President Trump says he's putting his plans to send the National Guard to Chicago aside for now and will instead turn his administration’s attention to Memphis. Victor asks Mayor Paul Young about the President’s claims that he’s "happy" about using federal troops to crackdown on crime in Memphis. Victor also discusses the aftermath of the assassination of Charlie Kirk, plus the role of cashless bail in the rhetoric over crime with Former Dallas Police Chief Renée Hall, who is also President of t...Show morehe National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, the Former Dekalb County District Attorney Robert James, and conservative political commentator Janelle King. There is a lot of concern in Latino communities right now amid a crackdown on immigration. But in East Chicago, art is still happening this weekend despite event cancellations in nearby communities. For “Art is Life” this week, Victor speaks with a member of Ballet Folklórico Yolotzin about why they felt it was still important to celebrate their Mexican culture ahead of Mexican Independence Day and National Hispanic Heritage Month. Plus, Victor introduces you Kembriah Parker, and her fellow, new Tuskegee airmen and airwomen, who are the first to complete a pilot training program at the legendary HBCU in 80 years.Abby Phillip also introduces us to Myla Flores, one of CNN's “Champions for Change” who is helping address the disproportionate danger women of color face during pregnancy.

Sep 13, 2025

The August jobs report reveals that a growing number of Americans are unemployed. The rate is highest among Black workers, and a disproportionate number are Black women. Victor discusses the new jobs data with the Co-founder of Black Voters Matter, LaTosha Brown, conservative Stephanie Donegan and Capital B National Editor Dalila Paul.Plus – Victor speaks with Dr. Jerome Adams. He served as the U.S. Surgeon General during President Trump’s first term and the Covid pandemic. Dr. Adams tells Victo...Show morer the President should “absolutely” fire current Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and explains his concerns for public health, especially among communities of color, under Secretary Kennedy’s leadership. Later, Victor shares the story of a town in Louisiana struggling to clean up after an explosion at a factory nearby. Victor speaks with Capital B reporter Adam Mahoney, who recently visited Roseland and spoke with residents there. And our “I See You!” series is back. Victor meets Donna Carol, who is introducing teen girls in Memphis to the business of hair braiding through “Teens Slay U”.

Sep 6, 2025

President Trump is reportedly preparing to send in the Feds to tackle crime and immigration enforcement in Chicago. State and city leaders say they do not want that to happen. Trump says beautiful “African American Ladies” in Chicago do. Victor speaks to Danielle Carter-Walters of Chicago Flips Red, who says the President was referring to her. First - a look at whether Trump’s words about fighting crime match actual actions towards curbing gun violence. Victor gets perspective from Kasim Reed, t...Show morehe former mayor of Atlanta, Leo Smith, former minority engagement director for the Georgia GOP, and Jason “Jah” Lee, senior editor of Bossip. Plus, lawmakers in Washington State want more answers after 2 members of a crew helping contain a wildfire were arrested by Border Patrol. State Representative Shaun Scott joins Victor to explain why he thinks both parties have blame for what's going on. And for "Art is Life" this week, we're wondering: is signing your signature soon going to be a lost art? Victor speaks to Terrell and Chelsea Whittington about Cursive Academy, and their effort to get more kids to learn the skill being taught in a decreasing number of schools.

Aug 30, 2025

President Trump says he may expand his federal law enforcement takeover to Chicago, because “African American ladies, beautiful ladies” are asking him to do so. Victor discusses this and other topics, including redistricting and Target’s handling of DEI, with LaTosha Brown, Cory Ruth and Pastor Jamal Bryant. A former FBI Supervisory Special Agent says the agency's anti-DEI stance could make the country less safe. L. Nicole Dunn joins Victor to share her warning, and she reveals the reason she sa...Show moreys she was recently ousted from her role at the bureau. Plus, there's a housing development in Arkansas looking for new residents. The catch: you have to be straight and white. Is that ... legal? New York Times Reporter Debra Kamin recently visited the “Return to the Land” community, and shares with Victor what she learned. And in “Art is Life” this week, Victor speaks with Rigoberto A. Gonzalez whose immigration-themed piece previously honored by the Smithsonian is now getting singled out by the White House as proof the Smithsonian is “out of control”.

Aug 23, 2025

Could President Trump's meeting with Russia's Vladimir Putin have “just been an email,” or is something substantive starting to emerge after their summit in Alaska? Victor speaks with Retired Brigadier General and Democratic candidate for Congress Shawn Harris, political commentator Janelle King and author Charles Blow. They also discuss President Trump’s escalating effort to reshape the presentation of history and culture at Smithsonian museums.   Plus, Victor goes one-on-one with Spike Lee. ...Show moreWhy the acclaimed director says the U.S. under President Trump is no longer a “beacon of democracy”.  Spike Lee also explains why he plans to vote for Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, and we also discuss his new joint “Highest 2 Lowest” and working with “greatest living actor” Denzel Washington for a 5th time, along with A$AP Rocky for the 1st time.

Aug 16, 2025

Black unemployment rose again in the latest jobs report. Victor breaks down the concern this raises for every racial group with writers Ernie Suggs, Michael Harriot and Jason “Jah” Lee. The guys also weigh in on the decision by former Vice President Kamala Harris to skip a run for governor of California. Plus, the controversy over American Eagle’s “Great Jeans” ad featuring Sydney Sweeney. While schools like Columbia and Brown are cutting deals with the Trump administration, one university p...Show moreresident targeted over "DEI" policies is not only pushing back but getting a raise. Victor discusses the probe of George Mason University’s Gregory Washington with the school’s faculty senate president, Solon Simmons. Did this post hit your algorithm this week? The story of an allegedly missing Black trucker started spreading on social media. Victor went down a rabbit hole looking into the story and what he discovered kept surprising him the more he kept looking. He shares what he found out about “Eric Darnell”. Victor also speaks with a woman who says she was kicked off a flight because of her race. Dr. Briana Hicks and her attorney Lauren Bateman make their case. And in “Art is Life” this week, artist Nick Weber takes us inside his Hamptons studio where he’s painting portraits of immigrant neighbors to honor them and share their stories of perseverance.

Aug 3, 2025

People in Gaza are starving. A ceasefire would help to restart the flow of aid, but the U.S. just withdrew from talks. Now President Trump is saying Israel should "finish the job" against Hamas. Victor discusses the crisis with Dr. Bashara Bahbah. the leader of “Arab Americans for Peace,” formerly called "Arab Americans for Trump".   What is life like for the migrants being held in a detention facility deep in the Florida Everglades? We're starting to hear from some of the men held there. Vict...Show moreor shares the findings from a CNN investigation by Priscilla Alvarez.   Is dance an appropriate way to call for change after the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas? Ahead of an upcoming performance, Victor speaks with Madi Frampton-Herrera, the creator of "Echoes of Justice: Unanswered For 77 The Time Between” and Javier Cazares, the father of 9-year-old Uvalde victim Jacklyn Cazares, about reaction to the project.   Later, Victor compares reaction to a “Manifest Destiny” artwork posted by the Trump Administration, and the alleged censorship of a portrait by Amy Sherald depicting a Black, transgender Statue of Liberty.   Plus, Asian American farmer Mai Nguyen joins Victor to push back on the USDA saying support for minority farmers is no longer needed, because past disparities have been "sufficiently" handled.   And we remember Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Most of us knew him as the actor who played Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show”. But the “Biological Misfits” knew him as a great musician. They came together to share a side of him you likely have not heard much about.

Jul 26, 2025

Loved ones gather to remember Jabari Peoples, a teen shot and killed by police in Alabama. Even after he's laid to rest, the questions surrounding his death remain. Police won't show them the bodycam footage and a state lawmaker says one of their lawyers may be partly to blame. Victor speaks with that state representative and the family attorney.       Plus, Head Start is a vital resource for millions of low income families across the U.S. Under a new mandate from the Trump administration, un...Show moredocumented children could lose access to that and other services. The former head of Head Start under the first Trump administration speaks with Victor to explore the ramifications.  A confederate group is suing a state park in Georgia over its plans to add an exhibit on slavery and segregation. They accuse the park of "going woke." Victor is joining by a spokesperson of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.   As much as artificial intelligence is supposed to help us into the future, it is also dragging along with it, society's current problems. Now, the internet trolls are creating their own content... Perpetuating derogatory stereotypes. Victor is joined by a leading voice in digital technoculture.       And a group of indigenous kayakers have completed a journey that was impossible for the past century: Paddling the entire Klamath river. An organization called Paddle Tribal Waters led dozens of 13 to 20 year olds down the Klamath, traveling 300 miles from southern Oregon to the northern California coast. I spoke with two of the young kayakers and one of the organizers.

Jul 12, 2025

One family's legacy is closely tied to the Supreme Court ruling that just gave President Trump more power by restricting lower courts. Victor speaks with Norman Wong, the great-grandson of  the man whose case led to a landmark decision on birthright citizenship more than 100 years ago, Wong Kim Ark.   Plus, Florida's tribes are speaking out against construction of a migrant detention facility dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz". The Chairman of the Miccosukee Tribe, Talbert Cypress, joins Victor to ex...Show moreplain why they’re so alarmed.   Legal expert Monique Pressley shares her analysis on the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial as it heads to a jury, along with her prediction on what the verdict may be.   And Victor speaks with U.S. Army Veteran Sae Joon Park on his decision to leave the country as President Trump’s immigration crackdown ramps up.   Later, Victor speaks with a family demanding answers from police in Alabama after the death of 18-year-old Jabari Peoples. They want to see video showing the officer-involved shooting. Jabari’s mother, sister and the family's attorney speak out.   And in this week’s “Art is Life,” Victor shares how Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive is highlighting Black history with a showcase of African American quilts despite federal funding cuts.

Jun 28, 2025

Right now, a journalist who has reported on immigration issues in Georgia for years is facing deportation after being arrested while covering a protest. Mario Guevara’s attorney says he is in the U.S. legally yet remains in ICE custody. Victor speaks with Guevara’s lawyer, Giovanni Díaz, along with Alondra Madrigal who works closely with Mario as a reporter with MG News and Guevara's son, Oscar Guevara Saenz, who is also a photojournalist for his father's news site. After protests and this we...Show moreek's face-off with federal agents who pulled up in their parking lot, the Los Angeles Dodgers just announced how they plan to support the immigrant community that makes up such a large part of their fan base. Los Angeles Times Sports Columnist Dylan Hernández joins Victor to react. Thomas Clardy was recently freed from prison after nearly two decades when his conviction was tossed out. That decision has now been reversed, and he could be put back in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. Clardy joins Victor, along with his attorney Jessica Van Dyke of the Tennessee Innocence Project, to discuss the case. Plus, Victor takes on President Trump’s Juneteenth complaint of "too many" holidays, a grocery store’s cake decorations that are going viral for all the wrong reasons, and shares his report on a meeting between two women with a special connection to each other, and the events of June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas. And in our “Art is Life” segment this week, Victor shares the story of a new exhibit that's a product of tough conversations about our history. “Out of Whole Cloth” is set in a former plantation in Alabama that is now a place of healing thanks to a partnership between the descendant of a sharecropper and the descendant of an enslaver. Victor speaks to Harpersville, Alabama Mayor Theoangelo Perkins, Nell Gottlieb and Ebony Howard of the Wallace Center for Arts and Reconciliation.

Jun 21, 2025