Reflecting on a Year of Trump

Coming up on today’s show:

• President Trump says that a government shutdown would hurt the military, accusing Democrats of putting service members and American national security at risk. But are those claims accurate? Joe Gould, a reporter for Defense News, looks at the effect of a government shutdown on the military. 

• About a year ago, hours after President Trump was sworn into office, The Takeaway traveled to Oklahoma and sat down with one family of Republicans, The McConnells, who were divided in their support for Donald Trump. A year into the Trump Administration, The Takeaway hears from Wayne McConnell.He says that he and the other McConnells have been pleasantly surprised by the 45th president. 

• Every Friday, Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday and The Takeaway, drops by to review the new releases hitting the box office.  Today, a look at two films: “Forever My Girl,” starring Alex Roe and Jessica Rothe, and “12 Strong,” with Chris Hemsworth, Rob Riggle, and Michael Peña.

• The BBC spent 22 years negotiating with Buckingham Palace for an interview with Queen Elizabeth II. And they finally got it. Here to explain why this is such a big deal, Kristen Meinzer, director of nonfiction programming at Panoply and co-host of the podcast “When Meghan Met Harry: A Royal Weddingcast.”

• On Thursday, Acting Health and Human Services Director Eric Hargan announced a new office within the administration’s civil rights division. The new Conscience and Religious Freedom division will now tasked with handling complaints from healthcare workers who object to procedures due to religious or moral reasons. The move has advocates worried. Holly Fernandez Lynch, an attorney and bioethicist, explains.

• As anti-abortion demonstrators descend on Washington, D.C. for the annual March for Life, The Takeaway looks to Chile, El Salvador, and Oklahoma, to find out what happens when restrictive abortion laws jeopardize women’s access to reproductive healthcare. Michelle Oberman, a professor of law at Santa Clara University and the author of “Her Body, Our Laws,” weighs in. 

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich