DSR's Words Matter

Today, on what would have been his 70th birthday, we pay tribute to the late, great Tim Russert - Moderator of Meet the Press and NBC News Washington Bureau Chief.Unlike many in the public eye - Tim was the same guy off camera as he was on. He was tough, but fair, - always quick with a joke and above all he was forever humbled by his success and the opportunities afforded the son of a sanitation worker from South Buffalo.“What a country?” Tim would often marvel - he lived by the words of the pious Saint Luke - “To whom much has been given, much will be required.”Tim believed it was his responsibility as a journalist to hold our leaders accountable - regardless of party. To ask tough, but fair questions in pursuit of the truth.A lawyer by training, a Meet the Press interview was like a public deposition. He didn’t suffer fools and he wrote his questions so that anything short of a complete and honest answer would be met with a series of increasingly pointed follow ups. When he believed a public official was shading the truth – or worse – Tim would lean across the table and remind them, with purpose: "Senator, Madame Secretary, Mr. President – Words Matter."That is his legacy - and for those of us who want to honor him, we must try our best to continue that mission.So today - on what would have been his 70th birthday - we honor Tim Russert by playing his 2002 Commencement Address at the University of Massachusetts Boston.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we begin a new series, Presidential Words Matter. Since we currently have a president who doesn't seem to know or even understand the importance of words, especially when they are spoken by the president of the United States, we thought it might be helpful in a time of national crisis to remember that we have had presidents of both parties who did understand this.These presidents have led our country through difficult times with the power and eloquence of their words.So this week, we wanted to highlight President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who in 1936 during the Great Depression and as the clouds of war gathered over Europe, delivered one of the most important political speeches ever given by a sitting president.The occasion was the Democratic National Convention held that year in Philadelphia four years earlier in 1932. FDR had made history by flying to Chicago and becoming the first presidential candidate to accept his party's nomination in person.In an earlier episode of Words Matter, we discussed this important speech with Professor Harvey Kaye, who has just published a new book entitled: FDR on Democracy.In his 1936 acceptance speech, Roosevelt used the language of the founders and decried the economic royalists who were trying to fight back against the progress of the New Deal because it threatened their power.As you listen to his words, pay particular attention to the part where Roosevelt tells his audience they have a rendezvous with destiny.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cindi Leive is the former editor-in-chief of both Glamour and Self magazines. She was the driving force behind barrier- breaking initiatives like “Glamour Women of the Year” and “The Girl Project” which supports girls’ education.Cindi is the author and editor of numerous books including the 2018 New York Times bestseller Together We Rise, about the organizing of the Women's March.She has interviewed heads of state, Hollywood and fashion’s biggest personalities, and iconic leaders from all walks of life. Her many awards and honors include recognition from the White House, the United Nations, and dozens of media organizations. She is currently a senior fellow at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we want you to join one of our favorite hosts, Lindsey Graham of -- American Scandal and American History Tellers -- as he previews his new six-part series, "The Harry Krishna Murders," as he explores an eastern religion with pure intentions that in the hands of its Western followers became a criminal enterprise of drug running abuse and murder. wondery.fm/wordsmatterASSubscribe to American Scandal wondery.fm/wordsmatterAS and other great podcasts from Wondery on Apple podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcastswondery.fm/wordsmatterASSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in December Katie and Joe sit down with the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. Congressman Adam Schiff is in his 10 term representing California’s 28th Congressional District.Before that he was a Member of the California State Senate where he served as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Congressman Schiff began his career as an Assistant US Attorney in the Central District of California.Katie and Joe talk to him about the Impeachment of President Trump, what a Senate trial would look like and more.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Contenders is a special podcast series by Joe Lockhart. Given the importance of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, we thought it important and informative to hear from those people who've actually run for president. What goes into the decision? How do you possibly get to the place of thinking you can take on the toughest job in the world? What were your biggest mistakes as a candidate? What lessons did you learn and what advice do you have for those running against Donald Trump?Joe recently traveled to Minnesota to interview his former boss, Vice Presidential Walter Mondale. Nearly a quarter century before Sarah Palin was picked by John McCain, it was Walter Mondale who first put a woman on a national ticket when he picked Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro in 1984.The former Vice President reflects on that and much more.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest today is a senior staff writer at ELLE.com where he has written the daily pop culture and politics humor column since 2016.His opinion columns have also been published by The New York Times, among many others.As a playwright, R. Eric Thomas won the Barrymore Award and the Dramatists Guild Lanford Wilson Award and was a finalist for the Steinberg/American Theater Critics Association New Play Award.He is also the long-running host of The Moth Story Slams in Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.R. Eric Thomas' first book -- Here for It: Or How To Save Your Soul In America was published last month and is already a national best seller.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our guest this week is a writer, lawyer, speaker and an advocate. Cassie Chambers grew up in Eastern Kentucky, graduated from Yale College, the Yale School of Public Health, the London School of Economics, and Harvard Law School, where she was president of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, a student-run law firm that represents low-income clients.Cassie received a Skadden Fellowship to return to Kentucky to do legal work with domestic violence survivors in rural communities.In 2018, Cassie helped pass Jeanette’s Law, which eliminated the requirement that domestic violence survivors pay an incarcerated spouse’s legal fees in order to get a divorce.Her new book, Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains, celebrates the amazingly resilient women in her family and the beloved mountain culture that helped shape her.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest of Joe's special series - The Contenders -- the sixty fifth governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979. Four years later, Michael Dukakis became the sixty seventh governor from 1983 to 1991 -- making him the longest serving chief executive in Massachusetts history. Before that, he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1963 to 1971. In 1988, he ran for and won the Democratic nomination for president, facing the vice president, George H.W. Bush in the general election.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest of Joe's special series - The Contenders -- he interviews author, medical doctor, and from 1991 to 2003 the 79th governor of Vermont. In 2004, Howard Dean ran for the Democratic nomination for president. While he didn’t win the nomination, he started a movement and later served as the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 2005 to 2009. His implementation of the fifty-state strategy as head of the DNC is credited with the Democratic victories in the 2006 and 2008 elections -- with Democrats taking control of the House, the Senate and the White House.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices