Pod Save the People
On Pod Save The People, host DeRay Mckesson explores social justice, culture, politics – and the various ways they all collide – with cohosts Myles E. Johnson and Sharhonda Bossier. Each Tuesday, the crew digs into the current events driving the political discourse – bringing cultural context, actionable insights, and a hot take or two – to help empower listeners to engage as thoughtful members of their communities…and their group chats. Alongside special guests, the show uplifts overlooked news stories that impact people of color and amplifies underrepresented voices who are working to create meaningful change.
Episodes
The U.S. threatens new sanctions on the International Criminal Court—so long as it agrees not to prosecute Donald Trump—while American service members quietly worry they’ll be left holding the legal bag for overseas military strikes. Plus, a reminder of what accountability and care can look like, as the Redd Family Collection of Black Art anchors community, history, and cultural power at the Tubman African American Museum. DeRay in...
Dollar stores are caught quietly overcharging the very communities they claim to serve, a failed psychology essay at the University of Oklahoma ignites a national debate over religious discrimination, and CNN’s new partnership with a prediction market raises fresh questions about where journalism ends and gambling begins.
News
How the dollar-store industry overcharges cash-strapped customers while promising low prices
Death row prisoners granted clemency under Biden now brace as the Trump administration rolls out retaliatory prison policies. Podcast influencers who made millions glamorizing “wild births” are now tied to infant deaths across the globe, as investigations reveal a deadly pipeline of anti-medical radicalization. And Gen Z’s viral “quarter-zip movement” signals a generation rewriting the rules of professionalism.
News
Trump grows increasingly agitated as Epstein files inch toward public release, Marjorie Taylor Greene becomes the latest Republican to wobble on loyalty, and new visa data shows some foreigners being denied entry to the U.S. for… being obese?? Meanwhile, a new AI study finds large language models occasionally breaking bad, Democrats gear up for insurgent primaries over the shutdown betrayal, and New York restaurants are outsourcing...
Government shutdown chaos deepens as hosts debate the fate of the 'Blue Wave', the DOJ targets judges with immigrant defense backgrounds, LAPD ignores City budget hiring more officers than it can afford, and Outkast finally gets their flowers at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. DeRay interviews journalist Brian Goldstone about his new book There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America.
News
A wave of layoffs hit Corporate America as the federal shutdown drags on, a drug bribery sting in Mississippi exposes 14 police officers among the 20 arrested, Trump’s White House denounces a Drexciya-inspired Smithsonian exhibit, and new research shows foodborne UTIs disproportionately impact low-income communities. DeRay interviews the team behind the new HBO Max documentary The Alabama Solution: directors Andrew Jarecki & Charlo...
Millions brace for food stamp losses as the federal shutdown drags on, Steve Bannon pushes Trump’s fantasy of a 2028 presidency, Eric Adams calls Andrew Cuomo 'snake and a liar' then endorses him for NYC Mayor, George Santos pens jailhouse blog ahead of pardon, the NBA faces a Mafia-backed betting scandal, and Angela Rye/Joe Budden conflict sparks debate over “elitism” in Black media.
News
Candace Owens barred from entry into several countries, Gavin Newsom caught slipping by Van Lathan and reparations leaders, while videos of Charlie Kirk’s murder remain online by design. PSTP hosts debate on mass movements in America and honor the life and legacy of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a Stonewall veteran and legendary trans activist.
News
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, Stonewall Veteran and Legendary Trans Activist, Has Died at 78
It’s chaos, capitalism, and counterprogramming this week: Katie Porter’s office implodes, Turning Point USA takes its culture wars to the Super Bowl, a billion-dollar political betting platform blurs the line between democracy and data, and a Philly creative turns her home into resistance art. DeRay interviews LaShawn Harris, author of Tell Her Story: Eleanor Bumpurs & the Police Killing That Galvanized New York City.
News
From ICE terrorizing Chicago to Apple deleting ICE-tracking apps under Trump pressure, the saga continues. The Root boasts new Black ownership, Ezra Klein and Ta-Nehisi Coates debate Charlie Kirk’s legacy, Georgia’s Supreme Court sides with Black landowners, and Bari Weiss brings “free speech” to CBS News.
News
Bari Weiss named editor-in-chief of CBS News as Paramount acquires The Free Press
U.S. officials cover up a “secret cemetery” of 230 Black boys, Trump to attend a gathering of top generals, Solange Knowles launches a free radical library, and the legacy of Assata Shakur takes center stage while Kamala Harris hits the book-tour circuit to mixed reviews.
News
230 dead Black boys. A 'secret cemetery. Officials knew, and didn't act.
Assata Shakur, a fugitive Black militant sought by the U.S. since 1979, dies in Cuba
Jimmy Kimmel’s show gets the axe then reinstated, AOC eyes her next big political move, Trump’s Education Department pushes white-washed civics lessons, the U.S. strikes an alleged Venezuelan drug vessel, and Kansas City community fights to rescue a Black book archive.
News
Trump ally Charlie Kirk shot dead on a Utah campus, Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro gets 27 years for his coup dreams, and Utah makes headlines again with the launch of a new Black-owned bank. Kaya Henderson interviews Dr. John B. King, Jr., Chancellor of the State University of New York and former U.S. Secretary of Education (Obama Administration), about his new book Teacher by Teacher: The People Who Change Our Lives.
News
Miami elections move forward as the state moves to end all vaccine mandates, Europe bans the use of gel nail polish, a Texas court-appointed lawyer faces white nationalist allegations, and a legendary Southern cookbook celebrates 50 years with a new cover.
News
Florida plans to end all state vaccine mandates, including for schools
Is This Court Appointed Lawyer in Texas a White Nationalist?
Trump admin’s sweeping review of 55 million visas, the alarming rise in millennial deaths, Lil Nas X and the psychosis of celebrity, Sister Gertrude Morgan’s transition from artist to spiritual leader.
News
Millennials are dying at an alarming rate. We have a few ideas as to why.
National Guard troops flood D.C., DOJ worker fired for sandwich assault on CBP officer, Burkina Faso’s military junta moves to criminalize homosexuality., and L.A. endures a traumatic summer of wildfire recovery, ICE raids, and protests. Myles and Sharhonda sit down with Tre Johnson, author of Black Genius: Essays on an American Legacy.
News
The @washingtonpost tracked where Trump's forces are patrolling in Washington. Spoiler alert...
Apple’s Tim Cook delivers a golden box of nothing to the White House, Ice Cube defends his role advising Trump on a plan for Black Americans, WNBA games see a bizarre crypto-linked sex toy stunt, and grandmas run a summer camp serving up cooking skills and life lessons.
News
Ice Cube defends advising Trump on plan for Black Americans
WNBA sex toy incidents may be linked to cryptocurrency group’s money scheme
Trump fires head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics over poor jobs report, a new tactic weaponizes state systems to crush opponents' credit, and a new spotlight shines on self-taught artist Bill Traylor.
News
WATCH: ‘I think their numbers were wrong,’ Trump says after firing BLS head over jobs report
How people are weaponing state systems: ‘We file liens that crush their credit’
The Utterly Original Bill Traylor
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Trump named in Epstein files, ICE expands GPS ankle monitoring for immigrants, L.A. prosecutor struggles to land protest-related indictments, and a long-overlooked Black tech pioneer finally gets his due.
News
ICE moves to shackle some 180,000 immigrants with GPS ankle monitors
Trump’s top federal prosecutor in L.A. struggles to secure indictments in protest cases
Another Hidden Figure: The Black Man Behind the Computer
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Beto O’Rourke urges Democrats to fight “fire with fire”, Trump releases frozen school grants with strings attached, and Zora Neale Hurston’s final home is rescued from disrepair.
O’Rourke urges Democrats to fight ‘fire with fire’ in redistricting battle
Trump releases frozen school grants with conditions; most funds for California still in limbo
Zora Neale Hurston’s Last Home Saved From Disrepair, To Be Preserved By Florida Foundatio...
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