Politini - BLIS.FM Ronald Dixon

Whenever the pendulum swings in politics it knocks the most vulnerable among us square on their behinds. It seems that every time we make advances towards equality we take at least 12 steps backwards during an off cycle or midterm election. WHY? Why is voter turnout so low during this time? Was a win for conservatives in Houston regarding LGBT inequality really a mandate? Has stagnation in politics become our new normal? With Guest Christina Gorczynski, is the principal consultant and CEO of First Person LLC, a Houston-based strategic advisory firm specializing in smart leadership for socially responsible organizations.

It's too complicated, the complexities are just too many. These are often just a few of the comments people make when discussing the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. Are these statements to some extent true--sure, but there are also basic things that us as human beings understand the basis of which is freedom, dignity and liberty. What we ask in this episode is has conflict in this region; which has been going on for decades become our new normal or is a peace a possibility? With guests, Matthew Duss, President at the Foundation for Middle East Peace and Jack Jenkins Senior Religion Reporter at ThinkProgress

This week will go down as the week that black girls crossed the line. The week that our magic was shining bright for all the world to see and we were unapologetic about it--Sure, this week was one for the history books, but we are wondering if as Viola Davis recited in her Emmy speech if more black thespians will be walking over that imaginary line and if diversity in Hollywood will become our new normal ? With guests, Former Editor-at-Large of Essence, Emil Wilbekin, Managing Editor, Newsone.com Chrissy Coleman and Editorial Assistant, Essence Magazine Taylor Lewis.

Name-calling, bullying, and cliques… no we're not talking about the film Mean Girls, we're discussing the GOP presidential candidates and their treatment of each other and our democracy. Since Donald Trump announced that he was running for president he has turned his campaign into a cross between the Bachelor and RHOEverywhere. So, the question we ask this episode is has the GOP turned into a party of trolls and has Reality TV politics become our new normal? With guests, MSNBC National Correspondent and author of Frature: Barack Obama, The Clintons and the Racial Divide, Joy-Ann Reid and Democratic Strategist and Pollster Stefan Hankin.

With politicians competing for the bottom and pop culture making less art and creating more antics we wonder what the summer of 2015 will be called by historians. Will it be called the summer of our discontent, the summer of trauma, the summer of drama or maybe the second dark ages? With guest Clinical Psychologist, Dr. Erica Fener-Sitkoff

While we cried tears of joy at the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage--our hearts broke for the victims of white supremacy at the Charleston, SC AME church. With each inch of progress we make in this country we seem to take about 12 feet back. So, in this episode we ask is lopsided justice our new normal? With guests Reverend Delman Coates, Senior Pastor of Mt Ennon Baptist Church and Ian Millhiser, author of Injustices: The Supreme Court's History of Comforting the Comfortable and Afflicting the Afflicted and Justice Editor at Thinkprogress.org