Heather McGhee has been in public policy for the past 20 years, largely focused on economics. After nearly 16 years at Demos, a “think-and-do” tank, including four years as president, she realized that despite incredibly compelling economic research, at times, decision makers made decisions counter to what the best evidence showed. She took a leave of absence as president, and embarked on a journey to try to answer a simple question – Why can’t we have nice things? We, being all Americans, and nice things being things that most developed nations have managed to provide for their people – health care, parental leave, a social safety net, and, of course, a good school in every neighborhood. Her journey took her across the country for conversations with all sorts of people, and led to the new book, The Sum of Us, which was released on paperback today, Feb 8th, 2022, and includes a new afterword. We revisit the episode with new commentary from Andrew and Val. If you heard the interview already, the new commentary starts around the 50 minute mark.

LINKS:

• The Sum Of Us
• Our Bookshop.org Storefront
• Demos – Public Policy “Think-and-Do” Tank
• Ta-Nehesi Coats – The Case for Reparations
• Dr. Gail Christopher
• HealOurCommunities.org
• Adrian Piper – Conceptual Artist
• Sherrilyn Ifill
• NAACP Legal Defense Fund
• Black Doll Test
• Debra Holoien
• Chase Bellingham and Matthew Hunt
• Kellogg Foundation
• The New Jim Crow – Michelle Alexander
• The Color of Law – Richard Rothstein
• Bryan Stevenson of Equal Justice Initiative

Use these links or start at our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.

Join our Patreon to support this work, and connect with us and other listeners to discuss these issues even further.

Let us know what you think of this episode, suggest future topics, or share your story with us – @integratedschls on twitter, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected].

We are a proud member of The Connectd Podcast Network.

The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.

This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.

Music by Kevin Casey.

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