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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:

The Stakes Extra: Betty Okino Aug 12, 2016

Show notes

A bonus episode of The Stakes for all you Olympic gymnastics stans featuring Jane Coaston's full interview with the legendary Betty Okino. Before Simone Biles, Aly Raisman and the rest of the US Women’s Olympic team swept gold in Rio and cemented their position as the most dominant force in world gymnastics, Betty Okino was there, paving the way. As part of the 1992 US team, she and her teammates achieved what was previously thought to be impossible: winning a bronze medal at the Barcelona Olympics. This was the United States’ best olympic gymnastics team performance in a fully-attended Games since 1948. MTV writer Jane Coaston spoke to Betty Okino about what it’s like to compete under the spotlight at the highest level of sport, and how gymnastics has changed over the last 25 years.

What Comes Next Aug 12, 2016

Show notes

This week on The Stakes: - Jamil Smith speaks with Earledreka White — the black woman who called 911 after being pulled over by a police officer for a traffic stop, and then was violently arrested — about what happened, and how it’s affected her life. - Ana Marie Cox talks to Christian Picciolini, a man who helps former white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and extreme right activists leave those kinds of hate groups through his organization Life After Hate. - Jane Coaston speaks with Betty Okino, one of the legendary black gymnasts who paved the way for Simone Biles. - Our poet-in-residence Marcus Ellsworth speaks to the power of pronouns and self-determination.

Crossroads Aug 05, 2016

Show notes

This week on The Stakes: - Jamil Smith sits down with Democratic Congressman John Lewis of Georgia to talk about the final book in his graphic memoir trilogy March. - MTV News style editor Haley Mlotek speaks with fashion designer and U.S. Army first lieutenant Julian Woodhouse about how his identity influences his fashion. - Hannah Stoudemire tells us why she needed to organize a Black Lives Matter protest at her own industry’s New York Fashion Week. - MTV News correspondent Gaby Wilson takes us on a tour of the museum at FIT’s exhibit on the history and transmutation of uniforms. - Our poet-in-residence Marcus Ellsworth leaves us with a lullaby for the baby Donald Trump kicked out of his rally.

Saints And Poets Jul 29, 2016

Show notes

This week on The Stakes: Part 1: Ana Marie Cox speaks with Sarah McBride, the national press secretary for the Human Rights Campaign who made history Thursday night by being the first openly transgender person to address a major party convention. Part 2: Jaime Fuller tracks down two millennial delegates, one Democrat and one Republican, to explain why they each gave up a week of their summer for a musty convention center. Part 3: Doreen St. Félix discusses the power of photography with Aperture Magazine guest editor Sarah Lewis. For the first time in its 223 volumes, the summer edition of Aperture is devoted to photographic representation of African-Americans. Part 4: Jessica Hopper talks to poet and music writer Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib about his new book of poetry, The Crown Ain’t Worth Much. Part 5: Our poet-in-residence Marcus Ellsworth explores how the idea of America changes, depending on where you stand.

The Stakes After Dark (SAD!): Capture The Flag Jul 29, 2016

Show notes

Hello and welcome back to "The Stakes: After Dark," a.k.a. SAD! The acronym is gloomy, but our hearts are not. This is our ninth show in two weeks, and there’s a tenth dropping tomorrow, and if we remain upright for the rest of this podcast, we will have survived this entire miniseries. It’s OK if you weren’t betting on us. Lord knows we weren’t betting on ourselves.

The Stakes After Dark (SAD!): A Moment Alone In The Shade Jul 28, 2016

Show notes

Hello and welcome back to "The Stakes After Dark," our nightly review of all the action from the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. We're almost through, and on this penultimate night of our miniseries, we're a little bit ... buoyant? Bear with us. It's strange for us too. Together in our New York studio to bask in this fleeting ray of sunshine are Holly Anderson and Jane Coaston.

The Stakes After Dark (SAD!): The Absence Of Agony Jul 27, 2016

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Hello and welcome back to “The Stakes After Dark,” our nightly dispatch from the summer conventions, which do NOT Comic-Con or anything remotely fun. Although there are some neat hats. Together in our New York studio to bang an unnecessarily mic’d rhetorical gavel on this day are Holly Anderson and Jane Coaston. DNC yeah you know me.

The Stakes After Dark (SAD!): Bridge To Terabitchia Jul 26, 2016

Show notes

...aaaaaaaaand we're back with another FOUR AIRHORN BANGER from America’s best politics podcast that is also a sleep-deprivation experiment! Another week, another major political party convention, another chalice full of tears. What kinds of tears? Tune in and find out - we'll be here each night of the Democratic National Convention to run down the what's up of each day's events.

The World Outside Jul 22, 2016

Show notes

This week on The Stakes we take a look at some blessedly non-RNC related stories: • How Tramps Against Trump use snapchat nudes to encourage voting • The murder of Pakistani social media icon, Qandeel Baloch • Librarian-activists, Storytime Underground • A poem on the plentiful contributions of non-white people to civilization

The Stakes After Dark (SAD!): Papa Is Weak And We Are Hungry Jul 22, 2016

Show notes

Hello and welcome back to "The Stakes: After Dark" for our fourth and final night of Republican National Convention coverage. We made it. In one piece. Mostly! The theme of tonight’s RNC sessions was "Make America One Again." Together in our New York studio to answer the question "One what?" are Holly Anderson and Jane Coaston.

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