This is Democracy

Today, Jeremi speaks with Professor Peniel Joseph and Celso Baez, III to talk about contemporary segregation in American society, voting and the school system. As always, Zachary recites an original poem, this week is “Overdue.” Celso Baez, III is the Assistant Director of Community Engagement and External Communications for the Austin Independent School District. Professor Peniel Joseph is the Founding Director for the Center for the Study of Race and Democracy at UT. Peniel Joseph holds a joint professorship appointment at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the History Department in the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas at Austin. He is also the founding director of the LBJ School’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy. His career focus has been on “Black Power Studies,” which encompasses interdisciplinary fields such as Africana studies, law and society, women’s and ethnic studies, and political science. Prior to joining the UT faculty, Joseph was a professor at Tufts University, where he founded the school’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy to promote engaged research and scholarship focused on the ways issues of race and democracy affect people’s lives. In addition to being a frequent commentator on issues of race, democracy, and civil rights, Joseph wrote the award-winning books Waiting ‘Til the Midnight Hour: A Narrative History of Black Power in America and Dark Days, Bright Nights: From Black Power to Barack Obama. His most recent book, Stokely: A Life, has been called the definitive biography of Stokely Carmichael, the man who popularized the phrase “black power.” Included among Joseph’s other book credits is the editing of The Black Power Movement: Rethinking the Civil Rights-Black Power Era and Neighborhood Rebels: Black Power at the Local Level.

What are the Lessons for Democracy Today? Jeremi sits down with Professors Tatjana Lichtenstein and Michael Stoff to talk about World War II and its lasting implications on our democracy. As always, Zachary kicks things off with his poem, “Jerusalem.” Tatjana Lichtenstein holds degrees from the University of Toronto (Ph.D.), Brandeis University (MA), and the University of Copenhagen (BA/MA).  Before coming to UT in 2009, she was a Schusterman Postdoctoral Fellow in Jewish studies at American University in Washington, D.C.  Since September 2017, she is director of the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies here at UT. Dr. Lichtenstein’s research focuses on minorities, nationalism, state-building, war, and genocide in Eastern Europe in the twentieth century.  Her monograph, Zionists in Interwar Czechoslovakia: Minority Nationalism and the Politics of Belonging, was published by Indiana University Press in 2016.  It explores how Zionist activists attempted to transform Jewish culture and society in ways that would allow Jews to claim to belong in the new multinational state. Michael B. Stoff received his B.A. from Rutgers College and Ph.D. from Yale University. He is currently an Associate Professor of History, University Distinguished Teaching Associate Professor, and an Organization of American Historians Distinguished Lecturer.  For over a decade, he has been the director of the nationally acclaimed Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Oil, War and American Security, co-editor of The Manhattan Project: A Documentary Introduction to the Atomic Age, series co-editor of The Oxford New Narratives in American History, and co-author of five American history textbooks. He has been honored many times for his teaching, most recently with the UT system-wide Regents Outstanding Teaching Award. In 2015, he was recognized for his contributions to induction into the Philosophical Society of Texas. He is at work on a book about Nagasaki and the meaning of the atomic bomb.

How will this new generation improve American democracy? Zachary presents his poem, “Waiting Room.” Today’s guest is Steven Olikara, Founder and President of the Millennial Action Project. Internationally, Steven has advised two multi-platinum recording artists on youth issues and sustainable energy efforts, including the Akon Lighting Africa initiative that has electrified over 1 million homes in Africa with solar power. Previously, he worked at the World Bank and served as Harry Ott Fellow on Coca-Cola’s Environment Team, developing public-private water projects with USAID in Africa. Steven is a frequent speaker on next generation leadership at venues such as the Aspen Ideas Festival, the White House, Harvard Institute of Politics, Yale College, SXSW, and the United Nations.

Anti-Semitism: Where does it come from? What can we do about it? Zachary's poem today is, "Can't feel the raindrops, a song for Pittsburgh 10/27/18." Today's guest on the podcast is Renee Lafair, Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League in Austin, Texas. As Director of the Austin regional office of the ADL, Renee Lafair consistently reaches out to diverse populations within Austin to build a community that values diversity, equity and dignity for all. She directs local strategy to accomplish ADL’s mission in Austin, leads an active board of directors consisting of business and community leaders, and convenes the Austin/Travis County Hate Crimes Task Force along with City Council and the DA’s Office.

Jeremi sits down with Professor Sumit Guha of University of Texas at Austin to discuss the upcoming democratic elections in India, and the culture of the world's largest democracy. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Indian Soul." From 1996 to 1999 Sumit Guha was Professor in the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta and moved to the USA in 2000 as S.P. Das Distinguished Professor at Brown University. In 2004 he joined the Department of History in Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey and came thence to the University of Texas at Austin in 2013. He began his research as an economic historian with interests in demography and agriculture. These widened into the study of environmental and ethnic histories. My first book was The Agrarian Economy of the Bombay Deccan 1818-1941(1985) followed by Environment and Ethnicity in India, c. 1200-1991 (1999) and Health and Population in South Asia from earliest times to the present(2001). His most recent book is Beyond Caste: Identity and Power in South Asia, Past and Present.  His next book The Social Frame of Historical Memory: South Asian Practices in Global Context, c.1200-2000 will be published by the University of Washington Press this year.

What constitutes a human right? Jeremi has a conversation with Michael Cotey Morgan about human rights on a global scale. Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "The Dream." Michael Cotey Morgan specializes in modern international and global history. His first book, The Final Act: The Helsinki Accords and the Transformation of the Cold War (Princeton University Press, 2018), examines the origins and consequences of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act, the most ambitious diplomatic undertaking of the Cold War and a watershed in the development of human rights. At UNC, he teaches courses on the history of diplomacy and international politics, the Cold War, and the history of human rights. Before coming to UNC, he taught at the US Naval War College and the University of Toronto, where he was the inaugural holder of the Raymond Pryke Chair.

Jeremi talks about the lasting effects of communism and Soviet influence on former Soviet countries and democracy with students, Maya Patel, Matt Maldonado, and Lauren Nyquist. As always, Zachary kicks things off with his poem entitled, "Song of a Post Cold War Child." Maya Patel is working to create a civically engaged campus as the President of TX Votes and the Chair of the Campus Vote Project's Student Advisory Board. Her work has led to 18-25-year-olds being the largest bloc of registered voters in Travis County, the PCL being opened as UT’s second polling location, and UT Austin receiving numerous national awards. Maya is also a Texas Orange Jacket and part of the Texas Friar Society. Matt Maldonado is a Government and Russian studies double major. He’s a former Fulbright-Hayes GPA Fellow and Texas Civic Ambassador, who’s civic outreach work over the past two years has been centered around high school engagement in El Paso and Austin. Lauren Nyquist is a Geography and International Relations and Global Studies double major at UT, where she works as a TA and research assistant, focusing on issues in sub-Saharan Africa. She is a member of Texas Votes and UT's Geography Society.

Where does it come from and what can we do? Jeremi sits down with Augusta Dell'Omo to talk about white supremacy and what it means for our democracy. As always, Zachary sets the scene with his poem, "Torches Burning." Augusta Dell’Omo is a doctoral student in History at the University of Texas at Austin. She specializes in U.S. foreign policy during the late Cold War, with a particular focus on U.S.-South African relations and race in American foreign policy. Her dissertation focuses on the intersections between the Reagan administration, televangelism, and the anti-apartheid movement during an ending Cold War. Interested in public history, Augusta contributes to UT’s public history forum, Not Even Past, and acts as an interview and technical director for 15 Minute History, UT’s podcast for students, educators and history buffs. A passionate teacher, Augusta serves as a Supplemental Instruction Supervisor, developing pedagogical techniques for graduate students. Currently, Augusta possesses reading proficiency in German and Italian, and is learning Afrikaans. She graduated with highest distinction and highest honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BA 2016) and received an MA in history from UT in May 2018. She tweets @Augusta_Caesar. 

How do Americans interact with the wider world? What are the enduring strengths and weaknesses of US foreign policy? Jeremi sits down with Dr. Charles Edel to discuss US foreign policy in a historical context. Zachary kicks it off with his poem entitled, "An Old Forgotten Song." Dr. Edel is the co-author (with Hal Brands) of a major new book, The Lessons of Tragedy: Statecraft and World Order. He is a senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre. Previously, he was associate professor of strategy and policy at the US Naval War College, and served on the US Secretary of State's policy planning staff from 2015 to 2017. In that role, he advised Secretary of State John Kerry on political and security issues in the Asia Pacific region.

Dr. Jeremi Suri calls up his colleague Dr. David Fields, a scholar and expert on North Korea to take an even-handed look at the state of the country and how the rest of the world can understand a society that seems so very different from our lives in America, Europe and elsewhere. How do we understand this society and its leadership? What can Americans do to improve relations with North Korea? What role should ideas of democracy play? But before that, Zachary reads his poem, "North Korean Lullabies." Dr. David P. Fields is the associate director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is the author of Foreign Friends: Syngman Rhee, American Exceptionalism, and the Division of Korea and editor of The Diary of Syngman Rhee. He has published in the North Korea Review, Journal of American-East Asian Relations, SinoNK.com, and in the Working Papers Series of the Cold War International History Project.