It’s Hump Day! Sam and Emma speak with independent journalist Erin Reed, author of the Erin In The Morning newsletter on SubStack, to discuss the state of anti-trans legislation moving its way around the country in 2024. Then, they speak with Margie Mason & Robin McDowell, investigative reporters for the Associated Press, to discuss their recent reporting on prison labor in the United States. And in the Fun Half, Tim Heidecker makes a special appearance! First, Sam and Emma run through updates on the House GOP blowing their majority, Donald Trump’s legal woes, the Nevada election, UAW expansion, Ronna McDaniel, and the IRS, also watching MTG reflect on the recent failures of her and her cohorts. Erin Reed then joins, diving right into the busy 2024 in state-level anti-trans legislation in the US, first parsing through the media’s insistence on emphasizing bigoted and misinformed perspectives – as seen in the New York Times’s recent piece by Pamela Paul – and how the arguments seen in those texts are perfectly reflected in the statehouse hearings in red states. Expanding on this, Reed walks through the major legislative developments in the anti-trans fascism of the US, including Indiana’s school-snitch forms, the plethora of legislation coming out of Missouri and Iowa, and Florida’s Real ID bill, before wrapping up by looking at the major donors behind the GOP’s tactic of all-out transphobia. Margie Mason and Robin McDowell then walk Sam and Emma through their research into the thriving industry of Prison labor in the US, with a particular focus on the agricultural industry and how it presents a clear thread on the US’ evolution from a Slavery economy to the Prison-Industrial Complex. They then look to the Louisiana Angola Prison as a perfect representation of this, literally evolving from a plantation to a prison over Reconstruction, helping them to tackle the role of the 13th Amendment in pushing this development, before parsing through the major labor rights issues involved in prison labor, and how states do (and don’t) regulate it. Wrapping up, Mason and McDowell explore the reactions from major industries and corporations that benefit from prison labor to the growing transparency around the issue, and what changes to look for moving forward.

And in the Fun Half: Sam and Emma are joined by Tim Heidecker as he and Sam put aside their differences in appreciation of the true journalism that the US so lacks today. Expanding on this, they parse through Tim’s in-depth report on Tim Pool’s too-easily digestible content, explore some industry musings on what could be going on behind the scenes at the Compound™, and ponder the likelihood of an FBI infiltration into the TimCast team. Sam and Emma also parse through the unsurprising reports coming out about the dearth of proof in Israel’s claims about UNRWA involvement on October 7th, and have an expansive conversation on Democrats’ (and the media’s) insistence on fully embracing Donald Trump’s framing on the immigration debate. Tucker Carlson and Brett Weinstein ponder gender ideology, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out “Erin In The Morning” here: https://www.erininthemorning.com/

Check out Margie & Robin’s reporting here: https://apnews.com/article/prison-to-plate-inmate-labor-investigation-c6f0eb4747963283316e494eadf08c4e

Check out all of Tim’s work here!: https://www.timheidecker.com/

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