Work in Progress with Sophia Bush
Episode: Congressman Ro Khanna
Date: April 1, 2026
Episode Overview
Sophia Bush hosts Congressman Ro Khanna for a candid, urgent conversation about America’s political crossroads: threats to democracy, the battle over the Epstein files, abuse within ICE, the unchecked influence of corporate money, and the escalating war with Iran. The discussion pivots from Khanna’s personal, immigrant-rooted childhood and family legacy, through his core values as an elected official, to granular explanations of political corruption, hope, activism, and the ongoing fight for progress in the face of daunting challenges.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Congressman Khanna’s Upbringing and Influences
[03:37–09:55]
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Immigrant Family and Childhood: Khanna describes growing up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with Indian immigrant parents who emphasized education and persistence. His father’s expectation—“where’s the other 10%?”—instilled drive.
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Baseball, Flea Markets & Visits to India: He shares memories of playing Little League, refereeing games, and spending summers in India with his grandfather, a freedom fighter jailed for 15 years during Gandhi’s movement.
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Grandfather’s Legacy: That courage and sacrifice are Khanna’s “source of boldness.”
- Quote: “Anytime I’ve had sort of a down in my life or any time I take any kind of risk, I always think of my grandfather and think about the sacrifices he made, the courage he showed, and feel like my life is, you know, so easy comparatively. And it gives me an inspiration to show more boldness and courage.” (Ro Khanna, 07:13)
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Intergenerational Immigrant Drive: Sophia relates with her own immigrant roots, adding humor to the “straight A’s or nothing” standard.
2. Defining the “Through Line” of Khanna’s Work
[09:55–13:56]
- Cohesive Multiracial Democracy: Khanna’s North Star is “America becoming a cohesive multiracial democracy,” drawing on Frederick Douglass’ vision of a “composite nation.”
- Personalization of Issues: Advocacy is often organic, rooted in connecting with real people—especially survivors—rather than abstract, pre-chosen policy fights.
- Quote: “Politics is also somewhat organic. If I came in and just said, okay, here are the issues I want to work for...that may not be what the moment requires. I have my values, but then I look for what people are feeling and where we can push the boulder in the right direction.” (Ro Khanna, 11:40)
3. The Epstein Files & Holding Power Accountable
[13:56–21:32]
- Bipartisan Action & Survivor Impact: Survivors’ bravery in sharing their stories moved even usually MAGA-aligned Republicans, fracturing the usual partisan shields around Trump.
- Quote: “They really are going to be remembered in history because it’s the first time that MAGA has turned on Trump on anything since he came down the escalator.” (Ro Khanna, 17:53)
- Details of the Coverup: The DOJ and FBI have redacted and scrubbed the files, protecting Trump and high-profile figures, leaving millions of documents unreleased and context obscured.
- Trump’s ‘Teflon’ Nature: Khanna notes Trump’s emotional resonance with voters, his betrayal of his stated populist mission, and the climate of profound trust deficit now left in his wake.
- Quote: “He so broke the trust even of his own voters that I fear whoever our leaders coming next are operating in such a trust deficit...One of the biggest legacies of Trump...is just the utter breaking of trust. How he sold a lie to so many Americans.” (Ro Khanna, 21:07)
4. ICE Abuse, Power, and Social Movements
[27:17–35:33]
- Parallels Across Abuses: Sophia draws striking connections between coverups (Epstein, Trump) and ongoing ICE abuses (including sexual violence and child pregnancy in detention), painting a harrowing picture of unchecked power and impunity.
- ICE’s Culture of Dominion: Khanna calls out how a “strand” of America, “founded on dominion and subjugation,” is once again centered in power—with evidence from foreign policy to domestic law enforcement.
- Quote: “You have the Epstein class...sense of dominion over another human being. You have in ICE the sense of a lot of these people untrained with an ugly power dynamic...” (Ro Khanna, 32:09)
- Hope in Organizing: Despite the horror, Khanna’s faith is in the emerging wave of multi-generational, cross-heritage activism—organizing, social movements, and historical swings toward progress after destruction.
5. Political Cycle of Progress & Amnesia
[35:33–37:50]
- Pattern of Destruction/Progress: Sophia laments America’s short political memory and the cycle of regress/progress, wishing for continuous improvement. Khanna suggests that sometimes destruction precedes the biggest leaps forward, citing Reconstruction and the New Deal.
- Call for Bold Transformation: When Democrats next control government, Khanna argues, “it’s not going to be incremental fixing...[but] a transformational moment where we tackle wealth inequality, health care, childcare, geographical inequality, tearing down ICE, and starting fresh.”
6. The SAVE Act and Voter Suppression Threats
[37:50–44:26]
- Sophia’s Alarm: She calls out the SAVE Act as “a poll tax, which is illegal” and potentially disenfranchising up to 140 million Americans, especially married women and those without passports or expensive documents.
- Quote: “All these are poll taxes on your time and your expenses. They are illegal. And…the GOP...is claiming that this is a voter ID law, but this is truly a voter suppression law because your ID is not good enough to vote with.” (Sophia Bush, 39:49)
- Khanna’s Counterpoints: He stresses that “undocumented folks are not voting”—pointing out only 24 cases of noncitizen voting in three decades, versus the millions disenfranchised by restrictive laws. He urges public engagement and spreading factual awareness.
- Quote: “It’s a solution in search of a problem. Because it’s just not true that undocumented folks are voting...They just want to live their life...They’re not dying to vote for Ro Khanna in some election and risk going to jail.” (Ro Khanna, 40:39)
- Power of Social Movements: Only broad-based citizen action can push back—the facts and organized voices must reach the public and policymakers.
7. Message of Hope and Future Paths
[49:29–54:11]
- Sophia’s Question: She asks what message Khanna most wants Americans to carry forward, especially in challenging times.
- Khanna’s Response: America is still “an incredible country” with an open political process, immense kindness, and authentic, if unfinished, progress. He warns of economic divides and the dangers of rising oligarchy, but holds that building a “multiracial democracy, a model to the world,” is within reach if economic democratization is prioritized for all communities.
- Quote: “We have been given such a rich inheritance and we are...going to let Donald Trump destroy it? Come on, have more guts, have more confidence in the American project. It’s for us to seize the moment and build the nation we want.” (Ro Khanna, 52:42)
- American Inheritance & Our Responsibility: Invokes the legacy of leaders and changemakers—from John Lewis and Mandela to Rosie the Riveter—to stress collective duty.
8. On Being a Work in Progress
[54:11–56:08]
- Personal & Political Aspiration: Khanna expresses his desire to leave the world a bit more just and kind, acknowledging that political life is “pushing a rock uphill,” and that even great leaders never fully realized their visions.
- Quote: “All any of us can do is just do our part to push it a little bit, to leave it the world and the nation a little bit better. ... I just hope at the end of the day, at the end of my service...on balance, he did enough to move the world in a little better place.” (Ro Khanna, 54:54)
- Sophia on Resilience: Invokes W. Kamau Bell’s joke about Harriet Tubman’s ghost, echoing the challenge not to surrender in difficult times.
Memorable Quotes
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“I didn’t come to Congress saying I was going to be a champion for survivors of sexual assault or Epstein. ... But what happened is that I met with survivors and their stories. They were so powerful.”
— Ro Khanna (11:40) -
“He [Trump] so broke the trust even of his own voters that I fear whoever our leaders coming next are operating in such a trust deficit...”
— Ro Khanna (21:07) -
“You have the Epstein class, these rich and powerful men who basically treated young girls for their sexual pleasures as totally dispensable and had no shame...You have in ICE the sense of...an ugly power dynamic...”
— Ro Khanna (32:09) -
“There’s far more of us than there are of them, but my God, do they have a big war chest.”
— Sophia Bush (44:26) -
“We have been given such a rich inheritance and we are...going to let Donald Trump destroy it? Come on, have more guts, have more confidence in the American project.”
— Ro Khanna (52:42) -
“Are we going to let our terrible animal brain win or are we going to let the part of us that has all of this incredible research and human history under our belts and say, oh, we can pick our better angels?”
— Sophia Bush (56:08)
Timestamps for Notable Sections
- 03:37 – Sophia’s intro and question about Khanna’s childhood
- 06:47 – Khanna illustrates his upbringing and grandfather’s legacy
- 11:40 – On fighting for what’s right and his approach in Congress
- 15:56 – Detailed discussion of the Epstein files and political coverup
- 17:53 – Survivor bravery breaks through partisan barriers
- 27:17 – Coverups, ICE abuses, and the emotional toll
- 32:09 – Analysis of America’s historical “ugly strand” and the hope for activism
- 35:33 – Reflection on cycles of political destruction/progress
- 39:27 – The SAVE Act, poll taxes, and modern voter suppression
- 43:11 – How listeners and citizens can fight back
- 49:29 – Key message of hope and America’s potential
- 54:11 – Khanna on being a work in progress
Final Thoughts
This urgent, rich episode offers a window into the personal and political mind of Ro Khanna, revealing how conviction, heritage, and lived experience shape his vision for America. As Sophia and Ro move from stories of family and resilience to the fiercest current fights—abuse of power, broken systems, and the shadow war on democracy—they return, again and again, to hope, history, and the responsibility of every citizen to fight for something better.