This is Democracy

Jeremi and Zachary along with their guest, Aaron O'Connell discuss America's longest war, the Afghanistan War, and the implications within our proposed withdrawal on the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Zachary sets the scene with his poem titled "When a War Lasts 20 Years". Dr. Aaron O’Connell is an Associate Professor of History at UT Austin and Director of Research at the Clements Center for National Security. He is a military historian who focuses on military strategy and culture. His first book was entitled, Underdogs: The Making of the Modern Marine Corps. His second book was a collection of essays entitled Our Latest Longest War: Losing Hearts & Minds in Afghanistan. Dr. O’Connell served for 26 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, with the current rank of colonel. He served as a Special Advisor to General David Petraeus in Afghanistan. Later, he served as a Special Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, where he wrote on issues of terrorism and strategy. Dr. O’Connell also served in the Obama Administration as Director of Defense Policy & Strategy on the National Security Council Staff.

Jeremi and Zachary turn to expert Dr. Daina Ramey Berry to discuss the history and legacy of slave revolts and maroon societies in the United States, and lack of education on these subjects today. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "One You Have Not Heard". Daina Ramey Berry is the Oliver H. Radkey Regents Professor of History and Chairperson of the History Department at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a Fellow of the Walter Prescott Webb Chair in History and the George W. Littlefield Professorship in American History, and the former Associate Dean of The Graduate School. Professor Berry is a scholar of the enslaved and a specialist on gender and slavery as well as Black women’s history in the United States. Professor Berry's books include: Swing the Sickle for the Harvest is Ripe: Gender and Slavery in Antebellum Georgia; The Price for Their Pound of Flesh: The Value of the Enslaved from Womb to Grave in the Building of a Nation; and A Black Women’s History of the United States, with co-author Kali Nicole Gross.

Jeremi and Zachary turn to expert Dr. Jason Scott Smith to discuss the history of America's investment in public works, the Biden administration's proposed 2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill, and where the people of America think their taxes should go. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "What Else?" Jason Scott Smith is a professor of history at the University of New Mexico. He is a specialist in the history of capitalism and political economy. Professor Smith’s research and teaching range from the nineteenth century through the global financial crisis of 2008. He is the author of:  Building New Deal Liberalism: The Political Economy of Public Works, 1933-1956  and  A Concise History of the New Deal.  

Jeremi, Zachary, and Dr. Richard Reddick discuss the racist past, and current controversy, of UT's most popular song, "The Eyes of Texas". The lyrics to "The Eyes of Texas" are as follows: The Eyes of Texas are upon you, All the livelong day. The Eyes of Texas are upon you, You cannot get away. Do not think you can escape them At night or early in the morn -- The Eyes of Texas are upon you Til Gabriel blows his horn. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "The Spirit Lives" Richard J. Reddick is the inaugural associate dean for equity, community engagement, and outreach for the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a professor in the Program in Higher Education Leadership in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy (ELP) at The University of Texas at Austin, where he has served as a faculty member since 2007. Additionally, Dr. Reddick serves as the Assistant Director of the Plan II Honors Program in the College of Liberal Arts. Dr. Reddick is a faculty member by courtesy in the Department for African and African Diaspora Studies, the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies, and a fellow at the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis. Dr. Reddick co-chairs the Council for Racial and Ethnic Equity and Diversity (CREED), serves on the Signature Course Advisory Committee (SCAC), and was named to the inaugural cohort of the Provost’s Distinguished Service Academy.  Most recently, he served as Chair of the Eyes of Texas History Committee. The committee's report is available at: https://utexas.app.box.com/s/5o2a1klri1htyhq3mziyxdjgxvegprjj. 

This week, after the racially-motivated attacks in Atlanta, Georgia, Jeremi and Zachary talk with Professor Madeline Hsu about Asian American History and exclusion in the United States. Zachary reads his poem, "Like a Bullet." Yesterday, UT's Department of History issued a statement in support of UT's Asian & Asian American community. Read the full statement at http://bit.ly/3tGGQBA. Colleagues at the department website, NOT EVEN PAST, have compiled and are still currently collecting resources & information on the mass shootings in Atlanta: http://bit.ly/3f8yJK7.

Jeremi and Zachary, with guest Julian Zelizer discuss what is at the forefront of our news and draw on the history of economic stimulus packages and how that history will help inform our collective experience with the most recent economic stimulus package. Julian E. Zelizer is one of the leading experts on modern American political history. He is the Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs at Princeton University. Professor Zelizer is the author and editor of 19 books on American political history, including: Taxing America: Wilbur D. Mills, Congress, and the State, 1945-1975; The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society; and Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974, co-authored with Kevin Kruse. Most recently, Zelizer published Burning Down the House: Newt Gingrich, The Fall of a Speaker, and the Rise of the New Republican Party.

Jeremi and Zachary, with Dr. Sean Theriault discuss congressional politics and question whether the U.S. Senate should continue to have a rule for a Filibuster. Dr. Sean Theriault is a professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a leading scholar of American political institutions, and the U.S. Congress in particular. Sean has published five books: Congress: The First Branch (with Mickey Edwards; Oxford University Press, 2020), The Great Broadening (with Bryan Jones and Michelle Whyman; University of Chicago Press, 2019), The Gingrich Senators (Oxford University Press, 2013), Party Polarization in Congress (Cambridge University Press, 2008), and The Power of the People (Ohio State University Press, 2005). He has also published numerous articles in a variety of journals on subjects ranging from presidential rhetoric to congressional careers and the Louisiana Purchase to the Pendleton Act of 1883.

Jeremi and Zachary, with Dr. Varun Rai, discuss the role of state and national government in energy management, as well as what improvements could be made to Texas's approach to climate crises, and its unregulated, disconnected electrical power grid. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Do Not Be Alone When The Lights Come Back On." Dr. Varun Rai is the Walt and Elspeth Rostow Professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the director of the UT Energy Institute and the Associate Dean for Research in the LBJ School. Through his interdisciplinary research, delving with issues at the interface of energy systems, complex systems, decision science, and public policy, he is developing effective policy approaches to help accelerate the deployment of sustainable energy technologies globally. He has presented at several important forums, including the United States Senate Briefings, Global Intelligent Utility Network Coalition, Climate One at Commonwealth Club, and Global Economic Symposium, and his research group’s work has been discussed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Bloomberg News, among other venues. He was a Global Economic Fellow in 2009. During 2013-2015 he was a Commissioner for the vertically-integrated electric utility Austin Energy. In 2016 the Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management (APPAM) awarded him the David N. Kershaw Award and Prize, which “was established to honor persons who, at under the age of 40, have made a distinguished contribution to the field of public policy analysis and management.” He received his Ph.D. and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur.

Jeremi and Zachary, with Prof. Jonathan Marks, discuss the approach of liberal education through a conservative lens, and how the status quo can hinder thoughtful discussions instead of promoting critical thought. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "That Man Believes Astrology". Jonathan Marks is a professor of politics at Ursinus College and a blogger for Commentary magazine. He is the author of Perfection and Disharmony in the Thought of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and, most recently, Let’s Be Reasonable: A Conservative Case for Liberal Education. Marks writes frequently on higher education for the Chronicle of Higher Education and the Wall Street Journal.

In this Episode Jeremi and Zachary along with - discuss how large quantities of data are used in surveillance and how they may be used to heighten inequalities for certain communities. Sarah Brayne is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at The University of Texas at Austin. In her research, Brayne uses qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the social consequences of data-intensive surveillance practices. Her book, Predict and Surveil: Data, Discretion, and the Future of Policing (Oxford University Press), draws on ethnographic research with the Los Angeles Police Department to understand how law enforcement uses predictive analytics and new surveillance technologies. In previous research, she analyzed the relationship between criminal justice contact and involvement in medical, financial, labor market, and educational institutions. Brayne's research has appeared in the American Sociological Review, Social Problems, Law and Social Inquiry, and the Annual Review of Law and Social Science and has received awards from the American Sociological Association, the Law and Society Association, and the American Society of Criminology. Brayne has volunteer-taught college-credit sociology classes in prisons since 2012. In 2017, she founded the Texas Prison Education Initiative.