American Fever Dream

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Afternoon Tea With Amanda Nguyen Feb 19, 2021

Show notes

Content Warning: This episode contains references to rape and sexual assault.

It’s time for Afternoon Tea, and this week Sami Sage is joined by Amanda Nguyen, civil rights activist, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and founder of Rise. They start with the story of how Amanda founded Rise and began actually writing her rights into law. They explain the concept of “Hopeanomics,” the process of how agendas are set, and why it’s critical to understand how the lawmaking rules work in order to play the game yourself. They also discuss a recent viral video featuring Amanda, and what’s coming up next for her (it includes Paris Hilton, believe it or not). Finally, they round things out with the four questions, leading to a conversation about how empathy is the solution to all the world’s problems.

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#435 Ted Man Walking Feb 18, 2021

Show notes

Bryan, Alise, and Amanda reflect on men failing their at duties, specifically Senator Ted Cruz and Governor Chris Cuomo. First, they react to news Senator Ted Cruz flew to Cancun while his constituents were freezing to death, and give updates on the on the overall situation in Texas. Then, they react to inquiries into New York Governor Chris Cuomo, whose administration undercounted nursing home deaths in a possible attempt to cover up policies that might have resulted in more fatalities. How did the man who soothed America in the early days of the pandemic squander so much good will? We analyze.

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#434 Don’t Mess With Texas’ (Power Grid) Feb 17, 2021

Show notes

Kaitlin and Amanda share details of the winter storm that has left millions in Texas without heat and electricity. They zoom out to analyze what the moment says about how Americans understand their relationship with government, and look at other northern cities where residents are regularly left without basic human needs. Finally, they explain the outsized role that climate change denial played in this particular outage.

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#433 Hit It And Acquit It Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

Milly, Alise, and Amanda are back from a long weekend to react to the end of Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial. They break down the good reasons and the bad reasons Democrats ultimately backed down on witnesses, and discuss paths for holding Trump accountable in the future. Finally, they analyze why Republican parties around the country have given into their greatest foe: cancel culture.

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#432 How The Pandemic Exposed Environmental Injustice Feb 15, 2021

Show notes

Amanda is Joined by Samantha Miller of Black Girl Environmentalists for a conversation about how environmental activism intersects with racial justice. Miller explains how racism and discrimination have historically played out in the mainstream environmental movement, and how failing to include diverse voices and experiences results in bad ideas and policy implementation. Miller also discusses how the pandemic involving a deadly lung disease has exposed issues related to environmental justic

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Afternoon Tea With Samantha Power Feb 12, 2021

Show notes

On this week’s Afternoon Tea, Sami Sage is joined by Samantha Power, former US Ambassador to the UN and bestselling author of The Education of an Idealist. They start with a conversation about the nature of courage, where it comes from, and how she took the leap to leave her job at Harvard and join Barack Obama’s team before he was president. They talk about working in a male dominated field (you know, like international diplomacy) and why it helps to compare notes with your female colleagues. They discuss the challenge of battling for human rights on an international stage, how people rationalize atrocities in the name of fear, and the role of human nature in our decisions (yeah we get deep here). Finally, they dive into the Four Questions, which leads to a conversation about why battling misinformation is the key to solving our climate crisis (and by extension most of our political problems).

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#431 When Can We Leave Our House? Ft. Symone Sanders Feb 11, 2021

Show notes

Milly and Amanda open the episode with a history-making clip of Delegate Stacey Plaskett, who yesterday became the first non-voting member of the House to argue as an impeachment manager. Then, they briefly react to Day 2 of the impeachment trial and it might have actually changed some Republican votes. Then, they’re joined by Symone Sanders, the senior advisor and chief spokesperson for Vice President Kamala Harris to talk all about the American Rescue Plan. How will the White House’s relief plan get us out of our houses and back to the club? They discuss how the pandemic has disproportionately impacted women -- especially women of color -- and how the plan targets solutions towards working women.

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#430 Castor Of His Domain Feb 10, 2021

Show notes

Amanda and Kaitlin react to the first day of Trump’s second impeachment trial, from House Impeachment managers’ emotional case against the former president to the Trump team’s shocking display of ineptitude. They listen to Rep. Jamie Raskin’s opening argument and talk about the collective trauma we’re all feeling from reliving that terrifying day and roast Bruce Castor’s freshman drama class monologue. Finally, Kaitlin describes watching lawmakers she knew as a child run for their lives from an angry white mob.

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#429 Not A Girl, Not A Free Woman Feb 09, 2021

Show notes

Milly, Alise, and Amanda kick off impeachment week 2.0. They summarize today’s proceedings before covering the recent spate of deadly violence against Asian Americans amid rising hate crimes during the pandemic. They discuss how the “model minority” stereotype has distorted the degree of racism against Asian Americans, and explore how Asian American activism should be better incorporated into the larger project of racial justice. Then, they dive all the way into #FreeBritney, analyzing the documentary “Framing Britney Spears” and considering which aspects of today’s celebrity culture we’ll collectively come to regret.

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#428 Blinded by the Vaxx Feb 08, 2021

Show notes

Bryan, Sami, and Amanda are back to neg the Super Bowl and hype the vaccine. They run through the state of the inoculation rollout as 8 percent of Americans have been vaccinated. They share a stat that only half of Americans would take vaccine ASAP, and explore lingering reasons for reluctance, including the medical establishment’s lack of trustworthiness in minority communities. Finally, Amanda is joined by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton to explain why DC statehood should be at the top of Congress’s agenda.

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