Four Women on an Historic Campaign

With recent news cycles mimicking a hurricane season; one storm after the next, building peaking, and subsiding, we turned the mic over to four women to process how the latest, unprecedented news is landing for them, 105 days before the election Nov 5th. For the full hour we heard from Pauline Merry, Yolanda Robinson, Jane Wishon, and Olivia Fu for their reflections. Pauline Merry, a retired higher education administrator appeared earlier about her memoir, Growing Up in the Ville in St. Louis Missouri; Yolanda Robinson is also a retired professional a friend and colleague of Pauli’s, and a veteran of election politics in OC; Jane Wishon, a builder of many LA area Democratic organizations is currently Co-Chair of Organizational Development and Chartering Committee at LA Co Democratic Party and Co-chair of the CA Democratic Credentials Committee; and Olivia Fu, former co-editor of The Express at San Juan Hills High School, previously appeared on this show about her voting registration work in southern OC high schools as an anti- gun violence activist, graduated from Stanford and now a Tom Ford Philanthropy Fellow at North Star Fund.

Music credits: Chimora, “Africano Americano,” Sounds of Africa – album; A. Ray Fuller, “Work to Do,” The Weeper – album.

http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/984/FuMerryRobinsonWishon7-23-24.mp3

Project 2025 in the Present Tense

My guest for the full hour is entrepreneur consultant, author, activist, and veteran, Dee Batiste. She breaks down what is Project 2025, a 933-page document of proposed policies, built by a coalition of 110 conservative groups in their words, “advocating for the next conservative president,” or generically put a future Republican administration. Instead of a test at the end, consider this an ongoing teach-in that is taking place in small and large circles across the country, to understand the complete overhaul of the federal government. Some of these measures are already institutionalized. Your KUCI hosts are covering and will continue to cover this into the exhausting slog toward the general election, and for as long as this long game looms over all public institutions. If you’re new to Project 2025, now is a good time to begin understanding its far-reaching facets and impacts.

Note of Correction: my reference to former NIH director Dr. Redstone was intended to refer to Dr. Redfield, former director of the Center for Disease Control.

Music credits: Chimora, “Africano Americano,” Sounds of Africa – album; Charlie Haden-Liberation Music Orchestra, “America the Beautiful,” Not in Our Name – album.

http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/984/Batiste7-16-24.mp3

PFAS: Forever and Everywhere Chemicals

Returning to the show for the full hour is Scott Bartell, UCI Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health. He brings us all the way up to speed on the forever chemicals, those PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances). Good news, more people are finally aware of them – bad news, industry is interfering in their regulation. Well, the bad news got worse last Friday with the SCOTUS rollback of the Chevron doctrine. It is time to rename Project 2025 to Project 2024, with PFAS at the intersection of this overhaul of the administrative state.

Links that advance the coverage include: https://www.propublica.org/article/3m-forever-chemicals-pfas-pfos-inside-story; https://silentspring.org/project/pfas-reach; https://www.nature.com/articles/s41370-018-0109-y; https://www.oralhealthgroup.com/news/ada-statement-on-study-involving-dental-floss-1003939091/; and https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30671781/.

Music credits: Chimora, “Africano Americano,” Sounds of Africa – album; Sham Family, “This Blue Mob,” sinlge.

http://www.kuci.org/podcastfiles/984/Bartell7-2-24.mp3