Bernie Sanders: The Democratic Party Needs Sweeping Reform

Coming up on today’s show:

• Over the course of the next two weeks, The Takeaway’s new original series, “The Future of the Parties,” will examine what Democrats and Republicans learned from the 2016 election, and how each party is making internal changes that could pave the way for the 2018 and even 2020 elections. The series begins today with a conversation with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.

• The chaos that has come in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria has not only taken a toll on Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, but also on the physical and mental health of its residents. Uncertainty about the future is causing depression and anxiety, and access to mental health services is dwindling. Alana Casanova-Burgess, a producer for WNYC who is on the ground in Puerto Rico, explains. 

• On Friday, terrorists attacked a crowded mosque in the Sinai peninsula, killing at least 300 people and injuring scores more. It was a rare attack on a mosque and was directed against the Sufi Muslim population. Declan Walsh, Cairo bureau chief for The New York Times, brings us the latest on the attack, and explains what Egypt is doing to fight terrorism. 

• At the center of the Republican tax plan is a proposal to cut the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. But what exactly do corporations do with the extra cash on hand? Rebecca Kysar,visiting professor at Fordham University School of Law and a professor at Brooklyn Law School, joins The Takeaway to break down how the corporate tax rate works in practice. 

• Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya’s from Myanmar have been forced from their homes amid violent crackdowns by the Burmese military. Documentarian Shafiur Rahman is a British Bangladeshi filmmaker who has been working on two films about the crisis in Myanmar, which he says have been overlooked by mainstream media. He discusses his work today on The Takeaway. 

• There are very few women in audio production — professionals, dabblers, or otherwise — and Amy Millan has taken notice. She’s a member of the bands Broken Social Scene and Stars, and she’s been working to raise awareness about the issue, and bring audio production classes geared to women and girls to her hometown Montreal, with the help of the San Francisco-based Women’s Audio Mission.

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich