Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry

46,000 - That's the number of Americans who die every year from gun violence. More than double that number are shot but survive. Fred Guttenberg knows the toll of that devastation more than most: his daughter Jaime was murdered in the Parkland, FL mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School. He joins us to talk about President Biden's new effort to close the background check loophole, the effect of racist and extremist politicians on gun violence, and more...

It is no secret that there are different standards for Black families than for white families in the United States. Our guest this week, Dr. Esau McCaulley, has a new memoir titled How Far to the Promised Land that explores these differences and the effects they have on our nation. Esau is an Associate Professor of the New Testament, the author of several books, and a contributing columnist for the New York Times. How far to the Promised Land is now available...

Student debt is a crushing burden to millions of families in the United States. Recent efforts by the Biden Administration to relieve some of the burden for some borrowers were dashed by the Supreme Court. To help put it in perspective and fill us on what can be done about this issue, we've invited Natalia Abrams back on the show. Natalia is the founder and president of the Student Debt Crisis Center.

The world is full of hate. Alyssa certainly sees a lot of it sent her way online—but people who hold less privilege see so much more. That hate, always present around us, has taken some of the joy out of being human. Our guest this week is trying to fix that. Kai Cheng Thom is the author of several books, including the newly released “Falling Back in Love with Being Human: Letters to Lost Souls.”

Our guest this week is Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Senator Blumenthal is right at the heart of legislative initiatives that are so important for our nation, whether it’s regulating the role of AI, protecting kids online, or protecting kids offline in efforts to reduce gun violence. He's also been able to work across the aisle on critical initiatives in this incredibly polarized time, because he believes being effective is more important than being partisan...

One of the things Alyssa has been very open about is her mental health. We have stigmas in our culture which not only affect those who struggle with mental health conditions, but also new and exciting treatments for those conditions, like psychotropics and wearable technology. Dr. Dave Rabin helps people face these stigmas...

We live in a time where right-wing politicians and activists are stoking anti-trans fear and hate for political gain. Around the country, legislators are enacting laws which prevent trans youth from receiving gender-affirming care, putting them and their families at risk. Our guest this week, Kate Brookes, is raising a transgender daughter. Her new memoir, Transister, brings us into her world in an unflinching and unvarnished way.

2023 has been a tumultuous year in the House of Representatives, to say the least. Kevin McCarthy barely won the speakership and has been chained to the whims of the furthest extremes of his party. The theatrics of McCarthy and the GOP have often overshadowed the important work sitting before Congress —issues that affect us all. California Congressman Ro Khanna is focused on those issues, and he joins us this week to discuss them.

One of the things that makes Alyssa angriest is when she sees men denying the scope of our national sexual violence epidemic by claiming that there are many false reports of sexual assault, and therefore victims cannot be trusted. In their stunning documentary Victim/Suspect, reporter Rae de Leon and director Nancy Schwartzman dig into cases where women were charged with filing false reports but insist they were telling the truth...

Once again, the Supreme Court ended its term with monumental decisions which will affect the way millions of Americans are able (or not able) to do important things in their lives. As usual, we covered many of those issues over the past year, and in this episode we revisit that coverage to contextualize the importance of the court's decisions and efforts to reform the court.