So What Do We Have?

The news of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death brought every American to mourning last week - for just a moment. Since then, the race to replace her has shot to the top of all the headlines. The legacy of the Notorious RBG notwithstanding, what makes the Supreme Court so important exactly that it spurs such a ruthless sense of competition among the two major parties?

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Edited by David Hartman and Black Bear Media

The summer of 2020 is certain to be remembered as one of tumult and massive protests.  All Americans have a protected right to free speech under the First Amendment, and public protests and demonstrations easily fit into that category. But are protests effective? Who gets to say how far is too far? Also, a look into a famous early American protest that suggests we may not know the story as well as we think.

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It is difficult to talk about race. It often devolves into talking "at" each other instead of with each other, and because of the potential for tension, conflict or missteps, many of us avoid the conversation altogether.  In this episode, we choose instead to engage in an honest, vulnerable conversation about it together, and you'll find we have some differing perspectives, because, spoiler alert: one of us is black, and one of us is... not.

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Lessons from history that show us many times over the ways Americans have banded together in times of illness and natural disaster make apparent the ways our current divisions are shortchanging our kids and our communities. How did we get here? If we can't do it for the sake of our children, what will it take?

Twitter: @lathaniab and @stephkrider

Episode references: Getting Around Brown by Gregory S. Jacobs, Coming Apart by Charles Murray 

Social unrest; congressional stalemate on pandemic funding decisions; and unsatisfactory political theatre have many of us wondering, can we keep this republic together?

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This week, we talk about the millions of children starting school across the U.S. on new terms, and the sacrifices parents are making to make it happen. The public debate on schools reopening has centered mainly on teacher safety vs. parents in need of childcare, but the debate and the lack of solutions presented made us wonder: do we even still believe in public education?

Twitter: @lathaniab and @stephkrider 

On the final day of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, Elizabeth Powel asked Benjamin Franklin as he exited, ‘What do we have, a republic or a monarchy?’ Franklin famously replied, ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’

Our responsibility is to keep it - but can we?

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