UNDISTRACTED with Brittany Packnett Cunningham

For our Season 3 finale, Brittany had no choice but to call up Thee group chat–The Machetes, an unshakeable sisterhood of women who bonded during COVID and haven’t let go. This week Brittany sits down with five of them–community organizer LaTosha Brown, broadcast journalist Cari Champion, co-host of The View Sunny Hostin, sports journalist Jemele Hill, and TheReidOut host Joy Ann Reid for conversation about community, sisterhood, and of course—where they got their name. Listen in…and hold on tight to your own Machetes. We’re going to need each other this year.

It’s been 10 days since the inauguration—10 days full of executive orders, immigration crackdowns, dismantled DEI initiatives and general panic. This shock and overwhelm is intentional, but if we’re going to make it through the next four years…we can’t traffic in hopelessness. This week, Brittany speaks with activist Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, to talk about collective action, whether we’ll ever get gun reform, and how to build the “womansphere.” Plus: Brittany brings you this week’s UNtrending news. For timely analysis, updates, and resources on actions from Trump-Vance administration, visit: https://www.democracy2025.org/response-center

How do you make sense of a day that both honored Martin Luther King, Jr. and ushered in a president determined to demolish progress at warp speed? Brittany calls up two people equipped to do it: group chat members Dr. David J. Johns and Dr. Brittney Cooper. Together, they trace the origin of white obsession with “meritocracy,” the price the country has paid for the success of Barack Obama, the fact that more information does not equal more knowledge, and how we’ll survive this moment the way we would a storm. Plus: Brittany honors the life and legacy of her friend (and frequent UNDISTRACTED guest) Cecile Richards. Stay UNDISTRACTED and subscribe to The Meteor newsletter by visiting WeAreTheMeteor.com/newsletters.

Cori Bush is just one week out of Congress—so who better to tell us exactly what to expect over these next four years? In this episode, Brittany sits down with the activist and former legislator for an “exit interview” like no other: all about what her Republican colleagues really told her behind the scenes, why she still thinks public service is worth it, and what the new “radical Cori” will do next. Plus: a special report from environmentalist Leah Thomas on evacuating her LA home. Please consider donating to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, which supports the first responders working to quell the devastating California wildfires. Keep an eye on Mutual Aid LA Network’s Fire & Storm Resource document for additional support opportunities. Stay UNDISTRACTED and subscribe to The Meteor newsletter by visiting WeAreTheMeteor.com/newsletters.

What do the election results and mass violence have in common? Among other things: men—angry American men whose path to radicalization seems to be moving faster and faster. Why is it happening? What can we do about it, both in our politics and in our own lives? And whose responsibility actually is it to fix all this? In this episode, Brittany speaks with journalists Anand Giridharadas and Liz Plank about the manosphere, who profits from it, and what should take its place. Plus: Brittany breaks down the UNtrending news, from Bad Bunny to Biden. Please consider donating to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, which supports the first responders working to quell the devastating California wildfires. Keep an eye on Mutual Aid LA Network’s Fire & Storm Resource document for additional support opportunities. Stay UNDISTRACTED and subscribe to The Meteor newsletter by visiting WeAreTheMeteor.com/newsletters.