Today's Liberal News

Contributing Writers

Listen: The Empty Promise of Vitamins

Supplements claiming to “boost your immune system” have gotten new attention during the pandemic. On the podcast Social Distance, the staff writer James Hamblin explains why these claims are mostly nonsense (and have been for years), and the executive producer Katherine Wells asks him about vitamins.Listen to their conversation here:Subscribe to Social Distance on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or another podcast platform to receive new episodes as soon as they’re published.

No Oversight of $1.5 Billion Electric Project Raises Alarm over Privatization of Puerto Rico’s Power

As hurricane season begins, we look at moves to privatize Puerto Rico’s electric grid and a new investigation that reveals the island’s government failed to follow proper oversight or examine the environmental impact when it issued a $1.5 billion contract to a company for the first large power generation project since Hurricane Maria, that will continue its reliance on fossil fuels.

“Disruptor on Road to Reconciliation”: Trump Doubles Down on Rally in Tulsa, Site of 1921 Massacre

President Donald Trump says he will push ahead with a massive campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday, even as COVID cases are surging there as the state reopens. Trump delayed the rally by one day after it was originally scheduled for June 19, Juneteenth, a celebration marking the emancipation of enslaved people. Tulsa is also the site of one of the deadliest massacres in U.S.

“He Wanted to Hurt Me”: New York Protester Hospitalized After NY Officer Shoved Her to the Ground

In a rare development, a New York police officer has been charged with assault, criminal mischief, harassment and menacing, after a viral video showed him violently shoving a peaceful protester to the ground as he shouted an expletive and a misogynistic slur. We speak with Dounya Zayer about the attack she faced during a protest against police brutality in Brooklyn on May 29 and how she suffered a seizure and was hospitalized with a concussion.

Goodbye, Columbus: Bree Newsome Bass on the Movement to Topple Racist Statues Across the Globe

As protesters worldwide continue to topple monuments to racists, colonizers and Confederates as part of the wave of demonstrations against racism and state violence, we speak to Bree Newsome Bass, artist and antiracist activist based in North Carolina, who five years ago was arrested at the state Capitol in South Carolina after scaling a 30-foot flagpole to remove the Confederate flag.

Black Trans Lives Matter: Movement Pushes for Justice & Visibility Amid “Epidemic” of Violence

At least 15,000 people marched through Brooklyn Sunday to protest violence against Black transgender people, particularly women, who face disproportionate levels of violence at the hands of police and on the streets. The protest came as two more Black trans women were killed last week, in Ohio and Pennsylvania. They are believed to be at least the 13th and 14th violent deaths of transgender people in the United States this year.

Supreme Court Bars Workplace Discrimination Against LGBTQ People; Ruling May Be Transformative

In a historic 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, forbidding workplace discrimination on the basis of sex, applies to gay and transgender people. The decision comes just days after the Trump administration reversed health protections for transgender people under the Affordable Care Act. “This truly is a historic ruling,” says Chase Strangio, deputy director for transgender justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project.

Listen: Can We Sing?

On the latest episode of Social Distance, staff writer James Hamblin and executive producer Katherine Wells answer questions from listeners.Listen to the episode here:Subscribe to Social Distance on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or another podcast platform to receive new episodes as soon as they’re published.What follows is an edited and condensed transcript of their conversation.James Hamblin: This question comes from Tyler Richter in Springfield, Missouri.

Angela Davis: Dems & GOP Tied to Corporate Capitalism, But We Must Vote So Trump Is “Forever Ousted”

“Neither party represents the future that we need in this country — both parties remain connected to corporate capitalism,” Angela Davis says of the 2020 election. “We’re going to have to translate some of the passion that has characterized these demonstrations into work within the electoral arena, recognizing that the electoral arena is not the best place for the expression of radical politics.

Listen: Can We Sing?

On the latest episode of Social Distance, staff writer James Hamblin and executive producer Katherine Wells answer questions from listeners.Listen to the episode here:Subscribe to Social Distance on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or another podcast platform to receive new episodes as soon as they’re published.What follows is an edited and condensed transcript of their conversation.James Hamblin: This question comes from Tyler Richter in Springfield, Missouri.

“He Wanted to Hurt Me”: New York Protester Hospitalized After NY Officer Shoved Her to the Ground

In a rare development, a New York police officer has been charged with assault, criminal mischief, harassment and menacing, after a viral video showed him violently shoving a peaceful protester to the ground as he shouted an expletive and a misogynistic slur. We speak with Dounya Zayer about the attack she faced during a protest against police brutality in Brooklyn on May 29 and how she suffered a seizure and was hospitalized with a concussion.

Police Anti-Bias Trainer Shot in Groin by San Jose Cops at Protest: “It’s Clear This Isn’t Working”

As protests against racism and police violence continue across the United States, we speak with Derrick Sanderlin, a San Jose community organizer who has spent years training police on avoiding implicit bias toward people of color, but an officer from the same police department shot him in the groin with a rubber bullet during a May 29 protest against racism and police violence, rupturing Sanderlin’s testicle and possibly affecting his ability to have children.

The Killing of Rayshard Brooks: Atlanta Police Shoot Dead Unarmed Man Who Fell Asleep in His Own Car

Protests have erupted in Atlanta, where the police killing of unarmed African American man Rayshard Brooks in a Wendy’s parking lot has outraged residents. The autopsy revealed that Brooks was shot in the back as he was running away, and the death has been ruled a homicide by the county medical examiner. Brooks’s killing comes as protests against racism and police violence continue across the country.