The City Club of Cleveland Podcast

As Russia's war with Ukraine entered a fourth year on February 24, 2025, several things happened. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House to be told by President Trump that he "did not have the cards;" the US began to pull back aid for Ukrainian forces; and shortly after that Ukraine secured the support of European Union allies and launched a drone attack directly on Moscow. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin put his own conditions on any potential ceasefire deal.\r\n\r\nIn the pages of The Atlantic, Johns Hopkins professor Eliot Cohen weighed in, arguing that Russia is actually losing the war. \"Ukraine has plenty of cards,\" Cohen wrote, \"even if Trump and Vance can\'t see them.\"\r\n\r\nHowever and whenever it ends, the resolution of this conflict could have a tectonic impact on geopolitics and power dynamics in Europe and throughout the world. Ambassador Paula Dobriansky joins Professor Cohen in a conversation about the prospects for an enduring peace and the greater impact of the conflict on the region and the global order.

In a July 2024 CNBC report, Ohio ranked 7th in business opportunities but received an "F" grade when it comes to workforce. Employers are looking for workers to advance their businesses and constantly talk about the need for workforce development. Meanwhile, there are thousands of justice-impacted individuals who would welcome the opportunity to work in these jobs. Connecting these two groups would help create a massive increase in the workforce pool and lift the entire economy.\r\n\r\nResearch suggests that Ohio's expansive collateral sanctions limit access to more than one in four jobs statewide, costing individuals an estimated $3.4 billion in foregone wages and artificially constraining access to talent for businesses.\r\n\r\nHow can public policy play a role in helping bridge the gap between these two groups, reduce employment barriers, and assist in providing more individuals with second chances in employment...and in life?\r\n\r\nIn partnership with Lutheran Metropolitan Ministry (LMM), join the City Club as we present the 2025 Charles R. See Forum on Reentry. We will welcome a panel of experts who can share their perspectives on what community leaders can do to answer this question, and what we as a community can do to help.

Join us for Cleveland Mayor Justin M. Bibb\'s 4th Annual State of the City, marking the final address of the Mayor\'s first term. This year\'s event will feature Mayor Bibb in a live conversation with WKYC\'s Russ Mitchell, discussing the initiatives driving Cleveland\'s growth and transformation.\r\n\r\nCleveland\'s historic Public Auditorium - now home to the Cleveland Charge - will serve as the backdrop for this celebration of the city\'s progress and a look at the year ahead.

State Senator Jerry Cirino has emerged as one of the most powerful members of the Ohio legislature. The finance committee chair and Kirtland area Republican is serving his second term. Senator Cirino also serves as vice chair of Higher Education committee. Indeed, higher ed is perhaps where the Senator is most well known. His proposal to reform higher education has reemerged as Senate Bill 1, a wide-ranging initiative to roll back campus diversity efforts and place some limits on the classroom discussion of so-called \"controversial topics.\"\r\n\r\nAs chair of the Finance Committee, Sen. Cirino is responsible for leading the drafting the senate\'s version of the state\'s capital and operating budgets, as well as any other additional expenditures. Cirino also serves on the Energy, Housing, and Rules Committees. He represents Lake County and communities in the east and southeast sides of Cuyahoga County.

This student-led forum, the last in the 2024-2025 school year, offers an opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue about social media and political content.\r\n\r\nSocial media has accelerated to become the most preferred news source for teenagers and young adults. Across the board, research concludes that platforms including Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube drive youth consumption, often on the most contentious political issues. The resulting content has inspired many sides of debate, including proponents and opponents of moderation, free speech, and fact-checking.\r\n\r\nThis student-led forum offers a rare opportunity to understand how new generations receive their news content. How does, and should, Gen Z critically analyze their political news feed? Is fact-checking a moderate approach to tackle misinformation or does it stifle free expression? Compared to legacy media outlets, in what ways are modern news and content sources better equipped to address the youth?

In February, Congressman Ro Khanna penned a New York Times op-ed noting that to persuade Americans that transformative government is capable of improving their lives, we must reverse what many have experienced as decades of stagnation and decline. \"With the establishment of both parties defeated, we are, as you may have heard, at a fork in the road.\" Khanna wrote, \"Either the country will continue to succumb to a burn-it-all-down political nihilism and disillusionment, or Democrats can use this moment of crisis to reframe the terms of the debate.\"\r\n\r\nBut what are the terms of that debate? And what are the initiatives and solutions that will heal our divides during uncertain times?\r\n\r\nRo Khanna is a United States Congressman from California's 17th District in the heart of Silicon Valley. He has a vision to transform America into a modern manufacturing and technology superpower, and he partners it with a commitment to passing Medicare for All, a $17-dollar minimum wage, and free public college and vocational school. Congressman Khanna is Deputy Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and served as co-chair of Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign.

Cleveland and Cuyahoga County have struggled for decades with myriad challenges that have impeded economic empowerment and growth. Although Cleveland's leading business, philanthropic, governmental, and civic leaders and organizations have each invested mightily in various initiatives to address these challenges, improved quality of life outcomes have not been realized for too many local citizens. The Urban Agenda is an unprecedented collective of many leading organizations committing to work together to define, enhance and track economic opportunities, with a keen focus on poverty reduction, increasing average household incomes, and closing wealth gaps.

Ten years ago, leaders at the Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC) began to recognize the emergence of a new mainstream economy-powered by U.S. Latino consumers, entrepreneurs, and workers-which was making an outsized contribution to the nation's economic growth. Yet, this positive growth they were seeing in the data was not reflected in a larger, inaccurate narrative about Latino contributions. Instead, the perpetuation of harmful stereotypes often manifested into harmful laws and policies, negatively impacting Latino businesses and communities. Together with the Latino Data Collaborative Think Tank, LDC began to ask, \"What if American Latinos were all recognized as valued, patriotic Americans in all facets of American life?\"\r\n\r\nAna Valdez is the President and CEO of The Latino Donor Collaborative. She is an American marketing, media, research, and political expert and thought leader with 30 years of experience in business, media, and the corporate world. Valdez recognizes the urgency of producing reputable data and statistics that showcase the invaluable contributions of American Latinos to the U.S. economy, business, entertainment, development, and the overall U.S. GDP. In 2023, LDC's outreach has touched over 250,000 C-level executives and sparked discussions with more than 2 million individuals.\r\n\r\nIn a moment when fearful rhetoric and a barrage of deficit narratives attempt to drive the conversation on Latino excellence, join the City Club as Ana Valdez outlines what we can learn from the data and research, and how we can accurately reflect the identity of Latinos in America and their contributions to the nation that benefit all of us.

There are few others with as much experience covering the Supreme Court, Department of Justice, and Homeland Security than Pete Williams. He served as an NBC News Correspondent in Washington, DC for 29 years, and last year was named the inaugural Journalist in Residence at John Carroll University. The late Tim Russert, longtime host of NBC's Meet the Press and namesake of John Carroll University\'s Russert Department of Communication, inspired Williams to engage with John Carroll.\r\n\r\nBefore joining NBC News, Williams was an aide in the US Senate and House of Representatives. In 1986 he joined the staff of then-Congressman Dick Cheney as press secretary and legislative assistant. In 1989, when Cheney became Secretary of Defense, Williams was confirmed by the Senate as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.

Sally Ride became a household name after she became the first American woman to blast off into space. But as Sally journeyed among the stars, she kept a nearly three-decade relationship with author and tennis player Tam O'Shaughnessy a secret.\r\n\r\nOn Saturday, April 5th, the Cleveland International Film Festival (CIFF) will screen SALLY, a chronicle of Sally Ride\'s challenges as a pioneering woman in STEM, and the sacrifices made during her years together with her life partner. For the first time, SALLY tells the whole story of this complicated and iconic astronaut. From National Geographic Documentary Films, SALLY is directed by Emmy(R) Award-winning filmmaker Cristina Costantini.\r\n\r\nYet, this film also comes at a fragile time in America\'s political climate, where once again the LGBTQ+ community is caught in the crosshairs. Add to this, an anti-DEI movement that many believe will threaten to set back decades of progress for women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Are we destined to confront the same challenges as Sally did in the 1980s?