What A Day

The year is coming to a close, so we look back at the stories we thought were the biggest and most memorable of 2021. We talk about the historic visibility of trans and nonbinary people, the brouhaha over critical race theory, the divisive anti-vaccine movement, and the effort to unionize workers across the country.Show Notes:This is our last What A Day of 2021. We’ll be back with new episodes on Tuesday, January 4th, 2022.Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/For a transcript of this episode, visit https://crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As we jump head first into the holiday season, COVID-19 news has been overwhelming. Britain logged its highest number of daily COVID cases ever, attributed to a steep rise in confirmed Omicron cases, and organizations in the U.S. are changing their COVID-19 policies. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed joins us to give us a sense of how we should view this moment. And in headlines: The monthly child tax credits are about to expire, a North Carolina man was sentenced to 28 months in prison for threating to harm House Speaker Nancy Pelosi right after last year’s insurrection, and German authorities arrested six people accused of plotting to murder a pro-vaccine politician.Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whataday/For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Tens of thousands of military families in O’ahu have been living without clean water for weeks after their water well was contaminated with petroleum. Many people got severely ill and some were even hospitalized for skin rashes, chemical burns, and vomiting. Hawai’i Congressman Kai Kahele joins us to discuss the gravity of the situation and how we got here. And in headlines: the Senate voted to raise the debt ceiling, six women sued Tesla for sexual harassment in the workplace, and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was ordered to forfeit the earnings from his book.Show Notes:PBS: “Navy’s water contamination flub in Hawaii follows 8 years of warning signs” – https://to.pbs.org/3EYiXLUHawai’i Sierra Club’s Red Hill Quick Resources and Actions – https://sierraclubhawaii.org/redhillFor a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

We’ve reached another grim benchmark since the pandemic began almost two years ago. According to the New York Times database, the U.S. has reached 50 million known cases of COVID-19. The country is also on the cusp of passing or has already passed 800,000 deaths, with the last 100,000 happening at a relatively quick pace.USA Gymnastics and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee agreed to a $380 million settlement for the victims of Larry Nassar, the former doctor of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. The settlement marks the end of a five-year legal fight, and is one of the largest settlements on record for survivors of sexual assault. And in headlines: the death toll continues to climb in Kentucky after tornadoes devastated the state this past weekend, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is now expected to plead guilty on federal civil rights charges in the death of George Floyd, and eight pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong were sentenced to prison yesterday.Show Notes:NY Times: “As U.S. Nears 800,000 Virus Deaths, 1 of Every 100 Older Americans Has Perished” – https://nyti.ms/3dQOymNFor a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

At least 100 people have died after tornadoes ripped through at least six states on Friday night. Search and rescue efforts continued throughout the weekend in Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee. On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that health providers could sue to block a law like Texas’s abortion ban, which allows private citizens to file a lawsuit against anyone who assists those seeking an abortion. But the options on who they can sue are extremely limited.A group of baristas voted to unionize at a Buffalo-area Starbucks, making it the first company-owned store in the nation to do so. Starbucks employee and union organizer Casey Moore tells us what’s next as workers begin to negotiate a contract.And in headlines: British scientists released the first real-world study of how Covid vaccines hold up against omicron, beloved Mexican singer Vicente Fernandez passed away, and a New Zealand man was accused of running a vaccination scheme after receiving 10 Covid shots in a single day.Show Notes:Huffington Post: “Starbucks Workers Just Unionized. Now The Real Fight Begins” – https://bit.ly/3GxXMQYFor a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today is the last day that Congress is scheduled to be in session for 2021. Just yesterday, the Senate voted and paved the way for Democrats to raise the debt limit so the country doesn’t default on its loans. Crooked Media’s Editor in Chief Brian Beutler joins us to catch us up on what our lawmakers have been up to all year.And in headlines: workers at a Starbucks store in Buffalo, New York, have successfully voted to unionize, farmers in India ended their year-long protest, and the FDA approved Pfizer-BioNTech's booster shot for 16- and 17-year-olds.For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today, votes will be counted in the effort to unionize three Starbucks stores in Buffalo, New York, with the result expected this afternoon. If that vote is successful, they would be the first unionized Starbucks in the country. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh joins us again to discuss labor movements like this one and what’s driving them.And in headlines: Pfizer said its vaccine booster shot can protect against the Omicron variant, Germany swore in Olaf Scholz as its new chancellor, and Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin apologized for going clubbing after being exposed to coronavirus.For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Redistricting efforts are underway across the country, but it's become a contentious process. The Department of Justice, for example, filed a lawsuit against the newly drawn maps in Texas on Monday, arguing that the maps discriminate against voters of color.Today, we zero in on what redistricting efforts look like in Georgia, a battleground state that Republicans want to control . Democratic state lawmaker Bee Nguyen joins us to talk about the future of voting in the state of Georgia, along with her campaign for Georgia’s Secretary of State.Show Notes:Watch Crooked Media's "What A Year" – https://bit.ly/31saLoLFiveThirtyEight: "What Redistricting Looks Like In Every State" – https://53eig.ht/3pwx0SqFor a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The US Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit against Texas over the state's recently updated redistricting maps. The DOJ claims that Texas's maps are unconstitutional and a violation of the Voting Rights Act because they unfairly dilute minority voting power. MLB locked out all of its players last week after a five-year collective bargaining agreement between owners and players expired. It marks the first work stoppage for the league in almost three decades. Lindsey Adler, who covers the Yankees for The Athletic, joins us to discuss the issues at play.And in headlines: the U.S. will stage a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, New York City mayor Bill de Blasio announced a Covid vaccine mandate for all private-sector employers, and California Congressman Devin Nunes will resign later this month.For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Omicron cases were found in at least 17 U.S. states and they aren’t all due to travel to southern Africa. Public health officials and experts say that the variant was possibly circulating in the U.S. prior to its initial discovery across the globe, but it’s too early to tell if it causes more severe disease. Descendants of Black revolutionary leader Marcus Garvey have requested that President Joe Biden grant a posthumous pardon to Garvey. As president, Biden has the power to grant clemency but has not exercised it at all during his term. And in headlines: prosecutors charged the parents of Ethan Crumbley with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, tensions at the Russia-Ukraine border grew, and the U.S. Navy shut down a drinking water well in Honolulu that was contaminated with petroleum and that made residents sick.Show Notes:NY Times: “Before Even Receiving a Name, Omicron Could Have Spread in New York and the Country” – https://nyti.ms/3DqUxsIJustice in America: “What Happened to Clemency?” – https://bit.ly/3rEnYVRFor a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.