Moyers on Democracy

Dr. Bandy Lee saw it coming – the violence foretold in Donald Trump’s election. While millions of Americans were still trying to figure out if Trump was just a crude playboy and fast-talking con man she felt a duty to warn the country about dangerous possibilities stemming from a man who lacked the mental fitness to be president. For almost 20 years she had been trying to understand violence. It was her calling. After earning medical and divinity degrees while studying at Yale and Harvard, and a stint at Massachusetts General Hospital, she joined Yale’s faculty to teach in both the school of medicine and the law school. In her clinical practice, she treated inmates in maximum security prisons. And in time she began applying psychiatric concepts to public health and safety. When Trump emerged as a political candidate, everything she had learned from her career in mental health seemed to converge. She began corresponding with kindred spirits and colleagues about how best to make their voices heard. She would become the catalyst of their collaboration, and the editor of the book they produced, titled THE DANGEROUS CASE OF DONALD TRUMP. It appeared just months after Trump’s inauguration and became an instant bestseller, dubbed by The Washington Post as “the most courageous book of the year.” But not without a price. Bandy Lee and colleagues had broken ranks to speak the truth, had stirred the hornet’s nest, and the hornets came after them in swarms. Now, Bandy Lee has published another book – PROFILE OF A NATION: TRUMP’S MIND, AMERICA’S SOUL.

Bill Moyers recorded this interview with Dr. Lee on January 14, 2021. It has been edited for clarity.

Preeminent climatologist Sir John Houghton on the compatibility of faith and science.

Acclaimed journalist and essayist, Richard Rodriguez discusses life, death and choosing the church.

Bill Moyers talks with Dr. Bandy Lee, editor of THE DANGEROUS CASE OF DONALD TRUMP. Four years ago, Dr. Lee felt a duty to warn the country about dangerous possibilities stemming from a man who lacked the mental fitness to be president, breaking the “Goldwater Rule.” Dr. Lee had no background or interest in politics. For almost 20 years,  she had been trying to understand and prevent violence. It was her calling. After earning medical and divinity degrees while studying at Yale and Harvard, and a stint as chief resident at Massachusetts General Hospital, she joined Yale’s faculty to teach in both the school of medicine and the law school. In her clinical practice, she treated inmates in maximum security prisons, and in time she began applying psychiatric concepts to public health and safety.

Bill Moyers and Heather Cox Richardson examine how a day meant for celebrating democracy turned into a riot that sought to overturn a  free and fair election. Across the country and around the world people watched, horrified, dumbfounded and disbelieving, as insurrection incited by the President of the United States and his Republican enablers struck  at the very centerpiece of American governance.

Bill Moyers talks with journalist and writer Ellis Cose whose most recent book is THE SHORT LIFE & CURIOUS DEATH OF FREE SPEECH IN AMERICA. Steeped in some of the critical debates of our times, Cose has grown increasingly concerned about democracy’s fate under the combined weight of technology, political corruption, and inequality.

Bill Moyers talks with noted lawyer Steven Harper and distinguished historian Heather Cox Richardson about threats to democracy. “When you have a society that loses respect for the rule of law, you lose civilization. There is an enormous price that gets paid.” — Steven Harper

Heather McGhee is descended from slaves in the American South.  Her great- grandparents and grandparents came north to work in the steel mills. She grew up on the south side of Chicago, taught in Spain and studied writing in Hollywood, then decided to change the world, or at least try. Her new book is THE SUM OF US.

President Trump still will not admit he lost.  Trump has flooded the courts with lawsuits. Here to assess what’s going on are two of the country’s most experienced lawyers in election litigation.  Daryl Bristow worked for George W. Bush’s legal team on two Florida lawsuits regarding balloting for the 2000 presidential election.  David Berg has recently taken Trump and others to court over their efforts to use the Postal Service to discredit and dismiss mail-in ballots.

This week, Bill Moyers talks with John Bonifaz and Ben Clements of Free Speech for People about the voting rights cases they've filed this election season and how we can work to protect our democracy after Election Day.