Ani DiFranco: “This is not only a time of great peril, but a time of great hope.”

The TakeawayJun. 21, 2017

Coming up on today’s show:

People with disabilities and disability advocates are weighing in on the new Republican healthcare proposal. If the new bill becomes law, many fear they won’t be able to get the coverage they need. H. Stephen Kaye, a professor at the Institute for Health & Aging and the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco and director and principal investigator of the Community Living Policy Center, explains.

Andraea LaVant lives with muscular dystrophy, and up until this year, she used a Medicaid waiver to receive healthcare services under the Affordable Care Act. The services allowed her to live independently and work full time. She explains how the GOP proposal may impact her life.

Kansas State Senator Barbara Bollier has been on the front lines of the movement to offer insurance to as many Kansans as possible. As a Republican, these efforts have not always gone appreciated by her party. Senator Bollier joins The Takeaway to offer her experience in fighting for better healthcare from within a government devoted to the politics of austerity.

Summer is officially underway, and that means three months of heat, swimming pools and beaches, and most importantly, summer music — the perfect distraction from the politics of humid Washington, D.C. Melissa Locker, culture reporter for TIME, The Guardian and The Takeaway, gives us her summer soundtrack.
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 tells us about “The Last Knight,” the fifth movie in “Transformers” franchise, and Hollywood’s expensive struggle with new action movies. He also reviews Sofia Coppola’s “The Beguiled,” a reboot of the 1971 film.

The Washington Redskins scored an administrative touchdown, thanks to a rock band’s victory in court. The Supreme Court recently ruled that offensive names can be trademarked, citing the First Amendment. Dave Zirin, sports editor for The Nation magazine and host of “The Edge of Sports” podcast, explains what this new legal precedent means for professional sports teams.
Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco is out with a new album this month. “Binary,” is the 20th studio album for DiFranco. She joins The Takeaway to discuss her new record, and her creative process.