Two wildfires are currently ravaging Northern and Southern California. The Kincade fire is currently burning in Sonoma County and the Getty Fire is burning in West Los Angeles. To discuss, we FEATURE Rossana G. D'Antonio. D'Antonio is an Assistant Deputy Director for Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, the largest department of public works in the nation. Within the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, she is also Deputy Director for Development Services & Emergency Management. 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: Pasadena Now 92.3 FM, The Beat Radio Show, WMC Live with Robin Morgan.

A U.S. military operation in Syria on Sunday led to the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. To discuss, we FEATURE Lauren Anderson. An international security and crisis management expert, and former FBI Executive, Anderson is the Founder and CEO of LC Anderson International, an international consulting business. Anderson had a distinguished FBI career, with many “firsts”, including being one of the first women selected for an FBI SWAT team. She worked extensively throughout Africa, Europe and the Middle East, leading FBI terrorism and criminal investigations with a nexus to these regions in close collaboration with her foreign counterparts. Following a five-year overseas assignment, she led the International Terrorism program of the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), the largest JTTF in the nation, with representation from more than 50 local, state and federal agencies. Media includes: Fox News Live, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, My Statesman. 

Rep. Katie Hill recently resigned following the House Ethics Committee announcing an ethics investigation into an alleged inappropriate relationship with a congressional staff member— which she denies. The investigation follows the release of nude photos of her by Conservative publication RedState and her soon-to-be ex-husband in what has been described as a classic case of revenge porn. To discuss, we FEATURE Jacqueline Wernimont. Wernimont is a founding co-Director of the Human Security Collaboratory and an assistant professor of English at Arizona State University, where she specializes in feminist digital media, digital civil rights, histories of quantification, and technologies of commemoration. She currently directs a grant program to address violence against women online, which has established the Center for Solutions to Online Violence, and has spoken with national and local media on topics relating to harassment, digital security/privacy, and cultural expectations in digital cultures. Media includes: NPR, WMC Speech Project, Indian Country News.

Psychologists are now encouraging teens with anxiety disorders to use social media more often, stating that by avoiding it, teens are missing out on important social connections. To discuss, we FEATURE Scyatta A. Wallace, PhD. Wallace is an award winning Psychologist/Teen expert, writer and college professor. Her mission is to use research, writing and social commentary to educate teens and parents about the importance of health and overall wellness. She is widely published and holds several leadership positions including serving as Chair of the American Psychological Association (APA) Committee on Psychology and AIDS (2011) and as a member of the National Institute on Drug Abuse African American Scholars Working Group. In addition to her research, Dr. Wallace is dedicated to community engagement.  She combines her love for arts and empowering youth as CEO/Founder of Janisaw Company, a curriculum design firm specializing in creating leadership development and life skills programs/workshops for teen girls and young women. Media includes: Essence Magazine, ABCnews.com, BET 106 & Park, Hot 97, The Michael Baisden Show, NY1.

A North Carolina court has ruled that congressional maps in the state cannot be used in the 2020 election due to gerrymandering. To discuss, we FEATURE Kristin Goss. Goss is an Assistant Professor of Public Policy Studies and Political Science at the Sanford Institute for Public Policy at Duke University in North Carolina. Her studies focuses on why people do (or don't) participate in political life and how their engagement affects public policymaking. Professor Goss is the author of The Paradox of Gender Equality: How American Women's Groups Gained and Lost Their Public Voice (University of Michigan Press, 2013). The book documents and explains the surprising rise -- and even more surprising fall -- of American women's groups on the national stage. Media includes: Princeton University Press, Social Science Quarterly, Raleigh News & Observer, The Washington Post. 

A hearing has begun in Missouri that would decide whether a Planned Parenthood clinic can continue to operate in the state. The clinic is the only abortion clinic in Missouri and getting rid of it will result in Missouri being the only state without any abortion clinics. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Kristyn Brandi, MD, MPH. Dr. Brandi is an Assistant Professor at Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School. She is an Obstetrician-Gynecologist with a fellowship training in Family Planning (contraception and abortion services). Dr. Brandi currently sits on the board of Physicians for Reproductive Health and the Ethics Committee for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She has published research on contraceptive coercion by doctors to patients seeking abortion. Media includes: The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Rewire.News, Huffington Post. 

President Trump recently visited Chicago for the first time since taking office. He spoke at the International Association of Chiefs of Police, where he criticized Chicago police Superintendent Eddie Johnson. To discuss, we FEATURE Laura Washington. Washington is a Chicago Sun-Times columnist and political analyst for ABC 7, Chicago’s ABC-owned station. Washington brings more than two award-winning decades of experience as a non-profit professional and multi-media journalist.  She specializes in African-American affairs, local and national politics, race and racism, and social justice. Media includes: Time Magazine, Associated Press, New York Times, NBC Nightly News, MNSBC, PBS News Hour, BBC.

Members of Parliament in the UK have set a December 12 date for the general election— the third in the country in the last five years. To discuss, we FEATURE Mary Nugent. Nugent has an undergraduate degree in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Rutgers University. At Rutgers, she taught undergraduate classes in UK Politics, Women & American Politics, and introductory Political Theory. She is originally from the UK, and after receiving an undergraduate degree from Cambridge University, worked in the UK Parliament for an MP. Nugent's research centers on women in politics, and how the increased presence of women may change political institutions. She has done research on women in the European Parliament, the ‘quality’ of women elected via quotas in parliaments in the UK and Tunisia, and on women in post-conflict Northern Ireland. Media includes: The Guardian, Wall Street Journal, BBC.

Researchers recently announced that a new tuberculosis vaccine has been developed. The new vaccine could be revolutionary as current vaccines for the disease are not very effective. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Lipi Roy, MD, MPH, DABAM— whose specialties include Tropical Medicine/International Health (malaria, tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, etc.). Dr. Roy is an internal medicine physician board certified in addiction medicine and serves as clinical assistant professor at NYU Langone Health. completed her medical and master’s in public health degrees at Tulane University, followed by residency training in internal medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Roy is a strong advocate for public service. In addition to caring for incarcerated and homeless men and women, she has served the underserved in Nicaragua and India, as well as New Orleans residents affected by Hurricane Katrina. Media includes: The New York Times, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal, CNN, CBS.

This week the Trump Administration said it would extend temporary protected status to tens of thousands of Salvadorans living in the U.S. To discuss, we FEATURE Cristina Tzintzún. Tzintzún is the Executive Director of Workers Defense Project (WDP), a statewide, membership-based workers’ rights organization that is winning better working conditions for Texans. WDP has been called one of the nation’s most creative organizations for immigrant workers by The New York Times. Tzuntzún has spearheaded efforts to ensure safe and dignified jobs for the nearly 900,000 construction workers that labor in the state. Media includes: The New York Times, Southern Living Magazine, USA Today, NPR, MSNBC. 

NBC Universal has released a statement allowing former employees to speak up about sexual harassment. This follows harsh criticisms of the company's practice of making employees sign nondisclosure agreements before leaving— a practice that critics say silences victims of sexual harassment. To discuss, we FEATURE Sarah Beaulieu. Beaulieu is an author, speaker and trains workplaces on sexual harassment prevention and response. Sarah's forthcoming book, Breaking the Silence Habit: A Practical Guide to Uncomfortable Conversations in the MeToo Workplace (Berrett-Koehler) provides an overview of uncomfortable conversations and their role in effective, skills-based sexual harassment training. Driven by her personal experience surviving sexual violence, Beaulieu co-founded An Uncomfortable Conversation, a nonprofit YouTube channel that has now helped more than 10,000 viewers engage in meaningful conversations about sexual violence through 100+ videos. Media includes: Boston Business Journal, Associated Press, Providence Journal, Chronicle of Philanthropy, AskMen, Fox News Providence, WHYY, Philadelphia Metro, Huffington Post Live.

On Sunday, Argentina's election saw center-left candidate Alberto Fernandez winning. Fernandez has said he supports legalizing abortion and his election could mean easier access to abortion for the country. To discuss, we FEATURE Lauren Carlsen. Carlsen is Director of the Americas Program in Mexico City, a program of the Center for International Policy based in Washington DC. She is a frequent radio, print and television commentarist for U.S., Latin American and Mexican media. Carlsen has worked as a gender and communications consultant with Just Associates, the Nobel Women's Initiative and the Global Fund for Women, and as a consultant on immigration with the International Organization on Migrations. Media includes: Washington Post, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, InterPress Service, Guardian, Christian Science Monitor, NBC, CBC, BBC.