The Mueller investigation continues this week with ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort appearing in court on Tuesday and Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen appearing in court on Wednesday. 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, Dana is also a former Network Fellow with Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics. Media includes: Slate, The Hill, WNYC's On the Media, KUOW, NowThis Politics.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to accept an appeal brought by Republican-led states that are trying to prevent Medicaid recipients from receiving medical services from Planned Parenthood. To discuss, we FEATURE Robin Marty. Marty is a freelance writer, speaker and activist, and the author of Crow After Roe: How Women’s Health Is the New “Separate But Equal” and How to Change That. Marty facilitates workshops on reproductive justice activism in red and rural state settings, reframing the debate around reproductive rights, and speaks both individually and on panels addressing the current landscape of reproductive rights legislation as well as her research on and interviews with prominent anti-abortion rights groups and activists. Media includes: Politico, Rolling Stone, Ms. Magazine, Talking Points Memo, Truth Out, ThinkProgress.

President Macron has announced concessions to the “gilets jaunes” (yellow vest) movement following protests across France that have been ongoing for the past 4 weeks. To discuss, we FEATURE Terri Givens. Givens is a Professor at the University of Texas at Austin. As a scholar, she focuses on the global politics of immigration, European politics, international relations and party politics. Her publications include Voting Radical Right in Western Europe, Immigration Policy and Security and Legislating Equality: The Politics of Antidiscrimination Policy in Europe. Media includes: BBC, PBS, NPR. 

A video was released recently that showed Jazmine Headley being held on the floor in a Brooklyn public assistance center as the NYPD pulled her 1-year-old child from her arms. The mother was looking to arrange city-funded daycare for her child so he would be looked after while she worked. To discuss, we FEATURE Chantá Parker. Parker is the Special Counsel for New Initiatives at the Innocence Project in New York, NY. In this position, she directs the development of strategies by using the unique lens of innocence to address three main problems: the growing crisis in indigent defense, racial bias in the criminal justice system, and how this massive system forces many people, including the innocent, to plead guilty to misdemeanors. Media includes: The Gambit, New Orleans Times-Picayune.

Meng Wanzhou, who is the CFO of Chinese tech company Huawei, was recently arrested in Canada in relation to trade sanctions between Iran and the U.S. To discuss, we FEATURE Susan Shirk. Shirk is Ho Miu Lam Professor of China and Pacific Relations and Director of the 21st China Program at the University of California, San Diego School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. Shirk's publications include her books,China: Fragile Superpower; The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China; How China Opened Its Door: The Political Success of the PRC's Foreign Trade and Investment Reforms; Competitive Comrades: Career Incentives and Student Strategies in China. Media includes: The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times.

World leaders are meeting in Poland to discuss climate politics in the COP24 climate conference. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Achala Abeysinghe. Dr. Abeysinghe is a Principal Researcher and Team Leader of Climate Law, Policy and Governance Programme at International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), London. Dr. Abeysinghe also works as the legal advisor to the Chair of the Least Developed Countries Group-a group of 48 countries, in the UN climate change negotiations. Her research interests are in legal issues in the UN climate change negotiations, issues related to equity & fairness, adaptation to climate change and finance for climate change adaptation. Media includes: The Conversation, Dhaka Tribune. 

Stocks in the global market have dropped this past week, with markets across Europe and Asia ending the week in the negative. To discuss, we FEATURE Kathryn Lavelle. Lavelle is the Ellen and Dixon Long professor of World Affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her research explores the exchange between economic and political institutions with a particular emphasis on global financial issues. Lavelle’s first book, The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets, explored the political circumstances that surround large issues of stock in the developing world. While in Washington during 2006-2007, she worked on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services on issues related to domestic and international monetary policy. Media includes: Dialogue, NPR.

State Republicans in Michigan and Wisconsin are trying to limit the powers of newly elected Democratic officials. To discuss, we FEATURE Jennifer Epps-Addison. A leader with deep roots in Milwaukee, Epps-Addison is currently the Network President and Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy. Formely, she was the Chief Program Officer of the Liberty Hill Foundation, a social justice foundation in Los Angeles that funds grassroots community organizing campaigns for social change. She was also the Executive Director of Wisconsin Jobs Now, a nonprofit fighting for social and economic justice with collective, direct action as a fundamental organizing principle. Media includes: MSNBC, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Politico, NPR. 

A recent "60 Minutes"  broadcast featured a report on how screens (such as televisions, computers, smartphones, etc.) can a negative impact on kids' development. To discuss, we FEATURE Yalda T. Uhls, PhD. Dr. Uhls is an award winning child psychological researcher and an expert in how media affects children. Dr. Uhls’ research with UCLA focuses on how older and newer media impacts the social behavior of preadolescents. She also works with Common Sense Media, the national non-profit, on their entertainment outreach. Her new book, Media Moms & Digital Dads, which was an Amazon #1 New Release in Child Psychology, distills peer-reviewed academic research focused on the impact of technology on children, breaking down the complex issues in a friendly, accessible fashion. Media includes: MSNBC, NY Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times.