DSR's Words Matter

A charismatic Russian woman arrives in the US on a mission to improve relations between the two countries, and she soon makes some powerful friends. But who is Maria Butina? And who is she working for? As Maria gets closer to the rich and connected she also attracts the attention of the FBI. In the politically charged world of US-Russia relations, everyone has secrets and almost nothing is what it...

A charismatic Russian woman arrives in the US on a mission to improve relations between the two countries, and she soon makes some powerful friends. But who is Maria Butina? And who is she working for? As Maria gets closer to the rich and connected she also attracts the attention of the FBI. In the politically charged world of US-Russia relations, everyone has secrets and almost nothing is what it...

Geraldine Ferraro was a politician, diplomat, attorney - and also a teacher, activist, author, and businesswoman. The daughter of an Italian immigrant, Geraldine lost her father when she was 8, and moved with her family to the South Bronx where her mother worked in the garment industry to support them. She was an outstanding student winning a full scholarship to college, and earning a degree in En...

Few decisions a government can make are more consequential than deciding when the use of force is warranted. In the US a debate has raged for decades about how much latitude a president should have in making such decisions and what role Congress should play. Legal contortionism has turned congressional authorizations for the use of force in one circumstance into blank permissions slips still cited...

Dr. Maya Angelou was a poet, professor, memoirist, actor, singer, author, educator and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and appeared in numerous plays, movies, and television shows over a 65 year career. She received dozens of awards and more than 50 honorary degrees In literary circles, Maya Angelou is best known for her s...

Dr. Angela Davis is an activist, philosopher, academic and author. Born in Birmingham, Alabama during World War II - she attended segregated black elementary and middle schools in the 1950s. Davis studied philosophy at Brandis University and did her graduate work in Germany with famed philosopher Herbert Marcuse. She would later say that: “Herbert Marcuse taught me that it was possible to be an ac...

This week, in honor of Women’s History Month, we wanted to pay tribute to one of the most consequential leaders in American History. Eleanor Roosevelt was the niece of the 26th President of the United States and the wife of the 32nd – but make no mistake, she was a political thinker, an international activist and a World Leader in her own right. Of her many achievements and successes, perhaps none...

Weren't we supposed to get a break from being angry at DC? At the political inanity? The recklessness? The law breaking with impunity? Sure its the same old people being inane and reckless and breaking the law but even with Democrats in charge in the White House and in both houses of Congress, progress is painfully hard to come by, setbacks are frequent, Republicans seem disciplined and Democrats...

As Black History Month ends and Women’s History Month begins, we wanted to honor a pioneer in the struggle for equal rights for both movements. Shirley Anita Chisholm was a politician, educator, activist, community organizer and author. Born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924, as a child during the Great Depression - while her parents struggled to make ends meet - young Shirley and her two sisters were...

When the 9/11 Commission was formed in the wake of the Al Qaeda attacks on the US, the current was united in grief and anger but politically polarized and it was very difficult to find a path forward that would be credible and an effective driver of reform. But the divisions of the early 2000s were nothing compared to what we have today and the problem is compounded by the active culpability one p...

He was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Nebraska- and he became one of the most celebrated, influential and misunderstood leaders of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s Malcolm X was a Muslim Minister and human rights activist - best known as a pioneer of the Black Nationalist Movement and as an apostle for self-respect and uncompromising resistance to white oppression. By the time he was assassin...

While Trumpists may have celebrated that the disgraced former president was not convicted by the Senate and the Senators who voted to convict have been attacked for their show of conscience, the reality is that Trump's legal prospects are not good. Mitch McConnell, his one time ally, called for his prosecution. Multiple cases in which he is a target are under way--in NY, Atlanta, and Washington DC...

Last week, as the House Managers presented their Impeachment case -- a step-by-step, rigorous, fact-based prosecution that clearly drew the connection between Donald Trump’s words and the violence that ensued in that very chamber little more than a month earlier - we thought back to the stirring words of the Senate Chaplain, Rear Admiral (Ret.) Barry C. Black following that failed insurrection. At...

The House Impeachment managers proved beyond any reasonable doubt that Donald Trump incited an insurrection against the US government that resulted in six deaths over 140 injuries and profound damage to our democracy. Good as they were, we have to admit, it wasn't that tough to do because we all saw the events unfold. So, ensuring justice will be done should be easy, right? Not so fast. The Senate...

Barbara Jordan was a lawyer educator politician and a leader of the civil rights movement a Democrat and Houston native. Jordan was the first African-American elected to the Texas Senate after Reconstruction and the first southern African-American woman elected to the United States House of Representatives. On July 25th 1974 Congresswoman Jordan delivered a televised opening statement as the House...

Has the GOP lost its mind? Or is its embrace and defense of lunatics, violent extremists, traitors, sex offenders, racists and the highly corrupt a shrewd, carefully considered political strategy? How should Democrats respond? How do they get accountability for abuses when the GOP absolutely refuses to go along? How do they achieve progress on healing our wounds when the other party actively wants...

As it looks more and more likely that the Republicans in the Senate will not hold former President Donald Trump accountable for his actions in inciting an insurrection against the United States, we thought it important to remind our listeners why it matters. And we could think of no more articulate voice than the duly elected Speaker of the People's House. Let's remember what happened. The Preside...

While some may look at the Trump coup attempt on January 6th as the last desperate act of the disgraced former president to remain in power, it is already being seen among white supremacist groups as a long expected signal of an escalation in domestic unrest leading to a civil war they have long planned and hoped for. The fact that Trump is likely to go unpunished for leading the January 6th effor...

Last week, after 4 long, divisive and tragic years, we witnessed the continuation of a 244-year-old American tradition. It was not a peaceful transfer of power. As incoming White House Chief of Staff, Ron Klain correctly noted, “there was nothing inevitable about this day.” Nonetheless - last Wednesday we watched a quadrennial ceremony that Ronald Reagan once called both “commonplace and miraculou...

The past two weeks are unlike any America has ever seen. In the midst of a national pandemic and economic crisis, we saw an unprecedented insurrection on Capitol Hill incited by our then president, an impeachment and then the inauguration of a new leader. On Capitol Hill it was a traumatic period of highs and lows. But it has left America shaken too and asking what's next. We discuss this with Rep...

Last week would have been the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 92nd birthday. Given all that has happened over the last year and the last few weeks, we wanted to highlight one of the most significant and consequential calls for racial equality and social justice in American History - “Letter from Birmingham Jail” On Good Friday, April 12, 1963 - the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and fellow c...

We have never seen events like those that occurred on January 6. We have never had a president who posed the kind of threat to our security presented by Donald Trump. We are facing new challenges to our society and government associated with social media and widespread radicalization. How do we respond to these challenges? Who must be held accountable? We conducted a webinar with three experts--As...

We honored to be joined this week by New York Times bestselling author, serial entrepreneur, nonprofit CEO and political leader Stacey Abrams. In 2018, after serving for eleven years in the Georgia House of Representatives, seven as Democratic Leader, Stacey Abrams became the Democratic nominee for Governor of Georgia, winning more votes than any other Democrat in the state’s history. Leader Abram...

In the midst of a pandemic, with almost 4000 people dying every day, when the nation should be coming together, the President of the United States once again tore it asunder. Worse, what he did was mobilize the first violent coup attempt in US history on the back of his months long seditious efforts to nullify the November election and steal the sovereign power of American voters. As it happens, h...

Joe Biden's cabinet will look more like America than any in our history. It will contain more women, more people of color, a wide range of ages, political perspectives and regional points of view. Does that matter? How? And what is still missing? We discuss and then we turn our attention to the latest developments in the COVID crisis, Trump's increasingly erratic behavior as his exit approaches an...