This is Democracy

Latest Episodes:

This is Democracy: Episode 240 – Evangelical Religion May 25, 2023

Show notes

This week, Jeremi and Zachary discuss evangelical religion's role and history in U.S politics with Dr. Daniel Hummel.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "A Dispensation For The Dispensationalists".

Dr. Daniel Hummel is the Director for University Engagement at Upper House, a Christian study center serving the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Daniel is the author of The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle Over the End Times Shaped a Nation and Covenant Brothers: Evangelicals, Jews, and U.S.-Israeli Relations. Daniel has written about religion, politics, and foreign policy for the Washington Post, Christianity Today, and Religion News Service. His academic research has been published in Religion & American Culture and Church History.

This is Democracy: Episode 239 – Supreme Court May 18, 2023

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Stephen Vladeck holds the Charles Alan Wright Chair in Federal Courts at the University of Texas School of Law. He recently published The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic. His work has been published in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Slate, among other publications. He has argued before the Supreme Court and has been CNN's Supreme Court Analyst since 2013.

This is Democracy: Episode 238 – City Leadership May 10, 2023

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Jeremi and Zachary sit down with former Austin mayor, Steve Adler, to talk about the importance of city and local government and leadership.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem: "For My City as It Was Three Years Ago".

Steve Adler was the mayor of Austin, Texas from 2015-2023. Before that, he was a prominent lawyer working in the areas of eminent domain and civil rights law. He also served on many public service boards, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Texas Tribune. Throughout his career, Mayor Adler has been widely recognized for his innovative ideas, his leadership, and his hard work.

This is Democracy – Episode 237: Media and Democracy May 04, 2023

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Paul Stekler taught at the University of Texas at Austin for many years. He is a nationally recognized documentary filmmaker whose critically praised and award-winning work includes: George Wallace: Settin’ the Woods on Fire; Last Man Standing: Politics, Texas Style; Vote for Me: Politics in America; two segments of the Eyes on the Prize II series on the history of civil rights; Last Stand at Little Big Horn; and Postcards from the Great Divide. His films have won two George Foster Peabody Awards, three Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Journalism Awards, three national Emmy Awards, and a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

This is Democracy – Episode 236: Birchers and Right-Wing Extremism Apr 28, 2023

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Matthew Dallek is a historian and professor of political management at George Washington University’s College of Professional Studies. He is the author of: The Right Moment: Ronald Reagan's First Victory and the Decisive Turning Point in American Politics; Defenseless Under the Night: The Franklin Roosevelt Years and the Origins of Homeland Security; and, most recently, Birchers: How the John Birch Society Radicalized the American Right. Dallek's writings frequently appear in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Politico, and other publications.

This is Democracy – Episode 235: Young Voters Apr 21, 2023

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Jeremi and Zachary sit down with Cristina Tzintzun Ramirez to discuss young voters and the role they are playing in our democracy.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem: "For My Generation and the Story We Will Write"

Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez is the president and executive director of NextGen America, the largest youth-vote mobilization organization in the country. She is a millennial, a civil rights leader, and a 2020 U.S. Senate candidate who has spent the last 20 years taking on some of the most powerful special interests in her home state of Texas. Cristina’s dedication to lifting up the largest and most diverse generation in history is rooted in her conviction that young people have the power — and the right — to determine the future of our country.

This is Democracy – Episode 234: Israel’s Democracy in Crisis Apr 12, 2023

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Jeremi and Zachary sit down with Atar David to discuss the controversy surrounding the overhaul and fundamental efforts to transform the judiciary and the ways in which justice is administered in Israel.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Passover 2023."

Atar David is an agricultural and environmental historian, currently completing his doctorate in the history department at UT-Austin. His current project examines the trans-regional history of agricultural practices, commodity exchange, and knowledge production between the Middle East and the American Southwest at the turn of the 19th century.

This is Democracy – Episode 233: Presidential Law-Breaking Apr 05, 2023

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Jeremi and Zachary sit down with Jeffrey Engel to discuss the recent indictments on former president Trump, and other instances of presidential law-breaking.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Some Messes Can Only Be Cleaned Up With Time."

Jeffrey Engel is a professor of history at Southern Methodist University, where he is the founding director of the Center for Presidential History. He is the author and editor of at least 10 books, including: Cold War at 30,000 Feet: The Anglo-American Fight for Aviation Supremacy, Impeachment: An American History, and When the World Seemed New: George H.W. Bush and the End of the Cold War.

This is Democracy – Episode 232: FDA and Public Health Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

Mikkael Sekeres is a Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Hematology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Sekeres has published hundreds of scholarly and Op-Ed articles, and he is the author of 8 books, including: When Blood Breaks Down: Life Lessons from Leukemia (The MIT Press 2020) and most recently, Drugs and the FDA: Safety, Efficacy, and the Public’s Trust (The MIT Press 2022).

This is Democracy – Episode 231: Iraq War: Lessons and Legacies Mar 22, 2023

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Dr. Melvyn P. Leffler is the Edward Stettinius Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Virginia. He is one of the leading historians of U.S. foreign policy. Professor Leffler is the author of numerous prize-winning books, including: A Preponderance of Power: National Security, The Truman Administration, and the Cold War; For the Soul of Mankind: The United States, the Soviet Union, and the Cold War; Safeguarding Democratic Captialism; and, most recently, Confronting Saddam Hussein: George W. Bush and the Invasion of Iraq.

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