As Easy As Phase 1, 2, 3
Two pharma companies released information about their vaccine trials, including details on their timelines and specific metrics they’ll be using to assess efficacy in early data. It’s all part of a push to gain public trust. We explain what to expect, and when.  While Congress is still stalled on another relief bill, Republicans in the Senate are busy confirming federal judges nominated by Trum...
17m Sep 18, 2020
17m
The Florida Key Demographic
Concerns about whether the Biden campaign is doing enough to speak to Latinx voters have grown in recent days following polling that suggests weakness among this group, particularly in Florida. Political consultant and former Bernie Sanders advisor Chuck Rocha joins to discuss. The director of the CDC says that a vaccine for Covid-19 might not be available until the summer or fall of 2021. He a...
22m Sep 17, 2020
22m
When Police Pay
The city of Louisville, Kentucky has come to a $12 million settlement deal with the family of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police officers in her apartment six months ago. The agreement also includes several police reforms. We explain. Over 5 million acres have now been burned across the West. We discuss the poor air quality caused by the smoke, how it's measured, and the effects ...
17m Sep 16, 2020
17m
Let's TikTok Business
Extreme weather continues in the US, with over 4.5 million acres burned across the West Coast and a Category 2 hurricane bearing down on the Gulf Coast. Scientists say two Antarctic glaciers are breaking off and could contribute to large-scale sea level rise, underscoring the need for aggressive environmental policy in the US and abroad.  Oracle is close to taking over TikTok’s US operations fo...
16m Sep 15, 2020
16m
Fire, Wind & Fire
Wildfires raged on over the weekend in the West, with millions of acres burned, thousands displaced, and dozens of lives lost. Aside from fighting climate change, one of the most effective ways to manage these fires is regular controlled burns, which is something indigenous tribes were doing for centuries.  Two meat processing facilities were fined a measly total of $29,000 after government reg...
19m Sep 14, 2020
19m
Surveilling The Police
Viral videos of police brutality against Black people have generated outrage, protest, and sustained national attention this year. We talk to Bijan Stephen, a reporter at The Verge, about his latest project called “Capturing The Police,” which examines the impact these videos have on the people who film them. Another 884,000 people filed for unemployment last week, which is more than economists...
21m Sep 11, 2020
21m
Coming Out Of The Woodward
Recorded interviews of Donald Trump by Bob Woodward show he understood the threat of coronavirus in February, while he insisted in public it would “disappear” and was no worse than the seasonal flu. Trump addressed these revelations at a press conference yesterday, confirming that he intentionally downplayed the virus because he’s a "cheerleader" for the country. Wildfires are continuing to bur...
20m Sep 10, 2020
20m
One Simple Trick To Slim Down Your Relief Bill
The Rochester, NY police chief and other high ranking officers all resigned or took demotions yesterday, following protests over the police killing of Daniel Prude. Prude’s case, along with other recent violent incidents, are leading some to propose alternatives to police intervention for mental health emergencies.  Republicans in the Senate are back in session with a new coronavirus relief bil...
18m Sep 09, 2020
18m
Here Comes The Sunrise Movement
College students have returned to campuses, and so has coronavirus. Northeastern University suspended 11 students for partying, and will not refund them tens of thousands of dollars in tuition payments. At University of Kansas, students are striking and demanding that the university shut down the campus and give hazard pay to workers.  Extreme weather over the past few weeks has underscored the...
18m Sep 08, 2020
18m
Vaxxers Without Borders
Joe Biden will visit Kenosha, Wisconsin later today, where he’ll meet with the family of Jacob Blake. We check in on the continued protests happening there, plus the protests that are continuing in Lafayette, Louisiana, where Trayford Pellerin was killed by police just two days before Blake’s shooting. The Trump administration said it’s not going to take part in a global effort to develop a COV...
17m Sep 03, 2020
17m
Mr. Eviction Freeze
The CDC and the Health Department are moving to ban evictions through December for people who can’t pay because of the pandemic. New York City caved to pressure from teachers unions who threatened to strike over school reopenings, pushing back the start of in-person to later this month. Legal battles over mail-in voting saw major developments in Texas, Iowa, and Georgia. An audit from the Inspe...
16m Sep 02, 2020
16m
Class Of Covid-19
Joe Biden spoke in Pennsylvania yesterday, where he condemned violence of any kind at recent protests. Trump spoke at the White House yesterday, where he declined to tamp down violence among his supporters and suggested instead that Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old Wisconsin shooter, had acted in self-defense.  Coronavirus outbreaks are continuing to pop up at colleges and universities in the ...
20m Sep 01, 2020
20m
Critical Mass
One man is now dead after a weekend of violence in Portland, Oregon, in which pro-Trump demonstrators drove through the city’s downtown taunting Black Lives Matter protestors. Jay Bishop was a member of a group called Patriot Prayer, a far-right group with ties to white supremacists. Massachusetts holds its primaries on Tuesday. Alex Morse is a 31-year-old, Justice Democrats-supported mayor of ...
20m Aug 31, 2020
20m
The South Yawn
Trump closed out the RNC last night, with a meandering 70-minute long speech that saw him paint a rosy picture of his administration’s handling of COVID-19 and promise a vaccine before the end of the year. Trump also tried to suggest that Biden would usher in chaos, while tending to ignore or misrepresent the chaos that’s happening under his administration. Later today thousands of protestors a...
18m Aug 28, 2020
18m
Game Off
Police arrested 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse yesterday for killing two protestors and injuring a third at demonstrations in Kenosha, Washington against police brutality. Professional athletes joined in calling for justice for Jacob Blake, with teams from the NBA, WNBA, MLB, and more going on strike. Biden and Trump are averaging a near tie at the moment in North Carolina, which is sort of the s...
19m Aug 27, 2020
19m
Bleakfast At Tiffany's
Last night’s Republican National Convention brought more speeches from Trump’s employees and family members, including First Lady Melania Trump, Tiffany Trump, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The topic of “school choice” has been referenced often during the RNC—that’s part of a major push from Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to privatize education.  In Portsmouth, Virginia, Vice M...
17m Aug 26, 2020
17m
Guilfoyle Salesman
Protestors gathered for a second night in Kenosha, Wisconsin following the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake, who is reportedly still in intensive care. The three cops that participated in Blake’s shooting have been put on administrative leave, and a state investigation is ongoing.  Milwaukee Freedom Fund: https://bit.ly/mkefreedomfund The Republican Party officially renominated Trump ...
18m Aug 25, 2020
18m
Do You Believe In Plasmagic
The Republican National Convention begins tonight, predominantly featuring speakers who are Trump’s employees or blood relatives. This weekend, Trump announced that the FDA granted emergency use authorization to a blood plasma treatment for COVID-19… we discuss what that means.  Postmaster General Louis DeJoy testified to the Senate on Friday in his first appearance since the abrupt changes to ...
16m Aug 24, 2020
16m
The Dude Abidens
Last night was the final night of the DNC, featuring Julia Louis-Dreyfus, former 2020 presidential candidates, and most notably, Joe Biden’s acceptance speech. In a stark contrast to his campaign thus far, Biden barely mentioned Trump by name, talking instead about the enormity of the situation America faces.  The state of Michigan announced a $600 million fund to compensate Flint residents who...
18m Aug 21, 2020
18m
Return Of Barack
Last night was the third night of the Democratic National Convention, featuring marquee speeches from VP pick Senator Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama. Overall, programming was more focused on issues, with segments on immigration, climate change, gun violence, and more.  New coronavirus antibody data from nearly a million and a half people in New York City showed an infection rat...
20m Aug 20, 2020
20m
License To Jill
Last night was the second night of the DNC, featuring beautiful shots of delegates across our gorgeous country, as well as speeches from AOC, activist Ady Barkan, and Dr. Jill Biden. We talk to Crooked’s own Jon Favreau about speech writing for the first digital DNC.  Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said yesterday that he would suspend cost-cutting changes at the USPS, but it’s unclear whether t...
22m Aug 19, 2020
22m
First Lady's Night
This year’s socially-distanced DNC began last night, with speeches from former First Lady Michelle Obama, Senator Bernie Sanders, and more. Joe Biden went into the convention with a 7-9 point national lead against Trump, but the next few months are still full of unknowns. Watch the convention along with us every night this week at crooked.com/convention UNC Chapel Hill has decided to pivot to o...
21m Aug 18, 2020
21m
DeJoy Division
The DNC was set to begin today in Wisconsin, but instead, it’s beginning in Zooms across America. We talked to Wisconsin Democrats Senator Tammy Baldwin and party chair Ben Wikler about the state’s recent electoral history and how Biden can win there this year.  The USPS warned that it may not be able to accommodate last minute mail-in ballots. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to call the House...
18m Aug 17, 2020
18m
No Post On Trump Days
This was the first week since March that the number of new unemployment claims in the US fell below one million. Tens of millions remain jobless and the start of Congress’s August recess means it’s unlikely we’ll see new relief legislation before September. Trump said the quiet part out loud yesterday, admitting that his refusal to provide emergency funding to the postal service would make uni...
13m Aug 14, 2020
13m
Teacher Buffering
The last time we spoke with Monise Seward, a 6th grade special education teacher in Georgia, it was April and schools had just begun to tackle remote learning. It's now the new year, and her class remains completely online. We spoke to her about the challenges of the new normal and her thoughts on in-person classes. Senator Kamala Harris and VP Joe Biden made their first appearance as running m...
20m Aug 13, 2020
20m
Kamala As You Are
Senator Kamala Harris was announced as Biden’s VP pick yesterday, which will make her the first black woman and first Asian American to be a on major party ticket. We discuss her record on the 2020 campaign trail, as an incisive presence in Senate hearings, and as California’s attorney general.  The Big 10 and the Pac 12 college conferences announced yesterday that they will postpone their fall...
19m Aug 12, 2020
19m
Justice Democrats League
Five states hold primaries today, including Minnesota, where Rep. Ilhan Omar is running to keep her seat in Congress. The elections come a week after another progressive, Cori Bush, won a major upset in her race against a longterm incumbent in Missouri. We speak to Bush about her path to politics and check in on Justice Democrats, the political group that backed Bush, Omar, and a handful of oth...
17m Aug 11, 2020
17m
New Executive Order
Trump signed a bunch of executive orders and actions over the weekend that he presented as a fix to our economic problems. But the reality is much less transformative. We explain what his actions do (cut unemployment) and what they don't do (protect renters from eviction). ByteDance, the Chinese company behind TikTok, is planning to sue the Trump administration over its ban on US companies doin...
16m Aug 10, 2020
16m
N-R-Ain't
New York’s Attorney General filed a lawsuit yesterday seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association. AG Letitia James alleges that the NRA has engaged in years of corruption. In the absence of a federal testing strategy, seven governors have formed a purchasing agreement in attempts to get faster COVID antigen tests. In California, problems with the state’s data system may be creating inac...
16m Aug 07, 2020
16m
Convention Goes Electric
Joe Biden is no longer traveling to Milwaukee for the DNC, and neither are other primetime speakers like President Barack Obama. A sized-down RNC will be held in Charlotte, with Trump planning to deliver his speech from The White House.  Six of the seven largest school districts in the country will begin the school year entirely online, with New York City as the only holdout. One Yale student i...
15m Aug 06, 2020
15m
It's Been A Minute, Minneapolis
The Minneapolis City Council voted to disband the Minneapolis Police Department over a month ago, but achieving that goal requires getting a ballot initiative in front of residents. We discuss that effort and more with Oluchi Omeoga, a co-creator of Black Visions Collective. And in headlines: a deadly explosion in Beirut, the census is ending early, and a whole lot of new Miami Marlins. Black V...
24m Aug 05, 2020
24m
Work From Homeroom
The school year is officially beginning in some states and there have already been disruptions due to students and staff testing positive for Covid-19. A huge number of students will learn remotely for now, with only 6 of the nation’s 25 largest school districts saying they will do in-person teaching. Arizona, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington all have primaries today. We highlight som...
17m Aug 04, 2020
17m
USPS We Can
Disruptions and delays to the postal service have prompted concern since so many people are planning to vote by mail this year. We break down what’s behind the delay, and how to ensure your vote is counted.  Congress still can’t agree on how to structure unemployment benefits in the next relief bill. Midwestern states like Missouri, Illinois, and Wisconsin are emerging as coronavirus hotspots. ...
17m Aug 03, 2020
17m
Can You Veep A Secret
The Biden campaign says they will announce his VP pick any day now. According to reports, over a dozen women are being vetted — some more seriously than others.  We talk to Crooked Media’s Alyssa Mastromonaco, who helped President Obama select Joe Biden, about what goes into the process in the final days and the importance of this decision.  To hear more from Alyssa, check out That’s The Ticket...
16m Jul 31, 2020
16m
I Don't Get No Relief
Rent is due next week, but we still don’t have a new relief bill to extend federal unemployment assistance and eviction protections. Negotiations have stalled, with Senate Republicans, the White House, and Democrats far apart in negotiations.  Federal agents will withdraw from Portland after a deal was reached between Oregon’s governor and the Department of Homeland Security. When this will hap...
16m Jul 30, 2020
16m
In Tech We Antitrust
The CEO’s of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Alphabet will testify before Congress today in hearings that will examine whether their companies hurt consumers and stifle competition. The Trump administration isn't getting rid of DACA (yet) but it is trying to restrict it. And the country’s second largest teachers union says they’ll support their members if they want to strike rather than go back to...
16m Jul 29, 2020
16m
Moderna Medicine
Pharmaceutical company Moderna entered phase three trials of its Covid-19 vaccine, and plans to test the efficacy of their drug on 30,000 healthy participants. The director of the NIH said they plan to reach out to communities that have been hardest hit by the virus to form that sample group.  Major League Baseball has already announced that it’s postponing two games after players and coaches t...
16m Jul 28, 2020
16m
Jobless This Mess
Florida has now passed New York in total known coronavirus cases, making it the second worst-hit state behind California which is nearly twice its size. In Europe, the UK is imposing a two week quarantine on anyone who’s been in Spain after an uptick in virus spread there.  Republicans are set to propose their bill for the next round of coronavirus relief today. As federal unemployment benefits...
16m Jul 27, 2020
16m
Landlord Szn
The federal eviction moratorium from the CARES Act expires today, leaving up to 12 million people vulnerable to eviction if they can’t pay rent. Trump cancelled the Jacksonville portion of the RNC, after he moved the event there from North Carolina.  The Justice Department’s Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security will investigate federal law enforcement actions in Portland. T...
17m Jul 24, 2020
17m
Don't Burst My NBA Bubble
NBA games start next week with just 22 qualifying teams finishing off the season that the pandemic put on hold back in March. We interview Tania Ganguli, who covers the Lakers for the LA Times and is reporting live from the Disney World basketball “bubble” where games will be held. The world passed 15 million coronavirus cases yesterday, with the US accounting for a quarter of that total.  And ...
21m Jul 23, 2020
21m
Makes No Census
Trump signed a memo yesterday that aims to omit undocumented immigrants from the census count. It seems like a way for Trump to side-step a Supreme Court ruling that removed citizenship questions from the census, and it's unclear how or if he'd even be able to do it.  Protests in Portland have only increased in response to the presence of federal agents. Democrats in the House are working to ta...
16m Jul 22, 2020
16m
Season's Briefings
Trump says he’s bringing back coronavirus briefings starting today. The largest teachers union in Florida is suing Governor Ron DeSantis for using an emergency order to compel public schools to fully reopen next month.  Americans enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at record high rates early on in the pandemic. Food stamps were set to be gutted by the Trump administration ...
16m Jul 21, 2020
16m
Portland Authority
Civil rights activists Rep. John Lewis and Minister CT Vivian passed away on Friday. Democrats in Congress are urging lawmakers to honor Lewis by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of 2020, which would restore voter protections struck down by the Supreme Court in 2013.  Federal agents in camouflage are patrolling streets in Portland, Oregon,using tear gas and other violent means to con...
18m Jul 20, 2020
18m
Hack In The USSR
The US, Canada, and Britain are alleging that Russian cyberspies are trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research. In more upbeat pharma news, the biotech company Moderna is making progress with its vaccine, which will soon undergo Phase 3 testing.  Last week was the 17th week in a row that new unemployment claims have exceeded 1 million countrywide. A new study showed that high unemployment ha...
15m Jul 17, 2020
15m
The Perks Of Being A Walmarter
All 5,300 plus Walmarts and Sam’s Clubs nationwide will begin requiring shoppers to wear masks next week. On the state level, half of the governors in the US have now instituted at least some kind of mask requirement in public settings.  New safety recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering,and Medicine say schools should prioritize younger children and children with sp...
16m Jul 16, 2020
16m
BCC The CDC
We talk to The Atlantic’s Ed Yong about how public health workers and officials are fighting the pandemic, and what we're now learning about the potential long-lasting effects of Covid-19. The Trump administration is now asking hospitals to send data on Covid-19 patients directly to them and not the CDC.  And in headlines: Joe Biden announces new climate change proposal, Trump administration ba...
19m Jul 15, 2020
19m
There's Something About Fauci
California is re-closing many of its businesses as cases continue to rise. LA County and San Diego County schools have agreed to cancel in-person learning this fall in favor of going back online.  White House advisors to the president have been criticizing NIAID director Dr. Anthony Fauci in recent days. It definitely seems like retaliation for Fauci’s refusal to back down in the face of Trump’...
15m Jul 14, 2020
15m
May The Task Force Be With You
Arizona’s governor pushed back the start of the school year from early-August to mid-August since his state has the worst Covid-19 numbers in the nation. Teachers unions don’t think that a two-week delay is enough to keep students, staff, and faculty safe.  The Biden-Sanders joint task force put out policy recommendations last week, and left-leaning members seem happy with the direction things ...
18m Jul 13, 2020
18m
This Land Is Your Land
Yesterday the Supreme Court ruled that much of eastern Oklahoma is Native American tribal land, and that the state of New York has the power to subpoena Trump’s financial records.  The WHO has revised some past positions on coronavirus spread, and is now saying unequivocally that asymptomatic spread is possible, and coronavirus can linger and infect people in the air. And in headlines: Thailand...
16m Jul 10, 2020
16m
The Endless Summer
As the summer weeks go by, and the virus rages on, the big question remains: How to go back to school in the fall. Trump caused a minor crisis by criticizing the CDC’s recommendations on school reopenings and threatening to cut federal funding for schools that don’t reopen in person.  The Supreme Court announced a ruling yesterday that will exempt businesses from covering birth control for empl...
16m Jul 09, 2020
16m