Given that the nature of the job Barack Obama holds, he is going to be looked to for answers. In today's show, we'll ask some questions not only about the answers he's provided thus far on the economy, but also about the race it appears he's about to run against Mitt Romney and the rhetorical battle he's waging to save his signature achievement, health care reform.
In light of the recent pepper-spraying of student protesters at Santa Monica College, we'll also address the increasing(ly ridiculous) cost of higher education. Melissa will also offer some thoughts for those already sick of the Trayvon Martin coverage, and we'll honor some Detroit students and parents fighting to, yes, get more books, more teachers, and more education. (You know we dig that kind of stuff in #nerdland.)
Our guests include actor and activist Kerry Washington, star of the ABC drama "Scandal." The show, which premiered this past Thursday, centers around a Washington D.C.-based "fixer" operating a crisis-management firm. (Click here for a POLITICO profile of Judy Smith, the real-life inspiration for Washington's role.) Washington is a veteran of both stage and screen; in addition to her many roles, she directed the Common video above. She's also very politically-minded having stumped for then-candidate Obama in 2008.
We also will welcome:
- Farai Chideya, fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and former NPR host.
- Jelani Cobb, associate professor of Africana Studies and History at Rutgers University.
- Julianne Malveaux, President of Bennett College, America's oldest historically black college for women.
- Liza Mundy, fellow at the New America Foundation and author of "The Richer Sex" and "Michelle: A Biography and Everything Conceivable."
- Matt Welch, editor-in-chief of Reason Magazine.
- Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at the New York University School of Law.
And as always, be sure to interact with us during the show on Facebook and on Twitter, using the hashtag #nerdland. See you all at 10am ET!