Richard Chew is joined by Melanie Nathan, South African-born human rights lawyer who directs the African Human Rights Coalition. The Coalition supports LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers displaced by criminalization and violence. 

"The work we do is on the humanitarian level," Nathan explained, "providing safe shelter, food, emergency medical, and also advocacy. So we work directly with LGBT asylum seekers and refugees. And these are two different systems. And what is happening right now in the United States of America is impacting both systems. The refugee system is when you cross a border on the continent. Over 30 countries criminalize LGBT people out of the 54 on the African continent. So, for example, somebody in Uganda who is fleeing the so called 'kill the gays' bill, they might land up in Kenya, then they seek protection with UNHCR [the U.N. Refugee Agency], and then UNHCR, with extreme vetting, will hand their case -- perhaps, not always guaranteed -- to a foreign embassy, such as the USA, and then that person may get resettled to the United States of America. Right in the beginning of his presidency, Donald Trump put an end to that. He stopped people who had spent four or five years in the most horrendous conditions, having some suffered extreme trauma; he put them on hold, and he said, no, you're not coming. And what did he do? 'Let's make America white,' is what he did."

Nathan also described the asylum system in detail.

"What we're seeing with those kind of cases now is a myriad of things, including not giving people due process, picking people up off the streets and in buildings and in their homes, who already have been given court orders allowing them to stay in the United States of America, and suddenly, without being able to reach their lawyers, being shipped off to foreign countries and then sent back to the country where their lives are in absolute danger."

Nathan criticized American evangelicals for funding the criminalization of LGBT people in African countries and called out New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for going to Uganda in July and standing next to Rebecca Kadaga, the former speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, who, Nathan said, "presided over 98 percent of that parliament, passing the 'kill the gays' bill. And he stood next to her, he had a photograph taken with her, and on your show right now, I am challenging Zohran Mamdani to come out and condemn the 'kill the gays' bill in Uganda." 

She also addressed the role of corporations in addressing human rights issues in the United States.

"When I see some of those CEOs normalizing what this regime is doing, standing next to them and patting each other on the back and carrying on, all I see is power and greed and they are all fattening each other up and the people are cast away. And this is what capitalism without guard rails has led to."

Catch "Chew's Views with Richard Chew” weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/chews-views).

Richard Chew is joined by Melanie Nathan, South African-born human rights lawyer who directs the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.africanhrc.org/">African Human Rights Coalition</a>.&nbsp;The Coalition supports LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum seekers displaced by criminalization and violence.&nbsp;
"The work we do is on the humanitarian level," Nathan explained, "providing safe shelter, food, emergency medical, and also advocacy. So we work directly with LGBT asylum seekers and refugees. And these are two different systems. And what is happening right now in the United States of America is impacting both systems. The refugee system is when you cross a border on the continent. Over 30 countries criminalize LGBT people out of the 54 on the African continent. So, for example, somebody in Uganda who is fleeing the so called 'kill the gays' bill, they might land up in Kenya, then they seek protection with UNHCR [the U.N. Refugee Agency], and then UNHCR, with extreme vetting, will hand their case -- perhaps, not always guaranteed -- to a foreign embassy, such as the USA, and then that person may get resettled to the United States of America. Right in the beginning of his presidency, Donald Trump put an end to that. He stopped people who had spent four or five years in the most horrendous conditions, having some suffered extreme trauma; he put them on hold, and he said, no, you're not coming. And what did he do? 'Let's make America white,' is what he did."
Nathan also described the asylum system in detail.
"What we're seeing with those kind of cases now is a myriad of things, including not giving people due process, picking people up off the streets and in buildings and in their homes, who already have been given court orders allowing them to stay in the United States of America, and suddenly, without being able to reach their lawyers, being shipped off to foreign countries and then sent back to the country where their lives are in absolute danger."
Nathan criticized American evangelicals for funding the criminalization of LGBT people in African countries and called out New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani for going to Uganda in July and standing next to Rebecca Kadaga, the former speaker of the Parliament of Uganda, who, Nathan said, "presided over 98 percent of that parliament, passing the 'kill the gays' bill. And he stood next to her, he had a photograph taken with her, and on your show right now, I am challenging Zohran Mamdani to come out and condemn the 'kill the gays' bill in Uganda."&nbsp;
She also addressed the role of corporations in addressing human rights issues in the United States.
"When I see some of those CEOs normalizing what this regime is doing, standing next to them and patting each other on the back and carrying on, all I see is power and greed and they are all fattening each other up and the people are cast away. And this is what capitalism without guard rails has led to."
Catch "Chew's Views with Richard Chew&rdquo; weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central on WCPT (<a href="http://heartlandsignal.com/programs/chews-views">heartlandsignal.com/programs/chews-views</a>).

From Heartland Signal and WCPT AM 820 in Chicago, here are full episodes of “Chew's Views” (weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central), a pragmatic radio show that focuses on moving our political, social, economic, gender and cultural conversation forward and creating a roadmap for progressives to be more involved in their political and social destinies. With "Chew's Views" the emphasis is on positive talk and solutions – but don’t get it twisted; we may bring some smashmouth dialogue to the program just to make sure you’re awake, not just “woke.”  


Richard Chew has been a part of the WCPT family since 2017, initially as part of "The Family Meeting" and as a regular contributor to "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive."  He became WCPT's morning host in early 2024. 

A 25-plus-year wealth management and insurance veteran, Richard is well-versed in all areas of financial planning, wealth management and insurance plans designed to help clients with their financial future. Richard’s primary goal is to help consumers assess what their needs are and find the right plans and programs to protect their wealth.

Richard was born and raised in Chicago and Southwestern Michigan and is a graduate of Pepperdine University; he later pursued a master’s degree from Keller Graduate School. He is proud of the fact that he has visited all 50 of the great states of the United States of America and keeps his passport current to make sure traveling the world is always a “ready to go” item. He and his wife, Anne, love the city and suburbs of Chicago and all their greatness.  

From Heartland Signal and <a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/">WCPT AM 820</a> in Chicago, here are full episodes of &ldquo;<a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/programs/chewviews-with-richard-chew/">Chew's Views</a>&rdquo; (weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central), a pragmatic radio show that focuses on moving our political, social, economic, gender and cultural conversation forward and creating a roadmap for progressives to be more involved in their political and social destinies. With "Chew's Views" the emphasis is on positive talk and solutions &ndash; but don&rsquo;t get it twisted; we may bring some smashmouth dialogue to the program just to make sure you&rsquo;re awake, not just &ldquo;woke.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 Richard Chew has been a part of the WCPT family since 2017, initially as part of "<a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-family-meeting/">The Family Meeting</a>" and as a regular contributor to "<a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive/">Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive</a>." &nbsp;He became WCPT's morning host in early 2024.&nbsp;
A 25-plus-year wealth management and insurance veteran, Richard is well-versed in all areas of financial planning, wealth management and insurance plans designed to help clients with their financial future. Richard&rsquo;s primary goal is to help consumers assess what their needs are and find the right plans and programs to protect their wealth.
Richard was born and raised in Chicago and Southwestern Michigan and is a graduate of Pepperdine University; he later pursued a master&rsquo;s degree from Keller Graduate School. He is proud of the fact that he has visited all 50 of the great states of the United States of America and keeps his passport current to make sure traveling the world is always a &ldquo;ready to go&rdquo; item. He and his wife, Anne, love the city and suburbs of Chicago and all their greatness. &nbsp;

Chew's Views with Richard Chew (Full Episodes)

From Heartland Signal and WCPT AM 820 in Chicago, “Chew's Views” (weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central) is a pragmatic radio show that focuses on moving our political, social, economic, gender and cultural conversation forward and creating a roadmap for progressives to be more involved in their political and social destinies. With "Chew's Views" the emphasis is on positive talk and solutions – but don’t get it twisted; we may bring some smashmouth dialogue to the program just to make sure you’re awake, not just “woke.”  

Richard Chew has been a part of the WCPT family since 2017, initially as part of "The Family Meeting" and as a regular contributor to "Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive." He became WCPT's morning host in early 2024.

Richard also regularly shares his views on other podcasts and radio shows, including recent appearances on Amy McGrath's "Truth in a Barrel," "The John Fugelsang Podcast," "Endless Urgency" with Mike Nellis, and "The Politics Bar."

A 25-plus-year wealth management and insurance veteran, Richard is well-versed in all areas of financial planning, wealth management and insurance plans designed to help clients with their financial future.

Richard was born and raised in Chicago and Southwestern Michigan and is a graduate of Pepperdine University; he later pursued a master’s degree from Keller Graduate School. He is proud of the fact that he has visited all 50 of the great states of the United States of America and keeps his passport current to make sure traveling the world is always a “ready to go” item. He and his wife, Anne, love the city and suburbs of Chicago and all their greatness.  

From Heartland Signal and <a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/wcpt820/">WCPT AM 820</a> in Chicago, &ldquo;<a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/programs/chewviews-with-richard-chew/">Chew's Views</a>&rdquo; (weekdays from 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. Central) is a pragmatic radio show that focuses on moving our political, social, economic, gender and cultural conversation forward and creating a roadmap for progressives to be more involved in their political and social destinies. With "Chew's Views" the emphasis is on positive talk and solutions &ndash; but don&rsquo;t get it twisted; we may bring some smashmouth dialogue to the program just to make sure you&rsquo;re awake, not just &ldquo;woke.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;
Richard Chew has been a part of the WCPT family since 2017, initially as part of "<a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/programs/the-family-meeting/">The Family Meeting</a>" and as a regular contributor to "<a href="https://heartlandsignal.com/programs/live-local-progressive/">Joan Esposito: Live, Local and Progressive</a>." He became WCPT's morning host in early 2024.
Richard also regularly shares his views on other podcasts and radio shows, including recent appearances on Amy McGrath's "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWK_o2PSptQ">Truth in a Barrel</a>," "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/weekend-interviews-simon-and-julie-richard-chew/id1464094232?i=1000685443232">The John Fugelsang Podcast</a>," "<a href="https://endlessurgency.com/p/pardoning-ghislaine-maxwell-trump">Endless Urgency</a>" with Mike Nellis, and "<a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/is/podcast/community-vs-cankles-july-22-2025/id886656768?i=1000718522141">The Politics Bar</a>."
A 25-plus-year wealth management and insurance veteran, Richard is well-versed in all areas of financial planning, wealth management and insurance plans designed to help clients with their financial future.
Richard was born and raised in Chicago and Southwestern Michigan and is a graduate of Pepperdine University; he later pursued a master&rsquo;s degree from Keller Graduate School. He is proud of the fact that he has visited all 50 of the great states of the United States of America and keeps his passport current to make sure traveling the world is always a &ldquo;ready to go&rdquo; item. He and his wife, Anne, love the city and suburbs of Chicago and all their greatness. &nbsp;