Thinking CAP

Igor speaks with Juan Escalante, a DREAMer and DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) recipient at risk of losing his status if President Trump decides to rescind the program. Juan shares the harrowing immigration process his parents were put through--and the tough decisions he faced--when the Escalantes' immigration case was mishandled and they were unable to obtain citizenship. Show notes: Juan Escalante’s Open Letter to Trump About DACA: https://juansaaa.com/an-open-letter-to-trump-about-daca-from-a-dreamer-5ef7545b70c6 DACA Helps Undocumented Students Access Higher Education: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/news/2015/04/07/110558/daca-helps-undocumented-students-access-higher-education/ DACA Recipients’ Economic and Educational Gains Continue to Grow: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/news/2017/08/28/437956/daca-recipients-economic-educational-gains-continue-grow/

Michele and Igor sit down with three University of Virginia graduates to digest the events that took place last week in Charlottesville. Daniella Gibbs Leger, Constance Torian and Connor Maxwell discuss their own personal experiences living in Charlottesville and attending UVA, the deep rooted racism of the city and what it looks like to create community in a hostile environment. Show notes: Read Daniella’s piece in Glamour: I Went to the University of Virginia. We Don't Need Statues to Remember our History: https://www.glamour.com/story/university-of-virginia-we-dont-need-statues-to-remember-our-history

Michele and Igor talk with Krystal Ball, former co-host of MSNBC’s The Cycle, and a 2010 Congressional candidate for VA-1, about her decision to get into politics, how being a mother showed her the impact of policy on her children’s lives, and the message and messengers we need represented for a progressive economic future. We also get the low-down on her name—is that real?

What is it like to watch as the Trump administration attempts to undo all of your accomplishments? That’s what Michele and Igor ask Vanita Gupta about this week. As Former Head of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division and President and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights she’s watched the DOJ announce it’s intent to sue universities for implementing affirmative action admissions policies, to withhold funding from sanctuary cities and roll back voting rights enforcement… YET she is still fighting.

Michele and Igor are joined by Janaye Ingram, Director of National Partnerships at Airbnb and a National Organizer for the Women’s March and Alencia Johnson, Director of Constituency Communications at Planned Parenthood to discuss the role of black women in the resistance movement, the hard conversations about race that happened throughout planning of the Women’s March on Washington, and why black women are a powerful constituency progressive lawmakers should be looking at for support.

This week, Michele and Igor sit down with Aubrey Sarvis, a champion of LGBT rights, U.S. Army veteran, and former Executive Director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group that was instrumental in the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. We discuss President Trump’s most recent Twitter announcement: that the United States will bar transgender people from serving—in any capacity—in our armed forces.

This week, House Republicans released a blueprint for their proposed 2018 budget, Igor & Michele speak with Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT 3rd District), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and author of "The Least Among Us: Waging the Battle for the Vulnerable," and CAP’s Harry Stein to help us understand what’s in this budget, and what the American people REALLY need economically.

Michele and Igor sit down with California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to break down the Pence-Kobach "voter fraud" commission, the record of Kris Kobach and the real issues around voter suppression that states should be addressing.

Igor and Michele sit down with former HHS Secretary and former Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius to talk over the Affordable Care Act now being torn apart by Republican Members of Congress, and what she really thinks of single-payer health care.

This week we’re tackling the missile standoff between the United States and North Korea with CAP’s Mike Fuchs and Ken Gude. They break down the United States’ relationship with North Korea, nuclear power testing, and other geopolitical forces in the region, as well as what options the Trump administration has moving forward.

This week, Michele and Igor sit down with Senator Al Franken D-MN). We talk to him about his transition from comedy to politics, the Senate health care bill and his new book “Al Franken: Giant of the Senate.” Finally, Senator Franken ranks his Top 5 Senate athletes and reveals a little known talent of his own.

Michele and Igor sit down with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to discuss the removal of four confederate monuments and talk to New York Times bestselling author Ibram X Kendi on his new book “Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America.”

Following the release of the Senate’s Trumpcare "discussion draft" this morning, we hear from Jon Miller from Meriden, CT on his experience with the ACA. Jon was born with cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening disease if not treated by dozens of medications a day, hospital visits, antibiotics and surgeries, treatment only made possible by affordable healthcare he was able to receive on the Obamacare marketplace. New numbers from CAP show that more than 27,000 additional Americans, like Jon, could die in 2026 as a result of losing their health insurance coverage.

Michele and Igor sit down with CAP’s President and CEO Neera Tanden to break down the Senate AHCA bill that has garnered no public hearings; no testimony from doctors, nurses, patients, or hospitals; and no consideration of 23 million Americans who may be at risk of losing their health insurance.

Following the shooting this morning at congressional baseball practice, Michele and Igor talk to Chelsea Parsons, Vice President of Guns and Crime Policy at CAP about what we do with so many guns in America.