Episodes
Blog
Shop
About
Sponsors
FAQ
Support
Episode

2/10 The Forgotten Voices of the War On Drugs w/ Travis Lupick and Jessica Cisneros

February 10, 2022

Download MP3

Emma hosts journalist Travis Lupick to discuss his recent book Light Up the Night: America’s Overdose Crisis and the Drug Users Fighting for Survival. Then, Emma is joined by Jessica Cisneros, candidate for Congress in Texas’s 28th District, to give an update from the campaign trail!Travis and Emma begin by situating his story in this week’s news regarding the success of and backlash to Biden’s safe smoking kit, including the fact that the existence of clean pipes and needles does not create more demand for opioids, no matter how much that idea supports conservatives’ desire to avoid slight discomfort. Travis dives into his work, which started in Vancouver in the wake of the incredible success of North America’s first needle exchange, and how this represented the importance of taking on the opioid crisis as a public health issue, not a criminal one, before he and Emma work to define the concept of “harm reduction” and the importance of building a system of trust in community health practices, especially when it comes to encouraging future treatment. Next, they look to the Nixon Administration as they dive into the birth of the war on drugs, and John Ehrlichman famously saying the quiet part out loud in pinning their criminalization of heroin and marijuana on an attempt to imprison Black and brown people and hinder the anti-war movements of the era. They wrap up the interview by looking at the current stage of the opioid crisis, moving from one of prescription pills to heroin and now to fentanyl, and this concept of how the “iron law of prohibition,” means the criminalization of illicit substances ultimately pushes for more potent and transportable drugs, rather than putting a stop to their supply, before looking to what legislators and policymakers can and should do moving forwards. Emma also touches on the anti-semitism and anti-worker ideology behind the US-backed Canadian tucker convoy.

And in the Fun Half: Jessica Cisneros comes on to discuss her candidacy for TX-28 in the wake of Henry Cuellar being raided by the FBI, and the progressive agenda she wants to push as San Antonio becomes bluer and bluer, then Chris Leal for HD-114 hops on to explore how he’s riding his union backing in the hopes of winning the first Democratic seat in a statewide Texas election in decades. Emma is also joined by Brandon and Matt Binder as they take on Dave Chappelle leveraging his investments against affordable housing in his town, the absurdity of recent crypto corruption, and Jason Myles from “This is Revolution” calls in to explore the problems of our guest’s representation of drug abuse, and the importance of recognizing the inherent ugliness of the problem and avoiding the need to paint a picture of a “beautiful” victim, plus, your calls and IMs!

Purchase tickets for the live show in Brooklyn on March 26th HERE:

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-majority-report-with-sam-seder-live-tickets-259736848907?aff=odwdwdspacecraft

Purchase tickets for the live show in Boston on May 15th HERE:

Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here:  https://madmimi.com/signups/170390/join

Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/

Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/

Support the St. Vincent Nurses today! https://action.massnurses.org/we-stand-with-st-vincents-nurses/

Check out Matt’s show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning

Subscribe to Matt’s other show Literary Hangover on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/literaryhangover

Check out The Nomiki Show on YouTube. https://www.patreon.com/thenomikishow

Check out Matt Binder’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder

Subscribe to Brandon’s show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse

Check out The Letterhack’s upcoming Kickstarter project for his new graphic novel! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/milagrocomic/milagro-heroe-de-las-calles

Check out Jamie’s podcast, The Antifada. https://www.patreon.com/theantifada, on iTunes, or at https://www.twitch.tv/theantifada (streaming every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 7pm ET!)

Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/

Subscribe to AM Quickie writer Corey Pein’s podcast News from Nowhere. https://www.patreon.com/newsfromnowhere 

Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter:

@SamSeder

@EmmaVigeland

@MattBinder

@MattLech

@BF1nn

@BradKAlsop

Donate to Chris Leal’s campaign for Texas Statehouse here!

The Majority Report with Sam Seder – https://majorityreportradio.com/

Past Episodes

Apr 18, 2024
4/18 DARE & The School-Police Nexus; NHS Cass Review Explained w/ Max Felker-Kantor, Erin Reed
It’s an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Max Felker-Kantor, associate professor of history at Ball State University, to discuss his recent book DARE to Say No: Policing and the War on Drugs in Schools. Then, she speaks with journalist Erin Reed, author of the Erin In The Morning ...
Apr 17, 2024
4/17 Chicago Trader Joe’s Vote For Union Election; NLRB Action Against Crowder w/ Daniel Poppen, Matt Bruenig
It’s Hump Day! Sam speaks with Daniel Poppen, member of the union organizing committee at the Trader Joe’s location in the North Center neighborhood of Chicago, to discuss the staff’s decision to file for a union election. Then, he speaks with Matt Bruenig, founder of the People’s Policy ...
Apr 16, 2024
4/16 Gauging Iran’s Response To Israel; FISA Passes House, Spying Intact w/ Matt Duss
It's News Day Tuesday! But first, Sam and Emma speak with Matt Duss, executive vice president at the Center for International Policy, to discuss the events of the past weekend involving Iran & Israel. First, Sam and Emma run through updates on Trump’s legal woes, Israel’s ongoing conflicts ...
More Episodes

The Majority Report with Sam Seder

The main show, which is available to everyone live and via podcast, is 40 minutes packed full of news, insightful commentary and intelligent interviews with some of the most respected minds in politics and world affairs.

Become A Member