0:08 – The US House Democratic leadership is called into question, and former House Leader Nancy Pelosi is vying to keep her chair. We’re joined by Norman Solomon (@normansolomon), National coordinator of the online activist group RootsAction.org, to explain. He’s the author of many books on media, politics, and public policy, including War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death. He was elected as a Bernie Sanders delegate from the North Bay to the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and coordinated the independent Bernie Delegates Network. He recently co-authored “Autopsy: The Democratic Party in Crisis” and the follow-up report “Democratic Autopsy: One Year Later,” which was released last month.
0:34 – Exactly 50 years ago, Berkeley Unified integrated all its elementary schools, taking an unprecedented approach. We’re joined by Natalie Orenstein (@nat_orenstein) staff writer with Berkeleyside. In a special three-part series, Beyond the Buses, she explores the history of integration at Berkeley Unified schools, its legacy and the equity issues that remain unsolved.
Then we hear from someone who lived through this extraordinary time of social and cultural change. Doris Alkebulan grew up in Berkeley. She joins us in-studio to discuss her experience entering the third grade in 1968, the year Berkeley Unified launched school integration district-wide.
1:08 – The smoke from the Camp Fire has cleared, but residents are still feeling the effects of the massive air pollution event. Volunteers and community groups stepped up to hand out free masks, but there was alot of confusion about whether to wear masks or not, and what the health effects may be. Government response was minima – to understand why, we speak with Shirlee Zane (@ShirleeZane), Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, and one of 24 local elected officials on Board of Directors of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Regional Climate Protection Authority.
1:34 – We re-air a powerful interview with Antonia Juhasz and Richard Edmond-Vargas (@RichieReseda). He is featured in the film “The Feminist on Cellblock Y” focused on his feminist work while serving 10 years in California state prison. While incarcerated, he founded Success Stories, a program that helps young men in prison challenge patriarchy to better achieve their goals.