Today, President Biden and Vice President Harris addressed voting rights in a well-publicized speech in Georgia, after Senator McConnell blocked the Senate from voting on voting rights by simple majority vote. To discuss, we FEATURE Teresa Acuña. Acuña is Associate Director for Democratic Governance at the Ash Center, a multi-disciplinary think tank leading real-world change at the Harvard Kennedy School. For over ten years, she has worked in political, legislative, and programmatic leadership roles at the state and national level, most recently as Women Vote Director for Biden for America campaign in Arizona. She sits on various national non-profit boards including the League of Women Voters, New American Leaders and Student Learn Student Vote. Extensive media experience.

The childcare portions of the Build Back Better plan are in jeopardy of being removed. To discuss, we FEATURE Christian Nunes. Nunes is President of the National Organization for Women (NOW). She has more than 20 years of experience advocating for children’s and women’s issues. Throughout her career, Nunes has played an integral role in the drafting of policy positions with local and national coalition partners, including recent collaboration with the National Coalition for the Homeless to draft legislation to provide housing, childcare and supportive services for individuals in need, with a particular focus on homeless women and girls. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Business Insider, Salt Lake Tribune, PBS, CBS.

In-person classes will resume Wednesday in Chicago after union leaders reach a tentative agreement on a new set of Covid-19 protocols. Teachers' unions in other U.S. states are also fighting for safe work environments for their members. To discuss, we FEATURE Emma Garcia. Garcia is a Senior Researcher at the Learning Policy Institute. She specializes in the economics of education and education policy. Her areas of research include analysis of the production of education (cognitive and noncognitive skills); returns to education; evaluation of educational interventions (early childhood, K-12, and higher education); educational equity; human development; international comparative education; and cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit analysis in education. Garcia has published two research papers on the impact of Covid-19 on schools and students. Extensive media experience.

The U.S. Navy has added "character issues" to its boot camp. The additonal two weeks will focus on sexual assault, hazing, and extremism. To discuss, we FEATURE Antonieta Rico. Rico is a fellow at Women in International Security and a Senior Strategic Communications Specialist at GAP Solutions. Previously, she was the Director of Communications and Policy at the Service Women's Action Network (SWAN), where she led their public affairs efforts. She served in the U.S. Army from October 2001 to September 2008, working as a military journalist and public affairs NCO. She has been published in various outlets and wrote in TIME about the military's sexual assault epidemic and #MeToo. Media includes: USA Today, National Geographic, Task & Purpose.

An apartment building in the Bronx, New York City, caught fire this weekend, leaving 17 dead. To discuss, we FEATURE Sarinya Srisakul. Srisakul has been serving NYC as a firefighter since 2005. She was the first woman firefighter of Asian descent in the FDNY and the first Asian American woman Lieutenant for the North Queens area. Srisakul was President of the United Women Firefighters for 6 years. She has been a dedicated member of the United Women Firefighters since the beginning of her career and held the positions of Secretary, Borough Representative and Vice President before becoming President. Media includes: The Village Voice, Newsday, ABC, CBS.

As talks between Russia and the U.S. appear to be making little progress, Russia conducts live-fire military exercises near the Ukraine border. To discuss, we FEATURE Nina Jankowicz. Jankowicz, a Global Fellow at the Kennan Institute, studies the intersection of democracy and technology in Central and Eastern Europe and is the author of How To Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and the Future of Conflict (Bloomsbury/IBTauris). Previously, she advised the Ukrainian government on strategic communications under the auspices of a Fulbright-Clinton Public Policy Fellowship. Prior to her Fulbright grant in Ukraine, Jankowicz managed democracy assistance programs to Russia and Belarus at the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed News, Foreign Policy, CNN, NPR.

Monday is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. To commemorate, we FEATURE Janus Adams. 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. She is the author of Glory Days: 365 Inspired Moments in African American History and her series, “Milestones in African-American Business History,” ran on public radio’s Marketplace. Media includes: Ms. Magazine, The New York Times, Newsday, USA Today, ABC, BET, CBS, CNN, Fox.

Don’t Look Up, which has been on Netflix’s top ten list for weeks, highlights how difficult it is for scientists to communicate what they do, and, when necessary, to deliver bad news. To discuss we feature Claudia Dreifus. From 1999 through 2020, Dreifus was the interviewer of the Tuesday science section of the New York Times, producing biographical interviews with leading researchers including Stephen Hawking, Elizabeth Blackburn, James Allison, Jane Goodall and Jennifer Doudnal. When the scientific honor society, Sigma Xi, awarded her an honorary membership, their leadership described her as “a pioneering and original force in making science accessible." Media includes: The New York Times, The Science Network, This Is America, PBS.

Maya Angelous has become the first Black woman to be depicted on a quarter. To discuss, we FEATURE Avis A. Jones-DeWeever. Jones-DeWeever is the author or co-author of numerous publications, including her award-winning book, How Exceptional Black Women Lead along with The State of Black Women in the U.S. 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019; Beyond Broke: Why Closing the Racial Wealth Gap is a Priority for National Economic Security; Massive Resistance: A Way Forward for Black America in the Wake of Trump and You Mad? Black Women, Work, and the Normalcy of Disrespect, among many others. Media includes: The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine, CNN, Fox News, PBS.