President Joe Biden made clear from his first day in office that social justice issues are at the top of his economic agenda. A "human" infrastructure bill remains on Congress's to-do list, which includes subsidies for child care, education, paid leave, health care, clean energy programs — in other words, a social safety net. But to get this partisan, largely unwritten measure passed, Democrats have embraced the budget reconciliation process. Mary C. Curtis speaks first to Norman Ornstein, emeri...
Sep 09, 2021•35 min
Filmmaker Greg Barker’s new documentary, “Detainee 001” comes at a turning point in U.S history and its timing could not be more ideal. The story of John Walker Lindh, the “American Taliban” makes for a poignant narrative as the United States stands on the cusp of the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and has ended its war in Afghanistan. Barker discusses the Taliban, Afghanistan and the bizarre story of John Walker Lindh on this week’s episode of the Political Theater podcast. Learn more abo...
Sep 08, 2021•27 min
President Joe Biden this week declared that the longest war in U.S. history was over, and that after evacuating thousands of Americans and Afghan allies, there was no vital national security interest that justified staying in Afghanistan. But after 20 years, the withdrawal of troops and civilians this summer was messy, and deadly. CQ Roll Call Senior Defense Writer John Donnelly, joins us to discuss how much of it was standard operating procedure and a lack of good options for the U.S. mission t...
Sep 01, 2021•27 min
The United Nations Capital Development Fund’s lead for digitalization in West Africa provides an insider’s account of the region's innovation curve, and how mobile payments, digital identities and ecommerce solutions are transforming what it means to have an “informal” economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 31, 2021•26 min
Martin Luther King III joins Equal Time to talk with Mary C. Curtis about his father’s “I have a dream" speech, voting rights today and personal memories of his father. Fifty-eight years after his father's iconic words, MLK III joins John Lewis' family and others to galvanize the nation to, once again, ensure voting rights for all Americans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 26, 2021•31 min
Health inequities between different racial and ethnic groups existed well before COVID-19, but the pandemic has revealed just how stark the disparities are. Throw in the politicization of science, and the United States has a big mountain to climb to conquer the virus. Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and former health commissioner of Baltimore sits down with guest host Sandhya Raman to unpack where we are and what can be done. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 25, 2021•23 min
Sunayna Tuteja, The Federal Reserve's Chief Innovation Officer, gives her first interview since taking the post and offers insight on the Federal Reserve, and what it takes to move from the private sector to government. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 24, 2021•29 min
A little known public-health directive, Title 42, allows border agents to swiftly “expel” migrants who cross the border -- without considering their asylum claims. It was implemented in March 2020 as COVID-19 cases spread across the U.S. This expulsion policy was criticized by presidential candidate Joe Biden, but President Biden has embraced it. At least for now. Special host Suzanne Monyak unpacks the politics of this thorny immigration policy with Cris Ramon, an independent immigration consul...
Aug 19, 2021•24 min
Kristin Smith provides a behind-the-scenes look at the infrastructure bill and crypto-lobbying in Washington. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 17, 2021•31 min
The House is set to take up the fiscal 2022 budget resolution the week of Aug. 23, but moderates are threatening to block the tax and spending blueprint unless leaders hold a vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. CQ Roll Call’s Jennifer Shutt and Paul Krawzak discuss the latest on the budget resolution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 13, 2021•19 min
Venture capitalists Tyler Griffin and Ryan Falvey break down how the next generation of fintech is leveraging technology to both scale and serve diverse customer bases. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 10, 2021•30 min
Special elections to the House this year have offered more evidence that local and state contests have been nationalized, even down to the intra-party primary contests for safe seats. CQ Roll Call Politics Editor Herb Jackson and Inside Elections Reporter and Analyst Jacob Rubashkin join Political Theater to discuss what we can learn from special election results so far. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 09, 2021•29 min
An upcoming decision on whether to raise or suspend the debt limit is shaping up to be one of the more challenging legislative battles this year. CQ Roll Call’s Jennifer Shutt and David Lerman discuss what is likely to be a contentious fight between the two parties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 06, 2021•21 min
The HBO documentary series “Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union,” arrives at a tumultuous time in American politics. It explores the formative years and presidency of Barack Obama, an era that seems both faraway and contemporary, with race relations continuing to define the public sphere. The three-part series premieres on HBO and HBO Max on Aug. 3, just in time for Obama's 60th birthday this week on Aug. 4. As part of the American Film Institute's AFI Docs 2021 documentary film festival, ...
Aug 04, 2021•28 min
Michele Alt, Dan Awrey and Caitlin Long provide an overview of the world of bank charters and fintech charters — and what they mean for crypto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 03, 2021•37 min
The Senate voted this week to advance bipartisan infrastructure legislation with $550 billion in new spending over the next 5 years. CQ Roll Call’s Jennifer Shutt and David Lerman discuss the road ahead for the bill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 30, 2021•20 min
Voter nullification, authoritarianism, and the end of democracy, that’s what Rep. James E. Clyburn says are the very real consequences of not passing legislation to protect voting rights. The South Carolina Democrat emphasized that voter suppression is not just an issue of access to the ballot box, it includes who gets to overturn elections. “I want you to call it what it is, use the word. Nullification.” said Clyburn, “It is voter nullification.” There are currently two bills, the For the Peopl...
Jul 30, 2021•27 min
Six years ago, Malcolm Graham lost his big sister, Cynthia Graham Hurd, in the Charleston shooting that took nine Black churchgoers' lives. Now a city councilman in Charlotte, N.C., Graham reflects on the work he did to remove the Confederate flag from its prominent place on the South Carolina statehouse grounds, the future of racial matters in our country and his sister's legacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 29, 2021•32 min
This week, the White House celebrated the 31st anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, touted as a bipartisan success that has delivered for Americans, and hinted it could be used to help secure voting rights. CQ Roll Call Chief Correspondent Niels Lesniewski joins the Political Theater podcast to talk about the law, and the challenges remaining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 28, 2021•24 min
Fintech Beat sits down with Stefania Di Bartolomeo, CEO of Physis Investment, to talk about impact investing and the rising tide of startups aiming to shape ESG. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 27, 2021•29 min
The House is taking up seven appropriations bills as one package next week, bringing debates about federal funding for abortion, environmental policy and infrastructure to the floor. CQ Roll Call’s Jennifer Shutt and David Lerman break down the road ahead for these bills. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 23, 2021•21 min
Initially conceived as a temporary solution for vulnerable immigrants, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program has become an intractable political battlefield as Congress continues to punt, year after year, a comprehensive overhaul of the country's immigration program. The latest chapter has underscored the fragility of even a government policy that has been around for almost 10 years: A district court judge in Texas last week struck it down, blocking new applications but allowing the...
Jul 22, 2021•23 min
Former Federal Reserve Board Governor Dan Tarullo and Avanti founder Caitlin Long discuss the Basel Committee’s proposed guidance on capital rules for crypto. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 20, 2021•38 min
Senate Democrats agreed this week to work toward a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, which would fund major programs President Joe Biden proposed in his economic plans. CQ Roll Call’s Jennifer Shutt and David Lerman discuss the plan, Democratic unity around the package and the likely long voting sessions ahead. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 16, 2021•21 min
Slavery, Jim Crow laws and COVID-19 all have contributed to a yawning gap between white public school students and students of color. While the 1950s Supreme Court decision known as Brown v. Board of Education was supposed to correct "separate but equal," there is still a long way to go before public schools can talk about equity. Mary C. Curtis talks with Terra Wallin of the Education Trust to understand how we arrived at this moment and how the nation's public schools can do better. Learn more...
Jul 15, 2021•30 min
Midterm elections have patterns, but the political calculus we use sometimes needs a little adjusting. A delayed redistricting cycle, former President Donald Trump’s influence over key Senate and House races and changes to several states’ voter access laws make the 2022 campaign particularly hard to gauge. Nathan Gonzales, elections analyst for CQ Roll Call and the publisher of Inside Elections, joins the Political Theater podcast to discuss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...
Jul 13, 2021•28 min
Digital assets have very different technical features. What is regulation's role in their interoperability? Citi's Tony McLaughlin and Jai Messari join the show to discuss McLaughlin's new paper, “The Regulated Internet of Value”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 13, 2021•26 min
Both chambers are expected to debate and vote on a fiscal 2022 budget resolution with reconciliation instructions, while the Senate is planning to vote on the bipartisan infrastructure package and the debt limit suspension set to expire at the end of the month. CQ Roll Call’s Jennifer Shutt and Niels Lesniewski discuss everything to look out for in a packed July. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 09, 2021•22 min
It has been a little more than a year since we launched CQ Future. At the time, the pandemic was in full swing, as was the Black Lives Matter movement. It was a moment of great uncertainty and we set out to explore what the future would look like for many policies that would shape our lives coming out of all this change. While there are still a lot of open questions, we believe it is the right moment to end this podcast as the country stabilizes. So for the last episode, CQ Roll Call's Shawn Zel...
Jul 09, 2021•21 min
Supreme Court justices like to portray themselves as legal actors, not political ones, but the high court has never been able to stay out of the public arena. That was certainly the case for the term that just ended, and it is certainly the case for the term to come. CQ Roll Call senior writer Todd Ruger discusses the court’s recent decisions, its upcoming ones and the effect that Congress and the president have on the institution. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jul 07, 2021•32 min