Politini - BLIS.FM

Whenever the pendulum swings in politics it knocks the most vulnerable among us square on their behinds. It seems that every time we make advances towards equality we take at least 12 steps backwards during an off cycle or midterm election. WHY? Why is voter turnout so low during this time? Was a win for conservatives in Houston regarding LGBT inequality really a mandate? Has stagnation in politics become our new normal? With Guest Christina Gorczynski, is the principal consultant and CEO of First Person LLC, a Houston-based strategic advisory firm specializing in smart leadership for socially responsible organizations.

It's too complicated, the complexities are just too many. These are often just a few of the comments people make when discussing the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. Are these statements to some extent true--sure, but there are also basic things that us as human beings understand the basis of which is freedom, dignity and liberty. What we ask in this episode is has conflict in this region; which has been going on for decades become our new normal or is a peace a possibility? With guests, Matthew Duss, President at the Foundation for Middle East Peace and Jack Jenkins Senior Religion Reporter at ThinkProgress

This week will go down as the week that black girls crossed the line. The week that our magic was shining bright for all the world to see and we were unapologetic about it--Sure, this week was one for the history books, but we are wondering if as Viola Davis recited in her Emmy speech if more black thespians will be walking over that imaginary line and if diversity in Hollywood will become our new normal ? With guests, Former Editor-at-Large of Essence, Emil Wilbekin, Managing Editor, Newsone.com Chrissy Coleman and Editorial Assistant, Essence Magazine Taylor Lewis.

Name-calling, bullying, and cliques… no we're not talking about the film Mean Girls, we're discussing the GOP presidential candidates and their treatment of each other and our democracy. Since Donald Trump announced that he was running for president he has turned his campaign into a cross between the Bachelor and RHOEverywhere. So, the question we ask this episode is has the GOP turned into a party of trolls and has Reality TV politics become our new normal? With guests, MSNBC National Correspondent and author of Frature: Barack Obama, The Clintons and the Racial Divide, Joy-Ann Reid and Democratic Strategist and Pollster Stefan Hankin.

With politicians competing for the bottom and pop culture making less art and creating more antics we wonder what the summer of 2015 will be called by historians. Will it be called the summer of our discontent, the summer of trauma, the summer of drama or maybe the second dark ages? With guest Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Erica Fener-Sitkoff

While we cried tears of joy at the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage--our hearts broke for the victims of white supremacy at the Charleston, SC AME church. With each inch of progress we make in this country we seem to take about 12 feet back. So, in this episode we ask is lopsided justice our new normal? With guests Reverend Delman Coates, Senior Pastor of Mt Ennon Baptist Church and Ian Millhiser, author of Injustices: The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted and Justice Editor at Thinkprogress.org

While Caitlyn Jenner will not have to bare the burden of unemployment, violence and sex work for survival like other transgender women namely those that are low income, black and brown--her presence and the mostly positive media fodder over her Vanity Fair cover has us wondering if transitioning to acceptance has become our new normal? With Guests: Zeke Stokes, VP of Programming at GLAAD and Sarah McBride, LGBT Activist and Research Associate at the Center for American Progress.

"Thug", "angry", "at-risk" these are just a few of the terms that the media uses when describing black Americans in the news whether innocent or guilty. Consequently, when it comes to mass killings at the hands of white males--this warrants debate over mental illness and services made available not a condemnation of the white community or questions about their influences and culture at-large. When will unbiased news become our new normal? With guest Dr. Brittney Cooper, Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University and co-founder of The Crunk Feminist Collective and a regular contributor at Salon.com.

According to the US Census data there are currently 17K nail salons scattered across the country. In NYC alone there are almost 2K salons. While the nail industry is booming--raking in an astonishing $7B yearly--salon workers are making only $35 a day or worse not being paid at all. In this episode we ask can fair trade nails become our new normal? And discuss the human cost of pampering. With guests, Ai-Jen Poo, director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) and co-director of the Caring Across Generations campaign and Miriam Yeung, Executive Director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF).

We know it's hard to get positive images of black folks on TV, but what happens in Hollywood when your black and LGBT? With the success of shows like 'Empire' and films like 'Blackbird' can being young, black, dope and OUT in Hollywood become our new normal? With guest writer/producer Benjamin Corey Jones.