The Breakdown with Shaun King

Yesterday Jackie Johnson, the longtime DA of Glynn County, deep in Georgia, was charged with multiple crimes for her role in the murder and coverup of Ahmaud Arbery. Let me tell you why this matters so much Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After Hurricane Ida devastated Louisiana, it just hit us hard here in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania - with entire communities flooded, tornadoes everywhere, roads and trains shut down, and more. Nearly a dozen people died overnight. Let me unpack and explain what's really going on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's foolish that it came to this, but it was necessary nonetheless. Let me unpack and explain it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since before the Black Lives Matter Movement started, an innocent Black man named Marvin Guy has been languishing in the local county jail without every going to trial and without ever being convicted of a crime. It's almost been 8 years. This is an abomination. Today, on Marvin's behalf, I am asking for your help. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I need your help, but most of all, he's going to need your help. And together we can do some of the most important work of our lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm on the road this week, the staff at The North Star will be playing re-run episodes of The Breakdown as well as some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Thanks for tuning in! Democrats narrowly control the House, Senate, and Presidency - the real question I have now is this - what will they do with it? Because it already looks like Republicans are going to play hardball as usual. Will Democrats fold and get nothing done, or will they muster up the moral courage to fight for real meaningful change? Most of my close friends think that Democrats will squander this moment. Call me foolish, but I still have some hope. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm on the road this week, the staff at The North Star will be playing re-run episodes of The Breakdown as well as some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Thanks for tuning in! 30 years ago the LAPD brutally beat a Black man named Rodney King and a man with a camcorder a few blocks away just happened to catch it all on film. It was obviously a crime, but not a single officer was held responsible. The question today is this - as we try the men who murdered George Floyd, who clearly committed multiple crimes, will they be held responsible? Clearly police in our nation are still causing harm 30 years later, but will a jury in this country finally say enough is enough? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm on the road this week, the staff at The North Star will be playing re-run episodes of The Breakdown as well as some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Thanks for tuning in! Across the country, as certain types of crime have increased, people are defaulting to the same tired answer we've seen before... more police and more money for the police. But this actually doesn't work. At all. And for Black communities, it can actually make things much worse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm on the road this week, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's one of our favorites from Sick Empire. On this episode of Sick Empire we explore the health of Black wealth. Host Branden Janese interviews two brilliant financial pundits, Tiffany Hawkins and Allan Boomer of The Momentum Advisors. You'll hear candid conversations surrounding Black finances. We dive into topics surrounding the health of the Black dollar. You’ll hear how Black folks have overcome the history of trauma surrounding finances and what the future looks like for Black economics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm on the road this week, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's the latest episode of The Momentum Advisors Show where they are breaking down the absurd wealth gap that exists within our modern middle class. I'm sure many of us will relate! It's a great one! Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! Keeping liquid savings on hand in case of an emergency is one area where Americans of all income brackets are falling short--especially the "middle class." But what is this middle class? Is it defined by a salary range, household income or aspirational possessions? And is being in the "middle class" all it's chalked up to be? On this episode we answer all these questions while addressing the wealth gap of the middle class and how to thrive in it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wildfires are raging in California right now and one town, Susanville, which only exists because of the two prisons that support the local economy, is now in the direct line of the fire. As people begin making plans to leave, local officials are demanding that they make everybody that's locked up stay behind and suffer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let me teach you a little bit about what the Tuskegee Experiment - because I see thousands of people completely spreading misinformation about what it actually was. In many ways, it was the exact opposite of where we are right now in the coronavirus pandemic. Let me unpack and explain it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a mess. After a trillion dollars from taxpayers was spent in Afghanistan, the United States left a government and military behind that clearly had no willingness or ability to defend itself. The whole thing was a failure. Let me unpack and explain it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I planned to do a celebration episode for Episode #500 today, but this story is so infuriating that we had to interrupt that to get to this outrageous story. It's painful, but I need you to hear it. And I'll give you some action steps as well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When I first saw this, I thought it was fake news. I thought it was a fake headline from The Onion, but no, it's real. And even your favorite Senators voted for it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Soon to be former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has always been a horrible human being. I hoped he would be impeached, but I'll settle for his resignation. In addition to his mistreatment of women, he was horrible on so many policies that matter to us. And what's wild is that his nursing home scandal is as bad as anything he's ever done and that's not even what took him out. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let me share where I think we are as a country right now in this pandemic - as the cases and deaths begin to spiral out of control...again. It's a painful sign of what's ahead for our country. I'll also make a few predictions on what's next. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you are still here, thank you. Today I am just checking in. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. This re-run episode of Sick Empire features two very different food educators who purposefully planted themselves in environments where they teach their passion for food and gardening by promoting access and knowledge in overlooked and all but forgotten Black neighborhoods. You’ll hear the host Branden Janese interview Kurt Evans, a chef who curates dinners to end mass incarceration, teaches culinary arts to kids on Rikers, and employs a staff of returning citizens at his pizza shop in Philly. Branden also interviews Yemi Amu, an aquaponic educator who talks about the power of healing in the garden, and shares her experiences teaching her non-gentrified Brooklyn community how to grow produce, herbs and proteins from recycled water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Here I play four of the most powerful clips from the speeches and interviews of Malcolm X. They are also painful because they shouldn't even be relevant anymore, but he literally could've said these things yesterday. Listen and learn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a re-run episode where I breakdown exactly why police brutality is functionally legal in the United States by unpacking a Supreme Court case that currently protects even the worst officers in cases of police brutality. To hear more on the subject go back and listen to episode 13 & 14 as this was the first in a three part series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a re-run episode where I breakdown the percentage of crimes solved by police. Here's a hint. Cut your guess by at least 90%. It's so damn low. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's an episode of Momentum Advisors from February where they broke down cooperative economics. It's a great one! Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! The fourth principle of Kwanzaa is "Ujamaa": Cooperative Economics. This is often defined as coming together to build and maintain our own businesses and real estate to profit from them, together. Black people have been building and benefitting from cooperative economics for decades, particularly in parts of the economy where we’ve been cut out by major institutions. In this episode, we explore the various ways you can capitalize on cooperative economics today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a very special episode of Sick Empire. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! On Season 2 of Sick Empire we are focusing on the healing practices and journeys of Black folx in New York and across the country to share the diverse paths of healing that we can explore after the coronavirus has left so many of us in sick in more ways than one. You’ll hear our host Branden Janese interview an eclectic group of modern day healing practitioners, from a Reiki Master and yoga teacher in West L.A, to a holistic advocate in Atlanta, to a New York based Black feminist professor, scholar and mental health therapist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes of The Breakdown as well as episodes from some of our other podcast series. I'm fighting for it. You're fighting for it. But let's take a moment to define what justice means for families impacted by police violence and racial terrorism on today's rerun episode of The Breakdown. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes of The Breakdown as well as episodes from some of our other podcast series. The United States does not have one justice system or one legal system. We often talk about changing the system, but in reality, we have 30,000 microsystems. Each microsystem has its own set of rules, laws, and politics, which is simultaneously great news in our fight to change the status quo, as well as horrible news. On today's episode, a rerun from last year that remains painfully relevant, Shaun breaks down what this means. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, Here's a replay of a special time when my wife, Rai King, took over The Breakdown to talk about the lives and legacies of Myrlie Evers-Williams, Betty Shabazz, and Coretta Scott King. She discusses why they are more than footnotes in the stories of their husbands and why their work is relevant today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's the latest episode of Momentum Advisors. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! Rai and Blanca sit with activist, leader, wife, mom, and all-around badass, Carmen Perez about her identity as a Chicana woman. She also discusses Black and Brown co-conspiratorship and how this differs from allyship. Carmen also reveals never-before discussed details about her time as a primary organizer for The Women's March and how white, liberal women failed the women of color on that organizing team. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's the latest episode of Momentum Advisors. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! COVID has created “a tale of 2 cities” where many people are struggling and a similar number of people are wealthier than ever. Between strong stock market performance and an even stronger housing market, we are seeing more people become millionaires than ever before. This episode discusses how these new millionaires are made, strategies to help them deal with their newfound wealth and tips on how you can be next in line. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a very special episode of W.O.C. at Work. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! In this episode of W.O.C. at Work, Rai and Blanca sit down with community activist, social worker, and NYC City Council candidate, Shanequa E. Moore to discuss the unmet needs in our communities surrounding fair housing and access to quality education. They also talk about why Shanequa decided to run for office after decades as a nonprofit executive, and how Black and Brown women can better show up for each other in the political arena. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a very special episode of The Momentum Advisors. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! Your psychological view of money has a huge impact on your money decisions. Determining what to spend money on, how much to save and evaluating your “safety net” are all steeped in what we call your “Money Mind.” On this episode we will help you identify your money mind; and some of the pitfalls and opportunities that go along with it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a very special episode of Sick Empire. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! On Season 2 of Sick Empire we are focusing on the healing practices and journeys of Black folx in New York and across the country to share the diverse paths of healing that we can explore after the coronavirus has left so many of us in sick in more ways than one. You’ll hear our host Branden Janese interview an eclectic group of modern day healing practitioners, from a Reiki Master and yoga teacher in West L.A, to a holistic advocate in Atlanta, to a New York based Black femminist professor, scholar and mental health therapist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a very special episode of The Momentum Advisors. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! In this episode, Allan and Tiffany speak on the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre that destroyed “Black Wall Street” in 1921. It was a horrible tragedy that is a major cause for today's wealth gap in the Black community. On this episode, we are highlighting how to approach building generational wealth in spite of all the systemic setbacks and obstacles, like the Tulsa Massacre. We are breaking down strategies for building wealth in your family no matter how much you're starting with. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a very special episode of Sick Empire. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! The morning of May 25th, 2020 the first episode of Sick Empire aired. Back then there was no vaccine for the Coronavirus, we were all stuck in quarantine, and George Floyd would be murdered later that day. To commemorate our one year anniversary Sick Empire will highlight the crimes against humanity happening in East Jerusalem. You’ll hear Branden Janese in conversation with four guests who all share a link to social justice work in the Middle East. In true Sick Empire fashion we blend together voices that would have most likely never found themselves in a room together including, a New York City public defender, a Muslim community organizer, a Black girl who currently lives on the Gaza Strip, and a historian and writer. This episode is a rollercoaster. There are moments that are hard to listen to, like when one guest describes watching a recent bombing of her neighborhood in Gaza and how another guest refuses to give up fighting for freedom even when it comes with exceptional losses. We also unpack the layers of inequality in solidarity work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While I'm away on vacation, the staff at The North Star will be playing some of our favorite episodes from some of our other podcast series. Today, here's a favorite of ours from The Momentum Advisors Show. Be sure to subscribe to them on your favorite podcasting platform! "Society stereotypes "trust fund babies" as overprivileged, spoiled, adult-children who think they're superior to others and have no responsibilities. But in reality, we should all strive to have trust fund baby's and on this episode we're going to tell you exactly why. We're also going to teach you how to leave a million dollar trust fund for your beneficiaries without ever having a fraction of that amount in your bank account." - The Momentum Advisors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this re-run episode, I take a moment to really share my heart and soul about anti-Semitism. I also want to tackle the questions I have received about why more Black people are not fighting against it right now. I think I understand at least part of the answer. It's capacity. Let me unpack and explain it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you know what COINTELPRO was? In this rerun episode, I begin to unpack and explain it. It was how the federal government undermined movements for Black people and Black power. And I think we are experiencing COINTELPRO 2.0 right here, right now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Just over a year ago, I started a firestorm by saying that statues of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Jesus-figure should be taken down just like the monuments of slaveholders. The problem is that for tens of millions of white people, it's necessary for that Jesus, that Savior, to be white. And it has been used as a tool of oppression for hundreds of years. It's a problem. On today's re-run episode, listen in as I break it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Today's re-run episode, I shares a painful, personal story about a lesson that I learned about organizing for change as an outsider and organizing for change as an insider. In the winter of 2014, I found myself in a deep funk after failing in so many fights for families fighting for justice. And I got a call from The White House that forever changed the way I saw my role in this movement. I wanted to speak like and lead like Malcolm, but have the access to rooms of power and privilege like Martin. It didn't work. Let me unpack and explain how that informs almost everything I do as a leader today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

International superstar Sha'Carri Richardson was just banned from the Olympics for smoking weed after her mother just died. Black people have been using weed to deal with grief and trauma for generations. It's not a performance enhancing drug. The new ban on Sha'Carri is a part of what I think is a theme of anti-Blackness in these Olympics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rightfully so, I see a lot of anger and frustration on this case from every group you can imagine. But that anger is causing a lot of people to say things about why Bill Cosby got free that simply aren't true. Let me try to unpack and explain it all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hunter Brittain. Know this name. Last week police in Arkansas shot and killed him. Hunter was just 17 and was beloved by his family and community. Today I will unpack and explain the case and speak on just how rare it is for this type of painful injustice to happen to a white child. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It hurts to be lied on by a single person. Today I want to try to quantify and explain to you what it feels like to have millions of people boldly and openly lying about you. It's a painful outer-body experience. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should he have received more time? Was it enough? Or was it too much. I'll tell you where I come down on it and try to unpack what's likely to come next Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elections were yesterday in New York and we had some huge victories that I want to talk about - as well as some stinging losses. But we have to get key lessons from all of it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the single easiest victories Joe Biden could have right now with the Black voters who put him into office would be prosecuting the police from all of the worst cases of police violence of the past 10 years. I could name a thousand cases, but he could start with dozens, including Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and Philando Castile and go from there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Mitch McConnell openly said that if Republicans take back the Senate next year, even if by a single vote, that he would refuse to appoint any Supreme Court nominees from Joe Biden. I believe him. And the Democratic Party should too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here's a hint. Cut your guess by at least 90%. It's so damn low. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I took the past 2 weeks off to take care of myself, then to help take care of my wife after she had a horrible accident. Today I want to thank you for your love and support and tell you TWO BIG IDEAS that are on my heart. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

100 years ago on this very day, the community of Greenwood, known as Black Wall Street, in Tulsa, Oklahoma was nothing but smoldering hot ash after it was bombed and burned and looted not just by white Oklahoman's, but by the local government. And survivors are still demanding reparations. Not a single valid excuse exists for denying them what they deserve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices