Why Vaccine Mandates Seem To Cause Backlash Partisanship explains much of the national division surrounding vaccine mandates, but this divide may highlight another important policy-making challenge--the contemporary American’s reluctance to contribute to the public good. We speak with epidemiologist and public health correspondent Gregg Gonsalves about whether anyone is asking not what the country can do for us, but what we can do for our country. Puerto Rico Is a COVID Success Story According to the CDC, the island had fully vaccinated 74 percent of its population as of November 22. That’s higher than any other US state or territory. Puerto Rico also has one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates. So how did Puerto Rico become a bright spot in the pandemic? For more on this, The Takeaway spoke with Nicole Narea, immigration reporter for Vox. Diaper Need Is an Invisible Part of Poverty in the U.S. The the issue is wide-ranging: 1 in 3 families cannot afford an adequate supply of diapers for their children. Chabeli Carrazana, an economy reporter for the 19th, recently wrote an article about diaper need in rural Missouri, and explained to The Takeaway just how far-reaching this issue is. We also hear from Representative Barbara Lee, who introduced the End Diaper Need Act of 2021 earlier this year with Representative Rosa DeLauro. Decarceration in New Jersey In October of 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a law allowing early release of 5,300 prisoners. Under legislation S2519, inmates who were eligible to be released in a year’s time could be awarded public health emergency credits during a public health emergency. Incarcerated adults and juveniles were released 8 months early as a result. When Governor Murphy ended the state’s public health emergency status during the summer of 2021, early releases ended, too. We speak with Karen Yi, a reporter for WNYC Radio, about decarceration in New Jersey. For transcripts, see individual segment pages.

Parents of Alleged Michigan School Shooter Also Charged On Friday, the parents of the 15-year-old who is charged with killing four students in Michigan, were themselves charged with involuntary manslaughter. Professor Jonathan Metzl joins us to discuss the move by the prosecutor. Does it signal a move to hold the parents of shooters more accountable and will others face the same legal consequences? The Last "Fire Camp" For Incarcerated Youth In California To risk their lives fighting fires, they earn between $2.20 and $4 an hour. California firefighters who are not incarcerated typically earn more than $40 an hour. Still, these jobs feel unattainable to the young people of Pine Grove after their release, many of whom are now trained but can't find permanent jobs in the field. Joining us for the discussion is Sara Tardiff, freelance reporter for Teen Vogue, who looked into the Pine Grove facility and California's incarcerated firefighting industry.  Riz Ahmed on "Encounter" and Making Space for His Own Identity Onscreen Riz Ahmed stars in “Encounter,” a film about an ex-Marine who takes his sons on the run, in an attempt to protect them from what he believes is an impending alien invasion. The Takeaway spoke with him about “Encounter” and how he's managed to include more of himself onscreen over time.  Steven Spielberg’s Remake of "West Side Story" Hits Theaters This Week The remake does attempt to correct some of the problems of the original film, including its casting, but is it enough? For more on this, The Takeaway spoke with Frances Negron-Muntaner, media scholar and professor at Columbia University. For transcripts, see individual segment pages.

Will Biden's New Covid Strategy Fix His Low Approval Ratings?  On Thursday President Biden held a press conference on the quickly spreading Omicron variant that’s now been found in multiple states. To beat the new variant, Biden says it’s time for Americans to be united. But Americans across the country aren't exactly “united” in their support for him. Biden's approval rating sits at about 42%, and it hasn't budged even after the House passing his signature piece of legislation, Build Back Better. We discuss with Sheryl Gay Stolberg, a Washington Correspondent covering health policy at the New York Times. Reproductive Rights and the Constitution The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health which involves a Mississippi law that restricts abortion at 15 weeks, well before the viability of the fetus. Upholding the law threatens the constitutional right to abortion established in 1973 with Roe v Wade. We wanted to understand what the Constitution says or doesn’t say about the reproductive rights that have been extended to individuals for the past 50 years, so we spoke with Carter Snead, Professor of Law at Notre Dame University, and Elizabeth Wydra, President of the Constitutional Accountability Center. Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams Second Bid for Governor: How the Political Landscape Has Changed On Wednesday, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams announced via Twitter that she would once again seek the office of governor of  Georgia. With the upcoming midterm elections, all eyes will be on Georgia once again. But the political landscape has changed since 2018, so what will this mean for Abrams’ campaign? Delilah Agho-Otoghile, Field Director for Stacey Abrams' 2018 gubernatorial campaign and Executive Director of the Texas Future Project, joined the Takeaway to discuss.  What Is the NYC Racial Justice Commission? In March, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio created the Racial Justice Commission.  The Takeaway hears from two members of the commission, Jennifer Jones-Austin and Yesenia Mata about their work. For transcripts, see individual segment pages.

"Attica" Film Chronicles Dishonest Media Portrayal Of America's Largest Prison Uprising 50 years ago, in 1971, over a thousand prisoners took hold of the Attica supermax facility for five days in Western New York making it the largest prison rebellion in American history. We were joined by "Attica" co-director Stanley Nelson to talk about the film and the historical significance of the uprising.  "Mississippi Goddam: The Ballad of Billey Joe:” An Exploration of History, Southern Identity, Policing and Race The Takeaway talks to Al Letson, the host of the national investigative news program, Reveal. He’s been working on an investigative podcast series that is out now called "Mississippi Goddam: The Ballad of Billey Joe.” The series takes its listeners to Lucedale, Mississippi, located in the southeast corner of the state, near Mobile, Alabama where a Black high school football star, Billie Joe Johnson, died during a traffic stop with a white deputy back in 2008. Reinaldo Marcus Green on Directing HBO's King Richard We spoke with the film's director Reinaldo Marcus Green about helming this project and where he’d like to take his career from here. For transcripts, see individual segment pages.

Janai Nelson on the Future of the NAACP LDF Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund joins us to discuss the banning of books that teach a truthful version of history, and how she will lead the NAACP LDF in Spring of 2022 after the departure of current president, Sherrilyn Ifill.  Abortion Is Back in the Supreme Court As the justices hear arguments, advocates are gathering  outside the Court to express their support or opposition to abortion rights. The Takeaway spoke with one of those advocates, Dr. Dawn God-bolt, policy director at the National Birth Equity Collaborative. Her organization filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the only remaining abortion provider in Mississippi. The Urgency of Addressing Global Inequalities on World AIDS Day This year’s World AIDS Day theme is End Inequalities. End AIDS. End Pandemics. While the Joint United Nations AIDS program believes we can end the AIDS pandemic by 2030, we will not be able to do so without addressing the inequalities of awareness, infection rates, access to healthcare, and treatment around the world. We discuss the impact of those inequities with Dr. Steven Thrasher, professor at Northwestern University and author of the upcoming book, The Viral Underclass: The Human Toll When Inequality and Disease Collide. Comedian Lizz Winstead on Bringing a Satirical Lens to the Fight for Abortion Rights Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead joins The Takeaway to discuss her work for abortion access and the two recent abortion cases before the Supreme Court. She also talks about her organization Abortion Access Front and their new weekly Youtube show, Feminist Buzzkills Live! For transcripts, see full segment pages.

SCOTUS To Decide the Fate of Reproductive Rights This week, the Supreme Court will be hearing arguments for a Mississippi case that challenges legal precedent set by Roe v. Wade. If SCOTUS sides with the State of Mississippi, nearly five decades of abortion law will almost immediately be undone, and the effects would be swift and consequential as there are nearly 21 other states with "trigger laws" intended to criminalize a woman's right to choose. We heard from some listeners what Roe v. Wade means to them, and we sat down with Melissa Murray, Law Professor at NYU, faculty director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network, and co-host of the legal podcast “Strict Scrutiny.” Environmental Defenders Are Being Killed, Threatened for Protecting Their Land According to a report by Global Witness, an environment and human rights watchdog, 2020 was the deadliest year on record for environment and land defenders around the world. On average more than four people a week were killed as a result of their work. And these numbers almost certainly underestimate the true scope of the violence. Much of this brutality occurred in Central and South America and more than one third of the victims are Indigenous persons. President Josefina Tunki of the Shuar Arutam People (PSHA) and Herlin Odicio, leader of the Kakataibo people in the central Peruvian Amazon joined the Takeaway to discuss.   BOOK: A Field Guide to White Supremacy A Field Guide to White Supremacy creates a roadmap for understanding the existence of extremism and white supremacy in the United States and why it continues to persist. Co-Editor Kathleen Belew and Jamelle Bouie, one of the many leading thinkers contributing to the text, join us to discuss the new book. George McGovern's Impact on Today's Political System To understand the current polarization of our political system, we need to look at political campaigns in history. In the podcast, Of The People, creator and producer Ben Bradford focuses his lens first on the 1968 Democratic National Convention. While anti-Vietnam war protestors demonstrated outside the convention, party bosses selected pro-war vice presidential candidate Hubert Humphrey, who had not won a single primary. At the same time, South Dakota freshman Senator George McGovern decided to run for president. We speak with Ben Bradford about how the trajectory of McGovern’s campaign impacted our political system. Transformational Takeaway Today, we honor the lifetime and legacy of American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim who composed scores for groundbreaking musicals like Into the Woods, Westside Story, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.  Stephen Sondheim  For transcripts, see full segment pages.

Multiple Guilty Verdicts for the Murder of Ahmaud Arbery Nicole Lewis, senior editor of Jurisprudence at Slate, discusses guilty verdicts in Ahmaud Arbery murder case. The Omicron Variant and Vaccine Inequity Dr. Bhakti Hansoti, an associate professor of emergency medicine and international health at Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg School of Public Health will join us to discuss the latest. Eating Leftovers in Style Dan Pashman, host of The Sporkful joins The Takeaway to talk about how to make use of leftovers in style. And we also talk with him about his pasta, cascatelli, which was recently named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 best inventions of 2021. Rev. Dr. Jacqueline Lewis Talks About 'Fierce Love' She is the author of Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World and the host of the “Love.Period.” Podcast and she left our listeners with a timely message about the power of love and radical acceptance.  For transcripts, see individual segment pages.

What Kneeling in Protest Means To a New Generation of Athletes Dave Zirin, Sports Editor for The Nation, talks to The Takeaway about his new book, The Kaepernick Effect: Taking a Knee, Changing the World.  The Takeaway talked with Zirin about the long history of activism by athletes and what this new generation risked as they stood up for equality by taking a knee. "High on the Hog" Celebrates Black Food Culture In the new Netflix series “High on the Hog,” host and food writer Stephen Satterfield traces the history and significance of African American foodways. The show is based on a book of the same name by the renowned historian and cookbook author Dr. Jessica B. Harris. We’re joined by Osayi Endolyn, a James Beard Award-winning writer and co-author of "The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food," for more on Black food culture.  In His New Book, Chef Bryant Terry Explores Black Foodways Earlier this year, the Netflix series “High on the Hog” brought the stories of the Black people who have shaped U.S. food culture past and present to a mainstream audience. It turns out there’s a lot of appetite right now in recognizing and celebrating Black foodways and culinary traditions.     For transcripts, see individual segment pages.