America’s Unaffordability Crisis, and ICE Protests (with Jelani Cobb)

This week, Stacey begins by offering a response to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ ridiculous assertion that Americans could save money if only they limited their dinners to a piece of chicken, a piece of broccoli, and a corn tortilla. Then she speaks to Jelani Cobb, Dean of the Columbia Journalism School and Author of “Three or More Is A Riot” to talk about what historic parallels can teach us about authoritarianism and activism in this moment. As protests grow in response to violent ICE encounters in Minnesota and other parts of the country, history offers insight into what ordinary Americans have done to stand up for each other, and offers a hopeful blueprint for our future. 

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

Learn & Do More:

• Be Curious: Pick up a copy of Jelani Cobb’s book  “Three Or More Is A Riot”.
• Solve Problems: A group of cyclists known as CyclingXSolidarity are riding across Chicago, buying out food carts from vendors who may be undocumented, so the workers can stay home without losing wages. And they are distributing the food they purchase to help those in need across the city. Check them out at cyclingxsolidarity.com to support them, and consider taking similar action in your own communities.

Do Good: Last Tuesday, the Supreme Court held oral arguments on the constitutionality of state bans on transgender women and girls participating in sports that align with their gender identity. Volunteer with and donate to organizations like The Trevor Project at thetrevorproject.org to support LGBTQ+  youth at this difficult time.