Overheard with Evan Smith

Timothy Shriver is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Special Olympics International, the organization founded by his mother, Eunice Shriver. He serves with over 5.6 million Special Olympics athletes in 172 countries, all working to promote health, education, and a more unified world through the joy of sports. Before joining Special Olympics in 1996, Shriver was and remains a leading educator focusing on the social and emotional factors in learning. He co-founded and currently chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), the leading school reform organization in the field of social and emotional learning. He is Co-Chair of the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development, President of the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation, member of the Board of Directors for the WPP Group, LLC, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is a co-founder of Lovin' Scoopful Ice Cream Company.

Alejandro Escovedo is a Mexican-American rock musician with Texas roots. His decades-long career includes performing in the punk rock group The Nuns, and alternative country bands Rank and File and The True Believers. He has collaborated with Bruce Springsteen, John Cale, Los Lobos, Peter Buck & Scott McCaughey, Los Texmaniacs, and Chuck Prophet. No Depression magazine declared him the Artist of the Decade. His latest album, The Crossing, tells the tale of two boys, one from Mexico, one from Italy, who meet in Texas to chase their American rock and roll dreams.

Robert Rodriguez has been a celebrated and innovative filmmaker for more than 25 years. The San Antonio native has directed films such as El Mariachi, From Dusk 'Til Dawn, the Spy Kids and Sin City franchises, and the upcoming Alita: Battle Angel, a partnership with producer James Cameron. In 2013, Rodriguez ventured into television and launched his own cable TV channel, El Rey. He co-founded Troublemaker Studios, an Austin-based film production company, and leads the band Chingon with members of Del Castillo.

Bob Mould is an American indie rock musician, part of the influential 1980s punk band Hüsker Dü and the 1990s band Sugar. Hüsker Dü was one of the first underground bands to sign with a major record label and their eight albums inspired a generation of musicians. Mould's autobiography, See a Little Light: The Trail of Rage and Melody, chronicles his story from a small town in New York to his later successes. His 2019 album is titled Sunshine Rock.

Tommy Orange is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma and is a recent graduate from the MFA program at the Institute of American Indian Arts. He is a 2014 MacDowell Fellow and 2016 Writing by Writers Fellow. His first novel "There There" is being hailed by The New York Times as "an energetic revelation of a corner of American life." Orange was born and raised in Oakland, California, and currently lives in Angels Camp, California.

Brooklyn Decker broke into the public consciousness as a model gracing the pages of Vogue, Elle, GQ, Glamour, Esquire, and Cosmopolitan. But she cemented her place in pop culture history by appearing on the cover of the popular Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Decker successfully made the transition from being one of the biggest names in modeling to become a Hollywood actress. She currently appears in the popular Netflix comedy "Grace and Frankie" with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston. Decker is married to tennis great Andy Roddick and together they have two children.

Michael Beschloss is a historian and author of ten books on presidential history including The New York Times bestsellers Presidential Courage and The Conquerors, as well as two volumes on Lyndon Johnson's White House tapes. His latest book Presidents of War chronicles the difficult decisions made by presidents from James Madison during the War of 1812 to present. Beschloss was also editor of the bestseller Jacqueline Kennedy: Historic Conversations on Life with John F. Kennedy. He is the NBC News Presidential Historian, a PBS NewsHour contributor and has received an Emmy and six honorary degrees. Beschloss lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and two sons.

Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington Endowed Chair. She has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She is the author of five books including her 2018 publication, Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. Her TEDx Houston talk on the power of vulnerability has garnered more than 36 million views. Brené and her husband, Steve, live in Houston and have two children.

Jason Reitman is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker. Reitman made his feature film debut with the 2006 Sundance hit Thank You For Smoking. He earned Academy Award nominations for directing Juno and Up In The Air, the latter of which earned Reitman a Golden Globe Award, WGA Award and BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay. His other films include Young Adult, Labor Day, Men, Women and Children, and Tully, his third collaboration with Diablo Cody and second with Charlize Theron. Reitman has produced three seasons of the Hulu comedy series Casual through his Right of Way Films. He also executive produced the Academy Award-winning film Whiplash and the Jean-Marc Vallee directed Demolition. Reitman's 2018 film is The Front Runner, which he co-wrote and directed.

Sandra Cisneros is a poet, short story writer, novelist and essayist whose work explores the lives of the working class. Her novel The House on Mango Street has sold over six million copies, been translated into more than twenty languages and is required reading from elementary through college across the nation. Her numerous awards include NEA fellowships in both poetry and fiction, a MacArthur Fellowship, several honorary doctorates and book awards nationally and internationally, the PEN Center USA Literary Award and the National Medal of Arts, awarded to her by President Obama in 2016. She is dual citizen of the United States and Mexico.