Every Thursday on The Assignment, host Audie Cornish explores the animating forces of this extraordinary American political moment. It’s not about the horse rac...
College Arrests: “A Kind of Policy That Ends Democracies”
Detaining foreign students over their activism is the “kind of policy that ends democracies.” That’s what Jameel Jaffer tells Audie this week. He’s a law professor and Executive Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. We also hear from Franziska Wild, student senior editor at The Georgetown Voice, about the chilling effect the detentions are having on campus.
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40:54
Is the Windy City Charting a Course for the Left?
What’s the way out of the political wilderness for Democrats? The mayor of Chicago says look to his city “leading the way in this moment around the value system that the people of America want to see carried out in governance.” Audie talks with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson about his political path forward.
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31:06
Are College Athletes Cashing In and Killing the Game?
For decades, college athletes made millions for everyone but themselves. Now, the NCAA’s Name, Image, and Likeness policy, NIL, has changed the game. Audie dives into the chaos of NIL with former All-American gymnast Savannah Schoenherr and Washington Post writer Jesse Dougherty to find out who’s winning, who’s losing, and what it's like navigating America’s latest “wild west.” And will it change the way you experience college sports?
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29:41
How DOGE Cuts May Affect Your Summer Vacation
Sweeping cuts are throwing America’s national parks and forests into uncertainty. With fewer rangers, trail crews, and wildfire fighters, the effects could be immediate — closed campgrounds, neglected trails, and a fire season primed to be more dangerous than ever. Audie talks with veteran wildland firefighter Riva Duncan and CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir about what these cuts mean for public lands, outdoor tourism, and the communities—and economies— that depend on them.
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30:00
Where Did #MeToo Go?
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned from office in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal. Now, he’s back and running for mayor of New York City. And he’s not the only one, other so-called “canceled” men from Hollywood, media and politics are being welcomed back to the public sphere. So what’s happened to the Me Too Movement? Audie talks with the founder of ‘Me Too’, Tarana Burke, and former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, about backlash, regrets, and the work they’re doing to move forward.
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Every Thursday on The Assignment, host Audie Cornish explores the animating forces of this extraordinary American political moment. It’s not about the horse race, it’s about the larger cultural ideas driving the conversation: the role of online influencers on the electorate, the intersection of pop culture and politics, and discussions with primary voices and thinkers who are shaping the political conversation.
USA