I met Robert Reich in his overstuffed corner office on U.C. Berkeley’s campus, housed in what looked to me like a midcentury villa that could double as a restaurant that sells speciality bratwurst. I was shown into Reich’s office by Heather Lofthouse, his collaborator and media partner, who pointed out a mahogany armchair by the window, just past some boxes overflowing with books. It was the chair he sat in while serving in Bill Clinton’s cabinet as Secretary of Labor in the 1990s. Naturally, I asked him to sit on it to pose for a photo (see it below!).

As well as being a leading academic and former government official—he also advised President Obama—Reich has published 18 books, produced and fronted a Netflix documentary, mastered Facebook and Twitter, and has a hugely successful Substack. He is, in short, a master communicator. But when I asked Reich, with our mics perched on a long table adjacent to his desk, how he thinks of himself—is he a writer?—he chose “educator.”

He has been teaching at universities (Harvard, Brandeis, Berkeley) for 40 years and today delivers his lectures to a room of 800 people. He sees his prolific media work (oh, by the way, he’s also a talented illustrator) as being in service of his mission to advance a progressive view of economics, to reduce inequality and, in his framing, stand up to bullies. He is, he says, responding in particular to the way power distorts America. “I saw how power was being abused and how people were being bullied in all sorts of ways,” he says. “If I didn’t do what I could to stop the bullying, then I failed.”

Show notes

* Subscribe to Robert Reich on Substack

* Find Robert on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and his personal website

* Inequality Media

* It’s a Wonderful Life

* Robert Reich’s writer advice column on combining illustration and writing, for On Substack

[03:26] teaching at U.C. Berkeley

[05:54] Teaching over 40 years

[07:31 ] Young people today

[10:15] The need for humor in teaching

[15:36] Socialism for the rich

[18:45] The void of a working class party

[27:03] The reset

[31:16] Pressing the reveal code key

[32:32] A childhood protector murdered

[34:43] Democracy against the bullies

[37:26] Taking sustenance from family

[43:43] Talking to people who disagree with you

[46:30] Reaching beyond the bubble

[49:04] Being an “educator” and writing well

[50:12] Using multiple modes of thinking

[50:55] Getting older

[57:16] Worry is a waste of energy

The Active Voice is a podcast hosted by Hamish McKenzie, featuring weekly conversations with writers about how the internet is affecting the way they live and write. It is produced by Hamish McKenzie, with audio engineering by Seven Morris, and content production by Hannah Ray. All artwork is by Joro Chen, and music is by Phelps & Munro.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit post.substack.com

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