Roger Stone has agreed to testify in the Mueller investigation after being charged with lying, obstruction and witness tampering. To discuss, we FEATURE Elizabeth Hempowicz. Hempowicz is the Project On Government Oversight’s Policy Counsel. She oversees POGO’s legislative reform work, with a focus on whistleblower protections and government accountability. Hempowicz develops and advances public policies to combat corruption and to promote openness and accountability in government. She has participated in efforts to improve lobbying and congressional ethics rules, whistleblower protections, the Freedom of Information Act, and other open government initiatives. Media includes: NPR, Washington Examiner, Salon, Politico.

The U.S. and the Taliban have agreed in principle to a peace deal that could lead to the U.S. withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. To discuss, we FEATURE May Jeong. Jeong has been reporting from Afghanistan since January 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. 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, The Intercept, The Guardian, London Review of Books, Harper’s.

Venezuela is in the midst of a political crisis as recently re-elected President Nicolás Maduro has been challenged as illegitimate by self-proclaimed president Juan Guaidó. To discuss, we FEATURE Erika Guevara-Rosas. Guevara-Rosas is a feminist lawyer and human rights activist, who currently serves as the Americas Programme Director at the International Secretariat of Amnesty International. She is responsible for leading the organization’s human rights work across the region. Before joining Amnesty International, she served as Legal/Protection Officer for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), managing complex operations in Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Panama and Venezuela, mainly in border areas with war-affected populations. Extensive media experience. 

U.K. officials are working to avoid a no-deal Brexit, which would cut all ties between the U.K. and the European Union. To discuss, we FEATURE Mary Nugent. Nugent teaches classes in Gender politics, U.S. politics, U.K. politics, and political theory in the Department of Political Science at Rutgers University, where she also a Doctoral Candidate. Nugent is originally from the U.K., and after receiving an undergraduate degree from Cambridge University, worked in the U.K. Parliament for an MP. Media includes: BBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian.

Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Amazon will be announcing their Q4 earnings within the next week. To discuss, we FEATURE Alicia Syrett. Syrett is the Founder and CEO of Pantegrion Capital, an angel investment vehicle focused on seed and early stage investments. She currently serves on the Board of the NY Tech Alliance and has served on the Board of Directors of New York Angels and as a Managing Director of Golden Seeds. Prior to founding Pantegrion, Ms. Syrett spent over 10 years in the financial industry, which included her entrepreneurial journey as the first employee and CAO of a multi-billion dollar private equity firm. Media includes: CNBC, MSNBC, Fox Business News, USA Today. 

Congress will be introducing the Paycheck Fairness Act this week. It will be an update of the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and offer protections against pay discrimination. To discuss, we FEATURE Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. Rowe-Finkbeiner is an award-winning author, frequent public speaker, the co-founder and the Executive Director/CEO of MomsRising.org, and board President of the MomsRising Education Fund.  Started in May 2006, MomsRising has more than 1 million members (and growing), more than 550 contributing bloggers, and more than one hundred aligned national organizations, working together to increase family economic security; to help ensure families, children, and businesses can thrive; and to end discrimination against women and mothers. Media includes: The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Associated Press, USA Today.

The January monthly jobs report will be released on February 1 by the U.S. Bureau of Labor. To discuss, we FEATURE Jennifer Epps-Addison. Epps-Addison is the Network President and Co-Executive Director of the Center for Popular Democracy. Formerly, she was the Chief Program Officer of the Liberty Hill Foundation, a social justice foundation in Los Angeles that funds grassroots community organizing campaigns for social change. She was also the Executive Director of Wisconsin Jobs Now, a nonprofit fighting for social and economic justice with collective, direct action as a fundamental organizing principle. Media includes: MSNBC, The Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR. 

Despite the ceasefire agreed in December, tens of millions of people are still facing starvation in war-torn Yemen. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Bree Akesson, LMSW, MPH, PhD. Dr. Akesson is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. She is also a faculty affiliate with the CPC Learning Network, the Centre for Research on Children and Families at McGill University, and the International Migration Research Centre at Balsillie School of International Affairs. Her program of research focuses broadly on international child protection issues, ranging from micro-level understandings of the experiences of war-affected children and families to macro-level initiatives to strengthen the global social systems. Media includes: The Toronto Star, Daily News Egypt, CKUT Radio.

President Trump will be delivering the State of the Union on February 5th. To discuss, we FEATURE Donna R. Hoffman. Dr. Hoffman is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Northern Iowa. Her research focuses on electoral politics and presidential rhetoric and examines the way that presidents communicate their policy agendas with both Congress and the public, especially through State of the Union addresses. She is the co-author of Addressing the State of the Union: The Evolution and Impact of the President’s Big Speech (Lynne Rienner Publishers 2006). Hoffman’s research on presidential rhetoric examines the way that presidents communicate their policy agendas with both Congress and the public, especially through State of the Union addresses. Media includes:  NBC, Time Magazine, Bloomberg News, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal.

A polar vortex is currently hitting the midwest and northeast. The vortex will bring life threatening levels of cold that can be fatal for the elderly. To discuss, we FEATURE Beth Shapiro. As Executive Director of Citymeals-on-Wheels, a $19.5 million New York City-based charity that provides more than 2 million hand-delivered meals every year to 18,000 frail homebound elderly, Shapiro brings to the table expertise in numerous areas including food insecurity, malnutrition, hunger and isolation among the elderly, and widespread cost implications of the country’s rapidly growing elderly population. Media includes: FOX News, Bloomberg, The Associated Press, CBS, Crain’s New York Business.