Episodes

ICE and CBP continue to detain immigrants in facilities without adequate medical care, sanitation supplies, or even the ability to maintain a safe social distance. At the same time, our weak, failed president is using the pandemic as an excuse to end all legal immigration to our country, increase family separations, and even deport sick immigrants after diagnosis. Our guests today are on the right side of that fight, working to make life better for immigrant communities. Jenn Budd is a former su...

On the same day Donald Trump’s regime ordered the national guard to violently clear several city blocks with tear gas and rubber bullets so that he, surrounded by secret service, police, and military could take a walk to a church for a photo op before scurrying back to hide in his bunker, the temporary occupant of the white house had a phone call with governors. And get this, he called them weak. We all know Trump is the weakest, most insecure narcissist in America—but this call underscores just...

Alyssa Milano first met Congressman Steve Cohen when she went to Washington for a shadow hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment. She was instantly impressed with his candor, his humor, and his passion for doing the right thing. And each of those traits shine through in the conversation you’re about to listen to. If you don’t know Steve, he’s a Democrat serving Tennessee’s 9th District, which includes Memphis. He serves on the House Judiciary Committee, where he chairs the subcommittee on the Cons...

In 2018, Jocelyn Benson was elected as Secretary of State in Michigan. It was part of an historic sweep, where women were also elected to the Governorship and to the Attorney General’s office. Then the coronavirus hit, and Donald Trump went on the warpath, personally attacking Governor Whitmer as she fought to get her citizens access to needed medical equipment. He’s now also attacked Jocelyn, calling her a “rogue secretary of state” for her plan to make sure all Michigan voters can apply to get...

When we think of smart, insightful political commentary, one of the first names that comes to mind is E.J. Dionne. He’s a regular on NPR, MSNBC, and PBS, an opinion journalist for The Washington Post, a former staffer for the New York Times, and a lecturer at Georgetown and Harvard. His new book Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite To Save Our Country is on bookstore shelves now.

When the nation was shut down due to the coronavirus, people in all professions were impacted. Hit especially hard were up-and-coming performers, including musicians, actors, dancers, and comedians. Ben Gleib, a comedian and former presidential candidate, found a way to bring live comedy back to audiences, providing work for performers and much-needed laughter to people around the world. His Social Distancing Social Club and Nowhere Comedy Club are essential business in our view, and we’re so ha...

We all know the stats. Women make up more than half of the population around the world, and yet are dramatically underrepresented in government, in business, and in leadership positions. But we also know that when women lead, amazing things happen. This week, we feature several of those leaders who work with Vital Voices. This amazing organization invests in women leaders in every corner of the globe, and the work they do is changing the world. In this extended episode, we hear from Alyse Nelson...

We are so focused on our physical health right now, but we are a social species and our emotional and spiritual health is suffering in isolation. There are increased calls to suicide hotlines, and people around the nation and world are struggling. We've invited James Bottoms and Camille Loftin on the show to talk about how we can care for ourselves emotionally and spiritually during these difficult days. Camille brings movement therapy, yoga, and meditation to marginalized and unhoused communiti...

A few weeks ago, renowned doctor, vaccine scientist, and educator Peter Hotez came on the show to answer some questions about the state of the coronavirus. Since then, we’ve seen the pandemic flood over America. Tens of thousands have died, and hotspots continue to break out across the nation. And yet, President Trump seems hell-bent on reopening the economy and attacking the science, scientists, and elected officials trying to save lives at every turn. Republican governors are already taking ac...

This week marks the 50th celebration of Earth Day. This week's guest is Bill McKibben. Bill is one of the premiere environmental activists and educators in the world. His book “The End of Nature” was first book about climate change and influenced a generation of politicians and activists, and he continues to do so around the world as the co-founder of 350.org.

Our guest this week is Andy Slavitt. Andy is a leading expert on healthcare in America. As Acting Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services under President Obama, he took over management of healthcare.gov after a difficult rollout and got it up and running. He’s the founder of United States of Care - a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to expanding healthcare to everyone, the host of the In the Bubble podcast, and Alyssa Milano's friend.

Many of the failures we are seeing around the coronavirus response could have been prevented by strong leadership in the area of public health. My guest today, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, is no stranger to this leadership. As a physician and former Health Director for the city of Detroit, Abdul saw firsthand how important this work is in the day-to-day lives of Americans. He was a candidate for governor of Michigan in 2016, and is the author of the new book Healing Politics: A Doctor's Journey into the ...

The 2020 election is just months away and states around the nation are using outdated and vulnerable voting machines. To make matters worse, many of these machines leave no audit trail and no way for us to know that the vote we cast is the vote which was recorded. In this extended episode, John Bonifaz of Free Speech for People, Susan Greenhalgh of the National Election Defense Coalition, and election security advocate and attorney Jennifer Cohn join Alyssa Milano to discuss the threats to our e...

Recently, Congress passed an historic $2 Trillion stimulus bill in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Before it passed, Democrats had to fight tooth and nail to make sure that most of the money went to the people, small businesses, and healthcare workers, and small businesses--and to make sure that the money that did go to large corporations had stringent oversight requirements. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) joined Alyssa Milano to talk about the crisis, how bad the original bil...

We are facing an increasing crisis of teen and youth suicide in America, and it is especially hurting young girls. Today’s episode is a difficult one. Kendra Fisher—a former elite ice hockey player and mental health activist and advocate joins Alyssa Milano to dig into the roots of the problem and what we can do to turn it around. Years ago, when faced with the opportunity to realize her dream of goaltending for Team Canada, Kendra was diagnosed with a Severe Anxiety Disorder coupled with Severe...

In our second Coronavirus special episode, Alyssa Milano asked Dr. Dena Grayson to join us. Dena is a former Congressional candidate from Florida, an infectious disease expert and medical researcher who spent nearly a decade working on treatments for Ebola. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in managing highly dangerous viruses and in the public policy of managing these illnesses, and we’re so lucky to have her.

If you’ve paid even a little bit of attention to the political news of the past several years, you are familiar with this episode's guest. Congressman Adam Schiff represents the 28th district of California in the Los Angeles suburbs. He’s the chairperson of the House Intelligence Committee, where he played a pivotal role in the impeachment of Donald Trump, both from the Committee then as an Impeachment Manager during the trial itself. He’s been the target of nonstop, vile, and personal attacks f...

In the past few days, life changed in America and around the world more than any of us likely ever imagined. Entire cities are on lockdown. Restaurants and bars and schools are closed in an all-out effort to combat the coronavirus. It is scary. It is confusing. It’s been made worse by an incompetent response at the presidential level, and that can make it hard to get good information. So today, in this special episode, we’ve asked esteemed vaccine scientist Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the Baylor C...

Chrissy Stroop is one of the leaders of the #Exvangelical movement of those raised in evangelical traditions who are leaving their churches. As the editor of the book Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church, she brought together the personal, powerful stories of 26 former evangelicals who left their religious upbringings and the challenges they faced. Chrissy joins Alyssa Milano to discuss sexism, homophobia, and other hateful ideas that are driving people from evangelical churches in reco...

From the small but mighty state of Rhode Island, Rep. David Cicilline has been a stalwart progressive voice in Congress since his election in 2010. Before that, he was the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island where he was the first openly gay mayor of a state capital. He sits on the House Judiciary Committee and was a highly visible presence in the impeachment hearings against Donald Trump. In this episode, he joins Alyssa Milano to talk about the changes in congressional relationships since he too...

Katie McHugh is a former white nationalist who renounced those views and is working hard to undo the damage she did when she held them. She is a former writer for alt-right propaganda websites The Daily Caller and Breitbart, where she was in constant correspondence with Stephen Miller, now a key aide to Donald Trump. In conjunction with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Katie exposed those emails and the deep ties of Miller and others to the white nationalist movement in America. In this soberin...

Joe Walsh is a former republican congressman from Illinois’ eighth district, a conservative radio commentator, and a former candidate for president who challenged Donald Trump for the 2020 nomination. Joe and Alyssa Milano disagree on almost everything—but not on one of the most important issues of our day: that Donald Trump is an existential threat to our nation. In a rollicking conversation, they talk about the state of the Republican party, the dangers of Trumpism, and Joe’s new book “Fuck S...

In 2018, Brianna Titone became the first trans person elected to the Colorado General Assembly, winning a seat that had been held by a Republican in a Republican district. In this episode, she shares her personal history of service, the struggles of coming out as trans in the workplace, and the importance of staying true to yourself while winning on the issues.

In February of 2018, one of our nation's greatest tragedies struck. In just over six minutes, a gunman armed with an AR-15 entered the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, killed seventeen people and wounded seventeen more. Jaime Guttenberg was one of those killed. Since that day, her father Fred Guttenberg has been on a mission: to break the back of the gun lobby and reduce gun deaths in America. Along the way he's made national news by continually speaking truth to power....