Make It Plain with Mark Thompson

Yonasda Lonewolf is an activist, writer, speaker, and community organizer who has been fighting for Black and Brown people since she was a child and her mother was leading the way. Her mother also used to gather people on Thankstaking and teach them about the real history of Indigenous people in America. Yonasda continues that work and today she honors her mother’s memory by discussing the ways in which Indigenous people continue to be marginalized on their own land. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has sued HUD, Secretary Ben Carson, and the Hartford Housing Authority and the city of Hartford, Connecticut to challenge a set of policy decisions that set up low-income Black and Latinx families to fail as they were improperly moved from their unlivable unsubsidized housing. Thomas Silverstein is Lead Attorney on the case and he explains the way the government agency cheated people out of a place to live and left them without options. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The New Consensus is a recently-formed think tank that wants to adjust the way we’re responding to some of the biggest problems facing humanity. Dr. Robert Hockett is a fellow at New Consensus and the Edward Cornell Professor of Law & Finance at Cornell University and former Counsel at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the International Monetary Fund, and he joins to today to discuss a memo The New Consensus sent to the incoming Biden administration including their proposed strategy for resurrecting an economy ravaged by coronavirus. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Eric Boehlert, Publisher of Pressrun.media, is back for our first post-election conversation, and he’s got a suggestion for the incoming administration: ban all media outlets that circulate conspiracy theories, including Fox News. Eric also gives a sobering critique of an interview done by the New York Times of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, where he normalizes Trump’s cries about the election results. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The proof is in the data: voters want gun law reform. Igor Volsky, Executive Director of Guns Down America, is back to talk about what the incoming administration needs to do to give the people what they want. Igor also gets into this year’s increase in gun violence, which includes the unsettling truth that more Black men are committing suicide. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Now that the presidential election is out of the way (still gotta win those senate seats in Georgia), we should be strategizing for 2022 and 2024. And for the latter, it’s not Trump who Markos fears, though he wouldn’t rule out his running. Markos fears a smarter version of Trump, someone better at disguising their nefariousness. Markos also gets into the upsetting realization that wearing a mask is what broke America, as COVID cases soar in red states who oppose them. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Michael Harriot is a Senior Writer for The Root and he tells the story of Quawan Charles, a young boy from Louisiana who went missing and was found dead. Michael is in touch with the family’s attorneys, giving us access to details around the disappearance, the white woman and teenage boy he was last seen with, and what happened when Quawan’s mom reported him missing. Michael also discusses his one-on-one interview with Barack Obama about his new book "A Promised Land: The Presidential Memoirs, Volume 1." Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

How is it possible for a country to triple its wealth while also doubling the amount of citizens living in poverty? This type of question is at the heart of Mark Blyth’s work and his new book (co-written with Eric Lonergan) titled “Angrynomics.” In today’s conversation, the Marks get into what makes the economy angry: increasing uncertainty, division of class and wealth, and political and economic elites poor excuses and justifications for why things are the way they are. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Treason is tossed around a lot in our political climate, but when is it a legitimate claim, or even further, something worth prosecuting? Professor Carlton Larson is author of the book “On Treason: A Citizen's Guide to the Law,” and today he makes sense of the crime in question and how it appeared in history and why Donald Trump was the reason he decided to write a book about it. BUY the book here! https://www.harpercollins.com/products/on-treason-carlton-f-w-larson Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Cole Brown grew up in Philadelphia with the benefits of successful parents: summer vacations, private school, and all sorts of opportunities. But his upbringing, in what was considered a “white space,” left him wrestling with the feeling of being in-between. It wasn’t until his college years when he began to unpack how it shaped his worldview, and in his debut collection of essays, he explores parenting, friendship, police brutality, and eventually living under the Donald Trump presidency. Cole currently lives in Sydney, Australia, where he is a news reporter. BUY Cole’s Book Here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Greyboy/Cole-Brown/9781510761889 Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs, is back for our first #ThursdayKos since Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were named the winners of the 2020 election. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Ian Millhiser is a Senior Correspondent at Vox and author of the book “Injustices: The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted.” In today’s episode, Mark and Ian break down the details of yesterday’s SCOTUS hearing on the Affordable Care Act, addressing questions such as: What parts of the ACA are being disputed? What is severability (a word used much in the hearings, especially by Justice Kavanaugh)? What happens if the mandate in question is struck down altogether? Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Attorney CK Hoffler is the President of the National Bar Association and the first woman to serve as Chair of the Board of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. She joins today’s show to give her legal analysis of Trump’s lawsuits against individual states for various “issues” he has with their (legal) vote counting processes. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

“If you look at where we are since February, we are still in a deep hole,” says Chad Stone, Chief Economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Despite jobs added, we’ve still got a 10.1 million job deficit and the recovery rate is starting to slow down. Chad breaks down the parts of the October jobs report that you need to know. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We’ve been watching Nevada and Pennsylvania closely, but what about Arizona? Markos says that’s the state that might actually end up swinging for Trump. And the fight for senate majority isn’t over--there’s runoffs to be had! Markos gets into all the unfinished business that’s unfolding right now. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Journalist, filmmaker, producer, and author Jonathan Alter (his latest book is "His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life") says this is the most important election since 1864 because we, as a country, are losing to a “full on authoritarian,” should Trump get re-elected. And drawing from his experiences and research for his latest book on Jimmy Carter, Jonathan goes on to explain how Jimmy Carter is the "anti-Trump," examining his legacy through that lens. Producer’s Note: This conversation was recorded prior to Election Day Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

No matter who wins the election, there are certain realities that will persist, and Rev. Dr. William Barber II is here to remind us. We still don’t have universal health care, a logical minimum wage, or a plan to end coronavirus in the United States. And beyond the presidency, when we see Democrats get elected to new house and senate appointments, they must be held accountable for the promises that earned them our endorsements. So what do we have to do? We have to stay steady, says Rev. Barber. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As part of Republicans’ effort to suppress the vote, they hired 50,000 “challengers” to show up at polling places and intimidate voters with an assortment of tactics -- targeting Black communities specifically. Barbara Arnwine has all the information to prepare you for voting today, whether that’s in-person or dropping your ballot off (DON’T mail it in! It runs the risk of not getting counted). If you experience any problems voting or have any questions about anything related to voting, call 866-OURVOTE Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Tennessee State Senator Raumesh Akbari is asking that you not fall for the okey-doke of the GOP. In today’s episode, she explains how Republican gerrymandering has impacted her state and changed its leadership significantly; but Senator Marsha Blackburn’s election to the senate last year actually shows the state’s changing tide. Speaking of change, Sen. Akbari also lets us know how Marquita Bradshaw’s grassroots campaign is doing in its quest to beat out Republican Bill Hegarty. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Deyaska Spencer is an Attorney at The Deyaska Spencer Law Firm and her legal expertise comes in handy for today’s #WinWithBlackWomen as she gives us her thoughts on what Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation to the Supreme Court could mean for the country. She also shares her thoughts on Sen. Kamala Harris as VP, and what she thinks about the Black male celebrities, like Kanye and Ice Cube, who have joined in support for Donald Trump. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy