While there has been a lot of attention given to coastal states and cities that have been affected by COVID-19, the pandemic has affected the entire nation. To discuss how the south has been overwhelmed by COVID-19, we FEATURE Dr. Mana Kasongo. Dr. Kasongo is a board-certified emergency physician as well as a nationally published writer. Presently, Dr. Kasongo is an attending physician at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, Georgia. She received her medical degree from Rush Medical School and completed her residency in emergency medicine from New York University in 2006. Media includes: Black Star News, InStyle Magazine, Newsweek, ABC.

In an effort to track the spread of COVID-19 some governments, telecommunications companies, and phone apps have been tracking people. To discuss the privacy issues this raises by these developments, we FEATURE Lisa A. Hayes. Hayes is Vice President, Strategy & General Counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT), working to champion individual rights and liberties in the digital age. Hayes leads CDT’s litigation practice, helping to inform courts about issues where technological advances are outpacing the law. Her recent work includes efforts to limit government surveillance, advance consumer privacy, protect free expression online, and preserve net neutrality. Media includes: The Washington Post, Seattle Times, NPR, Fox News.

There is concern over whether people with disabilities will be able to get the care they need as hospital staff become overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. To discuss, we FEATURE Emily Ladau. Ladau is a passionate disability rights activist, writer, speaker, and digital communications consultant whose career began at the age of 10, when she appeared on several episodes of Sesame Street to educate children about her life with a physical disability. Ladau is dedicated to harnessing the powers of communication and social media as tools for people of all abilities to become informed and engaged about disability and social justice issues. She is the Editor in Chief of the Rooted in Rights Blog, a platform focused on amplifying authentic writing on disability rights issues. Media includes: The New York Times, SELF, Salon, Variety, Huffington Post, NPR.

Many restaurant workers have lost their jobs and income as restaurants are forced to close across the country because of the pandemic. To discuss how to help these workers, we FEATURE Saru Jayaraman. Jayaraman is the Co-Founder and President of One Fair Wage, which is providing emergency cash assistance to low-wage service workers, the co-founder of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United), and Director of the Food Labor Research Center at the University of California, Berkeley. She has been fighting to raise wages and working conditions for restaurant and other service workers for nearly 20 years. Media includes: The New York Times, Democracy Now!, MSNBC, CNN, PBS.

Economists at the Federal Reserve have estimated that the unemployment rate could be 32 percent, which is higher than it was during the Great Depression. To discuss, we FEATURE Elisabeth Jacobs. Jacobs is a Senior Fellow at The Urban Institute where she focuses on issues related to family economic security and economic mobility. Previously, she was Senior Director, Research, and Senior Fellow at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth. She was responsible for developing and executing Equitable Growth’s strategic vision, connecting empirically-driven research on the impacts of economic inequality to public policy debates and outcomes. Prior to joining Equitable Growth, Jacobs was a Fellow in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution, where she conducted research on economic mobility, inequality, long-term unemployment, workforce development policy, and the politics of economic inequality, amongst other issues. Media includes: National Journal, NPR.

Congress has decided to put more than $12 billion into federal housing and rental assistance to keep people from getting evicted during the pandemic. To discuss, we FEATURE Leah Goodridge. Goodridge is the Supervising Attorney of the Housing Project at Mobilization for Justice (formerly known as MFY Legal Services). Her work includes litigating a case to strengthen the rights of relative caregivers in public housing and authoring an amicus brief in Matter of Marine Holdings LLC v. New York City Commission on Human Rights to support disability laws for tenants—both cases were heard at the New York State Court of Appeals. In 2018, Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Leah to serve on the New York City Rent Guidelines Board to advocate for rent stabilized tenants across the city. Extensive media experience.

As doctors and scientists search for a vaccine for COVID-19, we FEATURE Robin Feldman to discuss how a vaccine can be distributed widely and affordably. Feldman is the Arthur J. Goldberg Distinguished Professor of Law and Director of the UC Hastings Center for Innovation. Her work focuses on the role of intellectual property law in technology and innovation, drug pricing and health care law, and artificial intelligence and data. Feldman has published four books, Drugs, Money, & Secret Handshakes: The Unstoppable Growth of Prescription Drug Prices (Cambridge 2019); Drug Wars: How Big Pharma Raises Prices & Keeps Generics Off the Market (Cambridge 2017), Rethinking Patent Law (Harvard 2012) and The Role of Science in Law (Oxford 2009). Media includes: The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, The Hill.f

Workers from Amazon and Instacart went on strike Monday to demand better pay and protective gear to prevent infection. Both companies have been overwhelmed with orders since many shelter-in-place orders are in effect across the country. To discuss, we FEATURE Erica Smiley. As the Executive Director of Jobs With Justice, Smiley is known for developing innovative strategies to expand collective bargaining power—including strategies that position working people to negotiate directly with the corporate actors that impact all aspects of their lives. She also teaches a class on Contemporary Labor Studies at the City University of New York (CUNY) via the Joseph S. Murphy Institute. And as a fellow with the Women in Labor Leadership (WILL Empower) program, she is working with leaders at Rutgers University and Georgetown University on a project to better expand on collective bargaining as a pillar of a healthy democracy. Media includes: The Washington Free Beacon, Chicago Tribune, Reuters, MSNBC.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that Texas can continue to label abortions as non-essential procedures during the pandemic. This followed a federal judge on Monday blocking three states—Texas, Ohio, and Alabama—from labeling abortions as non-essential procedures during COVID-19. To discuss, we FEATURE Jessica Arons. Arons is the ACLU’s Senior Advocacy & Policy Counsel for Reproductive Freedom. In this role, she supports ACLU affiliates with policy needs; coordinates strategic initiatives; and works to leverage and integrate advocacy, litigation, and organizing strategies regarding reproductive health, rights, and justice. Most recently, she served as president & CEO of the Reproductive Health Technologies Project and director of the Women’s Health & Rights program at the Center for American Progress. Media includes: The Nation, Politico, The Baltimore Sun, MSNBC, NPR, Fox News.

March 31st was Equal Pay Day. To discuss the gender pay gap, we FEATURE Evelyn Murphy. Murphy, author of Getting Even: Why Women Don't Get Paid Like Men and What To Do About It, is the founding President of the WAGE (Women Are Getting Even) Project, Inc. a national organization dedicated to eliminating the gender wage gap, and a Resident Scholar of the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. Extensive media experience.

Oil prices have lowered significantly as COVID 19 impacts demand and OPEC’s market support agreement with Russia collapses. 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. Media includes: NPR.