Recently at Netroots Nation, Laura sat down with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who's been a leader in the fight against the use of private contractors like Blackwater in war zones (and at home). Our friends at the UpTake captured this video for us, as she spoke with Laura about jobs, the economy, military contractors, and the war in Afghanistan--especially the role of women in the conflict there.

"We can't spray dispersant on poor people and expect they go away," Tracie Washington says, calling attention at once to the plight of the people of New Orleans, still struggling to rebuild, and the ongoing issues with the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. Like the oil that BP claims to have cleaned up, the problems left behind by Hurricane Katrina are still there, just a little bit harder to see.

Actress Melissa Leo didn't know much about New Orleans before moving there to shoot a season of HBO's Tremé, but she quickly fell in love with the city, its music, and its resilient people. The show's focus on the music and culture of the city has brought national attention once again to the unique jazz scene, and filming in New Orleans has brought money and jobs to a city badly in need of both.

"We can't spray dispersant on poor people and expect they go away," Tracie Washington says, calling attention at once to the plight of the people of New Orleans, still struggling to rebuild, and the ongoing issues with the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico. Like the oil that BP claims to have cleaned up, the problems left behind by Hurricane Katrina are still there, just a little bit harder to see.

Five years ago this weekend, New Orleans nearly drowned. It didn't look that way at first -- the eye of Hurricane Katrina hit to the east, but the levee breaks that followed took out entire neighborhoods. The water didn't kill New Orleans. But the private solution approach to public problems almost did. People for whom no rising economic tides had ever lifted their boat, were left to fend for themselves. We saw them on roofs and streets, for days.

Sean Bell was shot by New York City police officers four years ago on the night before his wedding day. This summer, the city settled the case against it, agreeing to pay $7 million to Bell's family and friends, including his two children. But settlement dollars aren't enough to fundamentally change police departments around the country, from Oakland to New Orleans to right here in New York.

Trinidad, Colorado saw one of the country's bloodiest labor battles in 1913-1914, during the legendary coal miner's strike there. Now a new documentary, Way Down In The Hole, looks at the conflicts that led to the violence, between laborers and bosses, organizers, immigrants, agents for hire, and more. Filmmaker Alex Johnston is a graduate of theSocial Documentation (Soc Doc) program at UC Santa Cruz.

Sean Bell was shot by New York City police officers four years ago on the night before his wedding day. This summer, the city settled the case against it, agreeing to pay $7 million to Bell's family and friends, including his two children. But settlement dollars aren't enough to fundamentally change police departments around the country, from Oakland to New Orleans to right here in New York.

The destruction of perfectly solid public housing in New Orleans has been a hotly contested issue since Hurricane Katrina destroyed so many homes five years ago. Sharon Jasper, who spent 57 of her 58 years in public housing in New Orleans, has been fighting for the rights of returnees to affordable housing, organizing protests and bringing pressure on authorities, and she joins us via Skype from New Orleans to give us her thoughts on the situation, five years after the storm.

"The fastest way to stop a bullet is to give someone a job, and what better job to give them than the one that transforms where they live?" That's the question for Buffalo, New York, as People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH) leads the community's struggle for better, greener jobs for everyone--and to improve the food supply and surroundings for the community as well.