This is Democracy

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Will Hurd to discuss his new book and his insights into our democracy today. Zachary sets the scene with his poem: "Aren't We Hollow Enough" Will Hurd is a former CIA officer, cybersecurity executive, and elected member of Congress. From 2015 to 2021 he represented the 23rd Congressional District in Texas, a region stretching from San Antonio to El Paso, along the US-Mexico border. Will Hurd recently published a new book, American Reboot: An Idealist’s Guide to Getting Big Things Done. This Episode was Mixed and Mastered by Amanda Willis

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Michael Kimmage to discuss the Ukraine conflict. Zachary sets the scene with his poem: "For Mariupol" Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History’s Grip: Philip Roth’s Newark Trilogy (2012); and The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020). He writes frequently on Ukraine, Russia, and U.S. foreign policy in Foreign Affairs and other major publications.  This Episode was Mixed and Mastered by Karoline Pfeil, Oscar Kitmanyen, and Will Shute

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Professors Joesph Fishkin and William Forbath, authors of The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution, to discuss the role of equality and the law. Zachary sets the scene with his poem: "Of Oligarchs and Idealists" Joseph Fishkin is a Professor of Law at UCLA, where he teaches and writes about employment discrimination law, election law, constitutional law, education law, fair housing law, poverty and inequality, and distributive justice. Before joining the UCLA faculty he taught for a decade at the University of Texas School of Law. His first book, Bottlenecks: A New Theory of Equal Opportunity, winner of the North American Society for Social Philosophy Book Award, was published by Oxford University Press. He is the coauthor with Willy Forbath of The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution: Reconstructing the Economic Foundations of American Democracy (Harvard University Press 2022). William Forbath holds the Lloyd M. Bentsen Chair and is Associate Dean of Research at UT Austin School of Law. He is the author of Law and the Shaping of the American Labor Movement, The Anti-Oligarchy Constitution: Reconstructing the Economic Foundations of American Democracy (with Joseph Fishkin), and dozens of articles, book chapters, and essays on legal and constitutional history and theory and comparative constitutional law. He is completing a trans-national history of Jewish lawyers and Jewish politics in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In addition to UT, he has taught at UCLA, Sciences Po, Tel Aviv, Columbia, and Harvard.

Jeremi and Zachary discuss the history of the NATO with Bryan Frizzelle, and its importance to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Ode to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization." Bryan Frizzelle is a Colonel in the United States Army with twenty years of active duty service. Bryan has commanded at every level from platoon through battalion, and has served three combat tours in Iraq. From 2014 to 2016, Bryan served as a squadron and regimental operations officer for the 2d Cavalry Regiment in Germany, participating in or planning NATO exercises in twelve Eastern European countries as NATO adapted to Russia's annexation of Crimea and hybrid attacks in the Donbas region. Bryan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in International Strategic History from the United States Military Academy at West Point, a Master of Policy Management degree from Georgetown University and is a PhD candidate at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin. 

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Professor of History and expert on Russian and Ukrainian policy, Dr. Michael Kimmage to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Zachary sets the scene with a section of his poem "Our Ukrainian Love Story" Dr. Michael Kimmage is a professor of history at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. He is also a fellow at the German Marshall Fund, and chair of the Advisory Council for the Kennan Institute at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. From 2014 to 2017, Kimmage served on the Secretary’s Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, where he held the Russia/Ukraine portfolio. He publishes widely on international affairs, U.S.-Russian relations and American diplomatic history. Kimmage is the author of: The Conservative Turn: Lionel Trilling, Whittaker Chambers and the Lessons of Anti-Communism (2009); In History’s Grip: Philip Roth’s Newark Trilogy (2012); The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020).

This week, Jeremi and Zachary discuss the future and potential of Artificial Intelligence and our Democracy with Aurna Mukherjee. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, Wires in Ancient Walls are like Grape Vines in Cell Towers. Aurna Mukherjee is a sophomore at Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) High School, graduating in 2024. She is part of the Women+ in Computer Science club at the school, and is interested in ethics and Artificial Intelligence.

Jeremi and Zachary discuss youth political activism in Latin America with Dr. Andrés González. Dr. Andrés González is a political scientist based in Quito-Ecuador. He obtained his Ph. D. in Political Science and International Relations at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and has taught in several universities and high schools in Germany and Ecuador. He is currently the President and Academic Director of POLITIKUM, an independent education corporation focused on citizenship and political education for students of all levels in three languages. See their website: https://www.politikumecuador.com. Dr. González is also the author of the book, Governance for the 21st Century: The Fight Against Corruption in Latin America (LIT Verlag).

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Jason Flowers, a high school teacher, to discuss how teaching has changed during COVID. Zachary sets the scene with his poem: "Nowadays" Jason Flowers is entering his seventeenth year teaching AP US History at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin.  In addition to APUSH, Mr. Flowers teaches American Film and coaches Quiz Bowl and History Bowl.  He is originally from South Louisiana and has a B.A. in history from LSU along with a master’s degree in social studies education from North Texas.  Mr. Flowers is also the head coach and team leader for Team USA for the International Geography Olympiad and serves on the board of directors of the National Consortium of Specialized STEM Schools. Under normal circumstances, Mr. Flowers spends lots of time traveling, but since March has spent lots of time riding his road bike around Austin.  He lives in Austin with his partner Meagan and his two kittens Moxie and Muffin. 

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Hanna Senko and Major Pro Tem Alison Alter to discuss sexual assault. Zachary sets the scene with his poem: "Around the Corner" Hanna Senko is a sexual assault survivor whose case was closed via exceptional clearance by the Austin Police Department. She now serves as a survivor speaker, writer, and advocate fighting for change in the understanding, reporting, and handling of sex crimes. Alison Alter serves as Mayor Pro Tem of Austin, Texas and represents District 10 on the City Council. Among many other things, she has led efforts to improve the city's sexual assault response system to provide healing and justice to sexual assault survivors. cw: Sexual Assault

This week, Jeremi, Zachary, and Paul Stekler discuss their feelings about Biden's first year, and what the future holds for his office. Zachary sets the scene with his poem "The Meaning in our Malaise" Professor Paul Stekler holds the Wofford Denius Chair in Entertainment Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a nationally recognized documentary filmmaker whose critically praised and award-winning work includes George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire; Last Man Standing: Politics, Texas Style; Vote for Me: Politics in America, a four-hour PBS special about grassroots electoral politics; two segments of the Eyes on the Prize II series on the history of civil rights; Last Stand at Little Big Horn (broadcast as part of PBS’s series The American Experience); Louisiana Boys: Raised on Politics (broadcast on PBS’s P.O.V. series); Getting Back to Abnormal (which aired on P.O.V. in 2014); and 2016’s Postcards from the Great Divide, a web series about politics for The Washington Post and PBS Digital. Overall, his films have won two George Foster Peabody Awards, three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Awards, three national Emmy Awards, and a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.