On Sunday, G-7 leaders met and committed to phasing out Russian oil and gas imports as a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. To discuss, we FEATURE Tamara Toles O’Laughlin. Toles O’Laughlin is an internationally recognized environmental advocate and climate strategist focused on people and planet. Her niche in environmental work is developing high impact programs and multimedia campaigns to dismantle privilege and increase opportunities for vulnerable populations to access healthy air, clean energy, and a toxic free economy at the local, regional and national level. Among her activities, she is founder of ClimateCritical.Earth, a visionary new organization that is supporting the next generation of climate leadership. She is an Advisory Board Member at Climate Refugees, and Senior Advisor of the Green Leadership Trust, which builds a more powerful environmental movement by expanding the leadership of Black, Indigenous and people of color serving on US environmental nonprofit boards. She is a member of the World Economic Forum, Global Future Councils group. In June 2021, Toles O’Laughlin was appointed President and CEO of the Environmental Grantmakers Association. Media includes: Rolling Stone, The Hill, The Young Turks, Grist, Politico.

On Monday, the Biden administration announced the Affordable Connectivity Program, which will partner with internet providers to cap the cost of internet for low-income Americans. To discuss, we FEATURE Cynthia A. Dill. Dill has been a practicing attorney and counselor at law in good standing for over 25 years. She worked locally to expand high-speed Internet to rural Maine, having sponsored first-in-the-nation laws that created the renowned public-private Three Ring Binder project. Dill currently represents individuals, businesses, and veterans in complex civil litigation, before governmental bodies and in the media. In addition to practicing law and advocating for economic and social justice, Dill writes a regular column for the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram and is a weekly political commentator for Maine Public. Media includes: Bangor Daily News, BBC, CBC.

USA Today has published a list of nine midterm candidates, either running for Congress or governor, who have faced allegations of sexual misconduct or abuse. To discuss, we FEATURE Lisalyn R. Jacobs. Jacobs 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, The Huffington Post, NPR, MSNBC, CNN, Fox.

WNBA star Brittany Griner has been held in Russia since February after being accused of having drugs in her luggage. The U.S. State Department has determined that Griner was wrongfully detained and is working to have her released. To discuss, we FEATURE Brianne Todd. Todd is an Assistant Professor of Central Asian Studies at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at the National Defense University, where her areas of expertise include transnational threats and regional security issues in Central Asia, Russia, and the Caucasus. Before joining the NESA Center in January 2010, she worked at the Center for Political-Military Analysis at the Hudson Institute, where she analyzed U.S. and foreign defense, intelligence, and homeland security and counter-terrorism policies; and the Eurasian Strategy Project, where she focused on Eurasian political and security issues. Additionally, she previously worked for the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC, where she was awarded the Franklin Award, and the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia. Extensive media experience.

Firefighters are working to contain two wildfires that are blazing across New Mexico. Fast winds are making the work more difficult. To discuss, we FEATURE Tiffany Yap. Yap is a senior scientist and a wildlife corridor advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. As a conservation scientist, Tiffany is passionate about protecting biodiversity and environmental health, especially in the wildland urban interface. She is an expert on mountain lions, amphibians, wildlife connectivity, and wildfire. Yap has been interviewed on how human activities and land use affect wildfire risk, particularly in the wildland-urban interface, as well as the impacts of wildlife trade on amphibians and amphibian disease spread. Media includes: The Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, San Francisco Chronicle, CBS, NPR.

Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., the son of disgraced former dictator Ferdinand Marcos, has been elected to replace President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines. Duterte's daughter, Sara, is his vice presidential pick. To discuss, we FEATURE Nina Hachigian. Hachigian was appointed Deputy Mayor of Los Angeles with responsibility for international affairs in August 2017. Between 2014 and 2017 she was United States Ambassador to the Association of South East Asian Nations and before that Hachigian was a Senior Fellow at American Progress. She focuses on great power relationships, international institutions, the U.S.-China relationship, and U.S. foreign policy. Media includes: All Things Considered, Voice of America, BBC.

In a decree issued by the Taliban, Afghan women will now have to cover their faces and bodies completely in public. They have also shut down girls' high schools, making it impossible for women and girls to receive an education. To discuss, we FEATURE Lina AbiRafeh. AbiRafeh is Executive Director of the Arab Institute for Women at the Lebanese American University, established in 1973 as the first women’s institute in the Arab region – and one of the first globally. She is a published author and TEDx Speaker. Her latest book, Freedom on the Frontlines: Afghan Women and the Fallacy of Liberation, was published in February 2022. AbiRafeh completed her doctoral work from the London School of Economics and published “Gender and International Aid in Afghanistan: The Politics and Effects of Intervention” based on her research. She is an accomplished feminist leader with over 20 years’ international experience in women’s rights and gender equality – particularly focused on ending violence against women in humanitarian emergencies. Media includes: Al Jazeera, The Conversaton, France 24, CNN.

Yesterday was A Day Without Child Care—a day dedicated to child care providers, parents, and families calling for living wages for child care workers, affordable child care for families, and an equitable child care system that takes racial justice into account. To discuss, we FEATURE Barbara G. Kline. Kline is the President of White House Nannies, Inc. Barbara has been helping Washington DC area families and businesses find outstanding childcare and household staff since 1985. She is a current Association of Premier Nanny Agencies (APNA) board member and is the Chair of their Ethics Committee. She is also a current member and former board member of the International Nanny Association (INA). Media includes: The New York Times, The Washinton Post, New York Post, CNN, NPR.

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To commemorate, we FEATURE Helen Zia. Zia is a writer, community activist, and Fulbright Scholar. She spent 12 years researching and writing Last Boat out of Shanghai, visiting China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on numerous occasions. A longtime journalist, she is also the author of Asian American Dreams: The Emergence of an American People. She coauthored, with Wen Ho Lee, My Country Versus Me, which reveals what can happen to Chinese Americans who are falsely accused of being a spies for China. The daughter of immigrants from China, Helen's work on the 1980s Asian American landmark civil rights case of anti-Asian violence is featured in the Academy Award-nominated documentary Who Killed Vincent Chin? and she was profiled in Bill Moyers' PBS series, Becoming American: The Chinese Experience. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, Essence, The Advocate, OUT.