The White House has estimated that at least 100,000 Russian troops have been killed in the past five monthes. To discuss, we FEATURE Kimberly Marten. Marten is a Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, and a faculty member of Columbia's Harriman Institute for Russian and East-Central European Studies, and Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies. She specializes in international relations and international security, with a keen interest in Russia. Marten is also interested in a broad range of Russian security and foreign policy issues. She has analyzed Russia's Wagner Group "private" military company and its uses by the Russian state in Ukraine, Syria, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Mozambique, and Libya. She has also analyzed Russia’s intelligence agencies under Putin, and explained Putin's decision to meddle in the 2016 U.S. elections, and to intervene militarily in Ukraine. Media includes: The New York Times, The Washington Post, Huffington Post, WNYC, CNN, Fox.

First Republic Bank has been seized by regulators and sold to JPMorgan. It is the second-largest bank failure in U.S. history. To discuss, we FEATURE Kathryn Lavelle. Lavelle is the Ellen and Dixon Long professor of World Affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her research explores the exchange between economic and political institutions with a particular emphasis on global financial issues. Lavelle is the author of a book on American governing institutions that formulate financial policy titled "Money and Banks in the American Political System." Her first book, "The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets," analyzed the historical and political processes that led to the ownership structures of large firms in middle and low-income countries. She derived the analytical framework for this and her book on Congress and the IMF and World Bank from her experience working as a Congressional fellow on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services for Chairman Barney Frank. Since that time, she has used extensive archival evidence and interviews to provide additional evidence for the policy process in the domestic and international arenas. Extensive media experience.

May Day demonstrators clashed with police in France. Workers have been protesting the government's decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. To discuss, we FEATURE Karen A. Tramontano. Tramontano is the Chief Executive Officer at Blue Star Strategies, LLC and provides corporate, institutional and public sector clients with results-oriented strategies. In her previous work experience Ms. Tramontano played a critical role in shaping some of the most important global policy issues of our time, including China Permanent Normal Trade Relations, environmental and labor standards in multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements, and world-wide poverty reduction strategies that focus on creating jobs and employing the Decent Work Agenda. Additionally, she currently serves as Senior Advisor to Guy Ryder, Director General of the International Labor Organization in Geneva, and is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law School. Media includes: Bloomberg, Forbes, Politico, NBC.

President Biden has commuted the sentences of 31 people who were convicted of non-violent drug crimes to match current sentencing laws. To discuss, we FEATURE Maritza Perez. Maritza is the Director of the Office of Federal Affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance in Washington, DC where she leads the organization’s federal legislative agenda to end the drug war. In this role, she lobbies Congress on issues pertaining to drug policy, criminal justice reform, overdose prevention, and harm reduction. Previously, Maritza was a Senior Policy Analyst for Criminal Justice Reform at the Center for American Progress (CAP) where her federal portfolio included marijuana policy, policing, and prison and sentencing reform. A criminal justice policy expert, Maritza has been featured in various media outlets including The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, The Boston Globe, Bloomberg Government, The Takeaway, Latino USA, NBC News and more.

As fighting continues in Sudan, the UN has warned that 800,000 people could be fleeing the warring country. To discuss, we FEATURE Bree Akesson. Akesson is Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Global Adversity and Wellbeing and an Associate Professor of Social Work at the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. She is also a faculty affiliate with the CPC Learning Network, the Centre for Research on Children and Families at McGill University, and the International Migration Research Centre at Balsillie School of International Affairs. Her program of research focuses broadly on international child protection issues, ranging from micro-level understandings of the experiences of war-affected children and families to macro-level initiatives to strengthen the global social systems. For the past seven years, she has focused much of her research on the meaning of home and the impact of intentional destruction of home (i.e. domicide) on war-affected and displaced populations, and she is currently writing a book on the subject. Media includes: Daily News Egypt, Toronto Star, CKUT Radio.

The violence has increased in Haiti's captial Port-au-Prince as civilian vigilantes fight against the criminal gangs that have been terrorizing the city. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Vanessa L. Deane. Vanessa is the Chief Executive Officer of Pinchina, an international urban planning firm she established in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. As a Haitian-American urban planner, her primary interests are in strengthening the physical, social, and economic wellbeing of vulnerable communities in Haiti, New York City and wherever else they may be. In 2015, Vanessa was selected by the Haitian Embassy in Washington D.C. to advise Haiti’s Ministry of Planning and External Cooperation as a Haiti Future Leaders Fellow. Media includes: The Root, Planning Magazine, BBC.

A woman who needed a lifesaving abortion was denied care from two hospitals. According to health officials, this goes against federal law that states hospitals must treat patients in life-threatening situations. To discuss, we FEATURE Kristyn Brandi, the Darney-Landy Fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Brandi is an Obstetrician-Gynecologist with a fellowship training in Family Planning (contraception and abortion services). Dr. Brandi currently is a board member and the immediate past Board Chair of Physicians for Reproductive Health, sits on several sub-committees for the Society of Family Planning and is a founding member of Centering Equity, Racial and Cultural Literacy in Family Planning (CERCL-FP). She has published research on contraceptive coercion by doctors to patients seeking abortion. Her master's degree concentration focused on Health Law, Bioethics, and Human Rights, which she has focused her educational pursuits around abortion policy, contraceptive decision-making, and racial justice within medical education. Media includes: The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Elite Daily, Huffington Post.

According to Turkish government officials, Turkish forces have killed Islamic State’s leader, Abu Hussein al-Qurashi, in Syria. To discuss, we FEATURE Lauren C. 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 was appointed to the position of Legal Attaché in Paris, France, the first woman to hold that position, where she directed the FBI’s engagement with, and operations in, twenty-four countries, twenty-two of which were in Francophone Africa. 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. Media includes: The Washington Post, Huffinton Post, Take the Lead, My Statesman.

World Freedom Press Day is on Wednesday. To discuss, we FEATURE Anna Therese Day. Day is an award-winning reporter and filmmaker, focused on social movements, human rights, and the intersection of technology and security. In 2021, Day was honored with the James Foley World Press Freedom Award for her conflict journalism and advocacy. She regularly speaks on international affairs, women’s issues, human rights, and press freedom for broadcast news channels, at government and international forums, and in university and educational settings. Media includes: Al Jazeera, Huffington Post, Forbes, Vice, CNN.

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. To discuss, we FEATURE Seema Agnani. Agnani is the Executive Director of the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) – a coalition of more than 100 community-based organizations in 19 states and the Pacific Islands. Collectively, the coalition improves the lives of over two-million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who live in poverty by providing voice, tools, and shared knowledge to drive change. She was a founder and served as Executive Director of Chhaya Community Development Corporation, an organization that works with immigrant New Yorkers on housing justice and economic development issues. She was formerly the Coordinating Consultant to the Fund for New Citizens at The New York Community Trust, managing a donor collaborative of more than 20 foundations supporting immigrant rights and integration work in New York City. Media includes: The Nation, The New York Times, Comcast Newsmakers, Rootlines, PlanPhilly, WNYC.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health-related emergency room visits have skyrocketed for young people from 2011 to 2020. To discuss, we FEATURE Dr. Scyatta A. Wallace. Dr. Wallace is an award winning Psychologist, accomplished scientist and social entrepreneur. Her mission is to support leadership development and mental health/wellness among teen girls/young women. Dr. Wallace combines her love for empowering youth as CEO/Founder of Janisaw Company, a consulting firm specializing in creating leadership development, socio-emotional learning and healthy lifestyle programs for teen girls/young women. Janisaw Company also provides professional development training for organizations that serve youth. Media includes: Time, Essence, Elite Daily, The Grio, BET, CNN.