UNDISTRACTED With Brittany Packnett Cunningham

In less than three months, the midterms will be upon us. Should we be panicked? Confident? Somewhere in between? Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with political strategist and Native Land Pod co-host Angela Rye to talk about all of it: the rise of progressive candidates, what Democrats would do if they had “nuts and ovaries,” and why Black voters continue to shape the future of American politics. (And don’t ...

In a moment when Black-led institutions are facing unprecedented attacks, Brittany sits down with two visionary women who know what it takes to build, protect, and transform them from the inside. Reverend Dr. Shavon Arline-Bradley, President and CEO of the National Council of Negro Women, and Bishop Vashti McKenzie, the first woman elected bishop in the AME Church, discuss why Black women's leadership has always been essential to m...

He’s the much-watched governor making political headlines—but long before Wes Moore was the governor of Maryland, his wife Dawn Moore was a political superstar there. In this rare joint sitdown, they join Brittany Packnett Cunningham for a wide-ranging conversation about public service, governing through one of America's most politically turbulent moments, and what it’s like to be the only Black First Family of a ...

If everyone is against the Republican hatemongering, why can’t we, you know, get rid of them, for real this time? YouTuber Brian Tyler Cohen, author of the new book The Day After: How to Wield Power in a Post-Trump World, has the answer. He sits down with host Brittany Packnett Cunningham to explain. They get into Brian’s theory of why “wrong and strong” is beating “right and weak,” and they both...

What does reparations actually mean? And why is it important to talk about right now? 

In this special live episode of Undistracted, Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with someone perfectly positioned to answer those questions: Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project creator and New York Times journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones. Together, they get into why the economic practice of slavery requires an economic solution (yes, repar...

It’s a magic moment for sports—and no, we’re not talking about the Knicks over in the MNBA, we’re talking the WNBA, where women just negotiated a huge, historic new collective bargaining agreement for themselves. What’s next, and what can the rest of us learn from this victory? Brittany Packnett Cunningham is joined by journalist, author, and media powerhouse Jemele Hill for a conversation about how th...

As we get ready to celebrate Juneteenth and the nation's 250th anniversary, Brittany Packnett Cunningham is asking: What would it actually take to repair the worst of America’s history, and build the future we deserve? To talk about the idea of reparations, Brittany sits down with The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer to unpack why this idea matters now, why “we’re not just talking about slavery,” and what we sho...

We’re talking Summer House and Freedom Summer in this episode! Because we love our reality TV and also we love our democracy. Our special guests? Attorney, activist, and Bravo alum Preston Mitchum, and group chat regular Dr. Brittney Cooper. Together with Brittany, they cover everything from Trump’s repeated tantrums before Black women reporters to why book bans continue to backfire. Plus, the group weighs in on Summer ...

She’s the scholar behind the idea of intersectional feminism—and but those words aren’t just political to her, they’re personal. In her new memoir Backtalker, Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw traces her own life from childhood in Ohio to work on Anita Hill’s legal team to helping popularize ideas like critical race theory. Now she sits down with Brittany to talk about all of it, and how she’s learned to cha...

A lot of conversations about AI are either sales pitches (“the efficiency!”) or horror stories (“the extinction!”). This week, Bridget Todd, technologist and host of There Are No Girls on the Internet, joins us for something better—an informed, 100% human discussion of what it will take to make AI work for us, and whether there’s still time to do that. (Yes, but move fast.) 

She, host Britta...

In a world of Epstein files, voter suppression and mansplaining lawmakers, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal is a breath of fearless fresh air. She sits down with Brittany Packnett Cunningham to talk about everything from why the files matter to why some politicians still refuse to grasp the urgency of this political moment. Plus, Brittany links up with David Johns for a group chat on this Saturday’s historic voting rights rallie...

The Constitution: So revered! So important! So…really, who knows, because most of us haven’t read it. But law professor and Strict Scrutiny cohost Melissa Murray has, and she sits down with Brittany Packnett Cunningham to discuss her new, essential book on the subject. They get into why the Constitution is a “trauma-informed document,” why SCOTUS’s new voting-rights ruling is so scary and “bonke...

After her MSNBC show The Cross Connection was canceled back in 2022, Tiffany Cross “felt like it was just me.” But now she sees her experiences of loss (of a job, and of a relationship at the same time) as connected to the broader pattern of Black women being pushed out of the workplace and denied what they deserve. Now, she has a new book out—and she sits down with Brittany Packnett Cunningham to talk about what ...

It’s been a month of devastating violence against women and children—from femicide cases making headlines to the mass killing in Shreveport, Louisiana. To understand it, Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa for a powerful conversation about the shocking allegations against farmworkers leader César Chávez, and Maria’s interview with Chávez’s co-leader (a...

Let’s be real: Capitol Hill has a creep crisis. In this episode, Brittany Packnett Cunningham sits down with creator Arielle Fodor—better known as Mrs. Frazzled—to unpack how a small group of women publicized the alleged sexual misconduct of former congressman and California gubernatorial hopeful Eric Swalwell. They get into the power of the whisper network, and why Democrats stay quiet when The Accused is one of ...

We missed you, our sweet UNDISTRACTED gang…and look, this is no time to be apart. So we are BACK, with our biggest, juiciest season yet. Here’s a peek at what host Brittany Packnett Cunningham and her regular group chat—plus our newsmaking, rule-breaking guests—will be talking about all season long. In a world that’s trying to distract you from what really matters, she’ll keep you focused, infor...

For our Season 3 finale, Brittany had no choice but to call up Thee group chat–The Machetes, an unshakeable sisterhood of women who bonded during COVID and haven’t let go. This week Brittany sits down with five of them–community organizer LaTosha Brown, broadcast journalist Cari Champion, co-host of The View Sunny Hostin, sports journalist Jemele Hill, and TheReidOut host Joy Ann Reid for conversation about commun...

It’s been 10 days since the inauguration—10 days full of executive orders, immigration crackdowns, dismantled DEI initiatives and general panic. This shock and overwhelm is intentional, but if we’re going to make it through the next four years…we can’t traffic in hopelessness. This week, Brittany speaks with activist Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, to talk about collective action, whethe...