Sanctuary Cities Fight Back, May Day Movements, The Origins of Conspiracy Theories

Coming up on today’s show: 

• Last week, a federal judge in San Francisco blocked President Donald Trump’s plan to punish so-called “sanctuary cities.” Leon Fresco, a former deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department and the former head of the the Office of Immigration Litigation under the Obama Administration, has the details on the ruling and what it means for cities around the nation. 

• Though San Francisco is home to the federal judge who dealt President Trump another legal blow, the debate over U.S. immigration law marches forward in the Bay Area. KQED Reporter Marisa Lagos analyzes the shifting history of sanctuary policies in San Francisco, which has become a microcosm for current sanctuary city rhetoric. 

• California isn’t the only state resisting the policies of the Trump Administration. Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson rose to prominence when he moved to block the president’s travel ban, but Ferguson has also emerged as a consumer advocate, targeting predatory student loan practices and embracing the power of the office of the attorney general. He weighs in today on The Takeaway. 

• Today is May Day or International Workers’ Day, which commemorates the 1886 Haymarket Affair, when 200,000 workers organized a nationwide strike in support of the eight hour workday. In 2006, the day became a rallying point for immigrants, and immigration has again become a rallying point in the Trump era. Peter Linebaugh, a historian and author of “The Incomplete, True, Authentic & Wonderful History of May Day,” discusses the history and future of of International Workers’ Day. 

• Last week, President Trump announced that May 1st would be celebrated nationwide as “Loyalty Day.” Many of his critics were quick to attack the declaration as yet another alarming example of the president’s nationalism. But it turns out that the origins of Loyalty Day dates back to the Eisenhower Administration. Nicole Hemmer, an assistant professor in presidential studies at the Miller Center, a columnist for Vox.com, and co-host of the podcast Past Present, joins The Takeaway to help place Loyalty Day into a wider historical context. 

• The moon landing was faked. 9/11 was an inside job. In this age of alternative facts and the 24 hours news cycle, conspiracy theories have a deep hold on America. How did it all begin? Jennifer Oko, a journalist with the Retro Report documentary team, looks back at the evolution of conspiracy theories in the United States. 

• In the latest installment of The Takeaway’s “Uncomfortable Truths” series, Adriana Rodriguez, a high school student from the Bronx, talks with her aunt Nancy Lopez, a laundromat owner in Queens, about how skin color plays a role in privilege, and discrimination within their Dominican family and their community in New York City.