What happens when you take away a kid’s phone during school hours? In a word: drama. Some schools around the country are trying to completely remove smartphones from classrooms, requiring students to place them in pouches. Audie talks with Carol Kruser, Assistant Superintendent of Student Support Services at Chicopee Public Schools in Massachusetts. She successfully advocated for a district-wide ban on phones. We also hear from Suzanna Kopans, a high school senior who willingly parted with her p...
May 23, 2024•36 min•Ep. 113
A mere 500 feet away from the site of People of New York v. Trump , another political legacy is on the line in a courtroom. Democrat Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey, who sidestepped corruption charges due to a mistrial in 2017, is under federal indictment again, and the timing couldn’t be worse for Senate Democrats trying to maintain control of the chamber. Gregory Krieg is covering the Menendez trial for CNN and he’ll highlight this blockbuster case that’s been completely overshadowed by the...
May 20, 2024•31 min•Ep. 112
What can we learn from the first great rap battle of the streaming age? Like the ones that came before, the recent rap beef between Kendrick Lamar and Drake is defined by lyrical dexterity and sheer intensity. But UNLIKE past battles this one was remarkable for its speed. Both rappers released songs within hours and even minutes of each other. Audie talks with CNN Entertainment Reporter Lisa Respers France about this moment, and how social media pushed this beef to a fever pitch. Read Lisa’s rep...
May 16, 2024•27 min•Ep. 111
Vice President Kamala Harris thinks about everything as a lawyer first. That's an observation CNN Senior Reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere has made after many interviews with the Veep. Audie talks with Dovere about how Harris has deployed her prosecutorial skills against Wall Street CEOs, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and even President Biden in a debate moment that nearly derailed his campaign. And they talk about how she is using those same prosecutorial skills this election year, especial...
May 13, 2024•31 min•Ep. 110
Bad trips, anti-drug PSAs, and the crackdown under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 helped stigmatize psychedelics in the U.S. But now, there’s renewed clinical inquiry into whether these drugs can ease emotional trauma. To understand the future of psychedelics, Audie calls up Ernesto Londoño, reporter at the New York Times and author of the new book, “ Trippy: The Peril and Promise of Medicinal Psychedelics.” They discuss his own mental health and psychedelic journeys and why he thinks the...
May 09, 2024•38 min•Ep. 109
When Mike Johnson worked with Democrats to pass Ukraine war funding, he knew it would enrage the extreme right-wing and threaten his speakership. So far, Johnson has survived the challenge to his job, and as Doug Heye puts it, “survival is strength.” Heye has worked for Republicans in the House and Senate and is a former communications director for the Republican National Committee. He’ll describe the tightrope Mike Johnson must walk in order lead House Republicans back to a majority in November...
May 06, 2024•28 min•Ep. 108
Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have been met with suspensions, expulsions, and arrests. This week, Audie talks with two people in the middle of the story to understand how they view and talk about this moment. We hear from Krasimir Staykov, a junior and an activist at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He and others were arrested for staging a sit-in in the university president’s office. We also hear from Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, a...
May 02, 2024•44 min•Ep. 107
Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett were speechwriters in the Obama White House who, along with Tommy Vietor, decided to venture into media with a podcast now called Pod Save America . The show became a hit, so they founded a whole company around it called Crooked Media . Now, they produce a plethora of podcasts, host a full schedule of live shows, and even write books like their new title, Democracy or Else . Favreau & Lovett go behind the fights over messaging in the Democratic party, parse Joe Bid...
Apr 29, 2024•31 min•Ep. 106
And does Country need Beyoncé? The likely answer to both of those questions is no. But the discussion Beyoncé sparked seems to be the larger point of her new album, Cowboy Carter . Sidney Madden is a reporter for NPR Music, and has delved deep into the intricate dynamics of race, genre, and industry politics addressed on the album. Audie and Sidney talk about these bigger themes and explore the conversation that's been started by Beyoncé's latest bold venture. Sidney Madden is also co-host of th...
Apr 25, 2024•36 min•Ep. 105
While the political world fixates on Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial, the Supreme Court is weighing two decisions that could re-define the November election and invalidate charges for hundreds of January 6th defendants. CNN’s Senior Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic is here to explain what’s at stake and read the tea leaves as to which way the justices are leaning. Joan’s book, Nine Black Robes , is now out in paperback. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...
Apr 22, 2024•31 min•Ep. 104
This week, the Supreme Court ruled that Idaho could temporarily enforce a law that would ban providing gender-affirming care to minors. That means doctors who administer puberty blocking-drugs, hormone therapy, and perform certain surgeries could face up to 10 years in prison. It’s the latest move to prevent doctors from providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth. With politicians passing anti-trans bills and hospitals and doctors facing vitriol and threat, is this care on the line for...
Apr 18, 2024•34 min•Ep. 103
When Arizona’s Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law reinstating a near-total ban on abortion, it took most of the country by surprise. For plugged-in journalist Jim Small of AZ Mirror , this was the expected result of a deliberate effort by Republicans to arrive at precisely this outcome. Now that the great backpedal is underway, Small tells Audie how we got here and how Arizona politics will affect the elections in November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Apr 15, 2024•33 min•Ep. 102
The new movie “Civil War” asks: what could happen if the system of checks and balances that hold the United States together falls apart? Audie talks with the writer and director of the film, Alex Garland. It follows journalists as they make their way through a war-torn American landscape, one where Texas and California have gone to war against a three-term president who has disbanded the FBI and deemed journalists enemy combatants who may be shot on sight. -- The Assignment has been nominated fo...
Apr 11, 2024•30 min•Ep. 101
Last week, “No Labels,” the centrist group seeking to field a “unity ticket” for the presidential election, announced that despite raising $70 million and securing ballot access in key states, they had failed to secure a candidate and would drop their effort for the 2024 cycle. This news elicited sighs of relief all over Washington, including at Third Way, a center-left think tank. Kate deGruyter is communications director at Third Way, and she argues that any third-party candidate in this race ...
Apr 08, 2024•30 min•Ep. 100
What is driving the concern over online gambling? The lawyer who took on Big Tobacco, Richard Daynard, says it is an addictive product. The Public Health Advocacy Institute, which he heads up, is suing the sports betting platform DraftKings for deceptive advertising. Audie talks with Daynard, who’s made a career of bringing lawsuits in pursuit of public health, a strategy he calls “wholesale” rather than “retail.” We also hear from NBA star Rex Chapman , author of the memoir, “It’s Hard For Me T...
Apr 04, 2024•39 min•Ep. 99
When James Carville criticized the “preachy females” at the forefront of Democratic politics, he kicked off a firestorm of outrage and perhaps a little introspection. Did “The Ragin’ Cajun” have a point, however impolitely made? Do Democrats have a problem with men? Especially Black men and other men of color? Jamil Smith is an award-winning writer and the new editor-in-chief of The Emancipator , a nonprofit newsroom run by the Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, co-founded by D...
Apr 01, 2024•31 min•Ep. 98
We're taking a short break on The Assignment, and today we’re bringing you a powerful episode from the latest season of All There Is with Anderson Cooper. Following Naomi Judd's death by suicide in 2022, her daughter Ashley discovered her body. In a poignant and candid discussion, Ashley Judd opens up about the challenges she has confronted in addressing her own mental health struggles, the profound sense of loss she experiences, and the enduring presence of her mother's spirit in her life. Lear...
Mar 28, 2024•42 min•Ep. 97
Sarah Longwell always felt she could argue the big issues with her fellow Republicans and still have a place in the “big tent” party. That all changed with the emergence of Donald Trump, who espoused policies and politics Longwell could never accept. Instead of sulking over her lost party, Sarah got to work, trying to bridge the gap between the Republican party she knew and what it’s become. Longwell is publisher of the center-right publication, The Bulwark , and hosts podcasts, including “The F...
Mar 25, 2024•38 min•Ep. 96
We're taking a short break on The Assignment, and we want to bring you an episode of Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s excellent CNN podcast Chasing Life . It's a special episode he put together about IVF after the Supreme Court of Alabama declared embryos as children, potentially subjecting those who discard frozen embryos to wrongful death charges. This decision raises questions about the implications for fertility doctors and patients in the state, as well as potential ramifications on a national scale. Dr....
Mar 21, 2024•31 min•Ep. 95
Audie talks with journalists Amy Chozick and Abby Phillip about being a reporter on a presidential campaign bus. Amy is the creator and executive producer of the new Max dramedy “The Girls On The Bus,” which follows a group of four women on a fictional campaign trail. Amy covered Hillary Clinton’s campaigns for the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. CNN’s Abby Phillip was a consultant on the show, she is the host of NewsNight with Abby Phillip. “The Girls On The Bus” is streaming on Max...
Mar 18, 2024•35 min•Ep. 94
Kara Swisher is a journalist turned entrepreneur, a podcast star with high wattage guests, a punchy interviewer who never backs down, and now an important voice in the public debate over whether and how to regulate tech companies. Audie talks with Kara about her new memoir, “ Burn Book: A Tech Love Story .” Their conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at American University’s Sine Institute of Policy & Politics , where Kara is a 2024 Fellow. Kara Swisher is the host of “ On wi...
Mar 14, 2024•37 min•Ep. 93
When the Alabama Supreme Court ruled that fertilized embryos should be treated as “extrauterine children,” they threw IVF procedures into the abortion rights fight. In his State of the Union speech, President Biden warned Republicans that they “have no clue about the power of women.” And Senator Katie Britt — from the state that has put IVF in peril — was chosen to give the Republican response. Audie talks with writer Ana Marie Cox about how this fight is guiding both parties in their attempt to...
Mar 11, 2024•27 min•Ep. 92
There are people in communities big and small around the country who dedicate their working lives to making sure that if you’re an eligible voter, you get to cast a ballot. And their vital role in American democracy has gotten much harder in the last few years. Audie talks with Defiance County, Ohio Board of Elections director Tonya Wichman and Pennsylvania’s Secretary of the Commonwealth, Al Schmidt, about how they have experienced increased scrutiny, how they built dealing with harassment into...
Mar 07, 2024•37 min•Ep. 91
It’s a massive week in politics: The Supreme Court ruling on whether Trump can be on the Colorado ballot, Super Tuesday, and the State of the Union address. And swirling around these events are issues like IVF, immigration, and Israel – all roiling the national political debate. Audie talks with Kasie Hunt , host of CNN This Morning, about the state of the race in this crucial moment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices...
Mar 04, 2024•31 min•Ep. 90
What's driving the current conversation around polyamory? How do people fall into it? What are the misconceptions about how it works? And what do you do if you find yourself at the crossroads of considering a polyamorous relationship? Audie asks Kevin Patterson, author of Love's Not Color Blind: Race and Representation in Polyamorous and Other Alternative Communities and sex therapist Dr. Lexx Brown-James . Share your thoughts or questions with us - we'd love to hear from you! Text or send a voi...
Feb 29, 2024•34 min•Ep. 89
This week, both President Biden and former president Trump will head to the US-Mexico border, underscoring just how central immigration policy has become to this year’s election. CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez covered immigration during the Trump administration and now covers the Biden White House. She and Audie talk about Biden and Trump at the border this week, and how Texas Governor Greg Abbott has successfully elevated the border issue by bussing over 100,000 undocumented migrants to northern citie...
Feb 26, 2024•34 min•Ep. 88
American politicians are responsible for some of the wildest scandals in the history of our country. CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper looks back on six of the most iconic political controversies of the modern era in his new series United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper . Audie and Jake talk about what motivates politicians to break the rules, why they think they won’t get caught, and how the public’s reaction to these moral and legal mishaps has changed over the years...
Feb 22, 2024•30 min•Ep. 87
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis pushed back hard after having her personal life dragged into the spotlight. Lawyers for Donald Trump are trying to dismiss her from the Georgia election subversion case she brought against the former president. They argued that she and Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case, engaged in an improper romantic relationship which financially benefitted her. Audie chats with journalist George Chidi about the hearing and what’s next fo...
Feb 19, 2024•28 min•Ep. 86
The landscape of workplace etiquette has undergone a seismic shift in the wake of the pandemic. Gen Z entered the workforce and influenced already evolving social norms, from the dilemma of camera on or off, to the choice between calling or texting, and the blurred lines between what constitutes professional attire. Audie talks with Kate Zabriskie, the founder of Business Training Works, about the change in modern workplace norms. We're diving deeper into the ever-evolving landscape of workplace...
Feb 15, 2024•25 min•Ep. 85
Mitch McConnell is facing open criticism about his leadership among some in the Senate GOP, and that criticism is being egged on by Donald Trump. All comes after bitter disputes over immigration legislation and Ukraine aid. Audie talks with CNN Congressional Correspondents Manu Raju and Lauren Fox about this moment of peril for the longest-serving Senatorial party leader in US history. Read all of Manu and Lauren’s reporting here: ‘ McConnell’s GOP critics grow louder as party descends into feud...
Feb 12, 2024•31 min•Ep. 84
