Whistleblowers from the National Security Council have revealed that Michael Flynn might've been violating laws by transferring nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia. To discuss, we FEATURE Ambassador Laura Holgate. Holgate is an internationally recognized expert on nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons; nonproliferation; nuclear security; nuclear energy; global health security. She was posted as the US Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency and other UN Agencies in Vienna, Austria, from 2016-2017. She served 15 years in the US Departments of Defense and Energy and the National Security Council, designing and implementing policies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction. Media includes: MSNBC, Fox News, C-SPAN, The Washington Post, The New York Times. 

February is Black History Month and to commemorate, we FEATURE Janus Adams. Adams is the author of Glory Days: 365 Inspired Moments in African American History, which was licensed by McDonald’s and reached more than 3 million readers. She is an award winning journalist, historian, producer and publisher and the author of 11 books and the creator of the Back-Pax children’s book and audio series. She is the host and Co-Executive producer of public radio’s The Janus Adams Show. Engaged by history since childhood, a northern school desegregation pioneer at 8, she was one of the four children selected to break New York’s “de facto” public school segregation in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. Her master’s is the nation’s first graduate degree in Black Studies. Media includes: ABC, BET, CBS, CNN, Fox News, NBC, The New York Times, Newsday, USA Today, The Washington Post.

Many Democrats have announced their bids in the 2020 presidential race. The list now includes Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, Corey Booker, Tulsi Gabbard, Julián Castro, Andrew Yang, John Delaney, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Amy Klobuchar. To discuss, we FEATURE Aimee Allison. Allison is the Founder of She the People, the national network elevating the political voice and power of women of color. By bringing together the most promising women of color candidates, strategists, and movement leaders, Allison is one of the primary architects for the electoral successes in 2018 that made it the “year of women of color in politics.” In September 2018, she convened the first summit to focus on women of color in politics to show that social justice can, in fact, become the law of the land. Media includes: The New York Times, The Hill, ESSENCE Magazine.

This weekend, the Catholic Church will hold a summit to addess sex abuse within the church. Recent revelations have shown that many within the clergy have either been accused of or are under investigation for sexual abuse. To discuss, we FEATURE Angela Bonavoglia. Bonavoglia is an award-winning journalist and author who is nationally recognized for her writing about women and the Catholic Church. She is the author of Good Catholic Girls: How Women Are Leading the Fight to Change the Church (Harper Collins). Bonavoglia was among the first journalists to cover the sexual exploitation of girls and women by clergy across denominations, including the Catholic Church, which she did in 1992 for Ms. Her feature article on the current, unprecedented moment of reckoning being faced by Church leaders appears in the winter 2019 issue of Ms.—“Calling the Church to Account.” Media includes: The Nation, The National Catholic Reporter, The Chicago Tribune, Newsday, The Miami Herald.

Teachers in West Virginia went on strike yesterday to protest a bill that would pave the way to more charter and private schools. To discuss, we FEATURE Ileana Jiménez. For over fifteen years, Jiménez has been a leader in the field of social justice education. A 2011 recipient of the Distinguished Fulbright Award in Teaching, her research in Mexico City focused on creating safe schools for LGBT youth. Passionate about creating inclusive schools, Jiménez believes in transforming education for gender, racial, and economic justice. She is also an associate faculty member at Bard College’s Institute for Writing and Thinking, where she offers workshops to classroom teachers and college instructors on writing-based inquiry. Media includes: Care2, Feministing, Gender Across Borders, The Huffington Post, Ms. Magazine.

A young British teen who ran away from home to join ISIS and may now lose her British citizenship and not be allowed back to the U.K., and a number of American women who fled the U.S. to join ISIS are also uncertain if they will allowed to return home. Many are asking what can be done about people who joined ISIS but now want to go home. To discuss, we FEATURE Nichole Argo. Argo  is a Social Psychologist in the Departments of Engineering and Public Policy and Social and Decision Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. Argo spent several years doing field work on political violence. She is one of the few experts on terrorism and political violence to have interviewed and lived with militants, and was one of the first to provide data to refute the “religion, poverty, or indoctrination” theories of terrorist motivation in 2003. Since returning home, Argo has consulted with governments and think tanks. She co-directed “The Project on Radicalization: A Neuroscientific Approach” with Special Forces Brigadier General Russell Howard at the Center for Counterterrorism at Tufts University. Media includes: Chicago National Public Radio and Fox News. 

Theresa May has headed to the European Union in order to find a deal for Brexit. Meanwhile, a number of Labour Party members of Parliament are leaving the party. To discuss, we FEATURE Valerie Rouxel-Laxton, PhD. Rouxel-Laxton is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Business and Economics Program. She is also a Consultant on economics and development impact at the IFC (International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group). Before taking on her role at the Atlantic Council, Rouxel-Laxton was Head of Economics and Finance for the EU delegation in the U.S. and prior to that she was Head of Sector, Countries of the G20, for the European Commission.  In her latest professional role the main goal was to reach out to diverse audiences in the United States and convey analysis and views about the Transatlantic economy. Extensive media experience.

Payless ShoeSource has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will be closing all their stores across the U.S. and Canada. To discuss, we FEATURE Sarah Kaplan. Kaplan is Director, Institute for Gender and the Economy, Distinguished Professor of Gender & the Economy and Professor of Strategic Management at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. She is a co-author of the bestselling business book, Creative Destruction as well as Survive and Thrive: Winning Against Strategic Threats to Your Business. Her next book, The 360° Corporation: From Stakeholder Trade-offs to Transformation will appear in 2019. Media includes: TVO’s The Agenda, SiriusXM, The Toronto Star, Financial Times, BusinessWeek, NBC Nightly News, NPR’s Marketplace.

The 91st Academy Awards ceremony is on Sunday, February 24th. The Women's Media Center recently released the 2019 Oscars report, and to discuss we FEATURE Sasha Stone, and expert on the Oscars and the author of the report. Also to discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Brandale Mills. Dr. Mills is currently Assistant Professor at Norfolk State University (Norfolk, VA) in the Mass Communications and Journalism department. In this role, she teaches Film Criticism, Media and Society and Communications research methods. Dr. Mills’ research examines trends in the media as it relates to communities of color and Black female representation in the media, specifically examining Black female relationship portrayals in the media. Dr. Mills is currently completing her book project under contract with Routledge Press titled, “Black Women Filmmakers and Black Love on Screen,” which offers a definition of Black Love and an analysis of how it is portrayed from the perspective of a Black female filmmaker. Extensive media experience.