This is Democracy

Jeremi and Zachary, with Dr. Brent Iverson, discuss the role of science in government and society, as well as how education and scientific literacy will help in the development and protection of democracy. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "What No One Ever Told Me." Dr. Brent Iverson is a distinguished professor of chemistry and dean of the School of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is an award-winning chemistry teacher and he maintains a distinguished research laboratory. Iverson is an inventor on 24 issued U.S. patents. Working with George Georgiou and Jennifer Maynard of the UT Department of Biomedical Engineering, Iverson helped develop an FDA-approved late-stage cure for exposure to anthrax.

Jeremi and Zachary discuss the ongoing political protests in Russia, and Biden's response to Putin, with Dr. Michael Kimmage. 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). His published a recent article on Russia and US policy in the New Republic, “How Biden Can Achieve a Russian Restoration:” https://newrepublic.com/article/161044/biden-putin-navalny-russia-protests.

Today Jeremi and Zachary discuss President-Elect Joe Biden's inauguration and the effects his speech may have on the current divisions in the United States with special guest Dr. David Greenberg. Zachary sets the scene with his poem "For President Biden Upon His Inauguration." David Greenberg is a professor of History and of Journalism & Media Studies at Rutgers University. He is a leading expert on presidential history and rhetoric. Prof. Greenberg is the author of: Nixon’s Shadow: The History of an Image (W.W. Norton, 2003), Calvin Coolidge (Henry Holt, 2006), and Republic of Spin: An Inside History of the American Presidency (W.W. Norton, 2016). He writes frequently for the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Daedalus, Dissent, Raritan, and many other scholarly and popular publications.

Today Jeremi and Zachary reflect on the recent events leading up to the U.S. Capitol riots and discuss its impact amidst a democracy in crisis with special guest, Dr. Nicole Hemmer. Nicole Hemmer is an associate research scholar with the Obama Presidency Oral History project. A political historian specializing in media, conservatism, and the far-right, Hemmer is author of Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics. She is co-founder and co-editor of Made by History, the historical analysis section of the Washington Post. She is also a columnist for Vox and The Age in Melbourne. She co-hosts Past Present, a weekly podcast where three historians discuss the latest news in American politics and culture, and is the producer and host of A12: The Story of Charlottesville, a six-part podcast series on the white-power terrorism in Charlottesville in 2017. Hemmer’s historical analysis has appeared in a number of national and international news outlets, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Atlantic, Politico, U.S. News & World Report, New Republic, PBS NewsHour, CNN, NPR, and NBC News.

Today Jeremi and Zachary reflect on what they have learned this year from the many discussions with the guests they've had on the podcast, what 2020 has taught us, and why they have hope for 2021. Zachary sets the scene with his poem titled "The Year of Elisions".

Today, Jeremi and Zachary, with guest Professor David M. Oshinsky discuss the history of vaccinations in American society and how it applies to the current pandemic and the arrivals of the newest COVID-19 vaccines. Zachary sets the scene with his poem titled "In My Defense". David M. Oshinsky directs the division of medical humanities in the department of medicine at New York University, where he is also a professor of history. His books include A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy (1983) and Worse Than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice (1996), which garnered the Robert F. Kennedy Prize for distinguished contribution to human rights. His Polio: An American Story (2006) won both the Pulitzer Prize in history and the Hoover Presidential Book Award, and his articles and reviews appear regularly in the New York Times and other national publications. He is most recently the author of Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem at America's Most Storied Hospital (2016).

Today, Jeremi and Zachary, with guest Dr. Geoffrey Kabaservice discuss the mid-twentieth century history of the Republican party and what that can inform us about where the party might be going from where it is today. Zachary sets the scene with his poem titled, "For Joseph McCarthy and his Brethren in Moral Promiscuity". Dr. Geoffrey Kabaservice is Director of Political Studies at the Niskanen Center in Washington D.C. He is the author of several books including: The Guardians: Kingman Brewster, His Circle, and the Rise of the Liberal Establishment (Henry Holt, 2004) and Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party, from Eisenhower to the Tea Party (Oxford 2012). Kabaservice has written for numerous national publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Politico, and the Guardian. His most recent article appeared in the Washington Post on December 4: "The Forever Grievance.”

Today, Jeremi and Zachary, with guest Dr. Shirley Thompson talk about the historical evolution of Atlanta, Georgia. Zachary sets the scene with his song titled, "Don Quixote of Oakland and Sancho of the South Side". Dr. Shirley Thompson is an Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and Associate Director of the John L. Warfield Center for African and African American Studies. She is the author of Exiles at Home: The Struggle to Become American in Creole New Orleans. Her new book project has the working title: "No More Auction Block for Me: African Americans and the Problem of Property.” She is the author of an influential recent article about social and political changes in Atlanta, "Georgia On My Mind,” New York Review of Books (19 November 2020.)

Jeremi and Zachary, with guest Dr. Vaneesa Cook, discuss the Port Huron Statement, and the shifting ideals of democracy in America. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Port Huron Revisited." Vaneesa Cook received her PhD in US history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015. She is the author of Spiritual Socialists: Religion and the American Left. Her articles on the history of social movements and religious thought have appeared in The Washington Post, Dissent magazine, and Religion & Politics, among others. She is currently the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency historian in residence for the UW-Madison Missing in Action Project.

Jeremi and Zachary speak with Augusta Dell’Omo about right wing extremism and right wing militias in American society. Zachary sets the scene with his poem titled, "Aron Gridinger and I survived." Augusta Dell'Omo is a Ph.D. candidate in history at the University of Texas at Austin. She specializes in U.S. foreign policy and race in international relations from the late Cold War to the present. Focusing on political extremism, religion, African politics, and public history, Augusta is a graduate fellow at the Clements Center for National Security and the Centre for the Analysis of the Radical Right (CARR). She is an Ernest May Predoctoral Fellow in History and Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for 2020–2021. She has published columns for The Washington Post, appeared on news programs like CNN International, and produced two podcasts – 15 Minute History and Right Rising.