U.S. intelligence agents have confirmed that a Russian intelligence unit offered bounties to Taliban-linked militants for killing American troops in Afghanistan. To discuss, we FEATURE Michèle Flournoy. Flournoy is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security. She served as the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy from February 2009 to February 2012. She was the principal adviser to the Secretary of Defense in the formulation of national security and defense policy, oversight of military plans and operations, and in National Security Council deliberations. She led the development of DoD’s new Strategic Guidance and represented the Department in dozens of foreign engagements, in the media and before Congress. Extensive media experience.

Protests calling for police accountability and defunding have continued across America. To discuss, we FEATURE Tara Huffman. Huffman is the Director of the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program at Open Society Institute-Baltimore. She has both national and local experience, strong advocacy skills, and deep knowledge of the field.. Previously, Huffman provided coaching and consulting services to non-profit leaders and organizations—including to the Greater Baltimore Grassroots Criminal Justice Network. Active in the community, Huffman has a deep commitment to reforming policies and practices that contribute to racial disparities, an over-reliance on incarceration, blocked opportunities, and unrealized potential. Media includes: Al Jazeera, Baltimore Sun, CNN.

As COVID-19 continues to spread in the U.S., many states that had reopened are now closing again due to a spike in cases. To discuss, we FEATURE Dabney P. Evans, PhD. Evans is an Assistant Professor of Global Health in the Hubert Department of Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. She is a mixed-methods researcher of issues affecting vulnerable populations at the intersection of public health and human rights. Dr. Evans received her Master of Public Health degree in 1998 from Emory University and her doctoral degree in law from the University of Aberdeen (UK) in 2010. She is Director of the Center for Humanitarian Emergencies in the Rollins School of Public Health and the Emory University Institute of Human Rights. Media includes: The Hill, The New York Times, WABE, PBS.

The Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Trump administration to carry out the first executions in the federal criminal justice system in 17 years.To dicuss, we FEATURE Sara J. Totonchi. Totonchi is the Executive Director of the Southern Center for Human Rights (SCHR), a nonprofit law firm that provides legal representation to people facing the death penalty, challenges human rights violations in prisons and jails, seeks through litigation and advocacy to improve legal representation for poor people accused of crimes, and advocates for criminal justice system reforms on behalf of those affected by the system in the Southern United States. Media includes: The Economist, The Atlanta Journal Constitution, The Daily Report, Al Jazeera America.

On Sunday, Trump retweeted a video of one of his supporters yelling "white power" at protestors. To discuss, we FEATURE Kelly J. Baker. Baker is the author of the award-winning book Gospel According to the Klan: The KKK’s Appeal to Protestant America, 1915-1930 (University Press of Kansas, 2011), the first to analyze the white religious nationalism of the 1920s Klan and the continued legacy of their particular form of white nationalism today. Her second book, The Zombies Are Coming!: The Realities of the Zombie Apocalypse in American Culture (Bondfire, 2013), explores how the connections between fantasies of the zombie apocalypse, guns, masculinity, and violence and the hidden consequences of zombie media. She’s been researching and writing about white supremacy, white nationalism, racism, and religious intolerance for over 11 years. Media includes: The New York Times, The Atlantic, Washington Post, The Chronicle for Higher Education, Religion & Politics.

Dozens of women have spoken up with allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against prominent video game streamers on Twitch. To discuss, we FEATURE Sarah Granger. Granger has more than 25 years of experience working at the intersection of technology, media and government. She is an award-winning digital media innovator and bestselling author of The Digital Mystique: How the Culture of Connectivity Can Empower Your Life – Online and Off. Her work focuses on issues related to innovation, digital politics, cybersecurity, online privacy, technology accessibility, and open democracy. In 2011, Sarah founded the Center for Technology, Media & Society, dedicated to educating, informing and connecting stakeholders around converging topics like transparent e-government, high-tech workplace flexibility, and gender bias online. Media includes: The New York Times, Entrepreneur, Daily Kos, The Washington Post, The Hill, PBS.

Marketers at a number of companies have decided to pause advertising on Facebook to boycott the platform for the way it has handled misinformation and hate speech. To discuss, we FEATURE Corinne Cath. Cath is a doctoral student at the Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford and at the Alan Turing Institute for data science and artificial intelligence. She is a cultural anthropologist whose research covers engineering culture, Internet governance, and the social significance of data-driven technologies like artificial intelligence. She is an expert in technology policy. Her doctoral research focuses on public interest advocacy in technical spaces, including organizations developing Internet standards and machine learning systems. Media includes: Wired, Council on Foreign Relations.

On Monday, a new national flood modeling tool was released that showed that the U.S. is underprepared for damaging floods and nearly 6 million homes and commercial properties are at risk of devastation. To discuss, we FEATURE Rossana G. D'Antonio, the Deputy Director for Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, the largest department of public works in the nation. Only the second female to achieve the position of Assistant Deputy Director in the history of the Department, D’Antonio is well aware that she serves as a role model to other female engineers in her organization and in the engineering industry. She is responsible for directing the technical design of all public infrastructure facilities including highway, flood control and bridge structures. With 24 years of broad based experience, D’Antonio has extensive background in many disciplines of engineering, management, operations and business processes. Media includes: The Beat Radio Show, The Women's Eye, Pasadena Now 92.3FM.

On Sunday, Trump tweeted out that mail-in ballots will lead to "the most corrupt Election in USA history." To discuss, we FEATURE Kat Calvin. Calvin is the founder of Spread The Vote. A lawyer and social entrepreneur, Kat started STV after observing the results of local, state, and national elections without the full protections of the Voting Rights Act, and especially the many new voter ID laws that prevented millions of Americans from voting. Her work is fueled by the knowledge that the IDs Spread The Vote obtains will also help these voters have access to jobs, housing, medical care, and much more. Media includes: Fast Company, Business Insider, The Grio, PBS.

As more and more people call for the removal of racist statues and symbols, the Mississippi state legislature has voted to remove and replace the state flag. The flag was the last to feature the confederate battle emblem in its design. To discuss, we FEATURE Heather McTeeer Toney. The daughter of a civil rights attorney and public school teacher, Toney was born and raised in Greenville, Mississippi. In 2003, she was elected Mayor of the City of Greenville and re-elected for a second term in 2007. Under her leadership, the city thrived, emerged from significant debt, and received millions of dollars in grants and federal assistance. Media includes: Democracy Now!, The Washington Post, Jet Magazine, Essence Magazine, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC.

The Chinese government has been forcing birth control onto Uighurs in order to control the Muslim population in China. To discuss, we FEATURE Luisa Cabal. Cabal is the Chief Human Rights and Law at UNAIDS. Previously, Luisa joined the Center For Reproductive Rights in 1998 as a legal adviser and now leads the Center's legal and advocacy efforts in the United States and across the globe. During her tenure, Ms. Cabal has been instrumental in the expansion of the Global Legal Program to offices in Bogota, Colombia; Nairobi, Kenya; and Kathmandu, Nepal. Media includes: The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, International Herald Tribune, Houston Chronicle.