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For the second year in a row, comic book writers, illustrators, and fans will be coming together at BAM to celebrate diversity and inclusion at the Black Comix Expo on Sunday. Among them will be an  Ashley Baccus-Clark, artist and neuroscientist, who joins us to talk about representations of black women in sci-fi. Then, filmmaker Idris Brewster suggests a hack for getting rid of racist monuments without the help of politicians.

“A Podcast, documentary film, comedy show, play and concert all wrapped into one,” Pop-Up  Magazine presents non-fiction stories onstage in front of a live audience. The shows aren’t recorded, making it a truly had-to-be-there experience. To talk about how it all comes together, senior producer Aaron Edwards joins us in the studio. Then, is New York bringing you down? Hear how former Brooklynite Todd Cavallo and his wife made the move to the Hudson Valley to pursue their dream of producing wine.

In 1988, Mark Denny was sentenced to nearly 50 years in prison for robbery and rape. But there were many problems with the case and he'd always maintained his innocence. But he languished in prison until the Innocence Project pressured D.A. Eric Gonzalez to reexamine the case. After 30 years of incarceration, Denny was exonerated and released in December 2017. Hear Denny tell his story and his thoughts on criminal justice reform.

Just how bad  is the Amazon deal for the average New Yorker? Vox reporter Gaby del Valle weighs in. And as Amazon, Inc. grows spectacularly, the Amazon rainforest shrinks. Activists who agitate against that deforestation, many of them indigenous, take their lives in their hands. According to the non-profit Global Witness, 145 activists have been killed in Brazil since 2015 alone. Suzanna Pelletier, executive director of Rainforest Foundation, is here to talk about the life or death struggle for the Amazon

New York retail is facing an existential crisis, and New York Times reporter Azi Paybarah breaks it down. Then, the 10 year challenge that you've seen popping up all over social media is a great excuse for your friends to casually show how much more attractive they are than they were a decade ago. Brooklyn, how do you compare to your 10-year-ago self? We've brought on Nick Rizzo, ex-bartender, future locksmith, political animal and general know-it-all, to take a walk down memory lane.

As climate change makes deadly forest fires, devastating droughts, and super storms part of our daily lives, progressive (and progressive-ish) politicians everywhere are reviving Thomas Friedman’s 2007 call for a Green New Deal; but what does it actually mean? Kate Aronoff, environment news reporter for The Intercept, helps us make sense of it all. And then, another kind of solution: 8,900 pounds of sticky rice cake.

Meditation, rebranded as mindfulness, is spreading across industries and institutions. Museums are getting into the game, and so are police departments. But is this a means to improve quality of life, or to help with the bottom line? Brooklyn journalist Michael Friedrich, talks about his recent Baffler piece on the subject. And then, you are going to die. But you might as well embrace it, and while you’re at it, consider your own obituary, says host of The Adventures of Momento Mori podcast, D.S. Moss.

In 1967, MLK spoke of “the giant triplets of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism.” 52 years later, every day feels like Groundhog Day when it comes to injustice. To talk about the progress, or lack thereof, we're joined by Fair and Just fellow at Brooklyn Community Foundation, Heather McGhee. Then, to talk about the case that led to the complicated copyright conundrum that makes it very challenging to use any of MLK's speeches, we're joined on the phone by author and historian David J. Garr

Political reporter Jarrett Murphy joins us to dissect the topics covered in Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address, from a broken subway system, to plastic bag bans, to education, to marijuana policy, to Presidential aspirations. Then, Democracy—what is it? A documentary recently premiered at IFC aims to answer this question. Learn more about the doc from filmmaker Astra Taylor.

Nini Nguyen’s run on Top Chef may have been short, but it was mighty. Co-founding culinary director at Brooklyn’s own Cook Space, Nini joins us in the studio to talk about immigration and haunting sauces. Then, Alejandra Guanipa, wine director at Roman’s in Fort Greene and 20-year restaurant veteran, joins us to talk about the thankless job of directly interacting with hangry guests, how harrowing this work can be, and why you should be nicer to your servers.

Tony Rotunno, Editor-in-Chief of Brooklyn Paper, joins us to talk about the 19 stories the paper will be keeping its eye on in 2019, from canine outlaws, to amoral upzoning, to marijuana. Then, are you extremely beautiful? If not, then consider yourself lucky. 112BK’s resident Extremely Beautiful person Brian Enck shares with us the plight of genetic lottery winners.

A new play called "Is This a Room?", stages the verbatim transcript of the FBI's questioning of NSA whistleblower, Reality Winner. Hear more from Tina Satter of Half Straddle Theater Company and actor Becca Blackwell. And BEFORE Winner leaked the document, she called the President a "soulless ginger orangutan." But is it more insulting to an orangutan to be compared to Trump? Foremost expert orangutan Dr. Birute Galdikas phones in to give her thoughts on the subject.

The New York City Sirens and an enterprising L-Train commuter embrace bike culture - one to smash the patriarchy, and the other to survive the looming L-Pocalpyse.

Salon politics reporter Amanda Marcotte joins MacKenzie to talk about the passing of George H.W. Bush, and how the media upheld his virtues to shame Trump, when Trump is merely an extension of the post-Cold War Republican politics Bush helped birth. Then, Congresswoman Yvette Clarke phones in to talk about a proposed Trump administration rule change for qualifying criteria for Green Cards and Visas to the U.S. And then, Santa-Con will soon be upon us—hear from Brian Enck on how to avoid the calamity.

The number of hate crimes is spiking all over the country, and Brooklyn is no exception. This past Tuesday, New York City Council Members announced their intention to create an Office of Hate Crimes Prevention. To talk about these developments, Katurah Topps, Policy Counsel at NAACP Legal Defense Fund, joins MacKenzie in the studio.

Billions of gallons of untreated sewage flow into New York City’s rivers, creeks, bays, and canals every year, due to a flaw in an older sewer system. Though the city has made some progress, we’re entering a critical new phase of this work and advocates want a bigger role for public input. To talk about what the next part of the clean-up plan could look like, Jarrett is joined by Julie Welch, program manager for the SWIM Coalition, and Mike DuLong, senior attorney for RiverKeeper.

The Pink Tax— basically gender-based price discrimination that sees a surcharge on products marketed specifically to women—like those beautifully frilly pink razors. Now comes a new report that women also pay more for transportation in the city. This Pink Tax amounts to hundreds of dollars per year for women, according to the study. Today, we're joined by two of the report's authors and researchers with NYU's Rudin Center for Transportation, Gloria Campbell and Christopher Polack.

To make an argument for the intact body and against circumcision, Brian is joined by Anthony Losquardo, the founder of Brooklyn-based action group, Intaction. Then, on the subject of body autonomy, we look into a new investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which has found the FDA has allowed breast implants companies to hide the extent of harm caused from the public.

Earlier this year, the NYPD revealed that 42,334 individuals were on its “gang database.” 95% of those listed are people of color, which raises all kinds of questions: How does the NYPD define “gang” and “gang members”? How is the list being used by the Department? To address some of these questions, and to talk about what’s being done to introduce transparency into the Department’s use of the database, community organizer and writer Josmar Trujillo and activist Taylonn Murphy join MacKenzie

Reverend David Brawley is not shy about criticizing the Mayor and his approach to affordable housing and NYCHA management. Also a member of the Strategy Team of East Brooklyn Congregations, Rev. Brawley joins Jarrett in the studio to talk about heat and hot water issues, widespread mold, and more plights of NYCHA tenants.