Israeli protesters, government bodies, and people across the globe continue to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Rebecca Vilkomerson. Vilkomerson has been working in social justice movement organizations for over two decades, most recently as the executive director of Jewish Voice for Peace from 2009-2019. She authored Funding Freedom: Philanthropy and the Palestinian Freedom Movement, a report published by Solidaire in 2022. Her book Solidarity is the Political Form of Love: Lessons from Jewish Anti-Zionist Organizing, co-authored with Rabbi Alissa Wise, will be published by Haymarket Books in 2024. Media includes: The Los Angeles Times, CNN.com, The Nation, The Hill, Huffington Post, Tikkun and Zeek, CNN.
Christian Ziegler, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, has been stripped of his duties and salaries following accusations of sexual assault. 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, Huffington Post, MSNBC, CNN, NPR.
Republican and Democratic Senate leaders are continuing discussions over changes to U.S. immigration policies. The proposed changes would no longer allow a path to citizenship and expand detentions and deportations. To discuss, we FEATURE Amanda Baran. Baran is an attorney who engages in policy analysis and advocacy for immigrant and women's rights. She worked at the Department of Homeland Security for almost ten years where she held a number of significant positions including chief of public engagement at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and worked with the Department of Homeland Security Agency Review Team for the Biden-Harris Transition Team. Prior, she was principal director of immigration policy for the Department's Office of Policy. Media includes: The Hill, The Los Angeles Times, VOA Noticias, Rewire.News.
Activision Blizzard has agreed to settle for $54M in a workplace discrimination case. The video game publisher was accused of workplace discrimination in a lawsuit that alleges the company allowed sexual harassment, discrimination and retaliation. To discuss, we FEATURE Jae Lin. Lin is the programs manager at Feminist Frequency, advocating for a more just and equitable media landscape and the end of abuse in the games industry. They helped to launch Feminist Frequency's initiative, the Games and Online Harassment Hotline, which offers free, confidential emotional support to anyone who makes or plays games. Media includes: Mxiety, Austin Chronicle, The 1099, Tiny Island Diary.
Activist and publisher Jimmy Lai will be facing trial in Hong Kong. Lai founded Apple Daily, a pro-democracy newspaper, and was arrested in 2020 under a new national security law. To discuss, we FEATURE Afra Zhao Wang. Wang is a writer, researcher, and podcaster. As a writer, Wang covers a wide range of issues such as nationalism, gender, Chinese millennials, U.S. politics, and social changes in U.S. and China. In 2017, she was awarded “Editorial Excellence” from The Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA), the most prestigious journalism award in Asia. As a historian, Afra’s master’s dissertation focuses on contemporary US-China, UK-China relations and soft power regarding the negotiation over Hong Kong’s sovereignty. Media includes: The New York Times Chinese Website, Initium Media, Iris Magazine.
The planned removal of a confederate memorial from Arlington National Cemetery has been temporarily halted by a federal judge. To discuss, we FEATURE Sarah Beetham. Beetham is an assistant professor of art history at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, specializing in American art and particularly the monuments erected to citizen soldiers after the Civil War. Her current book project, Monumental Crisis: Accident, Vandalism, and the Civil War Citizen Soldier, focuses on the ways in which post-Civil War soldier monuments have served as flashpoints for heated discussion of American life and culture in the 150 years since the end of the war. She has been interviewed regarding her work on Civil War monuments and the current debate over the future of Confederate monuments in several outlets, including The Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, Architectural Digest, and Mic.
Liz Theran
