the docket. what the supreme court decides has big implications for you. >> upset in unison. whether democrat or republican, women across america seeing eye to eye on one thing, that lawmakers need to do more for moms. is washington listening? and republicans have turned redrawn congressional maps into an art form. how do democrats beat them at their own game? talk about good timing, the new special proving age is not a thing, especially when it comes to comedy. gee firestone and why she's putting seniors in the spotlight. but let's begin this hour in washington, where morning begins a blockbuster term for the nation's high court. as efforts continue across the street on capitol hill to advance the president's build back better agenda. democrats debating amongst themselves over the $3.5 trillion price tag of biden's economic plan that will invest in child care, paid family leave, universal pre-k, and other programs to transform american lives. here's vermont senator bernie sanders today on "meet the press." >> this is not a wish list. this is what the working families of this country want and what the economy needs. the question now is whether the democrats can come together, and i think that we can. >> yeah. >> to finally do what working families in this country desperately want us to do. >> needless to say, democrats in congress have a lot on their plate as they also work to pass voting rights legislation and protect abortion access. these are priorities that will come into even sharper focus when the supreme court returns for a new term monday. keep in mind, this is a conservative supermajority court, with three of donald trump's judicial nominees seated on the bench, which has many wondering what the court could decide now that it leans right. as "the washington post" frames it, quote, before the term ends next summer, the justices will have weighed in on three major public policy disputes. guns, religious rights, and possibly race if the court takes up a request to once again review affirmative action in university admissions. but the most watched case bound to be the challenge to mississippi's law, banning abortions after 15 weeks. the case before justices sets the stage for eroding the 1973 landmark roe v. wade decision. if roe goes, abortion access would be left up to the states. here's a map showing what that would look like. take a look. red leaning states, mostly across the south and the midwest, banning abortions, with reproductive rights protected by blue leaning states. and a post-roe america is already a reality in texas where the state legislature has banned abortions after just six weeks and now empowers citizens to enforce that ban by reporting those who help those who seek abortion care. that law sending thousands to the street this weekend in protests across the country. if bans like this are upheld and enforced, the president of planned parenthood tells me what she predicts will happen next. >> our provider in oklahoma has seen more texans ipoklahoma than oklahomans. and we know the ripple effect is going out in new mexico, the appointments are booked out. so those patients are now having to travel to arizona and california. we have had patients go all the way to oregon and new jersey in order to seek care. >> important to note, supreme court gets back to the bench tomorrow morning. facing a crisis of credibility. polling by gallup reveals just 4 in 10 americans approve of the high court. that is a record low. joining me now, "new york times" columnist and msnbc political analyst michelle goldberg and staff writer for the atlantic, adam seward. michelle, i'm going to start with you and reproductive rights. can we pull up the map of what could happen in the states if the court overturned roe. when i talked to groups on the ground, they say they have been preparing for this reality for a while. they knew it was coming, that makes it no less devastating. republicans have largely been able up to this point, michelle, to push anti-choice efforts, knowing that the courts would likely overturn them, that they would rarely need to live with the reality of these laws. but they would get to show anti-choice advocates that they were trying to move the needle. what happens politically if anti-choice forces actually continue to succeed at dismantling abortion access across this country? >> you know, i think that it depends to some degree on what the decision on the mississippi law looks like. if they just strike down roe, my sense is that will be an earthquake, that that will be the thing that rouses the women who marched, you know, on the day after donald trump's inauguration. that will be the thing that sort of bring those women's march crowds back to the streets. so far, i think a lot of activists are both burned out and there's also a lot of confusion about the implications of the texas law. it was this blow against reproductive rights, but it was done by the supreme court in this very procedural way, literally in the middle of the night, so it hasn't been, i think, as nationally galvanizing as advocates would hope. i suspect that an outright overturning of roe v. wade will be different, and beyond that, what we seen in countries that recently legalized abortion, in south america, in ireland, is you have a huge activist response to the tragedies that ensue when abortion is illegal. and those are coming. >> i mean, adam. over the last few weeks, we have seen a few of the courts' conservative justices defend the institution and this past week you had justice alito pushing back against an article you wrote for the atlantic, criticizing how the court handles emergency appeals. have to love the shout out. what do you make of this public positioning to defend the court and alito's response to your work? >> i mean, this is obviously a disgraceful way for a justice to behave. this is one of the most powerful people in the american government, unable to face criticism without throwing a tantrum. he's not even addressing the criticism of what's called the shadow docket, which is not that it exists but it's used to make sweeping decisions outside of public scrutiny with an obvious partisan lean. alito giving a trump-like rant, attacking the press, is an example of exactly what i was writing about, which is the justices behaving like partisan figures while demanding they be treated above public criticism and scrutiny. you can't do that. there's no question that the practical effect of the court's decision was to reward a bad faith scheme by anti-abortion activists to nullify a constitutional right. women in texas no longer have a right on when to have birth. alito and his colleagues want to hide that, but those of us in texas who have loved ones who live there don't have the reality of that. if the court does not want to be seen as partisan, then its justices can cease so clorely pursuing a conservative legal agend a. >> it was wild to see him take a swing at free press and also wild to see him articulate your point for you. michelle, i want to take a wider view of the court as its credibility slips away with the american people. ruth marcus with "the washington post" writing, quote, on this court, even the 6-3 division understates the tilt. the conservatives are much further to the right than the remaining liberals are to the left. this is the most conservative court since the 1930s. and uniquely, in u.s. history, one whose idealogical blocs align precisely with the party of the president who appointed them. the court's shift to the right comes as republicans working to restrict voting as the nation becomes more diverse. how is all of this part of a bigger strategy for republicans to maintain power as their base shrinks? >> look, i think that one reason that the court is in such ill repute is that it is now irreversibly associated with donald trump. it's the trump court. and so you have a president who was never elected by the majority of the voters, right? the second republican to become president without winning the popular vote in this century, so you have a situation, i think, look, the biggest problem in american politics are sort of overriding crisis is minority rule. is the way changing demographics and an increasing urban and rural split is working synergistically with the structures of our government that allow people to exercise power without ever winning a majority of the vote. either in the senate, the presidency, then allows a minoritarian president to put people in the court who further restrict democracy, who further restrict the franchise. there's this growing stranglehold on democracy by a minority of americans who feel like they have the right to rule the majority. that is the escalating crisis, and that's kind of facing our democracy. and the supreme court isn't a neutral arbiter in that crisis. it's a combatant on the side of minority rule. >> adam, i'm going to give you the final word because i'm running out of time. i would also, in addition to you augmenting michelle's brilliant analysis, if you have thoughts on expanding the court and if that comes into focus now, i would love to hear it. >> i have already written about this issue. the actual issue that justifies expanding the court is the court's treatment of voting rights in this country. you know, it's fine for republicans to win more elections and appoint more justices. but it is another thing entirely for the justices to go ahead and approve of the republican party disenfranchising the electorate so they no longer have to be responsive to the people and therefore can select justices without, you know, without actually having to win elections the hard way, by getting a majority of the vote. i think that's a unique issue that's distinct from other policy disagreements i have with the court or the majority of the court, and i think that's the issue that is really most significant with regards to the dynamic that michelle was just talking about. >> all right, michelle, adam, thank you both so much for getting us started. >> next, women of both main parties have found some common ground. they don't believe lawmakers are doing enough to help moms. are those lawmakers listening? plus, a new push to redraw america's political landscape with long-lasting implications. can democrats beat the gop at a game that plays all too well. >> but first, to a look at the other big stories we're following. >> thank you. developments out of afghanistan where at least five people are dead after a bomb went off outside a mosque in the capital city of kabul. it is considered the deadliest attack since u.s. troops withdrew in august. those inside the mosque were attending a memorial service for the mother of the taliban's spokesperson. in los angeles, a massive oil spill spanning six miles of the pacific. clumps of oil and dead sea life already seen washing ashore. just last hour, officials said they believe the leak is contained, though the cause remains under investigation. the pacific air show was canceled to help with cleanup efforts. and a pre-air scare at atlantic city international. officials confirming a spirit airliner caught fire after birds struck the plane's engine. thankfully, all onboard made it out safely. we have much more "american voices" after the break. eone whs someone else... i appreciate that liberty mutual knows everyone's unique. that's why they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. 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>> thanks so much. you know, we found that the impact of the pandemic has had on women and especially moms is significant. you know, two thirds of female voters said they did not think that government gave moms enough support during the pandemic. and we really see why when we probed further to understand the impact it's had. nearly half of moms said they experienced either income reduction or unemployment during the pandemic. and another 41% said that they had to work less since the pandemic has begun. we saw that moms are overworked, they're burnt out, and they're exhausted. >> kristen, you have been polling republican women for a very long time. i wonder if there was anything in this research that surprised you. >> in some ways it surprised me that there was so much bipartisan consensus around so much of what we studied. it's hard for me these days to look at any survey and find things where you have republicans and democrats that are on a similar page. and while it's certainly the case that i think republican and democratic women probably have different ideas about the nuts and bolts and the details of how they would want to achieve things like more affordable child care, paid leave, et cetera, what was unmistakable in the poll is that republican women just like democratic women who are moms have been feeling the stress during the pandemic, and this sort of crisis moment really means a lot of folks are setting aside their politics and saying, even if you're apprehensive about government intervention, even if you're apprehensive about big government, you're not happy child care is so expensive and you may struggle to get family leave when you need it. what was surprising is how much nonpartisan consensus there was in the research. >> it's interesting to me as well because we -- there is a phrase that was coined during the pandemic, rage moms. all of a sudden you had moms who were trying to work full-time jobs, worthing as caretakers, trying to educate their children, and it all just became too much. all of the social safety nets that are supposed to be there to support us fell away, exposed cracks that were already there. i do have to say, as i look through the research, i was surprised to see child tax credit listed as one of the least important parent related policies for these voters. did that surprise you? what else can you tell us about their priorities? >> you know, i think that these women are just so eager for support. and i think that, you know, they're really struggling and they just want to see action happen. so what i found in the data, it was so much more about coming together and doing things that are going to alleviate the burden and let them go back to work. affordable child care, we saw in the survey that 48% of moms that are trying to go back to work said that it's just not worth it because child care is so expensive. and you know, one of the things that really stood out to me in the research is it was something like 75% of liberals but also two thirds of conservatives said that they would be willing to support a congressional candidate who aligned with their positions in terms of prioritizing child care and was potentially from a different political party. so these women just want to see action. they want stuff to alleviate the burden we're feeling. >> that was also the most interesting data point to me, that most women would cross party lines for a congressional candidate investing in the care economy. anyone who watches the show, we talk about this issue a lot. we talk about child care specifically as what many experts believe is a failed market. if you were working with a republican candidate and you were showing them this data, how is it that they then get onboard? i mean, right now, this debate is happening on capitol hill. there is an opening right now if they want to be a part of the solutions. if not now, when else do republicans come around to showing that they want to invest in the care economy? >> so if i was advising a republican candidate, i would say that being proactive and putting forward some kind of solution to how you get to more affordable child care, it's not necessarily going to win you huge numbers of democratic women, but it is going to cause a lot of swing women to give you a second look, who might otherwise have not been as interested in hearing what you had to say. i don't imagine that there are going to be tons of republicans champing at the bit to pass the reconciliation bill, but i koo know that if for whatever reason it winds up going through and there's not child care in it specifically, i think republicans would be remiss not to put forward their own ideas and to talk a little bit more about what their side believes is the way to achieve more affordable child care in this country. >> all right, thank you both so much. still ahead, who draws the maps will depend on what our political landscape looks like for the next decade. the redistricting fight facing democrats that is coming up. later, please don't sit on my bed in your outside clothes. it's not what i tell my kids. it's phoebe robinson's new book. she's going oo be here to talk about it. i can't wait. stick with us. 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with us, tom perez, who we must note is now a candidate for governor of maryland. good to see you. i want to start with the consequences of those maps. because there's so much that we are asking people to care about right now. we're asking them to care about the infrastructure and reconciliation plans that are on capitol hill. we're asking them to care about voting rights. we're asking them to care about the supreme court's very full docket. talk to me about the consequences of getting this right and getting this wrong. >> ten years ago, i was the assistant attorney general for civil rights, running the civil rights division. i always say the most important year in voting rights is the year that ends in a 1. why is that, alicia? because that's when we have the census data and when we have redistricting, and when we have major league shenanigans. now, ten years ago, we had a tool at our disposal, section five of the voting rights act. if they had try today do what they're doing now in texas ten years ago, it never would have seen the light of day. what happened in georgia with their voter i.d. laws, all the other things, the redistricting, the burden would have been on the state to show that what they were doing was not retrogressive, in other words, was not diluting the voting power of communities of color. 95% of the population growth in texas over the last decade was communities of color. and what are they doing in texas? they're diluting deliberately the vote as your maps correctly outline. what do we do about it? in washington, we need to pass the john lewis voting rights act. we need to pass legislation. it's going to take getting rit of the fill abust toor do it. we have to do it, plainly and simply. we can't wait. this will have an impact for a decade, literally a decade. what we also have to do is make sure we're using section 2 of the voting rights act, constitutional claims, and i'm confident that my old division, the civil rights division, is going to be actively involved, because it's so critically important. a lot of litigation coming up. and voters should choose their representatives. representatives shouldn't choose their voters. that's exactly what's happening in texas and elsewhere. and it is wrong, and you remember the chief justice said in 2013 in the infamous shelby county case, that discrimination is effectively a thing of the past. the challenges we saw in voting no longer exist. boy, i tell you, texas and georgia are just proving how wrong that statement was. >> can we pull up those maps of texas again? i want to ask tom a question about them. the map shows how republicans are working to eliminate competitive districts to protect their incumbents. i want you to explain to me what it means when more and more americans are now living in districts that are not as competitive, and what i mean by that is the polarization of our politics that that contributes to, and then the way that polarization plays out in congress. >> well, what we're seeing in texas, these aren't simply political gerrymanders. these are racial gerrymanders. plainly and simply. and what it is doing is diluting the voting power of communities of color. primarily african-americans and latinos, but ten years ago, they were trying to dilute the voting power of asian-americans in the houston area. and ten years ago, we sued and won those cases. the impact of what they're trying to do in texas and elsewhere is it's going to contribute to the already polarized communities that we have across this country, because you know, the only thing that a republican is going to worry about when he or she is voting on whether to expand paid leave is going to be a challenge from their right. not a challenge from their left or the democrats. and that's what the consequences of this action are. and again, in texas, and in georgia, this is racial gerrymandering, plainly and simply. and that is wrong. and the supreme court needs to step in because with all due respect, chief justice roberts, you said this was a thing of the past. boy, were you incorrect on that one. and texas and georgia are exhibits "a" and "b" on why we need to pass the john lewis voting rights act and why we need to pass other legislation in the voting context. >> all right, tom perez, thank you so much. >> next, righting past wrongs of the past, how a prime piece of california real estate found its rightful owners after nearly a century. >> and one dope queen joins us, phoebe robinson on her new book, ahead on "american voices." doesn't your family deserve the best? 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>> right now, we're in front of the lifeguard station which is on top of the property that my family used to own. >> this is it right here? >> this is it. >> here was lodging, a cafe, and a dance hall. a black paradise developed by anthony bruce's great great grandparents, willa and charles bruce. >> they were doing quite well for themselves, and unfortunately, the community here, they saw it as a threat. >> it was a time in america when people were proud of their prejudices. manhattan beach claimed it needed the land for a park. paid the bruces and others a pittance, and while there's a park there now, the land sat vacant for more than 30 years. >> when you're robbed of your dignity, when you're robbed of your integrity, when you're rob offend your decent basic rights as a human being and mistreated like that, it sticks with you for a long time. >> thursday, though, on the very land the bruce family was run off of, they were welcomed back. through a unanimous act of the california legislature, the land is being returned to them. a bold act of reparation. >> i'm absolutely convinced this will be catalytic. we're changing the dynamic of the debates in terms of righting wrongs. >> for now, the bruce family wants to rent the life' guard station back to the county, the property, likely worth many millions of dollars, but don't expect to see them back. >> my thing is, like, i believe if anthony bruce or anybody else in the bruce family comes back here, we're going city the same exact thing. i don't think it's changed, harry. i think it's still here, and that's why we're not rushing to set up shop again. >> harry smith, nbc news, los angeles. >> 97 years. next, reflections from a dope queen, author and comedian phoebe robinson on how to maintain cultural momentum and that amazing move after this quick break. got a couple of bogeys on your six, limu. they need customized car insurance from liberty mutual so they only pay for what they need. what do you say we see what this bird can do? 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>> yeah, i mean, ranging from everything from the black squares that people were putting on instagram as if that was somehow going to do something, to sort of feeling like they have to kind of dominate the conversation, and you know, the pr, the press releases from all these businesses, okay, thank you for those words, but we need to back that up with action. i think that's the biggest sort of hurdle that we still are not able to overcome, is that people can get riled up when you're in the heat of the moment, and you can see these pictures of people sort of being outside and marching, but now we're a year later, and marches aren't happening every day or every other day. and so we really have to see how are people actually sort of taking their everyday lives and actually sort of living up to the promises that they made last year. and no one is saying it has to be, you know, you're going to defund the police. no one is saying it's something as big as that, but on a local level, are you invested in your local politicians. are now not participating in gentrification, are you looking at who is teaching at your schools and if it's diverse enough? there's so many ways people can show up. i feel like it felt like a trend to some people. >> to your point how there's so many ways to show up, the 2021 women in the workplace report was released. it shows 77% of white employees say they're allies to women of color, but only 39% say they confront discrimination when they see it, and only 21% advocate for new opportunities for women of color even fewer mentor. to me, those numbers sort of lay it bare, that people can call themselves an ally without understanding that alliship requires you to actually go to the mat and deliver for the person to whom you claim you are an ally. >> yeah, absolutely. i think it's not just enough to say, you have to put the action -- you have to put your words into action. so, you know, that's one of those things where it's really rare. i write about this in my book. i never had a black woman as a boss ever. i only had one black female teacher my whole life. so there's all these ways where it's like, if you're not advocating for women of color to be in the work place, if you're not making sure there's someone in the c-suite or teachers or lawyers or what have you, really saying you're an ally is only in words and not really in action, and we're not certainly expecting white women to just sort of like lay themselves bare and sacrifice themselves, but at the same time, you can't call yourself an ally if you can't even point to a handful of things that you have done that have benefitted someone else rather than just being a marker that you're on the right side of history. >> you are so incisive, so smart, and so generous with your time. thank you so much for being on the show. the book, of course, is titled "please don't sit on my bed in your outside clothes." i can't get through it without laughing. >> all right, next, seniors doing stand-up, comedians joe firestone and helain witt are here to premiere their upcoming special. >> first, remember to catch mehdi hasan and ayman mohyeldin at 8:00. mehdi is joined by alexandria ocasio-cortez, and then ayman is on with minnesota senator tina smith. ent boosters keep your laundry smelling fresh way longer than detergent alone. if you want laundry to smell fresh for weeks, make sure you have downy unstopables in-wash scent boosters. we have to be able to repair the enamel on a daily basis. with pronamel repair toothpaste, we can help actively repair enamel in its weakened state. it's innovative. my go to toothpaste is going to be pronamel repair. you don't get much time for yourself. so when you do, make it count with crest pro-health. my go to toothpaste it protects the 8 areas dentists check for a healthier mouth. the #1 toothpaste brand in america. crest. bipolar depression. it made me feel like i was trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of people living with bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression can take you to a dark place... ...and be hard to manage. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. latuda is not for everyone. call your doctor about unusual mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. elderly dementia patients on latuda have an increased risk of death or stroke. call your doctor about fever, stiff muscles, and confusion, as these may be life threatening... ...or uncontrollable muscle movements, as these may be permanent. these are not all the serious side effects. now i'm back where i belong. ask your doctor about latuda and pay as little as $0 for your first prescription. dawn antibacterial cuts through tough grease with 50% less scrubbing. and pay as little as $0 it also removes 99% of bacteria from your hands. dawn antibacterial. an easy way to clean your dishes.... a smart way to wash your hands. thank you all for being here. has anyone been to a 2:00 p.m. comedy show before? >> oh, my god. >> my wife left me recently. >> life is a performance. then there was my head surgery. >> my boss ever sees this i'm dead. >> laughter is like food you put in your body. >> i would like to be funny but not in an artificial way. you know? genuinely funny >> i think that you are genuinely funny. >> you do sf. >> yeah. >> really? >> yes. >> you're the first person who's ever told me that. just a small sample of the huge laughs ahead october 15th when "good timing" begins streaming on peacock. it is a heart warming, hilarious look at the power of not taking yourself too seriously especially during the toughest of times because as you'll see this really came to be through zoom where firestone holds a 10:00 a.m. class every monday with senior citizens in new york. sessions began just weeks before the pandemic hit. the upcoming special takes those classes from skroen to staej. comedian jill firestone joins us now. when i shared this with the team we were like we have to talk with jo. every producer wanted to produce this segment. the response has been as across the board. talk to me about how this came about and why you started to focus on coaching seniors. >> well, i moved to a neighborhood and i saw there was a senior center and i taught comedy before and so i thought, you know, i have some time. comedy unfortunately you get jobs and they're not always, you don't always have jobs so you have down time. i thought i'll teach a class. then the pandemic hit. so then i had a lot of free time and then it just kind of kept going every week. >> it is so great. did you have a sense of how funny these seniors were going to be or were you, yourself, surprised by the material they were bringing you? >> i had high expectations but they really went above and beyond. every monday morning at 10:00 a.m. i'm just kind of shocked by what everyone has to say. it gets blue before 10:10. it's kind of an amazing way to start the week. i recommend it for anybody. >> why do you think seniors are particularly funny? is it the fact that they've gotten to a point where they don't care so much about what others think or what others have to say? or is it just that wealth of lived experience that they have to draw from? >> i think those are two definitely contributing factors but also a lot of comedy has to do with being comfortable with yourself and at this point i think a lot of these people are pretty comfortable with themselves. they've had a lot of years to get used to themselves. >> we think we have helene wit with us. welcome to the show. >> great. >> you are no stranger to the world of comedy. the late great joan rivers was an idol of yours. she even bought some of your material. here is a portion of good timing where you take us behind one of those jokes. take a listen. >> in the '80s there was a song by olivia newton john let's get physical, physical. she comes out and she goes today is income tax day and my accountant is dancing around the office singing let's get fiscal fiscal like fiscal year. >> let's get fiscal fiscal. >> then she said it again. ♪ let's get fiscal fiscal ♪ >> then she said it a third time. ♪ let's get fiscal ♪ >> she was angry they weren't laughing loud enough. more than that she was just singing it three times. >> i thought it was going to be a hot joke. >> helene what i love about this clip is it articulates there are two pieces to this. there is the material, writing the joke, and then delivering the joke and those are two different and distinct skills. what was it like to go from writing jokes to being the one on stage selling them? >> good question. i love the intonation of a joke, the way it's delivered. it is so important. you could be the funniest writer but if you don't give it the punch it needs or pull back on the punch that makes all the difference. >> if there is someone who is watching who says, you know, i have some material. i tend to kill it at a dinner party. i think this might actually be for me. but they are nervous about getting up on stage or sharing via group zoom, what is your pep talk for someone who thinks their comedy days might still be ahead of them? >> there are so many zoom opportunities today to go on open mics. i mean, in the pandemic i could be on zoom 24/7. i go to tokyo at 3:00 a.m. you could go to california at midnight. there are so many opportunities for people who are nervous to just sit in their living room like this and to go to mics. there are classes galore. there are so many opportunities. if they don't live near a city it doesn't matter right now >> i love it. no drink minimums for the zooms. jo, if there is one thing you want people to take away from this what is it? >> helene is a superstar >> i think we can all agree on that. helene anything you want people who watch this to take away? >> yes. that anything is possible. you know, i just met jo from a fluke. she showed up at the class as a fluke. you know, given it's a pandemic and it could have been a grave situation and it ended up being a miracle, the whole thing. >> jo, it seemed this really changed people, sort of opened them up. there was this self-revelation that happened in the process for some people. >> yeah, i think that it was this -- we all really bonded through this. we hadn't seen each other in person. i think we all had these inside jokes and liked seeing each other but then in person it kind of solidified this group and this kind of, that we just cared so much about each other and as artists and it was really one of the best experiences of my life i would say >> i love that. jo, helene, thank you both for that and for sharing it with us. good timing with jo firestone streaming october 15th only on peacock and i don't know what to say but you are going to love it. it is so heart felt and warm and so funny. that is all the time i have for today. i'll see you back here next weekend 6:00 p.m. eastern for more "american voices." for now i hand it over to mehdi hasan. hey, mehdi. >> hey, great interview there. can't wait to watch that. have a great rest of your sunday. throw tonight on the mehdi hasan show congresswoman alexandria ocasio-cortez is here fresh off a big win this weekend as progressives stand their ground on biden's build back better agenda. can they reach the big prize and secure a deal on a big transformative spending plan? plus texas senator ted cruz mixing basketball and politics again. backing nba players hesitant about getting vaccinated tweeting your body your choice. funny that wasn't his message for women in texas. also three years after the assassination of saudi journalist khashoggi the biden administration is still meeting with the man who reportedly ordered his death. will he ever be held accountable? we'll hear from jamal khashoggi's fiance. good evening. i'm mehdi