Last week, the Eaton and Palisades fires ravaged the Los Angeles communities of Altadena and Pacific Palisades. The fires, which have not yet been contained, have left communities completely decimated. To discuss, we FEATURE Tiffany Yap. Yap is a senior scientist and a wildlife corridor advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. As a conservation scientist, Yap is passionate about protecting biodiversity and environmental health, especially in the wildland urban interface. She has also been interviewed on how human activities and land use affect wildfire risk, particularly in the wildland-urban interface. Yap can speak about the importance of state and federal environmental regulations including the Federal and California Endangered Species Act, the Lacey Act, and the California Environmental Quality Act. Media includes: Los Angeles Times, Wired, San Francisco Chronicle, San Diego Union Tribune, NPR.

Monday, Joe Biden gave a speech addressing the work he has done on foreign policy during his tenure as president. To discuss, we FEATURE Johanna LeBlanc. Leblanc is a national security law and foreign policy expert. As a partner at Adomi Advisory Group, PLLC, she offers invaluable guidance to a diverse clientele on matters such as trade, debt financing for projects in emerging markets, public relations, sanctions, federal legislative processes, and diplomacy. Before joining the firm, Leblanc excelled as a legislative director at the United States Congress. In this capacity, she provided strategic counsel on both domestic and international affairs, overseeing legislative matters and appropriations. In her role, she was instrumental in advancing U.S. foreign policy objectives and fortifying economic security through trade diplomacy. She also served as a liaison to the White House, State Department, Department of Education, Department of Veterans, and other agencies, including financial institutions in Washington, D.C. Media includes: Voice of America, Roland Martin Unfiltered, Fox 5 DC.

Tuesday, the Justice Department released the investigative report on Donald Trump's 2020 election interference. To discuss, we FEATURE Daniel Brian, executive director of the Project On Government Oversight (POGO). Brian frequently testifies before Congress and regularly meets with Members of Congress and officials at the White House and federal agencies to discuss how to achieve a more effective, accountable, open, and ethical federal government. Under Brian's direction, POGO exposed wasteful spending, which led to the cancellation of some of the government’s largest contracts; uncovered oil and gas industry fraud on public lands that led to the Justice Department’s recovery of nearly half a billion dollars, rule changes to prevent future fraud, and the dismantlement of the Minerals Management Service into separate bureaus with strengthened ethics rules; filed and won a lawsuit against then-Attorney General John Ashcroft for retroactively classifying FBI documents; and successfully pushed for reforms that bolstered both the independence and accountability of the federal Inspectors General system. Media includes: The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News.

Ahead of his January 20th inauguration, Donald Trump's cabinet picks will be undergoing confirmation hearings throughout the week. To discuss, we FEATURE Meredith McGehee. McGehee is one of the nation’s foremost experts on Congress and has been described as one of the most in-the-know persons about ethics, lobbying, money-in-politics, and the role of media in campaigns. She has a reputation as an honest broker who holds both parties accountable to the same standards. As a public interest advocate, McGehee focuses on sound public policy and effective legislative strategy. She is known for pulling back the curtain and deciphering how politics — especially in Washington — really work. Media includes: The Hill, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico, C-SPAN.

California governor Gavin Newsom and California Democrats have reached a $50m deal to counteract policies that could be put in place by the Trump administration. Half of the deal will prevent mass deportation from happening in the state. To discuss, we FEATURE Lourdes Martinez. Martinez, who is co-directing attorney for Centro Legal De La Raza, has twenty years of experience in the immigrants’ rights field. After graduating from George Washington University Law School, Martinez worked at the Tahirih Justice Center in Falls Church, Virginia, representing immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence in a variety of cases, ranging from affirmative asylum to removal defense in immigration court. Martinez later moved to California and became a legal educator at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center in San Francisco, where she provided technical assistance and training to attorneys, acting as community liaison with the government, and working with immigrant organizers in the Central Valley of California. Media includes: Univision, Telemundo, NBC Bay Area, KQED News.

This week, TikTok could cease to exist in the U.S. as the Supreme Court will be weighing in on the consitutionality of laws that would ban the social media app. January 19th would be the day it would go into effect if the ban were to happen. To discuss, we FEATURE Lisa Hayes. Hayes is the head of safety, public policy and senior counsel for TikTok, where she helps the company develop and implement innovative policies that improve the platform for its users. Hayes has spent more than twenty years working at the intersection of law and technology, with an emphasis on protecting civil liberties in the digital age. Before joining TikTok, Hayes helped lead the Center for Democracy and Technology, an NGO promoting democratic values by shaping technology policy and architecture, with a focus on the rights of the individual. Media includes: The Washington Post, Seattle Times, NPR, Fox News.

The Biden and Trump teams are working together to reach a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas before January 20th, when Donald Trump will become president. To discuss, we FEATURE Alexandra Stark. Stark is an associate policy researcher at RAND. Prior to joining RAND, she was a senior researcher at New America, a predoctoral fellow at the Middle East Institute of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and Minerva/Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace. Stark's research interests include security cooperation, civil wars and irregular warfare, gender and conflict, domestic violent extremism, domestic institutions and foreign policymaking, military intervention, and Middle East security. Her research has been published in International Security and Security Studies, and her commentary has appeared in War on the Rocks, Lawfare, the Monkey Cage, and other outlets.