This is Democracy

This week Dr. Suri speaks with Amber Pleasant and Melissa Scheinfeld to discuss educating citizenship. Zachary Suri also reads his original poem, “With Every Breath.” Amber Pleasant is an Austin educator. She spent nine years teaching 3rd-8th grade in local public schools. For the past four years, Amber worked for Austin ISD as a Social and Emotional Learning Specialist. She is the current Program Director for the Amala Foundation. Melissa Scheinfeld has spent the last 14 years working in education with a particular focus on equitable access for all students and teacher sustainability.  After spending eight years as a high school social studies teacher and instructional coach, Melissa transitioned into working at the central office of a network of charter schools to build a Teacher Career Pathway.  While challenging to leave the direct work of teaching in a classroom, this opportunity allowed her to continue working towards the long-term viability of the teaching role.  Melissa is currently with IDEA Public Schools serving as the Vice President of Teacher Advancement, building pathway programs to support teacher retention and teacher development.  These programs include new teacher development programs, teacher residency to bring new teachers into the career with a robust training program, coaching programs for teacher-managers (typically assistant principals), and a teacher evaluation and recognition program.  Melissa lives in Austin, TX with her husband Dave and 2-year-old daughter Antonia.

How should young citizens blend their traditional spiritual values with their strong commitments to progressive change in a time when our polarized politics demand that they choose one or the other? How can young, talented, patriotic citizens make a difference in national policy as they pursue ideas for reform? We will discuss these difficult and important questions with a young woman who is working hard to create new opportunities for spiritual and progressive policy thinkers in the United States today. Kelsey Ritchie comes from a conservative, religious family in Oklahoma, she is studying for a Master’s degree in Global Policy Studies at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, and she has interned at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington D.C. She will join Jeremi Suri in a conservation about her efforts at youthful policy leadership. A link to the Robert F. Kennedy transcript can be found here: https://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Research-Aids/Ready-Reference/RFK-Speeches/Remarks-of-Senator-Robert-F-Kennedy-to-the-Cleveland-City-Club-Cleveland-Ohio-April-5-1968.aspx And to view Robert F. Kennedy delivering portions of the speech, you can follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiNTw1GF65w

In this inaugural episode of This is Democracy, Dr. Jeremi Suri sits down with his son, Zachary Suri, to lay out the groundwork for what this podcast hopes to achieve. They begin by reviewing President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s November 2, 1940 speech in Cleveland, Ohio. Roosevelt declares that, “We Americans of today—all of us—we are characters in this living book of democracy.” Jeremi and Zachary use this speech as a jumping off point to discuss generational gaps in the United States – who has a voice in our democracy? Whose voices are amplified in the United States? And, ultimately, who are the authors in the so-called “living book of democracy?” The FDR speech mentioned above can be found at: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/?pid=15893

The future of democracy is uncertain, but we are committed to its urgent renewal today. This podcast will draw on historical knowledge to inspire a contemporary democratic renaissance. The past offers hope for the present and the future, if only we can escape the negativity of our current moment — and each show will offer a serious way to do that! This podcast will bring together thoughtful voices from different generations to help make sense of current challenges and propose positive steps forward. Our goal is to advance democratic change, one show at a time. Dr. Jeremi Suri, a renowned scholar of democracy, will host the podcast and moderate discussions, bringing in new guests and perspectives each week. In this teaser episode, Dr. Suri hopes to lay the groundwork and expectations for the series to come. Please join us every Thursday for new episodes. Music provided by Harrison Lemke. https://harrisonlemke.com/