As we get ready to celebrate Juneteenth and the nation's 250th anniversary, Brittany Packnett Cunningham is asking: What would it actually take to repair the worst of America’s history, and build the future we deserve? To talk about the idea of reparations, Brittany sits down with The Atlantic’s Adam Serwer to unpack why this idea matters now, why “we’re not just talking about slavery,” and what we should learn from other countries that have done it (successfully and not). Then, group chat bestie Dr. David Johns joins Brittany for an Untrending News conversation on what reparations would look like—and the joy they would unlock.

This episode launches a special Undistracted series on reparations in 2026. It was produced with support from Liberation Ventures and The Meteor Fund.

You can support Liberation Ventures’ work by following their page, @LiberationVentures, joining the #WeekOfRepair hashtag, and signing up for their newsletter: https://www.repair-is.org/take-action

We’re talking Summer House and Freedom Summer in this episode! Because we love our reality TV and also we love our democracy. Our special guests? Attorney, activist, and Bravo alum Preston Mitchum, and group chat regular Dr. Brittney Cooper. Together with Brittany, they cover everything from Trump’s repeated tantrums before Black women reporters to why book bans continue to backfire. Plus, the group weighs in on Summer House reunion chaos, and why Serena Williams and Allyson Felix coming out of retirement feels bigger than sports. Because when institutions are under pressure, culture tells us just as much as politics.

To learn more about Freedom Schools and find one near you: https://freedomschoolpartners.org/

She’s the scholar behind the idea of intersectional feminism—and but those words aren’t just political to her, they’re personal. In her new memoir Backtalker, Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw traces her own life from childhood in Ohio to work on Anita Hill’s legal team to helping popularize ideas like critical race theory. Now she sits down with Brittany to talk about all of it, and how she’s learned to challenge systems that were never built to see Black women clearly.

Plus we’ve got a full and fearless UNtrending News for you, with group chat besties Dr. David Johns and Dr. Brittney Cooper joining Brittany to analyze what’s happening with Delaney Hall protests, voting-rights wins, and, wait for it, Jay-Z’s new Blue Ivy look.

Mentioned in this episode:

To join Kimberlé Crenshaw's Backtalkers Academy at https://www.aapf.org/backtalkers-academy

You can donate to support the Delaney Hall detainees and affected families at https://linktr.ee/supportourfamilies

To take action for voting rights this midterm election, visit FreedomSummer2026.com

Follow Brittany: https://www.instagram.com/MsPackyetti https://www.tiktok.com/@mspackyetti https://www.youtube.com/@MsPackyetti https://www.threads.com/@mspackyetti Episode website: https://www.stayundistracted.com To subscribe to The Meteor: https://www.wearethemeteor.com/newsletters https://collective.media