This is Democracy

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.

Jeremi, Zachary, and guest Nataliya Gumenyuk discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the current position of Ukraine in the global political landscape. Zachary sets the scene with his poem "When the War Starts" Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian author, documentary filmmaker, and journalist. She specializes in conflict reporting, human rights, and foreign affairs. Gumenyuk is a founder of the Public Interest Journalism Lab, aimed at popularizing public spirit journalism and overcoming polarization. Since the 2014 revolution in Ukraine, she has reported on events in Eastern Ukraine. Gremenyuk is one of the few journalists regularly traveling to occupied Crimea. In 2020 Gumenyuk published a book of her reporting, “The Lost Island. Tales from Occupied Crimea" based on 6 years of her reporting.  She is also the author of the book “Maidan Tahrir. In Search of a Lost Revolution” (2015), based on her reporting on the Arab Spring. 

Jeremi, Zachary, and guest Dr. Samuel J. Abrams, argue that the United States should lower the voting age requirement to 16 years old. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "What You Still Have Left To Give." Samuel J. Abrams is a professor of politics at Sarah Lawrence College and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. He is the co-author, with Jeremi and Zachary Suri, of a recent article in The Hill: "Give Young People the Vote," https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/587055-give-young-people-the-vote.

Jeremi and Zachary sit down and reflect what they learned from this year, from the January 6th insurrection to the new Omicron Variant, and how we can move forward as a country. Zachary caps the year off with a new poem, "This year I'd like to love my country"

Jeremi, Zachary, and Dr. Garret J. Martin discuss the recent German election of chancellor Olaf Scholz last November. What could Germany's new, center-left government mean for global democracy? Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Not Just Us". Dr. Garret J. Martin is a Senior Professorial Lecturer and the Co-Director of the Transatlantic Policy Center in the School of International Service at American University. He has written widely on transatlantic relations and Europe. He focuses on security, US foreign policy, NATO, European politics, European foreign policy and defense, and the European Union. He is a frequent media commentator, providing analysis and interviews, among others, to NPR, the BBC, CNN, Voice of America, USA Today, WUSA, ABC News Australia and France 24.

Today on This is Democracy, Jeremi and Zachary talk with Dr. Michael Kimmage about the current crisis between Russia and the Ukraine and how it will influence US politics. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "The Most Careful Stalemate." 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 most recently, The Abandonment of the West: The History of an Idea in American Foreign Policy (2020).  His most recent article (co-authored with Michael Kofman) is "Russia Won't Let Ukraine Go Without a Fight," Foreign Affairs, 22 November 2021: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/ukraine/2021-11-22/russia-wont-let-ukraine-go-without-fight.  This episode of This is Democracy was mixed and mastered by Kate Whitmer and Morgan Honaker.

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary talk with Dr. Sarah Coleman about the history of United States immigration policy in the 20th century and onwards. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "To the Immigrant that Waits at the Border Station." Sarah Coleman is a historian of 20th century America at Texas State University. Her research is focused on immigration, race, and rights in the United States. She is a former advisor to President Biden and the author of The Walls Within: The Politics of Immigration in Modern America. Dr. Coleman received her PhD from Princeton University. This episode of This is Democracy was mixed and mastered by Allie Arrazola.

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Dr. Andrew Waxman to discuss the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26). Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled "As if Looking Backwards Through a Telescope". Andrew Waxman is an Assistant Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. His research examines Environmental and Urban Economics, among other subjects.  This episode of This is Democracy was mixed and mastered by Ean Herrera.

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Renee Lafair and Dr. Alison Alter to discuss Anit-Semitism and other forms of hate in response to the arson attempt that occurred at Congregation Beth Israel Halloween night. Zachary sets the scene with his poem entitled "Our Knots". Renee Lafair is the Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in Austin, Texas.  Dr. Alison Alter represents District 10 on the Austin City Council.  This episode of This is Democracy was mixed and mastered by Alejandra Arrazola and Ean Herrera.