After President Trump ordered US troops removed from northern Syria, tensions in the region remain high, despite a temporary ceasefire agreement by Turkey. Sam and his guests discuss that story and look back at this week's Democratic presidential debate. Meanwhile, Facebook continues to deal with backlash over its handling of political ads and its proposed global currency, Libra. Sam is joined by Matt Pearce, a reporter for the L.A. Times covering the 2020 presidential campaign, and by the host of NPR's 'Embedded' podcast, Kelly McEvers.

You might have seen Cristela Alonzo in her Netflix stand-up special or on her ABC sitcom, 'Cristela.' Now she's out with a book all about music's role in her life called 'Music to My Years: A Mixtape Memoir of Growing Up and Standing Up.' In it she talks about her life as a first generation Mexican-American and how she found her way to stand-up comedy. She sat down with Sam Sanders to talk about her love of music and 'The Golden Girls,' growing up poor and making her sitcom, which was canceled after one season.

New sexual assault allegations came out this week against prominent news, political and entertainment figures. A few years into the #MeToo movement, what are our expectations about whether or how men accused of sexual harassment and assault can return to public life? Also, crackdowns on political corruption in Chicago intensify, and cell phone use by audience members during performances has led to a heated debate in the theater world. Plus, Snoop Dogg's performance at a university this week causes controversy. Sam hosts this weekly wrap episode from member station WBEZ in Chicago. He guests are Greta Johnsen, host of the NERDETTE podcast and WBEZ weekend anchor and Dan Mihalopoulos, investigative reporter on WBEZ's Government and Politics team.

In his memoir, 'How We Fight For Our Lives,' poet and writer Saeed Jones gets vulnerable as he details his coming of age as black and gay in small-town Texas. The former BuzzFeed editor sat down with Sam Sanders to give a glimpse of the stories behind his book, including those of his mother and grandmother, and one where he faced violence during a sexual encounter with another man.

As President Trump faces an impeachment inquiry his rhetoric is becoming more extreme, using words like "coup" and "civil war." At the same time, domestic terror experts are seeing an uptick in violent messaging from white nationalist groups, angry about the challenge to the president. Meanwhile, an upcoming Supreme Court case could decide whether Title VII employment protections apply to gay and transgender individuals. Plus, why funk music is making a resurgence in mainstream pop songs. Sam is joined by NPR national correspondents Leila Fadel and Kirk Siegler.

John Legend seems to be one of the busiest people in the entertainment business. Apart from making music, in the past few years he has been all over TV, starring in NBC's live 'Jesus Christ Superstar' broadcast and producing multiple shows, including a new hip-hop competition show for Netflix. On top of it all, Legend remains engaged in political conversations and philanthropic causes. He sat down with Sam Sanders to talk about balancing it all and where his career has taken him. This episode includes language some listeners may find offensive.