Make It Plain with Mark Thompson

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Don’t count on Florida, says Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs. As Election Day approaches, that’s not the swing state to count on; instead, look at what’s happening in Texas and Georgia, for starters. Markos also downloads us on what the numbers look like for early and mail-in voting, and what he has to share may surprise you like it did him. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Vote early, and vote up and down the ballot, says Ashley Etienne, Senior Advisor of Strategic Planning for Biden/Harris 2020, because every race matters. Ashley shares thoughts on Senator Kamala Harris, the current administration’s cruelty, how the Biden campaign is handling the confusion that Ice Cube created in the Black Community, and her analysis on where we stand in battleground states. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Angelo Carusone, President of MediaMatters.org, gives his thoughts on how damaging the unverified Hunter Biden story has been, for both the campaign and the press itself; Angelo says they damaged their own reputations in how they handled the attacks on Joe Biden’s son. Also on the media pulse, Fox News broke the law with their news coverage in the early days of coronavirus when they encouraged people to go out and take vacations, despite Rupert Murdoch quarantining himself -- what could that mean for the company (and the Murdoch family) legally? *Producer’s Note: After this episode was recorded, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey changed the company’s policy, which says they will no longer remove hacked material unless it’s directly shared by hackers or those working with them. In other words, they reversed their ban of sharing the unverified story about Hunter Biden. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy

Eric Boehlert, Publisher of Pressrun.media, is calling out mainstream and social media for their glaring errors, in both judgment and practice. He digs into Twitter’s flaky stance on banning, and then un-banning, an unverified story on Hunter Biden; it’s par for the course, as the GOP’s main strategy is intimidating journalists and now big tech. And somehow, despite all of Trump’s lies and corruption, the media still treats him like a fascinating reality TV star. All this and more in today’s chat with Eric. SUBSCRIBE to Eric's must-read newsletter: https://pressrun.media/subscribe Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Angela Angel has what could be the best job title we’ve ever heard: Director of Black Power at Bowers Consulting. And it’s exactly like it sounds -- she’s working hard with initiatives like Black Lives Matter to elevate their message and mission. She’s on today to discuss the importance of voting and why conservatives are merely looking to discourage your vote, not gain your support. She also shares some background on her support of Sen. Kamala Harris as VP, as well as her long history with Pete Buttigieg, who was her high school classmate. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Markos Moulitsas, Founder of DailyKos and Civiqs, is back for another installment of #ThursdayKos and we've got big news: Joe Biden is on track to sweep Florida, Minnesota, and Nevada. But there's still another debate between now and Election Day, and Markos thinks Biden needs to speak directly to the American people and resist the urge to respond to Trump's heckling. Executive Producer: Adell Coleman Producer: Brittany Temple Distributor: DCP Entertainment For additional content: makeitplain.com  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy