Monday, a shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego in Clairemont killed three people. The two teenage gunmen were also found dead of suspected self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Police are currently investigating the incident as a hate crime. To discuss, we FEATURE Nadia Aziz. Aziz is a civil rights attorney who until recently served as senior director, Fighting Hate and Bias Program at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. Previously she was deputy director at the Arab American Institute and before that, policy counsel of the Stop Hate Project with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, where she worked to ensure individuals and organizations targeted by hate have the resources they need to confront hate in their communities. Prior to joining the Lawyers’ Committee in 2017, Aziz worked at the Arab American Institute in Washington, DC as director of government relations where she represented the interests of nearly 3.7 million Arab Americans, and encouraged their direct engagement in civic and political life. Media includes: The Hill, The Huffington Post, The Ed Schultz Show, CNN.

After Trump asked a federal judge to dismiss the $10 billion lawsuit he had filed against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, the Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, taken from taxpayer money, for people who feel they were wrongly targeted by the federal government. To discuss, we FEATURE Anna Massoglia. Massoglia is a political influence expert and investigative journalist with more than a decade of experience exposing the hidden forces of money, power, and politics. As the founder and author of Influence Brief, Massoglia also helps readers to navigate the complex financial systems and influence networks shaping politics and public policy — in the U.S. and across the globe. She also works as an independent consultant and advisor for various organizations, offering expertise in research, strategy, and public policy. Massoglia was appointed in 2019 by the U.S. Treasury Department to be an alternate member of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, an IRS Federal Advisory Committee to the Internal Revenue Service that listens to taxpayer complaints, identifies key issues and makes recommendations for improving IRS services. Media includes: The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN, NPR.

A New York state judge has blocked prosecutors from using items in Luigi Mangione's backpack as evidence in the murder case involving the UnitedHealthcare CEO. To discuss, we FEATURE Lenese Herbert. Herbert is a professor of law at Howard University School of Law, where she teaches evidence, criminal procedure, criminal law, social media and the law, and administrative law. Herbert co-authors Constitutional Criminal Procedure, a problem-based casebook adopted in a number of law schools across the U.S., as well as Criminal Law: Skills and Values. She has served as an expert witness before the U.S. Department of Housing and her scholarship is regularly cited by academicians and practitioners alike. Her article, “Challenging the (Un)Constitutionality of Governmental GPS Surveillance,” was cited by three amicus briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Jones and was voted “Best of ABA Sections: Criminal Justice, 2012.” Media includes: Voice of America, Al-Jazeera English, NBC.

Concern has risen over the Ebola outbreak in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo following the deaths of at least 131 people and WHO's declaration that the outbreak is a “public health emergency of international concern”. To discuss, we Donna A. Patterson. Dr. Patterson is also the author of another book: Pharmacy in Senegal, Gender, Healing, and Entrepreneurship which was featured on NPR and in Pharmacy Times and won the inaugural book club award for Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Global Health Now. Dr. Patterson has published scholarly articles on pharmaceutical markets, women pharmacists and Ebola in the Journal of Women’s History, Anthropologie et Santé, Journal of Global Health Reports and the Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved. Her second book project is on pandemics (Ebola and COVID-19). Dr. Patterson is a professor and the chair of the Department of History, Political Science, Law Studies, and Philosophy and the cirector of Africana Studies at Delaware State University. Media includes: Slate, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, Christian Science Monitor, Globe and Mail, San Diego Union Tribune.

According to a new report by the Brookings Institute, an estimated 205,000 children, including 145,000 U.S. citizen children, have been affected by parental detention by immigration enforcement. To discuss, we FEATURE Claire R. Thomas. Thomas is an attorney, advocate, and associate professor. Her interests and expertise include: U.S. immigration law, asylum and refugee law, unaccompanied children, immigrant access to public benefits, and empowerment for women and girls facing poverty and gender-based violence. Thomas directs the Asylum Clinic at New York Law School, in which she teaches law students how to represent immigrants seeking asylum and other humanitarian immigration protections in the United States. As an associate professor at NYLS, she also teaches the introductory immigration law course. She is also a contract attorney with CUNY Citizenship Now! and assists immigrants applying for naturalization, and is a consultant for The Door, a NYC non-profit, in which she supervises immigration attorneys working with immigrant youth. Media includes: The New York Times, The Bangkok Post, The New Stateman, The Queens Daily Eagle.

An investigation by CBS News has found that services for "troubled teens" can sometimes cause more harm than good. The investigation specifically looked into residential programs. To discuss, we FEATURE Scyatta A. Wallace. Wallace is an award winning psychologist, accomplished scientist and social entrepreneur. She is a graduate of Yale University and received her PhD from Fordham University. Her mission is to support leadership development and mental health/wellness among teen girls/young women. Wallace combines her love for empowering youth as CEO/Founder of Janisaw Company, a consulting firm specializing in creating leadership development, socio-emotional learning and healthy lifestyle programs for teen girls/young women. Janisaw Company also provides professional development training for organizations that serve youth. Media includes: TIME, Essence Magazine, BET, CNN.

Russian authorities have said they struck down four Ukrainian drones headed towards Moscow. Meanwhile, in the UAE, a drone strike nearly hit a nuclear plant. To discuss, we FEATURE Samantha (Pitts-Kiefer) Neakrase. With almost 15 years of experience in the field of nuclear policy and international relations, Neakrase is director of Nuclear Policy and Government Engagement at Oklo, Inc., focused on advancing policy strategy and external engagement for Oklo’s next-generation nuclear technology, working across government, industry, and other stakeholder communities. Neakrase was previously senior director at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, where she led projects that focus on over-the-horizon thinking about reducing nuclear threats and strengthening the global nuclear security architecture. She recently spent three years at the Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation (DNN). As a senior advisor to the deputy administrator, her work advanced U.S. national security by reducing nuclear threats and promoting peaceful uses of nuclear technology to combat climate change and help countries achieve their sustainable development goals. Media includes: Huffington Post, The Drew Mariani Show, CCTV America.

Last week, five research divers died while scuba diving in the Vaavu Atoll caves in the Maldives. Recovery efforts have brought back the bodies of two of the divers and efforts continue to retrieve the remaining two bodies. One member of the search team died from decompression illness. To discuss, we FEATURE Rachel M. Lance. Lance holds a PhD in biomedical engineering from Duke University, where she currently serves as a assistant consulting professor at the Duke University Center for Hyperbaric Medicine & Environmental Physiology. Her research at Duke also investigates the unique physiological challenges of working in extreme environments, including by not limited to hypoxia, hyperoxia, hypercapnia, and decompression sickness. She is currently working on a project examining the failure of rebreathers, which are devices designed to recycle a diver’s breathing gas while adding more oxygen. When these devices fail underwater they frequently lead to hypoxia, loss of consciousness, and drowning. Media includes: The Washington Post, Popular Science, CNN, NPR.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. To discuss, we FEATURE Nellie Tran. Tran is Associate Professor of Counseling at San Diego State University. She studies subtle gender biases within the educational context for students and faculty, especially women and people of color. She holds a Ph.D. in community and prevention psychology, is a funded National Science Foundation researcher, has held multiple national elected positions (including President) in the Asian American Psychological Association and the Society for Community Research and Action, and has developed and runs several leadership and empowerment programs for students and early career professionals nation-wide. As a professor at SDSU, she trains master's level multicultural community counseling students and serves as the faculty advisor to the Asian Pacific Student Alliance. Extensive media experience.