On Saturday, Kansas police raided the office of local newspaper the Marion County Record. There was no subpeona and the raid has been deemed illegal by the newspaper. The raid has raised concerns about freedom of press and the First Amendment. To discuss, we FEATURE Chris Demaske. Demaske is a former journalist and an associate professor of communication in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences and affiliate faculty in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington. She is a nationally recognized First Amendment law scholar whose work seeks to reconceptualize First Amendment law in a manner that more fully protects and supports free speech for everyone, especially for members of racial, ethnic, gendered and religious groups typically marginalized, silenced or vilified in U.S. society. Her investigations cover a spectrum of free speech topics including internet pornography, social media regulation, free speech zones, political dissident speech, high school censorship, academic freedom, incitement, and true threats. Media includes: Seattle Times, Jackson Clarion Ledger, Pittsburgh Post Gazette, Uniontown Herald Standard.

Kim Jong Un has called for an increase in North Korea's missile production. To discuss, we FEATURE Duyeon Kim. Kim is an adjunct senior fellow with the Indo-Pacific Security Program at CNAS based in Seoul. Her expertise includes the two Koreas, nuclear nonproliferation, arms control, East Asian relations and geopolitics, U.S. nuclear policy, and security. She is a columnist for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and a visiting professor at the Yonsei University Graduate School of International Studies teaching Regional Security Regimes in Europe and Asia as well as Deterrence and Negotiations with North Korea: Theory and Practice. Kim was an associate in the nuclear policy and Asia programs at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and previously a senior fellow and deputy director of non-proliferation at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in Washington, DC. She is a member of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) U.S. Committee, the Fissile Materials Working Group, and the National Committee on North Korea. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Donga Ilbo, Japan Times, CNN, BBC, KBS.

Below Deck Down Under aired an episode last week that showed the TV producers intervening in two instances of sexual misconduct by crew members of the superyacht. The members have since been fired. To discuss, we FEATURE Carol L. Finklehoffe. Finklehoffe is a partner at Lipcon, Margulies and Winkleman, P.A. who has been practicing for 30 years in both the state and federal courts throughout Florida, California and Massachusetts. Finklehoffe is an “AV” rated trial attorney who is a certified specialist in maritime and admiralty law. The main concentration of her practice relates to complex personal injury, resort law, wrongful death, sexual assault and medical malpractice. Finklehoffe is also a skilled maritime lawyer who has developed an expertise in cases involving cruise ship passengers and maritime crew members on various types of commercial and private vessels. Finklehoffe lectures to maritime industry groups speaking on various issues, including "Prosecuting and Defending Sexual Assaults Occurring Aboard Cruise Ships," "Liability for Medical Malpractice Occurring on Cruise Ships," and "Liability for Cruise Ship Tour Operators." Extensive media experience.

At the end of this month, the first Republican primary debate is scheduled to broadcast on Fox News. To discuss, we FEATURE Leah Wright Rigueur. Rigueur is an author, historian, speaker, and SNF Agora Institute associate professor of history at the Johns Hopkins University. She is an expert in race and politics, US political and social history, African American politics and history, and riots and American backlash. She is the author of The Loneliness of the Black Republican: Pragmatic Politics and the Pursuit of Power, a book that offers a much-needed critical examination of the tense relationship that exists between African Americans and the GOP. Providing a thorough reading of black voting behavior and opinion over a 60-year period, Wright’s book also analyzes the ideas and actions of black activists, politicians, officials, and intellectuals that worked with and within the Republican Party. In doing so, Wright provides a new understanding of black politics and American politics, and the tortured intersection of civil rights and conservatism. Media includes: The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, PBS, NPR.

August 26th is Women's Equality Day, which celebrates the 19th Amendment. To discuss, we FEATURE Bettina Hager. Hager is the DC Director and COO of the ERA Coalition and Fund for Women's Equality. The ERA Coalition and Fund for Women's Equality are sister organizations working together to educate, advocate and organize to ensure constitutional equality in the United States. She previously served as the co-Chair of the Equal Rights Amendment Task Force of the National Council of Women's Organizations and has been helping lead the movement for constitutional equality since 2012. Hager has conducted focused lobby training workshops across the country on the issue of constitutional equality and oversaw the creation of a widely used ERA advocacy packet with information on how to contact elected officials, reach out to media and encourage constituency outreach. She has organized and moderated briefings on the Equal Rights Amendment in both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate. Media includes: Vice, The Hill, CNN.

August 28th is the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, which helped lead to the passing of the Civil Rights Act. To discuss, we FEATURE Koritha Mitchell. Mitchell has been a professor of English at Ohio State University for 18 years. Her research centers on African American literature, racial violence in United States history and contemporary culture, and Black drama and performance. She examines how texts, both written and performed, help communities to survive and thrive. She earned her PhD at the University of Maryland-College Park and is author of the 2020 book From Slave Cabins to the White House: Homemade Citizenship in African American Culture and the award-winning book Living with Lynching: African American Lynching Plays, Performance, and Citizenship, 1890 - 1930. She is also editor of the first book-length autobiography by a formerly enslaved African American woman, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861) by Harriet Jacobs, and of Frances Harper's 1892 novel Iola Leroy. Media includes: Time, The Los Angeles Review of Books, CNN, Good Morning America, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, NBC News, PBS Newshour, and NPR's Morning Edition.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup continues in Australia and New Zealand with the final this Sunday. To discuss, we FEATURE Qiana Martin. As an award-winning entrepreneur, soccer visionary and Super Bowl ad creator, Martin's journey of defying expectations has transported her from playing street soccer with guys in parks to traveling the world participating in the sport and helping global brands connect with soccer fans. Drawing from an exceptional record for landing game changing opportunities, Martin's company Eat Soccer was awarded an opportunity to produce two events in New York City on behalf of the Chelsea F.C. and World Jewish Congress’ Red Card for Hate Initiative. Her unique expertise, innovative approaches and diverse cultural experiences have garnered features with Forbes, Inc, Fast Company, Men’s Health, Huffington Post, Our World with Black Enterprise and U.S. News & World Report.