Wildfires destroy historic California Gold Rush town; Trump further escalates attacks against on US wind energy; Extreme rains trigger deadly landslide in war-torn Sudan; PLUS: Dozens of climate scientists issue scathing rebuttal to Dept. of Energy's science-denying report... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
This time on Code WACK! What happens when millions are stripped of Medicaid coverage? Who shoulders the costs when hospitals are forced to care for more uninsured patients? And how will unions and the workers they represent bear the brunt of skyrocketing premiums, job losses, and a growing healthcare crisis? Today we're joined by Cindy Young, a veteran labor negotiator and health policy advisor, and now vice president of the California Alliance for Retired Americans and of Healthy California Now...
What happens when millions are stripped of Medicaid coverage? Who shoulders the costs when hospitals are forced to care for more uninsured patients? And how will unions and the workers they represent bear the brunt of skyrocketing premiums, job losses, and a growing healthcare crisis? Today we're joined by Cindy Young, a veteran labor negotiator and health policy advisor, and now vice president of the California Alliance for Retired Americans and of Healthy California Now. Cindy has spent decade...
Spain battles its worst wildfire season --- yes, intensified by climate change; The world is drying out, threatening humanity's supply of fresh water; PLUS: Acting NASA Administrator wants the agency to give up climate science --- despite NASA's statutory mandate... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
This time on Code WACK! What if California, Oregon, and Washington joined forces to win federal approval for universal, single-payer healthcare? Could a united West Coast shift the balance of power in America’s healthcare debate? To find out, we recently spoke with Michael Lighty, president of the single payer advocacy coalition Healthy California Now. Michael ’s a founding fellow of the Sanders Institute, and he was healthcare constituency director for the Bernie 2020 campaign. Most recently, h...
Hurricane Erin already setting records; Climate change drove record levels of global humidity in 2024, with 2025 breathing down its neck; Deadly rains in Pakistan, deadly Nordic heatwave, both supercharged by human-caused global warming; PLUS: U.N. talks to curb plastic production collapse, with oil-producing nations (like the U.S.) refusing to limit plastic production... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
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 Robert Benson, D.Phil., Associate Director for National Security and International Policy at American Progress. The two breakdown Trump's summ...
Leslie welcomes back Scott Paul, President of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, for an in-depth look at four timely topics shaping the global economy and American industry. They break down China’s worsening economic crisis and what it means for global markets, and unpack the latest developments in U.S. tariff negotiations with key trading partners. The pair also highlights practical Made-in-America products perfect for outfitting a dorm room or first apartment, and finally, explores how p...
This time on Code WACK! Why are some Americans choosing to go off the health insurance grid? For Lani Gonzales, entrepreneur and hypnotherapist, it was the mounting frustration with denials, delays … and ultimately being dropped by her health insurer through no fault of her own. So instead of reapplying she walked away—and pieced together a system for herself. Combining medical tourism, concierge medicine, a health share and even reclaiming her Philippine citizenship, Lani took an unconventional...
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 Tim Karr, Senior of Director of Strategy and Communications at 'Free Press,' a nonpartisan organization fighting for your rights to connect an...
Nations gather in Geneva to again confront the global crisis of plastic pollution; Trump EPA moves to claw back billions in community grants for rooftop solar; PLUS: As energy costs rise, Trump Administration escalates its war on cheap renewable energy... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
What would you do if your health insurer suddenly dropped you—and the care you needed cost thousands out of pocket? That’s what happened to Lani Gonzales, a former attorney from Florida who thought she understood contracts—until she came face-to-face with America’s broken healthcare system. After experiencing medical debt and being denied coverage for vital health treatments, Lani asked herself: Why keep playing a game that’s rigged against me? Her search for affordable, compassionate care led h...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Fire at Grand Canyon North Rim is now the largest mega-fire in the U.S.; New research shows the cascading health impacts of wildfire smoke; PLUS: Trump Administration rolls out climate science deniers to justify overturning climate change regulations... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
Trump EPA moves to kill its own authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions; 2025 on track to be one of the hottest years ever recorded; PLUS: The economic toll of climate-intensified wildfires and severe storms is soaring... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
THIS WEEK ON CODE WACK! Most of us know that our profit-driven healthcare system results in moral injury. How is moral harming physicians? And how is it harming patients? Dr. Diljeet Singh is an integrative gynecologic oncologist and the president of Physicians for a National Health Program. She’s leading a powerful new project with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to find out. By gathering stories from doctors and patients across the country, her team is uncovering how corporate control and f...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: Massive algae bloom and marine heat wave are decimating South Australia's coast and fisheries; Iran grapples with water crisis and extreme heat; Wind-driven wildfires force evacuations in Greece, Turkey; PLUS: Donald Trump's irrational hatred of wind energy is killing jobs across the U.S.... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
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 the White House Correspondent for CQ Roll Call, John Bennett. The pair discusses President Trump's struggles to distance himself from the Jeffrey Ep...
IN TODAY'S RADIO REPORT: A healthy environment is a human right, U.N. world court says in landmark climate ruling; Trump Administration working overtime to Make America Polluted Again; Climate-intensified extreme weather is driving up food prices around the world; PLUS: New U.N. analyses find booming clean, renewable energy has hit a global tipping point... All that and more in today's Green News Report!
What happens when doctors feel forced to act against their own moral compass? When financial barriers—not clinical judgment—determine the care a patient receives? We’re talking about moral injury in medicine—how it’s affecting physicians, harming patients, and why it’s getting worse under our profit-driven healthcare system. Joining us is Dr. Diljeet Singh, an integrative gynecologic oncologist and president of Physicians for a National Health Program. She shares powerful stories from her own pr...
The depths to which our country’s leadership has sunk is astounding. Now, we come to find the Secretary of Defense has pulled a Trump-appointed, Senate-approved Admiral who was about to take command of the 7th Fleet. He is a beloved leader, roundly thought to be best leader in the navy today, but he couldn’t pass the ideology test imposed by the SECDEF. I hope you’ll listen as we briefly explore elevation of ideology over merit and competence.
Leslie is joined by Jim Savage, Legislative Representative for the United Steelworkers (USW). The two discuss how the U.S. Dept. of Veterans' Affairs has been understaffed and underfunded for decades, often proving to be a barrier to those who served getting the care they need. However, rather than bolstering this vital lifeline, early on in the Trump administration, amid brutal cuts to a number of federal agencies, it announced that it would eliminate approximately 83,000 positions at the VA. W...
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 Sarah Jones, the Editor-in-Chief of PoliticusUSA. The two discuss the Wall Street Journal Report that, in 2003, Trump sent Jeffrey Epstein, hi...
THIS WEEK ON CODE WACK! As Trump Administration attacks on public health care ramp up, what’s California doing to fight back? Can the state break free from a system that puts profits over patients — and build a truly universal, single-payer healthcare system? Or will political roadblocks and federal inaction keep us stuck in a broken status quo? Bottom line, how close can California - the 4th largest economy in the world - get to single payer on its own? To find out, we spoke with Michael Lighty...
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 pair first discusses a new piece that Scott wrote for 'Industry Week' that finally puts to rest one of U.S. manufacturing naysayers’ favorite lines: “Who wants to work in a factory anyway?” Next, they explore what progress has the Trump administration made on all of their attempted trade deals after...
This week on Code WACK!, we’re revisiting a powerful conversation with Ian Lewis, labor leader and health policy expert, about what true freedom looks like in America—especially when the average family pays over $31,000 a year for health care in 2025. 💥 Could Medicare for All actually unleash entrepreneurship, lower costs, and expand access for all? 💼 What would it mean for small business owners—and the workers stuck in jobs just to keep their insurance? 🧾 And what would a just transition loo...
Leslie Marshall Show - How Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' Affects Student Loans Now and In the Future by Progressive Voices
Leslie is joined by Bruce Lesley, President of First Focus on Children, a bipartisan advocacy organization working to make children the priority in federal policy and budget decisions. Bruce explains how the newly passed 'Big Beautiful Bill' "chooses billionaires over babies, and puts the nation’s children in unprecedented peril." Here are just a few ways that the new law will hurt the nation’s children: Cuts $1 trillion from Medicaid and CHIP: Medicaid and CHIP provide health insurance to over ...
Leslie is joined by Victor Mineros, Proud Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 396, Western Region International Vice President, and Director of the Teamsters Solid Waste and Recycling Division, which represents tens of thousands of sanitation workers across the country. The two discuss what’s happening in the U.S. sanitation industry, the ongoing strikes at Republic Services, and why this moment matters for working families across the country. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow t...
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 Mabinty Quarshie, White House Reporter for 'the Washington Examiner.' The pair examines what's in the Republicans' newly passed 'Big, Beautifu...
The Middle East is a riddle. Religious and political factions have made it a tinderbox for as long as any of us has been alive. Now, between the Israeli decapitation of the its military and science corps, and the United States’ Bunker Busters, Iran, which has enjoyed indirect control of the region through its proxies, is facing the unknown. That’s where we start today in a short essay regarding the contradictory nature of the Middle East. I hope you’ll listen.
