Psychedelic Science, Restorative Radio, Obamacare Battle

Coming up on today’s show:

• Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro declared a nationwide state of emergency over the weekend. The country has been in a deep economic crises, and international officials say Venezuela is headed for total political collapse. Ricardo Hausmann, director of the Harvard Center for International Development, has the details. 

• Although 20 million Americans are insured as a result of the Affordable Care Act, many say the polarized debate over Obamacare has overshadowed the real issues in the American health insurance market. Julie Rovner, a senior correspondent with Kaiser Health News, looks at the political fight over healthcare. 

• Last week, multi-prison strikes continued across Alabama in what’s being called the “Free Alabama Movement,” which aims to expose unfair work conditions in the state’s prisons. Pastor Kenneth Glasgow, director of The Ordinary People’s Society, explains. 

• North Carolina’s controversial HB2 ordinance prohibits transgender people from using restrooms that correspond with their gender identities. But many don’t realize that the law also prevents municipalities from raising the minimum wage. Wendy May, a candidate for county commissioner in Johnston County, North Carolina, weighs in. 

• This week, the team at Retro Report looks at the evolution of psychedelics, from the 1960s when mind-altering drugs like LSD helped fuel the counter-cultural movement, to how scientists are using the drug today. Retro Report Producer Joshua Fisher explores the past and future of LSD.

• Even in our digital world, paper still plays an important and surprising role. Mark Kurlansky author of “Paper: Paging Through History,”joins The Takeaway to talk about one of the world’s oldest technologies. 

• For more than a decade, the community radio station WMMT 88.7 in Whitesburg, Kentucky has aired the program “Calls from Home,” which broadcasts messages that families have left for incarcerated loved ones. Sylvia Ryerson, a producer Restorative Radio, and Michelle Hudson, a woman who uses the service, discuss this project.