Entries from Oct 2021
Chicago Mayor joins Morning Joe

Watch this Morning Joe segment as veteran columnist Mike Barnicle asks Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot about the “massive amount of publicity” afforded to the movie set killing in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as people are dying every day in her city. “How does it strike you when…every day in Chicago the combination of gangs, guns, and young people dying is an everyday—sadly, an everyday—occurrence given very little note?” Hear Mayor Lightfoot’s response about the lack of attention given to the violent crime victims in Chicago.

Way Too Early

Tune in for this Way Too Early segment with Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle as they discuss the White House and congressional Democrats scrambling to pass President Joe Biden’s landmark social spending legislation, focusing on new ways to pay for the package, including a billionaires’ tax, before President Biden’s departure for a week of summits in Europe.

Combating vaccine misinformation

As the White House announced plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to children aged 5 to 11, Morning Joe’s Mike Barnicle talked with U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy about how the Administration will try and combat the vast and dangerous COVID-19 vaccine misinformation that has proliferated on social media platforms, such as Facebook. Hear what Dr. Murthy has to say here.

Red Sox v. Astros continues

Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation between Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle as they discuss their beloved Boston Red Sox with the team facing elimination after a game 5 loss to the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series. “It’s been a wonderful year. We’ve been blessed with many, many victories that we didn’t expect, and we’re still here….You win some, you lose some, but you’ve got to dress for all of them. And we’ll be dressed tomorrow night in Houston, ready to go,” says Barnicle.

Problems at Rikers Island

Morning Joe veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio discuss the city’s notorious Rikers Island jail complex, which has been troubled by years of neglect and has spiraled into turmoil during the coronavirus pandemic. “Rikers Island, in a sense for many who go there, many inmates, it’s a death sentence. You can die of COVID. You can die of gang violence, and it’s been going on not just for a month, not just this summer, but for a long, long time. What has been the problem with either closing Rikers Island or getting something done to make it manageable?” asks Barnicle. Hear de Blasio’s response here.

Democratic divide

Watch this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and Congresswoman and Assistant Speaker Katherine Clark (D-MA) about the divide between progressives and moderates within the Democratic Party, which despite controlling the House, Senate and White House has not yet passed President Joe Biden’s $3.5 trillion economic plan.

2021 MLB playoffs

Morning Joe’s Joe Scarborough and Mike Barnicle discuss the 2021 Major League Baseball playoffs, including home plate umpire Laz Diaz missing a strike-three call with two outs in a tie game during the ninth inning that ultimately led to the Houston Astros defeating the Boston Red Sox in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series. “You can’t blame a single call for a loss in a game. You know that. But it was a pretty brutal night in the ninth inning at Fenway Park,” says Barnicle about the blown strike-three call by Diaz. Watch the rest of the conversation here.

American Made: What Happens to People When Work Disappears

Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and author and New York Times editorial board member Farah Stockman about her new book “American Made: What Happens to People When Work Disappears,” which explores the closing of the Rexnord bearings plant in Indianapolis and its impact specifically on several of its employees.

Pennsylvania Politics

“Government at the national level and sometimes the state level is either dysfunctional or really just fighting each other every day. What’s your sense—in talking to people—of the average voters, the average person’s estrangement from the system of politics due to the way politics has behaved in this country and in Pennsylvania?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Attorney General of Pennsylvania Josh Shapiro, Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania governor, during a Morning Joe conversation about how everyday Americans view the politics of the country.

Rising Inflation

Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and Virginia Democratic lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Hala Ayala about inflation and the three issues that impact people everyday: the cost of bread, milk and gas. “What do you hear when you’re out on the campaign trail about the cost of living?” asks Barnicle. Learn Ayala’s response here.

2021 American League Championship Series

Morning Joe’s Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire and Mike Barnicle discuss the 2021 Major League Baseball playoffs, including the American League Championship Series between the Boston Red Sox and Houston Astros that begins this weekend in Minute Maid Park. “I’m looking forward to the Red Sox coming back to Boston at least even in the series one game to one,” says Barnicle about his beloved team. Hear the conversation here.

Steve Bannon

Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation with Willie Geist, Jonathan Lemire, Katty Kay and Mike Barnicle about the January 6th Select Committee moving to hold former Trump advisor Steve Bannon in criminal contempt for defying a subpoena to appear before the committee. “Steve Bannon can be forced to appear before the committee, but he can’t be forced to give information. He can’t be forced to testify if he doesn’t want to testify. It’s an extraordinarily frustrating moment in history because of the danger that this has posed to the country, to our existing democracy, to the way we live, to the way we govern. But here we are,” says Barnicle about former President Donald Trump and his allies.

The Danger That America Faces Right Now

ICYMI: Morning Joe’s Willie Geist, Elise Jordan and Mike Barnicle discuss the Republican Party and former President Donald Trump following a judge having dismissed a lawsuit by Trump supporters who sought to inspect absentee ballots from the 2020 election.

William Shatner Makes History In Space

Join in as Morning Joe’s Willie Geist and Mike Barnicle discuss NBC News correspondent Tom Costello’s report about actor William Shatner, 90, becoming the oldest person ever in space and Shatner’s moving reflection on the experience.

Women Exit Labor Force (Again)

Tune in for this Morning Joe conversation between veteran columnist Mike Barnicle and Emory University professor Dorothy Brown about the large number of women currently exiting the job market and why.

The Debate Over Vaccine & Mask Mandates

“How frustrating is it for you and other medical professionals in fighting this disease and educating the public about this disease to know that we live in a country where as such damage had been done by politicians?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of MSNBC medical contributor Dr. Nahid Bhadelia during a Morning Joe conversation about the ongoing fight from Republican politicians toward COVID-19 vaccine mandates, following Republican Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio tweeting that his state “should ban all vaccine mandates.” Watch the conversation here.

COVID Safety Measures

“Jennifer, you are a perfect living example of what it means to get actively involved in local politics. People are always urging people: ‘Get involved, do your part, you’ll help the country, you’ll help your state or your community.’ You’ve done that, and the result has been…your family has been terrorized, you’ve been threatened multiple times. Would you ever run again, and who do you blame for this?” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of Florida’s Brevard County School Board member Jennifer Jenkins who joins Morning Joe to discuss the threats she and her family have received for her support for masks in classrooms. Listen to Jenkins’ response here.

“Unrequited Infatuations” By Stevie Van Zandt

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and actor Steven Van Zandt stopped by Morning Joe and talked with Mike Barnicle about his life, career and new book “Unrequited Infatuations,” which highlights when as a teenager Van Zandt met Bruce Springsteen, a like-minded outcast/true believer who became one of his most important friends and bandmates. Watch the conversation here.

E.R. Nurses: True Stories from America’s Greatest Unsung Heroes

Listen in on this Morning Joe conversation with Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist and Mike Barnicle as they are joined by coauthors James Patterson Matt Eversmann to discuss their book “E.R. Nurses: True Stories from America’s Greatest Unsung Heroes,” which features a compilation of interviews with hospital workers from across the country — everywhere from Wisconsin to Hawaii — telling their experiences in their own words. “Each and every day, I pass, you pass, everyone passes thousands of anonymous PTSD victims. They are nurses. One of my daughters is a nurse. My daughter-in-law is a nurse practitioner, and they have been forced over the past 18 months to help people to the end of their lives and to say goodbye to their loved ones over an iPhone, and we should honor them, recognize them as this book does, as we have just done in this segment, but there are too many anonymous heroes out there in America that we don’t pay enough attention to,” says Barnicle. Join the conversation here.

The Lehman Trilogy

“It’s an incredible period of time to cover in a stage play. So, you begin selling cotton as commodities and you end up with highly technical stuff that you’re talking about. How do you do it?,” asks veteran columnist Mike Barnicle of actor Russell Beale who along with actors Adrian Lester and Adam Godley join the Morning Joe panel to discuss their play “The Lehman Trilogy,” which is coming back to Broadway after being shutdown due to the COVID-19 shutdown. Listen to Beale’s response here. Only on MSNBC.