The Russia Probe Takes a Turn, Violence Begetting Violence, Prog Rock

Coming up on today’s show:

• On Wednesday, The Washington Post reported that Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating President Trump for possible obstruction of justice. Lanny Davis, a legal crisis manager, an author, and former White House special counsel under President Clinton, explains what we can expect going forward. 

• Members of the Senate Foreign Relations and Banking Committee struck a bipartisan agreement to put new sanctions on Russia, and strengthen the rules already in place. Takeaway Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich has the details on sanctions.

• On Wednesday, a gunman targeted lawmakers practicing for a Congressional baseball game. In the aftermath of the shooting, the political views of the shooter, James T. Hodgkinson, have become the focus of the media. But Hodgkinson had a history of violence. Kiersten Stewart, policy director at the nonprofit Futures Without Violence, says ideology is secondary and past violent behavior, particularly domestic violence, should be the primary factor that we consider in the wake of a shooting. 

• Jurors in the Philando Castile and Bill Cosby trials are still in deliberation. Does the added pressure of the media spotlight impact the ability of juries to make a decision? Melissa M. Gomez, a nationally known jury consultant and the President of MMG Jury Consulting, and the author of “Jury Trials Outside In: Leveraging Psychology from Discovery to Decision,” brings her expertise to break down the various factors that might impact a jury’s decision.

• Technological advances in the criminal justice system may be making the system less fair, but companies behind the tech are claiming trade secrets to keep their algorithms secret. Rebecca Wexler, a fellow at the Legal Aid Society and resident at the Data and Society Research Institute, argues that the secrecy surrounding criminal justice technology is a troubling prospect for the entire system.

• Of the roughly 1,100 open top tier political appointments to fill across the government, President Trump has selected just over 100 nominees. Max Stier, president of the Partnership for Public Service, says that the delays are nothing new for incoming administrations, but Trump’s failure to nominate individuals is making it particularly difficult to get things done in Washington.

• “Prog Rock” or progressive rock is a morphing of classical, rock, and improvisational sound. David Weigel, a national reporter for The Washington Post, has encyclopedic knowledge of prog rock. He reflects on the evolution of this genre in his newly-released book, “The Show that Never Ends: The Rise and Fall of Progressive Rock“