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For transcripts, please see individual segment pages. 

For transcripts, please see individual segment pages. 

For transcripts, please see individual segment pages.   

A special broadcast and online edition of WNYC’s 15th Annual MLK celebration.Monday, January 18, 3-4 PM ET. Rebroadcast at 8 PM ET.Presented in collaboration with the March on Washington Film Festival. This year, WNYC and Apollo Theater are bringing our annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. event to the national radio airwaves on The Takeaway, the national news program from WNYC and PRX, and online as a Facebook live video simulcast. The special broadcast will be co-hosted by the event’s signature hosts —WNYC’s Brian Lehrer and Senior Editor of WNYC’s Race and Justice Unit Jami Floyd — who will be joined by Tanzina Vega, host of The Takeaway. (WNYC) Guests include James E. Clyburn, Nikole Hannah-Jones, and Letitia James, among a distinguished roster of civil rights leaders, elected officials, activists, journalists, and artists to discuss the urgent priorities facing the incoming Biden-Harris administration, health equity for Black Americans, and what comes next in our nation’s ongoing reckoning around systemic racism.  You’ll have three opportunities to listen Monday, January 18, live on AM 820 at 9am, from 3-4pm on WNYC 93.9 FM, and at 8pm on WNYC 93.9 FM and AM 820. “MLK and the Fierce Urgency of Now!” will also have a video simulcast on Facebook Live at 3pm ET. Featured guests include:  Congressman James E. Clyburn, Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from South Carolina Reverend Dr. William Barber, II, President of Repairers of the Breach and Co-Chair of The Poor People’s Campaign Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., Civil rights activist and co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee Nikole Hannah-Jones, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter and creator of The New York Times’ 1619 Project Letitia James, Attorney General for the State of New York Dr. Uché Blackstock, Yahoo! News Medical Contributor and Founder & CEO of Advancing Health Equity Dr. Jeff Gardere, Associate Professor of Behavioral Medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine Queen Afua, Five-time best-selling author and CEO of the Queen Afua Wellness Center Leslé Honoré, Blaxican artist and activist, who will read from her book of poems Fist & Fire The video version of the program will include introductions from Goli Sheikholeslami, President and CEO of New York Public Radio; Jonelle Procope, President and CEO of the Apollo Theater; and Isisara Bey, Artistic Director of the March on Washington Film Festival.      

President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives just one week after encouraging his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol and disrupt Congress as they tallied Joe Biden’s Electoral College win. He is the first president to be impeached twice. Privately, many Republican members said that while they supported impeachment, they were worried about their physical safety and the political fallout from denouncing a president who remains popular among the base. Only ten Republicans joined House Democrats in voting to impeach.  President Trump’s ban from Twitter means that for the first time in four years, Washington is unaware of how he’s processing the current news cycle and the end of his term.  With President-elect Joe Biden days away from assuming the presidency, he’s preparing to tackle the dual crises of COVID-19 and an economic downturn. How quickly the Senate moves to take up impeachment will have a direct impact on how efficiently the Biden administration is able to move through their agenda. Annie Linskey, a national political reporter at The Washington Post, Anita Kumar, White House correspondent for POLITICO, and Sarah Wire, congressional reporter at The Los Angeles Times, share what the mood is like in the West Wing and what happens to President Trump’s grip on the Republican Party after he leaves office.    Throughout his time in office, Donald Trump's actions have raised many questions about the presidency. Particularly, since he broke with America’s proud tradition of a peaceful transfer of power when his supporters attacked the Capitol. Today, a militarized Washington, D.C. stands prepared to address growing security concerns ahead of Joe Biden’s inauguration. Barbara Perry, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia Miller Center, puts Donald Trump’s presidency into context and expands on how he changed the presidency, for better or worse.  Also, the insurrection has highlighted the role social media platforms have in the dissemination of conspiracy theories and lies. Many of those who participated in the violent attack were involved in conversations on Twitter and Facebook that falsely claimed that the election had been stolen from President Trump. While Trump has been banned from several platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, the lies and rhetoric he shared with his followers has not disappeared. Darrell West, senior fellow at the Center for Technology Innovation at The Brookings Institution, and Kevin Roose, technology columnist at The New York Times, describe how individuals become radicalized online and where they go when they’ve been deplatformed.  

For transcripts, please see individual segment pages. 

For transcripts, please see individual segment pages. 

For transcripts, please see individual segment pages. 

For transcripts, please see individual segments. 

This week, a violent mob of President Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. The insurrectionists were seeking to overturn the results of the general election during a joint session of Congress as members tallied the Electoral College votes. President Trump has routinely and falsely claimed that the presidential election was rigged and encouraged his supporters to reject the result. As Donald Trump prepares to leave the White House, politicians that will remain in Washington will have to contend with the loyalty he’s fomented among his base and the anger that has been released. Jelani Cobb, staff writer at The New Yorker, and Adam Serwer, staff writer at The Atlantic, describe the consequences of failing to hold President Trump accountable for the violent attempt to subvert democracy. And, Grace Segers, political reporter for CBS News, provides a firsthand account of the attack on Capitol Hill.   Also, in the midst of the crisis in Washington this week, Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock won both Senate runoffs in Georgia. As a result, Democrats will have a slim majority in the House and Senate. Sahil Kapur, national political reporter for NBC News, describes how Democrats were able to run progressive candidates in a swing state and win.  Finally, President Trump’s norm-defying first term has drawn sharp criticism over the last four years, but the events of the week have drawn almost universal condemnation. Members of his own party have called on President Trump to resign and in less than two weeks, Joe Biden will be sworn in against a backdrop of unprecedented division. To understand how Joe Biden might attempt to navigate this moment in politics Amy Walter spoke with Brendan Buck, Republican strategist at Seven Letter and a former aide to John Boehner and Paul Ryan, and Joel Payne, Democratic strategist, former aide to Hillary Clinton's 2016 campaign, and host of “Here comes the Payne.” 

For transcripts, please see individual segment pages.

For transcripts, please see individual segment pages. 

For transcripts, please see individual segment pages. 

For transcripts, please see individual segment pages. 

In just a few days, members of the 117th Congress will be sworn into office. While their first days in office will likely include talks about another COVID-19 aid package, one of their first tasks will be tallying the electoral college votes. This task would normally happen with little fanfare, but President Trump’s unfounded claims of voting irregularities and fraud have injected uncertainty into the typically peaceful transfer of power.  Today, a look back at the recent conversations between Amy Walter and freshman members of Congress about the expectations they have going into their first terms. Plus, Nick Fandos of the New York Times describes President-elect Joe Biden’s chances for a more functional legislative process in 2021.  Then, Georgia's competitive political landscape is emphasized by the fact that the state will soon hold two runoff elections that will determine which party controls the Senate. To secure the majority, Democrats will need to win both seats. Gradual demographic change, particularly in metro areas like Savannah and Atlanta, have pushed this former Republican stronghold into the swing-state territory. At the same time, grassroots organizations, many of them led by Black women, have spent years organizing and registering voters - especially Black voters.  Andra Gillespie, an associate professor of political science at Emory University, and Deborah Scott, executive director of Georgia Stand-Up, describe the state’s changing electorate and the future of state-wide races. 

How the Pandemic Changed Our Relationship with Big Tech The Takeaway looks back at our collective reliance on companies like Amazon and Google, and how it feels to be a consumer while attempting to reckon with the ethics of Big Tech.  Making Sense of 2020 Through Poetry The Takeaway speaks with poets Kwame Alexander and Javier Zamora to find out how they processed the events of the year in their own writing. From the COVID-19 Pandemic to Black Lives Matter: What Kwanzaa Means in 2020 Tomorrow marks the final day of Kwanzaa, the annual weeklong celebration honoring African and African American culture.    

A New Variant of COVID-19 Variant is Spreading Rapidly Worldwide A new variant of the coronavirus has been spreading rapidly in parts of the world including the U.K., and now that variant has been detected here in the U.S. Black Women Will Likely be Hurt the Most by the Looming Eviction Crisis Research shows that Black women have historically faced evictions at twice the rate of white people in at least 17 states. Black Animators and Voice Actors Weigh in on How the Animation Industry Needs to Change This year saw the release of "Soul," the first Pixar movie with a Black lead character, but many Black creatives in the animation industry wonder what took so long.

  Climate Change in 2020 Caused Some of the Worst Environmental Disasters in History There have been 41 weather disasters this year that have caused more than a billion dollars in damage. A record 18 of these took place in the U.S. Indigenous Treaties Are Helping to Secure Environmental Wins Nearly 400 treaties exist in the U.S. to protect tribal lands and hunting and fishing rights—and they have rarely been honored. But that may be changing. “Bridgerton” Presents a More Diverse Vision of the Period Drama Producers for the new Netflix period drama, "Bridgerton," decided to subvert the genre by taking a largely colorblind approach to casting.

Decisive Georgia Senate Runoffs Enter Final Stage In just about a week, Georgia will hold two Senate runoffs that will determine which party will control the U.S. Senate.  Trump Pardons and Commutes Dozens of Loyalists Last week, President Trump pardoned or commuted dozens of people. The majority of the President's pardons in his term have been those of supporters and loyalists to the president. New Documentary, “The Dissident,” Explores the Life and Death of Jamal Khashoggi More than two years after his murder, Khashoggi’s killers still have not been brought to justice, and the lives of journalists around the globe continue to be threatened.

Individual reactions to the coronavirus pandemic and the public health restrictions that have accompanied it have underscored how powerful negative partisanship can be in the formation of political opinions. In past crises, national shocks have urged partisans to put aside their personal grievances in pursuit of the greater good, but today, that doesn't seem to be the case. Jonathan Haidt, psychologist and professor of ethical leadership at New York University’s Stern School of Business, shares how the perception of risk influences our political behavior and the impact it has on public opinion. President Donald Trump spent his first term undermining the credibility of the media. His tweets, campaign events, and press conferences were tools he used to cast doubt on the legitimacy of reputable news organizations while promoting unfounded lies and conspiracy theories that served his personal agenda. As President Trump prepares to leave office, members of the White House press pool have turned their gaze to President-elect Joe Biden. Due to the virtual nature of campaigning in 2020, Biden was able to avoid much of the traditional back and forth with members of the media. There are some who argue that members of the press didn’t push hard enough to get Biden in front of reporters. But because Biden has spent a considerable amount of time in Washington, he has a track record that he can be measured against. A core part of Biden’s campaign promise was a return to normalcy that would include a more traditional communications team and relationship with the press. Rick Klein, political director at ABC News, Caitlin Conant, political director at CBS News, and Ben Smith, media columnist at The New York Times, discuss what the Biden administration’s relationship with the press could look like.  President Trump distinguished himself in a crowded 2016 primary field by running as a populist. He spoke to the problems that many Americans felt the government had failed to adequately address, like their inability to earn a decent wage or pay for healthcare and higher education. A man who was born rich tapped into the anxieties of working-class Americans whose pleas for help were ignored by leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties. William G. Howell, professor in American Politics at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, and Terry M. Moe, professor of Political Science at Stanford University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution are the co-authors of Presidents, Populism, and the Crisis of Democracy. They spoke with Amy Walter about the last impact of populism and President Trump’s lasting impact on our politics.