Burn the Boats

Rep. Tim Ryan talks politics - Trump, Ohio, and Tim’s current reelection campaign. He also talks about something he wishes all politicians would practice: mindfulness. Tim is a United States Congressman representing Ohio’s 13th district. Learn more about him and his platform at timryan.house.gov. Find him on Twitter at @RepTimRyan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Representative Cheri Bustos, congresswoman from Illinois and chair of the DCCC, talks about the values that women bring to leadership and about winning as a Democrat in a district that also voted for Trump. Learn more about Rep. Bustos’s legislative priorities on her website. Find her on Twitter at @RepCheri. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this bonus episode of Burn the Boats, Sec. Leon Panetta talks about the ultimate tough decision: as Director of the CIA, Panetta oversaw the operation that killed Osama Bin Laden, launching a raid into Pakistan based on uncertain intelligence. He talks about that decision, as well as the current presidential administration and the state of our political landscape. Secretary Leon Panetta is a li...

Anthony Scaramucci talks about his brief tenure as the White House Communications Director and his recent decision to denounce Trump, as well as his journey from working class to Goldman Sachs and the White House. Find Anthony on Twitter at @scaramucci. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Swati Mylavarapu is a major voice in Silicon Valley who has turned her talents to politics and social change. Pete Buttigieg’s chief investment officer and founder of Incite.org and the Arena, Swati talks to Ken about campaign finance and about diving into politics as a relative outsider. Find Swati on Twitter at @Swatipedia. Incite.org is Swati’s values-based investment fund, made up of Incite Ve...

Andrew Towne, endurance athlete and principal with the Boston Consulting Group, has climbed the tallest mountain on every continent - including Mount Everest, and rowed the Drake Passage with the Discovery Channel series The Impossible Row. He talks about climbing Mount Everest and rowing the Drake Passage and about the smaller challenges he takes on to help make the world a better place. Watch An...

In this bonus episode of Burn the Boats, Gen. Stanley McChrystal reflects on his formerly-beloved painting of Robert E. Lee and his perspective on Confederate symbols.  The Atlantic op-ed that Ken reads from in this episode is titled “At 63, I Threw Away My Prized Portrait of Robert E. Lee”. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pete Buttigieg, former candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, talks about his campaign and the choice to end it, patriotism and hopes for the future of our country, and the need for America to rebuild trust. Learn more about Pete’s new PAC at wintheera.com and by watching his Twitter feed at @PeteButtigieg. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

US Representative Max Rose and counterterrorism expert Ali Soufan talk about the work they’re doing to address the threat of transnational violent white supremacist groups in the United States and across the world. Max is a Congressman representing New York’s 11th district, which includes all of Staten Island and parts of southern Brooklyn. Find him on Twitter at @RepMaxRose. A former FBI agent, A...

Sarah Longwell, publisher of the Bulwark and co-founder of Republicans for the Rule of Law, talks about being a staunchly “Never Trump” Republican and about what the future of her party looks like. Sarah is the publisher of the Bulwark, co-founder of Republicans for the Rule of Law, past board chair of the Log Cabin Republicans, and CEO of DC-based communications firm Longwell Partners. You can fo...

This rerun in honor of Pride month features a conversation with Gina Ortiz Jones, Democratic candidate for Congress in Texas’s 23rd district, about the challenges of being a gay service member under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, as well as her difficult race to represent her district. Gina Ortiz Jones is an Air Force veteran, intelligence officer, and candidate for US Representative in Texas’s 23rd congr...

Fred Guttenberg, gun safety advocate whose daughter Jaime was killed at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, talks about how the loss of his daughter drives him, what changes must be made to ensure safer gun laws, and what draws Americans to firearms in the first place. Fred’s organization is called Orange Ribbons for Jaime and you can find them on Twitter at @Ribbons4Jaime . You can...

Mansoor Shams, founder of MuslimMarine.org, talks about both his good and bad experiences as a Muslim in the US Marine Corps, about patriotism in today’s America, and about making his life’s mission opening the minds of others. Mansoor is a veteran, speaker, leader, and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. You can learn more about his work at MuslimMarine.org and follow him on Twitter at...

Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien talks about the current news landscape, what success means in journalism, and her flexibility and optimism in seizing new opportunities. Soledad is the CEO of Starfish Media Group and host of Matter of Fact, airing Sundays on the Hearst network. You can learn more about her work at soledadobrienproductions.com and follow her on Twitter at @SoledadOBrien. Le...

Amy McGrath, candidate for the US Senate seat in Kentucky, talks about the state of the Senate under her opponent Mitch McConnell, about her experiences campaigning in such a high-profile race, and about how her days as a fighter pilot informed her approach to leadership and patriotism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joe Sanberg, progressive entrepreneur and investor in Los Angeles, talks about his work to end poverty, his personal connection to the cause, and about the role of both politics and faith in how Americans think about economics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Honorable Patrick Murphy talks about the role of the military in American democracy, about his leadership in getting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repealed, and about the challenge that servicemembers face when their oaths to the Constitution conflict with orders from the president. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Manion, president of the Travis Manion Foundation, talks about losing her brother to war, about her own PTSD diagnosis, and about harnessing her brother’s memory to do good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Naila Awan from Demos and Ben Guess from the ACLU of Ohio talk about the importance of full voting rights for all and the work they are each doing to achieve that. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, and Casey Weinstein, state representative for Ohio’s District 37, talk about gun safety and the intimidation they have received for standing up for what they believe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Paul Rieckhoff, host of the Angry Americans podcast, talks about being an independent in today’s political climate, about the role of veterans in our country, and about anger as a political force. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bill Kristol, founder of The Weekly Standard and chief of staff to Vice President Dan Quayle under George H. W. Bush, talks about the current state of the Republican party, how it got there, and his bipartisan push for political decency. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mary Beth Bruggeman, the president of The Mission Continues, talks about her experiences as a woman in the Marine Corps, about the responsibility of teaching military leadership in wartime, and about the work TMC does to harness the energy and skills of veterans to work on social issues in their communities. Learn more about The Mission Continues on their website, https://missioncontinues.org/. Le...

In this bonus episode, Ken continues his conversation with Adam Frankel, talking about what it was like to write speeches for President Obama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Frankel, former speechwriter for President Obama and author of a new memoir, The Survivors, talks about generational trauma - from his grandparents’ experiences in the Holocaust to his mother’s struggles with mental illness and a revelation about Adam’s own identity - and the importance of honesty in his family’s healing process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices