Her parents were teenagers when they were forced leave their homes, bid their fathers farewell and live far away, behind barbed wire, for no good reason. In spite of this history, Karen Kurotsuchi Inkelas says, she inherited from her family an “irreverent love” for America.

Against the odds, even against hope, African American poets, artists and intellectuals have believed in the democratic project. It’s a dim flame they’ve kept alive for all to nourish. Our guest urges you to meet that challenge.

A former editor and columnist turned media scholar discusses Black Twitter, a community that fueled a movement for racial justice and the end of police brutality. And she explains what this story has to say about the need for reparative journalism.

Historian Kimberly Gauderman explains how scholars can serve as expert witnesses in asylum cases, shedding light on the sociocultural dynamics driving applicants to escape their countries of origin.

In October 2020, federal agents uncovered a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, put her on trial and possibly start a civil war. Given America’s current political climate, the idea may not have been so far-fetched.

Republican Tina Peters, a county clerk in Colorado, says she secreted data from voting machines to search for fraud in Donald Trump’s presidential defeat. Now she’s under investigation. We check in on this bizarre tale and more, with Emma Brown of the Washington Post.

Degrowth. In classical economic circles the idea is heretical. For economic anthropologist Jason Hickel, dialing down production in rich countries — and canceling debt for poor countries — is the only path to real democracy and, by the way, saving the planet.

Internet giants like Facebook, Google and Twitter aren’t just part of the disinformation problem — they are the problem, according to author Nina Jankowicz. She says they’ve abdicated their role to protect the public from trolls, bots and outright lies.