The NATO Summit is underway at The Hague and will see world leaders come together to make a decision on defense spending. To discuss, we FEATURE Shazia Z. Rafi. Rafi is the managing director, Global Parliamentary Services, LLC. From 1996 to 2013, she was the Secretary-General of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). PGA is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of elected legislators from over 100 countries that leverages parliamentary processes to promote peace, international law, gender equality and reproductive health. Under Rafi’s leadership, PGA had successfully promoted the Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court and played a critical role in the passage of the Arms Trade Treaty to regulate conventional weapons trade. Rafi also developed projects on the role of parliamentarians in conflict management and political mediation; the role of parliamentary committees in rule of law and good governance; the role of parliamentary leadership in gender equality and women’s empowerment; and the role of foreign aid committees of donor parliaments in development assistance. Media includes: The Guardian, The New York Times, Rachel Maddow, WMC News & Features.

On Monday, Iran launched missiles at a U.S. military base in Qatar. To discuss, we FEATURE Joelle Schmitz. Schmitz is a senior fellow emeritus of Harvard University's Mossavar Rhamani Center for Business and Government. Her expertise integrates her lifelong commitment to democracy in a European context, the interdependence of public and private sectors, and innovative public policy across several sectors. Prior to joining MRCBG, Schmitz served as a Fulbright Scholar and policy advisor to the Canadian Prime Minister’s office on issues of interprovincial and international integration, a consultant to the lead negotiator for the United States in European Union trade agreements and a board member of nonprofit organizations. Extensive media experience.

Iran has threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, following the U.S. bombing of its nuclear facilities. The trade route carries 20% of the world's oil supply. To discuss, we FEATURE Tara Righetti. Righetti is the Occidental chair of energy and environmental policies at the University of Wyoming and has appointments in the College of Law, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, and the School of Energy Resources. She is the co-director of the Nuclear Energy Research Center. Professor Righetti's research focuses on subsurface property and administrative regulation issues associated with energy and mineral production and carbon sequestration. She is a co-author on one of the leading casebooks in Oil and Gas Law and has authored numerous articles. During the 2021-2022 academic year, Professor Righetti served as a Fulbright Research Scholar at the University of Lille where she worked on projects related to the EU ETS and the Circular Economy. Extensive media experience.

President Donald Trump's decision to attack Iran has raised questions about whether the Constitution grants the president power to conduct war without Congress' approval. To discuss, we FEATURE Lisa Gilbert. Gilbert is Public Citizen’s co-president. Previously, Lisa served as Public Citizen’s vice president of legislative affairs, director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division and deputy director of that division. She is a strong advocate of government transparency and integrity, financial reform, civil justice and consumer protection. Gilbert has built and managed large coalitions of progressive groups. She founded and co-leads the 100-plus member Not Above the Law coalition, designed to push back on the Trump administration’s rule of law abuses; founded the 160-member Declaration for American Democracy coalition, which successfully pushed for passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of the For the People Act (H.R. 1) (a raft of democracy reforms); and runs the Clean Budget Coalition, a 120-plus member coalition that has helped keep poison pill policy riders out of the budget. Media includes: The New York Times, The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NPR.

According to the WeCount project, a report conducted by pro-abortion group the Society of Family Planning, the number of abortions rose in 2024 due to telehealth prescriptions. To discuss, we FEATURE Julie F. Kay. An experienced and passionate advocate for equality, attorney Kay is an expert on women's human rights domestically and internationally. She is the Founder and Executive Director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine. She is the co-author with Kathryn Kolbert of the acclaimed Controlling Women: What We Must Do Now to Save Reproductive Freedom. As the lead attorney who designed and litigated the landmark case ABC v. Ireland, Kay successfully argued before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights that Ireland's ban on life-saving abortion violated her client’s human rights. Kay's legal work with the Irish Family Planning Association is credited with playing a vital role in abortion legalization in Ireland. Her experience in Ireland and countries worldwide informs her strategies for abortion reform in the U.S. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, LA Times, Slate, The Guardian, WNYC.

The eastern U.S. is currently experiencing a dangerous heatwave. To discuss, we FEATURE Hadia Sheerazi. Sheerazi is a manager in RMI’s (founded as the Rocky Mountain Institute) Climate-Aligned Industries (CAI) Program, co-leading community engagement and equity-centered work across the highest emitting industrial sectors. She advises project developers on how to operationalize the “Justice40 Initiative” framework via capacity-building workshops and webinars on best practices for equitable, inclusive and meaningful two-way engagement to de-risk projects, designing and implementing well-rounded and responsive community benefit plans (CBPs), and remediating the impacts of historic underinvestment, environmental injustice, and decades of legacy pollution in low-income, BIPOC frontline communities. Sheerazi has expert knowledge on climate change, climate action, disaster risk reduction (DRR), environmental justice, flooding, heatwaves, and geopolitics. Media includes: Huffington Post, Devex, NY1 News, BBC.

June is LGBTQ Pride Month. To discuss, we FEATURE Rev. Irene Monroe. Monroe is described in O, the Oprah Magazine, as “a phenomenal woman who has succeeded against all odds.” An African-American lesbian feminist public theologian, she is a sought-after speaker and preacher. She writes a weekly column in the Boston home LGBTQ newspaper Baywindows. Monroe stated that her “columns are an interdisciplinary approach drawing on critical race theory, African American , queer and religious studies. As an religion columnist I try to inform the public of the role religion plays in discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Because homophobia is both a hatred of the “other ” and it’s usually acted upon ‘in the name of religion,” by reporting religion in the news I aim to highlight how religious intolerance and fundamentalism not only shatters the goal of American democracy, but also aids in perpetuating other forms of oppression such as racism, sexism, classism and anti-Semitism.” Media includes: The Advocate, Huffington Post, NPR.