Brian Lehrer: A Daily Politics Podcast

In the 1600s, Britain used Jamaica as a hub of the transatlantic slave trade. Now, the Caribbean nation is taking steps to demand restitution. On Today's Show:Selwyn R. Cudjoe, professor of Africana Studies at Wellesley College and an expert in Caribbean literature and Caribbean intellectual history, discusses the reports that Jamaica plans to petition Britain for compensation for the slave trade in the former colony.

Expanded child tax credits are expected to hit peoples' bank accounts in the next few weeks. So who's getting one, and what does the government hope the money gets spent on? On Today's Show:Michelle Singletary, personal finance columnist for The Washington Post and author of the new book What To Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits, breaks down what you need to know about the new monthly child tax credit payments and takes listeners' questions.

Some Democratic legislators in Texas have fled the state in an attempt to prevent sweeping changes to election law that would make it harder to vote. On Today's Show:Ari Berman, senior reporter at Mother Jones covering voting rights and author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America, recaps President Biden's major speech on voting rights which comes at the same time as some GOP-controlled legislatures have pushed ahead new state laws restricting ballot access. Plus James Talarico, Texas State Representative (D, 52nd, Williamson County), talks about the Texas Democrats' efforts to prevent passage of GOP voting laws in the legislature.

Twenty-three former members of Colombia's military have been arrested as suspects in the assassination of Haiti's president, including one with former ties to U.S. law enforcement. On Today's Show:Catherine Porter, Toronto Bureau Chief for the New York Times and and author of the memoir A Girl Named Lovely (Simon & Schuster, 2019) about her experience in Haiti after the 2010 Earthquake, and Marlene L. Daut, Ph.D., professor in and Associate Director of the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies at the University of Virginia, join to update us on the ongoing investigations and break down the history that got us here.

We check in on the Biden Administration. In particular, its missed vaccine benchmark, and a timeline for Afghan troop withdrawal. On Today's Show:Jonathan Lemire, White House reporter for the Associated Press and political analyst for MSNBC/NBC News, discusses the latest national political developments, including the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Biden's vaccine goals, and a rising concern among voters about crime and policing.

Gun violence is a tragic, complicated and confounding problem. What does the research say about why young men in particular pick up firearms. On Today's Show:Rachel Swaner, research director at the Center for Court Innovation; Elise White, deputy research director at the Center for Court Innovation; and Basaime Spate, community-based research coordinator at the Center for Court Innovation, talk about their 2020 report "Guns, Safety, and the Edge of Adulthood in New York City"—a year-long study into the reasons young people carry guns in NYC.

Over the weekend, Biden celebrated his first 4th of July as President. We look at his remarks on the occasion, and how his version of patriotism compares to his predecessor. On Today's Show:Yamiche Alcindor, White House correspondent for the PBS NewsHour and moderator of Washington Week, and a political contributor to NBC News and MSNBC, discusses President Biden's July 4th, and the latest headlines coming out of Washington, D.C.

The Supreme Court issued its final opinions of the term, including a ruling that Arizona's legislature can make it harder to cast early votes. On Today's Show:Jami Floyd, senior editor for race and justice and legal editor at WNYC, offers her analysis of the 6-3 opinion by Justice Alito (and a strong dissent from Justice Kagan) upholding Arizona's voting laws. Plus, her take on the surrender for arrest by the Trump Organization CFO and the release of Bill Cosby.

On the last day of Pride Month, we spotlight some reporting and analysis of how some companies mask anti-LGBT behaviors behind rainbow branding. On Today's Show:Zach Stafford, MSNBC contributor, the former editor-at-large of BuzzFeed and the first Black editor-in-chief of The Advocate, the oldest and largest LGBT publication in the United States, discusses a recent study which found that some companies that have expressed support for the LGBTQ community during Pride Month have given over $10 million to politicians who have pushed anti-LGBTQ legislation.

There's a debate in public health about whether vaccine policy should target American children, or adults globally. On Today's Show: Dr. Leana Wen, emergency physician, professor at George Washington University, contributing columnist for The Washington Post, CNN medical analyst, former Baltimore Health Commissioner and the author of the forthcoming book Lifelines: A Doctor's Journey in the Fight for Public Health (Metropolitan Books, 2021), argues vaccinating young kids here should be an "urgent priority," plus talks about the threat of the Delta variant.