This is Democracy

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Author and Activist Jo Ivester to discuss transgender rights, the transgender community in the United States, and the importance of transgender representation/inclusion for a thriving democracy. Zachary sets the scene with his poem "Because Someday Maybe" Jo Ivester is an LGBTQ and civil rights advocate, sharing her family's story as a way of helping others to step beyond their comfort zones when it comes to relating to those who are different from themselves. Raised in a politically active family, Jo spent two years of her childhood living in an all- Black town in the Mississippi Delta, where her father managed a medical clinic, her mother taught in the local high school, and she was the only white student at her junior high. This experience, captured in Jo's first book -- The Outskirts of Hope — led to Jo's lifelong commitment to advocating for equal rights for all.Prompted by the realization that her son is trans, Jo has recently broadened her focus to raise awareness about what it means to be transgender. Her second book — Once a Girl, Always a Boy — presents her son's journey, told from multiple perspectives, beginning when he was a small child, viewed as a tomboy. When not writing, Jo devotes time to her community, serving on the boards of Equality Texas, the Anti-Defamation League of Central Texas, and the Ground Floor Theater. 

Today, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Emily Whalen and discuss the history and current situation of the civil war in Syria, Russia's involvement in that civil war, and how that conflict parallels the ongoing war in Ukraine. Zachary sets the scene with his poem "Shadows at the Door." This episode of This is Democracy was mixed and mastered by Karoline Pfeil and Morgan Honaker.

This week, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Historian Dr. Elizabeth Borgwardt to discuss the recent Russian war crimes in Ukraine, what war crimes are, and what we can do about it. Zachary sets the scene with his poem "Fortunately" Elizabeth Borgwardt specializes in the history of international law and the history of human rights ideas and institutions, with a focus on war crimes trials such as the Nuremberg tribunals at the end of World War II. Most recently, she is the co-editor of Rethinking Grand Strategy (Oxford University Press), where she analyzes FDR's New Deal as Grand Strategy. Her publications on the human rights politics of the 1940s -- especially her book, A New Deal for the World: America’s Vision for Human Rights (Harvard University Press) -- have been recognized with several book and article awards for Diplomatic History and the History of Ideas. She teaches at Washington University in St Louis, and has served as the Richard and Anne Pozen Visiting Professor of Human Rights at the University of Chicago as well as a Fulbright Professor at the Heidelberg Center for American Studies. In addition to her Stanford doctorate in U.S. History, she has earned a JD from Harvard Law School and a Masters in International Relations from Cambridge University (UK). This episode was mixed and mastered by Evan Sherer, Alejandra Arrazola, and Will Shute.

This week, Jeremi and Zachary meet with Dr. Kenneth Osgood to discuss the issues related to deception, secrecy, and the doctoring of evidence by presidents and other figures in the executive branch. Jeremi and Dr. Osgood have published an article on this topic in THE HILL. Problems with presidential records are not just about Trump Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Forwards". Dr. Kenneth Osgood is professor of history at Colorado School of Mines. He is author or editor of five books on US political and diplomatic history, exploring how presidents “sell” war, civil rights and the conservative movement, international public diplomacy, and the propaganda and politics of the Cold War. This episode was mixed and mastered by Will Kurzner & Oscar Kitmanyen.

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.