THIS WEEK ON CODE WACK! As millions of Americans face losing their health coverage, what can single-payer advocates do right now to protect our care and push for something better? What’s truly at stake for our country—and especially for its most vulnerable residents? To find out, we spoke to Michael Lighty, president of the Healthy California Now coalition and former constituency director for the Bernie 2020 campaign. Check out the Transcript and Show Notes for more! And please keep Code WACK! o...
Jul 02, 2025•15 min
On the radio show this week, we highlight a buzzing bee activation at the US Capitol where parents and kids protested the "Big Bad Betrayal Bill," a Republican budget proposal which could kick 16 million people off healthcare and lead to an estimated tens of thousands more deaths per year. We celebrate Pride Month with "Parenting with Pride," a new resource offering support against hostile school environments and book bans for LGBTQ+ families. The show also details the disastrous impact of propo...
Jun 30, 2025•58 min
The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by CNN Military Analyst Cedric Leighton. Col. Leighton (USAF-Ret.) gives the latest updates on Iran's nuclear program following missile strikes o...
Jun 30, 2025•41 min
How are young people pushing back against a potential rollback that could once again block DACA recipients, or Dreamers, and thousands of others from enrolling in Affordable Care Act coverage? And why do advocates call this potential move by the Trump administration extremely dangerous? To find out, we spoke with Kristin McGuire, Executive Director of Young Invincibles, the nation’s largest young adult policy and advocacy organization. Kristin leads efforts to elevate the voices of young adults ...
Jun 25, 2025•15 min
Leslie is joined by Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM), a partnership established by some of America’s leading manufacturers and the United Steelworkers union. The two discuss: 1. The Wall Street Journal recently documented the stark disparity between China and America’s military-industrial strength in a series of graphs. The results are downright alarming, especially as geopolitical tensions flare. The data illustrate the urgent need for the United States to ...
Jun 20, 2025•42 min
HIS WEEK ON CODE WACK! As federal officials carry out large-scale, military-style raids and widespread arrests of undocumented immigrants, another fight is quietly brewing — one that could push thousands of people off their health insurance. More than half a million young people who were brought to the U.S. as children and grew up here could soon lose eligibility for affordable and subsidized health coverage. A new rule proposed by the Trump Administration would once again block DACA recipients ...
Jun 18, 2025•17 min
The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by Charlie Cook, Founder of 'the Cook Political Report,' to talk about ten years of Trump in politics. This includes how he completely changed th...
Jun 17, 2025•42 min
In a United States where the presidential administration is comfortable arresting sitting members of Congress and tackling sitting senators who dare ask a question at a press conference, and where they’ve called the military into the streets against American citizens, it’s hard to believe anything more can happen, but you may rest assured it will. Today’s commentary deals specifically with the ongoing ICE raids. This is important. We must all stand together, or we will surely hang separately. Un...
Jun 13, 2025•6 min
How are big insurance companies dodging the very rules meant to protect patients — and turning our health care system into a profit machine for Wall Street? What can we the people do to stop it? Join us as we dive into the dark side of corporate loopholes, for-profit health care, and policy failure with Rachel Madley, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Center for Health and Democracy. A former FDA staffer and health policy advisor to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Rachel played a key role in...
Jun 12, 2025•15 min
How are big insurance companies dodging the very rules meant to protect patients — and turning our health care system into a profit machine for Wall Street? What can we the people do to stop it? Join us as we dive into the dark side of corporate loopholes, for-profit health care, and policy failure with Rachel Madley, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Center for Health and Democracy. A former FDA staffer and health policy advisor to Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Rachel played a key role in...
Jun 12, 2025•15 min
The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by CNN Military Analyst Cedric Leighton. Col. Leighton (USAF-Ret.) gives the latest updates on the wars in Gaza and Ukraine. He also discusses Pr...
Jun 09, 2025•42 min
The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is first joined by Kate Ackley, a Senior Reporter for Bloomberg Government. Kate shares a a general status update of the lobby industry under President Trump. Th...
Jun 03, 2025•42 min
Leslie is joined by Liz Shuler, President of the 63 unions and over 15 million members of the AFL-CIO, and the first woman leader of America’s labor movement. The pair discusses the Supreme Court ruling upholding Trump's firings of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board members, the draconian House budget bill, and the field hearings the Union conducted through the 'Department of People Who Work for a Living,' which they released a report on last week. The website ...
May 31, 2025•23 min
Leslie is joined by Lily Roberts, Managing Director for Inclusive Growth at the Center for American Progress. The two first react to Senator Joni Ernst, after an audience member yells, “People will die,” during her discussion on Medicaid cuts at a town hall this morning, replying, “Well, we all are going to die.” Leslie and Lily then discuss the disastrous approach to food stamps (SNAP) in the House Republican passed 'Big Beautiful Bill.' The House-passed version: A. Would cut off some or all fo...
May 31, 2025•20 min
This week on CodeWACK! Medicare for All is back in the spotlight! With two new bills recently introduced in Congress, what makes these proposals different from earlier versions— and why are some advocates feeling hopeful, even in the current political climate? What would a truly public, universal health care system look like, and how could it help curb the soaring costs, corporate greed, and bureaucracy plaguing our current system? To unpack this, we spoke with Rachel Madley, Director of Policy ...
May 28, 2025•16 min
Are you handsome/pretty? Can you read a TelePrompter convincingly? Are you willing to compromise whatever personal values you might hold in exchange for fame and fortune (of course, if you’re already ideologically aligned, so much the better)? If you answered all those questions “yes,” then you too could be a part of State Television, aka Fox News. Most presidents feverishly vet their cabinet and functionaries to ensure competence and integrity. This administration has a different approach. Ther...
May 21, 2025•6 min
This week on CodeWACK! Which states have received the highest scores in the rePROs Fight Back’s 13th annual 50-state report card on sexual and reproductive health and rights released in March -- and why? And what specific threats - whether federal, state or local - should reproductive rights advocates be most concerned about? And what policies should they be promoting? To find out, we spoke with Jennie Wetter, Director of the rePROs Fight Back initiative at The Population Institute, where she ch...
May 21, 2025•17 min
Leslie Marshall Show - A Non-Partisan View on U.S. Tariffs with AAM President Scott Paul by Progressive Voices
May 17, 2025•45 min
Why is National Single Payer organizing a National Day of Action on May 31 amid cuts and freezes to public health programs? How has an incremental approach to universal health care in America made comprehensive healthcare reform more difficult? To find out, we recently talked to Dr. Ana Malinow, who spent three decades working as a pediatrician with immigrant, refugee and underserved children before retiring as clinical professor of Pediatrics from UC San Francisco School of Medicine. The past p...
May 14, 2025•17 min
This week on CodeWACK! Single payer is back in the spotlight with Senator Bernie Sanders and Representative Pramila Jayapal submitting new Medicare for All bills for 2025-26! How will the upcoming National Day of Action on May 31st keep the need for healthcare reform in the spotlight? And how do physicians feel about single payer today, 60 years after the American Medical Association’s infamous ‘stealth campaign’ against socialized medicine (featuring none other than Ronald Reagan)? To find out,...
May 07, 2025•12 min
Leslie is joined by Megan Salrin and Jimmy O'Donnell of the United Steelworkers (USW). In one of his early acts as president, Donald Trump not only fired National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo but also removed NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox. Firing Wilcox upended nearly 90 years of Supreme Court caselaw and left the NLRB unable to perform its vital mission of upholding workers’ rights. During today's episode, Leslie, Megan and Jimmy discuss why workers need a Pro-Labor Nation...
Apr 30, 2025•43 min
The guest host for today's show is Brad Bannon. Brad runs Bannon Communications Research, a polling, message development and media firm which helps labor unions, progressive issue groups and Democratic candidates win public affairs and political campaigns. His show, 'Deadline D.C. with Brad Bannon,' airs every Monday from 3-4pm ET. Brad is joined by Amie Parnes, Senior Correspondent at 'The Hill,' and Jonathan Allen, Senior National Politics Reporter for NBC News. They discuss their newest #1 Ne...
Apr 28, 2025•42 min
This time on Code WACK! What’s it like operating an abortion clinic in Wyoming, one of the most anti-abortion states in the nation? Meet Julie Burkhart — longtime reproductive rights advocate, founder and CEO of Trust Women Foundation, which works to expand access to abortion care in underserved communities, and protégé of Dr. George Tiller, who was murdered for providing abortion care. Hear how Dr. Tiller’s legacy lives on through her work. Why are patients traveling hundreds of miles for abort...
Apr 16, 2025•18 min
Can our local health departments counteract the mixed messages given by RFK, Jr. the secretary of Health and Human Services, about vaccine safety and efficacy? What about us? How can we combat disinformation and highlight the benefits of vaccinating our children and ourselves? To find out, we spoke with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed—physician, epidemiologist, author, and county health commissioner. He is formerly the health director for the city of Detroit. As the host of the award-winning America Dissecte...
Apr 09, 2025•10 min
Leslie is joined by Jesse Case, Director for the Food Processing Division for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The two examine why so many cannabis workers are joining the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. To add some perspective, the Teamsters represent over 1,000 cannabis workers in six different states. They've also bargained the strongest contracts in the industry for workers at a number of multi-state operators, which are the largest players in the US cannabis industry. Ten...
Apr 04, 2025•22 min
Trump Executive Order Stripping Collective Bargaining Rights is Biggest Attack on Labor in Decades by Progressive Voices
Apr 04, 2025•20 min
What could Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s appointment as Secretary of Health and Human Services mean for the public health of everyday Americans, given his history of vaccine misinformation? With measles already on the rise and deadly, and the looming threat of future pandemics, how might his leadership shape the nation’s response to infectious diseases? To find out, we spoke with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed—physician, epidemiologist, author, and county health commissioner. He is formerly the health director f...
Apr 02, 2025•12 min
GOP Medicaid/CHIP Cuts Threaten One-Third of All School Age Children by Progressive Voices
Apr 01, 2025•20 min
Leslie is joined by Connie Livingston, Senior Lead Counselor at Empowerly, which empowers students to become the most successful version of themselves with personalized college and career guidance. Their tailored guidance helps students triumph over the college admissions process and spark the future of their dreams. Connie has worked in the field of college counseling since 2008. She began her career as an Assistant Director of Admissions at Brown University and has since moved on to Empowerly,...
Mar 31, 2025•23 min
Leslie Marshall Show - Should U.S. or China Build Our Ships?! Tariffs, and Made In American Spotlight by Progressive Voices
Mar 28, 2025•42 min
