, The Feminist Wire, Feministing, Vox, PBS.   

The measles outbreak in Washington has spread to 48 cases. The majority of those with the illness were not vaccinated against the disease. To discuss, we FEATURE Gloria Tavera. Tavera is a MD/PhD student at Case Western Reserve University and was recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30 Healthcare in 2017 for her work with Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM), a global group of university students and academics organizing for public control over medicine and its pricing. She was an early member of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines (UAEM) and founded a UAEM chapter at the University of Florida in 2005 and now fosters the chapter at Case Western. Media includes: TVR2C, Malaria Journal, The Sound of Ideas.

Today is the 26th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act, which has given workers the ability to take up to 12 weeks of protected leave. To discuss, we FEATURE Deborah England. England is the co-author of The Essential Guide to Family & Medical Leave (Nolo 2007), a comprehensive guide to the Family and Medical Leave Act and related laws. She is a civil rights attorney in San Francisco, California, with a private practice focusing on employment discrimination, sexual harassment and family and medical leave law. For the past 21 years, England has represented individuals challenging illegal actions by some of the largest corporate and governmental employers in the country. Media includes: Nolo, KALW Radio, Los Angeles Daily Journal, The Recorder.