Author: iHeartPodcasts

The gang talks about concentration camps in El Salvador, an ICE arrest of another green card holder, and RFK Jr.’s autism eugenics. Plus updates on tariffs and DOGE.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/14/investing/us-stock-market/index.html

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/trump-tariffs-live-updates-china-signals-readiness-for-talks-if-us-shows-respect-amid-numbers-game-191201017.html

https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-ensures-national-security-and-economic-resilience-through-section-232-actions-on-processed-critical-minerals-and-derivative-products/

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/15/nx-s1-5355896/doge-nlrb-elon-musk-spacex-security

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/16/temu-cuts-us-ad-spend-drops-in-app-store-rank-after-trump-tariffs-.html

https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-issues-export-licensing-requirements-nvidia-amd-chips-china-2025-04-16/

https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/dispatch-border-wall 

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/interior-department-transferring-federal-land-army-border-wall/story?id=65702870 

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/military-mission-for-sealing-the-southern-border-of-the-united-states-and-repelling-invasions/

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cwy03j9vddlt?post=asset%3Aaff18753-80c9-4445-963e-03b9438ef121#post

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/dhs-issues-waiver-expedite-new-border-wall-construction-california

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/08/2025-05992/determination-pursuant-to-section-102-of-the-illegal-immigration-reform-and-immigrant-responsibility

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Born in 1940, Samuel Little was known in multiple states as a drifter, petty criminal and man occasionally capable of violence. Like many people living on the fringe of society, he seemed to slip through the fingers of justice despite numerous arrests. Yet intrepid investigators and improvements in DNA testing eventually proved Little was more than an itinerant drug addict and shoplifter -- according to the FBI, he is the most prolific serial killer in US history.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

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We’re told some people just need to be saved. But what people really need is to be needed. This community of young single mothers in Lexington, Kentucky reveals a version of this story.

Full video viewing options for this story plus links to the Instagram and LinkedIn versions:

https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/young-mothers-asked-to-lead-and-they-did

This episode features Tanya Torp, Executive Director of Step by Step, a nonprofit that chose to stop assuming what young mothers needed—and started asking.

These moms didn’t just receive support. They shaped it. They requested Narcan training. They showed up. They led. They built trust and built community. And in the process, they reminded us:

People need dignity. Agency. The opportunity to contribute.

More stories and updates: https://stories.howtocitizen.com

🎙️ This story series is a collaborative effort by Shira Abramowitz, Jon Alexander, Elizabeth Stewart, and Baratunde Thurston. Video produced by Alexa Lim.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Mia and Spencer Jordan of the Urban Ore Workers Union discuss the workplace as a microcosm of the authoritarianism currently sweeping the American political system and how their strike is fighting back.

https://gofund.me/9ce38160

https://www.instagram.com/urban_ore_workers/

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On 17 December 1967, Harold Holt, the immensely popular prime minister of Australia, went for a swim -- and vanished. In the decades since, his family and the public still have questions about what exactly happened. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore a mystery that remains unsolved in the modern day, along with a meditation on empathy, and a bevy of increasingly bizarre conspiracy theories.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We’re told America is hopelessly divided. But zoom in—like, say, to a school board in South Central Pennsylvania—and a different story emerges.

Full video viewing options for this story plus links to the Instagram and LinkedIn versions:
https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/proof-we-can-overcome-division-3rd 

This episode features Steph and Lance: one conservative, one liberal, both neighbors, both school board members. With the support of Urban Rural Action, they chose relationship over partisanship. Listening over labeling. Curiosity over contempt.

And the result? A school board that works. For the kids. For the community. For all of us. This is what it looks like to citizen:

Listen deeply. Speak honestly. Resist the pull to polarize. Build something different—together

🧭 More stories and updates: https://stories.howtocitizen.com

🎙️ This story series is a collaborative effort by Shira Abramowitz, Jon Alexander, Elizabeth Stewart, and Baratunde Thurston. Video produced by Anne Gutteridge.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Gare and James discuss a meeting between Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on expanding CECOT style prisons to hold US citizens and immigrants.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogLw7I2BWO0

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/14/el-salvador-president-return-wrongly-deported-trump-00289234

https://documentedny.com/2025/04/14/ice-bukele-cecot-tren-de-aragua-el-salvador-new-york-deported/

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The United States invaded Afghanistan on October 7th, 2001 and remains embroiled in the conflict almost two decades later, making this the longest war in US history. Leaders from both of the dominant political parties continually argued that this was a winnable war, proposing new strategies, more troops, and more surges. Yet documents obtained by The Washington Post show that the long-running internal conversations painted a different -- and vastly more disturbing -- picture. Tune in to learn more about the Afghanistan Papers in tonight's Classic episode.

They don't want you to read our book.: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/stuff-you-should-read/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It’s Tax Day in the U.S., a moment when many of us think about how we fund collective life. So today’s story? It’s about layoffs — but not the kind we’ve come to expect.

See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here:
https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/this-tax-day-solidarity-and-consent  

We’re often told democracy is too slow or messy for hard moments. But this episode shows that it’s exactly in those moments that shared power matters most. This isn’t just a story about layoffs. It’s a rejection of the authoritarian reflex in boardrooms, governments, and beyond. It’s about choosing to citizen, even — and especially — when it’s hard.

This story is not the teary CEO on Zoom. Not the cold memo. Not the decision handed down from above. This story is different. Kate “Sassy” Sassoon helped an organization in financial crisis involve everyone in the decision-making process. Together, they:

• Cut costs with consent

• Shared the burden of leadership

• Kept more people employed — and all people respected

“They felt like complete, full humans. Seen. Heard. Valued.” — Kate

Sign up to share and discover more stories like this: https://stories.howtocitizen.com

Video Produced by: Tess Novotnoy

Week of Citizening Collaborators: Baratunde Thurston, Jon Alexander, Shira Abramowitz, Elizabeth Stewart

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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James and Gare discuss the terrible impact of the earthquake that hit Sagaing in late March, how the Junta has blocked aid workers, and how the revolution has responded. We also talk about how you can help.

Better Offline & Weird Little Guys are nominated for this year’s Webby Awards! Get your votes in by April 17th! 🗳️🗳️🗳️

https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/individual-episode/business

https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2025/podcasts/individual-episode/crime-justice

Sources:
https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/up-to-700-myanmar-muslims-killed-in-quake-hit-mosques-weakened-by-neglect.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/world/asia/myanmar-earthquake-aftershocks-airstrikes.html

https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/myanmar-juntas-aerial-attacks-continue-despite-post-quake-ceasefire/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/myanmar-junta-shoots-chinese-earthquake-aid-convoy-rcna199233

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/07/world/asia/myanmar-earthquake-aid.html

https://www.reuters.com/article/economy/myanmar-lashes-out-at-quotchocolate-barquot-foreign-aid-idUSSP172535/

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/lives-updates-quake-death-toll-rises-to-3600-junta-suspends-tourist-visa-after-quake-private-us-field-hospital-in-naypyitaw-and-more.html

https://www.irrawaddy.com/opinion/guest-column/global-response-to-myanmar-earthquake-shines-light-on-strategic-rivalries.html

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/live-updates-death-toll-exceeds-3500-hundreds-in-urgent-need-of-quake-aid-juntas-airstrikes-still-rage-on-and-more.html

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/world/live-updates-death-toll-rises-to-3471-quake-relief-teams-must-obey-junta-us-pledges-additional-7-million-in-quake-relief-and-more.html

https://myanmar-now.org/en/news/resistance-forces-capture-indaw-town-after-months-of-fighting/?sfnsn=scwspmo

https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/war-against-the-junta/myanmar-junta-airstrikes-kill-over-30.html

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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