The Breakdown with Shaun King

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 398 - GameStop, Robinhood, and how big money just tried to clobber everyday investors Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

Let me try to explain the madness of what's going on right now with GameStop, the investing app Robinhood, and so much more. Even if you aren't an investor, let me unpack why this matters to all of us.
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Ep. 397 - My conversation with Michael Thompson after he was freed from prison today after 25 years in prison for selling weed Jan 28, 2021

Show notes

Michael Thompson spent 25 hard years in prison for selling weed to a friend. It's unthinkable and is one of the worst acts on injustice I've ever seen in modern American history. While he was incarcerated, his parents died, his only son died, and he lost almost his entire adult life. Today, after 25 years, he was released - and we had to fight like hell to make that happen. Today Michael and I spoke for the first time with him as a free man.
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Ep. 396 - What Joe Biden's executive order on private prisons did and did not do. Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

Yesterday Joe Biden issued an executive order on private prisons. And the support of it went super viral with verified accounts and even leading media organizations saying "Joe Biden ended private prisons." They were wrong. Very wrong. And it's not Joe Biden's fault as much as people really got ahead of themselves without actually reading the executive order itself.
First off, over 90% of private prisons function on the city, county, and state level. All of those will remain.
Secondly, the majority of private prisons on the federal level are immigration detention centers. Joe Biden decided not to end those either. He's keeping those.
Lastly, we learned that he's not even ending the few private federal prisons that do exist. The executive order just said they won't renew their contracts. Many of them have contracts that last for years on end.
So, nobody is being freed. No city, county, or state private prisons are ending. No private ICE detention centers are ending. And they aren't closing down the others any time soon either.
In the end, that executive order will hardly impact anyone. Sadly.
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Ep. 395 - How the deaths of Kobe & Gigi started off an unspeakably painful year of grief Jan 26, 2021

Show notes

In some ways, it seems like it was 5 years ago, and not 1, that Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gigi, and 7 of their friends suddenly died in a helicopter crash. In the shadows of that enormous loss, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others were killed in acts of racial violence. And the pandemic then overtook our entire nation - killing over 400,000 people in the process. In some ways, I think the way we've grieved the loss of Kobe and Gigi over the past year, has served as a way for us to grieve the hundreds of thousands of lives we've lost in this past year. Listen - and let me unpack and explain what I mean.
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Ep. 394 - America's justice system was built to protect white power - not interrupt it Jan 25, 2021

Show notes

I've spent the past few weeks reflecting back on the attack and takeover of the United States Capitol. And one clarion lesson stands out to me the most - the thing that we call the justice system - including the FBI, CIA, the DOJ, the Capitol Police, all the way to your local police department - was not built to interrupt white power, white privilege, white property, or even white violence - it was built to protect all of those things. And when our nation needed the justice system to prevent, stop, or even intervene once the Capitol was attacked, that justice system didn't know what to do. It just wasn't built to stop white people from doing whatever white people want to do - even when they are attacking the Capitol.
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Ep. 393 - Now that they have power, will the Democrats do right by us? Jan 22, 2021

Show notes

Democrats narrowly control the House, Senate, and Presidency - the real question I have now is this - what will they do with it? Because it already looks like Republicans are going to play hardball as usual. Will Democrats fold and get nothing done, or will they muster up the moral courage to fight for real meaningful change? Most of my close friends think that Democrats will squander this moment. Call me foolish, but I still have some hope.
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Ep. 392 - A conversation with Lecrae Jan 21, 2021

Show notes

Listen in to my transparent conversation with hip hop artist and author, Lecrae, as we discuss the intersection of white supremacy, power, faith, religion, race, and so much more.
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Ep. 391 - The one reason I will have grace for President Joe Biden & Vice President Kamala Harris Jan 20, 2021

Show notes

It's official. Trump is gone. Not only from DC and Twitter, but from the presidency. And we are about to enter a new era of national politics. I already have very real criticisms of Joe Biden, but I want to explain why I think this incoming administration deserves a serious degree of grace as they get started.
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Ep. 390 - 1 more day left of the Trump presidency. What’s next won’t be easy. Jan 19, 2021

Show notes

Trump will be out of office tomorrow! I’m nothing but glad. He’s dangerous. But what comes next is actually going to be very difficult. Let me explain what I mean.
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Ep. 389 - The MLK You Never Knew Jan 18, 2021

Show notes

To celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we are re-running one of our most popular episodes that highlights a lesser-known side of the civil rights hero. The words and legacy of Dr. King have been reduced and sanitized in so many ways. Today Shaun King plays 5 very special audio clips of Dr. King that you have likely never heard before and breaks down why they are so very important.
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