This week on WURD: The fight over Warner Bros., equitable access to AI tools, the toll of mass incarceration

Film critic Tim Gordon joined Wake Up With WURD with Solomon Jones to talk about the shift occurring in the media landscape due to the bidding war between Paramount and Netflix over Warner Bros. Discovery. Gordon highlighted the tension between market consolidation and political influence, and the negative consequences for consumers and media integrity.

Joy D. Calloway is the president and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative, which focuses on destigmatizing menopause. Calloway joined The Midday Break Room with Tiffany Bacon to address the lack of menopause information for Black women, outline practical steps for managing the transition, and discuss the importance of understanding your body in order to recognize perimenopausal symptoms.

Leigh Owens, education and advocacy director of the Pennsylvania Prison Society, joined Evening WURDs with Dr. James Peterson to talk about the humanitarian issues surrounding mass incarceration. Owens weighed in on the elderly in prison and cited the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, along with the separation of families, and the vital importance of maintaining family connections during the holiday season via the Society’s low-cost transportation program.

Christopher “Flood the Drummer” Norris is the chief strategy and program officer at StoryCorps and joined ecoWURD Magazine with P.O.C. to talk about the growing digital divide, especially for older Philadelphians. Norris explored the rapidly advancing AI industrial revolution, the risk of displacement for the Black working class, and the debate over equitable access to premium AI tools.

Kevin Walsh is the acting comptroller of New Jersey and leads the state’s independent oversight committee. Walsh joined Solutions with Amadee Braxton to discuss a recent bill in the New Jersey Senate that undermines his office’s powers, which include investigations into police accountability, reporting healthcare fraud, and outlining systemic issues within nursing homes. He asserts that effective oversight is a sign of a “strong and healthy democracy.”

https://soundcloud.com/onwurd/sets/this-week-on-wurd-12-12-25