The Takeaway
1,032 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 13 ratingsA fresh alternative in daily news featuring critical conversations, live reports from the field, and listener participation. The Takeaway provides a breadth and depth of world, national, and regional news coverage that is unprecedented in public media.
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Episodes
"HBO Docs Club" Hosts Revisit Documentaries That Left a Mark
April 05, 2022 16:00 - 14.8 MBThe new podcast, "HBO Docs Club," revisits some of the most fascinating HBO documentaries of the past several years with the people who made them. The first two episodes of the show look back at "Atlanta's Missing and Murdered:The Lost Children" and "How to Survive a Pandemic." The Takeaway speaks about the podcast with its cohosts, Brittany Luse, writer, cultural critic, and co-host of the podcast, For Colored Nerds, and Ronald Young Jr., storyteller, audio producer, and cultural critic.
New Study Causes Uproar Within Paleontology
April 05, 2022 16:00 - 13.2 MBA new study is causing an uproar within the paleontology community. According to it, the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex should be broken up into three different species: T.Rex, Tyrannosaurus imperator, and Tyrannosaurus regina. The Takeaway speaks with Thomas Carr, paleontologist at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, about the new paper, the controversy around it, and more.
Does the First Amazon Warehouse Union Mean More Unions Nationwide?
April 05, 2022 13:00 - 20.3 MBOn April 1st, JFK8 Amazon warehouse workers in Staten Island voted to unionize against all odds, becoming the first Amazon warehouse in the nation to vote to join a union. We speak with WNYC reporter Gwynne Hogan and Rebecca Givan, Associate Professor, Labor Studies and Employment Relations (LSER), Co-Director, Center for Work and Health (CWH) at Rutgers University.
Grain is at the Center of Russia's Invasion of Ukraine (and a Global Food Crisis)
April 04, 2022 16:00 - 8.09 MBIn the introduction of Scott Reynold Nelson’s new book Oceans of Grain: How American Wheat Remade the World, he writes “Ukraine has what may be the richest soil in the world.” Throughout history, what is today Ukraine, was considered a prize for ambitious emperors who saw the fertile land as a way to feed populations in their homeland, and in conquered lands. Today, Ukraine is the world’s 4th largest exporter of corn and the world’s 5th largest exporter of wheat, and between Ukraine and ...
Policymakers Are Twisting 'Defund the Police' into 'Refund the Police'
April 04, 2022 16:00 - 18.6 MBAfter police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, people across the country demanded racial justice and amplified a national movement to “defund the police.” During that time, several large cities and counties promised to restructure local police budgets with plans to reinvest in community programs. But those promises have largely faded or reversed course completely. In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, a majority of the City Council pledged to dismantle the police departm...
"Sounds Wild and Broken" Explores the Diverse Sounds of Earth
April 04, 2022 16:00 - 13.6 MBWe live in surround sound. From the din of traffic to a symphony of song birds, you can’t escape noise no matter where you live — whether it’s a rural, suburban, or urban environment. In Sounds Wild and Broken: Sonic Marvels, Evolution’s Creativity, and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction, author David George Haskell explores the diverse sounds of our planet, as well as humans’ impact on the world’s soundscape. The Takeaway recently spoke with David, who is also a professor of biology and e...
How Policymakers Are Twisting 'Defund the Police' into 'Refund the Police'
April 04, 2022 15:52 - 18.6 MBAfter police officer Derek Chauvin murdered George Floyd, people across the country demanded racial justice and amplified a national movement to “defund the police.” During that time, several large cities and counties promised to restructure local police budgets with plans to reinvest in community programs. But those promises have largely faded or reversed course completely. In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was killed, a majority of the City Council pledged to dismantle the police departm...
Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell discusses Politics and Purpose
April 01, 2022 20:10 - 21.6 MBIn our latest installment of Women Leading Locally we speak with Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell who serves as the chair of the LA County Board of Supervisors about her path to politics, hopes for the future, and inspiring others into service. We’ll also wrap up the Women Leading Locally series and look back at what we learned, the power of sisterhood and the necessity of money for women running for office. We also highlighted this week’s Facebook Live where we spoke with K...
Syrians Who Endured Russian Airstrikes See Unsettling Parallels in Ukraine
April 01, 2022 16:00 - 12.5 MBRussian President Vladimir Putin is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and, according to the non-profit watchdog group Airwars, Russian airstrikes are responsible for the deaths of as many as 23,000 Syrian civilians. For Syrians watching from afar, the parallels in Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine are unsettling. Borzou Daragahi, International Correspondent for The Independent, recently traveled to the opposition held Idlib province and spoke to Syrians about how they’re...
New Book on Venezuela Sheds Light on its Collapse and Ties to Russia
April 01, 2022 15:52 - 6.73 MBWe talk with William Neuman, former Andes Region Bureau Chief for The New York Times about his new Book Things Are Never So Bad That They Can’t Get Worse: Inside the Collapse of Venezuela. He’ll take us through the events that have led to the current state of crisis for Venezuela and how the country factors into the current situation between Ukraine and Russia.
Cuban Government and Its People at Odds Over Russian Invasion of Ukraine
April 01, 2022 13:00 - 9.95 MBCuba has refused to publicly support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, abstaining from a United Nations resolution to condemn the unprovoked war. Abstention does not signal neutrality, however. Cuban state media has echoed Russia’s false claims for invading Ukraine and blamed NATO for what they’re calling a “special military operation.” We speak with Patrick Oppmann, CNN International Correspondent and Havana Bureau Chief about Cuba’s position and what’s at stake during the Russian invasion.
Ali Noorani Tells the Stories of Today's Migrants in His New Book
April 01, 2022 02:04 - 14.4 MBThe new book, “Crossing Borders: The Reconciliation of a Nation of Immigrants,” compiles the stories of people and families fleeing their homes in different parts of the world. Like many refugees today, the characters in this book are fleeing because of violence, corruption, poverty, or climate change. The book highlights many of the difficulties they face as they arrive at the doorstep of the United States, and the failures of American institutions to assist and protect them. We spoke to ...
Afghan Girls Can't Attend High School
March 31, 2022 18:08 - 18.1 MBIt’s been 8 months since the Taliban re-captured control of Afghanistan, following the United States’ withdrawal from the country. Almost immediately, there were concerns over what this would mean for Afghanistan's women and girls. Since the Taliban regained power, there’s been a rollback of their rights, including banning them from government jobs and policing what they wear. Now education is under threat. Just last week, the Taliban announced that girls’ high schools will be closed indef...
Haiti is Facing a Hunger Catastrophe
March 31, 2022 18:08 - 7.78 MBAccording to the United Nations, in Haiti, a country of over 11 million people, a rising food crisis is threatening nearly half the population with acute food insecurity and severe hunger. Political instability, inflation, recurring disasters exacerbated by climate change, and challenges in Haiti’s agricultural capacity are all catalysts for the food crisis. To make matters worse, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is also expected to drive food shortages around the world in a time where global ...
How Florida's “Don’t Say Gay” Law Could Affect Teachers and Students
March 30, 2022 22:06 - 15.4 MBOn Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill – dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by opponents – into law. The law bans public schools from teaching kindergartners through third-graders about sexual orientation and gender identity, it also prevents teachers from discussing these topics in a manner that is “not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students.” LGBTQ advocates worry that language could extend to students beyond third grade. And t...
Maternity Wards Are Shuttering Across the U.S.
March 30, 2022 22:04 - 14.1 MBMaternity ward closures are increasingly common. According to recent reporting by Vox, many of these closures are happening primarily in rural areas and predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods. For more on this, The Takeaway spoke with Alecia McGregor, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Politics at Harvard Chan School of Public Health, and Katy Backes Kozhimannil, professor at the University of Minnesota and director of the university’s Rural Health Program.
The Long Road to Long Covid Healthcare
March 30, 2022 13:00 - 14.7 MBAccording to some estimates, millions of people in the U.S. could still be suffering from long Covid related symptoms, including brain fog, extreme exhaustion, and irregular heartbeat. But despite the widespread nature of the problem, many people have experienced challenges when attempting to qualify for disability benefits due to long Covid. We hear from Georgia Linders about her experience with long Covid and then speak with Washington Post reporter Christopher Rowland about his reporting ...
Professors are Facing Targeted Harassment on College Campuses
March 29, 2022 16:00 - 15.7 MBRecent reporting from the American Association of University Professors has traced an uptick in the targeted harassment of faculty members, most often those accused of having a liberal bias and of teaching “controversial” topics. The Takeaway spoke with Eric Ruiz Bybee, associate professor in the department of teacher education at Brigham Young University, about his recent experience of being harassed by conservative groups after standing up for a colleague who assigned students coursework...
Black Masculinity and 'The Slap' Felt Around the World
March 29, 2022 16:00 - 14.9 MBThe 94th Academy Awards became quite tense on Sunday when Will Smith got on stage and slapped Chris Rock in response to an insensitive joke that Rock made about Jada Pinkett Smith. Shortly after the incident, Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor and gave a speech about family and protecting the people you love. The takes on the incident have ranged from insightful to groan inducing to flat out racist. The Takeaway takes a step back and speaks with Mark Anthony Neal, James B. Duke Distingui...
A Look at Town-Gown Tensions at UC Berkeley
March 29, 2022 16:00 - 14.5 MBAcross California, cities are dealing with a housing crisis that has resulted in dramatic increases to rent and housing prices. California’s state universities are also coping with a housing shortage. Most recently, the lack of student housing has aggravated town-gown tensions in the city of Berkeley, California, where a group of local residents have sued the University of California, Berkeley for increasing campus enrollment, claiming that students seeking housing are now aggravating the e...
Ukrainian Civilians are Facing A Dire Situation
March 29, 2022 03:00 - 11.9 MBThe UN OHCHR estimates that more than 1,000 civilians have already been killed in Ukraine by the Russian military. We speak with Valerie Hopkins, reporter for The New York Times currently based in Ukraine, about the situation.
Is There Anything Tamron Hall Can't Do?
March 28, 2022 16:00 - 19 MBThe incomparable Tamron Hall joined to discuss the third season of her talk show, motherhood, and her new Court TV show “Someone They Knew.” She also gave some advice to future journalists.
Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry
March 28, 2022 13:00 - 10.1 MBIn our final installment of our Women Leading Locally Series, we speak with the Honorable District Attorney Satana Deberry. D.A. Deberry who discusses her path to the office of district attorney and the importance of bringing her whole, authentic self to the position.
HBCUs See an Uptick in Bomb Threats
March 26, 2022 01:57 - 7.05 MBIn recent months, there’s been a disturbing pattern of bomb threats against historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs. At least 36 HBCUs have been targeted…and that includes threats made against 18 of them on the first day of Black History Month. Now, the White House is boosting funding for HBCUs, with the aim of bolstering campus security and mental health services. In addition to the bomb threats, hate crimes against Black people have been on the rise in the U.S. According to...
Mayor of Central Falls Rhode Island Maria Rivera
March 25, 2022 16:00 - 14.2 MBIn partnership with the Center for American Women and Politics, The Takeaway presents Women Leading Locally, a Women’s History Month special focused on highlighting women holding office and making change. In our eighth installment of the series, we’re joined by Maria Rivera, Mayor of Central Falls, Rhode Island. She is the first Latina to serve as Mayor in the state, and the first woman to serve as Mayor in the city. We talked to Mayor Rivera about her path to leadership and how we can ge...
Where Does Democracy Go From Here?
March 25, 2022 16:00 - 13.3 MBThis conversation around the state of American democracy extends beyond the Trump years because there has been a slow breakdown of our political institutions that facilitate and support our Democracy. We spoke with Charles Homans, writer for The New York Times Magazine, and Dr. Lilliana Mason, an associate professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University and the SNF Agora Institute, and author of “Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity” a discussion on the state of ...
Pennsylvania Senate Primaries Provide Preview of National Politics
March 25, 2022 13:00 - 7.25 MBThe Senate GOP race in Pennsylvania has become one of the most heated primary races in the country. The Senate seat held by Pat Toomey (R) is not seeking re-election making this an open seat race between Mehmet Oz, also known as celebrity surgeon Dr. Oz, and Hedge Fund CEO David McCormick. So far, the campaign has focused a lot on Oz’s Turkish American heritage, to the point where he said he would renounce his Turkish citizenship if elected and before he is sworn into the senate. We invite...
The Power of the Dog vs. CODA: What to Expect from This Year's Academy Awards
March 24, 2022 16:00 - 21.1 MBThis Sunday, The Power of the Dog and CODA will be neck and neck in the race for Best Picture at the 94th Academy Awards. Neither film has been seen by most of the country, but that’s to be expected with the Oscars. The Takeaway looks at what to watch for this weekend, and what to make of some minor controversies heading into the ceremony, with Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday, and Alison Willmore, film critic for New York Magazine and Vulture.
NJ Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz
March 24, 2022 16:00 - 20.8 MBIn partnership with the Center for American Women and Politics, The Takeaway presents Women Leading Locally, a Women’s History Month special focused on highlighting women holding office and making change. In our seventh installment of the series, we’re joined by New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, the first Latina to hold that position, and because women do it all, she was also the first NJ Senate leader to give birth while holding office. We spoke to NJ Senate Majority Leader R...
The Intersection of Motherhood and the Supreme Court
March 24, 2022 13:00 - 14.4 MBOn day one of her confirmation hearings, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson addressed her daughters directly: "Girls, I know it has not been easy, as I have tried to navigate the challenges of juggling my career and motherhood. And I fully admit, I did not always get the balance right. But I hope that you've seen that with hard work, determination and love it can be done." This isn’t the first time motherhood has played a role in Supreme Court hearings. Justice Amy Coney Barrett famously spoke ab...
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Power is Examined in a New Documentary
March 23, 2022 21:51 - 14.1 MBHow powerful is Speaker Nancy Pelosi? A new Frontline documentary called “Pelosi’s Power” takes a look at Pelosi’s career and how she’s dealt with challenges of all sorts through the years to become one of the most powerful, influential and sometimes polarizing women in Washington D.C. The Takeaway spoke with Frontline Director of “Pelosi’s Power,” Michael Kirk.
Black.Queer.Rising: Moore Kismet AKA Omar Davis
March 23, 2022 17:14 - 11.1 MBThe name “Moore Kismet” means “more than fate.” Moore Kismet also known as Omar Davis has accomplished quite a bit for a 17 year old. In both 2021 and 2020, they were featured in Billboard's 21 Under 21 and in 2020 Dancing Astronaut named them the Breakout Artist of the Year. Photo of Moore Kismet AKA Omar Davis (Courtesy of Moore Kismet) Last year, at the age of 16, Moore Kismet became one of the youngest artist to ever play a set at Lollapalooza. The festival in Chicago's Grant Park ...
Black.Queer.Rising.: Moore Kismet AKA Omar Davis
March 23, 2022 16:00 - 11.1 MBThe name “Moore Kismet” means “more than fate.” Moore Kismet also known as Omar Davis has accomplished quite a bit for a 17 year old. In both 2021 and 2020, they were featured in Billboard's 21 Under 21 and in 2020 Dancing Astronaut named them the Breakout Artist of the Year. Photo of Moore Kismet AKA Omar Davis (Courtesy of Moore Kismet) Last year, at the age of 16, Moore Kismet became one of the youngest artist to ever play a set at Lollapalooza. The festival in Chicago's Grant Park ...
The GOP Attacks on Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Sentencing Record
March 23, 2022 16:00 - 12.6 MBSince the start of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, one of the most pernicious lines of attack from Republican senators has been Judge Jackson’s history of sentencing with child pornography cases. Senators including Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz have taken examples from Judge Jackson’s career out of context to paint her as extreme on this issue, when in reality, the sentences she’s issued in the past have been entirely within the mainstream compared to other fe...
Celebrating 10 Years with Doc McStuffins
March 23, 2022 13:00 - 8.8 MBTo celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Disney animated series Doc McStuffins, we meet the real life inspiration behind the character, Dr. Myiesha Taylor, board-certified emergency medicine physician specialist and a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Dr. Taylor joins us to talk about her path to emergency medicine and the importance of representation in the media.
Clerking and Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson's Path to the Supreme Court
March 23, 2022 00:29 - 20 MBSenate confirmation hearings got underway on Monday for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. In some ways, Judge Jackson has had similar path to the Supreme Court as several other sitting justices, including being a Supreme Court clerk. It is an experience shared by 6 of the 9 current justices and one that Judge Jackson addressed in her opening statement when she thanked retiring Justice Breyer for the experience of serving as his clerk. According to a report by the National L...
The Head Trauma Crisis Among Domestic Violence Survivors
March 22, 2022 19:36 - 19 MBIn recent years, there’s been a lot of media coverage surrounding head trauma among football players, but there's been little attention paid to another group that also experiences serious head trauma at an alarming rate: domestic violence survivors. In fact, research shows that they may experience head trauma even more than football players but are unfortunately often undiagnosed. According to some estimates, 1.6 million survivors of domestic abuse will experience brain injuries annually. ...
Clerking and Judge Katanji Brown Jackson's Path to the Supreme Court
March 22, 2022 15:14 - 20 MBSenate confirmation hearings got underway on Monday for Supreme Court nominee Judge Katanji Brown Jackson. In some ways, Judge Jackson has had similar path to the Supreme Court as several other sitting justices, including being a Supreme Court clerk. It is an experience shared by 6 of the 9 current justices and one that Judge Jackson addressed in her opening statement when she thanked retiring Justice Breyer for the experience of serving as his clerk. According to a report by the National L...
The "Show Me State" Shows Off Efforts to Ban Abortion In and Outside of Missouri
March 22, 2022 13:00 - 9.83 MBIn an effort to restrict abortion access, similar to the Texas abortion ban, Missouri Representative Elizabeth Coleman has introduced a bill that would allow citizens to sue anyone helping Missouri residents get an abortion in or outside of the state. The bill would also prevent access to medicated abortions. We speak with Rachel Rebouché, Interim Dean of Temple University Beasley School of Law and the James E. Beasley Professor of Law, about the constitutionality of this bill and what sta...
Soledad O'Brien on What it Means to be Black and Missing in America
March 21, 2022 16:00 - 18.5 MBWhy are the cases of missing Black women and girls not covered as extensively as other missing people? We talk with Soledad O’Brian, creator of the four-part HBO documentary series Black and Missing, about why this disparity exists and what one organization is doing to fix that.
What Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Would Bring to the Supreme Court
March 21, 2022 16:00 - 12.5 MBSenate confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson begin this week. Watch the hearing live, starting Monday March 21st at 11 a.m. We speak with Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women’s Law Center, about Judge Jackson’s judicial philosophy, her experience as a federal public defender, and what these bring to the high court.
Can 'War Criminals' Be Held Accountable?
March 21, 2022 16:00 - 9.8 MBLast week, President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” for Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine. One day later, Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed with the president’s assessment. While proving that a state leader committed a war crime is a complicated process, the label is a charged one that carries significant weight coming from a U.S. leader. The Takeaway speaks with Leila Sadat, professor of International Criminal Law at the Washington University in St. Louis and d...
Deep Dive: The First National Black Political Convention in Gary, Indiana
March 18, 2022 16:00 - 40.5 MBIn March 1972 Gary, Indiana hosted the very first National Black Political Convention. Attendees included Black Panther co-founder Bobby Seale and US Presidential Candidate Shirley Chisholm. Artists and athletes like Muhammad Ali and Harry Belafonte also attended. The convention produced a foundational document titled The Black Agenda. Here at Gary we are faithful to the best hopes of our fathers and our people if we move for nothing less than a politics which places community before indiv...
COVID Cases Resurge Globally Causing Fear of Another Wave
March 17, 2022 16:00 - 13.7 MBMore than two years after the WHO declared a global pandemic, things are starting to look pretty normal here in the U.S. In many places, mask mandates have been lifted — and physical distancing is all but gone. This comes after a winter marked by COVID surges across the U.S. due largely to the highly contagious omicron variant. The number of cases has since steadied here, but that’s not the situation elsewhere in the world. In China, part of the country has been put into lockdown after a ...
The Assault on Press Freedom in Russia
March 17, 2022 16:00 - 12 MBSince the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has made clear — in Vladimir Putin’s Russia dissent is not welcome. Still, thousands of Russians have protested the invasion, risking fines, detention, and imprisonment. The rare sources of independent radio and TV news in the country have gone silent, including Echo of Moscow and TV Rain. Earlier this week, a producer for a government-run television station interrupted a live broadcast holding a sign that read: “Don’t believ...
Teens Face Punitive and Extreme Conditions in Louisiana Juvenile Detention Center
March 17, 2022 13:00 - 15.4 MBJuvenile detention centers were established a hundred years ago to provide rehabilitation for minors who had committed crimes, providing support and services to help them navigate the world upon reentry. Unfortunately, many centers mirror the punitive practices of adult prisons. Reports of shackling, solitary confinement, and the denial of services and education were reported from the Acadiana Detention Center in St. Martinville, Louisiana. We speak with Beth Schwartzapfel at The Marshal...
How the Book "White Philanthropy" Challenges the Carnegie Corporation’s "An American Dilemma"
March 16, 2022 22:27 - 11.5 MBAt more than 1,500 pages in length Gunnar Myrdal’s “An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy,” remains a foundational text on issues of race, politics, and power in the US. Published in 1944 by Swedish economist, Gunnar Myrdal, the study was commissioned and supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York who believed that the European outsider could produce a more “unbiased” analysis. This choice by Carnegie philanthropists has shaped the study of race in America for ...
Pentagon to Close Red Hill Amid Water Contamination Crisis in Hawai'i
March 16, 2022 20:30 - 10.7 MBEarlier this month, the Pentagon announced it would be closing the Red Hill fuel facility in Hawai’i amid a contamination crisis affecting thousands of people in Oahu. The facility — which consists of 20 massive tanks — is located just 100 feet above the primary drinking aquifer in Oahu — and for years, petroleum has been found in Oahu’s water supply. Native Hawaiians have demanded the dismantling of the World War II era facility with months of protesting— including a demonstration outsi...
How AAPI Communities are Mobilizing, One Year After the Atlanta Shootings
March 16, 2022 13:00 - 28.8 MBOne year ago today, a gunman killed eight people at multiple spas in Atlanta. Six of the victims were women of Asian descent: Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Xiaojie Tan, and Daoyou Feng. Delaina Ashley Yaun and Paul Andre Michels were also killed in the shootings. Anti-Asian and Pacific Island hate crimes have continued to increase since Covid-19, and perpetrators often target the most vulnerable such as women and the elderly. The Takeaway speaks with Phi Nguye...
Why is WNBA Star Brittney Griner Being Detained in Russia?
March 15, 2022 20:58 - 11.7 MBIt’s been nearly a month now since WNBA star Brittney Griner was detained in Russia. Russian authorities only announced Griner’s detention earlier this month, two weeks after arresting her, after allegedly finding hash oil in one of her bags at an airport in Moscow. She could face ten to twenty years in prison under Russian law. Griner has been playing in Russia since 2014 in order to supplement her WNBA income. Financial opportunities in the U.S. for WNBA players are often much less lucrat...