President-Elect Joe Biden has finished naming his cabinet that "looks like America." To discuss, we FEATURE Vanessa C. Tyson. A social scientist by training, Tyson currently teaches in the Department of Politics at Scripps College in Claremont, CA. Her courses include Black Americans and the Political System; Women and Public Policy; Introduction to Public Policy; Research Design; and Environmental Policy in the US. Tyson’s book, Twists of Fate: Multiracial Coalitions and Minority Representation in the US House of Representatives (Oxford University Press, 2016), explores structural inequality in policy formulation in the United States, and how members of Congress have formed multiracial coalitions as a strategy to provide for their diverse constituencies. Media includes: US News and World Report, the Sacramento Bee, The Huffington Post, NPR.

Today, the House will vote to formally call on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment. If he refuses to act, an impeachment vote is expected tomorrow. To discuss, we FEATURE Heidi Li Feldman. Feldman is Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, with a courtesy appointment in the Philosophy Department at Georgetown University. She has written major articles on tort law and on legal ethics. Her scholarly expertise includes the U.S. civil justice system more generally. Currently, Dr. Feldman’s scholarship focuses on how and whether U.S. cities and states can protect civil rights and strengthen civil society. Media includes: The New Yorker, CBC News.

Dozens of people who participated in the insurrection on January 6th have been arrested and face criminal charges. To discuss, we FEATURE Dina Doll. Doll is an attorney, certified mediator, trial consultant, journalist and television legal analyst. She can be seen as a regular commentator and legal analyst on the Law & Crime Network. She has appeared as a frequent guest on their shows, Law & Crime Daily, Law & Crime Report and Daily Debrief. She has also provided countless hours of live commentary for the network involving criminal trials including unpredictable witness testimony, pre-trial hearings and sentencing hearings. She has provided legal analysis on almost all of the high-profile cases over the past year including: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Johnny Depp’s libel case, Kyle Rittenhouse and his extradition fight, and Lori Loughlin and the college admissions scandal. Media includes: Law & Crime Network, Spectrum News.

During the January 6th insurrection, "murder the media" was scratched onto the door of the Capitol and members of the media reported being harassed and having their equipment destroyed by the mob. To discuss, we FEATURE Cristina Azocar. Azocar is the chair of the Journalism Department and an associate professor of journalism at San Francisco State University. Prior to becoming chair she directed the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism for more than ten years. She teaches classes on the intersection of race and journalistic practice. Extensive media experience.

During the January 6th insurrection, a noose was hung outside the Capitol building and participants were seen wearing an Auschwitz t-shirt and other anti-Semitic messages. To discuss, we FEATURE Koritha Mitchell. Mitchell is an associate professor of English at Ohio State University. Her research centers on African American literature, racial violence in United States history and contemporary culture, and black drama and performance. Mitchell is author of the new book From Slave Cabins to the White House: Homemade Citizenship in African American Culture and the award-winning book Living with Lynching: African American Lynching Plays, Performance, and Citizenship, 1890 - 1930. Media includes: Good Morning America, The Huffington Post, PBS Newshour, NPR's Morning Edition, CNN, NBC News.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is Monday. To commemorate, we FEATURE Janus Adams. Host and Co-Executive Producer of “The Janus Adams Show,” pioneer of issue-oriented women’s programming, former NPR correspondent, Janus Adams is an Emmy Award-winning journalist and scholar of women’s and African-American history. A northern school desegregation pioneer and mother, she is founder of BackPaxKids. 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. Media includes: Newsday, USA Today, BET, CBS, CNN, Fox.

The Trump administration has rolled back nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ Americans who are seeking health care services from organizations that are funded by the Department of Heath and Human Services— including adoption and foster care placements. To discuss, we FEATURE Jennifer Chrisler. Chrisler is the Executive Director of Family Equality Council, and one of the foremost national advocates dedicated to full equality for modern American families. As head of the Family Equality Council, she works to support, represent and connect the one million families in the U.S. with parents who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender and their two million children. Under Chrisler’s leadership, Family Equality Council has grown into the leading policy advocate on federal and state issues that impact today’s modern families, including foster care and adoption, safe schools, family medical leave, parenting protections, domestic partnership and marriage. Media includes: The New York Times, USA Today, The Huffington Post, MSNBC, CNN, NPR.

Donald Trump has been banned from multiple social media platforms—including Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, and Twitch. The PGA has also cancelled plans to have its tournament at a Trump-owned golf course. To discuss, we FEATURE Juli E. Briskman. Briskman is a spokewoman for First Amendment Rights. She became internationally known in the Fall of 2017 when a photograph of her flipping off the presidential motorcade went viral on social media and she was subsequently fired from her job with a Virginia-based government contractor. Briskman, a former daily news journalist, believes this action is a direct result of the administration's practice of autocratic capture, or pressure on private individuals and organizations to praise and not criticize the current regime in power. This practice is un-American and violates our constitutional rights to free speech. Thus, Briskman has sued her former employer under Virginia Public Policy, which protects our rights to free speech. Media includes: The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Guardian, Marie Claire, CNN, BBC, NPR.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 have continued to spread. Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Rhode Island and South Carolina are among the worst-hit states. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Valda C. Crowder. Dr. Crowder is a board-certified emergency medicine physician who uniquely blends clinical knowledge with public health and business acumen. Dr. Crowder has worked nationally and developed policy that is presently a part of today’s Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act legislation and Affordable Health Care Act. She has provided medical care in three pandemics (COVID-19, HIV, tuberculosis). Media includes: The Baltimore Times, The Dallas Examiner, NPR.

Columbia University has restored the diploma and provided a cash reward to Ben Feibleman, who, in 2017, the university found responsible for sexually assaulting a female student. Columbia stands by their findings. To discuss, we FEATURE Adrienne Lawrence. A former litigator obsessed with reaching audiences through informative, thought-provoking conversation—particularly on matters impacting women in the workplace— Lawrence is the author of Staying in the Game: The Playbook for Beating Workplace Sexual Harassment, a first-of-its-kind guidebook on sexual harassment. Drawing on more than 10 years of legal experience and an advanced background in criminology, Lawrence also works with businesses in creating progressive sexual harassment and domestic violence policies, in addition to providing effective training, consultation and oversight. Media includes: Buzzfeed, The Young Turks, The Undefeated, ESPN, CBS Radio.

The Trump administration has labeled Yemen's Houthis as a terrorist organization, which, without additional legal measures to protect them, leaves aid workers vulnerable to criminal penalties if they continue to deliver aid. To discuss, we FEATURE Alexandra Stark. Stark is a senior researcher at New America, with expertise in U.S. foreign policy, international security, and Middle East politics. She has a PhD from the government department at Georgetown University. She was previously a research fellow at the Middle East Initiative of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, and Minerva/Jennings Randolph Peace Scholar at the United States Institute of Peace. Media includes: Foreign Policy, The National Interest, The Washington Post.

Mercury, Saturn, and Jupiter will be in conjunction this week. To discuss, we FEATURE Emily Lakdawalla. Lakdawalla is a passionate advocate for the exploration of all of the worlds of our solar system. Through blogs, photos, videos, podcasts, print articles, Twitter, and any other medium she can put her hand to, Lakdawalla shares the adventure of space exploration with the world. She has been writing and editing the Planetary Society Blog since 2005, reporting on space news, explaining planetary science, and sharing beautiful space photos. Media includes: BBC.