Two COVID-19 vaccines have shown promise during clinical trials, with Moderna announcing a vaccine a week after Pfizer and BioNTech announced theirs. To discuss, we FEATURE Elena Conis, PhD. Conis is an expert on the history of public health, vaccines and vaccination, epidemic diseases, and scientific controversies. She is a professor in the Graduate School of Journalism and the Center for Science, Technology, Medicine and Society at the University of California, Berkeley, where she also directs the joint graduate program in Journalism and Public Health. A former journalist, award-winning columnist, and historian, she studies how culture, values, politics, and media have shaped modern American medicine, public health, and environmentalism over time, and how scientific ideas about health and medicine are communicated to and received by the public in the present. Media includes: TIME, Bloomberg, NPR.

Donald Trump's attorney has dropped major parts of his lawsuit challenging the Pennsylvania election results, removing allegations that election officials violated the Trump campaign's constitutional rights by limiting the ability of observers to watch the count. Additionally, four lawsuits filed by conservative lawyer James Bopp Jr, in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin, were also dropped. To discuss, we FEATURE Dana L. Gold. 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. In addition to having represented and/or worked with dozens of whistleblowers over the past 25 years, Gold is also a former Network Fellow with Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics and the co-founder and former Director of the Center on Corporations, Law & Society at Seattle University School of Law. Media includes: Columbia Journalism Review, The Hill, NowThis, Slate, WNYC.

Activists gathered in the streets of Baldwin, Louisiana, after Quawan "Bobby" Charles, a 15-year old Black boy, was found dead. To discuss, we FEATURE Trina Greene Brown. Brown is a proud Black-feminist Mama-activist. In 2016, she founded Parenting for Liberation a platform for Black parents, which engages in a multi-media strategy, currently consisting of a blog, iTunes podcast, a self-published workbook, and in- person trainings and conferences. Brown is a leader on the rise and she’s taking Black parents and children along with her to higher heights. Bridging her 15 years of professional experience as a youth organizer in ending violence with her personal role as a parent of two Black children. Extensive media experience.

The British equal rights commission has ruled that there was no unlawful pay discrimination at the BBC. To discuss, we FEATURE Noreen Farrell. Farrell is the Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), one of the nation’s leading women’s rights organization, where she has led landmark litigation and policy reform efforts to improve the lives of women and girls at work and school. Noreen has written extensively on women’s economic issues, including discrimination based on pregnancy, pay, and caregiver status. Media includes: The New York Times, ProPublica, The Huffington Post, NBC.

The British equal rights commission has ruled that there was no unlawful pay discrimination at the BBC. To discuss, we FEATURE Noreen Farrell. Farrell is the Executive Director of Equal Rights Advocates (ERA), one of the nation’s leading women’s rights organization, where she has led landmark litigation and policy reform efforts to improve the lives of women and girls at work and school. Noreen has written extensively on women’s economic issues, including discrimination based on pregnancy, pay, and caregiver status. Media includes: The New York Times, ProPublica, The Huffington Post, NBC.

More than 82,000 people have come forward with sex abuse allegations against the Boy Scouts of America. To discuss, we FEATURE Rev. Penny Ruth W. Njoroge. Njoroge has been a Counseling Psychologist/psychotherapist/group therapist (in mental health) for over 25 years. She is a Board Certified Therapist in Substance Abuse and Addictions; Death and Grief; Marriage and Family, as well as Crisis Intervention with many years of mentoring and empowering abused women and children, and Youth Mentoring (received Birmingham Mayor’s Hidden Heroes for mentoring). Media includes: Westbow Press, Uzima Press, ABC.

A Space X capsule with three astronauts from NASA and one from Japan on board, has docked with the International Space Station. To disuss, we FEATURE Dr. Edythe E. Weeks. Weeks is a professor, space law scholar and author, and is working to raise pre-awareness and stimulate knowledge inclusion for a broad range of people throughout the global general public about outer space development. Weeks teaches at Washington University, Webster University and Northern Arizona University on International Law and Politics of Outer Space; The New Space Rush; Introduction to International Relations; African Americans and the Law; and Diversity, Politics and Law. Media includes: Arizona Daily Sun, PR Newswire.

With the ongoing pandemic and the upcoming holidays, many people might be stressing more than usual about holiday plans and travelling. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Donna L. Hamilton. The ultimate health and wellness guide, Dr. Hamilton, MD has a mission to help everyone live the healthy, satisfying lives they’re meant to lead. A dynamic speaker and wellness luminary, Dr. Hamilton retired her white coat and stethoscope and now teaches women what it really means to be healthy and how to do it in a way that addresses their unique needs. Dr. Hamilton’s easy, practical tips assist with assessing the entire wellness landscape and appropriately planning your personal wellness journey. Her workbook, Wellness Your Way, combines evidence based coaching skills with her primary care wisdom, assisting readers on their wellness journey. Media includes: Whole Living Magazine, More Magazine, MSNBC.

The Trump administration is planning to auction off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge before President-election Joe Biden takes office. This would open the area to oil and gas firms for drilling. To discuss, we FEATURE Victoria Herrmann. Herrmann is the President & Managing Director of The Arctic Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to Arctic security research, and is currently embedded as a Fellow at the Polar Research Board of the National Academies of Sciences. As a National Geographic Explorer, she was the principle investigator for America's Eroding Edges, a research and storytelling project on coastal climate change adaptation and cultural heritage in the US and US Territories. Media includes: The Washington Post, CNN, BBC, NPR.

Last week Donald Trump sought advice from officials on whether had options to take action against Iran's main nuclear base. To discuss, we FEATURE Samantha Pitts-Kiefer. Pitts-Kiefer is the Director of the Global Nuclear Policy Program at the Nuclear Threat Initiative where she leads programming on nuclear weapons policy. She helped lead NTI’s analysis related to the Nuclear Security Summit process and helped develop new projects on cybersecurity of nuclear facilities and nuclear command and control. She is an expert on nuclear security governance and international law. Media includes: Huffington Post, The Drew Mariani Show, CCTV America.

Donald Trump is planning to cut a significant number of troops from Afghistan in the coming weeks. To discuss, we FEATURE Kirsten A. Holmstedt. Holmstedt is an expert in women serving in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Holmstedt is the author of Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq, published in July 2007 by Stackpole Books. This book recounts the experiences of 12 women—U.S. soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airwomen—who fought in combat in Iraq, 12 of more than 167,000 U.S. military women who have served there. Holmstedt built Band of Sisters: American Women at War in Iraq from hours of detailed interviews with each of the women profiled. Media includes: The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, C-SPAN, BBC, NPR.

The FBI released a report revealing that hate crimes in the U.S. reached the highest level in more than a decade. To discuss, we FEATURE Nadia Aziz. Aziz serves as Policy Counsel 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, Huffington Post, The Ed Schultz Show, The Greenville News, CNN.