The Good Fight, with Ben Wikler

Everyone working at the border crossing knew that it was happening: brutal violence and abuses by border patrol agents. Sometimes even lethally. But the U.S. Customs and Border Protection wasn't talking, and politicians seemed more concerned with increasing its size and military power than in holding it accountable.    Enter John Carlos Frey, muckraker.    An investigative reporter of the old school, he got a tip about a secret videotape of a killing, in which a dozen border patrol agents brutally beat a hogtied migrant. Where thousands of reported abuses hadn't made a dent in official policy, maybe this video could spark a change. And so the dogged hunt began, leading to an expose that would trigger Congressional outrage, a buried investigation, and finally an official shift that could pave the way to lifesaving changes. On today's Good Fight, we examine the power of an image to awaken a nation to an outrage—and look at the dark side of the political drive to "secure the border."    Featuring John Carlos Frey, activist Hannah Hafter, and a Win Report with Garlin Gilchrist II of MoveOn.org.

Big Oil. Bankers. Global mega-corporations. Those are the powerful. But sometimes, the powerless win too—and this episode is about one of those times. It's the story of the Domestic Worker's Bill of Rights in New York, and the surging movement across the country of nannies, home health aides, and other domestic workers who are fighting for the rights and dignity that every worker deserves.  If you think taking care of kids all day isn't work, that's probably because you haven't done it. But for decades, even the most basic labor laws haven't protected the millions of Americans whose job involves taking care of others in their homes.  Our guests are at the vanguard of closing that ludicrious loophole. Ai-Jen Poo, head of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, and Barbara Young, longtime nanny turned NDWA organizer, tell us how the movement began, what it took to win the first statewide law in America—and how their vision now extends not just to protecting domestic workers across the country, but to ensuring that every family can access the support and care their loved ones need.  All that, plus a Win Report that you won't want to miss.  http://thegoodfight.fm/17

An all-Win Report episode! The latest victories and defeats—plus a special Winportunity report from MSNBC's Irin Carmon, who just watched the Supreme Court argue over whether corporations can have religions... and if so, whether corporations like Hobby Lobby can refuse to cover birth control prescriptions for their employees.    In the Win Report proper, we cover Georgia's crazy new gun law, a ban on plastic bottles that will bring a smile to the heart of every bottle-nosed dolphin in the Pacific, and a bevy of other fights from across the country. Tune in, spread the word, email us at show@thegoodfight.fm, and learn more here: http://thegoodfight.fm/16

For 5 million unlucky Americans, health care reform currently means... zilch. But as Ron Pollack, the country's leading health care advocate, explains on this episode, this is a fight we're going to win. And as you'll realize as he tells amazing stories about the battles he's helped win in decades past (you'll find out how Nixon was essentially hoodwinked into launching the national Food Stamp program), Ron's a guy you should listen to.   Plus: MoveOn.org's Anna Galland tells us why Bobby Jindal's administration in Louisiana is suing MoveOn.org for telling the truth; a real-life emotional moment at Good Fight headquarters; an epic Win Report... and a listener contest you'll definitely want to enter. http://thegoodfight.fm/15 | show@thegoodfight.fm

In Uganda, under the new anti-gay law, you—you reading this now—would almost certainly be a criminal. Know gay people, but don't report them? Prison. "Promote homosexuality" by posting on Facebook or Twitter about gay rights, or doing an interview for a podcast? Prison. Gay yourself? Life sentence.  But Frank Mugisha, an openly gay activist for equality, isn't leaving. And his allies, in Uganda and around the world, aren't giving up either.  In this episode, through interviews with Frank and with Andre Banks, who runs the global advocacy group All Out, we tell the story of the fight against Uganda's insanely harsh new law—a law whose origins are uncomfortably close to home.   Learn more at http://thegoodfight.fm/14

A year ago, President Obama did something jaw-dropping, and not in a good way: He proposed, in his budget, cuts to Social Security benefits. This year, though? The cuts were gone. To understand why he made the proposal, and why he reversed course, you have to understand a much bigger battle. The debt ceiling, the rolling fiscal crises, the doomed Grand Bargain—they're all actually one story, and to understand the Social Security showdown is to see how they fit together. In this episode, we take you behind the scenes of the progressive flank in that fight, and celebrate a win years in the making.  More info: http://thegoodfight.fm/13

The Iran sanctions bill was the kind of measure that usually passes Congress unanimously. And, as always, dozens of Senators signed on right away—even though the law would've destroyed the most promising US-Iran peace negotiations in a generation, and put us on a road to war.  But then, suddenly, the bill collapsed.  What happened? On this episode of The Good Fight, we take you behind the scenes of the rapid-response, highly strategic progressive mobilization that pulled Democratic Senators away, at the last second, from an incredibly dangerous vote. It's the story of a movement that learned a key lesson from Iraq in 2003: the best way to stop a needless war is before it begins. And it's the win that keeps hope alive for the agreement that the US, Iran, and other countries are negotiating even now, a deal that could offer a transformative breakthrough for peace after decades of hostility.  All that, plus the Win Report... and an encounter with an overenthusiastic vacuum cleaner. Find links to sources, music credits, and more at http://thegoodfight.fm/12

The story of Utah's same-sex marriage movement starts with chutzpah and ends with a ridiculously, touchingly exuberant series of victory celebrations. You might get halfway through before you mist up, but don't count on it. Telling the story are Mark Lawrence, the man behind the lawsuit that struck down Utah's vicious anti-equality constitutional amendment, and his friend Troy Williams, an activist who more than earns his unofficial title as "the gay mayor of Salt Lake City." Plus, a delightful non-war with Iran and a win-tastic Win Report guest-hosted by the New Organizing Institute's Bridget Todd. Episode notes and email signup: http://thegoodfight.fm/11

When Heather McGhee's new job was announced, Elizabeth Warren called her "a champion," the head of the AFL-CIO said he was "thrilled," and Chris Hayes hailed her as "hands down one of the most impressive, ferociously intelligent, committed, passionate people I've had the great fortune to meet in progressive politics."  She's 33. She recently helped pass a law that saves consumers $20 billion a year. And she was just chosen to become the president of one of America's leading think tanks.  In this interview, a special mini episode of The Good Fight, you'll meet Heather McGhee, one of the first of the millennial generation to lead a major political institution and one of America's foremost voices on inequality, money in politics, and the path to reform. You'll hear her story, you'll learn about your country, and you might just shed a little cynicism along the way. Show notes and email signup: http://thegoodfight.fm/10

A guy commits some crimes, gets caught, goes to prison. And then everything gets weird. Plus, before that: 2014's first #WinReport, and an exclusive global traffic and weather update that stretches from Sochi, Russia to Chris Christie's New Jersey highways. Find show notes, and sign up for our email list, at http://thegoodfight.fm/9.

The Good Fight's own annual awards show—recognizing the wins and losses in the most important fights of the year. Your hosts: Garlin Gilchrist II, Ben Wikler, and Winifred the Win Horse. Plus a window into what 2013 meant for people the marriage equality movement, and the fight for equality as a whole, with activist Darlene Nipper. Thanks to Karl Frisch for joining us as the announcer! Find show notes, and sign up for our email list, at http://thegoodfight.fm/8.

In the final days before the bill passed, who saved Obamacare? Catholic nuns. Sister Simone Campbell—one of the most charming, utterly down-to-earth, and profoundly committed people I've ever met—explains why. And in the process, she tells her own fascinating story, from an anti-segregation sit-in where, as a teenager, she decided to take her vows, all the way to the present and her delight in the joyous tone set by Pope Francis. If you're glad that Obamacare is finally here—that millions of Americans are, at last, covered by health insurance—then you'll love this mini, Christmas-inspired episode of The Good Fight. We'll be back on Jan 9 with the next full episode of the show, featuring a new Win Report, comedy, and fresh stories of people people changing the world. In the meantime, be sure to subscribe, post a review on iTunes, and start a petition with our sponsor and partner, MoveOn.org!  Plus: we're hiring. Want to be our Associate Producer? Go to thegoodfight.fm/ap and apply now.

Diet Coke. Cherry Coke. Voter Suppression Coke. Thanks to a brilliant grassroots campaign, one of these products has been discontinued. On this episode, recorded live at the Rootscamp activist summit, we take you behind the slingshot in the astonishingly successful fight to expose and shame the corporations backing the notorious American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is the shadowy, far-right group behind crafted such state policy gems as Voter ID laws and Stand Your Ground—but because of our guest and his allies, it's on the retreat. Plus, the first cameo by Ben's two-year-old son Mac; a special three-person crowd-wowing edition of The Win Report, and a misadventure in skydiving. Listen, post a review, and spread the word!

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand brings us inside her fight against military sexual assault. She's joined by Navy veteran Trina McDonald, whose story will break your heart—and then put it back together stronger.   If you saw Trina in the Oscar-nominated documentary The Invisible War, you've probably already realized it: you can't miss this episode. And if you've been reading about Senator Gillibrand and her battle to change the military justice system, this is where you'll find out why she'll never give up.    Plus, before that story, it's everything you love about The Good Fight: a mind-bending descent into our secret underground studio, a glimpse of the NSA's World of Warcraft video game infiltration operation, and a classic Win Report with Garlin Gilchrist II of MoveOn.org. Plus an update on the fast food worker uprising. Tune in, fight back, and spread the word: episode 5 is the best Good Fight yet. 

The podcast for people who want to fix not just a website, but the whole economy.   Does the Obamacare website make you want to sing? Don't answer. Just listen: we've taken care of that for you already. And once the music stops, it's time for a visit to an uprising in the underbelly of our unsurpassedly unequal economy: the great fast food strike of 2013. You'll meet a Taco Bell worker standing up for her rights, an powerhouse organizer working behind the scenes—and you'll take The Good Fight's soon-to-be-beloved McDonald's McResources McQuiz.    Plus, a Win Report that examines the Obamacare predictions of noted health policy experts Michelle Bachman and Glenn Beck, welcomes the Arctic 30 as they bid a fond farewell to their Russian jail cell, and tells the (genuinely) heartwarming Thanksgiving story of a Pizza hut manager who did the right thing, lost his job, and fought back.