Rust Belt to Beltway

Jake and Jordan sit down to discuss Jake's activism on the Hill in protest of Brett Kavanaugh and how Yale students—like Jake—are responsible to stand up and speak out against the elite and powerful in this country.

Jake sits down with Professor Jim Sleeper, lecturer in Political Science at Yale University, to discuss the harms of corporate speech, the shortcomings of civil libertarians in protecting the “marketplace of ideas,” Citizens United, capitalism’s propensity to destroy civic culture, and other topics. Read Professor Sleeper’s writing on the subject here (https://www.salon.com/2018/08/03/free-speech-on-a-slippery-slope-why-are-civil-liberties-advocates-joining-forces-with-the-right/) and here (https://thebaffler.com/salvos/speech-defects-sleeper).

Arielle Cohen and Adam Shuck of Pittsburgh DSA join Brynna and Jordan to discuss the big electoral victories for DSA in Pittsburgh, what their chapter is up to and why DSA's local & decentralized approach can lead to rapid democratic socialist expansion nationwide. You can follow them on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/ariellecohen https://twitter.com/adamkshuck https://twitter.com/pghDSA

Rhiannon of Mic Dicta (@AywaRhiannon on Twitter)and Ken Klippenstein of TYT Investigates (@KenKlippenstein on Twitter) join us to break down the curious case of Meek Mill. Rhiannon gives us an overview of the case and Ken shares a scoop he obtained about Meek lobbying Trump for a presidential pardon.

We went all out for this episode. Chris Richards, pop music critic for the Washington Post, Aida Chavez of The Intercept, Daniella Diaz of CNN and Manny Fidel of Business Insider all join Brynna and Jordan to discuss the most pressing national issue: Kanye West. This was fun and—surprisingly—deep. Read Chris' piece referenced in the episode HERE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/congratulations-you-just-survived-the-longest-month-in-rap-history/2018/05/01/49289528-4d49-11e8-af46-b1d6dc0d9bfe_story.html

A huge thank you to everyone who came out to our first live show, we had a blast! On this episode, we interview Jimmy Dahman, founder of Town Hall Project, and Congressional candidate Amy Vilela! Donate to Amy's campaign HERE: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/amy4thepeople

LIVE SHOW! We are doing our first live show in DC *this Saturday night* at the Brookland Busboys & Poets. RSVP HERE: www.facebook.com/events/1325404697560576/ Jason Kander, former Secretary of State of Missouri and founder of Let America Vote, joins us to talk about what folks in the Midwest are concerned about, how Democrats can connect with and energize voters outside of the beltway and previews his upcoming book "Outside the Wire: Ten Lessons I've Learned in Everyday Courage."

LIVE SHOW! We are doing our first live show in DC *this Saturday night* at the Brookland Busboys & Poets. RSVP HERE: https://www.facebook.com/events/1325404697560576/ On this episode, we talk to Sam Endicott (@SamEndicott on Twitter), an education reporter with O State Report at Oklahoma State University who fills us in on the Oklahoma Teachers Strike.

**This is a teaser of our most recent premium episode. If you'd like to hear more, visit Patreon.com/RustBelt to subscribe.** Professor Andrew Ferguson of UDC Law joins us to discuss mass surveillance, big data and how they intersect with current anti-immigration efforts by the federal government. Prof. Ferguson just released a new book, The Rise of Big Data Policing: Surveillance, Race, and the Future of Law Enforcement. You can purchase it HERE: https://amzn.to/2JlbOsz

Liara, Melissa and Faith, all three holding different professions in the sex work industry, describe their experiences and share their thoughts on their role in society and how they're treated because of their work. Professor Alison Bass of West Virginia University provides historical and academic contexts for the stigma society places on sex workers and Jacci Smith of Metro DC Democratic Socialists of America educates describes decriminalization efforts in the Washington, DC area. Special thanks to Kendall, who has been incredibly helpful and was an invaluable resource throughout the entire process. [Note: Additionally, it should be noted that there are sex workers of all genders but women and non-binary sex workers are prosecuted at a disproportionate rate compared to male sex workers] Music via Madi & Mattia Vlad Morleo (Attribution 3.0 United States, CC BY 3.0 US)

**This is a teaser of our most recent premium episode. If you'd like to hear more, visit Patreon.com/RustBelt to subscribe.** Brynna fills us in on her experience working behind the scenes with March for Our Lives and we discuss how the gun control movement needs to center people of color and address police brutality.

Sophie Ellman-Golan, Deputy Director of Communications at Women’s March, Rhiannon Childs of Executive Director for Women's March Ohio Chapter and Digital Communications Manager Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, and Heather Marie Scholl, artist and activist join us to talk about their new workshop "Confront White Womanhood." We explore how race and gender intersect, how the experience of people of color needs to be centered, and ways white women can call themselves in to address white supremacy and implicit bias. Check out their workshop here: https://confrontwhitewomanhood.com/

Hasan Piker, aka the Woke Bae, joins us to talk leftist politics, thirst trapping, John Bolton, the Austin bombings, Kanye, Donald Trump and more. Follow Hasan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hasanthehun Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hasandpiker/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hasanpikerTYT/

Virgil Texas, co-host of Chapo Trap House and proud gamer, joins Jake and Jordan to discuss the resurgence of the "video games cause gun violence" myth. We discuss gaming's hinderance or enhancement of society, the role of nihilism and other societal issues pertaining to gaming culture. More: The Chapo book: http://amzn.to/2GEh2Pd The Atlantic piece Jake mentions: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/ Virgil and colleague Matt Christman debate the role of video games in society: https://www.i24news.tv/en/tv/replay/stateside/x6g1fco Nathan Robinson's piece on Jordan Peterson: https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/03/the-intellectual-we-deserve

This is a different type of episode. It includes segments from TWO new premium episodes, just released on our Patreon page: patreon.com/rustbelt. There, we have episodes with John Austin of Brookings and Guy Coviello of the Youngstown Warren Regional Chamber. With John, we talk about his research on the Rust Belt, how segregation impacts the region, how immigrants play a pivotal role in the workforce and what Trump's tariffs mean for labor. Then, Guy explains how 3D printing is revolutionizing Northeast Ohio, how the area could actually protect the country from nuclear missile strikes and why Trump resonated with the area. In this episode, we also give you a taste of each interview as well as break down Conor Lamb's upset victory in Pennsylvania, and the National Walk Out by students to push for gun control.