On Wednesday night, the fifth Democratic debate will happen in Atlanta. The debate will feature ten candidates: Joe Biden, Cory Booker, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang. 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.” A democratic innovator and visionary, Allison has led forums and initiatives on race and gender at the Democratic National Convention and Politicon, among others. She has led national efforts to build inclusive, multiracial coalitions, expand the electorate, and support leaders who advocate for a progressive future. Media includes: The New York Times, The Hill, ESSENCE Magazine.

A potential government shutdown may happen on Thursday if Congress cannot agree on funding. To discuss how this would effect working families, we FEATURE Biola Jeje. Jeje is currently a Communications Manager at the Working Families Party. From 2013-2017 she served on the board of the Participatory Budgeting Project, a nonprofit organization that empowers people to decide together how to spend public money, primarily in the US and Canada. She has worked in the student movement, with labor unions, and in racial and environmental justice. Media includes: InTheseTimes, The Root, The Nation, Alternet.

On Monday, three people died in an Oklahoma Walmart shooting, and in Fresno, California, four people died from a mass shooting at a backyard gathering. To discuss, we FEATURE Amber Gustafson. Gustafson is the former Iowa Chapter Leader for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. She joined Moms Demand Action in June of 2013 and served in many capacities including Chapter Leader from 2016-2017. Under her direction, the Iowa Chapter developed a highly successful rural outreach strategy that allowed Moms Demand Action to stop the portions of the 2017 Gun Omnibus Bill that would have eliminated Iowa’s handgun permitting system and pushed guns on to college campuses, and into hospitals and other public buildings. Media includes: Politico, Refinery29, Des Moines Register, Washington Post, CNBC, ABC.  

The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked the House's subpoena for Trump's tax returns. To discuss, we FEATURE Jennifer Epps-Addison. Epps-Addison is currently 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: The Washington Post, The Guardian, Politico, NPR, MSNBC. 

Hong Kong police have been laying siege on universities in the city. The standoff between police and protestors lasted three days, ending with hundreds detained and a few dozen protestors still hiding in the university. To discuss, we FEATURE Susan Shirk. Shirk is Ho Miu Lam Professor of China and Pacific Relations and Director of the 21st China Program at the University of California, San Diego School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. From 1997-2000, Shirk served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, with responsibility for China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia. Shirk's publications include her books, China: Fragile Superpower; The Political Logic of Economic Reform in China; How China Opened Its Door: The Political Success of the PRC's Foreign Trade and Investment Reforms; Competitive Comrades: Career Incentives and Student Strategies in China. Media includes: The Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times. 

New York Times editor Dean Baquet has condemned President Trump for endangering the lives of reporters by attacking them and opening them to abuse. To discuss, we FEATURE Alicia Shepard. Shepard is a visiting media ethics professor at the University of Arkansas. She taught media ethics at University of Nevada at Las Vegas, before which she was NPR ombudsman from 2007 to 2011. She was a Media Fellow at Duke University in fall 2011. She is the author of “Woodward & Bernstein: Life in the Shadow of Watergate” (2007) which tells the story of what happened to the pair after Watergate and how they lived the rest of their lives. Media includes: The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, NPR, CBS.

The lawyer of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein has said that royalty has failed them following Prince Andrew's failure to address his relationship with Epstein. In addition, two Manhattan jail workers have been charged for failing to check on Jeffrey Epstein before his death. To discuss, we FEATURE Elizabeth L. Jeglic, PhD. Dr. Jeglic is a Professor of Psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. She is an internationally renowned expert on criminal justice reform, sexual violence prevention, child abuse prevention, sexual offenders and sex offender legislation as well as suicide and suicide prevention. Dr. Jeglic is the co-editor of a new book on Criminal Justice Reform entitled New Frontiers in Offender Treatment: The Translation of Evidence-Based Practices to Correctional Settings (Springer, 2018). She also co-edited the book Sexual Violence: Evidence Based Policy and Prevention (Springer, 2016) and is the co-author of the book: Protecting Your Child from Sexual Abuse: What you Need to Know to Keep your Kids Safe (Skyhorse Publishing, 2017). Media includes: The New York Times, Fox News. 

Last year, California signed into law a requirement that all public companies must have at least one woman on the board or pay a $100k fine. Opponents of the law have filed lawsuits against it in the hopes of stopping the law before it gets stricter. To discuss, we FEATURE Olga V. Mack. Mack founded the Women Serve on Boards movement, which advocates for women to serve on the corporate boards of Fortune 500 companies. She has successfully persuaded over a dozen Fortune 500 companies to recruit their first woman director. She actively advocated, testified, and mobilized for the passage of California SB 826, which requires California public companies to recruit women directors. Finally, she authored All [A]Board: Your Journey to Becoming a Corporate Director, to help demystify board service. Media includes: TechCrunch, Venture Beat, TEDx, NPR.

According to the Brazilian government, over 10,000 square kilometers of the Amazon rainforest have been lost this year. This is the highest level of deforestation that the forest has suffered in a decade. To discuss, we FEATURE Simone N. Sneed. Sneed is the Board Liaison for the Environmental Defense Fund where she ensures the effective governance, engagement and strategic relationship management of the c3 and c4 boards. Prior to EDF, she was the Chief Relationship Officer for Van Jones’ social enterprise, Dream Corps where she helped to launch a campaign based social enterprise working to close prison doors, open doors of opportunity into a green economy. Media includes: Blavity, The Huffington Post, Stanford Social Innovation Review, The Journal of Governmental Finance and Public Policy, CNN.

President Trump has retreated from a banning flavored e-cigarettes as it would alienate his supporters. Meanwhile, in California, the state has filed a lawsuit against JUUL Labs, accusing the e-cigarette company of causing a "public health epidemic." To discuss, we FEATURE Stephanie Morain. Morain is an Assistant Professor in the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy. Her research examines political and ethical issues concerning the scope of government authority in public health and the role of stakeholder opinion in shaping decision-making in public health policy. She has expertise in public opinion towards controversial public health laws including those targeting “lifestyle choices” like obesity, physical inactivity, and tobacco use. Media includes: The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, ABC, NPR. 

Protestors gathered in Lebanon on Tuesday to stop Parliament from convening and passing laws that would provide amnesty for past corruption. The protests have been happening since October, when the former Prime Minister resigned. To discuss, we FEATURE Zeina Zaatari. For over 20 years Zaatari, a feminist from South Lebanon, has worked on gender and racial justice in Arab and Arab American communities both within academic and non-profit spaces in programming and producing knowledge. Most recently, she worked as Research Director at Political Research Associates, an organization that studies the US Right to support social justice organizing. Media includes: Al Jazeera, KPFA.