Produced by KSQD 90.7, 89.5 & 89.7FM

“Be Bold America!” Live Interview

Aired Friday, July 3, 2026 at 5:00pm (PT)

Times have changed! 45% of today's voters identify as political independents. They are rejecting rigid opinions. Now, there is a non-partisan reform organization who are advancing fair participation for independent-minded voters.

The Independent Voter Project (IVP) is focused on three reforms:

• Open primaries for every voter! Over 26 million Americans are locked out of primary elections simply because they refuse to join a political party. The independent Voter Project is leading the fight to change that.

• Improve better representation with More Choice Voting! When elections offer only two viable choices; voters settle. More Choice Voting advances reforms that expand the field, increase competition, and force candidates to earn broader support.

• End Super PACs! 74.9% of Maine voters said yes to capping Super PAC donations at $5000. Now, IVP is defending that law in court – and building the legal framework to take the fight to all 50 states.

IVP’s legal work is the engine behind every reform they pursue. They author legislation, build the constitutional framework, and defend it in court. Their track record isn't theoretical – it's precedent. IVP’s litigation record, spans, offense and defense – from federal district courts to the US Supreme Court.

Interview Guest:

S. Chad Peace is an attorney, media executive, and election reform advocate based in San Diego. He is the founder of IVC Media, a digital strategy and public affairs firm working with corporate, nonprofit, and political clients, and a partner at Peace & Shea LLP, where his legal work focuses on election law and voter participation. Chad has been involved in national and state efforts to expand access for independent voters, including litigation, ballot initiatives, and public education. He is a frequent commentator on election reform and political systems and co-hosts the Independent Voter Podcast. View Chad Peace's interview on ABC News!

Produced by KSQD 89.5, 89.7 & 90.7FM

"Be Bold America!" Live Interview Aired / June 19, 2026

The Global Crackdown on Free Expression

in Honor of Project Censored's 50th Anniversary

In this interview, on the global crackdown of free expression, Dr. Steve Macek from North Central College in Illinois will discuss his work to combat the growing attacks on free speech and academic freedom in the U.S. and around the world.

Over the past decade, free speech and academic freedom have faced a synchronized, global decline. This erosion is not limited to traditional autocracies; it has increasingly taken root within established liberal democracies – most notably, right here in the United States.

The threats manifest in two primary ways: external political and legal coercion (from governments and lawmakers) and internal culture pressures (leading to self-censorship and polarization).

Tune in to “Be Bold America!” on Friday, June 19 at 5:00pm to learn how restrictions on free expression mirrors a country’s broader shift toward authoritarian governance.

Interview Guest:

Dr. Steve Macek is a professor of communication and chair of the department of communication and media studies at North Central College in Illinois. He teaches courses on the First Amendment, journalism history, media policy, media, criticism, and urban studies.

Dr. Macek is the author of Urban Nightmares: The Media, the Right, and the Moral Panic over the City, that is a critical analysis of media discourse about American cities. His ads, commentaries and articles on censorship, academic freedom, media regulation and politics have been published in a wide range of newspapers, magazines, and websites

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"Sexism is something that exists because it has existed, does exist, and therefore feels inevitable that it will exist. Certain treatments of women and girls are rooted in inequity simply because those bodies are female. Sexism over time and across institutions sends repeated messages about who women are and where they belong, and constructs a palatable version of womanhood that is non-threatening." - Allison T. Butler

In Allison T. Butler's new book, The Judgement of Gender, Allison examines how women are both centered and silenced, and maligned in popular culture. She explores a generational legacy in which media harms women, and unpacks what it means when women are cast as “problematic.”

Allison uses grounded and critical media literacy to look at celebrity stories, and those thrust into the spotlight, with more nuance, including the infamously sensationalized coverage of Britney Spears, Anita Hill, and Monica Lewinsky.

Interview Guest:

Allison Butler is a Senior Lecturer, Associate Chair, and the Director of the Media Literacy Certificate Program in the Department of Communication at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she teaches courses on critical media literacy and representations of education in the media. Allison serves as the Vice President on the Media Freedom Foundation and co-run Mass Media Literacy, a grassroots organization that builds curriculum and trains teachers in critical media literacy across K-12 schools. She is the author of numerous articles and books on media literacy and is co-author of multiple practical resources for media literacy education. In addition, Allison previous book The Media and Me was the subject of her previous "Be Bold America!" interview on media literacy, visit: The Media and Me: A Guide to Media Literacy.