Facial Recognition and the Erosion of Democracy

Steve Scaffidi returns from his listener trip to Cancun and reflects on national pride and travel with Kristin Brey, and the Winter Olympics before turning to the latest developments in the Jeffrey Epstein files, including Ghislaine Maxwell’s request for a presidential pardon. The hosts react to analysis from a retired FBI agent on what the piecemeal release of documents really means. Kate Duffy of Motherhood for Good joins to discuss current advocacy efforts around voting rights, immigration enforcement, and the SAVE Act. Later, Steve and Kristin examine the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement, Milwaukee’s decision to reject it, and what that says about privacy and public trust. The show wraps with economic check-ins, details on Bowling for Babies, and a Gut Check on whether warning signs of democratic erosion are showing up in the U.S.