Generally speaking, the Fourth of July isn’t a popular holiday amongst most Black Americans. But why is this so? Listen to this episode to learn more. Sourceshttps://www.naceweb.org/diversity-equity-and-inclusion/trends-and-predictions/a-case-study-of-black-students-perception-of-experiential-learning-at-pwis/#:~:text=The%20U.S.%20Department%20of%20Educationhttps://www.npr.org/2022/06/24/1102305878/supreme-court-abortion-roe-v-wade-decision-overturn https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/07/04/july-fourth-abortion-women-boycott-celebrations/ https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/july-04/ https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/09/16/is-the-us-headed-for-another-civil-war/ https://sk.sagepub.com/reference/africanamericaneducation/n193.xml 

Fun fact: the Earth's average surface temperature has risen by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century. Maybe it's a not-so-fun fact. In this episode, ALP welcomes Tracey Lewis-- a policy counsel for the Climate Program of Public Citizen, and a fellow at the Climate & Community Project based at the University of Pennsylvania-- to explore the climate crisis. Read more about Tracey Lewis here: https://www.citizen.org/about/person/tracey-lewis/  Sourceshttps://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46947#:~:text=Executive%20Branch%20Approach%20to%20Climate,below%202005%20levels%20by%202030 https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/#:~:text=Global%20Temperature%20Rise,atmosphere%20and%20other%20human%20activities https://www.swissre.com/institute/research/topics-and-risk-dialogues/climate-and-natural-catastrophe-risk/expertise-publication-economics-of-climate-change.html 

The Pentagon spends over $2.5 billion annually to target low-income students with various recruitment tactics, encouraging them to join the military. The “poverty draft” is real, people. Sources https://chicago.chalkbeat.org/2021/6/4/22512734/chicago-schools-automatically-steer-some-black-and-latino-students-into-military-run-jrotchttps://www.afsc.org/sites/default/files/documents/The%20Poverty%20Draft.pdf https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/opinion-do-military-recruiters-belong-in-schools/2015/10 https://www.aclu-nj.org/theissues/studentyouthrights/nochildleftbehind/militaryrecruitingfaq#:~:text=Federal%20and%20state%20laws%20require,allow%20on%2Dcampus%20military%20recruitinghttps://www.facingsouth.org/2020/01/student-debt-crisis-fueling-poverty-draft https://deliverypdf.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=551078094095124005071006113024004095113049061083007066108125005002118085018007101090034029025017045016027098101003086121118005030040043045023117004008120077109095022060052075106127080069072066016073093120083127115074006119079118113069067121119112091065&EXT=pdf&INDEX=TRUE http://www.usarmyjrotc.com/general/program_overview.php 

Black Americans often express their psychological issues through somatic complaints. But did you know that this has resulted from the stigma surrounding mental healthcare in the Black community?Featuring insight from board-certified psychiatrist Dr. Aminata Cisse, this episode explores the impacts of inadequate mental healthcare in the Black community. Listen to learn all about it. Sourceshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4279858/https://www.nami.org/Your-Journey/Identity-and-Cultural-Dimensions/Black-African-Americanhttps://www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm 

In the 1980s, Lip Smacker’s flavored lip balms were advertised to adult women. Now, the brand's fanbase is primarily composed of tween girls. Is childhood gradually disappearing?Sourceshttps://www.researchgate.net/publication/242068991_KGOY_reconsidered_Kids_just_want_to_be_kids https://web.p.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=f97af410-eb9d-4a43-b990-7162fb10653c%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=25549995&db=asn https://www.ippf.org/sites/default/files/ippf_right_to_decide_01.pdfhttps://www.allure.com/story/lip-smacker-crayola-collection-lip-gloss-tinted-balms 

Most students know that American teachers’ salaries are too low, and that public schools’ reliance on standardized test scores have become especially great. But have you ever considered what a public official thinks of these topics? In this episode, Plantation city council member Nick Sortal joins host Halima Attah to discuss the flaws of the American public school system and better yet– how those issues can be fixed. Sources https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/7507/urlt/Fefpdist.pdf https://www.epi.org/publication/teacher-pay-gap-2018/ https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/10-challenges-facing-public-education-today https://www.aclufl.org/en/floridas-school-prison-pipeline 

At Google, women account for a mere 17% of tech-related employment. Ever thought of how this lack of gender-based diversity looks in the video game industry? Sources https://www.api-gbv.org/about-gbv/our-analysis/patriarchy-power/ https://research-management.mq.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/93946828/Publisher_version_open_access_.pdf https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/12/14/gender-discrimination-comes-in-many-forms-for-todays-working-women/ http://edge.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/WomenInTech.pdf https://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1451&context=honors https://magazine.scienceconnected.org/2015/11/another-look-at-sexism-in-the-games-industry/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/453634/game-developer-gender-distribution-worldwide/ 

Given that the American criminal justice system holds over 2.3 million people, the existence of mass incarceration is undeniable. But could it be that prisons are intentionally preparing their residents to remain behind bars?Sourceshttps://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/fundamental-failure-american-prisonshttps://www.sentencingproject.org/criminal-justice-facts/https://www.prisonpolicy.org/global/2021.htmlhttps://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-atrocious-prisons-conditions-make-us-all-less-safehttps://www.freedomunited.org/prison-labor-and-modern-slavery/https://www.csustan.edu/sites/default/files/groups/University%20Honors%20Program/Journals_two/dis_skustad_connor_final_hons-2.pdf 

I think that Santa could benefit from a lesson or two on sustainability. I mean, the holiday season is responsible for the production of a lot of waste.Sources https://www.deseret.com/2018/11/27/20577947/these-are-the-14-religious-holidays-believers-celebrate-in-december#think-december-is-all-about-hanukkah-and-christmas-think-again-here-are-12-major-religious-holidays-in-december https://nrf.com/topics/holiday-and-seasonal-trends/winter-holidayshttps://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-says-2019-holiday-sales-were-41-percent https://dailyillini.com/opinions-stories/2015/12/02/problems-stemming-from-artificial-christmas-trees/

Remember when Tyler, the Creator’s 2019 alternative album, Igor, was nominated for a Grammy under the RAP category? Racially motivated. No, literally– it’s an example of racially motivated genre confinement. If you’ve never heard of that, this episode is for you.  Sources https://www.statepress.com/article/2021/03/specho-black-artists-music-boundaries-hip-hop-rap-rhythym-blues https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/how-rock-and-roll-became-white/