“These are animals”: The Risks of Dehumanizing Language

Here’s what you’ll find on today’s show:

— In a roundtable discussion with local California politicians and law enforcement officials opposed to the state’s sanctuary city policies, President Trump referred to some immigrants as “animals.” It was not immediately clear who the president was characterizing with these remarks. After the incident, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders clarified that the president had been, all along, referring only to the criminal gang MS-13. But this is not the first time President Trump has used dehumanizing language to address a population of immigrants, and it stems from a long history of dehumanizing and ostracizing communities who are already marginalized.

— Facebook has come under fire for allowing ads to target specific individuals in the lead up to the 2016 election. The specifics became a little more clear at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this week, where former Cambridge Analytica employee and whistleblower Christopher Wiley testified. 

— All this week, we’ve been hearing about wealth in America, who’s got it, and who doesn’t. One thing is clear, elected officials in Congress definitely have it. The estimated cumulative wealth of all current members of Congress as of this February was at least $2.43 billion. The median minimum net worth of all members of Congress was $511,000, five times the median net worth of an American household, which the Federal Reserve pegged at $97,300 in 2016.

— On Saturday Prince Harry will marry American actress Meghan Markle. The two will tie the knot at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, just over 20 miles west of London. As a biracial woman, whose mother is black and father is white, Markle is certainly shaking things up in Britain’s royal family, which isn’t exactly known for its diversity. While Markle will soon become the first acknowledged mixed-race royal, Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, is believed to have been Britain’s first biracial queen.

— Every Friday, Rafer Guzman, film critic for Newsday and The Takeaway, drops by to review the new releases hitting the box office. This week, Rafer gives his take on the highly anticipated superhero sequel, “Deadpool 2,” starring Ryan Reynolds. Rafer also reviews the romantic comedy “Book Club” and the religious drama “First Reformed.” 

— In a new T.V. show for Starz, Emma and Lyn are Mexican-American sisters. When their mother dies suddenly, they come home to their East L.A. neighborhood to decide what to do with the building and the bar their mother left behind. “Vida” is the imagined story of two women coming home to family secrets, a changing neighborhood, and the people fighting to protect it.