EPISODE 65: MELINDA HENNEBERGER, USA TODAY Columnist by Michael Golden

The future of America! Three Arizona State Sun Devils from Michael's class on The Congress meet at Zipps Grill to talk politics, higher education and the future they foresee for themselves!

Bob Hercules is one of the premier documentary filmmakers in America. From ballparks to Barack Obama, from World War I to the Holocaust, from Father Pfleger to the Joffrey Ballet - Hercules basks in the role of recorder of history. Listen to Bob describe the art of the documentarian - and the fascinating things he's learned along the ride!

“This is actually winnable....At the city, state and county level - that’s where you have the ability to make change. We are taking the fight local, and we are winning.”

Josh Silver knows that talk is cheap. That's why he founded Represent.US - to shake up the system by unrigging it with real action. Silver breaks down how Americans can join the fight - already in progress - to take back their democracy!

"Each individual has their unique brilliance and their unique blind spots. We are all on this planet to serve. We’re all here for a purpose to contribute to the greater good."

Life and business coach J'aime Radow goes deep into the meaning of "success" and how all of us can consistently experience real happiness.

"I have always been an outsider, even when inside the process. James Strock, the founding Secretary of the California EPA and author of DISRUPT POLITICS: RESET WASHINGTON, talks about the constructive way to blow up the system!

On the eve of Supreme Court oral arguments in the Wisconsin gerrymandering case of Gill v. Whitford, two national experts join the "Mean" to break it all down. FairVote Executive Director Rob Richie explains why over 90% of U.S. House incumbents win re-election - and what can be done to unrig our congressional races. Then Univ. of Chicago legal scholar Nick Stephanopoulos talks about how his "Efficiency Gap" measurement could be the key to the Supreme Court making a historic decision on gerrymandering.

EPISODE 58: USA TODAY's HEIDI PRYZBYLA & ARIZONA REPUBLIC's RON HANSEN by Michael Golden

State Senator Daniel Biss takes on the "machine" in his bid for Illinois Governor. Biss talks about poverty, the outrageous costs of college, historic government gridlock and the reasons for it: "Our system of elections is just not designed for the public, it’s designed for politicians."

“To deny the equal right to vote is to recreate the system of slavery." This stark quote from author/activist Lawrence Lessig offers a hint of his passion for reforming a defective democracy - and making every vote actually count equally. Larry joins the show to talk about his new platform and the national organization he's founded to make it happen: EQUALCITIZENS.US.