Episode description

This week, Farai Chideya talks with Senator Elizabeth Warren about why she still pushes for student debt relief and an increased minimum wage, and why she believes these are racial-justice issues. Epidemiologist and Our Body Politic contributor Dr. Kavita Trivedi takes our most pressing questions about Covid-19 vaccinations. Film producer and author Tanya Selvaratnam discusses her new book “Assume Nothing: A Story of Intimate Violence.” Plus, our political roundtable with Errin Haines and special guest Brittany Packnett Cunningham, unpacks the racial resentment behind the aftermath of the January 6th insurrection, CPAC, and Senators’ grilling of the Biden-Harris Cabinet picks.

EPISODE RUNDOWN

0:59 Senator Elizabeth Warren talks about how her personal experience growing up “on the ragged edge of the middle class” informs her view of our current economic structures

6:15 Black and Latinx students are disproportionately impacted by student loan debt, Senator Warren explains, which is why she says debt relief is a racial-justice issue.

12:11 Dr. Kavita Trivedi explains in detail what you need to know about the protection the Covid-19 vaccine provides.

15:39 The decline in Covid cases in the U.S. might be a hopeful sign as we aim for herd immunity, Dr. Trivedi says.

22:06 Tanya Selvaratnam discusses why she wrote her new book, “Assume Nothing: A Story of Intimate Violence.”

25:13 Selvaratnam says she talks about her experience with intimate partner violence to remove the stigma of being a survivor of abuse.

30:41 “Sippin’ the Political Tea” guest Brittany Packnett Cunningham talks about her podcast, UNDISTRACTED.

35:19 Errin Haines talks about the potential significance of Maya Wiley’s candidacy in the New York City mayoral race.

36:04 Haines says the idea of “electability” hampers many minority candidates, including Black women who run for office, but that “electing somebody is what makes them electable!”

37:56 Packnett Cunningham compares the lack of accountability for the January 6th, 2021, insurrection to decisions made in the post-Civil War era.

40:12 “I'm less worried about Donald Trump running for reelection than I am about a kinder, gentler, ready-for-prime-time Donald Trump to run,” Packnett Cunningham says, about why it’s important to hold the former President accountable for his role in the insurrection.

42:28 Packnett Cunningham says the real concern about elections should be around the unprecedented amount of voter suppression bills currently in state legislatures.

44:50 Farai Chideya says fear of revenge from historically oppressed minorities may be a factor in the higher scrutiny several Biden-Harris Cabinet nominees are currently facing in the Senate.