Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

How the Left Can Take Back States’ Rights

Why are state governments more important than ever? While the Trump administration has been busy gutting and remaking the federal government, it’s critical to remember that the power in Washington was given to it by…the states. This week, Stacey is joined by Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton and Daniel Squadron, cofounder of The States Project and author of The Fourth Branch. They talk about the biggest lessons from their own time as elected officials, the critical ways that state legislatures impact peoples’ lives, share stories of their biggest victories, and argue that the states can be a powerful tool  in the fight for Democracy.  Learn & Do More:  * Be Curious: Pick up a copy of Daniel’s book, The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union, to learn more about the power of state government and check out the chapters at the end on how to take action at home.  * Solve Problems: We need more people who care about their communities running for state and local office. Run for Something helps recruit, train, and elect young people. Organizations like Emerge and Emily’s List support women candidates, and New American Leaders helps immigrants and refugees run for office. If you’re interested in getting more involved in local races, organizations like States Win and the States project can help you take action in support of local candidates.  * Do Good: As schools let out across the country, children will face a summer without school lunch, sometimes their only meal of the day. Consider donating to your local food bank or supporting No Kid Hungry at nokidhungry.org [http://nokidhungry.org].

How Anxious Should You Be About AI? (w/ Katie Drummond and Timnit Gebru)

AI development is barreling ahead with no guardrails,  leading Americans to feel anxious about what lies ahead. This week, Stacey tackles the big questions we need to ask ourselves about the technology with Katie Drummond, Global Editorial Director at Wired, and Timnit Gebru, founder and Executive Director at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR). They discuss the economic uncertainty created by AI, , the motivations driving tech leaders,  making sense of the flurry of information and opinions that are influencing the discourse on the issue, and whether we can imagine a more optimistic technologically-forward future. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/kIpfksS6FK4]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date. Learn & Do More:  * Be Curious: Subscribe to Wired [https://www.wired.com/] to gain access to their excellent reporting on technology, politics, science, and culture.  * Solve Problems: Learn about Timnit’s organization at dair-insitute.org [http://dair-insitute.org] to support their work to imagine an alternative technological future and build a better world.  * Do Good: Building off of the “Read Them Home” Dilley activation, on Wednesday May 20th Stacey will join  other members of Read Them Home and the National Coalition to End Family and Child Detention to host a day of action. Visit readthemhome.org [http://readthemhome.org] to learn more and support and support our activations in DC and around the country.

How SCOTUS Is Erasing Black Voters, and Abby Phillip on Jesse Jackson’s Legacy

This week, Stacey goes beyond the headlines about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Voting Rights Act and outlines why this step is so dangerous - not just for minority voters around the country - but for our democracy as a whole She’s joined by Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO of Fair Fight, to discuss what people can still do at the local level and at the ballot box to save our elections and fight back against authoritarianism. Then, Stacey is joined by CNN host Abby Phillip, who talks about the importance of debate in our political culture and what current activists can learn from Jesse Jackson’s legacy of fighting for equality. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/8lkRnRG2ipQ]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date. Learn & Do More: * Be Curious: To learn more about the extraordinary legacy of Jesse Jackson, pick up Abby Phillips’ book, “A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson and the Fight for Black Political Power [https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Deferred-Jesse-Jackson-Political/dp/1250806313]”.  * Solve Problems: On Saturday, May 16th, a national mass rally will take place at the Alabama state capitol in Montgomery. Visit allroadsleadtothesouth.com [http://allroadsleadtothesouth.com] to learn about how you can participate and stay updated on boycotts, events and other rapid response efforts. You can also follow  @FairFightAction on Instagram to stay up to date on the evolving voting rights landscape and mobilization efforts in the South, including upcoming marches in Jackson, Mississippi and at state capitols in South Carolina and Louisiana.  * Do Good: Medication abortion now accounts for more than two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S., and since Dobbs, mail access to the pill has been a lifeline for people in states where abortion is banned. As the Supreme Court case on this issue continues to unfold, and Republican attacks on abortion access escalate, consider donating to the National Network of Abortion Funds at https://abortionfunds.org/ [https://abortionfunds.org/], and look for local organizations that support reproductive justice for ways to get involved.

What’s Next for Voting Rights, and Why Activism Matters (w/ Jane Fonda)

This week, Stacey opens the show by answering audience questions about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Voting Rights Act, and what it means for our democracy. Then she’s joined by Jane Fonda, who explains why she’s revived the Committee for the First Amendment, a group originally supported by her father in the 1940’s. Stacey and Jane also talk about the Trump administration’s attacks against Jimmy Kimmel, why the Warner Bros. and Paramount merger is so dangerous, and what Jane has learned after decades of activism, including her actions during the Vietnam War. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/UXIiXM7ZjOU]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date. Learn & Do More * Be Curious: To learn more about Jane Fonda’s extraordinary history of art and activism, check out the documentary Jane Fonda in Five Acts from HBO.   * Solve Problems: You can get involved in the fight against the consequences of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Voting Rights Act. Check out the Louisiana-based organization Power Coalition for Equity and Justice at powercoalition.org [http://powercoalition.org] to learn about volunteer opportunities. The organization Civic Tennessee at https://www.mobilize.us/civictn/ [https://www.mobilize.us/civictn/] also has volunteer opportunities available.  * Do Good: The ACLU continues to be a powerful resource in their fight for Free Speech. Visit ACLU.org [http://aclu.org] and check out their campaigns in support of free speech and expression.

A Democrat’s Guide to Challenging Trump on Iran, ICE, and Dollars (w/ Rep Ansari)

What can international pro-democracy activists teach us about taking on authoritarianism here in the US? Stacey opens the show with reflections from the Salzburg Global Forum Democracy Resilience Conference featuring reformers from Bolivia, to Hungary, to Nepal. Then she’s joined by Representative Yassamin Ansari, a freshman from Arizona and the only Iranian-American in Congress. She tells Stacey about her opposition to Trump’s war with Iran, the horrific conditions she’s seen firsthand when visiting ICE detention centers, and how we demand a practical response to the competing harms coming out of Washington. For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here [https://youtu.be/nAvRH3Uu9RU]. For a transcript of this episode, please email transcripts@crooked.com and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date. Learn & Do More:  * Be Curious: Check out the Substack “The Anti-Authoritarian Playbook” [https://antiauthoritarianplaybook.substack.com/] by Scot Nakagawa, President of the 22nd Century Initiative.  * Solve Problems: Step Six in the “Ten Steps to Freedom and Power” is disruption. Visit Stacey’s Substack “Assembly Notes” [https://staceyabrams.substack.com/] to read her recent post about taking action. Do Good: Visit the nonprofit FreedomforImmigrants.org [http://freedomforimmigrants.org] to donate to their commissary fund – proceeds are directly deposited into commissary accounts at detention centers across the country.