Jeremy Smith returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about Civitech's new product, RunningMate, software for running a political campaign and what he thinks we need to do to fix the ongoing voter registration deficit.

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The Great Battlefield Podcast

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Content note: This episode discusses suicide and sexual violence.

After a years-long legal fight from the Department of Homeland Security, a court order finally gave Nick and other investigators access to 33 reports detailing conditions in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities. The documents showed a disturbing pattern of abuse that extended far beyond the gates of Adelanto Detention Center, spreading throughout ICE detention facilities across the United States. In this episode, Maren gets into the conditions in ICE detention and raises the question: What needs to change for this broken system to be fixed?

Maren breaks down the reports with POGO’s Senior Investigator Nick Schwellenbach and former Senior Researcher Freddy Martinez. She talks with activists Berto Hernandez and Arely Westley about their experiences of the conditions in ICE detention, and she visits a Louisiana airport with LA-AID volunteer Sarah Jones to meet people who were recently released from ICE facilities. Finally, to untangle just how immigration policy became entwined with counterterrorism — and how we can fix it — Maren talks with POGO’s Katherine Hawkins, the Brennan Center for Justice’s Spencer Reynolds, and The Ohio State University Professor César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández.

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Bad Watchdog Podcast

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In this week’s episode, Ryan Coonerty sits down with Illinois State Representative Bob Morgan. They reflect on the horrific mass shooting in the representative's community of Highland Park during a 4th of July Parade in 2022 – a timely topic as he returns from a visit to the White House, as he co-chairs the Illinois House Firearm Safety Reform Working Group. Morgan shares his experience working on this crucial issue and the personal ties that ignited his passion for combating gun violence. In addition, Ryan and Representative Morgan delve into his highly debated efforts to eliminate junk fees in Illinois, his commitment to reducing healthcare costs, and his approach to building strong relationships within the legislature, as well as his experience as a Jewish leader during a surge of antisemitism across the country. Tune in to learn about his push to end daylight savings time and the obstacles to making this a reality.

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [01:04] Introducing Illinois State Representative Bob Morgan and his efforts to work on gun safety.

• [02:36] The stories of gun violence that ignited his passion for taking this issue seriously.

• [05:23] Prospects for reducing these kinds of incidents in US communities.

• [07:43] Representative Bob’s journey to public service.

• [13:17] Building and maintaining relationships with colleagues by building your understanding of them.

• [14:26] Issues he has worked on and why healthcare is a focus for him.

• [20:04] Why no changes have been made to daylight savings.

• [22:40] Facing the rise of antisemitism as a member of the Jewish caucus.

• [27:26] Predictions for the upcoming convention and the elections to follow.

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An Honorable Profession Podcast

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