Music

The Stakes

The Stakes is your look at the week’s news, without the filler of talking heads and clickbait. Every week, MTV’s Holly Anderson and her team of writers — including Ana Marie Cox and Jamil Smith — guide you through the week’s news, social justice issues, and culture stories through a mix interviews, essays, special reporting, and poetry. The Stakes is investigative, thoughtful, and BS-free.

Latest Episodes:

Daughters Of The American Revolution Nov 11, 2016

Show notes

This week on The Stakes:

- Producer James T. Green spends an evening with Assata's Daughters, an abolitionist group formed to address a shortage of programming and community for young Black women in Chicago.

- MTV Style Editor Haley Mlotek interviews director Brett Story about The Prison in Twelve Landscapes, a documentary about our prison system that never shows a single prison.

- PProducer Mukta Mohan interviews Nadya Tolokonnikova, founding member of Pussy Riot, about her latest music video called “Make America Great Again,” which imagines a dystopia in which ... Donald Trump is president of the United States.

- Poet-in-Residence Marcus Ellsworth shares his Election Night poem, "Over My Shoulder."

The Stakes After Dark (SAD!): Election Eve Edition Nov 07, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to "The Stakes After Dark," where we're one day from this all being over. Holly Anderson, Ana Marie Cox, Jane Coaston, and Jamil Smith are in our New York studio, staring down November 8 and asking a few of the questions that remain unanswered.

Are Republicans in for a post-election reckoning? Will the surge of Latino voters we've already seen in Florida continue on the national level? Will increased voter registration among millennials translate into higher voting numbers for that group? How much voter suppression will we see in places like North Carolina? And do women and people of color deserve a parade after the hell we've put them through this year?

Future Sex and Rubber Bullets Nov 04, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to “The Stakes,” our political-ish podcast where even though the World Series is over, we are, politically speaking, still biting our nails at the bottom of the ninth. Coming up:

- MTV Politics writer Jaime Fuller speaks to two North Carolina residents about the transgender bathroom bill HB2 and the conservative takeover of that state.

- The Dakota Access Pipeline protest is still going strong in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. MTV Politics writer Marcus Ellsworth talks with Eryn Wise, media coordinator for the Sacred Stone Camp in North Dakota and the International Indigenous Youth Council at Standing Rock.

- Deputy Politics Editor Julianne Ross sits down with author Emily Witt to discuss her new book, Future Sex.

- MTV Founders Editor Julie Zeilinger speaks about her history of covering Planned Parenthood, and we hear from young women about what the century-old health network means to them now.

Thanks for being with us on this journey, internet!

Saved By DNA: Yusef Salaam Of The Central Park Five Speaks Out Oct 28, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to “The Stakes,” MTV’s political-ish podcast that winces at any mention of the election but is glued to political Twitter anyways. Y’all sure do love your chain restaurants! Coming up on the show:

— MTV Founders editor Julie Zeilinger speaks with Ansley Calandra, whose story of a run-in with Trump surrogate Omarosa before the second presidential debate went viral. Calandra discusses what it’s like being a sexual assault survivor — and a meme — during this election.

— Jamil Smith sits down with Yusef Salaam, who was 14 years old when he was charged with the rape of a jogger in Central Park and became known as one of the Central Park Five.

— Just in time for Halloween, we’re sharing an interview from a sister podcast of ours here at MTV called “Skillset.” MTV film critic Amy Nicholson chats with Rosalind Wiseman, author of Queen Bees and Wannabes — the book that became Mean Girls.

Pussy! Tacos! The Blow! Oct 21, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to “The Stakes.” We’ve got a protest-filled show for you today, plus some voices you haven’t heard on our li’l podcast before. Coming up:

- SlutTalk founder Alicia Swiz sits down with producer James T. Green to discuss the feminist protests outside Chicago’s Trump Tower.

- Our editorial director of music, Jessica Hopper, speaks to writer Sasha Geffen about how a rape allegation against Swans frontman Michael Gira has reverberated within the close confines of the underground music community.

- The Blow’s Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne tell writer Hazel Cills about their Womanproducer project, and the power of women in music and the arts.

- Producer Mukta Mohan joins protestors in Las Vegas who built a wall of their own in front of a Trump hotel — a wall of taco trucks.

The Stakes After Dark (SAD!): Children Will Listen Oct 20, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to “The Stakes After Dark" (SAD!) for our final post-debate dispatch. MTV's Director of News and Politics Holly Anderson is in Las Vegas talking with our resident teen-whisperer Taylor Trudon about what the #youths can take away from debate number three.

The Stakes Extra: What Happens In Vegas Oct 19, 2016

Show notes

We’re bringing you an extra special episode of “The Stakes” from Las Vegas, where MTV News senior correspondents Ana Marie Cox and Jamil Smith are staking out the final (praise be) presidential debate of 2016. We'll be back with more “Stakes After Dark (SAD!)” later tonight, plus our regular “Stakes” programming on Friday. In the meantime, listen right here for our rundown of what’s happening in the lead-up to the big finale.

Voting Is Not A Form of Self-Expression Oct 14, 2016

Show notes

Welcome to “The Stakes,” the reluctantly political podcast that’s being dragged by the ankles into the yawning abyss of the looming election. Won’t you join us? Coming up on the show today:

- MTV Founders editor Julie Zeilinger speaks with Rise founder Amanda Nguyen about how she helped create the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights.

- Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton tells Jaime Fuller about how banishing salary history will help close the wage gap.

- Our resident poet and politics writer Marcus Ellsworth talks to socialist activist Sendolo Diaminah about how to best use your vote if you don’t fully support either candidate — but still want to make a difference in policy.

- In light of a growing cascade of revelations from even more women accusing Donald Trump of sexual assault, MTV News correspondent Meredith Graves has an op-ed about how Trump isn’t really even a politician.

The Stakes Extra: On Self-Care, Sexual Assault, and Being Triggered By Trump Oct 13, 2016

Show notes

It’s Thursday, October 13th, 2016 and last night we bore witness to a rising tide of women who have come forward with allegations of indecent and inappropriate behavior — and even sexual assault — against GOP nominee Donald Trump. As part of our ongoing coverage of this election cycle, we’re bringing you this conversation between Senior Political Correspondent Ana Marie Cox and MTV Politics writer, Marcus Ellsworth.

A quick warning: This conversation covers potentially triggering topics, including sexual assault.

The National Sexual Assault Hotline is available to anyone who needs it 24 hours every day at 1-800-656-4673

The Stakes After Dark (SAD!): An Ode To Ken Bone Oct 13, 2016

Show notes

Tonight on The Stakes After Dark (SAD!), Marcus Ellsworth brings us a poem on the one small glimmer of red-sweatered hope we saw during the second presidential debate.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Stakes

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected