Harpist Ashley Jackson seeks to shatter the traditionally narrow definition of "classical music," highlight Black history and pay homage to Black composers. Jackson, an Assistant Professor and the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Music Department at Hunter College, views the harp as a vehicle for storytelling. In a recent performance at New York City's Lincoln Center called "Take Me To The Water," Jackson explored the role and symbolism of water in Black stories.  Her upcoming...

On May 8th, 2023, Community Change Action, a nonprofit organization that aims to “dramatically improve material conditions for people struggling to make ends meet in the United States,” launched its “A Day Without Childcare” action. Thousands of parents, families and childcare providers came together to push for equitable access to childcare. Co-President of Community Change and friend of the show, Dorian Warren, joins The Takeaway to discuss this action.

Washington state has long led on progressive policies and reform.  In late April, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a package of bills to address gun violence. House Bill 1240 prohibits the manufacture, importation, distribution, and sale of assault-style weapons in Washington. Two additional measures require a 10 day waiting period and a training requirement for all gun purchases were also signed by the Governor.  We speak with Governor Jay Inslee about the legislation, and hear how...

Last week, Jordan Neely, a talented dancer whose impersonations of Michael Jackson made fans of many who watched him perform, was killed by a white former Marine on the New York City subway. Before the marine put Jordan in a chokehold that killed him, he’d been crying out for food. In the depths of despair, he said he wanted to die. But, what he needed was help. Countless others believe Jordan Neely should be alive today. Protests have rocked the city’s subways on behalf of a young man...

Nebraska state senator from Omaha, Machaela Cavanaugh, promised to filibuster every bill that comes before the legislature this year — even those she supports. Why? She’s trying to stop a bill intended to outlaw gender-affirming care for people 18 and under. Senator Cavanaugh has been filibustering since February 23 and halfway through the legislative session in March, she’d managed to prevent even a single bill from passing. Her work took on a new urgency this week when Republicans...

After speaking out on the Montana House floor against a bill that would restrict gender-affirming health care, Rep. Zooey Zephyr was censured by the legislative body. Zephyr, the state’s first openly transgender representative, will be barred from attending in-person debates and voting on legislation for the rest of the legislative session. That’s because Zephyr’s lawsuit against the Montana House, claiming her censorship violated her First Amendment rights, was denied by a Montana District...

A new investigation by Insider reveals flaws and failures of Facebook’s "Trusted Partner" program, which it heavily relies on in "Rest of World" regions which account for just 10% of Facebook's revenue. Trusted Partners are local NGOs contracted to provide local expertise and context to inform Facebook’s content moderation policies and practices. But Trusted Partners in Ethiopia told Insider that Facebook routinely ignored their recommendations and allowed hate speech that inflamed real life...

During the past month, the new Republican majority controlling North Carolina’s state Supreme Court issued reversals of previous rulings on voting rights and overturned a trial court decision. These moves will have meaningful effects on the ability to cast a vote in the state and will have critical implications for local, state, and national election outcomes.  We speak with Ari Berman, National Voting Rights Correspondent for Mother Jones. 

The new investigative podcast series “Head Down'' explores labor trafficking happening within the U.S. government sponsored H2A visa program. It is sold as a “mutually beneficial” immigration program that allows migrant workers to come to the U.S. as temporary agricultural workers, but a close look into the program reveals a great disparity between how the program is described and what actually happens.  A recent investigation by Prism, LatinoUSA, and Futuro Investigates found that this...

Original Air Date: March 3, 2023 As Americans faced soaring food prices, a proposed $24.6 billion dollar megamerger between Kroger and Albertsons was announced on October 14, 2022. These are two of the largest grocery chains in the country, accounting for more than 5,000 locations and employing over 700,000 people across its banner.  The United Food and Commercial Workers and Rocky Mountain Farm Workers Union- two of the nation's largest and oldest unions- are opposed to the merger citing...

Original Air Date: May 02, 2023 On Monday, another multi-billion dollar banking institution collapsed — First Republic Bank. Wealthy investors had been pulling out billions of dollars in deposits over the past few weeks, in a 21st-century digital run on the bank. Federal regulators seized its assets, covered $13 billion in losses, and sold it off to JPMorgan Chase. This is now the second-largest bank failure in American history, and the third significant bank failure of the past two months...

A new study from the Brookings Institution reveals that Americans in four major cities — Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Seattle — believe that crime is out of control in downtowns. But the data shows that that’s not the whole story. While cities post-pandemic have seen an increase in particularly violent and property crimes, those increases haven’t happened in the downtowns, but in the areas that have been historically disadvantaged and disinvested in. So what accounts for this mismatch...

Jim Kenney was elected to the Philadelphia City Council in 1992 at just 32 years old.  After decades of service, he was elected mayor in 2016 then reelected in 2020.  As a term limited city leader, Mayor Kenney is in his final months of leading Philadelphia. We hear him reflect on his time as mayor, his efforts to address crime, and hear about some of the reasons why he is a proud Philadelphian.

In March, the actions of a local church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina received national attention for all the right reasons. The congregation at Trinity Moravian Church partnered with an organization called R-I-P Medical Debt to cancel 3,000 local residents’ medical debt, to the tune of $3.3 million dollars. They bought that debt for just a little over $15,000 dollars.  Rev. John Jackman, the pastor of Trinity Moravian Church held a symbolic “debt burning” ceremony to mark the occasion,...

Last month violence took over Sudan's capital, Khartoum… it has now spread through the entire country and thousands of civilians have fled from the chaos seeking refuge in Chad, Egypt, and other neighboring countries. Despite a second 72-hour ceasefire, violence has continued. Nations, including the US, have evacuated diplomats and citizens from the country. The violence stems from a long rivalry between two generals. The fighting between the two rivals has resulted in attacks on healthcare...

As if winning the 2021 Scripps National Spelling Bee and holding three Guinness World Records weren’t already huge accomplishments, now Zaila Avant-Garde is adding the title of author to her name. She stops by and chats with Melissa about “It’s Not Bragging If It’s True: How to Be Awesome At Life” which is out now, and the upcoming Children’s Book, “Words of Wonder: From Z to A,” which is out June 27th.

The recent death of Carolyn Bryant Donham, the woman whose words prompted the kidnapping, torture and brutal murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955, now means that the last person known to be involved in his kidnapping and murder…will never face accountability. We speak with Timothy B. Tyson, author of The Blood of Emmett Till and senior research scholar at Duke University, and Keith Beauchamp, an award-winning filmmaker behind the documentary “The Untold Story of Emmett Till” and...

Millions of American high school students take Advanced Placement Courses and Exams every year. AP Courses are standardized, college-level classes that students can take in high school, ideally exposing them to the depth, breadth and intellectual rigor of content they’d encounter in the university. But the author of a new book argues that these courses and exams are instead shortchanging students out of the liberal arts education that the AP was initially founded to foster. We speak...

Original Air Date: April 25, 2023 Only days after passing a measure that could dismantle Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs at public universities and colleges, the Texas State Senate passed a bill that would ban tenure offers to new professors at public colleges and universities in Texas. The measure has been opposed by professors across the state who say that this is an attack on academic freedom. Senate Bill 18 now moves to the Texas State House. We speak with Dr. Karma R....

Original Air Date: April 26, 2023 The sitcom Abbott Elementary has become a weekly favorite among all ages in the world of streaming and binge-watching TV. The network series created by Quinta Brunson is a comedy at heart set at a predominantly Black elementary school in Philadelphia, but under the brilliant writing and jokes, is a political commentary about the challenges faced by under-funded public schools. In season 2 (spoiler alert!), the series introduces a new nemesis which is a...

Original Air Date: December 16, 2021 The Takeaway community is full of book worms and literary lovers, so we spoke with some incredible authors about their work and some titles to look out for. Feminist AF: A Guide to Crushing Girlhood Co-authored by Brittney Cooper , Chanel Craft Tanner , and  Susana Morris, this book walks us through their tips for surviving girlhood with a feminist flair.  These Precious Days: Essays New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett reflects on home,...

Thousands of New York Times contributors signed an open letter this February that raised concerns about alleged imbalance and bias in the paper’s coverage of trans people and issues. This month, the co-authors released another letter — this time addressed directly to Times’ publisher A.G. Sulzberger. Contributors continue to criticize both the Times’ coverage of trans people and issues, which they say is biased and harmful, as well as the Times’ response to the letter. Staffers who signed the...

In recent months, franchisees of companies from the Hilton Inn to Subway have been pushing back against their corporate franchisors, claiming they are being squeezed out of profits. And a new study from the Government Accountability office found that franchisees tend to lack basic control over the operational side of their local storefronts, which can make turning a profit difficult. Yet despite these problems, many franchisees forgo reporting the deceptive and unfair practices of their...

Democratic Senator from California Diane Feinstein has spent more than three decades in the U-S senate. Her tenure has won her praise from allied politicians like former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The lawmakers have defended Senator Feinstein as questions arise surrounding her ability to serve. Despite the backing of some defenders, Senator Feinstein is facing calls to step down from within her own party. Minnesota Representative Dean Phillips and...

An autopsy conducted by an independent examiner in March found Tortuguita's hands were in a raised position. A second autopsy report -conducted by the DeKalb County Medical Examiner-found no gun residue on Queer, Indigenous-Venezuelan activist Manuel Teran AKA Tortuguita's hands but only upon visual inspection. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation ran a gun residue kit, confirming gun residue was found on Tortuguita's body. The report noted that "it is possible for victims of gunshot wounds,...