with her defense of the senate filibuster. however, democratic leaders, like south carolina congressman jim clyburn, not giving up hope. he sent this message to senators this afternoon on msnbc. >> we're going to be steadfast here in this. this is worth doing. not just for african-american voting rights but hispanic american voting rights. i don't understand how any senators can look at what's going on in georgia and florida and texas and 16 other states, and not know that this fragile democracy of ours is teetering on collapse if we do not stop this foolishness. >> meantime, in a column for "the washington post," former-vice president mike pence accuses democrats of attempting a, quote, federal power grab over state elections. the truth is the real power grab is coming from republicans at the state level, and it's not just ballot access. gop-led states have passed new laws to control the process of counting and certifying votes. republicans are also proving unfair district maps to dilute the power of voters of color. ari berman with "mother jones" writes, quote, what can appear as a series of disconnected state-level skirmishes is, in fact, part of a national strategy that goes far beyond previous efforts to undermine democratic influence. fueled by the big lie, this effort picks up where last year's insurrection left off by putting in place the pieces to steal future elections by systematically taking over every aspect of the voting process. joining us now to discuss, latosha brown, co-founder of the black voters matter fund, justice correspondent, eli metal. allow me to retort, a black guy's guide to the constitution is out march 1st. and call colorado kol secretary of state jena griswold. senator sinema drew a line in the sand letting us know the math is not going to be there to get this legislation across the finish line so explain to me what the path forward is. >> i think what we have to do continue to put pressure. put pressure on her and others. i know there are people saying she doesn't care. she doesn't care what happens and we got to make her care, right? and not just her. i think that this isn't just about manchin and sinema. while, both of them have been extremely disappointing, i think in many ways, they have been disingenuous, at one point, she voted for -- she said that -- that john lewis was her hero. but here she is standing in the way of the very thing he gave his life for. she is a hypocrite, she is dishonest, and she lacks integrity. i still think we need to hold her to account, account to the voters in arizona. we just left arizona. people are very, very upset with her and we are going to make sure we lift that voice in that process to let her know and i think that your path forward is not just we have to focus on -- we have to focus on all of the senate. we have to focus on the 16 republican senators that actually voted for the reauthorization of the voting rights bill. what has happened since that time, to this time that they would cower in the face of a big lie that has taken root in this country. we have got to hold them to account. >> secretary griswold, this is about more than ballot access. republicans are also approving unfair district maps, seizing control of the election process, while recruiting trump loyalists to oversee elections. so talk to me about how all of these forces build on one another to undermine our democracy. >> well, first off, thank you for having me on. and that is exactly right. um, you know, as secretary of state, my job is to make sure that every eligible voter -- republican, democrat, and independent alike -- has access to safe and secure elections. and i will continue to do that but the senate has to recognize the coordinated takeover of voting rights and elections that is happening right now. since the beginning of 2021, on the heels of the insurrection, we have seen over 500 bills to suppress the vote. we are seeing fake audits to chip away at americans' confidence. vitriol to election workers, causing them to consider and really think twice if they even want to do the jobs. all, while extremists like steve bannon are recruiting people into a local election administration and insurrectionists or big liars are running for secretary of states' positions in every swing state in this nation. so, the urgency is now and if the senate wants to prevent another january 6th, they need to act immediately. >> eli, andrea waters king, the mother of martin luther king jr.'s granddaughter had this message earlier on msnbc. take a listen. >> you know, um our daughter yolanda is the only grandchild of martin lugtder king jr. and coretta scott king. she was born in 2008. in 2013, the voting rights act, which was the cornerstone of her grandfather's legacy, was basically dismantled. in 2021, last year, in our home state of georgia, one of the 19 states that has passed these repressive and suppressive voting rights laws were passed in our home state. so, when you think about it, she and her peers are, today, sitting with less voting rights than the day that they were born. and i always think -- i can't imagine, is that the dream that martin luther king jr., coretta scott king had for their granddaughter and other children? >> eli, what does this moment tell us about ourselves as a nation? rather than talk about how we expand access, we are fighting over the bare minimum. >> yeah. look. the people like joe manchin and kyrsten sinema, these are the white people that martin luther king jr. warned us about. these are the white liberals who have no sense of urgency, commitment, or integrity when it comes to the progress of justice in the country. and that's just the -- that's just the fact. i don't know if they can live with themselves with that but that is -- that is the reality of the situation. the other reality here -- and -- and bernice, um, mentioned it in that clip. the chief architect of this assault on voting rights is not mitch mcconnell. it's not david duke. it's not whatever boogieman you think is hiding under the -- under the -- under the closet. the chief architect is chief justice john roberts. it is he, who has been an enemy of voting rights and racial equality from his very first job out of law school, which was to oppose the 1982 amendments to the voting rights act. it is john roberts who authored shelby county v. holder which eviscerated section five of the voting rights act, which is basically why we are here right now. it is john roberts in 2020 which swung wide the doors toward gerrymandering and it's john roberts who provided the crucial fifth vote in last year's decision which eviscerated section 2 of the voting rights act. this has all been done by federal society conservatives that have been put on the supreme court and until we stop them -- until we do something about the court, you want to pass your freedom to vote act? i think that is a great bill. we should pass it. i think we should have passed h.r. 1. but always remember, john roberts and his conservative cronies are waiting at the supreme-court level to strike down whatever laws we put forward. as long as you let republicans control the supreme court, you cannot have a fair and equal, just society. >> latasha, there is also the reality that as all of this plays out at the federal level, it is a lot of state organizers on the ground. who are going to have to figure out how they organize state voters around some of these limitations. i have heard from many organizers said there is no amount of organizing that is gonna get us around these obstacles and still the work will continue. how are you approaching it in the state of georgia? >> listen, we are going to have to continue to work and on the local level because what we are seeing is we are seeing the hitch. we are seeing in the state of georgia with the passage of s.b. 202 from last year, that the republicans are already attempting to take over election boards. here in fulton county, which is the county i live, the largest, most pom populous county in georgia, they are attempting currently right now as we speak to take over that board. lincoln county, a rural county, has 30% african-american population in georgia. there is an effort being led by republicans right now to close all the polling sites in that county with exception of leaving one and this is a county that public transportation, there are no public accommodations that are available. and so, what we are seeing is all across the board, what they are doing, they are instituting it. um, on all levels. the local, the state, and the federal level which is why we need federal legislation by as we think about going forward, that is short-term. we actually need structural change in this country. we need to rethink about the supreme court. supreme court should be expanded. we need to make sure we have a senate that is more reflective of the citizens of this country, which means we need d.c. to have statehood. for puerto rico to have statehood. why are we expecting taxation without representation? and so, we have got to really understand that in order for us to have the kind of democracy that's laid out in the constitution, we are going to have to have real, systemic, and structural change in this country. >> secretary griswold, as you are well aware, the conversation or there are those who want the conversation to narrow to be just about how votes are counted because it seems that that might be the one place where some of the so-called moderate republicans are willing to come onboard. is that gonna be enough to safeguard our democracy? >> absolutely not. the people need access to vote. and frankly, what this is about is making sure that the people of georgia and texas have just as much access as coloradans as they should, as u.s. citizens. you know, what this comes down to is some republicans do not want the american people to choose their representation anymore. they are willing to strip away voting rights to keep their own power. it's one of the most un-american things that can happen. and it's incumbent on all of us -- the activists at the local level who need to organize to make sure americans can have their voices heard. we have to keep on pushing the senate to wake up to the destruction of american democracy, the code red that is happening right now. but also, voters are gonna be faced with a big task. there are people running right now to oversee elections that do not believe in democracy. so, it's going to be so important in 2022 that voters are paying attention who are -- to the candidates running at the local level. and for secretary of state. democracy is on the ballot in 2022, and for this country to continue, we need people elected to these positions who will uphold the will of the american people. >> latasha, eli, secretary of straight griswold, thank you all for getting us started. next, new reporting that reveals who has used cash to help keep the big lie alive. the rolling stone reporter who uncovered it joins me. plus, america's fight against omicron and new reporting that rural america has yet to see the worst of it. but first, to richard lui, who is tracking the other big stories we are wa muching at msnbc. >> a major winter storm hammering the south as it now hit heads toward the northeast. snow, freezing rain, strong winds, all in the forecast through monday. the carolinas and virginia already dealing with some icy roads and power outages, you see here. nbc news confirming saturday's hostage taker at a synagogue in texas entered the united states december 29th through jfk airport. authorities say there were no irregularities with his entry to the country, nor his planned travel. he was killed after a nearly 12-hour standoff, all hostages made it out safely. and ukraine says it has evidence that russia just conducted a cyberattack on them. the announcement comes a day after microsoft announced they detected a highly destructive form of malware in dozens of government and private computer networks in ukraine. more "american voices," right after this break. after this break woo! new personal record, limu! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ maybe it's another refill at your favorite diner... or waiting for the 7:12 bus... or sunday afternoon in the produce aisle. these moments may not seem remarkable. but at pfizer, protecting the regular routine, and everyday drives us to reach for exceptional. working to impact hundreds of millions of lives... young and old. it's what we call, the pursuit of normal. ♪ ♪ i know there's conflicting information it's what we call, about dupuytren's contracture. i thought i couldn't get treatment yet? well, people may think that their contracture has to be severe to be treated, but it doesn't. if you can't lay your hand flat on the table, talk to a hand specialist. but what if i don't want surgery? well, then you should find a hand specialist certified to offer nonsurgical treatments. what's the next step? visit findahandspecialist.com today to get started. . we have men already stationed outside d.c. as a nuclear option in case they attempt to remove the president illegally, we will step in and stop it. so i have got good men on the ground, already. we have been doing recon there last week and we are sorting out where we are going to be staging and will be there. it will be inside d.c. we will also be on the outside of d.c. armed prepared to go in if the president calls. >> that was oath keepers' founder stuart rhodes just two days before the capitol riot. this week, rhodes and ten others were charged with seditious conspiracy. rhodes has indicated he will plead not guilty. prosecutors say the far-right militia planned to take over the capitol, and had more members and weapons waiting outside d.c. we have new reporting this evening on whose funding the big lie that led to the insurrection. rolling stone magazine out with an investigation finding former-education secretary betsy devos and other gop mega donors have raised millions for the claremont institute. thinktank that's amplified trump's claims of voter fraud. claremont's top scholar is john eastman, the ex-trump attorney who wrote that guide circulated in the white house and among members of congress detailing how to overturn election results. joining me now the man behind that investigation, andy krul, also with us, msnbc contributor and former watergate prosecutor, jill wine-banks. andy, talk us through your reporting. why are betsy devos and other wealthy conservatives donating to the claremont institute? >> i think if you had asked anyone in the public about the claremont institute before the events of the past year, you would probably get either a blank stare or they would tell you, oh yeah, it's that liberal-arts college out in southern california which it's not. the claremont institute, though, in the past year has become a central cog, if you will, almost the kind of brains behind what around the january 6th insurrection was the sort of legal argument to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election and now going forward, looking toward 2022, 2024, you are seeing the claremont institute play this sort of central role. become this home for legal theorists, for operatives, for activists who are trying to change the voting laws, change the electoral process with an eye toward '22, '24, and really kind of institutionalizing the big lie in the conservative movement. i want to know who is funding this group. who is supporting their efforts? and what i found, getting the tax filings, getting the -- the actual documents is some of the biggest names on the rights, the devos, the bradley foundation, so it's big money and it is only pushing this group forward. >> jill, i want you to help us connect the dots here. the january 6th committee has already subpoenaed john eastman. what does that mean for the claremont institute, which has employed him for over two decades? >> it is another link to them as the cause of all of the bad news that we're getting. the insurrection is the result of lies. and those lies started with donald trump, but then he had help. and eastman was part of the help and fostering that is the claremont institute, which is funded by all of these foundations that have some of the wealthiest members of american society putting their money into it. and i am happy to report that at least one part of one of those foundations has turned its funding to animal protection, and i am very happy to hear they won't be spending it on the conservative causes that they have done for years. um, we have to stop the lies. and the only way to stop the lies is to get at these organizations and hold them accountable, in some way, for what they're doing wrong. and stop the lies that way. >> andy, your colleague at rolling stone reports the oath keepers have a new leader. what can you tell us about stuart rhodes' replacement? >> it -- a -- a longtime ally in the oath keepers -- i think, really, a message being sent by this organization which faces legal peril from all sides here. stewart rhodes's arrest, obviously, being a big part of that. but also, a whole bunch of scrutiny both from the justice department and the january 6th committee, i think you are seeing oath keepers here really not backing away from this role that they have tried to play as almost a kind of paramilitary militia group it that has taken the big lie and run with it. this announcement about the leadership change there really isn't much of a change in direction for the oath keepers and i don't think that you are going to see the law enforcement authorities or the investigators in congress back away or -- or take less of an interest in the oath keepers as we go forward here and as these criminal and legislative investigations play out. >> jill, one of stuart rhodes' attorneys told cnn the indictment is quote a work of fiction. take a listen. >> my main concern in responding to how we defend this is i want to see the entire conversations. >> we aren't getting through this -- we aren't getting through this without a civil war. too late for that. prepare your mind, body, and spirit. this is what he was telling other oath keepers. >> right. but that doesn't mean he's -- he's the one starting the civil war. i believe that, too. but i don't think that people on the right are gonna be responsible for the civil war. >> jill, i want to know what you make of that defense, particularly given that we have that video from two days before january 6th basically just detailing his plans? >> he is detailing his plans in public. i agree with you completely. the lawyer was inarticulate, and did not express what i would consider to be any valid defense. the evidence that is publicly available, that's laid out in the indictment which i recommend all of your viewers to actually go online and read the indictment. it is brilliant in laying out all of the links from his first text to the actions that happened on january 6th and that continue to this day. and while there may not be a change in leadership in terms of it being a meaningful change in direction, i think there may be some civil suits that will follow and that will make this a bankrupt organization, and drive them out of business. that could have that effect, while some of the past leaders spend their time in jail which is where this case is heading right now. >> jill, i love when you recommend a little late-night reading to all of us. andy, jill, thank you, both, so much. next, why feeling sick and tired actually makes us more sick and tired as a country. and new warnings for rural america with omicron on the rise. and later, a dual threat to democracy that only we can address. that and more ahead on "american voices." 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the -- the wave sweeps through certain parts of the country, first, as the numbers start to come down there, we see other parts of the country where numbers are on the rise. what are your concerns for how rural areas will be able to fight a possible omicron surge? >> yeah, alicia, it's interesting. this is such a different strain. the patterns are still holding true to previous patterns and you're right. it goes through urban areas, starting with new york and some of the coastal cities, first. coming through, and we are starting to see declines even in northeast united states but what this means for rural parts of america is this is a long, hard winter ahead of us with likely no peak even until potentially february because of their rural nature and the fact that the lowest vaccination rates happen to overlap with these areas. >> so, when we look at that graphic that's up right now, right, it walks us through a variety of states. we see the weekly cases per 100,000, and then you see what is the truly startling number -- icu beds available. zero in lewis county, tennessee. zero in clay county, nebraska. i mean, tell me about that number and what that number actually means. >> yeah. so, that number means that there are zero icu beds available. but let's be clear. there weren't tons of icu beds, in the first place, alicia. these are parts of the country where, in general, there might be less than 10 to 20 icu beds for counties -- counties, plural. this is why pregnant women, when they have complicated deliveries, will have to drive literally potentially a thousand miles to get to a hospital that can handle complicated maternity cases. so, zero means not just that the covid cases don't have an icu bed but all the other things. there is actually a growing group of us in social media that are helping to try to place doctors who have icu-level patients that are sitting in emergency rooms and in hospitals with no ici beds, trying to place them in neighboring states and it is literally a game of whack a mole, alicia, and this is going to get worse as those parts of the country gets surges we are recovering from. so all the more reason that everyone has to just stay vigilant. we can be happy when we see cases coming down as we are in some parts of the country. remember that's not the entire united states. >> the u.s. surgeon general dr. vivek murthy was asked about the supreme court ruling last week to block the biden administration's vaccine or test workplace mandates for businesses with 100 or more employees. let's take a listen. >> the news about the workplace requirement being blocked was very disappointing, martha. it was a setback for public health because what these requirements ultimately are helpful for is not just protecting the community, at large. but making our workplaces safer for workers, as well as for customers. so, the good news, though, is that there is nothing that stops workplaces from voluntarily putting these requirements in place. in fact, many have done so already. a third of the fortune 100 companies have put this in many place and many more outside have. >> surgeon general said the good news is -- and i want to focus on the good news because think we all understand this is a major tool in the white house's arsenal to try to get their hands around this pandemic. without it, that becomes much more challenging. in the absence of this test or vaccinate mandate, what is left to do? >> yeah. what's left to do is not only encouraging the private sector but we can take more focused approaches from a public standpoint, state, local, and even federal governments. this -- the -- the supreme court ruling on the medicare program for enforcing mandates actually gives us an open window to encourage and actually have administration put out guidance for discrete-types of professions. you can imagine, essential workers and grocery stores. you could imagine anybody that's in contact. education. so, there is an opportunity to do that. and then, i'm going to just say it because mandates have become so ugly but i think we are just going to have to start becoming more transparent. a lot of businesses have moved to only allowing for patrons who are vaccinated and have these passes, as new york city has gotten used to, across the country. even internationally, we are starting to get more used to the fact that we need to demonstrate that we are at least immunized, however that's defined, fully immunized, to come into a place of business. >> at this point, think there are a lot of us who are very, very grateful for your level of transparency. dr. patel, as always, thank you. next, two crises. both, existential. saving democracy. and our planet. from plus one vote makes the case that we can and must do both. he joins me next. th he joins me next is the 21st century way to do all three. even touch free. preparation h. get comfortable with it. real cowboys get customized car insurance with liberty mutual, so we only pay for what we need. -hey tex, -wooo. can someone else get a turn? yeah, hang on, i'm about to break my own record. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try bot® high prein with 20 gramof protein for scle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. excuses happen. what? it's too windy. but with a huge selection of wellness support products for nutrition, sleep, immune systems and energy, cvs can help them happen a little less. this is a time we faced an attack on our democracy and untruth. a raging virus, growing inequity, the sting of systemic racism, a climate in crisis, america's role in the world. any one of these, enough to challenge us in profound ways but the fact is we face them all, at once. presenting this nation with a -- one of the gravest responsibilities. >> that was president biden a year ago this week laying out the challenges we face during his inaugural address. when it comes to the attack on democracy, over the past year, 19 states made it harder to vote despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud. then, there is the climate crisis. this past week, we learned 2021 tied for sixth hottest year ever in the hottest seven years on record all happened in the last seven years. climate change, also, leads to more extreme weather events. last year, the u.s. experienced 20 different billion-dollar disasters fueled by hurricanes, wildfires, and tornados. extreme weather claimed nearly 700 lives, and cost at least $145 billion in damage. our next guest argues you can't fight climate change without also stand up for our democracy. co-founder of plus 1 vote join mess now. i want to begin with the column you wrote for the hill. you write quote our inability to make progress on securing our right to vote is directly tied to our inability to act on climate. have a functioning democracy, without climate action. we wouldn't have climate action without a functioning democracy. we have to tackle both, or else we have neither. tell me more. >> no, you are exactly right, alicia. the reality is that right now, we are seeing so many obstacles to our right to vote and seeing people being able to gain access to the ballot. and those exact communities that are the most impacted by the climate crisis -- black people, brown people, indigenous people, and young people -- are the same exact communities that are targeted by voter suppression efforts. and so, what we are seeing is this sort of dual function of people being unable to cast their ballots and our inability to pass any sort of meaningful legislation on the climate crisis. >> climate scientists, of course -- i mean, you know this -- they have been sounding the alarm well before many millennials, all of gen z, were even born. how are young voters leading on this issue? and for those voters who may be very interested in one piece and not the other, how do you tie those issues together? >> yeah. and it's a good point because i think right now we are seeing a mass mobilization of young people around the climate crisis. one of the most biggest existential crises that our world is facing and young people recognize that with so much moral clarity. and so, what i do with my organization plus 1 vote is mobilize those same exact communities to get out to the ballot and vote. i think that young people are becoming more and more energized, and also more and more tired by these empty promises that we are seeing from our politicians who continually make these really large claims on the sanctity of the right to vote or the need to act on the climate crisis. yet, consistently, administration after administration, seeing no action on either. >> you know, we often talk about how other countries are in this moment looking at the united states and -- and both ways. both, in terms of our democracy and what is on the line when it comes to the sanctity of our elections. and also, when it comes to action and inaction around climate legislation. when you think of other countries and the way they are watching america in this moment, what is the message that we are sending? >> i think that america likes to tout itself as a global leader on climate change and on climate policy. but instead, we haven't actually been able to pass anything meaningful in the last few years. i mean, president biden rejoined the paris accord but let's go back a little bit, shall we? once president obama entered us into the paris agreement, the united states did virtually nothing on climate change. then, president trump took us out of the paris accord. again, no concrete action or on the climate crisis. and then, now that we are back in it, again, nothing. so, what we have essentially done is turned the paris accord -- one of the most important -- on climate change -- into just a hallmarker of just a talking point for nations across the world. even this past year, you mentioned that it was the past seven years have been the hottest on record, the last year we also saw a 6% increase in carbon emissions. is that what climate leadership looks like? i don't think so. >> thank you so much for joining us. next, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. my next guest -- a poet -- has taken that to a whole new level, using hate for good. plus, what's made encanto such pop culture gold? first a preview what is he a ahead tonight here on msnbc. i'm ayman mohyeldin. tonight, get ready to laugh. palestinian-american stand-up comedian, and writer, mo amer joins me to talk about his netflix comedy special and a whole lot more. that's tonight, 9:00 eastern right here on msnbc. on msnbc. woo! new personal record, limu! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty. ♪ only pay for what you need. i'm gonna earn 3% on dining including takeout with chase freedom unlimited. that's a lot of cash back. are you gonna stop me? uh-oh... i'm almost there... too late! boom! earn big time with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours. napoleon was born and raised to conquer. but he was just kind of over it, you know. watching prime video he realized he should follow his dreams. so he ordered a microphone with prime next day delivery. now the only thing he cared about conquering was his audience. prime changes everything. i have moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. so i'm taking zeposia, a once-daily pill. because i won't let uc stop me from being me. zeposia can help people with uc achieve and maintain remission. and it's the first and only s1p receptor modulator approved for uc. don't take zeposia if you've had a heart attack, cht pain, stroke or mini-stre, heart failure in the last 6 months, irregular or abnormal heartbeat not corrected by a pacemaker, if you have untreated severe breathing problems during your sleep, or if you take medicines called maois. zeposia may cause serious side effects including infections that can be life-threatening and cause death, slow heart rate, liver or breathing problems, increased blood pressure, macular edema, and swelling and narrowing of the brain's blood vessels. though unlikely, a risk of pml--a rare, serious, potentially fatal brain infection--cannot be ruled out. tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, medications, or if you are or plan to become pregnant. if you can become pregnant, use birth control during treatment and for 3 months after you stop taking zeposia. don't let uc stop you from doing you. ask your doctor about once-daily zeposia. and it's easy to get a quote at libertymutual.com so you only pay for what you need. isn't that right limu? 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[a vulture squawks.] oh boy. only pay for what you need. ♪liberty, liberty, liberty, liberty♪ whether it is about appearance or politics, just about every woman on the internet knows what it is like to receive unsolicited feedback. in many cases, straight-up harassment. but best-selling poet, mother of four, and internet sensation kate baer has found a way to turn sexist messages into empowering poems for her new book "i hope this finds you well." >> the new book, you take both exchanges you have had online and also public statements that have been made. and by redacting pieces of it, you turn it into poetry. and i think there is sort of no better way for my to explain that to the audience than to show them one of those pieces. so, i'm gonna read, um, a dm i believe that you received. and then, you are going to read the poem that resulted. good morning, kate. i have seen your posts. i am hoping for female leadership in the next white house and i am concerned that gender is now your only criteria. i am not against women in leadership positions, however, just any woman? we need to look for women who represent our american values, women who love both god and this country, women who respect the traditional-family structure as a wife and mother, while working to keep it safe. women who will commit to pray for those suffering from poverty and illness instead of just talking about them. women who respect limits and boundaries in their fields, without always having to be the know-it-all. the persecution women claim today is mostly fantasy. men want what is best for women. more importantly, god wants what's best for women which is why he will have a hand in this next election. who better to lead us than god's own chosen one? i wish you the best, as we move into the coming days. you take this and you write this. >> i have seen women love this country while suffering from its persecution. who better to lead us into the coming days? >> it is as much a poem as it is a retort. >> yeah. yeah. it -- it's -- it really started as a party trick. and then, um, it started to pick up and people were really responding to it. i have been getting messages like this for ten years because even when i had a little baby blog that maybe, you know, 25 people, my mom was reading. i still would get random strangers kind of like this is my turf. you don't need to be here. i was just deleting them. it wasn't until george floyd was brutally murdered that i was kind of looking at my messages a little bit. and yeah, just the words kind of reaing raed to me in a different way. a woman was pretty upset with me about my ideas on police reform and so i took a screen shot and hid her identity and used the little eraser tool on instagram and made a poem out of it and people really responded to that. and i think it just goes to show there are so many of us at odds with other people on the internet. and even more at odds with people we actually know. >> when you do talk about police accountability, when you talk about trans rights, when you talk about black lives matter, there is always someone who writes back don't become political. >> yeah. >> just stick to motherhood as though motherhood is not inherently political. there is both the it's too political, and it is not sufficiently literary. right? that motherhood is somehow not worthy of literary critique and honor. also, not worthy of being considered political. >> yeah. it's -- i mean, how many coming-of-age stories have you read about baseball? you know? how many like -- how many books have we read where it's like okay this is supposed to be some universal experience when motherhood is such an ultimate-universal experience. we have haul a mother, for better or worse. we all come from a mother. and so, to classify motherhood writing as niche is ridiculous. >> you have said this process was both cathartic and abundantly sad. why? >> sometimes people call these revenge poems and there is an element of that. you know, especially when it's men and my inbox talking about my body. you know, those can be kind of fun and cathartic to change the words. but when people are talking to me and saying such hateful things about other kinds of people, that -- that is when i really -- i lost some hope for humanity in those times. >> what have you done to claw that back? >> spend time with real people. get off the internet. get off of instagram. delete all the apps on my phone, and just see real people. and find connection in people that i -- that i know who we don't agree on everything. to -- to see the nuance behind and not just, you know, put everything in this black and white way. >> our thanks. her book is titled "i hope this finds you well." next, the magical hold on the internet. we'll talk about bruno after this quick break. bruno after this quick break seen it. trust me, after 15 walks... gets a little old. ugh (vo) america's most reliable network is going ultra! with verizon 5g ultra wideband now in many more cities. hey, it's mindy! downloading a movie up to 10 times faster than before. whoa! is that done? 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[cheering] that was awesome. and, the hits won't quit, with peacock premium included at no additional cost. all that entertainment built in. xfinity. a way better way to watch. it is taking everything i have not to sing for you and you should be grateful for that. we could not end the weekend without talking about the smash hit encanto. box office buzz is one thing. the way this film has taken off on social media another. post after post showing how many people see themselves in the film's diverse character lineup. kids so pumped they're posting pictures of the characters they most look like. the movie also taking off for the message it holds centered around a magical colombian family whose powers are threatened, forcing them to contend with generational trauma. nbc news internet culture reporter has been reporting on this and joins us now. i have been trying to find a way to talk about this movie so thank you for giving me an in. the #encanto has been viewed more than 7 billion times on tiktok. you've talked to tiktokers who use the hashtag. how did the film end up finding a whole new life on tiktok so quickly? >> reporter: well, i think it's really easy to see why this is so popular. young people who have never seen themselves in the forefront of a film are seeing it for the first time especially in an animated film. i spoke to one young person who said in her face i see my own, my own round features, my freckles, my curly hair. young people have not had a film, animated film especially like this one that just represents people that they look like and see in their own lives. the other facet is it tells their story not to sort of borrow a phrase from the writer of the music but this does tell their story and tells the story of intergenerational trauma in a beautiful way that is expressible to a lot of people. i just think it's this representation in this film has made it such a smash hit on tiktok and people are so stoke to have this film. >> one of the things that is fascinating to me about tiktok is the way it is very often used to amplify music, right, that you'll see some of these what i as a geriatric millennial consider very strange challenges and i'm like what is happening here and then i'm like oh, this is a way of popularizing a song. that something becomes popular on tiktok before it actually becomes popular off tiktok it drives people to it. can you explain to us sort of the life cycle here, the way in which posting videos on tiktok drives people back to the film? >> oh, absolutely. so think about it this way. if you were to hear me talk about bruno over and over and it's stuck in your head you'll go to spotify and probably want to hear the whole song and once you're into that song you may want to hear the album and go see the film. it is the repetition of calle edges including certain music that sticks in your head to the point where you're like i have to figure out where this is from. separate from encanto if you go on spotify there are whole play lists just dedicated to tiktok songs. it's the same with encanto, with the music's popularity. people cannot get enough of the music. i was jamming out to it in the commercial break. i know you were as well. it is just a perfect vehicle for music like this. >> for those who do not have a 5-year-old and 2-year-old at home who you are relying on desperately in order to get through this omicron surge by watching encanto over and over again i joke that my theater credits now include being the lighting director on my kids' living room presentation of this. one of my favorite songs called surface pressure is about the plight of the older sister luisa and the amount of pressure she feels under to be of service, to perform, be a high achiever. i think it is relatable to lots of older siblings. talk to us about some of the most popular songs from the film and the ways in which the message is resonating with tiktok users. >> yeah, as you mentioned surface pressure is a great example of that. i spoke with one young person who told me that she related to luisa who is the middle sister and sings surface pressure because she had to take care of her younger sibling and eventually when they were in and out of foster care ended up adopting them and she really felt the story of surface pressure and also says she feels she looks a lot like luisa which helped but really that song of her story. and that is what is also connecting with a lot of people. plus, there are songs like we don't talk about bruno which are just pure bangers. i've been singing it to my dog whose name is nacho. we replaced bruno with nacho. it is just, i mean, they are so patchy but also tell a bigger story. >> and one of the stories is about intergenerational trauma which is not necessarily what you would imagine that a children's film would go after. >> yeah, absolutely. i spoke with the directors of the film and they told me this was a really important element to include in this story. they wanted to make sure they included intergenerational trauma which is exactly what it sounds like when trauma is passed from one generation to the next. in this film i don't want to give any spoilers but there is a trauma that happens to alma and she passes down sort of pressures and expectations to her children. i spoke with a lot of tiktokers who loved this film and told me that's my story. my family came from this place and we were, you know, my parents have certain expectations for me. that is just one of many facets as to why people are so clued into this film and love it so much. >> bring it in. good talk. thank you. that is all the time i have for today and this weekend. i'm alyssa menendez. i'll see you back here next weekend 6:00 p.m. eastern for more "american voices" but for now over to mehdi hasan. >> thank you so much. have a great rest of your night. tonight on the mehdi hasan show, democracy is on the line but do americans care? kyrsten sinema certainly doesn't. how about long covid as we play down the threat from omicron? are we ignoring the dangerous after effects of this virus? also, an update on the hours long hostage stand-off at a texas synagogue. and my take on a dangerous rise in anti-semitism here in the united states. good evening. i'm mehdi hasan. of the hundreds of people who have been