amy: i went to thank you, ari berman, mother jones writer.ll link to your piece "republicans are erasing decades of voting rights gains before our eyes." and author of "give us the ballot." before you go, ben jealous, i would ask about another issue, about what is happening in oklahoma. advocates have been rallying outside the barricaded governor's mansion ahead of the planned thursday execution a prisoner julius jones who was convicted of a 1999 murder but has maintained his innocence. another man, christopher jordan, has privately admitted to committing the murder and framing jones, according to three people who were jailed with jordan who served 15 years after reaching a plea deal in the case. oklahoma's pardon and parole board has recommended twice that julius jones just sentence be commuted to life in prison with the possibility of parole but the final decision now rests with governor kevin stitt. you have long been an anti-death penalty activist, standing outside the execution prisons like of troy anthony davis, who spent half his life

yesterday my next guest ari berman put it bluntly.man, senior reporter covering voting rights for mother jones, also the author of "give us the ballot: the modern struggling for voting rights in america." so grateful to have you. i see a connection between all of the stories we're talking about tonight. >> hi, zerlina. thank you for having me. and i think you're absolutely right. the acquittal of kyle rittenhouse, the rampant voter suppression targeting communities of color, the extreme gerrymandering target communities of color, it's all connected and it's all about trying to preserve white supremacy in the face of major demographic shifts. you have places like georgia that are becoming majority minority, that are electing black senators, jewish senators. and what's happening is republicans are drawing maps to lock in not just republican power, but white republican power for the next decade. i don't think people just appreciate the extent to which election results are going to be pre-determined by the maps that are being drawn right

joining us now is ari berman, senior reporter at mother jones magazine who has been covering this moreaggressively and with more clarity than any other report in the country. appreciate you making the time. >> thank you so much for having me. >> when you wrote about this galveston situation today, it both felt worse than a lot of things i've read and also essentially like a microcosm of what's happening across the country everywhere that republicans are in control. is it fair to see that as a microcosm? >> that's absolutely right, rachel. what's happening in galveston is probably the most extreme example of racial gerrymandering we've seen this year, but it isn't an aberration. what republicans are doing across the country is they are literally turning back the clock decades when it comes to voting rights. we are seeing the most intense efforts to undermine the right to vote and the most intense efforts to reduce fair representation since the voting rights act was passed in 1965. and without these crucial voting rights protections, without a strong voting rights act, without federal le

let me start with you, ari berman, on the descendants announcement which outlet level is a stunt. but another really strikes me as essentially intimidation. saying, we're going to make a example of the first person caught,. it's saying we're going to try and senate siege to make people scared of voting. >> exactly. it is just the further weaponization of the big lie. remember, desantis already signed a sweeping voter suppression bill as an exclusive on fox and friends. so they already made it harder to vote. and now he is announcing a whole other unit that seems, as he, said on this propaganda, could also have a chilling effect on voter participation. and remember, chris, republicans created the entire system of elections in florida. so there essentially really against the system that they created. they created, job office, they created no 2000 voting, they created all of the election law hunt that they are now saying aren't enforced and so it gets to what you are saying earlier which is that if the voting system works for them, they are for. it but if it doesn't work for them, th

ari berman and coronell belcher thank you both. appreciate it. >>> today donald trump's executive privilege claims have their day in court. well they have to start turning over to the january 6th committee. plus what to make of the reporting that the probe into the trump org has a new grand jury. that's next. p org has a new gra jury that's next. unlike other cold medicines, coricidin provides powerful cold relief without raising your blood pressure be there for life's best moments with coricidin. now in sugar free liquid. ♪ feel stuck and need a loan? move to sofi and feel what it's like to get your money right. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ move to a sofi personal loan. earn $10 just for viewing your rate — and get your money right. ♪ and get your money right. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ jury hearing evidence about the trump organization. today "the washington post" reported the manhattan district attorney has convened this new grand jury to hear evidence about the organization's financial practices and potentially vote on criminal charges. now that