One year ago this week, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade—a momentous decision that has enabled 14 states to outlaw abortion so far. Host Brittany Packnett Cunningham knew exactly who she wanted to talk to about that, and in this special episode, she sits down with Vice President Kamala Harris to talk about the chaos, the confusion, and what the White House should be doing to help patients and providers now. They get into all of it: what the VP thinks of the “extremist so-called...

It’s been five years exactly since millions of people, most of them women, stepped forward to say #MeToo. What have we learned since then? In our season finale, host Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with Tarana Burke, the woman who started the movement back in 2006, along with playwright/attorney Mary Kathryn Nagle, and organizer/attorney Monica Ramirez. Their conversation is a reflection on our post-#MeToo world—and what we actually owe survivors. But first, as always, your UNtrending...

The floods, the hurricanes, the wildfires…if you feel like you’re living through a climate apocalypse, you’re not wrong. But it’s not all hellfire, says marine biologist Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson—there are signs of progress if you know where to look. In this episode, the “climate futurist” sits down with host Brittany Packnett Cunningham to give our planet a report card from the point of view of science, policy and climate action. The results? Not what we expected. But first, this week’s...

Congresswoman Cori Bush doesn’t have the usual political resume: no Ivy League alma mater, no law degree, no generational wealth––but she’s an organizer, a mother, a pastor and a survivor, and she’s brought all those pieces of herself with her to Washington. Host Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with Rep. Bush to talk about her brand-new memoir, her harrowing journey to the Capitol, and what it’s really like to survive in politics as a Black woman. But first, this week’s UNtrending...

What do Stranger Things, social media and sexual violence all have in common? They all figure into Derecka Purnell’s brilliant world philosophy about abolition—the effort to move beyond police, and the violence too often associated with them. In this episode, host Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with her friend, the writer and professor, to hear more. This is a conversation about scaling big ideas down to day-to-day practice. But first, this week’s UNtrending News. For more information...

The funeral is over. The pomp has died down. But the conversations—not just around the monarchy, but around the legacy of imperialism—continue around the world. So host Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with three women with different perspectives on the empire: writer Luvvie Ajayi Jones, professor and scholar Caroline Elkins, and the Meteor’s Shannon Melero. Together they get into what the queen represented, what people still don’t understand about colonialism, and their own families...

It’s Hispanic Heritage Month! And Julissa Natzely Arce Raya has complicated feelings. The author of You Sound Like a White Girl sits down with host Brittany Packnett Cunningham to talk about why some stories get told so much more than others—and what that costs us. You’ll hear about rebel cheerleaders, solidarity between activists, the pressure to assimilate, and what Julissa learned from her journey through Wall Street. Plus, of course, this week’s UNtrending news.  To learn more about...

It’s all about the young folk this week: We’ve got Gen Z protestors disrupting anti-abortion galas…a student reporter holding colleges to task…and clever TikTokers lobbying for debt relief. And that’s just in the first ten minutes! Then, host Brittany Packnett Cunningham talks to school librarian Jennisen Lucas and author George M. Johnson about the new wave of book banning, who’s really behind it, and the lifelong damage it does– to students, and to all of us.  Note: Read Talia’s Kantor...

COVID taught us a lot of lessons—or did it? With MPV (aka monkeypox) here in its wake, host Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with Dr. Monica Gandhi and Dr. David Johns to talk about what we’re getting wrong, the rise of homophobic disinformation, and why it’s still so hard for us to care for our neighbors. But first, this week’s UNtrending news. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad...

The headlines say crime is up. And our politicians say more police are the answer. What’s the truth? And what happened to all those abolitionist promises made in the summer of 2020? Host Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down to answer those questions with two brilliant guests: Pulitzer-winning journalist Wesley Lowery, who explains what the media’s getting wrong about crime, and activist, writer and attorney Andrea Ritchie, who walks us through once and for all what abolition really...

On this week’s episode, Undistracted host Brittany Packnett Cunningham talks to journalist Caitlin Dickerson about one of the darkest policy moments in American history: the “Zero Tolerance” family separation initiative. Caitlin spent 18 months investigating family separation for The Atlantic. She conducted over 150 interviews in order to unpack the administrative decisions that led us here, as well as the collateral trauma still playing out today. In this conversation, we learn about the...

“This started off as a conversation about Beyoncé,” says host Brittany Packnett Cunningham, “but like her music, it became about so many other things: the evolution of womanhood, our queer siblings, spiritual sexuality and giving Black women their things.” So settle in and listen to legendary music writer Danyel Smith, NPR reporter Ayesha Rascoe, and theologian Candice Benbow talk about it all—from the politics of Beyoncé to why her music means so much right now. There are belly laughs,...

The majority of Americans didn’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned—but it was. Most Americans want gun reform—but it doesn’t happen. So the big question is: What’s going on here? Maria Teresa Kumar, cofounder of Voto Latino, understands the answers, and she lays them out here, in conversation with correspondent Treasure Brooks. They talk gerrymandering, voter suppression and the very specific races we need to win this fall in order to make things better. And of course, host Brittany Packnett...

"The media has such a limited understanding about Black femaleness,” says Phoebe Robinson, the actress, comedian, writer, podcast host and producer. “But the complexity is always more interesting!” So she and Brittany Packnett Cunningham go complex (and hilarious) in this episode, talking about Robinson’s new show, “Everything’s Trash”; the prospect of a Black Carrie Bradshaw; and also our trash world, beginning but not ending with Clarence Thomas. And first–this week’s UNtrending news. ...

You know gun violence is an American epidemic. But…why? And how do we get out of this mess? Jennifer Mascia understands those answers better than almost anyone. As a reporter with The Trace, her entire beat is gun violence. Host Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with her to talk about the highs and lows of the last few weeks, the threat of civil conflict, and exactly what’s wrong with the “good guy with a gun” theory. All that, and this week’s UNtrending news.  To learn more about...

Written and narrated by award-winning author and Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, “History is US” is a 6-part audio documentary produced and developed by C13Originals that asks questions about who we are as a nation, and what race might reveal about our current crisis. Through the voices of distinguished historians and scholars, this limited series gives listeners the background and education to understand how we got here and how we can all...

“I would rather be a voice and an advocate for my people than sit and smile in the face of b******t.” That’s host Tiffany Cross’ philosophy—and the reason she consistently centers BIPOC voices on her MSNBC show. In this episode, recorded live in Washington, D.C., she and Brittany (colleagues *and* friends) get real about everything from the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade to what exactly is lighting up the group chat these days. All that, plus your UNtrending news. To learn...

It’s been six days since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. But activist and “abortion freedom fighter” Michelle Colón has been defending pregnant people and providers in Mississippi for years—and she’s not going to stop now. She tells host Brittany Packnett Cunningham exactly what a post-Roe future looks like, and why her only words to people who doubt her is, “You know what? Dare us.” Plus, public defender Rhiannon Hamam of the podcast 5-4 walks us through the new legal...

In the shadow of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, what do hope and faith mean? In this bonus episode, host Brittany Packnett Cunningham joins journalist Phillip Picardi, Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis, and Jamie L. Manson, president of Catholics for Choice, to talk about religion, and the revolution ahead. This conversation originally aired on Twitter—follow us @TheMeteor for more. If you can, please support abortion funds at: https://abortionfunds.org, check in with your local...

You probably know the data about what Black women face when they give birth. But do you know the stories? Martina Abrahams Ilunga and Gabrielle Horton are committed to telling them, through their podcast NATAL. Brittany Packnett Cunningham sat down with the journalists to talk about what they’ve learned, what they advise, and her own journey to motherhood. Together, they get into the importance of community, and how to navigate a healthcare system that has systematically overlooked the Black...

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What does having faith mean in 2022? Candice Benbow has become an icon for answering that question—especially for those of us who’ve fallen off the prayer wagon somewhere along the way. This week, the writer/theologian/educator and author of Red Lip Theology sits down with host Brittany Packnett Cunningham to talk about her rituals (some of them happen at the beauty supply store), her mother, her Beyonce connection, and healing from assault. Plus, we bring you this week’s UNtrending...

In this week’s episode, host Brittany Packnett Cunningham honors the victims and the tragedy of the Uvalde, Texas, shooting. Then, the Undistracted team sits down with TV personality and business icon Bevy Smith to talk about women, aging and why she wants to be “one of the old dolls.” Plus, Smith IDs the factors that helped her navigate the predominantly white fashion world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It’s been a long week, y’all—and we’ve been grieving the victims of the Buffalo shooting. On the heels of that violence, we’re bringing you an interview that host Brittany Packnett Cunningham did with Professor Kimberlé Crenshaw last summer, as the anti-CRT laws began to sweep the country. As always, the professor makes it all makes sense, and her discussion of everything from white “insecurity” to the purposes of book-banning hits different in this tragic week. Plus, correspondent Treasure...