Straight to It

In this episode, I interview Jim Irizarry. Jim has been working in elections for over fourty years, and currently, he is the Asst. Assessor-Clerk-Recorder & Asst. Chief Elections Officer for San Mateo County. We had an a wide-ranging conversation covering the importance of youth civic engagement, the power of one vote, and the threats he sees to elections in the near future regarding AI.

I really enjoyed the conversation with Jim, and I hope you will listening!

Show notes:

Key words

voting, registration, civic responsibility, informed voter, Voters' Choice Act, election challenges, misinformation, youth engagement, democracy, electoral proces

Chapters

00:00 The Importance of Voting

03:30 Steps to Register to Vote

06:39 Becoming an Informed Voter

09:32 Innovations in Voting: The Voters' Choice Act

13:33 Challenges in Implementing New Voting Systems

17:56 The Threat of Misinformation in Elections

20:42 Final Thoughts on Civic Engagement

For the past forty years, Steve Staiger has worked as a historian at the Palo Alto Historical Society. He works in PAHS' archives, helping others research information about Palo Alto, and he promotes information about the city's history. During our conversation, we discussed Palo Alto's founding, Stanford's impact on Palo Alto history, and some of Palo Alto's more curious characters.

In this episode, I interview Mark Polizzotti. Mark has translated over sixty books from French to English, including works from authors such as Jean Echenoz, Gustave Flaubert, and Patrick Modiano. Mark leads publishing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He is also the author of many books, including Sympathy For The Traitor: A Translation Manifesto and Why Surrealism Matters.

We discuss the art of translation, creativity, and why he fears one day there may not be anything left to translate (culturally speaking). Enjoy the interview!

In this episode, I interview the Legal Director of the Northern California American Civil Liberties Union: Shilpi Agarwal. Shilpi, formerly a senior staff attorney, has worked as the Legal Director for 5 years, managing litigation and advocacy. We had a wide-ranging conversation covering the case surrounding the deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles, the Trump administration's handling of immigration enforcement, and what she recommends listeners do in order to protect civil liberties. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation with Shilpi, and I am sure you will as well!

In this episode, I interview Micah Hauser. Micah is a Story Editor at the New Yorker, where he has worked for the past seven years. We discuss Micah's career at the New Yorker, where he started as a Fact Checker. We cover the fact-checking process and how each New Yorker issue comes together. We also hear Micah's writing advice and what he thinks makes writers great. I hope you enjoyed this interview as much as I did!

In this episode, I interview Charlotte Howard, Executive Editor and New York Bureau Chief of The Economist. Charlotte has been working at The Economist for over 20 years and co-hosts the Checks and Balance podcast. We discuss what makes The Economist special, its transformation into the digital age, and how each issue comes together. Enjoy!

In this episode, I interview Risto Uuk, the EU Research Lead at the Future of Life Institute in Brussels. He researches European Union Artificial Intelligence policy, including the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. Risto is a PhD researcher at KU Leuven studying the assessment and risk-mitigation of general purpose AI models. We have an expansive conversation covering the most groundbreaking parts of the EU AI Act, the negotiations behind it, and the broader applications and risks of artificial intelligence throughout the world. I hope you enjoy this episode!

In this episode, I interview Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, a legendary leader in the Bay Area. In her 32 years in Congress, Congresswoman Eshoo has passed over 70 bills, benefiting not only the Bay Area but the entire country.

Congresswoman Eshoo joins us on Straight To It to reflect on some of her biggest accomplishments, like securing over a billion dollars to electrify CalTrain. We also discuss how to change our current political climate.

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did!

In this episode, I interview Nicole Sorger. Nicole is head of the History Department at Crystal Springs Uplands School. An expert in the Israel-Palestine Conflict, Nicole teaches Middle Eastern History.

As we explore the past and present of the Israel-Palestine conflict, we go through Israel's founding, previous wars, and the lead-up to the current conflict.

We also discuss the current Israeli government as well as how the conflict is affecting Jews around the world.

In this episode I interview Dr. Bruno Verdini, who has taught leadership, diplomacy, and communication techniques for stakeholders from over 80 countries. He created, then earned a unique Ph.D. at MIT, and then designed two MIT courses, The Art and Science of Negotiation and Leadership in Negotiation: Advanced Applications. Both courses have been in the top 1% of MIT’s most popular courses for 8 years running. Dr. Verdini also wrote Winning Together, an award-wining book on how to approach natural resource negotiations, including in-depth examples between the U.S and Mexico. In a special, longer than usual interview, Dr. Verdini and I cover many topics, including negotiation and how it relates to empathy, the importance of vulnerability, and the collaborative nature that must take shape for an impactful outcome. We also cover leadership, moral compass, what Dr. Verdini thinks makes a great leader as well as the mentors and leaders he admires. I thoroughly enjoyed learning from Dr. Verdini, and I hope you enjoy the interview!