Sam and Emma host freelance journalist Chris Pomorski to discuss his recent piece in The New Republic “When Innocence Isn’t Enough.” Then they are joined by Amjad Iraqi, editor at 972 Magazine, to discuss the recent violence in the Gaza Strip. Emma and Sam begin by covering updates on the DOJ search warrant for Mar-a-Lago, the continuing emergency in Jackson, the success of South Carolina’s abortion ban and the fall of Arkansas’ trans healthcare ban, before tackling the continued Fox & Frenemies infighting between Doocy and Kilmeade. Chris Pomorski then dives into the story of Christopher Dunn’s wrongful imprisonment, beginning in St. Louis, 1990 when an 18-year-old Christopher Dunn was charged and convicted for the murder of a 14-year-old boy based solely on the eyewitness testimony of two other children that would later recant, citing pressure and intimidation from the police. After tackling the failures of Dunn’s public defender (largely grounded in racism), Pomorski then dives into what happened in the wake of Dunn’s innocence becoming clear, why the judge determining his case believe him to be wrongfully convicted, and how Missouri law prohibits overturning convictions that aren’t death sentences. Wrapping up, they look at where Dunn can go from here, as Missouri executive representatives (Governor and AG) refused to step in while the legislature passed a law putting his future exclusively in the hands of the prosecutors that incarcerated him in the first place. Then, Amjad Iraqi parses through the lasting effects of last May’s Palestinian uprising in the face of heightened Israeli violence and oppression, first walking through the two core struggles that arose during Ramadan as Israeli police assaulted worshipers in Jerusalem and at key religious locations like Damascus Gate and Al-Aqsa mosque, and Israeli and American Jewish settlers began forcibly removing Palestinians and their belongings from their houses as part of their genocidal gentrification project. Next, Amjad, Emma, and Sam, discuss the solidarity among Palestinians that this inspired, how it bolsters a growing nascent collective consciousness among Palestinian youth, and where Palestinian organizing might go from here. Wrapping up, they also cover the evolution of Israel’s genocidal project, from periods of more front-facing violence to attempts to obscure the blood they shed, with the latter coming back to the fore as Israel attempts to force NGOs and journalists out of Gaza.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma tease a surprise for this Friday, before diving deep into Jordan Peterson’s ridiculous, violent, and obviously hypocritical reasoning behind his recent “controversial” tweets, the shameless man he is, also walking through the effects of this stochastic rhetoric from the likes of him, Matt Walsh, and Libs of TikTok, as Boston Children’s Hospital was forced to clear out in the wake of bomb threats over its trans-inclusive care. They also cover Rob Schneider’s World War II allegory to express his willingness to be canceled, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Chris’s piece here: https://newrepublic.com/article/166767/christopher-dunn-missouri-murder-innocent

Check out Amjad’s work at 972 Magazine here: https://www.972mag.com/writer/amjad/