The past decades have seen a steady erosion of Democratic support from what used to be core voters: blue collar workers in factory towns.  There are many reasons for this, and to explain what's happened and how to fix it, I've invited Mike Lux, founder of American Family Voices on to discuss.  Mike is a writer and thought leader, and as the co-founder of Democracy Partners, one of the most influential voices in progressive politics in the United States.

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If it seems like the richest people in the world are getting richer—at the expense of everyone else—it’s because they are. A recent report from Oxfam illustrates just how much richer the wealthiest people in the world are getting, and to discuss what it means for the rest of us, I’ve invited Nabil Ahmed onto the podcast. Nabil is the Director of Economic Justice for Oxfam America.

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International Women’s Day is March 8th. To talk about the state of women in the workplace in 2023, I’ve invited Laura Casselman on the show. Laura is a former Radio City Rockette who beat the boys club to become CEO of JVZoo.com. Her book "Trust Your Increments" is now available to order.

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We live in a time where our speech has unlimited potential reach given the communications advancements of the 21stcentury. Of course, that has led to a national and international debate on free speech. Our guest today, Dennis Baron, literally wrote the book on Free Speech. His book, You Can’t Always Say What You Want, is now available to order. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

This year, Alyssa is celebrating her twentieth year as a UNICEF ambassador. That work has taken her around the world, including a trip she made to Egypt in 2022. To talk about the state of affairs in Egypt, and the UNICEF Ambassador program in general, we’ve invited Dina Heikal, UNICEF’s Social and Behavioral Change officer, who Alyssa met while in Egypt.

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Two things we know about our political leadership in America is that it is too old, and too white. Our guests this week are working to change that. I’m happy to be joined by Zak Malamed and Sydney Minetta Brown of The Next 50, a political action committee working to elect the next generation of Democratic Leaders.

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Jared Yates Sexton is a political analyst and author. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Politico, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere. He is the co-host of The Muckrake Podcast and his new book THE MIDNIGHT KINGDOM: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis is now available to order. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

It shouldn’t be a secret that white supremacy was baked into the founding of this nation, but it’s still not a story we like to tell as part of our history. Our guest this week is working to change that. David Mura is an essayist, memoirist, poet and fiction writer who brings a unique perspective to our multi-racial and multi-cultural society. A third-generation Japanese-American, he has written intimately about his life as a man of color and the connections between race, culture and history. His new book, The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself, is now available to order.

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Our guest this week is Cisco Aguilar. Cisco was elected as Nevada Secretary of State in 2022 and assumed office on January 2, 2023. As an attorney and small business owner, and with years of experience in the private and public sectors, Cisco brings a unique perspective and expertise into the Secretary of State’s Office.

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We continue our week-long observation of MLK Day with Heather McGhee. On this episode we welcomed Heather McGhee back to the show. Heather is a bestselling author, a speaker, and the Board Chair for Color of Change, the country’s largest online racial justice organization. She’s also the host of the podcast The Sum of Us, which launched in July, 2022.

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We're continuing our observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day by highlighting episodes in our archive with just some of the people we've interviewed doing the hard work of Racial Justice. People like Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been representing California’s 13th district since 1999. She was the only person in Congress to vote against the expanded use of force authorization immediately after the 9/11 attacks and has been a constant force for peace in Congress since. She is working now to advance a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission through Congress.

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We're continuing our week-long honoring of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by highlighting some of the episodes in our archives featuring people doing the hard work of racial justice, like Mondale Robinson. Mondale is the founder and Principal of Black Male Voter Project, an organization dedicated to overcoming systemic disenfranchisement of Black voters, and Black men in particular, in the electoral process.

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In honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, we will be highlighting an episode from our archives each day this week with someone fighting for racial justice. To start, we're joined by Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman. Anna is a is a researcher, writer, science communicator and activist. She is the co-founder of The Sadie Collective, the only nonprofit organization addressing the lack of Black women in economics and related fields, and the editor of The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System, a new book of essays on policy solutions to social problems written by black activists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An expansive set of essays highlighting the range and force of Black leadership....An inclusive, edifying, often fiery assembly of voices articulating the way forward for Black America―and America in general." ―Kirkus Reviews

"Invigorating...policymakers will want to take note." ―Publishers Weekly

"The Black Agenda mobilizes top Black experts from across the country to share transformative perspectives on how to deploy anti-racist ideas and policies into everything from climate policy to criminal justice to healthcare. This book will challenge what you think is possible by igniting long overdue conversations around how to enact lasting and meaningful change rooted in racial justice." ―Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped From the Beginning

"This book is the first step towards defining Black expertise, assigning value to the work that we do, and taking up space in the public on our own terms. I, for one, am looking forward to being able to knock people on the head with the collection. I’m looking forward to the spaces in need of critical self-reflection that make this book a normal part of routine business and the discourse. And most of all, I am looking forward to everybody with any resource, no matter how small, reading this book too." ―Tressie McMillan Cottom, author of Thick: And other Essays

"The Black Agenda is urgent. It's urgent that white people recognize that centering, listening to, and being led by the voices in this book are the start to investing in societal solutions. I wish that moral arguments of equity were enough but know they're not. These chapters are a strong mix of diagnosis and prescription, with an appropriate layer of moral calling to help us learn, reflect, and be motivated toward specific action." ―Chelsea Clinton, New York Times bestselling author of She Persisted

"This book is overdue and imperative. We can't get clear national momentum without a core focus on the Black agenda. I am thrilled for the conversation and action this will inspire." ―Wes Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Wes Moore

"The Black Agenda brings together a group of brilliant thinkers offering bold solutions to combat many of the social problems facing Black people in the United States. This powerful collection is a must-read for anyone interested in turning anti-racist ideas into action." ―Keisha N. Blain, Co-Editor of #1 New York Times bestseller Four Hundred Souls

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We live in a culture which stresses self-sacrifice and perceived security and stability over the potential happiness and self-discovery which can come with quitting work and moving on to something new.  Our guest this week is living proof of how fruitful quitting can be. Keith Boykin  is a TV and film producer, a national political commentator, a New York Times bestselling author, and a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Boykin has taught at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University, City College of New York, and American University in Washington, DC. He is a cofounder and the first board president of the National Black Justice Coalition and a Lambda Literary Award–winning author of five books.  His new Scribd original “Quitting: Why I Left My Job to Live a Life of Freedom” is now available.

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If you've followed Alyssa or her career since the 1980s, you know that the only reason she cares that she has a platform is that it allows her to work to make the world a better place. And that's why I'm so excited about this episode. We've invited four of your (and our) favorite influencers from TikTok, who are using THEIR platforms, in exciting new ways. In this episode, you'll hear familiar voices talking about how and why they use those voices for change in 2023 and beyond, including Ashlelnok, Aunt Karen, Ms. Frazzled, and Jeffrey Marsh!

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Our annual end-of-year tradition: recapping some of the moments that defined 2022 for Sorry Not Sorry.  Did we miss some of yours?  Let us know by leaving us a voicemail!

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Our guest this week is Jessica Grose, an opinion writer at The New York Times who writes a popular newsletter on parenting. Jess was the founding editor of Lenny, the email newsletter and website. She also writes about women’s health, culture, politics and grizzly bears. Her new book "Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood" is now available.

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One of the issues that is so close to our heart is how art influences culture. We often say that nothing can change the world the way art can—it brings us together across so many of our divides to discuss important issues. And boy, does our guest this week have a story about a group of artists who lived authentically and pushed against social boundaries. Nino Strachey. Nino is a writer, historian and public speaker who worked as Head of Research for the National Trust. Since starting her career with the Landmark Trust, she has worked for English Heritage and the National Trust, curating the homes of scientists, politicians and writers. Her new book "Young Bloomsbury: Young Bloomsbury: The Generation That Redefined Love, Freedom, and Self-Expression in 1920s England," is now available to order.

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The Supreme Court recently began a new term, the first with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. There are a number of important cases on the docket. We’ve invited Meagan Hatcher-Mayes, Director of Democracy at Indivisible, and part of the Unrig the Courts Coalition onto the podcast to discuss what to expect and efforts to reform the court.

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We’ve heard it before: the consequences of our elections have never been more important. We’ve just seen that in the midterms, and it’s already time to saddle up for the 2024 general. The Big Lie is an existential threat to our democracy, and as these elections have shown, that threat continues. This week, we’ve invited election experts Major Garrett, is CBS Chief Washington Correspondent, and David Becker, founder of The Center for Election Innovation and Research, on the show to discuss their new book The Big Truth: Upholding Democracy in the Age of The Big Lie, which is now available.

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It’s Thanksgiving week, and we have an episode for you that will change the way you see the holiday. Our guest today is Denise Kiernan. Denise is an author, journalist and producer. Her books, The Last Castle, and The Girls of Atomic City were national bestsellers. She joins us to discuss her book We Gather Together: A Nation Divided, A President in Turmoil, and a Historic Campaign to Embrace Gratitude and Grace.

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David Corn is a veteran Washington journalist and political commentator. He is the Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones magazine and an analyst for MSNBC. He is also the author or coauthor of four New York Times bestsellers, including the #1 bestseller Russian Roulette, Showdown, and Hubris; and the author of the novel Deep Background. His new book, American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy, argues that since the 1950s the GOP has encouraged and exploited extremism to gain power.

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If you’ve listened to this podcast, or really anything Alyssa's done or said in her adult life, you know that fighting against the oppression of women is her life’s work. Recently, in Iran, we’ve seen this oppression boil over into huge anti-government protests in that country and around the world after Mahsa Amini died in the custody of that country’s incredibly immoral “morality police.” To help us understand the importance and current state of those protests, We’ve invited actor and comedian Nazanin Nour on the show. Nazanin has appeared in television shows like Madam Secretary and Criminal Minds and as a judge on Persia’s got talent.

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The 2022 Midterms are on November 8th. In this episode, Alyssa and Ben Jackson discuss what to expect, how to get involved, and how to make sure your vote is counted.  There's so much at stake--make sure you're prepared!

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While the Trump regime has ended, the hate-fueled machinery of lies and disinformation around immigrants in America has not. To look at the sources and impacts of this machine, we’ve invited Shauna Siggelkow, Director of Digital Storytelling at Define American to the show.

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On this episode we’re welcoming Heather McGhee back to the show. Heather is a bestselling author, a speaker, and the Board Chair for Color of Change, the country’s largest online racial justice organization. She’s also the host of the podcast The Sum of Us, which launched in July.

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Secretaries of State are the chief election administrators around the country. As the midterm elections unfold, we’re seeing just how important that role is. Our guest for this episode is Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold. She’s joining us to discuss the critical role Secretaries of State play, the state of election integrity around the nation, and her re-election campaign.

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Our guest this week is Dr. Nicholas Kardaras. Nick is an Ivy League educated psychologist, one of the country’s foremost addiction and mental health experts and the bestselling author of Glow Kids: How Screen Addiction is Hijacking Our Kids – and How to Break the Trance. His new book, “DIGITAL MADNESS: How Social Media Is Driving Our Mental Health Crisis” is now available. 

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When the Supreme Court took away the right to abortion it said loudly and clearly that in America, women are not entitled to equal protection under the law. But the Equal Rights Amendment has been ratified by the states and is sitting in limbo. To help us make sense of it all, We’ve invited Kate Kelly on the show. Kate is a feminist, activist, and human rights lawyer. She’s a nationally known advocate for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment and host and creator of the podcast Ordinary Equality and author of a new book of the same name.

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Donna Jackson Nakazawa is an award-winning journalist and internationally-recognized speaker whose work explores the intersection of neuroscience, immunology, and human emotion. Her mission is to translate emerging science in ways that help those with chronic conditions find healing. Her new book Girls on the Brink: Helping Our Daughters Thrive in an Era of Increased Anxiety, Depression, and Social Media is now available.

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Our guest this week is Andy Borowitz. Andy is an award-winning comedian and New York Times bestselling author. He grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Harvard College, where he became President of the Harvard Lampoon. In 1998, he began contributing humor to The New Yorker’s “Shouts & Murmurs” and “Talk of the Town” departments, and in 2001, he created “The Borowitz Report,” a satirical news column, which has millions of readers around the world. In 2012, The New Yorker began publishing “The Borowitz Report.” As a storyteller, he hosted “Stories at the Moth” from 1999 to 2009. As a comedian, he has played to sold-out venues around the world, including during his national tour, “Make America Not Embarrassing Again,” from 2018 to 2020. His new book Profiles in Ignorance: How America's Politicians Got Dumb and Dumber is now available.

Review

“How did we slide into the abyss of liking our politicians to be—or to act—dumb rather than smart? In this funny but serious book, Andy Borowitz chronicles our embrace of anti-intellectualism.” —Walter Isaacson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Code Breaker

“This is one of these brilliant books that makes you laugh until you cry. Borowitz masterfully throws light (and shade) on the confederacy of dunces who have fumbled their way into power. His writing has never been smarter, sharper, or more necessary.” —Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of The Library Book

“A devastatingly funny takedown of a veritable Mount Rushmore of incompetents . . . In the hallowed tradition of Will Rogers, Mark Twain, H.L. Mencken, Ambrose Bierce, and other clear-eyed satirists, Borowitz skewers all manner of chronically befuddled, willfully ignorant dolts. . . . Ravaging this seemingly endless rogues’ gallery of buffoonery and corruption, Borowitz marshals mind-boggling, breathtaking evidence. . . . While there are countless laughs in the book, they have a rueful edge given that we are all affected by such widespread ignorance.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Readers may laugh, cry, or swear under their breath (sometimes all at once) with this scathing survey of the seemingly increasing ignorance of American politicians. Borowitz, a writer of page and screen and satirist for The New Yorker, humorously examines the ever-increasing, lowering-of-the-bar expectations of presidential candidates’ knowledge and beyond in this book that is perfect for fans of The Daily Show or John Lithgow’s “Dumpty” series. . . . For readers who have ever looked at the political landscape and asked how or why, this is a book that will inform and infuriate.” —Library Journal (starred review)

“Andy makes me laugh out loud, that’s a given.  In this book he has also made me think out loud.  Profiles in Ignorance is hilarious, original, scary, prescient and a wake-up call for us all. A must read.” —Susie Essman, HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm

“[Borowitz] sheds light on the cultural and economic trends that gave intellectualism a bad name and identifies the political operatives . . . who facilitated the rise of ignorance. Fans of The Borowitz Report will gobble this up.” —Publishers Weekly

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The cruel, bizarre, and frankly evil supreme court decision taking away a woman’s right to choose is wreaking havoc in the medical community. To help us make sense of the legal lay of the land and the ethical status of abortion, we’ve invited Katie L. Watson onto the show. Katie is an Associate Professor of Medical Education, Medical Social Sciences and Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She is also a lawyer who clerked in the federal courts, a bioethicist and the author of The Scarlet A: The Ethics, Law, and Politics of Ordinary Abortion.

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Our guest today is Michael Pollan. Since the 2018 publication of his New York Times bestseller How to Change Your Mind, Michael’s work on psychedelics has steered the national conversation on the medical potential and stigmas surrounding some of the most powerful, naturally-derived drugs. He furthers the discussion in his new book This is Your Mind on Plants and his Netflix Series “How to Change Your Mind.”

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Our guest this week is Anya Kamenetz. Anya has covered education for many years including for NPR, where she co-created the podcast Life Kit: Parenting. She speaks, writes, and thinks about learning and the future. Her new book The Stolen Year: How Covid Changed Children’s Lives, And Where We Go Now is now available.

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Our guest this week is Congresswoman Veronica Escobar. Congresswoman Escobar represents the 16th Congressional District in Texas, a position she’s held since 2019. When elected, she became one of the first two Latinas from Texas to serve in Congress. On July 19th, she and other members of Congress were arrested protesting at the Supreme Court against their evil decision removing the right to abortion from millions of Americans.

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Critical Race Theory is widely maligned by those on the right, but poorly understood. Our guest for this episode, Dr. Victor Ray, can help us sort out the truth from the lies. Victor is nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. As an active public scholar, his social and critical commentary has appeared in outlets such as The Washington Post, Newsweek, Harvard Business Review, and Boston Review. His new book, On Critical Race Theory: Why it Matters and Why You Should Care is now available.

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This is an episode you can't afford to miss. Malcolm Nance is a globally renowned expert on terrorism, extremism, and insurgency, and a multiple New York Times bestselling author. A 34-year, Arabic-speaking veteran of the US intelligence community's Combating Terrorism program, he is considered one of the Great African-Americans in Espionage by the International Spy Museum. He is counter-terrorism analyst for NBC News and MSNBC. And if that wasn’t enough, he’s just published a new book titled “They Want to Kill Americans: The Militias, Terrorists, and Deranged Ideology of the Trump Insurgency,” and spent time in a front-line combat unit in Ukraine. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Over the years, this podcast has focused on highlighting those people who are not only experts in identifying the significant problems facing the United States and its institutions, but those who propose bold solutions to those problems. In the past weeks, those problems have expanded significantly. Once again, Joe Manchin—a single senator representing a single state—has blocked critical environmental legislation. Despite being a democrat, he’s tanked the Democratic majority in the senate, and he can do this because of the filibuster. At the same time, a rogue, extremist supreme court has undermined very basic freedoms in our nation, from the right to access abortion, go to school free from religious influence, and even receive full Miranda protections if arrested. Today, we’ll look back at two of our episodes where our guests propose ways to get past these critical problems.

First, we’ll hear from Adam Jentleson. Adam is a writer and former Deputy Chief of Staff for then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He joined us to discuss his book Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy.

Next, we hear from Tamara Brummer, Executive Eirector for Outreach with Demand Justice, who joined us to discuss efforts to reform and expand the supreme court.

Guest Hosted by Ben Jackson

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When you share your life with someone, you take on the idea of being a caretaker if something goes wrong, but only in the abstract. But when that idea becomes a reality, life changes in so many ways you may never expect. My guest this week is Abi Morgan. Abi is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter ("The Iron Lady") whose new book “This is Not a Pity Memoir” is now available.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"With her trademark deadpan, trenchant wit, and a deeply soulful mindfulness, Abi Morgan takes a breathtaking hike on the cliff edge of a life upended by illness. By turns harrowing, cracking sharp and heartbreaking, it is...comforting to accompany someone with her sense of humor and the absurd on this trip- (this) book is a gift to anyone who has been similarly unmoored by fate and the furies.” -- Meryl Streep

“The kind of book you will find yourself saying urgently, over and over, to friends. “Have you read it? Have you read it?" -- Caitlin Moran

“Gripping, funny and always honest.”  -- David Nicholls

"There are no words. I was stunned, in every sense, by this heart-breaking, profound and deeply human memoir. Like CS Lewis on grief, Morgan finds truth and beauty in the darkest places. I feel changed by this book. I will never forget it." -- Meg Mason, author of Sorrow & Bliss

"From the very first line I couldn’t stop reading. Abi invites you in to what feels almost like a thriller, then quickly a heart bursting romantic comedy and a devastating drama. Even if this was fiction it would be impossible to stop thinking about this book long after reading. The fact that this is Abi’s real life experience brought forth as this astonishing piece of writing is truly breathtaking. It’s arrestingly honest, funny, profound and exquisitely written. I could not have loved it more."  -- Carey Mulligan

“A mash-up of all the things I love in a book – honesty, comedy, pathos and what- happens-next. It’s brutal – in a good way – but above all else it’s a testament to kindness, stickability and enduring love.”  -- Kit de Waal

"An extraordinary tale told extraordinarily well." -- Marina Hyde

"I wept. I dared to hope. I felt my heart crack. Exceptional." -- Sam Baker

“A profound look at the complexities of love, even at its most mundane. Equal parts savage and sublime, this obliterates notions of memory and intimacy with grace and precision….[A] raw and incandescent debut.”  -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A candid, intimate memoir of a harrowing time.” -- Kirkus Reviews

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Our guest this week is Gaby Dunn. Gaby is a New York Times bestselling author, comedian, and LGBTQ advocate living in Los Angeles. They are the host and creator of the podcast Bad with Money with Gaby Dunn. Their new piece Stimulus Wreck: Rebuilding After a Financial Disaster is now available on exclusively on Scribd.

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We have a mass incarceration problem in America, with entire industries created to lock people up, keep them locked up, and make it difficult or impossible for many of the people they catch in their cycle to break free. Our guest this week learned this firsthand. Keri Blakinger is a Texas-based journalist and the author of the new book Corrections in Ink, a memoir tracing her path from figure skating to heroin addiction to prison and, finally, to life as an investigative reporter covering mass incarceration for The Marshall Project.

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The Supreme Court has gone rogue. It's radically reduced the right to privacy, the right to bodily autonomy, the right to hold rogue police accountable, the ability of the government to protect the environment, and significantly weakened the wall between church and state--all very much against the wishes of the American people. 

Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia has a plan to make the court more representative of the people.  He joined us to discuss.

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The extremist extreme court just stripped away the right to bodily autonomy and reproductive freedom from millions of Americans when it overturned Roe v. Wade. One in four women in the U.S. will have an abortion by the age of 45. But since the beginning of 2019, more than 250 bills restricting access to abortion care have been introduced in forty one states. Throughout this episode, you will hear from women who share why they decided to have an abortion - women who sent in their own stories, women who have shared publicly in the media or in front of Congress, and Alyssa tells her own abortion story, joined by Amanda Palmer, Gloria Allred and others.

This week, in light of the dangerous attacks on freedom from the American government, we'll be revisiting episodes that highlight the problems and offer solutions. 

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It’s been nearly thirty years since the Congress passed meaningful gun violence prevention legislation despite overwhelming support for these measures from the American people. In those decades, more than a million people in America have died from gunshot wounds, and more than two million have been injured. After the latest high profile mass shootings in Buffalo New York and Uvalde, Texas, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a leading figure in efforts to reduce gun violence, led a bipartisan group of senators to a framework agreement on gun safety measures. He joins us today to discuss.

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This week, we’re welcoming Bill McKibben back to the show. Bill is the author of more than a dozen books, including the best sellers Falter, Deep Economy, and The End of Nature, which was the first book to warn the general public about the climate crisis. His new book “The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened” is now available.  Guest hosted by Ben Jackson.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“If we survive the interlocking plagues of climate change, right-wing authoritarianism, and savage inequality, future generations will utter the name of the New England moral visionary and activist McKibben with the reverence we speak of Emerson, Thoreau, and Garrison. This sparkling little diamond of a book illuminates the all-American boyhood and education of a radical Christian environmentalist in love with a broken world that, frankly speaking, may or may not exist at all a century from now. May McKibben's golden pen continue to flow swiftly and conquer―with both love and reason―the dangerous enemies of human civilization.“
―Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-8)

“Plainspoken, direct, conversational, and inspiring, Bill McKibben offers us generous insight into who he is and how he has been shaped by his middle-class upbringing in the suburbs. We see through inner and outer choices, struggles, and influences, why one of the world's most effective and humble leaders in the climate justice movement committed himself to an activist's life on behalf of a warming planet. The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon is more than a memoir, it is a bow to the power of social justice movements and a smart and savvy historical reflection on what has brought us to this crucible moment of climate collapse. Bill McKibben is an every-day hero who continues to show us not only what is possible, but necessary to our survival, the survival of our democracy, and all life in the places we call home.“
―Terry Tempest Williams, author of Erosion: Essays of Undoing

“What went wrong with America in the 1970s? In this searching book, Bill McKibben wrestles with a generation that lost its way, and why, and how to find the way back.”
―Jill Lepore, author of These Truths: A History of the United States

“Bill McKibben has written a great American memoir, using the prism of his own life to reflect on the most important dynamics in our society. Bill McKibben’s writing is poignant, engrossing and revealing. His message is a clarion call for a generation to understand what happened to their American Dream, and to fight for our common future.”
―Heather McGhee, author of The Sum of Us: How Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together

“Bill McKibben is such a heroic and consequential leader in the fight for the climate on behalf of all humankind, it's easy to lose sight of his humanity. As usual, this book is a thoughtful critique of wrong turns America has taken, but this time refreshingly and revealingly intertwined with his personal story. As a fellow former suburban boy who has also tried hard to figure out ‘what the hell happened,’ The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon was like listening to a wise old pal preach.”
―Kurt Andersen, author of Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America

“The prolific writer and activist finds some of the causes of our societal meltdown in the idyllic suburbs of his youth. . . . McKibben capably picks apart long-ago history to find present themes.”
―Kirkus Reviews

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There aren’t a lot of people who have a life which resembles Alyssa Milano's. As an actor from childhood who is still working on the cusp of fifty, our guest Wil Wheaton is one of the few. He joins us today to discuss his reappearance in Star Trek, his time on The Big Bang Theory, his time as a young actor and as a less-young actor, and his bestselling new book Still Just a Geek, which is now available.

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Over the past several years, corporations and entire industries have quickly made statements and some policy changes in response to social and racial justice movements. Those statement and initiatives, however, often exist as feel-good marketing initiatives or sincere efforts with unintended consequences. In her new book “Some of My Best Friends: Essays on Lip Service,” Tajja Isen explores these efforts and the realities they mask and reveal.

“[A] stellar debut collection...Some of My Best Friends shows a bracing willingness to tackle sensitive issues that others often sweep under a rug.”
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Isen scrutinizes society’s attempts to bandage over such issues as race and gender inequality in her powerful debut. Isen’s voice is both wry and sensitive as she fearlessly lays out the limits of talk in solving inequality; fans of sharp cultural criticism, take note."
—Publishers Weekly

“Beautifully written, wildly funny, and whip smart, the essays in Some of My Best Friends are among the best I've ever read. Tajja Isen is unafraid to ask deep questions and embrace their messy answers. She's one hell of a writer.”
—Kristen Arnett, New York Times bestselling author of Mostly Dead Things and With Teeth

“Isen understands that our shared future demands we expose and call out wasted time, hollow gestures, and empty words. Some of My Best Friends is an inspiring, determined work of personal narrative and cultural criticism.”
—Saeed Jones, author of How We Fight for Our Lives

“The essays in this book dazzle stylistically, thrill intellectually and flip the finger to the many ways North America pretends to talk about racial experiences. Isen is a provocateur of the first order. Her wit and wisdom capture the current moment and soar above it.”
—Kamal Al-Solaylee, author of Return and Brown

“Sure-footed and illuminating, Some of My Best Friends brilliantly lays bare the lies that accompany some of the most insidious aspects of racism— lip service, pandering, and plausible deniability—and offers a bracing inoculation.”
—Jess Zimmerman, author of Women and Other Monsters

“Every essay in this collection reminded me of what makes Tajja Isen a must-read writer: her thoughtfulness, her incisive humor, and her deadeye aim. Some of My Best Friends is a genuine pleasure to read and the best kind of intellectual conversation.”
—Nicole Chung, author of All You Can Ever Know

“Some of My Best Friends is the rare essay collection that feels both modern and timeless. Hilarious and fresh, it's the type of analysis that feels vital and made me go, "Finally!" What a joy to read.”
—Sarah Hagi, writer at Gawker

"Often hilarious, always thought provoking."
— ELLE, Canada

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We’re already into the midterm election season. California will host its primary elections on June 7th, and my guest this week is hoping to advance into the general. Kermit Jones is running for Congress in California’s 3rd Congressional District. He’s a doctor, a former White House Fellow, a former Navy Flight Surgeon, and a public policy expert.

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Mothering is work. It’s creative, it’s exhausting, it can be financially crushing, and it is immeasurably rewarding. But always, it is work. Our guest this week is Angela Garbes, bestselling author of Like a Mother. Her new book, Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change is now available.

About Essential Labor

From the acclaimed author of Like a Mother comes a reflection on the state of caregiving in America, and an exploration of mothering as a means of social change.

The Covid-19 pandemic shed fresh light on a long-overlooked truth: mothering is among the only essential work humans do. In response to the increasing weight placed on mothers and caregivers—and the lack of a social safety net to support them—writer Angela Garbes found herself pondering a vital question: How, under our current circumstances that leave us lonely, exhausted, and financially strained, might we demand more from American family life?

In Essential Labor, Garbes explores assumptions about care, work, and deservedness, offering a deeply personal and rigorously reported look at what mothering is, and can be. A first-generation Filipino-American, Garbes shares the perspective of her family's complicated relationship to care work, placing mothering in a global context—the invisible economic engine that has been historically demanded of women of color.

Garbes contends that while the labor of raising children is devalued in America, the act of mothering offers the radical potential to create a more equitable society. In Essential Labor, Garbes reframes the physically and mentally draining work of meeting a child's bodily and emotional needs as opportunities to find meaning, to nurture a deeper sense of self, pleasure, and belonging. This is highly skilled labor, work that impacts society at its most foundational level.

Part galvanizing manifesto, part poignant narrative, Essential Labor is a beautifully rendered reflection on care that reminds us of the irrefutable power and beauty of mothering.

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It’s almost impossible to quantify the problems with the way we approach healthcare in this country. For something which should be a human right, high-quality healthcare is often provided in unlimited amounts to the rich at the expense of the poor—especially people of color. In his new book “The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER,” our guest Dr. Thomas Fisher examines the injustices of our system through the eyes of a physician trying to do his best for his patients in a system that seems designed to prevent him from doing so.

PRAISE for “The Emergency: A Year of Healing and Heartbreak in a Chicago ER”

“This book reminds us how permanently interesting our bodies are, especially when they go wrong. Fisher’s account of his days is gripping. . . . His frustration, his outraged intelligence, is palpable on every page. . . . the best account I’ve read about working in a busy hospital during Covid.” —The New York Times

“A briskly paced, heartfelt, often harrowing year in the life of an ER doctor on Chicago’s historically Black South Side.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“The Emergency is graphic and gut-wrenching, as it should be. It is an undeniable call for a just health-care system, as it will be.”—Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist

“With scalpel-like precision and searing patient stories, Thomas Fisher exposes the battlefield of medicine and the scarring—and often fatal—wounds of inequality. The Emergency is a bat call. Health care doesn’t care, inequality kills, and we must do better.”—Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, author of What the Eyes Don’t See

“The Emergency is a doctor’s-eye view of the layered crises afflicting a single Chicago community and the entire nation that surrounds it. By turns brutal and beautiful, this is a tale of life, death, and the people whose efforts often determine which of those two will prevail.”—Jelani Cobb, co-editor of The Matter of Black Lives

“Tired of reading about COVID-19? Don’t make the mistake of missing the best book about it to date. The Emergency is Thomas Fisher’s memoir of the first year of the pandemic’s grip on Chicago’s South Side, where he grew up and where he battled the disease, along with every other ailment and injury that reached his emergency room. This is no past-tense memoir but a gripping account of events as they happen. It’s beautifully rendered in the present tense and leavened by a series of letters he composed to, and in honor of, his patients. But this is also a book about our country, a wrenching and tender reflection on an aphorism Fisher invokes: When America catches a cold, black America catches pneumonia. It won’t take you long to read this fast-paced account, but you won’t forget it anytime soon.”—Paul Farmer, M.D., author of Pathologies of Power: Health, Human Rights, and the New War on the Poor

“Riveting . . . [Fisher] eloquently captures the intensity of the situation . . . and shares heartrending stories of victims. . . . The result is a powerful reckoning with racial injustice and a moving portrait of everyday heroism.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Dramatic . . . well written and compassionate . . . a persuasive, sympathetic . . . insider’s report on a broken system.”—Kirkus Reviews

SEE LESS

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The Supreme Court appears poised to rip bodily autonomy from millions of American women. The draft opinion written by Justice Alito relies heavily on historical rights. In this short film, Alyssa takes you through a primer of the history of abortion and the fight of pregnant people to control their own bodies and access essential reproductive healthcare despite a constant onslaught from an extreme religious right which does not represent the majority of Americans.

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Our guest this week is Celeste Headlee. Celeste is award-winning journalist, professional speaker and best-selling author. In her 20-year career in public radio, Celeste has anchored programs including Tell Me More, Talk of the Nation, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. She is the author of a new piece available on Scribd called “You’re Cute When You’re Mad.”

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The midterm elections are quickly approaching, and the stakes are so high. Our guest this week is Charles Booker, candidate for the United States Senate in Kentucky. His new book From the Hood to the Holler: A story of Separate World, Shared Dreams and the Fight for America's Future  is now available.

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The internet is a cesspool of horrible people saying and doing horrible things. So much of the worst behavior is directed at women, in an effort to shame and silence us - and if you don't believe us, look at the the comments on every post our host Alyssa Milano makes or the trolling fake reviews of this podcast. So many men are abusive, hateful, and terrified of women who have the temerity to exist online. Our friend Nina Jankowicz’ new book “How to Be A Woman Online” is an essential toolkit for women to navigate the worst of it, to fight back, and to build a safer internet. She joined us this week to discuss.

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We know Frederick Douglass as a towering figure in America’s fight for the abolition of slavery in the United States. In the early days of his ascent, he was allied with and managed by publisher William Lloyd Garrison and “The Contessa,” Maria Weston Chapman. In her new book The Color Of Abolition: How a Printer, a Prophet, and a Contessa Moved a Nation, our guest Linda Hirshman reveals the details of the tumultuous relationship between the three, and how it changed history.

Praise For The Color Of Abolition: How A Printer, A Prophet, And A Contessa Moved A Nation…

"Hirshman’s book is a lively depiction of the antislavery movement, in which the three charismatic characters at the heart of her story provide an engaging avenue into the competing philosophies and strategies that continually challenged abolitionism’s unity and effectiveness. Her writing is breezy, designed to engage readers who are not historians and whose interests may lie more in the present than the past."
— Washington Post

“Hirshman brings much-needed attention to the little-known triangulation between Garrison, Douglass, and Chapman, opening a new realm of inquiry for readers of the history of slavery and abolition.”
— Library Journal

“Linda Hirshman has two goals. One is to tell the story of the American antislavery movement. This broad narrative provides background for the author’s other focus, a group portrait of three deeply intertwined abolitionists [and reflects] the author’s interest in the current ‘lively and painful conversation about the possibility and conditions of an interracial alliance.’”

— Wall Street Journal

“Page-turning reading . . . . a wonderful cataloging of Americans, white and Black, who devoted their lives to ending slavery.”
— Boston Globe

“Linda Hirshman adroitly shows us that in the celebrated break up between Douglass and Garrison, a pivotal actor was Maria Weston Chapman. A brilliant but intrusive soul, Chapman stood watch over both men from a manager's desk in Boston. Beyond intrigue, though, this book provides a splendid lens into the nature of both the moral and political wings of abolitionism at their turbulent turning point. The ideologies of antislavery emerge here from vivid portraits of these three fascinating and rivalrous characters.” 
— David W. Blight, Yale University, and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom

“By lucidly untangling the abolitionist movement’s complex web of alliances, Hirshman sheds light on the antebellum period and the dynamics of social movements in general. American history buffs will be engrossed.”
— Publishers Weekly

"A rousing account of America’s one truly great crusade, studded with fascinating characters playing for the highest of stakes: freedom.”


— Megan Marshall, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Margaret Fuller

“Viewing the abolitionist movement from a unique angle, Hirshman shows how the breakdown of the alliance among [activists Frederick Douglass, William Llloyd Garrison, and Maria Weston Chapman] was fueled in part by Douglass’ rising fame, burgeoning dissent among the nation’s political parties, and, not least, Weston Chapman’s aspersions about Douglass’ work ethic and character. A well-researched history of the fraught path to emancipation.”
— Kirkus Reviews

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Sex trafficking affects millions of women around the globe, generating billions of dollars for the criminals who traffick women. For the few women who escape, it can be extremely difficult to find safety and stability in society. Filmmakers Sadhvi Siddhali Shree and Sadhvi Anubhuti are Jain monks who created the new documentary Surviving Sex Trafficking, which Alyssa Milano executive produced. They joined us to discuss their film which is now in theaters and which will be available to stream on April 15th 2022.

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It’s been more than a century since the Equal Rights Amendment was first drafted. And it’s been fifty years since the Equal Rights Amendment was passed by Congress and sent to the states. In 2020, Virginia became the last state needed to ratify the ERA, and yet it is still not in the Constitution. It’s infuriating, and it’s bad for our country and dangerous for women. We’ve devoted extensive time over the years to covering the Equal Rights Amendment, and this week we’re revisiting some of those moments in observance of the ERA’s 50thanniversary.

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Shame is everywhere. From advertising to the dinner table, and on every last inch of social media. To examine the origin and effect of this reality, we’ve invited Cathy O’Neil to join us this week. Cathy is the author of the bestselling Weapons of Math Destruction, which won the Euler Book Prize and was longlisted for the National Book Award. She received her PhD in mathematics from Harvard and has worked in finance, tech, and academia. Her new book The Shame Machine: Who Profits in the New Age of Humiliation is now available.

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The pandemic has been devastating for everyone in America, but especially for women. We’ve seen our economic power set back years—maybe decades—by the changes to the labor market since the start of COVID. To discuss, we've invited Reshma Saujani on the show. Reshma is an attorney and activist who founded Girls who Code and the Marshall Plan for Moms. She’s also the author of the soon to be released book “Pay Up: The Future of Women and Work and Why It’s Different Than You Think.”

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The Supreme Court is supposed to be above partisan politics, but that has not been the case in the past several years. Recent in-depth reporting by The New York Times, The Washington Post, Politico and The New Yorker confirmed our worst fears about Justice Thomas and his ideologue activist wife Ginni Thomas – that in the wake of the Big Lie the bright red lines that are supposed to protect the impartiality and integrity of the court by placing boundaries between extreme advocacy and cases before the High Court – have all been flouted and perhaps irrevocably blurred.

At the same time, dozens of states have enacted or are trying to enact laws which restrict the right to vote or access to the voting booth for millions, particularly voters of color and others who are traditionally disenfranchised.

Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia has been at the center of efforts to correct these problems. He joined us for a live episode in front of a virtual studio audience on Monday, March 7, 2022.  This is a recording of that conversation.  Please note that we are using live audio from Zoom, so it might sound a little different than you're used to hearing from us. 

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The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been devastating for the people of that country. It's also had ripple effects throughout the global economic and security systems, created an unfolding humanitarian and refugee crisis on a scale not seen in Europe since World War II, and united most of the world against Vladimir Putin.

On March 3rd, we were joined by Ukraine expert Andrea Chalupa, cohost of the Gaslit Nation podcast for a special live episode to discuss the latest, including any new information President Biden includes in his State of the Union Address.

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In January of 2020, we witnessed an attack on our capitol by American citizens. At the time, many of us said that we didn’t think it could happen here. But it did happen, and it was just one event on a timeline of events that has our guest—and should have each of us--concerned about the future of our country. This week, I’m joined by Barbara F. Walter. Barbara is a professor of International Relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and author of How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them, which is now available.

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This week, we're joined by Anna Gifty Opoku-Ayeman. Anna is a is a researcher, writer, science communicator and activist. She is the co-founder of The Sadie Collective, the only nonprofit organization addressing the lack of Black women in economics and related fields, and the editor of The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System, a new book of essays on policy solutions to social problems written by black activists.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An expansive set of essays highlighting the range and force of Black leadership....An inclusive, edifying, often fiery assembly of voices articulating the way forward for Black America―and America in general." ―Kirkus Reviews

"Invigorating...policymakers will want to take note." ―Publishers Weekly

"The Black Agenda mobilizes top Black experts from across the country to share transformative perspectives on how to deploy anti-racist ideas and policies into everything from climate policy to criminal justice to healthcare. This book will challenge what you think is possible by igniting long overdue conversations around how to enact lasting and meaningful change rooted in racial justice." ―Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped From the Beginning

"This book is the first step towards defining Black expertise, assigning value to the work that we do, and taking up space in the public on our own terms. I, for one, am looking forward to being able to knock people on the head with the collection. I’m looking forward to the spaces in need of critical self-reflection that make this book a normal part of routine business and the discourse. And most of all, I am looking forward to everybody with any resource, no matter how small, reading this book too." ―Tressie McMillan Cottom, author of Thick: And other Essays

"The Black Agenda is urgent. It's urgent that white people recognize that centering, listening to, and being led by the voices in this book are the start to investing in societal solutions. I wish that moral arguments of equity were enough but know they're not. These chapters are a strong mix of diagnosis and prescription, with an appropriate layer of moral calling to help us learn, reflect, and be motivated toward specific action." ―Chelsea Clinton, New York Times bestselling author of She Persisted

"This book is overdue and imperative. We can't get clear national momentum without a core focus on the Black agenda. I am thrilled for the conversation and action this will inspire." ―Wes Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Wes Moore

"The Black Agenda brings together a group of brilliant thinkers offering bold solutions to combat many of the social problems facing Black people in the United States. This powerful collection is a must-read for anyone interested in turning anti-racist ideas into action." ―Keisha N. Blain, Co-Editor of #1 New York Times bestseller Four Hundred Souls

"The Black Agenda elevates the much-needed insight of Black scholars on the front lines of the most pressing discourses of today. It serves as a jump-start for how we should all be thinking about the future of our world while healing the problems of our past." ―Raquel Willis, writer and activist

"The Black Agenda is a deeply smart and important book. It offers excellent ideas of how to fix our deeply broken system. This is a must read." ―Molly Jong-Fast

"The Black Agenda is bold and unflinching, tackling urgent issues coupled with policy-oriented solutions. I look forward to the work that this volume will catalyze in the world.” ―Dr. Sarah Elizabeth Lewis, Harvard Associate Professor and Founder, The Vision and Justice Project

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We’re at a last-gasp inflection point for the climate. Humans have so polluted the world that our entire climate is changing. We talk a lot about the human cost of this change, but what about the changes for other species? In his new book The Treeline: The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth, Ben Rawlence explores the northward migration of trees, and what it means for all of us. He joins us this week to discuss.

About The Treeline:

In the tradition of Elizabeth Kolbert and Barry Lopez, a powerful, poetic and deeply absorbing account of the “lung” at the top of the world.

For the last fifty years, the trees of the boreal forest have been moving north. Ben Rawlence's The Treeline takes us along this critical frontier of our warming planet from Norway to Siberia, Alaska to Greenland, Canada to Sweden to meet the scientists, residents and trees confronting huge geological changes. Only the hardest species survive at these latitudes including the ice-loving Dahurian larch of Siberia, the antiseptic Spruce that purifies our atmosphere, the Downy birch conquering Scandinavia, the healing Balsam poplar that Native Americans use as a cure-all and the noble Scots Pine that lives longer when surrounded by its family.

It is a journey of wonder and awe at the incredible creativity and resilience of these species and the mysterious workings of the forest upon which we rely for the air we breathe. Blending reportage with the latest science, The Treeline is a story of what might soon be the last forest left and what that means for the future of all life on earth.

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This week, we're joined by Bryan Osorio. Bryan is a Berkeley graduate, the 26 year old mayor of Delano, California, and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for congress in California’s 21stCongressional District.

We’ve got an election coming up this year, and there are truly impressive younger candidates like Bryan Osorio running. We challenge each of you to find emerging young candidates in your states, and help them change the world.

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Rhode Island is a small state, but one which is so reflective of so much of the country. It has a governor’s race this year, and Dr. Luis Daniel Munoz is running for the office. He's a medical doctor with a progressive vision for the future. He joins us today to discuss his campaign.

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The last five years highlighted the racism, xenophobia, and islamophobia which exists in American society—but it didn’t start then. In his new book Go Back to Where You Came From And Other Helpful Recommendations on How to Become American, my guest Wajahat Ali takes a clear-eyed and very funny look at this dark part of our American identity.

"Wajahat Ali’s deeply personal and keenly perceptive memoir is a clear-eyed account of his American immigrant experience.… We are all fortunate to be on the receiving end of not only his intellect, but his humanity and heart."
― Katie Couric, Emmy Award-winning journalist

"This is the book I’ve been hoping Wajahat Ali would write for ten years―hilarious, stylistically fearless, deeply humane."
― Dave Eggers, author of The Every

"Wajahat Ali has already proven that he is the fastest mind on TV. Now his fans can sample his brilliance on the page."
― Ishmael Reed, author of The Terrible Fours

"This book is a tour de force―equal parts tragedy and laugh-out-loud comedy. With brazen wit, rigorous analysis, and searing insight, Wajahat Ali speaks to the first-generation American’s dilemma of being both ‘us’ and ‘them.’"
― Suleika Jaouad, author of Between Two Kingdoms

"A hilarious and heartwarming treatise on what it truly means to be American in the twenty-first century. You’ll be laughing so hard you won’t even notice the inevitable Islamic takeover of America! Oops, I’ve said too much."
― Reza Aslan, author of God: A Human History

"Wajahat Ali brilliantly and lovingly unpacks the complicated history and urgent lived experience of being otherized in America.… [A] rich feast for all the senses―a must-read."
― S. E. Cupp, author of Losing Our Religion

"This powerful and moving book is, at its heart, a love story. The beloved, flawed and tragic -- so flawed, so tragic -- is America. The lover's hope is always undermined. And yet his hope somehow endures."
― Mohsin Hamid, author of Exit West

"Find a place on your bookshelf between Mark Twain and James Baldwin. Read this book before putting it there."
― Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny

"With wit and charm, Ali has delivered a masterful meditation on growing up brown in America...An intoxicating rejection of cynicism in the face of existential threats to multiracial democracy, and a clear-eyed call to arms against the forces seeking to stop the expansion of American democracy. An affirmation of the country America could be."
― Mara Gay, editorial board, New York Times

"In prose at times hilarious and at other times deeply moving, Wajahat Ali chronicles a uniquely American experience. All will benefit from reading his story."
― Representative Ilhan Omar

"Full of wisdom and compassion, not to mention Ali’s signature humor. As educational as it is entertaining. I wish my nine-year-old immigrant self had this book when the playground kids were telling me to go back where I came from.”"
― Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country Friends

"A tender knife-sharp analysis of racism . . . personal, painful, familial, and global"
― Juan Felipe Herrera, United States Poet Laureate Emeritus --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

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If the Democrats want to increase their razor-thin majority in the Senate, allowing them the possibility of changing senate rules and passing voting rights legislation and other critical goals of the Biden Administration, the State of North Carolina is an essential pickup. Incumbent Republican Richard Burr is retiring, and the state has been trending more and more blue. Late last year, our producer Ben Jackson sat down with Erica Smith, a progressive rural Democrat and former state senator who was running for the seat at the time. While Erica has since ended her Senate campaign and declared for the House, we wanted to bring you this episode as is because the things she says about the senate and her candidacy are so important.

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The past several years shocked both our national and global economies. As the government undertakes massive spending programs to counteract the damage, the national debt, the deficit, and inflation have become issues of national debate. We’ve invited Stephanie Kelton, author of The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and the Birth of the People's Economy to take us behind the rhetoric and make the case for a different way of looking at the way we raise and spend money at the federal level.

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The United States is entering its third COVID winter, with no end to the pandemic in sight. There is a loud minority of vaccine-averse Americans, and a dangerous number of anti-science politicians cynically manipulating that for power. At the same time, the mental health of Americans is entering its own crisis from the stresses of pandemic life. Our guest today is the Surgeon General of the United States, Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, whose job it is to help navigate these dangerous waters and keep all of us healthy. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

This year started in an attempted coup and an attack on our capitol. It’s ending with criminal indictments for some of those who took part in the planning and execution of that attack—but so much more happened this year. We’ve now lost more than 800,000 to COVID, but the arrival of safe and effective vaccines offers hope. A new president and new government has made progress on important issues, but obstructionists are getting in the way of desperately needed reforms. And all along the way, so many impressive activists are fighting tirelessly to make the world better and more just for all of us. This week, we revisit some of our favorite moments from the show this year.

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Our guest this week is Michael Tubbs. Michael served as the mayor of Stockton, CA. He was the city’s first Black mayor and the youngest ever mayor of a major American city. He is the founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income and Ending Poverty in California, a Special Advisor to California Governor Newsom on Economic Mobility, and a commentator for MSNBC. His new book “The Deeper the Roots” is now available.

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If the Democrats want to retain control of the Senate in 2022, the path goes through Pennsylvania. With a retiring republican incumbent and a state that voted for President Biden, it’s seen as one of the most likely pickups. Our guest this week is Congressman Conor Lamb. He’s a Marine Corps veteran, currently the Representative from Pennsylvania’s 17th District, and a candidate for the United States Senate.

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The wealth gap in America creates any number of problems—but perhaps the most pressing is its expansion of poverty. When this poverty intersects with a broken criminal justice system, it becomes criminalized. The cycles of poverty and incarceration can span generations, and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Tony Messenger of the St. Louis Post Dispatch has spent years covering the stories of the people affected. In his new book Profit and Punishment: How America Criminalizes the Poor in the Name of Justice, he exposes the tragedy of modern-day debtors’ prisons, and how they destroy the lives of poor Americans swept up in a system designed to penalize the most impoverished.

Review

"Messenger is one of the few columnists―maybe the only one―in America whose beat is the poor who are preyed upon by public officials"
―St. Louise Magazine

“With the keen eye and compassionate heart of an award-winning journalist, Messenger shows us that Ferguson is everywhere, putting a human face on the millions of Americans being crushed every year by cash register injustice.”
―Jeffrey Selbin, Chancellor’s Clinical Professor of Law

"Timely and important... should enrage anyone who comes to understand it―and Profit and Punishment is the perfect place to start that understanding."
―Shelf Awareness

"An eye-opening, relevant, and heartbreaking account on the epidemic of criminalized poverty.”
―Kirkus

“Explores the byzantine paths of so-called justice… Profit and Punishment is persuasive and enraging, a book that will stir readers from both sides of the aisle to support reform.”
―Booklist

“A heartbreaking study of how the American justice system is weighted against the poor. … Interweaving hard evidence with harrowing firsthand stories, this is a powerful call for change.”
―Publishers Weekly

"A shocking account... In plainspoken and powerful language, Messenger exposes the unconscionable, unethical and utterly heartbreaking. Read these riveting accounts and be stirred to action!"
―Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Pulitzer Prize Finalist, author of Race for Profit

"Tony Messenger's Pulitzer Prize-winning series on debtors' prisons in Missouri made a serious difference in real people's lives and his book will be a must read for a nation seeking a bipartisan path forward on criminal justice reform."
―Claire McCaskill, former US Senator and analyst for MSNBC

“An intimate, raw, and utterly scathing look at the ordinary and everyday ways in which America's criminal justice system has directly increased the poverty of the many, and dramatically increased the profits of the few, in recent years. All will have zero doubt after reading this devastating account of the full scale human rights crisis that has been wrought by these policies that they must act, immediately, to overhaul them."
―Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Blood in the Water

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It seems like we live in a world where every issue divides us on the extremes, and Climate Change is no exception. It’s killing people and economies, and yet it seems like all we can do is yell at each other about it. Our guest this week is trying to change that, one conversation at a time. Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is lead scientist at The Nature Conservancy and author of the new book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

“An optimistic view on why collective action is still possible—and how it can be realized.” —The New York Times

“As far as heroic characters go, I’m not sure you could do better than Katharine Hayhoe.” —Scientific American

“A must-read if we’re serious about enacting positive change from the ground up, in communities, and through human connections and human emotions.” —Margaret Atwood, Twitter

United Nations Champion of the Earth, climate scientist, and evangelical Christian Katharine Hayhoe changes the debate on how we can save our future.

Called “one of the nation's most effective communicators on climate change” by The New York Times, Katharine Hayhoe knows how to navigate all sides of the conversation on our changing planet. A Canadian climate scientist living in Texas, she negotiates distrust of data, indifference to imminent threats, and resistance to proposed solutions with ease. Over the past fifteen years Hayhoe has found that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is talk about it—and she wants to teach you how.

In Saving Us, Hayhoe argues that when it comes to changing hearts and minds, facts are only one part of the equation. We need to find shared values in order to connect our unique identities to collective action. This is not another doomsday narrative about a planet on fire. It is a multilayered look at science, faith, and human psychology, from an icon in her field—recently named chief scientist at The Nature Conservancy.

Drawing on interdisciplinary research and personal stories, Hayhoe shows that small conversations can have astonishing results. Saving Us leaves us with the tools to open a dialogue with your loved ones about how we all can play a role in pushing forward for change.

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Thanksgiving is an American holiday with, at best, a complicated history. Rooted in colonization and stolen land, it is also a time when families often come together and many of us reflect on the things for which we are grateful. It is this gratitude that we’ll focus on today—not Thanksgiving the holiday, but gratitude the emotion. We asked you, our listeners to submit stories of gratitude, and you came through. In this episode, we’ll hear from a variety writers and poets and every day people with the things for which they are grateful.

Featuring original work by Cathy Hannes, Anna Grady, Deanna Costa, Tony Scruggs, Kayla Randolph, Annaliese Baker, Kelsey Day, and Ben Jackson

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There is no doubt that our democracy remains threatened. Donald Trump and those who supported his election lies and other corruption continue to exert influence over our political system, and the rise of authoritarianism in America risks everything we hold dear. In his new book Midnight in Washington: How We Almost Lost Our Democracy and Still Could, Adam Schiff examines this threat and shares his behind-the-scenes story of confronting it.

Audio excerpted courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio from Midnight in Washington by Adam Schiff, read by the author.

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In October of 2021, Alyssa Milano joined other advocates and activists in the first hearing about the Equal Rights Amendment in Congress in decades. This episode is the unedited (safe to remove some dead air during a technical difficulty at the hearing) and uninterrupted.  It will sound a little different than our usual episodes as a result.

We've included the opening statements of all witnesses and Committee leadership, even those which disagree with Alyssa's to provide a comprehensive view of this issue.

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In the view of this podcast, the National Rifle Association is one of the most evil organizations in America. Through its financial influence, it’s allowed the wholesale slaughter of 40,000 Americans a year so that its funders can keep making money. But things are not all rosy at the NRA, and we’ve asked Tim Mak, NPR’s Washington Investigative Correspondent and author of the new book “Misfire: Inside the Downfall of the NRA” to join us to discuss.

Praise For Misfire: Inside The Downfall Of The NRA…

“From the reporter who broke the story of the NRA-Russia connection, Misfire is a searching expose of the corruption and crookedness that pushed the NRA itself into ruin. The nonstop revelations are told with gripping detail and intimate insider knowledge.”—David Frum, Staff Writer at The Atlantic and New York Times bestselling author of Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic

“To tell the story of the NRA is to reveal how a political power has defined, for much of the last century, how we live and how we die in America. Misfire is among the most important works documenting this era in American history, a story of ideology and unbelievable scandal, corruption, and rot. Tim Mak has given us the definitive account of the NRA—deeply and meticulously reported, colorfully and precisely written.”—Olivia Nuzzi, Washington Correspondent at New York magazine

“Tim Mak has written the definitive book on the fall of the NRA. It’s fun, packed with insider reporting, and authoritative. Unbiased but unforgiving, this book is one of the most enjoyable reads imaginable for a topic you don’t normally associate with page-turners: the confluence of political lobbying, financial mismanagement, and organizational corruption. You will devour this book.”—Matt Fuller, Politics Editor at The Daily Beast

“Tim Mak has been at the forefront of the NRA story for years now. He has broken numerous exclusive stories that provide insight into the group's infighting and the impact on their finances. His reporting is invaluable to anyone from any political perspective who simply wants to know the truth about what's going on inside the National Rifle Association.”—Stephen Gutowski, former Staff Writer at the Washington Free Beacon and Founder of The Reload

“Tim Mak has written the defining story of America's most powerful lobbying organization. It is investigative journalism at its best. His reporting is tenacious, careful and incisive. Read this book.”—Jonathan Swan, National Political Correspondent at Axios

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For a special episode of Sorry Not Sorry, Alyssa Milano leaves the host's microphone and takes the guest chair to discuss her new book "Sorry Not Sorry," which releases October 26th.  She discusses the process of writing, her life as an activist, her family, and her recent trip to Washington DC to advocate for the Equal Rights Amendment.

Praise for Sorry Not Sorry
“Actor Milano puts her political activism center stage in these resonant and hopeful essays that grapple with systemic racism, abortion rights, #MeToo, and living through the pandemic… Milano’s writing is compassionate, direct, and sincere. Her fans are in for a treat.”—Publishers Weekly

“[Alyssa Milano] is earnest and edgy… as she shares sharp observations, impassioned pleas, and tough assessments on the current state of American society. Readers interested in discussing contemporary issues will find much to agree (or disagree) with in this engaging and provocative volume.”—Booklist

“In this book, Alyssa Milano demonstrates the importance of using your platform—no matter how big or small—to shape social change unapologetically, without fear of backlash.”
—Gabrielle Union, New York Times bestselling author of We’re Going to Need More Wine

“You may know Alyssa Milano for her public acts of bravery and compassion, but in these essays, her personal example helps each of us to become braver and more effective, too. Read Sorry, Not Sorry and find a friend.”
—Gloria Steinem

“These essays capture the American spirit at its best—bold, patriotic, progressive, and honest. In difficult times, they were a pleasure to read.”
—Speaker Nancy Pelosi

“Alyssa Milano is a real fighter, a caring person and passionate advocate who has helped move the needle on so many progressive issues that matter to our democracy and America.”
—Chuck Schumer

“Honest, incisive, funny, real and all too human, Sorry Not Sorry gives you insight into what it means to be both an artist and activist in today’s America.”
—Andrew Yang

“Honest, unsparing, and at times humorous self reflection that gets at where we are and what we’ve been through together.”
—Beto O’Rourke

“This book is an unflinching and self-aware look into the life of one of the most visible progressives in America. Everyone who cares about this country should read it.”
—Ro Khanna, member of Congress

“Alyssa Milano is smart, thoughtful, leader who leads with courage, sincerity, and love. Her essays offer critical insights and important solutions to many of the formidable issues of our time, providing a pathway for us to come together and navigate through our country’s greatest challenges.”
—Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State

“Alyssa Milano is an actress, activist, and great patriot, whose love of country shines through her book, Sorry Not Sorry. Part memoir, part call to action, Milano delivers critical insights and lessons on life, politics, family and country, and always with humor and passion. In vivid prose, she invites the reader into her heart and home, and gives us a keen sense of what drives her advocacy. Alyssa has been a fearless champion for people, and it’s no surprise that her book is an unsparing look at the fights of the last decade, and the present struggle to save our democracy.”
—Adam Schiff

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It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly a quarter century since the impeachment of Bill Clinton. This season of the American Crime Story franchise is focused on that impeachment and the events surrounding it. Our guest this week is Sarah Burgess, the writer and showrunner of Impeachment: American Crime Story. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Over the past nearly two years, we’ve seen the horrible and deadly harm the anti-vaccine movement has done to our nation and our world. While we know that vaccines are safe and effective, charlatans spreading lies, snake oil, and disinformation have eroded the public’s confidence and belief in those vaccines, and so many people are dead as a result. In a recent article Kurt Eichenwald exposed Andrew Wakefield, a doctor at the root of much of this skepticism. Kurt joins the podcast today to discuss. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Deborah Tuerkheimer served for five years as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office, where she specialized in domestic violence and child abuse prosecution. In her new book Credible: Why We Doubt Accusers and Protect Abusers, she provides a much-needed framework to explain how we perceive credibility, why our perceptions are distorted, and why these distortions harm survivors. Social hierarchies and inequalities foster doubt that is commonplace and predictable, resulting in what Tuerkheimer calls the “credibility discount”—our dismissal of claims by certain kinds of speakers—primarily women, and especially those who are more marginalized.

The #MeToo movement has exposed how victims have been badly served by a system that is designed not to protect them, but instead to protect the status quo. Credibility lies at the heart of this system. Drawing on case studies, moving first-hand accounts, science, and the law, Tuerkheimer identifies widespread patterns and their causes, analyzes the role of power, and examines the close, reciprocal relationship between culture and law—guiding us toward accurate credibility judgments and equitable treatment of those whose suffering has long been disregarded.

#MeToo has touched off a massive reckoning. To achieve lasting progress, we must shift our approach to belief. Credible helps us forge a path forward to ensuring justice for the countless individuals affected by sexual misconduct.

Praise for Credible

“This is not just an important book. It’s way more than that—it’s a new algorithm, an upending of long-held beliefs kept in place by law and culture. If we rewire ourselves to respond more fairly to the accusations that come our way, law reform and culture change will follow. Over time we can dismantle the credibility complex." —Elizabeth Lesser, bestselling author of Cassandra Speaks and Broken Open

“Deborah Tuerkheimer makes a brilliant, clear, and convincing legal case in Credible that justice for survivors requires basic changes in the law. But she makes an equally compelling plea for something with even more world-historical ambition: a transformation that is needed in the court of public opinion so that women’s dignity—and credibility—is finally seen as equal to men’s.” —Jackson Katz, PhD, educator and author of The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help

“In Credible, Tuerkheimer tells a range of stories of victim-survivors of sexual assault and harassment. What’s different is that she traverses these stories through the lens of credibility—the ways in which its absence (or in rare cases, its presence) will make all the difference in someone’s recovery and healing. This is essential reading not only for those deeply invested in #MeToo activism and scholarship and for victim-survivors who will finally feel seen but also for anyone who has ever known a victim. Which is to say, Tuerkheimer’s book is essential reading for everyone.” —Donna Freitas, author of Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention

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On October 2nd, 2021, women and allies across the country marched in opposition to the attacks on women's reproductive freedom. Alyssa Milano spoke at the Los Angeles march. This is a recording of her speech.

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Our guest this week is John Pavlovitz. John is a pastor, writer, and activist from Wake Forest, North Carolina. He’s spent nearly three decades teaching, studying, dissecting, deconstructing, and reconstructing the Christian faith. His new book If God Is Love, Don’t Be a Jerk invites us to re-examine the modern faith community and ask if it is as loving as it should be.

ABOUT IF GOD IS LOVE DON'T BE A JERK:

Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible.

Imagine for a moment what the world might look like if we as people of faith, morality, and conscience actually aspired to this mantra.

What if we were fully burdened to create a world that was more loving and equitable than when we arrived?

What if we invited one another to share in wide-open, fearless, spiritual communities truly marked by compassion and interdependence?

What if we daily challenged ourselves to live a faith that simply made us better humans?

John Pavlovitz explores how we can embody this kinder kind of spirituality where we humbly examine our belief system to understand how it might compel us to act in less-than-loving ways toward others.

This simple phrase, "Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible," could help us practice what we preach by creating a world where:

• spiritual community provides a sense of belonging where all people are received as we are;
• the most important question we ask of a religious belief is not Is it true? but rather, is it helpful?
• it is morally impossible to pledge complete allegiance to both Jesus and America simultaneously;
• the way we treat others is the most tangible and meaningful expression of our belief system.

In If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk, John Pavlovitz examines the bedrock ideas of our religion: the existence of hell, the utility of prayer, the way we treat LGBTQ people, the value of anger, and other doctrines to help all of us take a good, honest look at how the beliefs we hold can shape our relationships with God and our fellow humans—and to make sure that love has the last, loudest word.

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We talk a lot on this podcast about the importance of using whatever platforms we have to make the world a better place. Those of us with large platforms, especially, have a responsibility to use them. Our guest this week is certainly using his. Adrian Grenier is an actor, filmmaker, musician, entrepreneur and philanthropist who came to prominence as Vincent Chase in the hit show Entourage.

Although first known as an actor, over the last decade, Adrian Grenier has cemented his place as an activist and a communicator on environmental issues.

As an investor, Adrian has backed companies and entrepreneurs that he believes can change the world for the better. DuContra looks to invest in companies that create positive change by adhering to Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations, and is committed to achieving a better and more sustainable future for all.

At DuContra, the investment strategy is focused on matters that encourage Human Flourishing, such as psychedelics, mental health, sustainable consumption and Communitas (wellness retreats + community building). Here are some of his takes on how we can make wiser investments to make a better impact on people and our planet: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGXUfGwHNXw/

As an activist, Adrian has founded the Lonely Whale Foundation, dedicated to bringing people closer to the world's oceans through education and awareness, inspiring empathy and action for ocean health and the wellbeing of marine wildlife.

He is also a UN Ambassador where he helped the UN Environment Programme launch Clean Seas, a campaign to end marine plastic pollution. He is also the host for Nat Geo's documentary series The Last Drop, a documentary on how we can conserve water and ensure sustainable water supplies in the future.

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There is a masculinity crisis in America. Men are taught to suppress emotions, creating a world where not only are women harmed, but men as well. Justin Baldoni is working to change that, and joins us to discuss. Justin is an actor who many will know from his starring role as Raphael on Jane the Virgin. He is also a director, producer, entrepreneur and changemaker whose efforts are focused on creating impactful media and entertainment. Baldoni is the co-founder of Wayfarer Studios, an independent financial and production engine pioneering purpose-driven, multi-platform film and television productions that elevate and speak to the human spirit.

Justin's book "Man Enough: Undefining Masculinity" is now available. 

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Schools are getting back in session for the third academic year impacted by COVID-19. To discuss this, along with the weaponization of education and educators by right-wing political forces, critical race theory, and more, we’ve invited Sari Beth Rosenberg on the show. Sari is a public high school teacher in Manhattan, whose career was originally due to start on September 11th, 2001. She is a frequent host of online programming for PBS Newshour, the advisor of Feminist Eagles, a feminist student organization and a sought out expert on all things education.

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Around the world, the Covid pandemic is as deadly as ever. Vaccines are widely available in some countries, and completely out of reach to others. Here at home, tens of millions are refusing to take the vaccine, violent protests are erupting at school board meetings and even children’s hospitals against mask mandates, and more than 630,000 Americans have died from the disease.

To discuss all of this, we’ve invited Dr. Peter Hotez back on the show. Dr. Hotez is an infectious disease specialist and Dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. He and Alyssa Milano have worked together around the world for years, and he is one of the leading experts in preventing infectious diseases.

Please note that because this was a live episode, the sound quality may be a little different than our usual program.

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This year brought so many changes to America, most notably the arrival of the Joe Biden administration. We often look at the first 100 days of a new presidency as a measuring stick for how effective the president will be, and Joe Biden’s were impressive. To take a deep dive into what the early part of this presidency revealed, we’ve invited Kelly Hyman on the show. Kelly is a former actress turned lawyer, a frequent legal and news analyst, and the author of the new book Build Back Better: The First 100 Days of the Biden Administration, and Beyond.

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Our guest this week is Dr. Myron Rolle. Myron is a former NFL Safety, a Rhodes Scholar, and now a neurosurgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. Born in the Bahamas, he lost his aunt to a traumatic brain injury there which was exacerbated by her inability to receive fast, affordable neurosurgical care. He’s fighting to make sure that people in the Caribbean Community have access to neurologists and neurosurgery. He also weighs in on what the pro-football should be doing during the COVID pandemic, traumatic brain injuries in football, and more. You can support Dr. Rolle's CARICOM Neurosurgical Initiative by clicking here. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Our guest this week is Erin Vilardi. Erin is the Founder and CEO of Vote Run Lead, an organization dedicated to training and empowering women to run for office. Vote Run Lead recently launched Run 51, an initiative to help women run for state legislatures.

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Our guest this week is Malcolm Kenyatta. Malcolm is a member of the Pennsylvania State Assembly and a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate election in 2022. He’s got an incredible personal story and an unparalleled commitment to justice.

In 2016 and in 2020, he was elected as Delegate to the Democratic Convention, both times garnering the second-highest vote total of any delegate in the Commonwealth. He has also appeared on local and national media outlets to discuss systemic poverty, affordable education and childcare, and making government more accountable to citizens. He was the subject of an award-winning short documentary about his election run, ‘Going Forward’ produced by Seven Knot Productions, which premiered on ‘The Atlantic Magazine Selects’ in 2018. In 2020, he was chosen by President Joe Biden to give the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention along with a group of other ‘Rising Stars.’ He was one of twenty Electoral College votes cast for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, in Harrisburg on December 14, 2020.

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Donald Trump and his regime posed a serious threat to the very soul of our nation. Beginning with Hillary Clinton's loss and continuing through Joe Biden's decisive victory, Isaac Dovere provides us with unprecedented behind-the-scenes reporting of the Democratic Party's fight to defeat Trump and restore America by retaking the White House. 

Edward discusses his new book Battle for the Soul: Inside the Democrats' Campaign to Defeat Trump, and the insights he gained while writing it.

Praise for Battle For the Soul:

PRAISE

“In the tradition of Theodore White’s The Making of the President . . . . A riveting account . . . filled with turning point moments. . . . Scenes jump off the page.”
—The Washington Post

“Essential reading. . . . Dovere’s first book is informed and granular, filled with up-close quotes and lacerating observations, a must-read for newsrooms and political junkies. . . . Battle for the Soul provides ample warning and plenty of food for thought.”
—Lloyd Green, The Guardian

“A wide-ranging history of a tangled campaign.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“An incisive and deeply reported portrait of the Democratic party in exile during the Trump presidency . . . . Littered with rich characterizations, wry humor, and impressive insider access.”
—Publishers Weekly

“There’s so much in it. It’s so dishy. It’s so fantastic. You’ll learn a lot.”
—Julie Mason, SiriusXM

“Candy. . . . Even if you think you know the dynamics, you read a great book like this by a great reporter, and you learn these new things.”
—John King, CNN

“One juicy book.”
—Alex Witt, MSNBC

“It is outstanding. Strongly recommend. I think it is probably the best read of the 2020 campaign. The success of the book is that it doesn’t get bogged down in the horse race, electoral math type thing, but it talks about the personalities, how the personalities drove what happened in an extraordinarily unpredictable campaign.”
—Charlie Sykes, The Bulwark

“Highly recommend – it is a dynamite book.”
—John Fugelsang, SiriusXM

“An extraordinary new book.”
—Thom Hartmann

“The inside campaign details I was craving. . . . Buy the book.”
—Dave Weigel, The Washington Post

SEE LESS 

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As a direct result of the racist and hateful lies and rhetoric Donald Trump and his followers spread about COVID, violence and hate directed at Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in this country is on a terrifying rise. We've invited Varun Nikore, Executive Director of the AAPI Victory Alliance on the show to discuss this rise and how we can fight back against this hate.

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I first met my friend Misha Collins more than twenty years ago. Since then, we've become dear friends and have worked together on projects on and off screen. Now that Supernatural is over, he joined us to talk about his acting, his activism, and what's next on his plate. I hope you love it! xo, Alyssa.

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The Trump administration, with a complicit Senate, completely overhauled the United States judiciary-filling it unqualified and far-right extremist activist judges all the way to the Supreme Court. To discuss the impact of these appointments and what can be done about them, we’ve invited Tamara Brummer to the show. Tamara is the Senior Advisor for Engagement and Outreach for Demand Justice, an organization founded in 2018 with the goal of reforming and protecting the American judiciary.

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Recently, the United States Senate failed spectacularly in its duty to protect democracy when every member of the GOP joined a filibuster against the For the People Act, a sweeping and incredibly important bill designed to protect our democracy. To talk about the bill, and what happens next, we’ve invited Senator Jeff Merkley to join us for a special live episode. Senator Merkley was the lead sponsor of the For the People Act in the Senate.

He is a stalwart defender of democracy and a champion of putting people ahead of corporate interests. As a US Senator from Oregon, he’s taken on Wall Street, Special Interests, and even his own party leadership to make sure that the American people always come first.

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The nation’s capital has a population of nearly 700,000 people, and has no voting representation in Congress—because it’s not a state. But efforts to change this are heating up, and so we've invited Bo Shuff, the Executive Director of DC Vote on the show to discuss.

About DC Vote

The District of Columbia is just like any community you would find in any other part of America.  As DC residents we raise our families, pay our taxes and serve on juries, we fight for our country in our nation's military and we work together to create a strong community in which our children can learn and grow. Yet, every day, every one of the 700,000 residents of the capital of the world's strongest democracy is denied the right to participate in that same democracy.

Not only are DC residents deprived of full voting representation in Congress, we are also subject to the politically-motivated whims of members of Congress from other parts of the country. Any law or budget that we as citizens support must be approved by Congress - a body that has more than enough trouble handling its own business. DC residents should control their own budget and be in charge of local affairs, just like any other community in the country.

The District of Columbia was created in the late 1700’s to help protect the original Congress from unruly mobs.  At the time, the area was sparsely populated farmland and swamp.  There is no way our Founding Fathers could have envisioned that their action would lead to the disenfranchisement of hundreds of thousands of American citizens in the thriving DC of today.

DC Vote fights for full and equal representation for DC residents through DC Statehood – nothing more than the same rights you enjoy today. And we're pushing to keep members of Congress from Utah or Kentucky or anywhere else out of our local affairs.

Please share our message with your network of friends and family and ask them to join us, too.

Together, we will make history!

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Our guest this week is Mondale Robinson, my friend and a hero of electoral activism. Mondale is the founder and Principal of The Black Male Voter Project, an organization dedicated to overcoming systemic disenfranchisement of Black voters, and Black men in particular, in the electoral process.

ABOUT THE BLACK MALE VOTER PROJECT

Since the inception of the United States, Black men have been the recipients of inequitable treatment as it pertains to the ability to vote. And since the enactment of the 15th Amendment in 1870, the powers in this country have been exacting strategies to prevent the full enfranchisement of Black men.

These practices continue today in many forms, like voter ID laws, felony disenfranchisement, and misinformation campaigns just to name a few. Our goal at Black Male Voter Project is to increase the number of Black men who participate in electoral politics. The United States of America has failed Black men in nearly every aspect of social life and access to the ballot is no exception.

Our work is wherever Black men are, and the urgency is now. Currently in this country, nearly half of the Black men who are registered to vote have not voted in the last five consecutive elections. This fact should not be misconstrued as a critique of Black men, because we know that voting is a habit that is only formed when resources are spent on it.

For this reason, Black Male Voter Project exists. We have thrown out the traditional way of campaigning, because of its transactional nature and lack of ability to reach “brothas” where they are. In doing so, we have created a new campaign model that prioritizes an expansive approach to reaching Black men. This campaign model we named BMEP Additory Approach© is designed to eliminate the inherent skepticism, lack of voter mobilization, and increase the desire within Black men to participate in electoral politics greater than the causal relationship that currently exists.

BMEP stands for “Black Male Engagement Program” and Additory means “tending to add; making an addition”, thus the name explains our approach to engage and add Black males to the active voting demographic.

BMEP Additory Approach also requires more resources and acts as an alternative to the electoral narrative which employs Progressives, Party officials, candidates, and auxiliaries to prioritize the white swing-voter over Black men. This behavior is at the core of the neglect currently eroding trust between Black men and electoral politics.

At the national and state level, the focus has never been on mobilizing Black men as the base voter. That coupled with massive voter registration projects it is clear why Black men aren’t participating in elections at higher rates. While voter registration projects are undoubtedly important, without meaningful investment in mobilizing Black men these projects fall short. We don’t have a voter registration problem with Black men, we have a voter engagement and turnout problem.

The history of the United States is a story about the disenfranchisement of millions based on their blackness. More than a hundred years of violent voter suppression, poll taxes, literacy tests, and gerrymandering have created a climate that is nothing shy of hostile towards Black men that choose to stand up and be a part of the electoral process, even if that is just being a casual voter. So if the opposition knows how to suppress the participation of Black men, then our only response must be to support a campaign that reverses these ideas. The issue of low Black male voter participation can be addressed by dedicating oneself to reversing these neo-colonial ideas. So we have.

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Ben Rhodes is a former Senior National Security Staffer and speechwriter for Barack Obama, co-host of Pod Save the World, and author of the new book "After the Fall: Being American in the World We've Made." He joined the podcast to discuss rising authoritarianism in the world, and what it means to be an American in the world we built.

Praise For After The Fall: Being American In The World We've Made…

Praise for The World as It Is

“A classic coming-of-age story, about the journey from idealism to realism, told with candor and immediacy . . . [Ben Rhodes’s] achievement is rare for a political memoir: He has written a humane and honorable book.”—The New York Times Book Review

“More than any other White House memoirist, Rhodes is a creature of the man he served.”—The New Yorker

“Insightful, funny, and moving, this is a beautifully observed, essential record of what it was like to be there.”—Samantha Power

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The Equal Rights Amendment is on the cusp of being adopted into the Constitution, if the Senate gets its stuff together. It’s the product of more than a century of work of women and allies, and I’ve invited my friend Julie Suk, author of the new book “We the Women: The Unstoppable Mothers of the Equal Rights Amendment” on the podcast to talk about the history of this movement. - Alyssa

Praise For We The Women: The Unstoppable Mothers Of The Equal Rights Amendment…

“We talk as if only men make constitutions. Julie Suk changes this. She introduces us to the diverse cast of women constitution makers who supported, and opposed, the Equal Rights Amendment over the last century. Their quest showcases concerns missing in standard accounts of the Founding, and shows us how these concerns differed among women and over time. Essential reading for those interested in the future of gender justice.”
—REVA SIEGEL, Nicholas deB. Katzenbach Professor, Yale Law School

 “Julie Suk’s We the Women is a fascinating and nuanced recounting of the history of the ERA. It brings to light the many women who made constitutional equality for women across generations, highlighting complexities not widely known; documents the unending opposition; and showcases the potential of the ERA’s meaning for the twenty-first century. It will soon be recognized as the go-to resource for the ERA’s long legislative history.”
—LOUISE MELLING, Deputy Legal Director, American Civil Liberties Union

“Meticulously researched and compulsively readable, We the Women draws important connections between the past and present, making clear how, despite long odds and many obstacles, generations of women have come together to debate and demand the conditions necessary for a more perfect union.”
—MELISSA MURRAY, Frederick I. & Grace Stokes Professor of Law, NYU School of Law

“In We the Women, Julie Suk shows us that the Equal Rights Amendment at its core was—and still is—about freedom and power. The mothers of the ERA laid the groundwork of the battle waging in this country today, and though this campaign can feel long and arduous, We the Women has left me more hopeful.”
—FATIMA GOSS GRAVES, President and CEO, National Women’s Law Center

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I’m so excited for this week’s episode. Raising girls in a way that empowers them to break barriers and change the world is one of the most important things we can do as parents. This week, I’m joined by Dr. Janice Johnson Dias, author of the new book Parent Like It Matters: How to Raise Joyful, Change-Making Girls. - Alyssa

Praise For Parent Like It Matters: How To Raise Joyful, Change-Making Girls…

“I keep a copy of the book by my bedside as a reference and as a reminder that I am working to build a reciprocal relationship with my own daughter and to ensure she goes into the world as a confident, knowing woman.”—The Washington Post

“In Parent Like It Matters, Dr. Janice Johnson Dias offers an impressive and bold roadmap for those who seek to engage passion and joy as essential elements of developing girls who thrive. Her honest and rigorous offering is a gift to parents, educators, and all adults in search of tools to cultivate the brilliance of our girls.”—Monique W. Morris, Ed.D. author of Pushout and Executive Director of Grantmakers for Girls of Color 

“I am beyond proud of my mom and her new book Parent Like It Matters! This story is a combination of faith in the power of children’s voices and a guide for focus-driven parenting, which will inspire a new generation of young change makers.”—Marley Dias, author of Marley Dias Gets It Done

“This book is an eloquent testimony from a caring mother and a practical parenting guide from an acclaimed sociologist, with advice on everything from introducing your tween to social media to helping her lift her voice for change in this world.”—Kwame Alexander, New York Times bestselling author of Light for the World to See 

“If you have a Black girl in your life- daughter, niece, neighbor, student- you owe it to her to read this book. Part memoir, part advice column, part workbook, Dr. Janice Johnson Dias has crafted a wholly originally, deeply challenging, and expansively joyful guide to walking beside the girl in your life as she finds voice, courage, purpose, and self.”—Melissa Harris-Perry, co-host of the podcast System Check and the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University 

“Parent Like It Matters gives me hope for girls to dream themselves into the future as healed, whole, powerful, actualized women—because this book will help to cocreate healed, whole, powerful, actualized parents to support them on their journey.”—EbonyJanice Moore, Hip Hop Womanist Scholar and Founder of Black Girl Mixtape & The Free People Project

“Parent Like It Matters is a stunning and pathbreaking how-to guide and memoir for every mom, dad or caregiver who believes in rearing children to be healthy individuals and caring citizens. Combining her talents as a leading sociologist, the wisdom of her grandmother, and the experience of raising talented change-agents in her community, Dr. Johnson Dias makes clear in this beautifully written book that there may be no more important responsibility.”—Khalil Gibran Muhammad, author of The Condemnation of Blackness

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The economy has fundamentally changed, and workers have been left behind. To get into why and how, and what we can do about it, I’ve invited Sara Horowitz. Sara is the founder and executive director of the Freelancers Union and author of the new book Mutualism: Building the Next Economy from the Ground Up. After listening, learn more at Sara's website www.build-mutualism.net.

Praise For Mutualism: Building The Next Economy From The Ground Up…

“Horowitz gives us the model to build our next progressive institutions. Her vision provides a path forward to build the next safety net that will meet the needs of all workers in the next economy—an economy that is already here!”—Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers

“Horowitz, who had the brilliant idea of founding a union for freelancers, explains in this thoughtful book how in an age of huge economic turbulence, mutualism will play a major role in building a fairer nation for every American worker.”—Steven Greenhouse, author of Beaten Down, Worked Up: The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor

“In describing a mutualist sector, Horowitz draws on the collective economic development strategies used by cooperative, union, mutual, and faith-based movements. I’m particularly pleased that she includes the critical bridging roles A. Philip Randolph and Bayard Rustin played in connecting these movements during the civil rights era. This book provides wonderful insights for what to do now.”—Jessica Gordon-Nembhard, PhD, economist, John Jay College, CUNY 

“Horowitz offers readers an entirely new way to think about our needs as workers and citizens and about the institutions we might build to meet those needs. Here is the guidebook to a language and tradition that America must rediscover in order to thrive in the twenty-first century.”—Oren Cass, director of American Compass and author of The Once and Future Worker: A Vision for the Renewal of Work in America 

“In this powerful, deeply encouraging book, Sara Horowitz argues that while neither markets nor governments have been able to reduce inequality or increase inclusion, we have a third option: mutualism—or the creation of organizations that combine commitment to the public good with the ability to sustain themselves economically.”—Rebecca Henderson, economist, Harvard University

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Wall Street is one of the largest contributors to our political system, and that translates into political power which often benefits the rich over the rest of us.

To discuss, we've invited Carter Dougherty to the show. Carter is the Communications Director of Americans for Financial Reform, a coalition of more than 200 civil rights, consumer, labor, business, investor, faith-based, and civic and community groups working to create an ethical financial system for everyone in America.

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Despite the push for federal executions in the last days of the Trump regime, there is huge momentum for the elimination of the Death Penalty in America. Maurice Chammah joins the podcast this week to discuss the state of capital punishment, what it means for America, and his new book on the subject Let the Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty.

Praise For Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise And Fall Of The Death Penalty…

“A searing history of the rise and fall of capital punishment . . . Let the Lord Sort Them urges readers to reckon with the ugliest aspects of Texas history, and with how the political debate over the death penalty has elided the long-lasting trauma that executions inflict on everyone involved.”—Texas Monthly

“It’s a book pitched straight into the gulf between universal theory and individual experience.”—Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic

“Maurice Chammah has given us an indispensable history of how the debate over capital punishment has taken shape in our courts. And by centering the book deep in the heart of Texas, ‘the epicenter of the death penalty,’ he lays bare the human experience of litigating these heartrending cases through remarkably intimate, fair-minded, and trustworthy reporting on the people arguing over the fate of human life.”—Robert Kolker, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family

“An extraordinarily hopeful glimpse of a future in which we are finally beginning to imagine a very different version of justice—one in which the immediate and generational fallout is not so devastating.”—Heather Ann Thompson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and Its Legacy

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Our guest this week is Christian Picciolini. Christian is an activist, author and speaker who is a former white supremacist but is doing the hard work of reconciliation and helping other people leave hate groups through his nonprofit The Free Radicals Project. His newest book Breaking Hate: Confronting the Culture of Extremism is now available.

Praise For Breaking Hate: Confronting The New Culture Of Extremism…

"This riveting narrative portrays on an intensely personal level the impacts of extremism. Encouragingly, it also identifies a method for recovery. Picciolini's experience and practice reinforce the truism that hate is a learned behavior, and it can be unlearned. Breaking Hate should be required reading for all citizens who care about dangerous behavior, want to understand it, and are committed to reducing it."—James Clapper, former US Director of National Intelligence

"Riveting, horrifying, and hopeful, Breaking Hate provides a careful and detailed account of how to stop society's death spiral into extremism, and when we need it most urgently."—S.E. Cupp, nationally syndicated columnist and CNN host, author of Losing Our Religion

"With piercing insight and unrivaled compassion, Breaking Hate tells the tragic story of how extremism has torn our communities asunder and how every American can work together to end the epidemic of violence that has taken so many of our loved ones. In a country where more than 96 percent of mass shootings are perpetrated by men, we need to find ways of helping our boys grow into healthy young men who not only reject hate but also feel they have paths forward in today's economy."—Andrew Yang, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate

"Gripping and timely...Written with authority and first-hand experience...Breaking Hate is filled with rare insights that put today's rise of white supremacy into perspective -- and shows us how to stop it."—Ali Soufan, former FBI special agent and New York Times bestselling author of Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State

"Breaking Hate is a groundbreaking book. It reveals the depths of the modern white-power extremist movement and illustrates how easily the children of good-hearted, proud Americans can become transformed and corrupted...A sorrowfully necessary book for the dark period America has found itself in."—Malcolm Nance, counter-terrorism analyst for NBC News and New York Times bestselling author of The Plot to Betray America, from the foreword

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Disinformation is overwhelming our culture. From politics to medicine, investments to history, we’re drowning in it, and so we've invited our friend Nina Jankowicz back to the show. Nina is the disinformation fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Institute and author of How to Lose the Information war. She's the author of How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News and the Future of Conflict and a recent article in Wired titled Online Harassment Toward Women Is Getting Even More Insidious. 

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April 15th is normally Tax Day in America, and while COVID has prompted the IRS to extend the deadline this year, we wanted to take a look at inequities in the tax code. Dorothy Brown, Law Professor at Emory College and author of the new book "The Whiteness of Wealth" studies exactly this issue, and joined Alyssa Milano to share her insights.

Praise For The Whiteness Of Wealth: How The Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans--And How We Can Fix It

“This enlightening book is a vital companion to The New Jim Crow, The Color of Wealth, and Evicted, for how it reimagines everything you thought you knew about U.S. social policy.”—Tressie McMillan Cottom, MacArthur Fellow and author of Thick: And Other Essays

“This book is a tour de force. With clarity and conviction, Dorothy Brown reveals how U.S. tax policy sustains and deepens the wealth gap between black and white Americans. As I read The Whiteness of Wealth, I found myself shaking my head as I eagerly turned the pages and shouting ‘damn’ with each revelation. If we are finally to address the long history of racism in this country, we must grapple with the arguments of Brown’s powerful book. This is a MUST read for these troubling times.”—Eddie S. Glaude Jr., New York Times bestselling author of Begin Again and Democracy in Black

“I couldn’t put it down! Dorothy Brown skillfully weaves her analysis of the racial bias in tax law with compelling personal stories of both Black and White taxpayers as well as policy recommendations for how to bring equity to our tax system.”—Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD, New York Times bestselling author of Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?

“At once passionate and analytical, The Whiteness of Wealth is a bracing contribution to the history of policy racism that takes us to the heart of taxation’s effects on patterns of economic distribution.”—Ira Katznelson, author of When Affirmative Action Was White

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Nonviolence and peace are not the same thing. Nonviolent action is action. It’s not passive. It requires courage and dedication and perseverance and being very, very smart and even more strategic. It is an act of destruction, but not an act of bloodletting. It is the path we need to take to tear down the systems of oppression that are so very evident in America today and build something better and more equitable for all of us.

This week we're honored to be joined by Jamila Raqib. Jamila is a former Nobel peace prize nominee and director of the Albert Einstein Institution which promotes nonviolent action around the world.

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Our guests this week are Ben Relles, Head of Innovation for Youtube Originals, and Tess Finkle, Founder of Metro Public Relations. Together, they lead #GoodToVote, a non-partisan voter registration and engagement initiative featuring celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson, David Dobrik and many more rewarding fans for registering to vote.

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Critical legislation on issues ranging from racial justice, the Equal Rights Amendment, gun violence prevention, economic justice, LGBTQIA rights, and so much more are at risk of dying in the senate because of the tyranny of the minority. The filibuster, an accident of the senate rules, is holding the chamber hostage, turning a majority-rule body into an arena of obstructionism. 

To discuss the filibuster and efforts to do away with it, we invited Adam Jentleson on to the show. Adam served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, where he advised on strategy and led one of the largest and most diverse communications teams on Capitol Hill during the Obama administration. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Politico Magazine. His new book Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy is now available.

Praise For Kill Switch: The Rise Of The Modern Senate And The Crippling Of American Democracy

Adam Jentleson’s Kill Switch is the most exquisitely timed book I’ve encountered in years. Jentleson’s explanation of the filibuster’s ignominious roots, and of the mendacious arguments made today by its defenders, is careful and thorough and exacting. Every senator should be forced to read it and then reread it.

— Michael Tomasky - New York Review of Books

[An] excellent, surprising new book . . . Jentleson is knowledgeable and adept, offering an account of increasingly flagrant obstruction that culminates in the age of McConnell.

— Benjamin Wallace-Wells - The New Yorker

An impeccably timed book. . . . In Kill Switch, Jentleson explains how ‘the world’s greatest deliberative body’ has come to carry out its work without much greatness or even deliberation, serving instead as a place where ambitious legislation goes to die. . . . [Jentleson’s] intimacy with the Senate turns out to be his book’s greatest strength. Jentleson understands the inner workings of the institution, down to the most granular details, showing precisely how arcane procedural rules can be leveraged to dramatic effect.

— Jennifer Szalai - New York Times

[L]eading Democrats, including Reid and former president Barack Obama, are pressing for a sweeping rehab of the “home” Biden has found so comfortable. Kill Switch: The Rise of the Modern Senate and the Crippling of American Democracy, a new book by Adam Jentleson, makes for a powerful brief on their behalf… a compelling read.

— Kathy Kiely - Washington Post

[A]n important new book… Adam Jentleson offers a harrowing portrait of how anti-majoritarian dysfunction has paralyzed the U.S. Senate… he writes with an insider’s knowledge… As the Senate has deviated further and further from majoritarian norms, the House and the state legislatures have followed. Among the great merits of Jentleson’s Kill Switch is that it reminds us how recent this trend is.

— David Frum - The Atlantic

[P]erfectly timed… authoritative and well-documented.

— Lloyd Green - The Guardian

[A] powerful historical account.

— Julian Zelizer - CNN.com

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Our guest this week is David F. Walker. David is an award-winning writer known primarily for his work in comics including Luke Cage and Bitter Root. He is the co-creator, with illustrator Marcus Kwame Anderson, of the new graphic novel history “The Black Panther Party.”

ABOUT THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY

A bold and fascinating graphic novel history of the revolutionary Black Panther Party.

Founded in Oakland, California, in 1966, the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense was a radical political organization that stood in defiant contrast to the mainstream civil rights movement. This gripping illustrated history explores the impact and significance of the Panthers, from their social, educational, and healthcare programs that were designed to uplift the Black community to their battle against police brutality through citizen patrols and frequent clashes with the FBI, which targeted the Party from its outset.

Using dramatic comic book-style retellings and illustrated profiles of key figures, The Black Panther Party captures the major events, people, and actions of the party, as well as their cultural and political influence and enduring legacy.

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It's been a year since the coronavirus was declared a global pandemic. As bad as COVID is in the United States, we have the resources to confront it head on. But what about people in poorer countries around the world? Americans spent billions of dollars to develop the COVID vaccine, and now drug companies are selling it to the highest bidder. To examine the state of the global pandemic and what we can do to fight it equitably, we've invited Gina Cummings of Oxfam America and Dr. Vanessa Kerry of Seed Global Health to the podcast.

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On February 23rd, 2021, Alyssa Milano hosted a special live episode of Sorry Not Sorry with Congressman John Sarbanes of Maryland’s 3rd Congressional District. He’s the lead sponsor of H.R. 1, the “for the people act.” This act corrects so many critical shortcomings and vulnerabilities in our election system, and is one of the most important pieces of legislation in the Congress in a very long time. This is a rebroadcast of that live episode.

About Rep. Sarbanes

Congressman John Sarbanes has represented Maryland’s Third Congressional District in the U.S. Congress since 2007. He currently serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, in addition to the House Subcommittee on Health and the House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change. Congressman Sarbanes also serves on the House Oversight and Reform Committee and its Subcommittee on Government Operations. Since 2017, he has chaired the Democracy Reform Task Force, a bold effort in the House of Representatives to build a government that puts the public's interests ahead of special interests.

Born and raised in Baltimore, Congressman Sarbanes has experience working in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. He and his family live in Towson, giving him the opportunity to drive home every night and hear from the people he serves in Congress. Listening to their concerns allows him to better represent Maryland and has shaped his work in the House of Representatives.

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Our guest this week is Heather McGhee. Heather is the Chair of the Board of Directors for Color of Change, America’s largest racial justice organization. She’s also the author of the new book “The Sum of Us,” now available in bookstores across the country.

ABOUT THE SUM OF US

One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color.

“This is the book I’ve been waiting for.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist

Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common root problem: racism. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?

McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way, she meets white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams, and their shot at better jobs to the toxic mix of American racism and greed. This is the story of how public goods in this country—from parks and pools to functioning schools—have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world’s advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare.

But in unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee finds proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: gains that come when people come together across race, to accomplish what we simply can’t do on our own.

The Sum of Us is a brilliant analysis of how we arrived here: divided and self-destructing, materially rich but spiritually starved and vastly unequal. McGhee marshals economic and sociological research to paint an irrefutable story of racism’s costs, but at the heart of the book are the humble stories of people yearning to be part of a better America, including white supremacy’s collateral victims: white people themselves. With startling empathy, this heartfelt message from a Black woman to a multiracial America leaves us with a new vision for a future in which we finally realize that life can be more than a zero-sum game.

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After producing The Hangover and its sequels, Scott Budnick took the incredibly rare step of leaving Hollywood to work full-time on sentencing reform and keeping young people out of jail. Through his work with the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, he was instrumental in passing sentencing reform and other key social justice measures in California. He's continuing in this work and is now pack in Hollywood with One Community, a production company making socially-minded entertainment.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene has been stripped of her committee assignments in Congress, but California Congressman Jimmy Gomez doesn't think that's enough. In this week's episode, he joins Alyssa Milano to discuss why he wants to expel the QAnon-supporting, gun-toting, victim-blaming conspiracy theorist from the halls of American government.

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Our guest this week is Desmond Meade.  When Desmond was sentenced on felony charges, he lost his right to vote. After completing his sentence, on the other side of addiction and the recipient of a law degree, Desmond was the driving force behind Amendment 4, a constitutional amendment which restored voting rights to those in Florida who served their sentences and were back in society. He joined Alyssa Milano to discuss his successes and the current state of voter reinfranchisement in Florida. 

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Our guest is Laura Packard. Laura is a Stage 4 cancer survivor, a national co-chair of Health Care Voter, and an advocate for effective and affordable health care for everyone. In 2017, just as the Congress was trying to end the Affordable Care Act, Laura was diagnosed with cancer. Like millions of Americans, losing access to affordable healthcare would have been a death sentence, and it inspired a life of activism for Laura.

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Our guest this week is Marc Elias. Marc is an election law attorney who has been at the forefront of protecting voting rights and stopping political interference in elections. Marc is also the founder of Democracy Docket, a website and newsletter that highlights voter suppression efforts and his actions to stop them from taking effect.

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In the week before this episode airs, the sickness and violence in our country again came into harsh focus. An insurrection, spurred by the delusional, hateful, and outgoing President of the United States resulted in five deaths and the desecration of the seat of our government. 

This episode has healing. This episode has magic. This episode has Kwame Alexander.

Kwame Alexander is the New York Times Bestselling author of 32 books, including THE UNDEFEATED, HOW TO READ A BOOK, THE WRITE THING,  SWING, REBOUND, which was shortlisted for prestigious Carnegie Medal, and, his NEWBERY medal-winning middle grade novel, THE CROSSOVER. He’s also the Founding Editor of VERSIFY, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt that aims to Change the World One Word at a Time. His new book Light for the World to See: A Thousand Words on Race and Hope is now available.

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On January 3rd, 2020, the Washington Post broke news of a truly shocking phone call between Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Since then, multiple media outlets have obtained the full recording of that call. We're providing it here, unedited and in its entirety, and reminding you that on January 5th Georgia has a special election.  Republicans in the Senate are trying to overturn the will of Georgia voters, and the will of the American voters. 

Keep that in mind as you vote, Georgia.

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Our guest this week is D.W. Gibson. D.W. is an awarding-winning writer who shared a National Magazine Award for his work on “This is the Story of One Block in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn” for New York magazine. His work has also appeared in Harper’s, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Nation.  He joins us to discuss his new book 14 Miles: Building the Border Wall.

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2020 was one hell of a year. On January 1st, none of us could have imagined that a pandemic would completely change the way we interacted with one another and that our government would be so very bad at managing it. We experienced a popular uprising for justice, an economic collapse, and, of course, a presidential election. Along the way we had so many important conversations about so many critical issues. This week, we’re taking a look back at just a few of my favorite moments from Sorry Not Sorry in 2020. We hope you enjoyed them as much as I did.

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Mark Shanahan is a writer and reporter for the Boston Globe. He’s also a prostate cancer survivor who developed the podcast Mr. 80 percent for the globe detailing his experience with prostate cancer.  After his diagnosis and during treatment, Mark had to re-examine and rebuild relationships and consider what it means to be a man if your sexual function is at risk. Be forewarned, this episode has very frank discussions about sex and anatomy, so if you haven’t had the birds and bees chat with your kids, make sure they’re out of earshot.

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Sex is the elephant in the room that most people can’t stop thinking about but also which most of us have no good language to discuss. We hide it, or we flaunt it, and far too many learn from porn, which is so rarely a good teacher about good sex.

We owe it to ourselves to be better. We deserve the ability to talk about sex without hiding from it, to have clear and honest discussions of what we want—assuming those conversations are with partners who also want to have these discussions and not just women you happen to see on the internet—and find shameless ways to realize those desires.

Our guest this week is Dr. Nan Wise. Nan is a neuroscientist and sex therapist, and author of the book “Why Good Sex Matters.” It’s such an important discussion, but be aware that it does contain frank conversation about sex and sexual trauma, and listeners should use their own discretion. Additionally, this episode focuses on sex and sexual pleasure and as such does not specifically discuss asexuality. We see, support and acknowledge our Ace listeners. To learn more about Asexuality, visit the Trevor Project. 

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Our guest this week is Jill Twiss. Jill is a former writer for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, where she won Emmy and Peabody awards and wrote “A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo.” She’s the author of the new children’s book about voting called “Everyone Gets a Say.”

About Everyone Gets a Say:

Don't miss this picture book about voting from the #1 New York Times bestselling team behind Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Presents: A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo and The Someone New.

Pudding the snail and his friends can’t seem to agree on anything. Whatever Jitterbug the chipmunk wants, Geezer the goose does not. Whatever Toast the butterfly wants, Duffles and Nudge the otters are absolutely against. And if somehow Toast and Duffles and Jitterbug and Nudge all agree on something, then Geezer is not having it.

So when Toast suggests they need a leader, the friends try to figure out the best way to pick someone to be in charge. Should that someone be the fastest? The fluffiest? The squishiest? Or can Pudding show his friends that there just might be a way where everyone gets a say?

In this follow-up to The Someone New, Jill Twiss and EG Keller cleverly underscore the importance of speaking up and using your voice.

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As the Trump presidency winds to its chaotic end, we examine Trump's approach to the world stage with our guest Jim Sciutto. Jim is an Emmy-award wining journalist, Senior National Security Correspondent for CNN, a former diplomatic Chief of Staff during the Obama Administration, and the author of the new book The Madman Theory: Trump Takes on the World.

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It’s Thanksgiving week, and we have an episode for you that will change the way you see the holiday. Our guest today is Denise Kiernan. Denise is an author, journalist and producer. Her books, The Last Castle, and The Girls of Atomic City were national bestsellers. She joins us to discuss her new book We Gather Together: A Nation Divided, A President in Turmoil, and a Historic Campaign to Embrace Gratitude and Grace.

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Our guest this week is Samantha Busch. Samantha is a lifestyle blogger, writer, business owner, and infertility activist. Her husband, Kyle Busch, is a two-time NASCAR cup champion. The  pair founded the Bundle of Joy Fund to help couples struggling with infertility to afford their treatments.

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So the 2020 election is in the history books. On Thursday, November 5th – two days after the polls closed – we hosted the first ever live episode of Sorry Not Sorry to put it in perspective. Our guests had such great information, and so many smart things to say that I know you’ll forgive the slightly less than perfect audio that comes from a live streamed event.  

At the time, it was clear that Biden has a significant popular vote margin, and was then about four million votes ahead of Donald Trump. But, despite that big win, the electoral college was not settled. Disunity still in our country, with a huge divide between Trump’s supporters and Biden’s supporters over the fundamental questions of what it means to be American.

But the issues in this election go far wider than the presidency. Control of the senate still hangs in the balance, and won’t be decided until January. The conronavirus just reached its highest daily rate of new infections since the pandemic started and the fate of the affordable care act will decided by the Supreme Court, and what happens with healthcare by the new government next year. More than 100,000 Americans are victims of gun violence each year, and 40,000 of them die. And we can’t find the families of more than 500 immigrant children we separated at the border.

It’s a lot. To help us make sense of it all, I’ve invited an incredible group of experts here tonight. We were joined by E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the author of Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite to Save Our Country, Jesse Wegman is a member of the New York Times Editorial Board and the author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College, Po Murray is Chair of the Newtown Action Alliance, Laura Packard is National Co-Chair of Health Care Voter, and Hassan Ahmad is an immigration attorney and immigrant rights activist.

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Angela Glover Blackwell is an attorney and founder in residence of PolicyLink, a national research and action institute advancing racial and economic equity by lifting up what works. Her work changes lives and changes hearts, and our conversation was so enlightening. Please listen to her words, take them in, and channel them into action.

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Santiago Mayer, Randi Garcia, Jerome Foster, Sophia Shapiro, and Matthew Weinstein are young voters and activists attending colleges across America. They—and their generation—lost so much this year when COVID struck and schools closed. Graduations, summer vacations, and other important rites of passage, like their Proms. And so, they came together to form Prom at the Polls—an incredible initiative designed to bring young voters to the polls in massive numbers. They inspire us, and we're sure they’ll inspire you, too. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

This episode features two amazing women doing hugely important things for our democracy. Our first guest is Amanda Litman. Amanda is the co-founder and executive director of Run for Something, an organization supporting young candidates running in state and local elections. Later in the program, we hear from Kat Calvin, founder and executive director of Spread the Vote, a non-profit dedicated to clearing obstacles that keep poor people from getting the IDs needed to vote.

Have you made your voting plan? Have you voted yet? It's not too late, and your democracy needs you. Visit IWillVote.com to get started.

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Elizabeth Lesser is a bestselling author and the cofounder of Omega Institute, the renowned conference and retreat center located in Rhinebeck, New York. Elizabeth’s first book, The Seeker’s Guide, chronicles her years at Omega and distills lessons learned into a potent guide for growth and healing. Her New York Times bestselling book, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow, has sold almost 500,000 copies and has been translated into 20 languages. Her newest book Cassandra Speaks: When Women are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes reveals how humanity has outgrown its origin tales and hero myths, and empowers women to trust their instincts, find their voice, and tell new guiding stories.

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Julian Castro has been many things: Mayor of San Antonio, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the Obama Administration, Author of An Unlikely Journey: Waking Up from My American Dream, 2018 presidential candidate, and now is hosting the new podcast "Our America." He’s a brilliant advocate for making sure everyone who is searching can find the American Dream

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Our guest this week is Ebony Underwood. Ebony is a Soros Justice Fellow and the daughter of William Underwood, who has served decades of a cruel and unnecessarily harsh mandatory life sentence without parole. As the founder and CEO of We Got Us Now, Ebony is an advocate for children impacted by parental incarceration and keeping families connected and doing incredible and important work.

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In the new book Shattering Glass: A Nasty Woman Anthology, Kelli Stanley of Nasty Woman Press brought together essays from so many remarkable women, and she’s brought two of them here with her today. From 1993-2017, Barbara Boxer represented California in the United States Senate, where she was a hero for women’s rights. Valerie Plame served as an undercover agent in the CIA protecting our national interests until she was outed by senior members of the Bush Administration. All three of these remarkable women joined Alyssa Milano for a very spirited discussion. Enjoy!

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Chris Murphy is the United States Senator From Connecticut. Before his election to the senate in 2012, he served the people of Connecticut’s fifth congressional district in the House of Representatives.  He’s the author of the remarkable new book The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy. This powerful examination traces the roots of violence in America to our shameful history of slavery and American gun culture. It is now available to order.

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Fred Guttenberg is the first person we’ve asked back on the podcast for a second episode. His brother Michael was a doctor and a 9/11 responder who died in 2017 from 9/11 related cancer. Fred's family was still grieving when his daughter Jaime was murdered five months later in the Parkland school shooting. But rather than run from it, Fred’s spent every second of every day fighting to make sure it never happened again. His new book Find the Helpers: What 9/11 and Parkland Taught Me About Recovery, Purpose, and Hope is available order now.

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In 40% of presidential elections this century, the electoral college selected a candidate who lost the popular vote. This institution results in mostly white, rural voters having votes which count much, much more than voters of color in more populous locations. We've asked Jesse Wegman on this episode to discuss the electoral college and efforts to mitigate it. Jesse is a New York Times Editorial Board member and the author of Let the People Pick the President: The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College.

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The United States Postal Service is under attack—from our own government. Donald Trump, terrified of a landslide loss, is manipulating the mail to make it harder to vote. And his new Postmaster General is a nightmare. Louis DeJoy has financial holdings in post office contractors and competitors and has been sabotaging the Post Office’s ability to sort and deliver mail in a timely fashion. Alyssa Milano asked New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney on the show to talk about it. Carolyn is the Chairwoman of the House Oversight Committee, which has jurisdiction over the post office and a champion for the Equal Rights Amendment.

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Shockingly, in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century, children and teachers are being forced back into schools at the risk of their own lives. Already, we’ve seen outbreaks in schools across the nation, and a president that refuses to bow to science in a sick attempt at political gain. Nicholas Ferroni is a nationally recognized educator and activist who educates, mentors and inspires students to reach their goals while driving a national dialogue about education reform. He joined Alyssa Milano to talk about the state of schools, and going back to school, during COVID-19.

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Ron Klain served as Chief of Staff to both Vice President Gore and Vice President Biden before being appointed by President Obama as his Ebola Czar in 2014. He’s now an advisor to the Biden Campaign who appeared at the Democratic National Convention. He has amazing first-hand insight into the problems and opportunities facing America today.

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Last year, Katie Hill left the House of Representatives after her abusive ex-husband released personal photos of her without her consent. In a swarm of misogyny and puritanical faux outrage of these photos, the 30-year-old Congresswoman was railroaded out of office. But Katie’s not done. Since leaving office, she’s started a PAC, a Podcast, and is the author of the newly released book She Will Rise.

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Representing Ohio’s 13th district since 2013, Tim Ryan has been a stalwart voice for blue-collar workers and manufacturing jobs. He ran for the Democratic nomination for president in the 2020 elections. More recently, he’s been working with Urban Yogis on Breathe for Eight, a mindfulness campaign in support of racial justice.

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Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been representing California’s 13th district since 1999. She was the only person in Congress to vote against the expanded use of force authorization immediately after the 9/11 attacks and has been a constant force for peace in Congress since. She is working now to advance a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission through Congress.

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In 2018 Doug Jones won a special election to replace Jeff Sessions in the United States Senate. Since then, he’s been one of the few members who can reach across the aisle and find common ground on important issues affecting veterans, access to healthcare, and more. Doug’s a moderate, and a former prosecutor who tried the people who bombed the 16th street Baptist Church in Birmingham. He’s up for reelection in 2020, and he joined Alyssa Milano to make the case as to why he is the right person to continue to represent Alabama in the senate.

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In 2016, disinformation from foreign sources like Russia had a devastating effect on our domestic politics, and we’re still paying the price. They’re not stopping in 2020, and their tactics are expanding. It’s so important to understand what’s happening and what we can do about it, so we’ve invited Nina Jankowicz on the show.

Nina is the Disinformation Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She’s also the author of the new book “How to Lose the Information War: Russia, Fake News, and The Future of Conflict.”

Transcript available at https://sorrynotsorrypod.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Transcript-Alyssa-Milano-Sorry-Not-Sorry-Ep-68-Nina-Jankowicz.pdf

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For nearly thirty years, women in the Mexican border city of Juarez have been disappearing, many of them turning up dead in mass graves. We don’t know who the killers are. Very few people have been charged, and fewer convicted. My guests today have been dedicated to finding out why. Oz Woloshyn and Monica Oritz Uribe, host the amazing podcast Forgotten: The women of Juarez, the final episode of which is now available.  It's both a powerful true crime story and an important human rights story that you won't want to miss. Sponsored by CandidCo - Sorry Not Sorry get $75 off their custom teeth alignment when they visit www.candidco.com/sorry. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Richie Reseda experienced the school to prison pipeline first-hand when he was sentenced to ten years in prison as a teenager. While incarcerated, Richie started Success Stories, a feminist group for prisoners which gained national attention. He’s a wonderful musician, a talented designer, and a leader in the fight for abolition of police and prisons. He has such an inspiring story and gives us so much hope for the future.

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In the wake of the police murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many more people, criminal justice reform has surged to the forefront of the national debate. From the racial biases in policing to the criminalization of poverty and for-profit prisons, our criminal justice system is broken. We've asked Alyssa Milano's friend Eliza Orlins on the show this week to talk about these issues and more.

Eliza spent years as a public defender in New York City and is now a candidate for Manhattan District Attorney. You may also recognize her as a two time contestant on Survivor and as a contestant on The Amazing Race.

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Our guest this week is A.G., co-host of the brilliant podcasts Mueller She Wrote and the Daily Beans. She’s also a Navy veteran who experienced sexual assault while serving and a former Veterans Affairs department staffer who lost her job in Trump’s loyalty purges. Her experience, insight, and humor can teach all of us. And just a warning—this episode contains frank discussions of sexual assault and trauma. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Many of you may be surprised by our guest for this episode. David Frum is a proud conservative, having served in the George W. Bush administration as a speechwriter, where he is credited with coining the phrase “axis of evil.” He and I don’t agree on a lot of things. But it turns out Donald Trump is the great uniter after all. Following on the success of his book Trumpocracy, David has just released his book Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy. It’s a powerful argument against Trumpism, and I hope you all will put politics aside and listen. He has interesting and important things to say. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Today’s episode is a treat. We’ve invited David Litt, one of President Obama’s speechwriters, on to the show. He’s very funny, and we’d be lying if we said it wasn’t a bittersweet interview remembering when we had a president who had a sense of humor and was able to complete a sentence. David’s got a new book out, Democracy in One Book or Less, and we think you’ll find our conversation inspiring. I know we sure did.

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This special Juneteenth Eve episode features Ben Jealous. Ben is the newly elected president of People for the American Way, the former Democratic nominee for governor of Maryland, and the youngest person ever elected to be president of the NAACP. He’s a brilliant organizer, a great mind, and has truly deep knowledge of American history. It’s an honor to welcome him to the show. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery. Stephon Clark. Tamir Rice. Michael Brown. Philando Castile. John Crawford. Akai Gurley. Freddie Gray. We say their names over and over again. The list never stops. Black and Brown Americans murdered by police at wildly disproportionate rates, and a white America which refuses to surrender our power and privilege to stop this from happening.

And in the middle of the latest national response to the murder of George Floyd comes Juneteenth. It’s a commemoration of the day in June when slaves were freed at the end of the Civil War. To mark this history, and to speak frankly about systemic racism, we have two episodes this week where we look at the history and the future of racism in America.

On this powerful episode, our guest is Blair Imani. Blair is a critically-acclaimed historian, outspoken advocate and activist, and dynamic public speaker. The author of two historical books: Modern HERstory: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History and Making Our Way Home: The Great Migration and The Black American Dream, she centers women and girls, global Black communities, and the LGBTQ community. She is the co-host of America Did What?!, an educational podcast and anti-racism initiative with Kate Robards. 

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ICE and CBP continue to detain immigrants in facilities without adequate medical care, sanitation supplies, or even the ability to maintain a safe social distance. At the same time, our weak, failed president is using the pandemic as an excuse to end all legal immigration to our country, increase family separations, and even deport sick immigrants after diagnosis. Our guests today are on the right side of that fight, working to make life better for immigrant communities. Jenn Budd is a former supervising agent in the Border Patrol who exposed racist, nationalist policies in the agency. Andrea Guerrero is executive director of Alliance San Diego, a community-based organization supporting the immigrant community in that city. They are on the ground, fighting the fight every day. Please listen. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

On the same day Donald Trump’s regime ordered the national guard to violently clear several city blocks with tear gas and rubber bullets so that he, surrounded by secret service, police, and military could take a walk to a church for a photo op before scurrying back to hide in his bunker, the temporary occupant of the white house had a phone call with governors. And get this, he called them weak. We all know Trump is the weakest, most insecure narcissist in America—but this call underscores just how horrible, how unfit, and how dangerous he is. It’s presented here unedited in its entirety. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Alyssa Milano first met Congressman Steve Cohen when she went to Washington for a shadow hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment. She was instantly impressed with his candor, his humor, and his passion for doing the right thing. And each of those traits shine through in the conversation you’re about to listen to. If you don’t know Steve, he’s a Democrat serving Tennessee’s 9th District, which includes Memphis. He serves on the House Judiciary Committee, where he chairs the subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties. We're so happy he agreed to come on the show, so you all get to see how special he is. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

In 2018, Jocelyn Benson was elected as Secretary of State in Michigan. It was part of an historic sweep, where women were also elected to the Governorship and to the Attorney General’s office. Then the coronavirus hit, and Donald Trump went on the warpath, personally attacking Governor Whitmer as she fought to get her citizens access to needed medical equipment. He’s now also attacked Jocelyn, calling her a “rogue secretary of state” for her plan to make sure all Michigan voters can apply to get an absentee ballot this fall, keeping them safe from the coronavirus and ensuring everyone has a chance to vote. She joined us to talk about the monumental importance of voting rights in the age of Trump and COVID-19. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

When we think of smart, insightful political commentary, one of the first names that comes to mind is E.J. Dionne. He’s a regular on NPR, MSNBC, and PBS, an opinion journalist for The Washington Post, a former staffer for the New York Times, and a lecturer at Georgetown and Harvard. His new book Code Red: How Progressives and Moderates Can Unite To Save Our Country is on bookstore shelves now. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

When the nation was shut down due to the coronavirus, people in all professions were impacted. Hit especially hard were up-and-coming performers, including musicians, actors, dancers, and comedians. Ben Gleib, a comedian and former presidential candidate, found a way to bring live comedy back to audiences, providing work for performers and much-needed laughter to people around the world. His Social Distancing Social Club and Nowhere Comedy Club are essential business in our view, and we’re so happy to have him on the show. Featuring comedy from Ben Gleib, Greg Proops, Jill Maragos and other very funny people. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

We all know the stats. Women make up more than half of the population around the world, and yet are dramatically underrepresented in government, in business, and in leadership positions. But we also know that when women lead, amazing things happen. This week, we feature several of those leaders who work with Vital Voices. This amazing organization invests in women leaders in every corner of the globe, and the work they do is changing the world. In this extended episode, we hear from Alyse Nelson, the President of Vital Voices. Lina Kalifeh, founder of the SheFighter self defense for women, Esra’a al-Shafei, a Bahraini activist fighting for LGBTQ rights in the Middle East and North Africa, and Kah Walla, the first woman to run for president in Cameroon. Each of these women have stories of power and pain, and I hope you listen well. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

We are so focused on our physical health right now, but we are a social species and our emotional and spiritual health is suffering in isolation. There are increased calls to suicide hotlines, and people around the nation and world are struggling. We've invited James Bottoms and Camille Loftin on the show to talk about how we can care for ourselves emotionally and spiritually during these difficult days. Camille brings movement therapy, yoga, and meditation to marginalized and unhoused communities as well as to those suffering from PTSD, and those recovering from physical injury. She works extensively with adults with developmental disabilities, creating movement therapy programs to help cultivate strong interpersonal connections as well as personal growth and development amongst participants. James Bottoms is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with an extensive background helping individuals and couples navigate the difficulties of relationships and sexuality, as well as helping many individuals and families recover from depression, anxiety and addictive/ compulsive behaviors. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

A few weeks ago, renowned doctor, vaccine scientist, and educator Peter Hotez came on the show to answer some questions about the state of the coronavirus. Since then, we’ve seen the pandemic flood over America. Tens of thousands have died, and hotspots continue to break out across the nation. And yet, President Trump seems hell-bent on reopening the economy and attacking the science, scientists, and elected officials trying to save lives at every turn. Republican governors are already taking action to open businesses and recreation areas, frothy-mouthed protesters are endangering us all, and we still have no effective treatment for the disease. And so today, we've him back to update us on where things stand with the virus at home and around the world. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

This week marks the 50th celebration of Earth Day.  This week's guest is Bill McKibben. Bill is one of the premiere environmental activists and educators in the world. His book “The End of Nature” was  first book about climate change and influenced a generation of politicians and activists, and he continues to do so around the world as the co-founder of 350.org.

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Our guest this week is Andy Slavitt. Andy is a leading expert on healthcare in America. As Acting Administrator of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services under President Obama, he took over management of healthcare.gov after a difficult rollout and got it up and running. He’s the founder of United States of Care - a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to expanding healthcare to everyone, the host of the In the Bubble podcast, and Alyssa Milano's friend.

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Many of the failures we are seeing around the coronavirus response could have been prevented by strong leadership in the area of public health. My guest today, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, is no stranger to this leadership. As a physician and former Health Director for the city of Detroit, Abdul saw firsthand how important this work is in the day-to-day lives of Americans. He was a candidate for governor of Michigan in 2016, and is the author of the new book Healing Politics: A Doctor's Journey into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic.

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The 2020 election is just months away and states around the nation are using outdated and vulnerable voting machines. To make matters worse, many of these machines leave no audit trail and no way for us to know that the vote we cast is the vote which was recorded. In this extended episode, John Bonifaz of Free Speech for People, Susan Greenhalgh of the National Election Defense Coalition, and election security advocate and attorney Jennifer Cohn join Alyssa Milano to discuss the threats to our election and what we can do about it.

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Recently, Congress passed an historic $2 Trillion stimulus bill in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Before it passed, Democrats had to fight tooth and nail to make sure that most of the money went to the people, small businesses, and healthcare workers, and small businesses--and to make sure that the money that did go to large corporations had stringent oversight requirements. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer  (D-NY) joined Alyssa Milano to talk about the crisis, how bad the original bill was, and provide first-person insight into the hard decisions that went into making it  so much better than was presented by the Republicans.

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We are facing an increasing crisis of teen and youth suicide in America, and it is especially hurting young girls. Today’s episode is a difficult one. Kendra Fisher—a former elite ice hockey player and mental health activist and advocate joins Alyssa Milano to dig into the roots of the problem and what we can do to turn it around. Years ago, when faced with the opportunity to realize her dream of goaltending for Team Canada, Kendra was diagnosed with a Severe Anxiety Disorder coupled with Severe Panic Attacks, Depression and Agoraphobia; forcing her to leave the National Program in order to seek help to learn how to live with what had become a crippling disease. She now dedicates her life to helping young people get help for their mental illnesses. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

In our second Coronavirus special episode, Alyssa Milano asked Dr. Dena Grayson to join us. Dena is a former Congressional candidate from Florida, an infectious disease expert and medical researcher who spent nearly a decade working on treatments for Ebola. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in managing highly dangerous viruses and in the public policy of managing these illnesses, and we’re so lucky to have her.

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If you’ve paid even a little bit of attention to the political news of the past several years, you are familiar with this episode's guest. Congressman Adam Schiff represents the 28th district of California in the Los Angeles suburbs. He’s the chairperson of the House Intelligence Committee, where he played a pivotal role in the impeachment of Donald Trump, both from the Committee then as an Impeachment Manager during the trial itself. He’s been the target of nonstop, vile, and personal attacks from the president and his lackeys, and it’s our honor to have him join us this week.

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In the past few days, life changed in America and around the world more than any of us likely ever imagined. Entire cities are on lockdown. Restaurants and bars and schools are closed in an all-out effort to combat the coronavirus. It is scary. It is confusing. It’s been made worse by an incompetent response at the presidential level, and that can make it hard to get good information.

So today, in this special episode, we’ve asked esteemed vaccine scientist Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the Baylor College School of Tropical Medicine and health care expert to join us by phone to share clear, accurate, and helpful information about the situation. Please listen. Please stay safe. And please stay home.

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Chrissy Stroop is one of the leaders of the #Exvangelical movement of those raised in evangelical traditions who are leaving their churches. As the editor of the book Empty the Pews: Stories of Leaving the Church, she brought together the personal, powerful stories of 26 former evangelicals who left their religious upbringings and the challenges they faced. Chrissy joins Alyssa Milano to discuss sexism, homophobia, and other hateful ideas that are driving people from evangelical churches in record numbers, the hypocrisy of evangelicals in their support of Donald Trump, and whether and how true change can be achieved from within evangelical communities.

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From the small but mighty state of Rhode Island, Rep. David Cicilline has been a stalwart progressive voice in Congress since his election in 2010.  Before that, he was the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island where he was the first openly gay mayor of a state capital. He sits on the House Judiciary Committee and was a highly visible presence in the impeachment hearings against Donald Trump.  In this episode, he joins Alyssa Milano to talk about the changes in congressional relationships since he took office, what happened behind-the-scenes during the impeachment of Donald Trump, and the House Democrats' vision for 2020 and beyond. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Katie McHugh is a former white nationalist who renounced those views and is working hard to undo the damage she did when she held them. She is a former writer for alt-right propaganda websites The Daily Caller and Breitbart, where she was in constant correspondence with Stephen Miller, now a key aide to Donald Trump. In conjunction with the Southern Poverty Law Center, Katie exposed those emails and the deep ties of Miller and others to the white nationalist movement in America.

In this sobering episode, Alyssa Milano is joined by guest co-host Hassan Ahmad. Hassan is an immigration attorney and anti-white nationalist activist who is suing to expose the papers of eugenicist and FAIR founder John Tanton, currently sequestered at the University of Michigan. Alyssa, Hassan, and Katie delve into the white nationalist movement, the ways young people are recruited into white nationalist organizations, and the depth of this abhorrent philosophy in our government and right-wing media.

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Joe Walsh is a former republican congressman from Illinois’ eighth district, a conservative radio commentator, and a former candidate for president who challenged Donald Trump for the 2020 nomination.

Joe and Alyssa Milano disagree on almost everything—but not on one of the most important issues of our day: that Donald Trump is an existential threat to our nation. In a rollicking conversation, they  talk about the state of the Republican party, the dangers of Trumpism, and Joe’s new book “Fuck Silence.”

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In 2018, Brianna Titone became the first trans person elected to the Colorado General Assembly, winning a seat that had been held by a Republican in a Republican district. In this episode, she shares her personal history of service, the struggles of coming out as trans in the workplace, and the importance of staying true to yourself while winning on the issues.

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In February of 2018, one of our nation's greatest tragedies struck. In just over six minutes, a gunman armed with an AR-15 entered the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida, killed seventeen people and wounded seventeen more. Jaime Guttenberg was one of those killed.

Since that day, her father Fred Guttenberg has been on a mission: to break the back of the gun lobby and reduce gun deaths in America. Along the way he's made national news by continually speaking truth to power. He's confronted Marco Rubio, Brett Kavanaugh, and the President* of the United States. He's changed the national conversation about gun violence, and he joins Alyssa Milano to talk gun violence prevention, finding community through tragedy, and his charity Orange Ribbons for Jaime.

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You’ve heard what happened—and more importantly, what didn’t happen—inside the sham impeachment trial of Donald Trump. This episode is about what happened outside while the Senate Republicans were refusing to put American democracy over their own lust for power. Joining Alyssa Milano this week is Tae Phoenix. Tae is a singer, songwriter, and activist who is a leader in the impeach and remove movement. She’s been arrested at the Capitol for demanding the Senate do its job and remove Donald Trump from office.

We talk about the importance of standing up and fighting even when you know it’s very unlikely you will win, the need for civil disobedience, and getting up and getting back in the fight even after you lose.

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America is carving out new history. For only the third time we have impeached a president. At the center of this drama is Ukraine—a nation many of us know almost nothing about. But my guest today, Andrea Chalupa does. Andrea is a journalist, filmmaker, host of the excellent podcast Gaslit Nation, and expert in all things Ukraine. Her conversation with Alyssa Milano covers the recent history of that country, authoritarian regimes and their effects on the world, election hacking, and Andrea’s personal family history in Ukraine.

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This is a special episode of Sorry Not Sorry, focused entirely on the developing military situation in Iran. It’s such an unnecessary mess—remember that three years ago, we had a working peace and nuclear disarmament treaty with that country. Now, we’re at the brink of war.

We take the time to go in-depth into the situation both historically and politically, to help us all understand what’s happening and what we can do about it.  Most importantly, we examine the human cost of generations of conflict and war in the region. CNN Senior International Correspondent Arwa Damon joins the show from Istanbul, and Senator Chris Murphy and Congressman Ro Khanna join from Washington. 

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In Vermont in the 1970s, childhood friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield started Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. They pioneered equitable business practices, fair trade, and championed local farms while fighting for social justice and building one of the most recognizable brands in American history. Ben and Jerry led the way in building an ethical and just business, and even managed to maintain the social justice mindset of the company when it was sold to Unilever. Now, they're turning their talents to the Bernie Sanders campaign.

Listen in for a bit of ice cream history and a lot of front-line activism from two of the sweetest guys in business. 

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When Peter Morley fell off a ladder, he had no idea that his spinal injury would reveal lurking kidney cancer. He's turned this tragedy, along with even more dire health issues, into purpose, passion, and power. A regular on Capitol Hill, Peter delivers healthcare stories to members of Congress in support of the Affordable Care Act and other vital healthcare programs. 

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2019 started with a record number of women being sworn into office around the nation. It’s ending with the impeachment of the President of the United States. So much happened this year and in this episode, Alyssa Milano looks back at some of the biggest events in the news and on the podcast.  Featured guests include Joe Biden, Andrew Yang, Marianne Williamson, Ben Glieb, Manuel Oliver, excerpts from The Investigation featuring Annette Bening, John Lithgow, Kevin Kline and so much more. Thank you for being part of our podcast family in 2019. We’ve got such great things in store for you next year, and we can’t wait to share them! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

For more than two decades,  Ted Bunch has been teaching men how to respect, value, and interact with women in ways which are not toxic. As one of the founders of A Call to Men, Ted works directly with men of all ages—including those who have committed domestic and sexual abuse—to break their cycle of sexual violence. He teaches children, adolescents, and adult about consent and healthy masculinity. In a wide-ranging discussion, Ted and Alyssa discuss the necessity of men taking responsibility for their actions and how to teach new ways for men to look at gender, power, and what it means to be a man. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Alyssa Milano sat down to talk with Ammar Campa-Najjar, a candidate for congress who nearly beat Duncan Hunter in 2018. Since the election, Hunter pleaded guilty to misuse of campaign funds, and it now looks like he'll be trading the halls of Congress for the halls of prison. Ammar is again running for the seat, and he shares his inspirational story of growing up poor with a single mother, working at low-wage jobs from a young age and learning the dignity of hard work, and his efforts to unseat a southern California political dynasty.

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Heather Matarazzo (The Princess Diaries, Welcome to the Dollhouse) is a brilliant actor, an activist, and a mental health warrior. She and Alyssa both started their acting careers as children in very prominent productions and experienced a very different world than what most of their peers did. And it’s created some parallel successes and struggles in their lives. Heather’s passion for equality and justice for everyone in America has been an inspiration to me, and we're so happy to be able to share their conversation with you.

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The great promise of success in America has been this: work hard, get an education, and there’s nothing you can’t do. That promise is no longer being kept for far too many of us. Student loan debt is eating away so much of our disposable income, keeping us from buying homes, starting families, and starting businesses. We’re now living in a nation with more than a trillion dollars in student loan debt—and much of that debt cannot be refinanced or even cleared via bankruptcy.

Our guest Natalia Abrams is the Executive Director of Student Debt Crisis, where she advocates for student debt reform, affordable education, and smart lending solutions for everyone pursuing a degree.

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Every day, 100 Americans are killed by guns and hundreds more are shot and injured. On this episode of "Sorry Not Sorry," Alyssa is joined by Ben Jackson, one of the co-founders of NoRA, an organization working to counteract the influence of NRA money in the American political system. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Jacob Schick is the Chief Executive Officer of 22KILL, a non-profit which raises awareness and combats suicide by empowering veterans, first responders, and their families through traditional and non-traditional therapies. Jacob, who is also a third-generation Marine, joins Alyssa on Sorry Not Sorry to discuss joining the service, his time in Iraq, the day that changed his life, PTSD, and what we need to do to better support our veterans. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Jenn Budd is a former senior border patrol agent turned immigrant rights activist. She joins Alyssa on "Sorry Not Sorry" to talk about how she decided to become a border agent, what went into the training, the abuse and misogyny she faced there, and why she finally decided to leave. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Children are the future and we have increasingly seen the power of youth activists (who are getting younger and younger) and their ability to effect change. In collaboration with the release of her new New York Times best-selling book “Hope: Project Middle School,” Alyssa uses this episode of “Sorry Not Sorry” to highlight some of the incredible youth activists out there fighting to make a difference in the world on many causes, ranging from the environment to gun violence. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Lauren Gussis is a television writer and producer, known for her work on "Dexter" and for creating Netflix's "Insatiable." She sits down with Alyssa to discuss her career, how she learned to navigate the dynamics of the writer's room, where the idea for "Insatiable" came from and the process of making the show, magic, and much more. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

On this episode, Sorry Not Sorry listeners share how #MeToo has impacted them and Alyssa shares her Hollywood #MeToo story. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Andrew Yang is a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, entrepreneur, lawyer, and philanthropist. He joins Alyssa to discuss how he’s taking a different approach than the other candidates - from his freedom dividend to free financial counseling for all. He also discusses the importance of creativity, investing in education, infrastructure, and much more. Sponsored by: Third Love, LOLA, Daily Harvest, and CandidCo --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Joe Sanberg is a progressive entrepreneur who is working to end poverty. He joins Alyssa on the latest episode of Sorry Not Sorry to discuss his personal story, how he’s working through the public and private sectors to eradicate poverty, and why he’s an advocate for the earned income tax credit for low-income families. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Matt McGorry is an actor and activist. He joins Alyssa on the latest episode of Sorry Not Sorry to talk about the importance of being an ally, how to educate and immerse yourself in the causes you are passionate about, what made him identify as a feminist and more. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

This episode of Sorry Not Sorry features a conversation about gun violence prevention between Alyssa, Senator Ted Cruz, Fred Guttenberg whose daughter Jaime was one of 17 people killed in the Parkland shooting, and Ben Jackson who co-founded #NoRA. Senator Cruz livestreamed the nearly 90-minute conversation on his facebook page. This is the unedited audio of that livestream. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Jaime King is a mother, actor, filmmaker, writer, and activist. She joins the latest episode of Sorry Not Sorry to discuss the impact of starting her career at such a young age, the shame surrounding body image, bullying, her miscarriage, and much more. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a multiple Emmy-award winning chief medical correspondent for CNN and a practicing neurosurgeon. This week, he sits down with Alyssa to discuss his career, why he changed his mind on the benefits of cannabis, how to eliminate the stigma of mental health, and the impact of deregulation. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Gloria Allred is one of the top women’s rights attorneys in the country. Her firm has fought for more women’s rights cases than any other private firm in the nation and this year she will be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. This week, she sits down with Alyssa to discuss her career, the importance of the courts and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, believing victims, and much more. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

One in four women in the U.S. will have an abortion by the age of 45. But since the beginning of 2019, more than 250 bills restricting access to abortion care have been introduced in forty one states. Throughout this episode, you will hear from women who share why they decided to have an abortion - women who sent in their own stories, women who have shared publicly in the media or in front of Congress, and Alyssa tells her own abortion story. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Actor and activist Frances Fisher does not hold back when it comes to speaking out on crucial issues. She joins Sorry Not Sorry to talk about the importance of activism, why we need to keep art in schools, and what gives her hope. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

What happens in an impeachment inquiry? Is this the best thing to do ahead of the 2020 election? In this episode, Alyssa Milano and guests explore why now is the time to call for the impeachment of President Donald Trump and what this would mean for the country. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Author and activist Marianne Williamson is running for president in 2020. She joins Sorry Not Sorry to share why she’s decided to join the race, her thoughts on how the media is treating outsider candidates, and why we need to consider the power of love. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

This week, ahead of the Mueller hearings, we wanted to share “The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts,” which was adapted by playwright, screenwriter, and actor Robert Schenkkan and performed live on June 24th, 2019 in partnership with Law Works and Indivisible. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Tara Strong has played “Bubbles” in The Powerpuff Girls, “Timmy Turner” in The Fairly Odd Parents, “Dil Pickles” in Rugrats, “Raven” in Teen Titans, “Twilight Sparkle” in My Little Pony, and so many more. She joins Sorry Not Sorry to share how she’s using her voice to fight for change. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Rafael Agustín, a writer for Jane the Virgin, executive director of the Youth Cinema Project and a formerly undocumented American joins Alyssa on the latest episode of Sorry Not Sorry. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Comedian and 2020 presidential candidate Ben Gleib joins the latest episode of Sorry Not Sorry to share why he's seriously running for president of the United States, the reasons why he thinks career politicians are not the answer, the policies he feels most strongly about, and why he has not been officially included in the polls. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

After 36 years, Congress finally held a hearing on the Equal Rights Amendment, which would provide equal protection to women under the law. In this episode, you’ll hear from Representative Carolyn Maloney, Kate Kelly, a human rights attorney and activist, Kimberley Johnson, an author and activist, and many more voices on why this is a crucial time to fight for equality. Justice Antonin Scalia once said “Certainly the constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn't.” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

In his first week on the job, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro began an investigation into Catholic clergy sexual abuse. The report unmasked a huge cover-up, leading all the way to the Vatican, and identified 1,000 children who were victims, prompting a wave of activism in Pennsylvania and across the country. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Kim Raver is an actor, director, and executive producer. She discusses her latest project “Tempting Fate,” the importance of getting more women behind the camera, and why the narrative of "female-directed and female lead action movies don't make money" doesn't hold up. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Erin Brockovich is a consumer advocate and clean water activist who continues to inspire people to take control of their health. She shares her story, the importance of clean water, and why we need to start making America’s infrastructure, our water and our health and welfare a national priority. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Charlotte Clymer is a transgender woman, army veteran, and activist who came out publicly on Twitter in 2017. She shares her story and weighs in on what’s happening to LGBTQ people in our country under the current administration and what we can do to help fight for change. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Adam Edelen is running for governor of Kentucky. He wants to create more renewable energy jobs, is pro-choice, and has a lot to say about education in this country. Even if you don’t live in Kentucky, you’ll want to hear this conversation. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

6.6 million people are currently in the criminal justice system in the United States. On this episode, Alyssa sits down with Van Jones to talk about prison reform, restorative justice, and his CNN series, “The Redemption Project.” --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Manuel Oliver’s 17-year-old son, Joaquin, was murdered in the 2018 Parkland shooting. Since then, he has taken to art and activism to fight to protect the lives of children across the country. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Tarana Burke joins Alyssa to discuss the power of the Me Too Movement, the importance of what happens after survivors say those words, and the most rewarding part of the work she’s doing. We also hear from presidential candidate Joe Biden about his work with It’s On Us and the Violence Against Women Act. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Sorry Not Sorry launches on April 29th. The podcast, hosted by Alyssa Milano, will tackle social, political and cultural issues from the perspective of unapologetic guests while highlighting activists doing amazing things and grassroots efforts throughout the country. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message