As Medicaid faces severe cuts in the federal budget that will take health care away from millions of people, Laura Peralta-Schulte, head of NETWORK’s government relations team, discusses the life-saving importance of the program for its 60th anniversary. The program, which emerged as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s efforts to help people in the United States not just survive but thrive and which expanded greatly under the health care reforms under President Barack Obama, is now under serious threat.

This week on Just Politics, hosts Eilis and Colin welcome Laurie Carafone, NETWORK’s new executive director. She takes on the role of executive director at a perilous time in U.S. politics, especially regarding the treatment of immigrants. Recorded during just her second week on the job, this conversation offers insights into NETWORK’s new leadership as we enter an exciting new chapter of advocacy work.

Host Joan Neal returns to the interview chair for something that is becoming less and less common: an honest political conversation with someone who has strongly different views. Joan interviews prominent political figure and former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, who currently serves as an MSNBC political analyst.

Giovana Oaxaca, the senior government relations advocate for immigration with NETWORK, joins hosts Colin and Eilis to discuss the escalating immigration crisis facing communities nationwide.

In this conversation, Rev. Dr. Cassandra Gould challenges faith leaders to “come off mute” and speak truth to power, moving beyond charity to working for real structural change. The hosts and Gould talk about grassroots organizing, how policy decisions affect people’s daily lives, and what it means to build spiritual practices that sustain long-term activism. The discussion concludes with a call to action for individuals disrupt the silence surrounding social injustices.

This week on Just Politics, the hosts revisit a powerful conversation from last season that feels more urgent than ever. Kristen Whitney Daniels—a disability advocate, diabetes educator, and associate director of the U.S. Federation of the Sisters of St. Joseph—joins us to talk about the moral and social consequences of stripping people of access to health care.

Rather than diving into our usual policy discussion, hosts Colin and Eilis pass the mic to a group of young men wrestling with one of the most pervasive forces shaping our political and cultural moment: toxic masculinity.

In this episode, longtime tax and budget expert Sarah Christopherson joins us to expose the political and moral cost of extreme wealth inequality.

Sister Janet Kinney shares how the Long Island Immigration Clinic stands firm, offering accompaniment and legal support even when the political tides are brutal. Click here to read the transcript on the US Catholic website.