Rust Belt to Beltway

Travon Free, stand-up comic and writer for "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee" joins us to discuss the NFL's blacklisting of quarterback Colin Kaepernick due to his social justice/Black Lives Matter activism.

Reporter Paul Blest joins us to talk about Charlottesville, Trump defending Nazis and how he blamed the Alt-Left, as well as Paul's new piece in The Outline on the division on the left. You can read Paul's piece HERE: https://theoutline.com/post/2092/the-dnc-keeps-snubbing-the-left Also, Jake's computer was acting wonky at the beginning so he dropped out to address it. That's why he's quiet at the beginning. He wanted us to go on without him like true comrade.

Jake is IN the Washington, DC metro area for our first IN PERSON episode. No better way to break our investigation into Putin's latest tactic. It's called racism, maybe you've heard of it. But really, we talk about the great Democratic donut debate and the horrible alt-right actions and terrorist attack in Charlottesville.

Katy, @Kid_Mao on Twitter, is back with a recap of the sold out Democratic Socialists of America convention. She regales us with a thrilling rundown of the action, informs us of DSA's newly-adopted proposals and how 25,000+ member strong DSA got to this point.

Fresh off a weekend of good beer and finally seeing each other in three years, Jake and Jordan rehash Joe Scarborough's pro-war/anti-video game tweets, Jake Tapper's weird Lego Trump tweet, and the hashtag Resistance protecting Kamala Harris from any/all criticism.

Katy, an organizer with the Democratic Socialists of America, joins us to talk about what DSA actually represents, who belongs in its big tent, why we should be concerned about capitalism, and why DSA has seen such a huge boost in support. Katy is @kid_mao on Twitter.

Professor Angela Davis of American University's Washington College of Law joins us to discuss her new book, "Policing the Black Man." In this insightful conversation, Prof. Davis provides an overview of how black men in America are disadvantaged and disenfranchised at every step of the "criminal justice" process. You can purchase a copy of her book HERE: http://amzn.to/2vpacKF

*Go to Patreon.com/ThinkTwice to subscribe & hear the whole episode* Brynna Quillin, Outreach Director at The Opposition, joins us to discuss the role of activism in the healthcare debate, how and why Trumpcare failed, whether John McCain is actually a hero and what comes next for Democrats on this issue.

Jordan heads to the basement for a special episode with Kate and Nicole, aka the Basement Bitches. We talk obnoxious food trends, dating in DC, politics and review bagel donuts. Also, Nicole's dog threw up but we edited it out.

Eve Peyser, (@evepeyser on Twitter) staff politics writer at Vice.com, joins Jordan to discuss the Democrat's new slogan, "A Better Deal: Better Jobs, Better Wages, Better Future," and how universal healthcare is conspicuously absent from the messaging. What does this mean for the party's continual shift to the middle. Check out Eve's column on Vice: https://www.vice.com/en_us/topic/evesplaining?per_page=12&topic_id=591089284bdc0a28e881c289

David Skolnick, Politics Reporter at the Youngstown Vindicator and Dr. Paul Sracic, Chair of the Political Science Department at Youngstown State University, join Jordan for a conversation on Trump's return to Youngstown, Ohio, how and why his message resonated in that largely Democratic area, and what the Democrats need to do to win back the Rust Belt.

Healthcare policy wonk Tim Faust (@crulge on Twitter) joins us to break down the healthcare system in the United States, the current efforts by Senate Republicans to repeal Obamacare, and what a universal healthcare system would look like.

We interview Ifeoma Ajunwa, J.D., Ph.D. a faculty associate at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center and an Assistant Professor at Cornell University’s Industrial and Labor Relations School (ILR), on the rise in popularity of commercial DNA testing, fitness trackers, health data, workplace wellness programs and what all those mean for your privacy and rights.

Nantasha Williams of the Women's March joined Jordan to discuss the WM's #NRA2DOJ rally, march and protest, and how the NRA has been advancing hate speech, incitement and violent rhetoric against communities of color.

We talk to Jonathan Smith, Executive Director of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs and former Chief of the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice. While at DOJ, Smith oversaw investigations into police departments, including the Ferguson Police Department in the aftermath of the Michael Brown shooting.