watching. i am sam stein. katie fang will be back next week, do not worry, 7 am eastern. all will show online. though she is starting right now. ng right now. and good morning to you from beautiful detroit, michigan. it is sunday, october the 23rd. i m ali velshi, this is a very special edition of velshi across america. i am in belle isle state park in detroit, michigan, within 16 days until the most consequential midterm elections in recent memory. michigan is arguably the leading edge of a combustible trumpist, anti-democratic movement which includes fringe political figures, self styled militias and the potential for violence. i saw that with a group of michigan residents and voters from across the political spectrum to talk about this, plus women s reproductive rights, which is actually, literally on the ballot in michigan this year. and how they should think we can move forward as a country, full of people with different views, and the same set of facts. more of that c
and that s us, by the way. went away but maybe you can see, maybe you can t, this is belle isle, to the top of the screen is you will see it in a moment is going to be canada. that s, it right there on the horizon. behind us, is detroit, michigan. and we are right in the middle of the detroit river, 9 am in the, east examine the, west i am ali velshi, coming to 16 days before election day in belle isle state park in detroit michigan and we re bringing you a very special edition of velshi 2022 on friday. i had an enlightening conversation across the political spectrum, as the election day approaches, i m gonna share more of it with you in just a bit. we kick off this hour with breaking news. brand-new msnbc news polling, showing you the voters recognize that high stakes, next month s midterm elections, registered voters are expressing high interest in the election. tied for the highest ever, ever, in the decades long history of this poll, 57% of registered voters say this
The iranian american writer and scholar of global theology, and a friend, reza aslan. his latest book was published earlier this month, an american martyr in persia, the epic life and tragic death of howard baskerville. rezza, i m sure you did not time the writing of this book on the fact that iran would once again be in global headlines. and of course because of that, i have to take you there for a moment, because you are an expert on this. so thank you for talking to me about this, indulging me for a moment. i want to quote from an article that you wrote about, a piece for the times, the protests that are going on in iran right now. you wrote the biggest difference between the current revolution in iran, the so-called green movement of 2009, is that the latter never managed to extend beyond a middle class, urbanized youth movement. but the dramatic images pouring out of iran are showing older women, covered head to toe in tours, marching alongside unveiled women in jeans is a clear i
Agree with what the government does. but you know, these minor incursions into peoples lives, sometimes it s the spark that creates a revolution. so now people are not just mad about the morality police, but mad about the entire regime, they want the whole thing changed. the government sometimes does do the wrong thing over and over again. reza, my friend, thank you ve been with us. i always enjoyed having you on the show. we do it more regularly. reza aslan is a scholar of global theology, author of an american murdered in persia: the epic life and tragic death of howard basketball. don t go anywhere, there s more to come on this michigan edition of velshi across america. in a few moments, i will bring you brand-new nbc news polling revealing just how important the american public use the threat to democracy. plus more from my illuminating panel conversation with a group of six michiganders. another hour of velshi, live in detroit michigan begins, right now. ht now.