UnfairNation

Does documenting the police help make them better?

We are a violent country by almost all measures, including the number of citizens in the United States who are assaulted or die at the hands of police. 

This episode continues our conversation about why running for public office is important, but it is a little different - it’s a recording of a live conversation I had with Amy McGrath, who ran for both the U.S. House of Representatives and then for the Senate against Mitch McConnell. This episode also contains an introduction from former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

As you’ll learn, Amy is a trailblazer. She was the first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps and the first to pilot the F-18 fighter jet on a combat mission. In our conversation, Amy and I touch on a variety of issues - but most importantly, the role of women as political leaders and why more women need to be in positions of power. Amy also shares the challenges and advantages of serving in the armed forces and then running for high political office during the pandemic.

It’s been a while since I recorded an episode, so apologies for that, but I think you’re going to like the changes we’ve made over the last few months. First, I’m making episodes a little shorter - just the right length to listen to on a three mile run, and because this podcast is a great cure for insomnia, you can also use it to knock out at night.

We're back from a bit of a break and informally starting a new season! 

The decline of worker power over the last four decades has been fundamental and transformational according to my guest Anna Stansbury, a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University. She argues that the long-term decline in worker power may have been caused by a number of related trends, including a decline in labor unions and ruthless cost-cutting and management by corporations. 

We are all waiting for that one, miracle vaccine to be developed so that we can go back to work and so that no more lives have to be lost to COVID. But our guest today explains why the pharmaceutical industry has deeper, older and broader problems - which will affect who ends up getting a COVID vaccine when it comes out and how expensive it will be.

Her name is Merith Basey and she's a public health expert and advocate and also the Executive Director of Universities Allied for Essential Medicines, which encourages institutions of higher education to make publicly-funded medicine more affordable.

Shes got some crazy facts about the pharmaceutical industry that will blow your minds, and a hopeful vision for how we can fix the industry through direct involvement by the public (that means you!). 

Links

Today's episode is a story about a hospital across the bay from one of the wealthiest neighborhoods on the planet and why, despite all that money, it couldn't afford to stay open. The heroic effort to keep this hospital open has chilling lessons for all of us, especially today as Americans become increasingly sick and die from COVID.

The story comes to us from my guest Eric Zell. Eric is a consultant, former political staffer and most recently an elected member of the West Contra Costa Healthcare District Board of Directors where he oversaw and then tried to save Brookside Hospital (also known as Doctors Medical Center). Brookside was started by Eric's father and served those in the East Bay Area who could not go elsewhere for medical care. But though the story of the closure of Doctor's Medical Center is an important one, as you listen, I'd like you to also think about your community. 

Show Notes:

We‘ve always been able to buy a first-class upgrade on a flight, but what happens when you can buy medical care, admissions to elite universities and high-school sports championships? This episode’s guest talks about the rise of this “Velvet Rope Economy” and what it means for the 99% (those of us making less than several million a year).

His name is Nelson Schwartz and he’s an award-winning economics reporter at the New York Times and author of the recent book, The Velvet Rope Economy.  

Links:

Militant groups, domestic terrorists and white supremacists (they play in the same little league division) are all finding that the rise in discrimination and hate crimes against Asian-Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic is helping their cause. In fact, they are capitalizing on the hatred. Some are going beyond Asians and blaming their old "go-to" groups such as Jews and Muslims for the virus. This is both a domestic and global phenomenon.

Dr. Erroll Southers is this week's guest. He discusses how the rise in Coronavirus-related incidents ties in with the larger threat posed by homegrown violent extremists (HVE's). Importantly, he shares ways to safely help when you see someone being harassed. Dr. Southers is a professor at USC's Sol Price School of Public Policy and Executive Director of the Safe Communities Institute where he studies violent extremism. 

Big thank you to Nicole Anselmo for her help with this and other recent UnfairNation episodes!

If you like what you hear, rate us on iTunes and subscribe! Thanks for listening and stay safe. 

Links

When you hear the word "prepper" what do you think of? Is it someone living in the rural south, a proponent of more gun rights, and distrusting of the federal government? My guest Dr. Anna Maria Bounds wants to disabuse of you that notion. After spending years with the disaster prepper community she learned that they are nothing like that stereotype. 

In this episode of UnfairNation, Dr. Bounds discusses what prepper communities really look like, how to prep, and how state and local governments can integrate lessons from the prepper community to better serve low-income communities affected by disaster. 

A big thank you to my co-producer Nicole Anselmo for her help and guidance on this and many other episodes of UnfairNation

Stay safe and indoors. 

--

Everyone's heard of 3-D printing, but not everyone has printed something ... in 3-D themselves. My guest Gabriel Krieshok thinks that they can, even without owning a 3-D printer. In another "remote episode" (since we have no other choice BUT to be remote) we talk with him about what 3-D printing is and how anyone can get started printing their own models and objects. We also discuss how communities around the country are using 3-D printers to help fight the Coronavirus pandemic by printing ventilator parts and personal protective equipment, such as visors. Lastly, we talk about how students, educators and especially communities can use 3-D printing in lieu of expensive wood, metal or drafting workshops to achieve similar results. 

The Coronavirus has come and like you, we are also at home socially distancing ourselves from the rest of humanity. That's why this is our first "remote" podcast with former police officer and current professor, Tom Nolan. We've had to make do with a somewhat patchy online connection but all of Tom's excellent thoughts on race, policing and crime in low-income neighborhoods still come through clear as day. 

The holidays are over, as are most hotel stays. But even though January is a slow month for hotels, our podcast keeps chugging along! We've brought Ari Greenberg into the studio this episode to talk about hotels, home-sharing services like AirBnB and the brewing conflict between them. We also discuss how people have chosen to respond to growing AirBnB rentals in their neighborhoods and what, if any, meaningful government regulations can be implemented encourage responsible growth.