The Senate has passed the bipartisan infrastructure bill. The bill now moves to the House. To discuss, we FEATURE Suzanne Spaulding. Spaulding served as Under Secretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate (NPPD) at the Department of Homeland Security. She oversaw the coordinated operational and policy functions of the Directorate’s subcomponents: office of Cybersecurity and Communications, Infrastructure Protection, Biometric Identity Management, Cyber and Infrastructure Analysis, and the Federal Protective Service. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, CNN, ABC, NPR.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has resigned after facing accusations of sexual harassment by 11 women. To discuss, we FEATURE Lisalyn R. Jacobs. Jacobs is the CEO of Just Solutions: Bringing in justice to counteract injustice, and the former V.P. of Government Relations for Legal Momentum (formerly NOW Legal Defense & Education Fund). She has testified before congressional committees at both the state and federal levels. She has also fought for and secured needed protections for poor women and survivors of violence in a number of key federal laws including two reauthorizations of the Violence Against Women Act (2005 and 2013), the 2006 reauthorization of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, and the 2009 amendments to the Stimulus law. Media includes: The New York Times, Huffington Post, NPR, MSNBC, CNN, Fox.

R. Kelly's trial began in Brooklyn on Monday. The singer and songwriter is being charged with multiple counts of sex trafficking and racketeering. To discuss, we FEATURE Mallory Littlejohn. Littlejohn is Legal Director at Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE). She manages a growing team of attorneys who assist survivors of sexual harm and sex trafficking. Littlejohn has presented on trauma informed advocacy at the National Victim’s Rights Law Conference, the 7th Circuit’s National Employment Lawyer’s Conference, and regularly trains attorneys and legal advocates statewide on Victim’s Rights and civil laws related to sexual harm. Media includes: Chicago Tribune, Lifetime, WBEZ.

Many schools are grappling with their plans to reopen this fall as the CDC has released new mandates for the rapidly spreading coronavirus Delta variant. To discuss, we FEATURE Yvonne Vissing. Vissing is a pediatric and community sociologist, Professor of Healthcare Studies and founding director of the Center for Childhood & Youth Studies at Salem State University. She is the U.S. Children's Human Rights Policy Chair for the Hope for Children's United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child Policy Center and works on human rights issues at the national and international levels. Extensive media experience.

In Texas and Florida, both governors have banned businesses from mandating masks or vaccines. COVID-19 cases have been soaring in both states. To discuss, we FEATURE Sylvia M. Morris. Morris is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. Morris’s goal is to utilize media to improve our nation’s public health by combining her training in Internal Medicine, Holistic Medicine and Public Health. Media includes: U.S. News and World Report, Livestrong, Weather Channel, CNN.

Afghanistan's second largest city, Kandahar, is under siege by the Taliban. To discuss, we FEATURE Patricia DeGennaro. DeGennaro is an adjunct professor at New York University’s Department of Politics where she teaches courses on international security, civilian and military relations and U.S. foreign policy. In addition to her work as a professor, she is a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute and a professional service provider and a subject matter expert on Afghanistan, the Middle East, the Arab Gulf States, Pakistan and Iran for the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command. Media includes: Al Jazeera, CNN, MSNBC, BBC, Fox News.

The Dixie Fire in Northern California is now the second largest wildfire in California's history. Meanwhile in Greece, a wildfire is causing the island of Evia to evacuate its residents. To discuss, we FEATURE Tiffany Yap. Yap is a senior scientist and a wildlife corridor advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. As a conservation scientist, Tiffany is passionate about protecting biodiversity and environmental health, especially in the wildland urban interface. She is an expert on wildfires, mountain lions, amphibians, and wildlife connectivity. Yap has been interviewed on how human activities and land use affect wildfire risk, particularly in the wildland-urban interface. Media includes: Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Wired, San Francisco Chronicle, NPR.

On Monday, Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers, filed a lawsuit against Prince Andrew accusing him of sexually abusing her at Epstein's Manhattan home. To discuss, we FEATURE Jane Manning. Manning is a former sex crimes prosecutor, a victim rights advocate, and a leading expert in criminal justice and violence against women. As Director of the Women’s Equal Justice Project, she helps survivors of sexual assault navigate the criminal justice system. At the Women’s Equal Justice Project, she is working to improve the justice system’s response to sexual assault, including the violent and under-prosecuted crime of drug-facilitated sexual assault. Media includes: The New York Times, The New York Daily News, The Brian Lehrer Show, Buzzfeed, The New York Post.