Following the assassination of Haiti's President Jovenel Moïse, Haiti's government has been upended over leadership disputes. To discuss, we FEATURE Johanna Leblanc. Leblanc is a foreign policy and national security legal professional. She holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) from Indiana University- Robert H. McKinney School of Law, where she focused on international law, a Master of Laws (LL.M.) in National Security and U.S. Foreign Relations Law from The George Washington University School of Law in Washington, D.C. Currently, Leblanc serves as a Senior Advisor to both Haiti’s Ambassador to the United States and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Media includes: Voice of America, Fox.

The is an outbreak of he Delta variant of COVID-19 in some parts of the U.S. As a result, many cities are reinstating mask mandates to slow down the spread. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Lipi Roy. As Medical Director at Housing Works, Dr. Roy oversees medical services at COVID isolation and quarantine sites in New York City. She also serves as clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Health. As the former Chief of Addiction Medicine for New York City jails including Rikers Island, Dr. Roy oversaw substance use treatment and recovery services at the nation’s 2nd-largest jail complex. Media incldues: The New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, Cooking Light. MSNBC, NBC News.

The Olympics will be starting Friday, but at least a dozen participants have tested positive for the coroavirus. Additionally, 33 Japanese residents who are working on the Olympics have also tested positive. To discuss, we FEATURE Erin Haugen. Haugen is a licensed clinical psychologist and sport psychologist in Grand Forks, ND. She is passionate about sport performance, athlete mental health, interprofessional practice, and professional well-being. Her enthusiastic, approachable, and practical style are assets when helping others. She works with athletes from over 20 different sports from recreational to elite (Olympic and professional) levels and specializes in working with collegiate student-athletes. Media includes: Bustle, Reader's Digest, Runner's World.

Last week, Germany had record rainfall and flooding that led to at least 150 deaths. Many residents were not warned by the government ahead of time so were ill-prepared for the hazardous conditions. To discuss, we FEATURE Andrea Strimling Yodsampa, PhD. Yodsampa is the CEO of DEPLOY/US, a not-for-profit dedicated to pragmatic, market-based climate and energy solutions. She is a social entrepreneur and social scientist with 25 years experience in government, civil society, and academia, including work in the US, Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and Eastern Europe. Her areas of expertise include energy and environmental policy, climate change, clean technology, national security, international affairs, strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation, public-private partnerships, civil-military cooperation, negotiation and consensus building. Extensive media experience.

Over the past few weeks, news broke that hundreds of Indigenous children were found buried at unmarked graves at Canada's government-run schools. This has brought up the history of America's own Indigenous boarding schools. To discuss, we FEATURE Kate Finn. Finn is Executive Director of First Peoples Worldwide. Her expertise concerns articulating how the impacts of development in Indigenous communities must be addressed at all levels of business and investment in order to strengthen Native economies and communities for generations. Finn's areas of focus and research expertise include Indigenous Peoples law and policy, federal Indian law, preventing violence against women, victim services, and business and human rights. Media includes: The Washington Post, Green Money, Denver Post, CNN.

The New York Times reports that the #MeToo movement has made little change in New York City criminal justice system and that it is still difficult to prosecute sexual assault, with the New York City prosecutors’ office rejecting most sex crime cases. To discuss, we FEATURE Jane Manning. Manning is a former sex crimes prosecutor, a victim rights advocate, and a leading expert in criminal justice and violence against women. As Director of the Women’s Equal Justice Project, she helps survivors of sexual assault navigate the criminal justice system. She began her career as a prosecutor of domestic violence, sex crimes, and child abuse. In private practice, she represented a coalition of battered women’s organizations arguing, successfully, for reversal of a court decision allowing men who murdered wives or girlfriends to invoke the victim’s “nagging” as a mitigating factor. Media includes: The New York Times, The New York Daily News, Brian Lehrer Show, Buzzfeed, The New York Post.

On Monday, Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a broad ban against prosecutors issuing subpeonas, warrants, or court orders to gain access to reporters' records. This is in an effort to protect the media's confidential sources. To discuss, we FEATURE Dana L. Gold. Gold is an attorney and currently serves as the Director of Education with the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization. In addition to having represented and/or worked with dozens of whistleblowers over the past 25 years, Gold is also a former Network Fellow with Harvard University’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics and the co-founder and former Director of the Center on Corporations, Law & Society at Seattle University School of Law. Media includes: The Hill, Slate, WNYC, KUOW.

Paul Allard Hodgkins has become the first felony defendent sentenced in the Capitol riot, getting eight months in prison. To discuss, we FEATURE Dina Doll. Doll is an attorney, television legal analyst, certified mediator, trial consultant and journalist. She is an official legal analyst for the Law & Crime Network. She has also provided countless hours of live commentary for the network involving all aspects of criminal trails including unpredictable witness testimony, pre-trial hearings and sentencing hearings. She has provided legal analysis on almost all of the high-profile cases over the past year including those involving: Harvey Weinstein, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Kyle Rittenhouse, Lori Loughlin, Vanessa Bryant, Smartmatic, Dominion and the Flint water crisis. Media includes: Access Hollywood, Spectrum News, Newsmax.

Naomi Osaka has become the first Black female athelete to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition. To discuss, we FEATURE Brandale Mills. Mills is currently Assistant Professor at Norfolk State University (Norfolk, VA) in the Mass Communications and Journalism department. Mills has presented her research at international and national conferences, with her scholarship including issues related to feminism, Black Love, social media, racial politics, film, female representations in the mass media and popular culture. Extensive media experience.