The Breakdown with Shaun King

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 687 - Herschel Walker may be the single worst candidate ever for the United States Senate Oct 06, 2022

Show notes

This is my first time every saying his name here on the podcast, but DAMN Herschel Walker is a hot mess. Like...that's even an understatement.
It's not just that he doesn't have any experience - he also doesn't have any integrity, honesty, ethics, or decency. Or wits. I don't want to blame everything on CTE, but the man can't answer a simple question on most days.
His entire family begged him not to run. He was physically violent with women and threatened to kill them at gunpoint. His own son called him a liar with no morals. He says he is against abortion but apparently has been paying for them on the side....So - HOW IN THE HELL does this man still have the support of 44% of voters in Georgia?

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Ep. 686 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has taken the bitter & grumpy approach to being an elder Oct 05, 2022

Show notes

Kareem is a legend. Period. Which is why you won't find LeBron James and other elite Black athletes that Kareem continues to fire harsh critiques against - firing them back - which is probably the right thing to do.
But for me, it's sad to see. Instead of being a mentor, advisor, coach, or confidante, Kareem has decided to use his platform to blast young Black athletes - often with over-the-top critiques.
Yesterday he went viral for saying that every corporation and sponsor that works with Kyrie Irving should drop him and that people should call and write those sponsors and demand they drop Kyrie?
It's too much, frankly. Because for all the criticisms he might have of Kyrie - he overlooked that he is literally one of the single most generous athletes in all of sports and has consistently spent millions of dollars to support people impacted by police violence and racial injustice.
And when you dig a little, you learn that he doesn't even know any of these guys and hasn't made an attempt to get to know them.
I just hope that when I'm an elder - I take the advisor and mentor approach instead of the grumpy old man path.

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Ep. 685 - America will ALWAYS make a place for Black white supremacists Oct 04, 2022

Show notes

From the plantation until today, this country has ALWAYS made room for Black people who are willing to do the bidding and work of white supremacists. ALWAYS.
And more than anything, it gives moral and emotional cover for racist and bigoted white people to feel comfortable about their own racist ways. It's a strategy that is literally hundreds of years old. And while 99% of Black people never opt for these roles, 1% of Black people take the self-hating bait and then bask in the protection they then receive from operating with the adoration and approval of the worst white people in our midst.
That's where Kanye is right now. And it's where he's been for a long time.
And it's not as simple as ignoring him. I have to say what I am about to say again and again - either hip hop culture is CRAZY influential in the world - and it actually influences people good, bad, and ugly - or it's not that influential and we can end this conversation.
The truth is that hip hop is SUPER influential in the world. And when that influence is used for evil and foolishness - it must be confronted and called out.

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Ep. 684 - Why we must STOP saying NFL players "got their bell rung." Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

Yesterday a brother I am friends with in the NFL received a brutal concussion. It was hard to watch for a thousand reasons, but when you get to actually know these men as human beings, seeing the physical toll it takes on their brain and body is pretty terrible.
And as soon as he received the concussion, I started seeing people online and on television say something about him that I've heard my whole life. They started saying that he "got his bell rung."
But here's the thing - human beings don't have bells. We don't get rung. And that cartoonish description of someone "getting their bell rung" masks what we are really talking about.
Their brains are being smashed against their skulls - which is what a concussion is - which ultimately causes CTE. Each concussion is a traumatic brain injury. And we have to stop making it sound like something other than what it really is.
Also, FYI: one of the doctors that cleared Tua to play for the Dolphins after his concussion has been fired.

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Ep. 683 - The NFL and the Miami Dolphins failed Tua Tagovailoa - and it could've cost him his life Sep 30, 2022

Show notes

In professional sports, it's the job of the team, and of the league, to sometimes protect players from themselves. Their sheer determination to play, and sometimes play injured, can be so strong, that it's up to coaches, medical staff, and league policies to protect players from making bad medical decisions for themselves in the heat of a moment.
And that's exactly what just happened to Miami Dolphin quarterback Tua Tagovailoa - who clearly got a concussion (which is a traumatic brain injury) this past Sunday, and was allowed to keep playing. And instead of sitting him out and allowing his brain and body to heal, they rushed him back out to a game last night, where his head hit the ground, and clearly caused an even more severe injury to his brain.
He's lucky to survive it, but heads need to roll. At least a dozen different people on the team, including their head coach, their GM, and the medical staff for the team all failed to protect this man.
The thing is, the NFL - and the Dolphins in particular - are dirty - and have a history of doing players wrong - so I have very little confidence that anything will happen here.

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Ep. 682 - Call and save THIS number to help save the life of Kastellio Vaughan. Sep 29, 2022

Show notes

Today our team at the Grassroots Law Project has created a hotline for you to call and express your outrage at the despicable human rights abuses and medical malpractice being committed against a young incarcerated brother who does not deserve any of this.
The number is 334.605.8572.And when you call that number, I will be there to talk you through what you need to say and do next.
Then save this number in your phone. Share it with everybody you know. And let them know to join you and join us.
THOUSANDS of incarcerated men and women in Alabama are on strike right now and they need us to stand up for them and alongside them the best we can.

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Ep. 681 - Italy just elected a racist, fascist, ultra-conservative as their new Prime Minister. Here's why it should matter to you. Sep 28, 2022

Show notes

The United States exports a few things around the world. One of them is white supremacy and ultra conservative ideology. The latest recipient? ITALY - which just elected its single most conservative politician since World War II.
And what's wild is that she is literally parroting and quoting the exact same talking points we hear from white supremacists in the United States. It's dangerous - and bigots around the world are literally celebrating.

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Ep. 680 - Let me explain what's REALLY happening to Kastellio Vaughn Sep 27, 2022

Show notes

For the past few days as we've told the story of the egregious human rights violations and criminal neglect of Kastellio Vaughn I see people asking some form of this question...What's REALLY going on with him? Because they are having a hard time believing that a prison would actually treat a man as horribly as they are treating him.
Today I want to answer that question very clearly for all of us.
All over this country, but doubly so in Alabama, from slavery until today, incarcerated men and women have been treated like throwaway people - in great part because they are counting on us either never finding out - or not actually caring once we do.
Let me unpack and explain what's really going on.

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Ep. 679 - 3 reasons you should care about the protests in Iran Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

Nationwide protests in Iran are now nearing their second week and they are centered, in great part, around something very familiar to us here in the United States - police brutality and mass incarceration - and the death of a young woman in police custody.
We've seen that our whole lives here in the US - and today I want to unpack and explain 3 reasons why I think we should care about these injustices happening in Iran - as police now shoot, kill, injure, arrest, and detain protestors all over Iran as protests continue to grow and spread.
At the root, are women's rights and human rights - and whether or not women in Iran have the legal right to choose if they want to wear hijabs and other restrictive clothing.

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Ep. 678 - I am increasingly convinced that police violence will never go away in our lifetime Sep 23, 2022

Show notes

In spite of all that 2020 meant for civil rights in this country, 2021 was the worst year for police violence ever measured. Why? How?
Today I want to unpack and explain the 3 reasons why, in spite of our very best efforts, police violence continues to actually get worse.
Does this mean we shouldn't fight against it? HELL NO. If we didn't fight against it, I have no idea how much worse it would be.
But we also need to adjust our expectations. As long as the root causes remain, police violence will remain.
Listen to today's full episode of The Breakdown so I can unpack and explain what I mean.

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