This is Democracy

Jeremi sits down with Stephen Ciullo to discuss how citizens with disabilities interact with our democracy and educational system. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “Work to Be Done.” Stephen Ciullo (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Texas State University. Before joining the faculty at Texas State, Stephen taught special education in Binghamton, NY. He then went on to earn his doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. Stephen teaches classes that focus on providing educators with effective strategies for teaching students with learning disabilities. He is serving as Principal Investigator on a federally-funded project that focuses on investigating the writing instruction and support being provided to students with disabilities in fourth grade. The long-term goals of his research and teaching activities are to improve professional development for teachers, provide teachers with effective practices to support their students and to improve the long-term outcomes of students with learning disabilities.

Jeremi sits down with Renee Gadsden on diversity and other ethical issues surrounding college admission in the US. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “Knowledge.” Renee Gadsden has been a leader in higher education for nearly a decade. She has worked in admissions for three different private liberal arts colleges, directing and implementing recruitment initiatives and college access programming for students of color, first-generation students, and students from low-income families. Renee recently completed a Masters in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs, where she served as an executive board member of the Public Affairs Alliance for Communities of Color and as an elected Student Representative of the Faculty Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Jeremi sits down with Robert Campbell to discuss the role of free enterprise in shaping our democracy. As always, Zachary kicks things off with his scene-setting poem, “Ambitions and Reality.” Bob Campbell is a friend and business leader who has effectively straddled the public and private sectors in the US for over 45 years.  Close to home for me, Bob was a very early graduate of the LBJ School of Public Affairs where I teach, a Distinguished Alumnus Award winner, and a Chairman of the Board. Bob spent 39 years with the global firm Deloitte where he was a partner; led the public sector practice advising leaders at the Federal, state, and local levels; and served as a Vice-Chairman of the firm. Since retiring from Deloitte, Bob serves on corporate and non-profit Boards, runs his own consultancy, advises private equity groups, and is an active angel investor. He also is on the global Board Executive Committee of the East-West Institute focused on international conflict avoidance and resolution. He is a speaker and writer on public management issues and has served on Federal and state commissions and task forces.

In this episode, Jeremi speaks with Patrick Iber about democracy in Latin America. Zachary presents his poem, ” Who Are You.” Patrick Iber is an assistant professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the author of Neither Peace nor Freedom: The Cultural Cold War in Latin America, which was published by Harvard University Press in October 2015 and won the 2017 Luciano Tomassini book prize from the Latin American Studies Association. He is a member of the editorial board of Dissent magazine and writes regularly there, as well as in The Nation, The New Republic, and other publications.

What does it mean to have a democracy that is friendly and open to a true diversity of religious beliefs/experiences? Today, Jeremi speaks with Ashlyn Hand, a Ph.D. candidate in the LBJ School, to discuss religion in foreign and domestic politics. This week Zachary recites a poem titled “Life and Death.” Ashlyn is an expert on religion and politics in the United States. She is currently researching and writing a dissertation on religion and American foreign policy since the end of the Cold War.

Today, Jeremi speaks with Professor Peniel Joseph and Celso Baez, III to talk about contemporary segregation in American society, voting and the school system. As always, Zachary recites an original poem, this week is “Overdue.” Celso Baez, III is the Assistant Director of Community Engagement and External Communications for the Austin Independent School District. Professor Peniel Joseph is the Founding Director for the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at UT. Peniel Joseph holds a joint professorship appointment at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the History Department in the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. He is also the founding director of the LBJ School’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy. His career focus has been on “Black Power Studies,” which encompasses interdisciplinary fields such as Africana studies, law and society, women’s and ethnic studies, and political science. Prior to joining the UT faculty, Joseph was a professor at Tufts University, where he founded the school’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy to promote engaged research and scholarship focused on the ways issues of race and democracy affect people’s lives. In addition to being a frequent commentator on issues of race, democracy, and civil rights, Joseph wrote the award-winning books Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama. His most recent book, Stokely: A Life, has been called the definitive biography of Stokely Carmichael, the man who popularized the phrase “black power.” Included among Joseph’s other book credits is the editing of The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era and Neighborhood Rebels: Black Power at the Local Level.

What are the Lessons for Democracy Today? Jeremi sits down with Professors Tatjana Lichtenstein and Michael Stoff to talk about World War II and its lasting implications on our democracy. As always, Zachary kicks things off with his poem, “Jerusalem.” Tatjana Lichtenstein holds degrees from the University of Toronto (Ph.D.), Brandeis University (MA), and the University of Copenhagen (BA/MA).  Before coming to UT in 2009, she was a Schusterman Postdoctoral Fellow in Jewish studies at American University in Washington, D.C.  Since September 2017, she is director of the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies here at UT. Dr. Lichtenstein’s research focuses on minorities, nationalism, state-building, war, and genocide in Eastern Europe in the twentieth century.  Her monograph, Zionists in Interwar Czechoslovakia: Minority Nationalism and the Politics of Belonging, was published by Indiana University Press in 2016.  It explores how Zionist activists attempted to transform Jewish culture and society in ways that would allow Jews to claim to belong in the new multinational state. Michael B. Stoff received his B.A. from Rutgers College and Ph.D. from Yale University. He is currently an Associate Professor of History, University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor, and an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer.  For over a decade, he has been the director of the nationally acclaimed Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Oil, War and American Security, co-editor of The Manhattan Project: A Documentary Introduction to the Atomic Age, series co-editor of The Oxford New Narratives in American History, and co-author of five American history textbooks. He has been honored many times for his teaching, most recently with the UT system-wide Regents Outstanding Teaching Award. In 2015, he was recognized for his contributions to induction into the Philosophical Society of Texas. He is at work on a book about Nagasaki and the meaning of the atomic bomb.

How will this new generation improve American democracy? Zachary presents his poem, “Waiting Room.” Today’s guest is Steven Olikara, Founder and President of the Millennial Action Project. Internationally, Steven has advised two multi-platinum recording artists on youth issues and sustainable energy efforts, including the Akon Lighting Africa initiative that has electrified over 1 million homes in Africa with solar power. Previously, he worked at the World Bank and served as Harry Ott Fellow on Coca-Cola’s Environment Team, developing public-private water projects with USAID in Africa. Steven is a frequent speaker on next generation leadership at venues such as the Aspen Ideas Festival, the White House, Harvard Institute of Politics, Yale College, SXSW, and the United Nations.

Anti-Semitism: Where does it come from? What can we do about it? Zachary's poem today is, "Can't feel the raindrops, a song for Pittsburgh 10/27/18." Today's guest on the podcast is Renee Lafair, Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League in Austin, Texas. As Director of the Austin regional office of the ADL, Renee Lafair consistently reaches out to diverse populations within Austin to build a community that values diversity, equity and dignity for all. She directs local strategy to accomplish ADL’s mission in Austin, leads an active board of directors consisting of business and community leaders, and convenes the Austin/Travis County Hate Crimes Task Force along with City Council and the DA’s Office.

Jeremi sits down with Professor Sumit Guha of University of Texas at Austin to discuss the upcoming democratic elections in India, and the culture of the world's largest democracy. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Indian Soul." From 1996 to 1999 Sumit Guha was Professor in the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and moved to the USA in 2000 as S.P. Das Distinguished Professor at Brown University. In 2004 he joined the Department of History in Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and came thence to the University of Texas at Austin in 2013. He began his research as an economic historian with interests in demography and agriculture. These widened into the study of environmental and ethnic histories. My first book was The Agrarian Economy of the Bombay Deccan 1818-1941(1985) followed by Environment and Ethnicity in India, c. 1200-1991 (1999) and Health and Population in South Asia from earliest times to the present(2001). His most recent book is Beyond Caste: Identity and Power in South Asia, Past and Present.  His next book The Social Frame of Historical Memory: South Asian Practices in Global Context, c.1200-2000 will be published by the University of Washington Press this year.