This is Democracy

Latest Episodes:

This is Democracy – Episode 60: Whistleblowing: What is it? Why is it So Important for Our Democracy? Oct 07, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary speak with Tom Mueller about whistleblowing and its role in our government and society.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “A Voice Calling in the Desert.”

Tom Mueller is the author of a new book, Crisis of Conscience, on the history of whistleblowing and fraud in the United States. His articles have appeared in the New Yorker, National Geographic Magazine, New York Times Magazine, Atlantic Monthly, and elsewhere, and have been included in anthologies like Best American Science Writing and Best American Travel Writing. He was educated at Oxford (DPhil, Rhodes Scholar), Harvard (BA, summa cum laude), and Alief Hastings High School in rural east Texas, home of the Fighting Bears.

This is Democracy – Episode 59: Human Rights and Foreign Policy in the 21st Century Oct 02, 2019

Show notes

Today a very special guest joins Jeremi and Zachary in the studio. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations under President Barack Obama’s second term shares her experience growing up as an immigrant in the United States, the evolution of her career, and her outlook on toolkits and morality in foreign intervention on behalf of the United States.

Zachary introduces the episode with his poem, “To the Rest of Humanity.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power is a leading voice internationally for principled American engagement in the world. One of TIME’s“100 Most Influential People,” she is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, war correspondent, and the Anna Lindh Professor of Practice at Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Law School. Her latest book, The Education of an Idealist, chronicles her years in public service and reflects on the role of human rights and humanitarian ideals in contemporary geopolitics.

This is Democracy – Episode 58: Hispanic Exclusion in American Universities and Society Sep 25, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary speak with Professor Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra to discuss issues of racial discrimination against the Hispanic community within American universities and society.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “Exclusion is a Funny Word.”

Professor Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra is the Alice Drysdale Sheffield Professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin He is the author of numerous ground-breaking and prize-winning books and papers, including: How to Write the History of the New World; Puritan Conquistadors; and Nature, Empire, and Nation. The core of his intellectual project has been to demonstrate the deep formative role of “Latin America” to the colonial history of the USA and to the history of “Western” modernity as a whole, not just slavery, globalization, and capitalism but also science, abolitionism, and democracy.

This is Democracy – Episode 57: Presidential Debates: Do They Matter? Sep 20, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary sit down with Professor Paul Stekler to discuss the topic of presidential debates.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “The War of the Botox.”

Paul Stekler 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, a four-hour PBS special about grassroots electoral politics; two segments of the Eyes on the Prize II series on the history of civil rights; Last Stand at Little Big Horn (broadcast as part of PBS’s series The American Experience); Louisiana Boys: Raised on Politics (broadcast on PBS’s P.O.V. series); Getting Back to Abnormal (which aired on P.O.V. in 2014); and 2016’s Postcards from the Great Divide, a web series about politics for The Washington Post and PBS Digital. Overall, 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.

https://rtf.utexas.edu/faculty/paul-stekler

This is Democracy – Episode 56: September 11, 2001 – 18th Anniversary: Lessons and Legacies Sep 12, 2019

Show notes

Jeremi sits down with William Inboden to reflect on the lessons and legacies of 9/11.

As always, Zachary kicks off the discussion with his poem, “Ghosts of 9/11/2001.”

Professor William Inboden is the Executive Director and William Powers, Jr. Chair of the Clements Center for National Security as well as a Distinguished Scholar of the Strauss Center for International Security and Law. He is also an Associate Professor at the LBJ School and Editor-in-Chief of the Texas National Security Review. https://www.clementscenter.org/people/item/12-william-inboden

This is Democracy – Episode 55: Unions and Democracy Sep 06, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Jeremi discusses unions with Yvonne Flores, President of AFSCME Local 1624, and Jackie Jones, the Chair of the Department of History at UT, to discuss unions.

Zachary sets the scene with his poem, “Images of Madison 2011.”

Yvonne Flores is the President of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees AFSCME Local 1624 Representing the City of Austin and Travis County employees.

Jackie Jones is the Chair of the Department of History at UT, and the Incoming President of the American Historical Association, and a Leading Expert on the history of unions in the United States.

This is Democracy – Episode 54: Environmental Activism Among Young People Aug 27, 2019

Show notes

Jeremi sits down with Matthew Kim and Councilwoman Alison Alter to discuss climate change activism among America’s youth.

This week, Zachary kicks off the episode with his poem, “The Only Ones.”

Matthew Kim is a junior in high school and the president of the Austin chapter of Students for Climate Action and a member of the Austin Youth Council.

Alison Alter was elected in 2016 as the City Council representative for District 10 in Austin, Texas.

This is Democracy – Episode 53: Back to School Aug 20, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Natalie Suri. The trio talks about what it means to be a student today, and how school is changing.

Zachary reads his poem, “Ode to My School.”

This is Democracy – Episode 52: Hong Kong’s Democracy Movement Aug 15, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, Jeremi and Zachary are joined by Shery Chanis. The trio talk about the protests and current happenings in Hong Kong.

Zachary presents his poem, “Hanging Between.”

Shery Chanis is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of History at the University of Texas at Austin. She is completing her dissertation on the identity formation of the southern maritime province of Guangdong in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Hong Kong is her hometown.

This is Democracy – Episode 51: Gun Violence in America Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

This week Jeremi and Zachary sit down for an extended discussion on gun violence in America with two guests, Hilary Rand Whitfield and Ed Scruggs.

Zachary’s poem for the week is simply titled, “So Many.”

Hilary Rand Whitfield is a volunteer state leader for the Texas chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Stay-at-home mother of 2 (16yo boy and 13yo girl), and Austin resident for the last 12 years.

Ed Scruggs is a Realtor, Community Organizer, former journalist and 27 year Austin resident who ran for Austin City Council in 2014. He is currently an appointed member of the City of Austin’s Public Safety Commission. Ed joined the board of Texas Gun Sense in 2015 and currently serves as Vice Chair and Media Representative.

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