Eddie S. Glaude Jr. has a message for Americans: it is time for ordinary people to take charge of our democracy. An African American Studies professor at Princeton, Glaude argues that we have outsourced our responsibility for creating a just society to the political class for too long -- and it hasn’t worked. Glaude explores these ideas in a new book titled “We are the Leader We Have Been Looking For.” He says the roots of this thinking took hold around the time of the election of Barack Obama in 2008. Many Americans celebrated a post-racial era in the country, but Glaude felt uneasy. He worri ..read more

Once a taboo topic, menopause has recently come out of the shadows. Media headlines declare it is “having a moment,” as celebrities like Michelle Obama, Drew Barrymore and Oprah have shared their experiences with “the change.” Even Washington is paying attention. In March, President Biden signed an executive order that funds research into women’s health – including midlife conditions like menopause. “We cannot afford not to address the health issues of women as they age,” says Dr. Sharon Malone, a gynecologist and vocal advocate for menopause awareness. She points out that menopausal women are ..read more

Donald Trump has enjoyed strong support from white Evangelical Christians since his first run for the presidency. But recently, he has made a specific brand of Christianity a centerpiece of his campaign. He repeatedly casts himself as a messiah figure, even comparing his legal troubles to the persecution of Christ. He regularly ends his rallies with prayer. And last week he started hocking a version of the Bible that also includes copies of the founding documents of the United States. “Trump is now wrapping his candidacy around this idea of White Christian Nationalism,” says Robert P. Jones, p ..read more

Donald Trump has made cognitive decline a major issue in this year’s presidential race. On the campaign trail he accuses Biden of impairment, while boasting of his own brilliance. Yet, this line of attack is nothing new. He has long accused rivals of mental frailty, weaponizing the issue of dementia for his own gain. Washington Post investigative reporter Michael Kranish says Trump’s fixation on mental fitness came after years of watching his father’s own experience with Alzheimer’s disease. Kranish joins Diane on today’s episode of On My Mind to discuss Fred Trump’s dementia, Donald Trump’s r ..read more

How old is too old to be president? It’s a question many Americans are asking as Joe Biden and Donald Trump face off for the office. President Biden is 81. Over the last four years, his hair has thinned, his gait has stiffened. And the media, not to mention his opponent, have pounced on his verbal gaffes, like when he mixed up the presidents of Egypt and Mexico, or when he seemed to momentarily forget the name of “Hamas.” Meanwhile, Donald Trump is 77 and has experienced his own memory lapses, including when in a recent speech he said “Nikki Haley” was in charge of security on January 6th, whe ..read more

Those who see Donald Trump as a threat to democracy have taken solace in the cases piling up against him. There were civil cases that carried massive financial penalties. There were four criminal cases whose trials were set to take place before the November election. And there was the question of the Fourteenth Amendment that could have barred trump from the ballot. But two recent Supreme Court decisions have changed that. “It’s going to be Biden versus Trump,” says Ian Millhiser, senior correspondent at Vox. “There is no magical anything that is going to stop us from having an election betwee ..read more

As the conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on, the level of human suffering in the Gaza Strip has come into clearer focus. The death toll in Gaza surpassed 30,000 this week, according to the Gazan health ministry. The United Nations estimates that 2 million Palestinians in the territory have been internally displaced by war. New reports say nearly all of the 2.3 million people in the enclave face crisis levels of food insecurity. And at least one quarter of the population is one step away from famine. Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib is a U.S. citizen from Gaza who has lost 31 family members so far in ..read more

Last week Supreme Court justices heard arguments about whether the state of Colorado could ban Donald Trump from the ballot. This week, Trump petitioned the justices to temporarily block a decision by a federal appeals court regarding his claim of presidential immunity. “The real question to me is how do these two cases, the Colorado case and the January 6th prosecution, end up fitting together,” says Stephen Vladeck, professor at the University of Texas School of Law and author of the New York Times bestseller “The Shadow Docket.” Vladeck joined Diane on this episode of On My Mind to explain ..read more

In 2020 Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed a measure that decriminalized drug use. Since the law went into effect three years ago, homelessness in the state has increased, the rate of overdose deaths has risen sharply and the support for decriminalization has plummeted. Now, Oregon legislators on both sides of the aisle are considering overturning the measure, reinstating a more “law and order” approach to addiction. “Drugs are a symptom of what’s going on,” says Maia Szalavitz, contributing opinion writer at the New York Times who covers addiction and public policy. “Drugs are not the primar ..read more

Over the last year, a leap in technology has put powerful generative AI tools in the hands of practically anyone with a computer. This means creating fake audio, images, and video has never been easier. “That’s a democratization of a technology that should terrify us,” says Hany Farid, professor of computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. “Because now I can make the president of the United States, or a candidate for the highest office in the United States, say anything I want them to say.” Farid is an expert in artificial intelligence and disinformation who is tracking the u ..read more