Reckonings

"What really blinds people on both sides is thinking that it's either or: either we do nothing and put up with the horrendous tolls of firearm deaths and mass shootings, or we take all the guns away." That's public health expert and former CDC research director Mark Rosenberg, speaking to one of America’s most polarizing issues. Our country's fierce gun debate pits "both sides" against each other — proponents of stricter firearm regulation against gun rights advocates. But when it comes to finding solutions everyone can get behind, we have a major roadblock: there's been no federally funded scientific research on gun violence since 1996. That's when Republican Arkansas Congressman Jay Dickey, the NRA's so-called 'point man on the Hill,' spearheaded a bill that stripped the CDC of $2.6 million — the amount that had been funding Mark Rosenberg’s gun violence research. Mark Rosenberg and Jay Dickey were on diametrically opposed sides of the gun debate, but fate took a twist. Their story a microcosm of what's so vitally needed in the arena of gun control, and our political arena beyond. Friendly hint: listen til the very end.

"One of my co-workers said, 'Trump supporters are without exception the worst people I've ever met, they're almost sub-human.' And I'm standing there thinking, you know, we're friends, but I think I'll keep my mouth shut." That's Alex Mamach, a young white Chicago native who grew up in a poor and diverse suburb of Chicago. He gives voice to why millions of Americans support Donald Trump: because Trump speaks to his marginalized constituency in a way that neither party has done in decades. And when his co-worker, the political establishment, and the media accuse Trump supporters of being sub-human, ignorant, and racist, it only entrenches their support and reinforces the notion that only he cares about poor white Americans. So why did Alex defect from the Donald, and who did he switch to? Tune in for that, but for now, a sneak peak into how Trump supporters might be moved in a new direction: by appealing to their nobler intentions.

There's so much that goes on behind the microphone, and I'm going to start bringing you back here. This is the inaugural 'Behind The Mic' piece, stay tuned for more. For this first one: what is Reckonings, and why did I create it?

"I called myself a Karma King, because I was distributing the shit that had been given to me." The finale of Season 1 features Daniel Gallant, a former violent extremist turned anti-violence activist, counselor, and scholar. Violence is what he experienced growing up, what he became a perpetrator of, and what it has been a phenomenal feat for him to overcome. Today, Daniel is the founder of anti-violence organization Exit Canada, and a J.D. candidate at Thompson Rivers University. May we take this story — albeit difficult — as an opportunity to understand what motivates extremist violence, and draw hope from one person's ability to transcend it.

'I realized that my excuses for justifying war had nothing to do with what we were trying to achieve. I justified war because I wanted to believe that the things I’d done were right, and that my fellow soldiers hadn't died in vain.' Those are the sobering words of Afghanistan war veteran and conscientious objector, Brock McIntosh. Through his experiences in Afghanistan, he lost faith in the Afghanistan war, and then in war altogether. Growing up, McIntosh had taken his ideological cues from the institutions in his life — military, church, and family — and in the process of applying for conscientious objector status, he found himself wrestling with his inherited beliefs and renegotiating his relationships with these institutions. His process of becoming a conscientious objector became a portal through which to challenge and reconstitute his most fundamental beliefs. The overarching shift: from fearful rigidity to brave open-mindedness. Today, McIntosh is a peace activist pursuing his Master's of Public Policy at NYU.

'My mantra back then was I hate my life...My mantra now is I love my life.' Paige Sargent is a singer and song-writer, who once struggled with alcohol and cocaine addiction. The destruction of her addiction was vast and damaged every part of her life — especially her relationships, and in particular, her relationship with her mom. It is then, perhaps, little surprise that her recovery process has both been inspired by and yielded deeper, more loving relationships. Hear Sargent speak, pray, and sing her healing story, from addiction through recovery and beyond.

'What I regret is not being aware of the extent to which what I was pronouncing as right or wrong for the world was motivated by my own personal issues.' So admits Glenn Loury, prominent academic economist and one of the nation's foremost black intellectuals. Loury's story is expansive, involving drugs, sex, politics, and religion. Most distinctly of all, it's an odyssey of worldview transformation, swinging from the staunch neoconservative right to a more nuanced, progressive position on the left. As a public intellectual who influenced US economic policy, Loury is reckoning with the impact of his early views — not only because he now opposes them, but because he endorsed them for strikingly personal reasons. Our conversation is split into two parts: Part 1 dives into Loury's early neoconservative views, cocaine addiction and recovery, adultery, and spiritual rebirth. This is part 2, which explores his worldview transformation and the impact of his former views.

'What I regret is not being aware of the extent to which what I was pronouncing as right or wrong for the world was motivated by my own personal issues.' So admits Glenn Loury, prominent academic economist and one of the nation's foremost black intellectuals. Loury's story is expansive, involving drugs, sex, politics, and religion. Most distinctly of all, it's an odyssey of worldview transformation, swinging from the staunch neoconservative right to a more nuanced, progressive position on the left. As a public intellectual who influenced US economic policy, Loury is reckoning with the impact of his early views — not only because he now opposes them, but because he endorsed them for strikingly personal reasons. Our conversation is split into two parts: This is part 1, which dives into Loury's early neoconservative views, cocaine addiction and recovery, adultery, and spiritual rebirth. Part 2 explores his worldview transformation and the impact of his former views.

'I went through 4 years of college, 3 years of law school, and a 2-year judicial clerkship without ever really thinking about the way our criminal justice system functions.' That's the admission of Preston Shipp, a former tough-on-crime prosecutor for the state of Tennessee. Tune in to find out what drove him to leave his role as a prosecutor, and shift from 'cog in the wheel' of the criminal justice system to advocate for criminal justice reform.

"He wanted a purpose." Those are the words of Christianne Boudreau, whose son Damian left Calgary for Syria, to join ISIS. She raised him Christian, but he was convinced by Islamic State recruiters to take up jihadism. Damian kept his activities hidden and Boudreau knows there's little she could have done, still she can’t help but ask ‘what if…?’. Damian was eventually killed fighting in Syria. Today, Boudreau coordinates Mothers for Life, a global network of mothers working to prevent jihadist radicalization.

'The top executives from Enron, WorldComm, and ADM — we went to jail for narcissism.' Mark Whitacre was the FBI informant in one of the biggest price-fixing cases in US history, against global food conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland. While undercover, he was convicted for embezzlement, lost his whistleblower immunity, and spent almost a decade in federal prison. Whitacre is played by Matt Damon in the film The Informant!, and today, spreads his story of redemption and second chances.

"When you call something a war, everyone believes that they're a warrior." Neill Franklin is a former Maryland State Police Major, who oversaw 17 drug task forces. Take a ride on his journey from narcotics agent to vocal critic of the drug war and Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP).