3172 - Policing Success, Public Safety Fail & Maine’s Power Move w/ Yohuru Williams, Michael Lansing; Mario Ariza

It's Hump Day! Sam speaks with Yohuru Williams, historian and founding director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas, and Michael Lansing, Professor of History at Augsburg University, to discuss their documentary project on the history of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) entitled "Overpoliced and Underprotected in MSP." Then, he's joined by Mario Ariza, investigative reporter at Floodlight News, to discuss his recent reporting on a November 2023 ballot measure in Maine that would create a non-profit power utility in the state. First, Sam runs through updates on the UAW’s work stoppage plan, gas prices and rent, soaring child poverty rates in the US, Wisconsin judicial politics, the new COVID booster, and the indictment of Memphis cops over the killing of Tyre Nichols, before parsing through Kevin McCarthy’s attempt to save his career via launching ready-to-fail impeachment proceedings. Professor Yohuru Williams and Professor Michael Lansing then join, diving into Minneapolis’ long history of unjust policing (and resistance) since the establishment of Minneapolis PD in 1870, and how much of this history has been swept under the rug and forgotten. Professors Williams and Lansing then give us a picture of the work behind “Overpoliced and Underprotected in MSP,” before they walk Sam through the process of this “historical amnesia,” why it must be addressed and fought against if we are to redefine “Public Safety” beyond policing, and what that redefinition could look like. Mario Ariza and Sam then dive into Maine’s upcoming referendum on purchasing the state’s investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities and turning them into a public-private partnership. They tackle the bipartisan frustration with the running and maintenance of Maine’s power grid, and why the fight to essentially nationalize the industry is largely non-ideological.

And in the Fun Half, Sam checks in on the insane book banning hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee where freak witnesses AND senators felt it necessary to read passages from young adult books about strap on blowjobs. Steven Crowder discusses, again, I don't know if you can guess: no-fault divorce, and Walter Isaacson (and his good friend, Jake Tapper!) run insane interference for Isaacson's recent subject (and baby boy), Elon Musk. Plus, your calls & IM's!

Check out "Overpoliced and Underprotected in MSP" here: https://www.overpolicedmsp.org/documentary

Find more info on Pine Tree Power here: https://pinetreepower.org/

Check out Mario's reporting here: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/18/maine-state-run-utility-power-companies

Check out Floodlight News here: https://www.floodlightnews.org/

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