Closer Look with Rose Scott – Details, episodes & analysis

On today’s special edition of Closer Look with Rose Scott, we’re joined by a roundtable of former employees of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since taking office for a second time, the Trump Administration has reportedly committed to cutting 10,000 federal employees from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The mass layoffs began April 1st, with a projected reduction of 2,400 workers at the CDC. That’s about 18% of the staff, reportedly impacting some of the agency’s vital research and health provisions. Today, we ask our panel of professionals about the mass layoffs and how it could impact the work of the CDC and your health.

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On today’s Closer Look with Rose Scott: Over the weekend, a reported 3 million people in the U.S., and even some abroad, joined more than 1,200 demonstrations to protest the Trump administration’s wave of executive orders and other policies. Organizers for the Atlanta Hands Off! protest, Laura Judge, a communications official with Hands Off! and Indivisible North Metro Atlanta, and John Morris, the secretary and treasurer for 50501 Georgia, Inc., talk more about the protest, the unifying message they want to send and what’s next.

Also, as the Atlanta baseball season gets underway, the local fan club Bravest ATL is renewing its push for the Atlanta Braves to change its name and branding. Brothers and Bravest ATL founders Marty and Chris Buccafusco talk more about their mission.

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The new book,  "There Is No Place For Us" features the stories of five Atlanta families struggling to find and keep safe, stable housing. These working families represent the country's "hidden homeless," people who sleep in cars or extended-stay motels but aren't tracked by government homelessness counts. Atlanta-based journalist Brian Goldstone, who authored the book, talks more about his book and Atlanta’s growing homelessness crisis.

Nannie Helen Burroughs was an educator, a suffragist and a Black labor activist. Her life’s story and legacy are the focus of the new book, “Nannie Helen Burroughs: A Tower of Strength in the Labor World.” The book's author, Dr. Danielle Phillips-Cunningham, is an associate professor of labor studies and employment relations at Rutgers University. She joins “Closer Look” to talk more about her book and Burroughs’ fight for the education and upward career mobility of Black women.

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Helping Mamas is working to deliver 200,000 diapers, wipes and feminine hygiene products to help families in South Georgia communities impacted by Hurricane Helene. Jamie Lackey, the founder of the nonprofit baby supply bank, discusses details about a diaper drive drop-off event that’s happening on Saturday, October 5, from 9 a.m. to noon at Pace Academy in Atlanta. 

Plus, more than 45,000 Dockworkers from Texas up to Maine are on strike. Members of the International Longshoremen’s Association are demanding higher pay and job protection from automation by the shipping companies that employ them. We hear from John Haber, the strategic channel partner at Transportation Insight, about how the strike could impact the economy and disrupt the supply chain.

Lastly, data suggests Americans received 15 billion political text messages in 2022. More are expected for this year's presidential election, but not all of them are legit. Arun Rai, a business professor at Georgia State University and a member of Georgia’s AI Advisory Council, discusses the dangers and risks of political misinformation and how it can spread through multiple channels, including text messages, emails and robocalls. 

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Xernona Clayton, Congressman John Lewis and Reverend C.T. Vivian were close friends for several decades. Today’s program begins with a conversation with the journalist and fellow civil rights pioneer about their friendship and what she wants the world to know about their lives and legacies.

Then, we turn to a conversation about Lewis’ political career with Denis O’Hayer, host of the WABE podcast,“Political Breakfast.” We also revisit a previous conversation with former Republican U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, who spoke with Rose in December 2019 about his friendship with Lewis.

Finally, Spelman College President Mary Schmidt Campbell, Doug Shipman, president and CEO of the Woodruff Arts Center, Maurice Hobson, author and assistant professor of African-American Studies at Georgia State University, Dr. Meria Carstarphen, former Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent and Dr. Robert Franklin, the James T. and Berta R. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at Emory University, talk about Lewis’s legacy, mentorship and leadership style.  

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Pioneering broadcaster and fellow activist in the movement Xernona Clayton reflects on the life Reverend C.T. Vivian. Plus, Atlanta City Councilmember Joyce Shepherd responds to residents’ calls for an end to gun violence and more resources, following the shooting deaths of Rayshard Brooks and 8-year-old Secoriea Turner.

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Incumbent District Attorney Paul Howard and his former chief deputy prosecutor Fani Willis join “Closer Look” host Rose Scott for a debate ahead of early voting on Monday.

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Plus, Rebecca Rice, the Georgia Kids Count Manager, discusses the findings of an annual report that tracks the child well-being nationally and state-by-state. Also, award-winning filmmaker Dawn Porter talks about the backstory behind the new documentary, ‘John Lewis: Good Trouble.’

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State Representative Ed Setzler, who created House Bill 481, responds to the federal judge’s ruling. Then, we hear from Kwajelyn Jackson, executive director of the Feminist Women’s Health Center.

Next, a conversation with Dr. Tiffany Bussey, director of the Morehouse Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, and Allan Adams, state director for the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center, about a new partnership to support economic development in the city’s West End.

Finally, Mark Farmer, economic development manager with Gwinnett County, discusses a new program that was established to help Gwinnett small business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Plus, award-winning filmmaker Dawn Porter shares the backstory behind the new documentary, “John Lewis: Good Trouble.”

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