This is Democracy

Jeremi sits down with Matthew Kim and Councilwoman Alison Alter to discuss climate change activism among America’s youth. This week, Zachary kicks off the episode with his poem, “The Only Ones.” Matthew Kim is a junior in high school and the president of the Austin chapter of Students for Climate Action and a member of the Austin Youth Council. Alison Alter was elected in 2016 as the City Council representative for District 10 in Austin, Texas.

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Natalie Suri. The trio talks about what it means to be a student today, and how school is changing. Zachary reads his poem, “Ode to My School.”

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Shery Chanis. The trio talk about the protests and current happenings in Hong Kong. Zachary presents his poem, “Hanging Between.” Shery Chanis is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin. She is completing her dissertation on the identity formation of the southern maritime province of Guangdong in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Hong Kong is her hometown.

This week Jeremi and Zachary sit down for an extended discussion on gun violence in America with two guests, Hilary Rand Whitfield and Ed Scruggs. Zachary’s poem for the week is simply titled, “So Many.” Hilary Rand Whitfield is a volunteer state leader for the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Stay-at-home mother of 2 (16yo boy and 13yo girl), and Austin resident for the last 12 years. Ed Scruggs is a Realtor, Community Organizer, former journalist and 27 year Austin resident who ran for Austin City Council in 2014. He is currently an appointed member of the City of Austin’s Public Safety Commission. Ed joined the board of Texas Gun Sense in 2015 and currently serves as Vice Chair and Media Representative.

Jeremi sits down in an English pub with Professor Charlie Laderman to discuss British-American relations and their effects on the two democracies. Dr. Charlie Laderman is a lecturer in international history at King’s College, London. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, and his new book is: Sharing the Burden: Armenia, Humanitarian Intervention and the Search for an Anglo-American Alliance, 1895-1923 (Oxford University Press.)

Zachary sits down with Jeremi and Natalie to discuss the Bombing of Guernica. The trio touch on Picasso’s Guernica and other related pieces of history.

Zachary sits down with Jeremi to discuss George Orwell’s 1938 memoir, Homage to Catalonia, and its accounts of the Spanish Civil War, particularly those in Barcelona.

Jeremi sits down with Zachary and Natalie Suri first in Siena and then Florence, Italy to discuss the Renaissance and republicanism in these historic former city-states.

Jeremi sits down with Alessia Morigi in Rome, Italy, to discuss the origins of democracy and its influences into democracy today. Professor Alessia Morigi is an Associate Professor in Greek and Roman Archeology at the University of Parma, Italy.

Jeremi speaks with Carl Forsberg on how the evolution of foreign policy in Iran affects its relationship with the United States. As always, Zachari sets the scene with his poem, “So Wrong.” Carl Forsberg is an expert on the Middle East and U.S. Foreign Policy. He is completing a Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Texas at Austin on the evolution of foreign policy in the region since the 1960s, drawing on original research in multiple Middle Eastern societies.