Gerrymandering is bad. But self-sorting? It might be the silent force doing even more damage to American democracy. In today’s episode, Michael Smerconish dives into California’s surprising move to potentially dismantle its independent redistricting commission—a system once hailed as the national model for fairness and transparency. Why now? What’s driving t ... Show More
Jan 2025
The Hit Song that Gave Us MLK Day
January 15, 1969. It's been less than a year since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Friends, family, and followers are gathered at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Dr. King preached. They are there to remember him on his birthday, honor his legacy, and pre ... Show More
35m 34s
Oct 2024
509. America in '68: The Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. (Part 2)
The peaceful figurehead of the Civil Rights movement in the early 1960s, Dr Martin Luther King had inspired hundreds of thousands to demand equal rights for African Americans. But by 1968, the once uniting leader seemed to be losing popularity, both amongst activists and in the p ... Show More
1h 4m
Feb 2024
Malcolm X Is Assassinated (1965)
It’s February 22nd. This day (February 21st, in fact) in 1965, Malcolm X is assassinated as he’s giving a speech at a Harlem ballroom.
Jody, NIki, and Kellie discuss why X felt as if his killing was almost an inevitability, why the details of that day remain murky — and how two o ... Show More
19m 22s
Nov 2024
510. America in '68: The Killing of Robert Kennedy (Part 3)
“What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another”
As Attorney General during JFK’s presidency, Bobby h ... Show More
1h 6m