The conflict in Venezuela between President Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó continues. To discuss, we FEATURE Laura Carlsen. Carlsen is Director of the Americas Program, a program of the Center for International Policy. An expert on Latin American politics, she has published numerous articles and chapters on social, economic and political aspects of Mexico, co-edited Confronting Globalization: Economic Integration and Popular Resistance in Mexico and is finishing a book called "Up Against the Wall: US-Mexico Relations from NAFTA to Trump. Media includes: NBC, CBC, BBC, The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, InterPress Service, The Guardian.

Today, Congress will be voting on reversing President Trump's national emergency declaration at the U.S.-Mexico border. To discuss, we FEATURE Shannon O'Neil. O'Neil is the Nelson and David Rockefeller Senior Fellow for Latin America Studies and Director of the Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy Program at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher. Her expertise includes U.S.-Latin American relations, trade, energy, and immigration. She is the author of Two Nations Indivisible: Mexico, the United States, and the Road Ahead (Oxford University Press, 2013), which analyzes the political, economic, and social transformations Mexico has undergone over the last three decades and why these changes matter for the United States. Media includes: Foreign Affairs, Foreign Affairs Latinoamerica, Americas Quarterly, Política Exterior, Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today.

A former campaign staffer has sued Donald Trump for grabbing and kissing her without her consent outside a rally in 2016. 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, NPR, MSNBC, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post.

R. Kelly has been indicted and charged for ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse. To discuss, we FEATURE Shanon Lee. Lee is a Survivor Activist & Storyteller. As an official member of the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) Speakers Bureau and the National Speakers Bureau for the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV), Lee advocates for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. She is the writer, producer and director of Marital Rape Is Real. Media includes: BBC Radio, National Geographic, HuffPost Live, The Wall Street Journal, TV One. 

U.S. stocks climbed up following President Trump's announcement that he would delay his plans to increase tariffs on Chinese goods. To discuss, we FEATURE Lilac Nachum. Nachum, a Professor of International Business at Baruch College, is the Director of the Centre for the study of Russian and Emerging Market Multinationals at St. Petersburg State University, Russia. Her areas of interest and expertise are globalization and the strategic management of Multinational Corporations. Media includes: CNBC, FOX Business, CNN, Forbes, FT, India Economic Times, Business World India, Brooklyn Independent TV. 

A federal judge in Texas has ruled that an all-male draft is unconstitutional and violates the equal protection provisions of the U.S. Constitution. To discuss, we FEATURE Antonieta Rico. Rico is the Director of Communications and Policy at the Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), where she leads their public affairs efforts. She served in the U.S. Army from October 2001 to September 2008, working as a military journalist and public affairs NCO. She has served in Iraq and embedded with various Army and infantry units during day-to-day missions and combat operations. In addition to her work at SWAN, she is a Program Associate at Women in International Security where she works for the Combat Integration Initiative supporting the successful integration of women into combat arms units. Media includes: TIME, USA Today, National Geographic, Task & Purpose. 

The Supreme Court will be hearing American Legion v. American Humanist Association and Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission v. American Humanist Association. Both cases are about a cross-shaped monument in Maryland and will be the first separation of church and state case the Supreme Court has heard in decades. To discuss, we FEATURE Kate Kendell, Esq. Kendell was the Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights from 1996 until 2018. Growing up Mormon in Utah, Kendell learned about the complexities of religion and politics from an early age. After receiving her J.D. from the University of Utah College of Law in 1988 and a few years practicing corporate law, she pursued her real love—civil rights advocacy—and became the first staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah. There she directly litigated many high-profile cases focusing on all aspects of civil liberties, including reproductive rights, prisoners’ rights, free speech, the rights of LGBT people, and the intersection of church and state. Media includes: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Advocate, NPR, CNN. 

The Taliban and the U.S. are meeting in Qatar to discuss an end to the Afghan War. To discuss, we FEATURE May Jeong. Jeong has been reporting from Afghanistan since January 2013. Since 2013, she has covered various aspects of America’s ongoing war in the country – the results of drone strikes, airstrikes, suicide attacks, as well as failures in border policy, empathy and development theory. Jeong is a Logan Nonfiction Fellow at the Carey Institute for Global Good, where she hopes to write the definitive take on the war in Afghanistan through the experience of Helmand province, where the civil war between the US-backed Afghan government forces and the Taliban insurgents has been the deadliest. Media includes: The New York Times, Intercept, Guardian, London Review of Books.

Despite a referendum showing that 72% of Japanese voters opposed the construction of a U.S. military base in Okinawa, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has decided to proceed with plans to build the base. To discuss, we FEATURE Crystal D. Pryor, PhD. Pryor is program director and research fellow at Pacific Forum. Before joining Pacific Forum, she held a postdoctoral fellowship in the U.S.-Japan relations program at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. Dr. Pryor is currently focusing on nonproliferation in Asia while developing a research agenda on cybersecurity policy. She has researched U.S.-Japan outer space security cooperation, strategic trade control implementation in advanced countries, and Japan’s defense industry and arms exports. Media includes: The Diplomat, PacNet, ThinkTech Hawaii. 

According to NASA scientists, an iceberg that is twice the size of New York City will be breaking off of Antarctica. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Sue Cook. Dr. Cook is a glaciologist working at the Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre in Tasmania. She earned her bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Oxford and her doctoral degree in glaciology from Swansea University. Her research focuses on the Antarctic ice sheet, and particularly the formation of large icebergs. Media includes: ABC, The Conversation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, The Wire.    

Sixty-eight cases of measles have been found in Washington state and may lead to new legislation that would remove vaccination exemptions for philosophical reasons. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Sharon Allison-Ottey. Dr. Allison-Ottey serves as Executive Director of The COSHAR Foundation. The foundation is a nonprofit organization focused on impacting the health of the world, one community at a time. Under her leadership, the foundation has expanded its presence and impact with innovative programs that have touched millions of lives. Additionally, she serves as the Health Strategist for several national organizations and oversees programs, long and short term strategies ensuring effectiveness and achievement of goals. Media includes: BET, ABC, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today.

Period. End of Sentence. won an Oscar for Best Documentary Short. The Feminist Majority Foundation worked with the women and girls behind the film. To discuss, we FEATURE Eleanor Smeal. In 1987, Smeal co-founded the Feminist Majority and has served as President since its inception, leading successful campaigns that included winning FDA approval for mifepristone and ending gender apartheid in Afghanistan. Smeal has been at the forefront of almost every major women’s rights victory – from the integration of newspaper help-wanted ads to the passage of landmark legislation, including the Violence Against Women Act and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. Extensive media experience.