Rachel's Political Retorts: Recent Episodes
Rachel Liazos
This podcast addresses modern political issues covering divisive social issues, the Trump Administration, and the 2020 Presidential Election. Each episode will be a thorough, yet simplified, analysis of the complex issues that our country faces.
Imagine a life where you live in a single cell of around 48 square feet, have two hours of recreation outside a day, eat meals alone inside your cell, are only allowed to talk to family and friends for an hour a week, and are placed in restraints any time you wanted to leave your cell. This is the life of a death row inmate. Today, there are over 2000 people on death row, dreadfully awaiting the day of their execution. A day when even the toughest of criminals will cry and beg for mercy while prison guards forcibly inject a lethal dose of drugs that will stop an inmate’s heart.
Welcome to Episode 6 of Rachel’s Political Retorts, a podcast dedicated to presenting listeners with a thorough, yet simplified, analysis of the complex issues that our country faces. In today’s episode, we are going to provide rebuttals to arguments used to support the Death Penalty and examine the ways in which the Death Penalty disproportionately affects people of color and people of low socioeconomic status.
So the question for listeners today is this … is the Death Penalty a just punishment for our country’s most violent offenders or is it an outdated form of Justice that Creates more problems than it actually solves?
Close your eyes and imagine the CEO of a Fortune 500 company. What does this person look like? Who are you imagining? Well, statistically you are likely to be picturing a white man. In fact, 75% of Fortune 500 Boards are composed of white men; while only 19 Fortune 500 firms are led by people of color, and only 21 of these companies are led by women. Why? Aren’t we supposed to be an inclusive country built on the promise of immigrants and people of color? After all, we elected a Black President, shouldn’t we be beyond this? Well no, we aren’t. African Americans have made strides towards better representation in politics, business, and elite academic institutions but the gaps remain at startling numbers.
Welcome to Episode 5 of Rachel’s Political Retorts, a podcast dedicated to presenting listeners with a thorough, yet simplified, analysis of the complex issues that our country faces. In today’s episode, we are going to address the gaps that remain for African Americans in areas of public life. We are going to see how government programs such as Affirmative Action, have been met with hostility for allegedly giving minorities “unfair” advantages in the public sphere, while also receiving criticism from across the political spectrum for not doing enough to support equal opportunities for minorities.
So the question for viewers today is this: Should the Government currently be doing more in order to ensure that minorities are given the same opportunities as their white counterparts in order to combat employment discrimination? In other words, have they gone too far or have they not gone far enough?
Supreme Court Justices - who are nominated by the President and later confirmed to the Court by the Senate - sit in the most powerful seats in government. They retain this seat for life, many only departing from their seats after death. The Supreme Court makes decisions that impact every aspect of American life: who should be given healthcare, who can or cannot vote, who can get married, and in the case of 2000, who can be President. These Justices yield an immense amount of power to change the course of history. Yet despite their influence, more than half of US voters cannot name a single Supreme Court Justice. So who really are these people? And why do unelected officials in our so-called democracy have such influence on the lives of millions of Americans?
Welcome to Episode 4 of Rachel’s Political Retorts, a podcast dedicated to presenting listeners with a thorough, yet simplified, analysis of the complex issues that our country faces. In today’s episode, we are going to address the Supreme Court. The history of the Supreme Court could easily take 50 episodes to fully cover so instead we are going to discuss a contemporary issue that the Supreme Court currently faces: the possibility of introducing a constitutional amendment that would introduce term limits for Justices.
So the question for viewers today is this: Should Supreme Court Justices serve for life as the Constitution provides or should there be a term limit for Justices as an effort to limit their virtually unchecked power?
We like to think that we live in a democracy. After all, our founding fathers shed blood, tears, and sweat in order to protect our constitutional freedoms and establish a republic in which we ruled by the consent of the governed. Every four years Americans show up to their local polls as they participate in our country’s oldest and most valued tradition: voting. We leave the polls with a cute little sticker and a glowing sense of pride, knowing that we did our civic duty. But are we really? Do our votes really even matter? Welcome to Episode 3 of Rachel’s Political Retorts, a podcast dedicated to presenting listeners with a thorough, yet simplified, analysis of the complex issues that our country faces. In today’s episode, we are going to dive into one of the most underrated and misunderstood aspects of our democracy: The Electoral College.
So the question for listeners today is this…. Is the Electoral College an outdated form of Democracy or a Constitutional Principle to Be Protected?
In today’s episode, we will be discussing the “changing tides” of the criminal justice system in America. This reform movement has been a response to the strict drug laws in the United States, which has led to the rise of people currently in prison today, of which people of color are disproportionately represented compared to their white counterparts.
So the question for listeners today is this… should the government be taking steps to reduce the US prison population by changing sentencing practices for nonviolent offenses?
In today's episode will be discussing the Trump Administration's support or lack thereof for the LGBTQ+ community. As pride month approaches this June it is important to remember and acknowledge those who have paved the way for LBGBTQ+ community such as Marsha P Johnson, Harvey Milk, Billie Jean King, and Larry Kramer. Donald Trump believes that he should among this list of internationally recognized activists for gay rights. So the question presented for listeners today… is Trump a Gay Rights Activist or a Hypocrite?