Alyssa Milano: Sorry Not Sorry

The past decades have seen a steady erosion of Democratic support from what used to be core voters: blue collar workers in factory towns.  There are many reasons for this, and to explain what's happened and how to fix it, I've invited Mike Lux, founder of American Family Voices on to discuss.  Mike is a writer and thought leader, and as the co-founder of Democracy Partners, one of the most influential voices in progressive politics in the United States. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

If it seems like the richest people in the world are getting richer—at the expense of everyone else—it’s because they are. A recent report from Oxfam illustrates just how much richer the wealthiest people in the world are getting, and to discuss what it means for the rest of us, I’ve invited Nabil Ahmed onto the podcast. Nabil is the Director of Economic Justice for Oxfam America. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

International Women’s Day is March 8th. To talk about the state of women in the workplace in 2023, I’ve invited Laura Casselman on the show. Laura is a former Radio City Rockette who beat the boys club to become CEO of JVZoo.com. Her book "Trust Your Increments" is now available to order. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

We live in a time where our speech has unlimited potential reach given the communications advancements of the 21stcentury. Of course, that has led to a national and international debate on free speech. Our guest today, Dennis Baron, literally wrote the book on Free Speech. His book, You Can’t Always Say What You Want, is now available to order. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

This year, Alyssa is celebrating her twentieth year as a UNICEF ambassador. That work has taken her around the world, including a trip she made to Egypt in 2022. To talk about the state of affairs in Egypt, and the UNICEF Ambassador program in general, we’ve invited Dina Heikal, UNICEF’s Social and Behavioral Change officer, who Alyssa met while in Egypt. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Two things we know about our political leadership in America is that it is too old, and too white. Our guests this week are working to change that. I’m happy to be joined by Zak Malamed and Sydney Minetta Brown of The Next 50, a political action committee working to elect the next generation of Democratic Leaders. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Jared Yates Sexton is a political analyst and author. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The New Republic, Politico, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere. He is the co-host of The Muckrake Podcast and his new book THE MIDNIGHT KINGDOM: A History of Power, Paranoia, and the Coming Crisis is now available to order. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

It shouldn’t be a secret that white supremacy was baked into the founding of this nation, but it’s still not a story we like to tell as part of our history. Our guest this week is working to change that. David Mura is an essayist, memoirist, poet and fiction writer who brings a unique perspective to our multi-racial and multi-cultural society. A third-generation Japanese-American, he has written intimately about his life as a man of color and the connections between race, culture and history. His new book, The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself, is now available to order. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Our guest this week is Cisco Aguilar. Cisco was elected as Nevada Secretary of State in 2022 and assumed office on January 2, 2023. As an attorney and small business owner, and with years of experience in the private and public sectors, Cisco brings a unique perspective and expertise into the Secretary of State’s Office. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

We continue our week-long observation of MLK Day with Heather McGhee. On this episode we welcomed Heather McGhee back to the show. Heather is a bestselling author, a speaker, and the Board Chair for Color of Change, the country’s largest online racial justice organization. She’s also the host of the podcast The Sum of Us, which launched in July, 2022. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

We're continuing our observation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day by highlighting episodes in our archive with just some of the people we've interviewed doing the hard work of Racial Justice. People like Congresswoman Barbara Lee, who has been representing California’s 13th district since 1999. She was the only person in Congress to vote against the expanded use of force authorization immediately after the 9/11 attacks and has been a constant force for peace in Congress since. She is working now to advance a Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Commission through Congress. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

We're continuing our week-long honoring of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., by highlighting some of the episodes in our archives featuring people doing the hard work of racial justice, like Mondale Robinson. Mondale is the founder and Principal of Black Male Voter Project, an organization dedicated to overcoming systemic disenfranchisement of Black voters, and Black men in particular, in the electoral process. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

In honor of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, we will be highlighting an episode from our archives each day this week with someone fighting for racial justice. To start, we're joined by Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman. Anna is a is a researcher, writer, science communicator and activist. She is the co-founder of The Sadie Collective, the only nonprofit organization addressing the lack of Black women in economics and related fields, and the editor of The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System, a new book of essays on policy solutions to social problems written by black activists. Editorial Reviews Review "An expansive set of essays highlighting the range and force of Black leadership....An inclusive, edifying, often fiery assembly of voices articulating the way forward for Black America―and America in general." ―Kirkus Reviews "Invigorating...policymakers will want to take note." ―Publishers Weekly "The Black Agenda mobilizes top Black experts from across the country to share transformative perspectives on how to deploy anti-racist ideas and policies into everything from climate policy to criminal justice to healthcare. This book will challenge what you think is possible by igniting long overdue conversations around how to enact lasting and meaningful change rooted in racial justice." ―Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist and Stamped From the Beginning "This book is the first step towards defining Black expertise, assigning value to the work that we do, and taking up space in the public on our own terms. I, for one, am looking forward to being able to knock people on the head with the collection. I’m looking forward to the spaces in need of critical self-reflection that make this book a normal part of routine business and the discourse. And most of all, I am looking forward to everybody with any resource, no matter how small, reading this book too." ―Tressie McMillan Cottom, author of Thick: And other Essays "The Black Agenda is urgent. It's urgent that white people recognize that centering, listening to, and being led by the voices in this book are the start to investing in societal solutions. I wish that moral arguments of equity were enough but know they're not. These chapters are a strong mix of diagnosis and prescription, with an appropriate layer of moral calling to help us learn, reflect, and be motivated toward specific action." ―Chelsea Clinton, New York Times bestselling author of She Persisted "This book is overdue and imperative. We can't get clear national momentum without a core focus on the Black agenda. I am thrilled for the conversation and action this will inspire." ―Wes Moore, New York Times bestselling author of The Other Wes Moore "The Black Agenda brings together a group of brilliant thinkers offering bold solutions to combat many of the social problems facing Black people in the United States. This powerful collection is a must-read for anyone interested in turning anti-racist ideas into action." ―Keisha N. Blain, Co-Editor of #1 New York Times bestseller Four Hundred Souls --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

We live in a culture which stresses self-sacrifice and perceived security and stability over the potential happiness and self-discovery which can come with quitting work and moving on to something new.  Our guest this week is living proof of how fruitful quitting can be. Keith Boykin  is a TV and film producer, a national political commentator, a New York Times bestselling author, and a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton. A graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, Boykin has taught at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University, City College of New York, and American University in Washington, DC. He is a cofounder and the first board president of the National Black Justice Coalition and a Lambda Literary Award–winning author of five books.  His new Scribd original “Quitting: Why I Left My Job to Live a Life of Freedom” is now available. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

If you've followed Alyssa or her career since the 1980s, you know that the only reason she cares that she has a platform is that it allows her to work to make the world a better place. And that's why I'm so excited about this episode. We've invited four of your (and our) favorite influencers from TikTok, who are using THEIR platforms, in exciting new ways. In this episode, you'll hear familiar voices talking about how and why they use those voices for change in 2023 and beyond, including Ashlelnok, Aunt Karen, Ms. Frazzled, and Jeffrey Marsh! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Our annual end-of-year tradition: recapping some of the moments that defined 2022 for Sorry Not Sorry.  Did we miss some of yours?  Let us know by leaving us a voicemail! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

Our guest this week is Jessica Grose, an opinion writer at The New York Times who writes a popular newsletter on parenting. Jess was the founding editor of Lenny, the email newsletter and website. She also writes about women’s health, culture, politics and grizzly bears. Her new book "Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood" is now available. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

One of the issues that is so close to our heart is how art influences culture. We often say that nothing can change the world the way art can—it brings us together across so many of our divides to discuss important issues. And boy, does our guest this week have a story about a group of artists who lived authentically and pushed against social boundaries. Nino Strachey. Nino is a writer, historian and public speaker who worked as Head of Research for the National Trust. Since starting her career with the Landmark Trust, she has worked for English Heritage and the National Trust, curating the homes of scientists, politicians and writers. Her new book "Young Bloomsbury: Young Bloomsbury: The Generation That Redefined Love, Freedom, and Self-Expression in 1920s England," is now available to order. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

The Supreme Court recently began a new term, the first with Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. There are a number of important cases on the docket. We’ve invited Meagan Hatcher-Mayes, Director of Democracy at Indivisible, and part of the Unrig the Courts Coalition onto the podcast to discuss what to expect and efforts to reform the court. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message

We’ve heard it before: the consequences of our elections have never been more important. We’ve just seen that in the midterms, and it’s already time to saddle up for the 2024 general. The Big Lie is an existential threat to our democracy, and as these elections have shown, that threat continues. This week, we’ve invited election experts Major Garrett, is CBS Chief Washington Correspondent, and David Becker, founder of The Center for Election Innovation and Research, on the show to discuss their new book The Big Truth: Upholding Democracy in the Age of The Big Lie, which is now available. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/alyssa-milano-sorry-not-sorry/message