Millennial Politics Podcast

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Andrew Gillum: Florida's First Democrat Governor in 20 Years? Apr 05, 2018

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Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is running to become Florida's first Democratic governor in two decades. He joined us on the podcast to discuss gun violence prevention in the wake of the Parkland mass shooting, healthcare, intergenerational poverty, and more.

Fayrouz Saad: America's First Muslim Congresswoman? Apr 02, 2018

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Fayrouz Saad, who served as the first Director of Detroit's Office of Immigrant Affairs as well as under President Obama in the Department of Homeland Security, joined us on the podcast to discuss her candidacy for Congress in MI-11.

Sam Bagenstos, civil rights lawyer for Michigan Supreme Court Apr 01, 2018

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Sam Bagenstos is a civil rights lawyer running for a seat on the Michigan Supreme Court. Sam joined us on the podcast to discuss the constitutional case for civil rights, the odd prospect of electing judges, and accusations of "judicial activism."

Omar Siddiqui is Challenging Dana Rohrabacher, Russia's Favorite Congressman Mar 29, 2018

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If you're running for office, it's pretty much guaranteed that a lot of people in your life encouraged you to do so. But few candidates can say that they've been personally encouraged to run by President Barack Obama and FBI Director James Comey. No matter how unlikely, that is the true story of what pushed Omar Siddiqui to jump into the race to unseat Russia's favorite congressman, Dana Rohrabacher. (In November, The New York Times reported that "the Kremlin likes him so much it gave him a code name.") Rohrabacher, who has been in Congress since 1989 and represented four districts during his tenure, is facing fourteen challengers in the open primary for California's 48th. Despite never having been represented by a Democrat before, CA-48 went to Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016 (but only by a 1.7 point margin). Despite the crowded field, Omar Siddiqui believes that he can pull through and make it to the November general election ballot. Omar joined us on the podcast to discuss his strategy, why diversity is a matter of national security, and the discussions with Barack Obama and James Comey that inspired him to run for Congress.

Centering Communities of Color in Gun Violence Prevention Mar 26, 2018

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Community Justice Reform Coalition (CJRC) is a national advocacy coalition that promotes and invests in evidence-based policies and programs to prevent gun violence and uplift criminal justice reforms in urban communities of color. Jamira Burley, Social Impact Consultant and Social Justice Activist at CJRC, joined us to discuss gun violence prevention in the wake of the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida and the importance of centering communities of color in our activism.

Treasury Of Weary Souls: Tracking Enslaved Humans in the Americas Mar 22, 2018

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On the latest episode of the Millennial Politics podcast, we interview Dr. Michael Ralph, Professor at NYU and creator of the Treasury of Weary Souls. The Treasury of Weary Souls is the world’s most comprehensive database of enslaved Africans who built America. Ralph and his team compiled more than 1,300 records of Life Insurance policies as a way to identify, track, and better understand the mechanics of slavery. The Treasury of Weary Souls highlights the pivotal contributions of skilled slaves to the nation's most lucrative and most dangerous antebellum enterprises, with specific data points on the enslaved human's skill set, occupation, and which corporations were willing to write the policy. Perhaps most striking, the database also contains fascinating points on financial firms who continue to profit from slave insurance policies today. While these corporations are not the same as they existed over 150 years ago, their legal corporation still exists (AIG, Aetna, New York Life Insurance). We had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Ralph for our first in-studio recording at ACME Hall Studios in Brooklyn.

Renato Mariotti, Legal Expert & Candidate for IL AG Mar 19, 2018

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A leading legal voice on Twitter, Renato Mariotti has become known for his regular threads alongside Seth Abramson and others commenting on the latest developments in the Trump/Russia probe. Oftentimes deciphering what the implications are after a piece of breaking news works its way through the body politic, Renato's insights have landed him as a guest on MSNBC, CNN, and a host of other outlets. Growing up in a lower-middle class home to parents who never graduated college, Renato's family emphasized the importance of education. Despite his modest upbringing, Renato went on to graduate from Yale Law School and become a federal prosecutor for nine years going after white-collar criminals. Some of his more high-profile cases include prosecuting the first-ever high-frequency trader who was engaging in illegal activities. This background and experience has allowed Mariotti to have valuable insight into the mind of Bob Mueller and the legal ramifications of every action and subpoena. Renato's running in a crowded field for Illinois Attorney General, and the statewide primary election is on Tuesday, March 20th. We were fortunate enough to sit down with him to discuss his race, his background, Bob Mueller's probe, and why he's optimistic for the future.

Sharon Fairley, criminal justice expert for Illinois Attorney General Mar 18, 2018

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On Tuesday, the second statewide primaries of the 2018 election cycle will occur in Illinois. While the governor's race has received the lion's share of attention from national media, as a Republican incumbent with a 31% approval rating is running for re-election in a state Hillary Clinton won by 17 points, it is far from the only important election that will be held on the 20th. With incumbent Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan choosing not to run for re-election, the race is wide open, with eight Democrats and two Republicans vying for a place on the general election ballot. One of the most qualified candidates on the Democratic side is Sharon Fairley, a former federal prosecutor and criminal justice reform advocate. Sharon's impressive resume includes serving as chief administrator of the Chicago Civilian Office of Police Accountability and Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals section of the Office of Illinois Attorney General. Sharon joined us on the podcast to discuss her experience holding those in power accountable, her plan to use the office of Attorney General as a vehicle for reform, and her thoughts on the mishandling of sexual abuse by Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.

Sameena Mustafa, Planned Parenthood manager for IL-05 Mar 15, 2018

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Born in Illinois to Indian Muslim immigrant parents, Sameena Mustafa has dedicated her life to advocating for women and people of color. After graduating from college, she became a Planned Parenthood clinic manager. Since then, she has taken numerous leadership positions in local organizations including the Chicago Women's Health Center and League of Women Voters Chicago. She also founded the Symposium to Elect Women & People of Color and Hand Her the Mic, an organization dedicated to empowering women of color through comedy workshops, forums, and performance opportunities. And now, she's ready to serve the people of Illinois' 5th in the House of Representatives. She's challenging incumbent Mike Quigley, a foreign policy hawk, for the Democratic nomination. The district has an ugly history, having previously been represented by Bill Lipinski, father of conservative Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski, Rod Blagojevich, who went on to serve as Governor of Illinois before being impeached and sentenced to 14 years in prison, and Rahm Emanuel, the current Chicago Mayor who shielded the Chicago police department from investigation after the shooting of Laquan McDonald. If elected, Sameena would offer the 5th a new start. Not only would she be their first representative to reject corporate money; she would be the first woman and person of color to represent the district in the House. Sameena joined us on the podcast to discuss Mike Quigley's hawkishness, her work empowering women and people of color, why we need to abolish ICE, and more.

Lauren Underwood, Nurse & Healthcare Expert for IL-14 Mar 12, 2018

Show notes

When Lauren Underwood was attending a town hall with her current Congressman, someone asked a simple question. Where did Rep. Hultgren stand on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act? He responded that he didn't support repealing the Affordable Care Act because it would hurt his constituents and lead to folks being unnecessarily kicked off their health insurance plans. While it appeased the crowd in the moment, Hultgren went back to Washington and did the exact opposite of what he told his constituents. He voted for repeal, and in the process, inspired Lauren Underwood to challenge him. A simple broken promise from her representative was a call to action, and now she's a force to be reckoned with. Endorsed by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's Off The Sidelines PAC, The Arena Summit, and EMILY's List, Underwood has made national headlines. She's been featured on MSNBC, on the cover of TIME Magazine, and now on the Millennial Politics podcast. As a nurse and former Senior Health Advisor to the Obama Administration, Underwood is running on a platform of ensuring access to affordable healthcare, working to solve the opioid crisis, creating good paying jobs, and protecting civil rights for all people. We had the opportunity to chat with Lauren about her campaign, what it means to run for Congress as a young woman of color, and how she approaches hot-button issues in her district.

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