Photo taken outside San Quentin State Prison by Zack Haber on Twitter
On this show:
0:08 – Mitch Jeserich is the host of Letters and Politics, weekdays at 10AM. He joins hosts Brian Edwards-Tiekert and Cat Brooks to talk about the passing of lifelong activist and independent media stalwart Margy Wilkinson, and the House passing a bill to advance statehood for Washington, D.C.
0:34 – As Covid-19 cases surge again across the United States, we take listener questions with John Swartzberg, clinical professor emeritus of infectious diseases at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Dr. Swartzberg says public health officials warned that a loosening of shelter in place restrictions would lead to a spike in cases. The lack of masks and social distancing created more spread, Swartzberg says — and he emphasizes it’s important to understand asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic spread are possible, and discusses the early failures by the CDC and FDA that have contributed to making this crisis worse. Swartzberg also warns against obtaining expensive, fast-tracked antibody tests from unreliable private companies that don’t use reputable laboratories.
1:08 – San Quentin’s Covid-19 outbreak is now more than 1,000 cases, after California’s Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation transferred incarcerated men between facilities without testing them for the virus first. San Quentin houses many medically vulnerable prisoners. Family members cannot reach loved ones inside, and they’re deeply concerned.
Ann Jackson is the mother whose son in San Quentin. The last time she spoke to him, he had a temperature of 106 degrees. Megan Cassidy (@meganrcassidy) is a crime reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, who’s been covering the Covid-19 outbreak at San Quentin. You can read her reporting here.
1:34 – The Supreme Court just ruled 5-4 in June Medical Services v. Russo to strike down a Louisiana law that forced abortion clinics to obtain “admitting privileges” to local hospitals. Marjorie Cohn joins us to quickly respond to the decision — she is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and former president of the National Lawyers Guild. You can read her many articles at marjoriecohn.com and follow her on Twitter: @marjoriecohn