The Takeaway

Original Air Date: May 02, 2023

On Monday, another multi-billion dollar banking institution collapsed — First Republic Bank. Wealthy investors had been pulling out billions of dollars in deposits over the past few weeks, in a 21st-century digital run on the bank. Federal regulators seized its assets, covered $13 billion in losses, and sold it off to JPMorgan Chase. This is now the second-largest bank failure in American history, and the third significant bank failure of the past two months after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

We discuss how this happened and what it means for the U.S. economy with Aaron Klein, Miriam K. Carliner Chair and senior fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution.

The mounting death toll from the opioid crisis in the United States continues to wreak havoc in cities, towns, and rural communities across the nation. Over the past two decades, the number of people dying from opioid overdoses in New York, and across the United States, are rising each year.

But there is something that some public health experts say could help. Narcan, the brand name for the drug naloxone, is an overdose prevention tool that anyone can use. It’s a simple nasal spray, it's legal, it’s pretty quick and easy to learn how to use, and it can reverse the effects of opioid overdose, and potentially save a life.

In March, the Food and Drug Administration authorized over the counter sales of Narcan, making a potentially live-saving drug even more widely available. A CDC study from 2020 found that nearly 40 percent of overdose deaths occurred while another person was nearby — which means the more people carrying Narcan, the better chance there is of saving a life.

Takeaway producer Katerina Barton reports, and spoke with Joanna Kaufman, a nursing student, full spectrum doula and priestess in training, living in Santa Fe, New Mexico, whose brother, Benjamin, died in 2019 from a fatal opioid overdose. Katerina also received a Narcan training from Elena Rotov, an overdose prevention coordinator, Hep C/HIV tester, and Hep C coordinator at the Brooklyn-based harm reduction center After Hours Project.

Narcan is currently accessible and mostly distributed outside of the traditional health care system from nonprofits and harm reduction organizations. It is also available in some states at participating pharmacies. Most cities offer free community Narcan trainings, where you will receive a free dose of Narcan, and you can also find trainings at nonprofits and harm reduction organizations near you, and online.New York City Public Overdose Prevention Programs

Millions of American high school students take Advanced Placement Courses and Exams every year. AP Courses are standardized, college-level classes that students can take in high school, ideally exposing them to the depth, breadth and intellectual rigor of content they’d encounter in the university. But the author of a new book argues that these courses and exams are instead shortchanging students out of the liberal arts education that the AP was initially founded to foster. We speak with Annie Abrams, high school English teacher and author of "Shortchanged: How Advanced Placement Cheats Students."

In response to a request for comment, The College Board, the nonprofit that runs the Advanced Placement Program, wrote:

The great strength of the AP Program is the community of talented, dedicated teachers who care about their students and feel passionate about their subjects. We hear from thousands of those teachers every year, and their insights help make AP more effective and more inspiring for students.

Annie Abrams' Shortchanged offers one, limited view, constrained by Abrams’ experience at a unique, highly selective high school. We find her examination of the AP Program not reflective of the experiences of the broader community of AP teachers and the students they serve. If she had consulted with any of the thousands of AP teachers educating across a variety of subjects, she would have found that students from all backgrounds can excel when they have the right preparation, a welcoming invitation, and a genuine sense of belonging.

Teachers choose to take part in AP because they find that it helps students engage deeply in subjects as diverse as English Literature, Physics, Art History, and Computer Science. Educators and college professors work together to guide AP frameworks, create and score AP exams, and make thoughtful revisions to course content as different disciplines evolve. The AP Program facilitates that large-scale collaboration between K12 and higher education, creating a uniquely valuable experience for students.

For schools across the country – urban and rural, large and small, well-resourced and economically struggling — AP provides a broad framework and a wealth of resources so that teachers at all levels can offer a college-level experience. AP frameworks are flexible by design so that teachers use their experience and creativity to expand and enhance the curricula. No two AP classes are alike, because they rely so thoroughly on the talent and commitment of individual teachers.

AP allows hundreds of thousands of students to engage in college-level work, regardless of the schools they attend. It offers an opportunity to earn college credit in high school, helping students and families save money, and graduate on time. We're incredibly proud to support the teachers who make that possible.

In March, the actions of a local church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina received national attention for all the right reasons. The congregation at Trinity Moravian Church partnered with an organization called R-I-P Medical Debt to cancel 3,000 local residents’ medical debt, to the tune of $3.3 million dollars. They bought that debt for just a little over $15,000 dollars.

Rev. John Jackman, the pastor of Trinity Moravian Church held a symbolic “debt burning” ceremony to mark the occasion, with confetti and hymns.

In 2016, John Oliver, a comedian and host of the HBO series Last Week Tonight, purchased $15 million dollars in medical debt from 9,000 people, that he bought for “less than half a cent on a dollar.”

And some state officials, like Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut, are currently proposing using federal pandemic aid to cancel billions of dollars in medical debt.

Yes, these are happy stories of people working together to help their community members, neighbors, and even strangers.

But this is also a crisis. Millions of Americans carry the burden of outstanding medical debt – An investigation in 2022 by Kaiser Health News and the Kaiser Family Foundation, found that 100 million people across the nation have some type of health care debt. Kaiser estimated that in 2019 – the total medical debt in the country was around $195 BILLION dollars.

For more on this we spoke with Emily Stewart, Executive Director at Community Catalyst, a national nonprofit focused on health justice.

Original Air Date: December 16, 2021

The Takeaway community is full of book worms and literary lovers, so we spoke with some incredible authors about their work and some titles to look out for.

Feminist AF: A Guide to Crushing Girlhood

Co-authored by Brittney Cooper , Chanel Craft Tanner , and Susana Morris, this book walks us through their tips for surviving girlhood with a feminist flair.

These Precious Days: Essays

New York Times bestselling author Ann Patchett reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays.

Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You!

Author, host and executive producer of Netflix's "Bookmark," and 2021 Ambassador for the National Education Association’s Read Across Campaign Marley Dias speaks to kids about her passion for making our world a better place, and how to make their dreams come true! We talked to Marley about #1000BlackGirlBooks, her recent acceptance to Yale University, and how she's using her Netflix platform to expand engagement with books, reading, and ideas.

WATCH: Melissa Harris-Perry & Marley Dias at ELLE Magazine

The Takeaway Book Report: 2nd Edition

Listen to the full episode here.

Original Air Date: December 30, 2021

Our host Melissa Harris-Perry spoke with some amazing guest about the books they've been reading and writing.

Guest in this episode include:

Constance Grady, senior culture writer at Vox, talked about her picks for 2021.

Treva B. Lindsey, author of America, Goddam: Violence, Black Women, and the Struggle for Justice discussed her upcoming book.

Deep Dive co-host and co-president of the Center for Community Change Dorian Warren told us his favorite books of the year.

Kaitlyn Greenidge discussed her new work Libertie, a work of historical fiction that is one of the most buzzed about books of the year.

Torrey Peters author of Detransition, Baby discussed her national bestselling novel which tells the story of three people, transgender and cisgender, whose lives intersect thanks to an unexpected pregnancy.