Off-kilter With Rebecca Vallas

With #TrumpCare deeply unpopular in all 50 states, the Senate has delayed voting on the bill for now — but the fight is far from over, as Rebecca and Jeremy explain in this week’s edition of In Case You Missed It. Meanwhile, disabled activists have made headlines getting arrested and even dragged out of their wheelchairs by police. To help tell the amazing history of ADAPT, Rebecca speaks with David Perry, a disability rights journalist, and Anita Cameron, a longtime ADAPTer. Next, with unaffordable water bills now a major driver of poverty and even foreclosure in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sanchez shares the story of how Philly became the first city to set low-income families’ water bills based on ability to pay. And finally, with the Supreme Court’s most recent term now at a close, ThinkProgress’s Ian Millhiser breaks down the most important cases — and what we’ve learned about Neil Gorsuch so far.

The mainstream media was all but silent on healthcare — until Thursday, when the Senate unveiled its own repeal legislation, crafted in secrecy. To unpack what’s in the bill, Rebecca and Jeremy are joined by Ryan Collins of the Center for American Progress for this week’s In Case You Missed It. Next, with all eyes on Nevada Senator Dean Heller and other moderate Republicans, Nevada has made moves in the opposite direction. Rebecca speaks with State Majority Leader Aaron Ford about how Nevada almost became the first state to offer Medicaid for all. Next, Wonkblog’s Max Ehrenfreund shares the nitty-gritty on Kansas’s failed experiment with trickle-down economics — and how the state should be the canary in a coal mine for Republicans in Washington. And finally, CAP’s Larry Korb breaks down what the GOP health plan means for veterans, a group President Trump vowed to protect.

June is a celebratory month for the LGBTQ community — but, this year, it also marks the one-year anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre. The anniversary also coincides with a shooting that targeted Republican members of Congress this past week. To discuss what’s unfolded since the Pulse shooting, as well as the paths forward for LGBTQ rights and gun violence prevention, Rebecca is joined by three colleagues from the Center for American Progress: Laura Durso, Audrey Juarez Rubio, and Chelsea Parsons. Also, as Congressional Republicans gear up to drop their own budget proposal following President Trump’s, Congressman John Yarmuth and Representative Barbara Lee join to discuss what’s at stake for everyone who isn’t a millionaire — or a big corporation. But first, Jeremy joins for this week’s installment of In Case You Missed It.

On Thursday, while Comey was testifying, Congress quietly took the opportunity to hack even further away at consumer protections and healthcare. Rebecca and Jeremy walk through what we missed while all eyes were on Comey, in this week’s installment of In Case You Missed It. Next, Mustafa Ali of the Hip Hop Caucus explains how communities of color and low-income people will bear the brunt of Trump’s climate denial agenda and the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris accord. Then, what the Washington Post’s latest swing and miss on Social Security disability says about the mainstream media’s failure to properly report on poverty and disability, with Ned Resnikoff of ThinkProgress. And finally, it’s not just Trump’s budget that’s a Trojan horse for tax cuts for the wealthy. Ed Lazere of the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute shares the good, the bad, and the ugly from D.C.’s own budget, which the D.C. Council is set to pass this coming week.

What does President Trump’s rollback of Obamacare’s contraception mandate mean, and what’s on deck for healthcare more broadly? Andy Slavitt joins to discuss. Next, Liz Kennedy explains the significance of the Supreme Court’s decision to hear Ohio’s voter-purge case, and what it means for the future of voter suppression. Finally, Aditi Juneja discusses what an inclusive resistance looks like. But first, Jeremy Slevin joins for another edition of In Case You Missed It, to unpack this week’s biggest stories in poverty.

President Trump released his budget this week, and as expected, it’s a body-slam to everybody but the wealthy. Harry Stein joins Rebecca and Jeremy to walk through some of the budget’s most egregious cuts. Next, Anna Chu and Bishop Dwayne Royster break down how the budget hits women and communities of color — and what advocates can do to stop these cuts. And finally, Alex Lawson joins to debunk the myth that President Trump’s budget didn’t break his promise not to cut Social Security.

Last week, the Center for American Progress hosted its Ideas Conference, where progressive thought leaders put forth a bold agenda that looks beyond the current administration, with its policies that set us back decades. Host Rebecca Vallas sat down with grass-roots resistance leaders, like DeRay Mckesson and Indivisible’s Leah Greenberg, and those leading the charge from Capitol Hill, including Rep. Keith Ellison and Rep. Maxine Waters, and more.

This week, House Republicans took a deeply unpopular step toward repealing the Affordable Care Act and ending Medicaid as we know it. Rebecca and Jeremy unpack — and vent about — their so-called replacement plan, and what comes next. With millions of Americans worrying about what this means for their healthcare, we air an encore presentation of two women with disabilities and a mother with a disabled child who stand to lose everything if Medicaid is dismantled. Meanwhile, Trump is trying to sabotage the ACA in other ways — including subsidizing states that refused to expand Medicaid. Rebecca speaks with an Arkansas woman who stood up to Senator Tom Cotton at a town hall a few months ago by sharing why the ACA is vital for her and her family. And finally, the nationwide trend of school lunch shaming, and what New Mexico lawmakers are doing to curb the practice.

This week, President Trump released his long-awaited, so-called tax plan — er, page. Max Ehrenfreund of WonkBlog joins with the nitty-gritty. Also this week, a judge blocked Trump’s order targeting sanctuary cities, and the Department of Homeland Security had an epic X-Files moment. Esther Lee of ThinkProgress updates us on the latest on the immigration front. And finally, in the latest installment of our #ResistanceWorks series, two New York-based artists join to discuss Occupy Museums — and how artists are bringing resistance (and their debt) into their art.

With Bill O’Reilly finally booted from Fox News following a string of sexual harassment accusations, Rebecca kicks off this week’s episode with a proper farewell to him, featuring Rebecca Lenn of Media Matters for America (and per usual, Jeremy Slevin). Next, on the heels of Tax Day, Vanessa Williamson, author of Read My Lips: Why Americans Are Proud to Pay Taxes, unpacks how taxes became a four-letter word — and how Americans really feel about paying their taxes. Later in the show, Mara Pellittieri shares the story behind her powerful essay “I’m a Queer Woman. My Best Friend Is a Gay Man. We Almost Got Married Anyway” — and how the legal system doesn’t gel with chosen family. And finally, with nearly 99 percent of low-income Mississippi residents who apply for income assistance turned away empty-handed, Bryce Covert of ThinkProgress joins to explain what’s behind these alarming numbers.

Does another government shutdown loom ahead? Harry Stein, the Center for American Progress’s budget guru, joins Rebecca and The Slevs to share the skinny on tax reform, budget fights, and the possibility of yet another government shutdown. Next, Dylan Matthews of Vox unpacks why it’s such a big deal that Sesame Street now has an autistic character. And finally, as part of our #ResistanceWorks series, Ezra Levin of Indivisible talks about what’s behind the Tax March and what’s on deck for the resistance.

After years of scrutiny and calls from advocates, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the closing of Rikers Island, the facility that embodies the very worst of our country’s failed experiment with mass incarceration. To discuss what’s behind this announcement and its significance for criminal justice reform, Rebecca speaks with Greg Berman, the Director of the Center for Court Innovation. Next, Washington Post reporter Perry Stein explains the controversy of D.C.’s missing black and Latina girls, and Kymone Freeman and Alex Lawson, co-founders of We Act Radio, join to discuss what other issues the mainstream media ignores or gets wrong — and the story behind the station’s launch 5 years ago. Finally, Beverly Tuberville — formerly a lifelong Republican voter who went on to help found the Oklahoma chapter of Indivisible — joins the show. But first, Joe Soss, a professor at the University of Minnesota, talks about how disability beneficiaries have become the new welfare queens.

It’s not just U.S. politicians considering major cuts to programs that serve struggling families. Mary O’Hara, a columnist with The Guardian, joins with an update on how austerity is playing out in the United Kingdom. Next, Sara Goldrick-Rab, author of Paying the Price: College Costs, Financial Aid, and the Betrayal of the American Dream, sheds light on the overlooked issue of hunger on college campuses — and how the current financial aid system is failing many low-income students. Finally, continuing our Resistance Works series, Rebecca speaks with an activist from a New Jersey chapter of Indivisible to get the inside scoop on how they helped flip their Republican Congressman on Trumpcare. But first, with efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act dead for now, Rebecca and Jeremy sit down with Topher Spiro to talk about what’s next for healthcare.

Everyone’s talking about Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings were this week, and coincided with a unanimous ruling by all eight justices that he was wrong about a major disability ruling he made in 2008. To unpack these hearings and discuss what the Democrats’ next moves are, Rebecca is joined by Ian Millhiser, Justice Editor of ThinkProgress. Getting a lot less play in the media is Alexander Acosta, Trump’s second pick for labor secretary, whose hearings were also held this week. Judy Conti of the National Employment Law Project joins to talk about Acosta’s civil rights record and what it means for the future of labor. Next, celebrity chef and founder of Food Policy Action Tom Colicchio discusses how celebrities are pushing back against Trump’s policies. And finally, Alan Fosnacht — a member of Indivisible Michigan — calls in with the skinny on Rep. Dave Trott’s ugly hot mic moment and how Republicans are feeling the heat from the resistance.

President Trump released his first budget, which proposes dramatic cuts to nutrition, housing, job training, legal services, and more. Meanwhile, Republicans have declared war on a critical tool for enforcing legal rights and protections: the class action lawsuit. Sharon Dietrich, a longtime legal aid lawyer and class action litigator, joins to unpack what these proposals would mean for access to justice. Next up, the latest shoe to drop in the GOP’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act was a letter quietly sent to governors that does not bode well for the future of Medicaid. But first, Harry Stein, the Center for American Progress’s beloved budget guru, joins Rebecca and Jeremy to walk through the winners and losers of Trump’s budget.

As we commemorate this week’s ‘Day Without a Woman’ strike, this week’s Off-Kilter is an episode without Jeremy Slevin. Instead, Rebecca is joined by Michelle Chen, co-host of Dissent’s Belabored podcast, to unpack what this week’s strikes say about the future of establishment feminism. Next, Sarah McBride of the Human Rights Campaign, and the first openly transgender speaker at a major party convention, discusses the fight ahead for the LGBTQ community under Trump — and why she’s managed to remain optimistic. Next, Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor and publisher of The Nation, joins to break down Trump’s other war on the media playing out quietly at the FCC. And finally, with Republican efforts to repeal and “replace” the Affordable Care Act continuing to advance full speed ahead, Rebecca sits down with three women whose personal stories highlight how the GOP’s Medicaid cuts would set the clock back on disability rights 50 years or more.

This week, President Trump delivered a joint address to Congress, promising to ring in a “new era of greatness.” But he forgot to mention the $54 billion in cuts he’s seeking to programs that serve low- and middle-income Americans. Jared Bernstein of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities joins to unpack what Trump said — and didn’t say. Next up, Tressie McMillan Cottom, author of Lower-Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy, joins the show. Bryce Covert of ThinkProgress talks about the return of general strikes, and finally Sarah Borgstede, a woman whose husband’s life would have been saved if the Affordable Care Act had been in place, shares her family’s story. But first, Jeremy Slevin returns with this week’s news in poverty and inequality.

To kick off the inaugural episode, host Rebecca Vallas is joined by Sarah Jaffe, author of Necessary Trouble: Americans in Revolt, which examines resistance movements in the U.S. and how they have the power to reshape American politics. Next, Ezra Levin of Indivisible talks about what’s next for the movement that’s responsible for some spirited town halls this week. And Dorian Warren of Center for Community Change Action joins to unpack Trump’s attacks on immigrants and how they fit in with a broader divide-and-conquer strategy. But first, Jeremy Slevin breaks down this week’s biggest news.