Filmmaker and U.S. Air Force veteran Ryan Begay (Diné) set out to bring some of the stories of others Native American veterans to a broader audience. In the process, he brings those stories, especially those of Native women who serve in the military to life, in the documentary, “Honor Song“. We’ll hear about the film and from some of those featured in it.
Another Air Force veteran, Steven Sibley (Cherokee), also saw a need to connect with fellow military veterans and to provide a better source of information about the resources and benefits available to veterans and their family members. He now is co-publisher of the free Oklahoma Veterans News Magazine. We’ll talk with him about his service in the military and ways veterans can connect with the benefits available to them.
GUESTS
Ryan Begay (Diné), producer, director, actor, and Air Force veteran
Cassie Velarde Neher (Jicarilla Apache), Navy veteran and doctoral student at the University of New Mexico
Chris Wallis lives in London, and grew up on a farm in the UK. He was the kid running around the countryside climbing trees - until his parents bought a computer when he was 15. Past that point, he didn't leave the house much, learning to code and digging into ethical hacking. Outside of tech, he is into tennis, swimming, alpine skiing and surfing. He finds himself in phases with these sports, and rotates them often.
In the past, Chris was an ethical hacker, and spent a long time busting into big name systems. Eventually, he moved into one of those companies - and he realized that the tooling out there to discover attack surface weaknesses were lagging. He decided to build a platform that got the job done.
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It seems the nearly 8 billion people living on Earth can't seem to agree on anything, much less cooperate to achieve a goal. But what if there was some way to unite them, to push the millions of different communities on the planet toward working together? One of the proposed answers is something called 'Project Blue Beam' -- the idea that, if you can't find a messiah, you can use technology to make one.
Some AI companies are turning to nuclear power to meet demand for electricity. But traditional nuclear plants can take decades to bring online.
Now some tech companies are partnering with startups trying to build small, modular nuclear reactors, designed with speed in mind. One such company, Kairos, has a deal with Google to build a fleet of modular reactors. To do so, it’s relying on a technique first developed in the mid-20th century: molten-salt cooling.
It’s karaoke night for Bridget and Ryan, but something stops them from belting their favorite tunes on their podcast: the law. It’s the perfect setup to answer a question from Garrett, who wants to know about copyright, trademarks, and royalties. We all know people deserve to be paid for their creative ideas. But how does it actually work? Together, we’ll find out how creators protect their ideas and make money from them. Plus, will Ryan be able to turn what he’s learned into a lucrative musical career?
If your family is interested in learning even more about today’s question, check out our website. We’ve got conversation starters and a tip sheet!
This episode is sponsored by Greenlight. Sign up for Greenlight today at greenlight.com/million.
The Senate moves toward ending the record-long government shutdown with a short-term funding deal, while Democrats warn it leaves healthcare unresolved. The Supreme Court rejects Kim Davis’ appeal, reaffirming same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. Meanwhile, the court also weighs whether SNAP food aid can resume during the shutdown as families face mounting hardship. Flight cancellations continue to ripple across Southern California airports as unpaid controllers stay home. Overseas, the BBC faces resignations and legal threats after editing Trump’s January 6th speech. And in Washington, President Trump pardons key allies including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows.
On Monday night, a small group of Senate Democrats broke from their colleagues and struck a deal with Republicans to try to end the government shutdown. The vote signaled a break in the gridlock that has shuttered the government for weeks.
Catie Edmondson and Shane Goldmacher discuss the agreement, and the rift in the Democratic Party.
Guest:
Catie Edmondson, a congressional correspondent for The New York Times.
Shane Goldmacher, a national political correspondent for The New York Times.
People are spurning marriage and any other kind of romantic relationship in record numbers. Our correspondents explore the non-dating market. The rise of AI companions could also have profound implications for society. And why tobacco companies are thriving.
As the Senate officially sends its shutdown-ending resolution to the House, progressive Democrats focus their ire on Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The Supreme Court takes up a case that could profoundly affect mail-in voting rules. And House Democrats demand to know whether Jeffrey Epstein’s accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell is receiving preferential treatment in federal prison.
That’s the question on everyone’s mind since last Tuesday night—when the richest city in America elected 34-year-old democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as its mayor.
You can see Mamdani’s win as a one-off—a charismatic contender facing a rival mired in controversy. But the other way to see it is as emblematic of something larger: a sign about the state—and future—of the left.
Here was a candidate promising to solve the affordability crisis with free childcare, free buses, rent freezes, and even government-run grocery stores. And despite the socialist bent, most establishment Democrats fell in line to support him—from Kathy Hochul and Hakeem Jeffries to Barack Obama, who reportedly called Mamdani to offer himself as a sounding board.
If that’s true—if Mamdani is the new standard-bearer for Democrats in the way Obama once was—then where does that leave someone like Senator John Fetterman?
The Pennsylvania senator didn’t just withhold his endorsement—he went so far as to say that socialism is not the future of the Democratic Party.
It’s an interesting stance, given that just a few years ago, Fetterman ran a progressive Senate campaign focused on reforming criminal justice, legalizing marijuana, and raising the minimum wage. He was backed by AOC and Bernie Sanders. The right even called him a “silver-spoon socialist.”
Then came his near-fatal stroke on the day of his Democratic primary—followed by calls from both sides to drop out. Instead, he stayed in the race and won, flipping a GOP Senate seat.
Since coming to Congress, Fetterman has stood out—and not just because he’s six-foot-eight. He’s shown strong support for Israel, a departure from many in his party. He’s said Democrats mishandled border security under Biden. He praised the president for his peace deal in Gaza—and even met with him in Mar-a-Lago.
He’s also publicly blamed Democrats for the government shutdown, saying: “I follow country, then party.” He refused to “play chicken with the food security of 42 million Americans,” and voted 15 times with Republicans to reopen Washington.
On Sunday night, the Senate finally voted to reopen the governement—but only after 40 days of missed paychecks, travel chaos, and millions at risk of losing SNAP benefits.
It was just the latest litmus test for Democrats, highlighting the divide between the centrists and the progressives—between, for lack of better words, the Fetterman wing and the Mamdani wing. And now, Democrats may have to decide which impulse to run on—in 2026, and in 2028. Today, Bari asks John Fetterman about his decision to speak out against his own party; his recent dinner with Donald Trump—and the backlash that followed; the shutdown and whether he believes the Democratic Party is heading in the right direction; and finally, his new book Unfettered, which chronicles his journey to the Senate, his stroke, his battle with depression, and his time in office.
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