Art, Passion, and Pain for The Puerto Rican Diaspora

Coming up on today’s show:

• On Wednesday, the Trump Administration will unveil a plan for tax reform. The plan will likely cut individual and corporate taxes, eliminate exemptions and deductions, and simplifies the filing process.  Behind the scenes, former Goldman Sachs executives Gary Cohn and Steve Mnuchin have been working to pave the way for Trump’s tax plan. Kelsey Snell, Congressional reporter for The Washington Post, and Gary Rivlin, an investigative fellow at the Investigative Fund, weigh in. 

• Esmeralda Santiago author of “When I Was Puerto Rican” and “Conquistadora,” discusses her deep connection to the island, and her desire to bring attention to the crisis in Puerto Rico, where relief has not come fast enough.

• When it comes to aiding Puerto Rico, a decades-old rule of maritime policy has emerged as a key point of contention between the Trump Administration and lawmakers. Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, explains.

• E.U. and U.K. negotiators have been meeting in Brussels this week for a fourth round of Brexit talks, but there hasn’t been much progress in the negotiations. Paul Copeland, an associate professor of public policy at Queen Mary University of London, has the details.

• A new investigation by ProPublica looks at how African-Americans in the south have been lured into predatory bankruptcy practices. Paul Kiel is a reporter at ProPublica who writes about consumer finance.  His investigation and data analysis helps illustrate how the system of bankruptcy is failing African Americans.

• Professional athletes and even some lawmakers have continued kneeling during the national anthem as a way to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Though this is viewed as a fight for equality by some, it’s seen as a sign of disrespect by others. Rich Lowry is editor of The National Review, a conservative news outlet, explains why patriotism is such a key value for President Trump’s base. 

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.