cnn the assignment podcast

108 episodes

Each week on The Assignment, host Audie Cornish pulls listeners out of their digital echo chambers to hear from the people whose lives intersect with the news cycle. From the sex work economy to the battle over what’s taught in classrooms, no topic is off the table. Listen to The Assignment every Monday and Thursday.

The Assignment with Audie Cornish CNN

• 4.4 • 5 Ratings

How Do We Talk About Campus Protests?

Pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses have been met with suspensions, expulsions, and arrests. This week, Audie talks with two people in the middle of the story to understand how they view and talk about this moment. We hear from Krasimir Staykov, a junior and an activist at Pomona College in Claremont, California. He and others were arrested for staging a sit-in in the university president’s office. We also hear from Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT, about his approach to campus protest, and his response to protest language he finds offensive. Read all of CNN’s coverage on campus protests.  Read all of Pomona College’s statements about protests on campus.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 29 APR 2024

Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett of Pod Save America

Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett were speechwriters in the Obama White House who, along with Tommy Vietor, decided to venture into media with a podcast now called Pod Save America. The show became a hit, so they founded a whole company around it called Crooked Media. Now, they produce a plethora of podcasts, host a full schedule of live shows, and even write books like their new title, Democracy or Else. Favreau & Lovett go behind the fights over messaging in the Democratic party, parse Joe Biden's campaign strategy, and explain the challenges of running a progressive media company in the age of Trump. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 25 APR 2024

Does Beyoncé Need Country?

And does Country need Beyoncé? The likely answer to both of those questions is no. But the discussion Beyoncé sparked seems to be the larger point of her new album, Cowboy Carter. Sidney Madden is a reporter for NPR Music, and has delved deep into the intricate dynamics of race, genre, and industry politics addressed on the album. Audie and Sidney talk about these bigger themes and explore the conversation that's been started by Beyoncé's latest bold venture.  Sidney Madden is also co-host of the podcast Louder Than a Riot.  Watch, “Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville’s Renaissance,” available to stream in the U.S. on Friday, April 26 on Max (subscription required). The documentary examines this reckoning in the genre, straight from the country music capital of the world.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 22 APR 2024

Why Trump Would Rather Be at The Supreme Court

While the political world fixates on Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial, the Supreme Court is weighing two decisions that could re-define the November election and invalidate charges for hundreds of January 6th defendants. CNN’s Senior Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic is here to explain what’s at stake and read the tea leaves as to which way the justices are leaning. Joan’s book, Nine Black Robes, is now out in paperback. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 18 APR 2024

Pediatricians on the Frontlines of Gender-Affirming Care

This week, the Supreme Court ruled that Idaho could temporarily enforce a law that would ban providing gender-affirming care to minors. That means doctors who administer puberty blocking-drugs, hormone therapy, and perform certain surgeries could face up to 10 years in prison. It’s the latest move to prevent doctors from providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth. With politicians passing anti-trans bills and hospitals and doctors facing vitriol and threat, is this care on the line for trans kids? In this episode from the early days of our podcast, Audie speaks with two gender-affirming care providers to discuss the negative attention they’ve faced and understand the lifesaving care at risk.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 15 APR 2024

Why Arizona Matters So Much

When Arizona’s Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law reinstating a near-total ban on abortion, it took most of the country by surprise. For plugged-in journalist Jim Small of AZ Mirror, this was the expected result of a deliberate effort by Republicans to arrive at precisely this outcome. Now that the great backpedal is underway, Small tells Audie how we got here and how Arizona politics will affect the elections in November. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Customer Reviews

Love audie cornish.

Sad that Ms. Cornish left NPR, but wonderful to be able to hear her on this insightful & well-considered podcast.

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Audie Cornish to Host Weekly CNN Podcast on Culture Debates: ‘Nothing Is Off-Limits’

By Todd Spangler

Todd Spangler

NY Digital Editor

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Audie Cornish ‘s forthcoming podcast for CNN Audio, “The Assignment With Audie Cornish,” will premiere Thursday, Nov. 17.

In this candid weekly show, the CNN anchor and correspondent will have conversations with everyday people “at the center of debates that are rocking the culture.” Topics in the weekly show will span the arts, education, politics, business and sports. According to CNN, the podcast will present stories from inside communities and cultures “shaping what we experience.” “The Assignment With Audie Cornish” will release new episodes every Thursday and will be available to stream on CNN Audio, as well as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and other podcast platforms.

Popular on Variety

She added: “Nothing is off-limits, as we jump into thought-provoking conversations grappling with issues most of us only argue about.”

The news veteran joined CNN in January 2022. Originally, Cornish came on board to host a show on CNN+ as well as a podcast — but Warner Bros. Discovery shut down CNN+ one month after the subscription-streamer launched .

Cornish previously spent nearly two decades as a journalist at NPR, co-hosting the public radio broadcaster’s flagship news program “All Things Considered.” She won a George Peabody Award for her work with David Isay’s StoryCorps 9/11 Project, and the National Press Foundation recognized her work with the 2020 Sol Taishoff Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism.

“The Assignment” joins CNN Audio’s podcast lineup, which includes “All There Is With Anderson Cooper,” “Downside Up With Chris Cillizza,” “CNN 5 Things,” “CNN One Thing,” “Chasing Life With Dr. Sanjay Gupta,” “The Axe Files With David Axelrod,” “Tug of War,” “Very Scary People” and “Silence Is Not an Option With Don Lemon.”

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Audie cornish’s cnn podcast to premiere next month.

The former NPR host teases that "nothing is off-limits" in her first podcast, 'The Assignment,' for the cable giant's audio division.

By J. Clara Chan

J. Clara Chan

Digital Media Writer

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Audie Cornish, the venerated NPR host who left the public radio giant in January to join CNN and the now-shuttered CNN+ , will premiere her first podcast with CNN Audio, The Assignment With Audie Cornish, on Nov. 17.

Releasing Thursdays on all major podcast platforms, the show will feature interviews with “everyday people” at the center of debates happening in the arts, education, politics, business and sports, according to CNN.

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In moving over to CNN from NPR, Cornish was expected to host both a podcast and a weekly show for CNN+, the streaming service that parent company Warner Bros. Discovery shut down in April less than a month after its launch. CNN has not announced its next steps for Cornish’s streaming show, though the company has begun finding new homes for its original programming that was supposed to live on CNN+.

Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? , the interview show hosted by the former Fox News anchor, was moved to HBO Max beginning last month and has an hour-long version featuring the best moments from past episodes reworked for CNN’s linear channel on Sundays. Cookbook author Alison Roman’s CNN+ series, (More Than) A Cooking Show , has also been moved to CNN’s linear channel for an unspecified fall premiere date.

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Evacuations ordered, homes damaged in Texas as rivers surge to Hurricane Harvey levels

Flooding is intensifying in Texas in the wake of strong storms and heavy rainfall, sweeping away vehicles, damaging homes and triggering evacuations.

This week’s storms were just the latest in a series of brutal weather events that have pounded the state since early April. Dozens of tornadoes have hit from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast, some areas of the state have been pounded with softball-sized hail and months of rain has fallen in East Texas in intense spurts, causing rivers to rise to levels not seen since the devastating floods of Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

Some communities north of Houston picked up nearly two months’ worth of rain Thursday. This rainfall plunged roadways underwater and forced rivers to overflow, leading to evacuations and water rescues.

In Walker County, about 70 miles northwest of Houston, authorities are calling the floods historic.

“This has been a historic flood for Walker County. We have flooded more from this event than we did during Hurricane Harvey,” Sherri Pegoda, Walker County’s deputy emergency management coordinator, told CNN.

According to Pegoda, two communities are underwater along the Trinity River and are only accessible via high-water vehicles.

“Almost all roads in Walker County were completely submerged Monday night and into Tuesday,” Pegoda said. “We still have approximately 43 roads that are flooded with several major washouts and a couple of bridges that have been compromised.”

At least 42 high water rescues have been performed in the county since April 28, she added.

Meanwhile, in Polk County, about 80 miles northeast of Houston, roughly 700 homes have been flooded, according to emergency management officials, who warned additional rainfall could keep flood levels on the rise in the coming days.

A total of 1,000 homes are in a mandatory evacuation zone in the county, Polk County Judge Sydney Murphy told CNN. Flood warning remains in the effect Friday for the County.

The judge said they were concerned and keeping an eye on what was happening north of the county with the flooding because it would impact the County.

“Due to continuous rainfall across East Texas and rising levels in creeks and rivers, flood levels may increase. Please remain aware of changing flood levels along the Trinity River and ALL low-lying levels. If you wish to evacuate, please do so now!,” the emergency management office recently said in a Facebook post.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered Thursday in parts of Harris County, north of Houston, for residents on the east side of the East Fork of the San Jacinto River. The river hit major flood stage on Thursday and is forecast to crest Saturday morning just a few feet shy of the record level during Harvey.

“We want you out of this area… this is a life-threatening situation,” Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said at a news conference.

The level of water rise anticipated will impact elevated structures and may rise to reach rooftops or power lines, according to Hidalgo.

Mandatory evacuations due to flooding were also ordered for parts of San Jacinto County and Polk County, with voluntary evacuations for Montgomery County.

Disaster declarations are active for over a third of Texas counties after Gov. Greg Abbott expanded the storm-related declarations in response to the flooding, according to a news release. Additional counties could be added in the coming days, particularly with more storms in the forecast.

Parts of eastern Texas have received anywhere from three to seven times their typical rainfall over the last three to four weeks. The repeated bouts of heavy rainfall soaked soils, making many areas extremely prone to both flash and river flooding. Nearly a foot of rain fell in some spots from Thursday to Friday morning, delivering the final blow. Periods of rain will continue through Friday evening, and an additional 1 to 2 inches of rain are possible.

The worst flooding is confined to southeastern Texas where at least a dozen river gauges – including parts of the San Jacinto and Trinity rivers – are in major flood stage, the highest level, as of Friday morning. Several more sites are forecast to experience major flooding by the weekend and could meet or exceed record levels set during Harvey.

Hurricane Harvey created a widespread flooding disaster in Houston after dropping 30 to 40 inches of rain across the entire metro in just 48 hours. While this week’s ongoing flooding is notable, it’s much less widespread and occurring north of where Harvey’s worst rain fell.

Powerful storms rolled across the state

As torrential rain flooded eastern Texas, severe thunderstorms spun up tornadoes both north and south of the Abilene area in west Texas. There were eight reports of tornadoes Thursday, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

A “large and extremely dangerous” tornado impacted the towns of Hodges and Hawley – about 10 miles north of Abilene – Thursday evening.

Around 30 homes in Hawley were shredded by the tornado’s winds, with entire sections of some homes left completely exposed. Cars in the area also sustained damage from flying debris. There were “numerous” injuries, but no deaths as of Friday morning, Hawley Police Chief Brad Wilson told CNN.

At least one area school district is allowing students to study from home or take time to recover Friday, following Thursday evening’s damaging tornado.

“The Hawley community has been hit pretty hard and we have several families that have lost homes,” the Hawley Independent School District said in a Facebook post.

Additional severe thunderstorms are possible in parts of Texas Friday afternoon and evening. A Level 3 of 5 risk for severe thunderstorms is in place for parts of west-central Texas, including areas hit hard on Thursday.

CNN’s Andy Rose, Joe Sutton and Paradise Afshar contributed to this report.