The coronavirus is still spreading in the U.S. and around the world. Many people are unsure how to protect themselves from the virus. To discuss, we SPOTLIGHT Susan Blumenthal. Blumenthal served as U.S. Assistant Surgeon General, Senior Global Health Advisor and the first Deputy Assistant Secretary of Women’s Health in the US Department of Health and Human Services and was a White House Advisor on Health. She is currently a Senior Fellow in Health Policy at the New America, Senior Policy and Medical Advisor at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research and Chair of the Global Health Program at the Meridian International Center where her work focuses on a broad range of public health and science issues facing the nation and world. Media includes: The New York Times, The Medical Herald, U.S. News and World Report, Elle Magazine, PBS.
Health officials are saying that the coronavirus is most deadly to people over the age of sixty. With many elderly people at risk and encouraged to stay home, we FEATURE Beth Shapiro to discuss what can be done to help. As Executive Director of Citymeals-on-Wheels, a $19.5 million New York City-based charity that provides more than 2 million hand-delivered meals every year to 18,000 frail homebound elderly, Shapiro brings to the table expertise in numerous areas including food insecurity, malnutrition, hunger and isolation among the elderly, and widespread cost implications of the country’s rapidly growing elderly population. Media includes: Bloomberg, Crain's New York Business Magazine, Associated Press, CBS, Fox News.
As many nations are taking steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, cities across the world have encouraged people to stay in the homes and practice "social distancing." During this time, many people might find it stressful or difficult to stay in for long periods of time. To discuss what to do to mitigate that stress, we FEATURE Jean Kim, MD, MA. Kim is a psychiatrist and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at George Washington University. She was formerly on the psychiatry faculty at Mount Sinai and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, and has worked with active-duty soldiers at Fort Meade, MD and diplomatic personnel at the State Department. Media includes: The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Vice, Rolling Stone, The Washington Post.
Arizona had its Democratic primary election this week. To discuss, we FEATURE Marisa Franco. Franco is a Phoenix-based organizer, writer and strategist. She is the Director and co-founder of Mijente, a digital and grassroots organizing hub for Latina/o and Chicana/o people. In her over 10 years of work as an organizer and movement builder, Franco has helped lead key grassroots organizing campaigns rooted in low-income and communities of color, characterized by their innovation and effectiveness. As Campaign Director at the National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON), Marisa helped spearhead the fight against Arizona’s SB1070 and build resistance to copycat laws in the Southeastern region in the United States. In 2012, she organized the ‘No Papers No Fear’ bus tour throughout the South en route to the Democratic National Convention (often referred to as the ‘Undocubus’). Media includes: The Washington Post, Univision, Politico, MSNBC, CNN.
Florida had its presidential primary election this week. To discuss, we FEATURE Deana Rohlinger. Rohlinger is a Professor of Sociology at Florida State University. She does research on mass media, political participation, and politics. She is the author of Abortion Politics, Mass Media, and Social Movements in America (Cambridge University Press, 2015) and dozens of scholarly and book publications that look at everything from the kinds of emails individuals sent Jeb Bush about the Terri Schiavo case to the Tea Party Movement. Her most recent book, New Media and American Society, is about how digital technology changes our relationships with one another and shapes our interactions with politicians, law enforcement, teachers, and religious leaders. Media includes: USA Today, Associated Press, U.S. News & World Report, Fortune, NPR.
Illinois had its presidential primary election this week. To discuss, we FEATURE Charlene Carruthers. Carruthers—who was born and currently resides in Chicago— is a Black, queer feminist community organizer and writer with over 10 years of experience in racial justice, feminist and youth leadership development movement work. She currently serves as the national director of the Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), an activist member-led organization of Black 18-35 year olds dedicated to creating justice and freedom for all Black people. Her passion for developing young leaders to build capacity within marginalized communities has led her to work on immigrant rights, economic justice and civil rights campaigns nationwide. Media includes: Huffington Post, The Grio, MSNBC, BBC, NPR.
U.S. troops will be moving out of three bases in Iraq in an effort to reduce the number of troops in the country. To discuss, we FEATURE Asha Castleberry. A U.S. Army veteran, Castleberry is a U.S. national security expert. Since the 2014 ISIL incursion in Iraq, she served for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve (AntiISIS Military Campaign) in Iraq and Kuwait. From December 2012 to June 2014, she served as the Kuwait Desk Officer for International Military Affairs, U.S. Army Central. In 2011, she received a student fellowship to work with the U.S. Mission to the United Nations at the State Department. Media includes: WMC Live with Robin Morgan, PS21, America Security Project.
The U.S.-China media war has escalated with Beijing pulling credentials from journalists from five major U.S. news outlets—The Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Time, and Voice of America. To discuss, we FEATURE Shanthi Kalathil. Kalathil is Director of the International Forum for Democratic Studies at the National Endowment for Democracy. Her work focuses on China's global impact, the implications to international security of growing authoritarian influence and disinformation, and the role of media, communication and technology. Kalathil has authored and edited numerous publications, including Diplomacy, Development and Security in the Information Age (Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, 2013), Developing Independent Media as an Institution of Accountable Governance (The World Bank, 2008), and (with Taylor C. Boas) Open Networks, Closed Regimes: The Impact of the Internet on Authoritarian Rule (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2003). Media includes: Voice of America, CBC, BBC, NPR.
NASA has reported that Greenland and Antarctica are losing ice at six times the rate it was in the 90s. To discuss, we FEATURE Sue Cook. Cook is a glaciologist working at the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre in Tasmania. Her research focuses on the Antarctic ice sheet, and particularly the formation of large icebergs. She earned her bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Oxford and her doctoral degree in glaciology from Swansea University. Media includes: The Conversation, ABC.
March is Women's History Month. To commemorate, we FEATURE Amy Simon. Simon, a Cultural Herstorian, is the founder and creator of SHE’S HISTORY! Inspired (and alarmed) by her ten year old daughter’s desire to do her women’s history report on Cher or Janet Jackson, Simon writes and blogs about women who make and made history. She also appears weekly on the Nicole Sandler Show with her Fabulous Female Facts. A guest commentator for American Woman In Fact And Fiction, on Pacifica Radio Archives, Simon has been interviewed by KPBS, Premiere Radio, The Woman’s Eye, and CBS Radio.
Sunday is National Single Parents Day and, with many people advised to stay in, it could be a good time to spend with family. To discuss, we FEATURE Annie Fox. Fox is an internationally respected character educator and trusted online advisor. Her award-winning books include Teaching Kids to Be Good People; Too Stressed to Think, and the ground-breaking Middle School Confidential™ book and app series. Since 1997, when she launched her first teen website, Fox has been answering teen and parenting questions from around the world. Because of her unique insight into adult-teen relationships, she is a sought-after speaker who takes equal delight connecting with students, educators, and parents. Media includes: USA Today, Teach.com, Your Teen, Fox News.
Monday is the anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act. To discuss, we FEATURE Maureen Sullivan. Sullivan is Senior Vice President, and Chief Strategy Officer for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), a national federation of 39 independent, community-based and locally operated Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies collectively providing health coverage for 100 million people – one-in-three of all Americans. She oversees BCBSA’s major strategic initiatives, including programs designed to increase healthcare quality and affordability, and is responsible for developing major growth strategies for Blue System inter-plan programs. Media includes: USA Today, Businessweek, The New York Times, Wall Street Journal.
The White House is considering sending checks to Americans in order to address the economic strain of the coronavirus. To discuss, we FEATURE Connie Razza. Razza is Chief of Campaigns and Policy for the Center for Popular Democracy and oversees CPD’s broad-ranging campaigns for economic justice and a robust, inclusive democracy, as well as the organization's research efforts. She had previously served as CPD's campaign director and research director. She has worked for economic and racial justice for nearly a quarter century, as a union activist, organizer, researcher, policy analyst, and strategist. Media includes: The New York Times, The Guardian.















