2389 -Minneapolis Policing; Fight For Public Renewables w/ Michelle S. Phelps, Gabriel Hetland

It’s an EmMajority Report Thursday! She speaks with Michelle Phelps, professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, to discuss her recent book The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America. Then she speaks with Gabriel Hetland, associate professor of Latin American, Caribbean & Latino studies at SUNY Albany, to discuss his recent piece on the Build Public Renewables Act (BPRA) published in The Nation entitled “This Solar Panel Kills Fascists.” First, Emma runs through updates on Biden’s lame duck action, AOC’s bid for Dem lead on Congressional oversight, Meta’s Trump donation, Fetterman’s support for Trump’s cabinet, Manchin-Sinema hand the NLRB to Trump, Trump’s ICE reform, the Albertsons-Kroger lawsuit, LA’s new minimum wage policy, the NYT Tech Guild, and the UK’s puberty blocker ban, also watching Joy Reid and Elizabeth Warren unpack the dangers of the GOP’s attack on the CFPB. Professor Michelle Phelps then joins, diving right into the start of her research on Minneapolis’ relationship with policing at the first peak of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2016, originally wrapping up in 2019 before the murder of George Floyd – and the global (and Minneapolis-based) abolitionist movement that followed – brought this topic back to the fore of her research, as she unpacks the direct correlation between communities being at heightened risk of police violence also being the ones most at risk of the community violence said police are supposed to prevent, creating a complicated relationship between being the community most in need of public safety reform AND the community most in need of public safety systems writ large. As she walks through Minneapolis’ reaction and overwhelming abolitionist organizing effort in response to the murder of George Floyd, Professor Phelps explores the amorphous relationship between police and crime, and the relationship race and poverty have to both, which puts marginalized communities in such a tight bind when it comes to mitigating all violence, and the ultimate need to rethink where to investment to most benefit public safety. Expanding on the story in Minneapolis, Michelle and Emma unpack the evolution of the political establishment pushback to the abolitionist movement, tackling the relationship between Mayor Frye and the Minneapolis Police Department and the economic incentive of being an entertainment destination for suburbanites, before wrapping up with the ultimate sentencing of killer Cop Derek Chauvin and the minimal reciprocity it provided. Professor Gabriel Hetland then walks Emma through the genuinely incredible “New York State Build Public Renewables Act,” unpacking its plan for a green energy transition and the creation and maintenance of a robust clean energy grid bolstered by union labor, an investment in low and moderate-income workers, and an emphasis on public input and ownership. Expanding on this, Professor Hetland tackles New York’s growing problem of skyrocketing energy costs and the fundamental fact of renewable energy’s lack of profitability, wrapping up by emphasizing the importance of a shift away from private- and profit-driven energy systems.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Matt Binder as they watch Jesse Watters gleefully call for the abuse of UnitedHealth CEO killer Luigi Mangione, Jake from Dallas calls in to discuss Texas education, and Tyler from Cleveland tackles divesting from Israel. They also reflect on an incredibly inspirational congressional tenure from Cori Bush and the danger of letting right-wing money invade Democratic primaries, Ben Shapiro goes to war with his audience over the Healthcare CEO killer and Bill Burr, and Andrew Ferguson’s dangerous blueprint for his FTC chairmanship comes out – and gives important insight into what “right-wing populism” actually entails. Plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Michelle’s book here: https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691245980/the-minneapolis-reckoning

Follow Gabriel on Twitter here: https://x.com/gabrielhetland

Check out Gabriel’s piece here: https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/build-public-renewable-act-draft-strategic-plan/

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