The Jess Fields Show

*Apologies for the washed out audio on this episode. We had a microphone issue.*

We speak with religion journalist Terry Mattingly, who has written the On Religion column for national newspapers for about 32 years and runs GetReligion.org.

Mattingly spoke extensively about the Jerry Falwell, Jr. situation and the 2020 election. Falwell recently resigned his position running the university his father founded, Liber...

We interview veteran storm chaser Jeff Piotrowski as he currently sits in the direct path of Hurricane Laura on the Texas/Louisiana border. What’s the forecast track and how can one be prepared for the hurricane?

Jeff is THE guy you want to talk to about big storms, and he gives us a comprehensive update and tips on how to survive a deadly hurricane.

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We are joined again by Dr. Ryan Burge, a professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and pastor who is well known for his commentary on religion and politics.

We spoke about how religion plays into the 2020 election, what Dr. Burge expects to happen, and how both candidates could win by using different strategies. 

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We spoke with Dr. Jennifer Mercieca, Professor of Communications at Texas A&M University, about her new book Demagogue for President: The Rhetorical Genius of Donald Trump. The book is out this week from Texas A&M University Press.

It aims to study the rhetorical styles of President Trump as used throughout his 2015-2016 presidential campaign, distilling six different techniques used by Trump to win support for his...

***Be advised: this interview contains a lot of profane language used by the guest. Viewer and listener discretion advised. ***

We interview John McAfee, the founder of McAfee Antivirus and an extraordinarily unique person who has, in recent years, become something of an international man of mystery. Most recently, he ran for President of the United States.

Originally, we were set to discuss cybersecurity — a top...

We interview Rachel Cooper, Senior Policy Analyst in Health and Wellness at Every Texan, a progressive think tank based in Austin, Texas (formerly the Center for Public Policy Priorities). Every Texan is a nationally recognized progressive think tank that focuses on both state and federal issues.

Cooper spoke extensively and frankly about race relations and racial disparities in America, a timely topic given the continued ...

We interview Marc Levin, the Chief of Policy and Innovation for the Right on Crime Initiative at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Levin is a nationally-recognized criminal justice reform advocate and researcher who has met with both President Obama and President Trump about his ideas.

Levin walks us through an enormous amount of information on criminal justice reform, including a su...

*** As a disclaimer I put on all of my interviews: I do not necessarily agree with everything, or even anything, that any of my guests say. My goal with this program is to provide good journalism: to bring out the facts about what is going on in our society.

This interview undoubtedly has some controversial material. Also, there is some bad language used by the guests during the interview. Please be advised beforehand, and...

We interview 4 Texas Republican state representatives and a Republican state senator who have concerns about Texas' $295 Million contract with MTX Group. 

Governor Abbott has defended the contract, but some legislative Republicans are beginning to have questions. Because Republicans control both the Texas House and Senate, these interviews may reveal a trend in the Republican caucus about where other legislators may c...

We interview Maya Santamaria, a business owner and community leader in Minneapolis who employed both George Floyd and his alleged killer, Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, at the same time in a nightclub she owned.

Santamaria gives us her on-the-ground perspective on the violent protests and riots going on in Minneapolis, who she believes is behind them, and how local business owners are responding. She explains th...

In this special report, we investigate MTX Group and its founder, Dastagir (Das) Nobel, who won a $295 million contract in early May from the State of Texas for contract tracing.

We interviewed two Texas State Representatives, Democrat Joe Deshotel and Republican James White, for reaction. Both had concerns about the bidding process and MTX.

Among the findings:

- Mr. Nobel claims in his LinkedIn to have c...

We interview the Hon. James To Kun-sun, the most senior pro-democracy legislator in Hong Kong.

Mr. To is a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council serving since 1991. Mr. To is also one of the co-founders of the largest pro-democracy party in Hong Kong, the Democratic Party.

Mr. To has much to say about how the newly proposed law in China's National People's Congress will affect Hong Kong's p...

We interview Dr. Ryan Burge, an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University and and a pastor in the American Baptist denomination.

Dr. Burge has become a well-known authority on analyzing the rising trend of the religiously unaffiliated in America, the "nones." This group has become the largest single religious group in America today, and is only expected to increase.

Dr. Burg...

We interview Alison Greene, a progressive grassroots activist and social media influencer with over 80,000 followers on her Twitter, @grassrootsspeak. She talks to us about the rent strikes going on now, the coronavirus pandemic, and Bernie Sanders' role in the 2020 Democratic nomination, as well as several other issues important to progressives.

This is part 2 of 2.

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We interview Alison Greene, a progressive grassroots activist and social media influencer with over 80,000 followers on her Twitter, @grassrootsspeak. She talks to us about the rent strikes going on now, the coronavirus pandemic, and Bernie Sanders' role in the 2020 Democratic nomination, as well as several other issues important to progressives.

This is part 1 of 2.

Subscribe in your favorite podcast app, l...

We interview Idaho State Rep. Ilana Rubel, a Democrat, who is the Minority Leader of the Idaho State House and represents District 18A in the State House. This includes the southeast part of the Boise area. She talks about the coronavirus response in Idaho, responds to comments made by her Republican colleague Rep. Heather Scott previously on this program, and talks about her caucus' legislative agenda going forward.

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We interview Bishop David Konderla, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, about the Catholic Church in the coronavirus age and his own story of becoming a bishop. Bishop David was appointed by Pope Francis in 2016, and prior to that was priest of Saint Mary's Catholic Center in College Station, Texas.

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We interview Emmy-Award-winning storm chaser Jeff Piotrowski about his decades chasing over 900 tornadoes, 24 hurricanes, and numerous other severe weather events. He recounts how he was on the ground when hurricanes and tornadoes hit, how he finds storms, and what he's thinking in the midst of these events. He also looks ahead to the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, forecasted to be highly active.

This is part 2 of 2...