Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and a prominent 2020 presidential candidate, shares his compelling vision for political change. He discusses the pivotal role of collective action in addressing big societal issues like carbon emissions and wealth disparity. Buttigieg delves into how local governance aligns with broader philosophical themes, navigating the complexities of American political ideology and polarization. He emphasizes the importance of identity in voter decisions and the influence of literature on his political thought.
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insights INSIGHT
Connecting Local Governance to Freedom
Pete Buttigieg connects seemingly mundane mayoral duties, like pothole repair, to deeper questions of freedom and meaning.
Efficient governance sometimes requires prioritizing systematic approaches over immediately responding to individual requests.
question_answer ANECDOTE
24-Hour Pothole Promise
Buttigieg abandoned the 24-hour pothole promise to improve efficiency.
Filling potholes systematically, rather than by request order, allows for fixing more potholes overall.
insights INSIGHT
Tectonic Shift in American Politics
American politics is in a tectonic shift as the Reagan consensus has ended.
The next 30-40 years will be shaped by decisions made now, so big ideas are crucial.
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In 'Armageddon Averted', Stephen Kotkin provides a detailed analysis of the Soviet Union's collapse, attributing it to internal reforms initiated by leaders like Gorbachev rather than external pressures. The book explores how these reforms led to the system's demise and why the collapse occurred with minimal violence. It also examines the post-Soviet landscape and its implications.
Ulysses
James Joyce
Ulysses is a groundbreaking and complex modernist novel that chronicles the experiences of three Dubliners over a single day. The novel is loosely based on Homer's epic poem 'The Odyssey', with Leopold Bloom paralleling Odysseus, Stephen Dedalus paralleling Telemachus, and Molly Bloom paralleling Penelope. It explores themes such as antisemitism, human sexuality, British rule in Ireland, Catholicism, and Irish nationalism. The novel is known for its innovative use of language and narrative techniques, including stream-of-consciousness and multiple literary styles. It captures the essence of early 20th-century Dublin, providing a detailed snapshot of the city's social, political, and cultural landscape[2][3][5].
First off. Hello! I’m back from paternity leave. And this is a helluva podcast to restart with.
Pete Buttigieg is a Rhodes scholar, a Navy veteran, and the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. He’s a married gay man, a churchgoing Episcopalian, and a proud millennial. He’s also, according to CNN, “the hottest candidate in the 2020 race right now.”
There’s been plenty of discussion of Buttigieg’s biography, and of whether a midsize-city mayorship is appropriate experience for the presidency. But I wanted to talk to him about something else: his theory of political change. How, in a broken system, would he get done even a fraction of what he’s promising? To my surprise, he actually had an answer.
Before I did this podcast, I was surprised to see Buttigieg catching fire. Now that I’ve had this conversation, I’m not.
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The Gray Area with Sean Illing 
