DSR's Words Matter

The Contenders is a special podcast series by Joe Lockhart. Given the importance of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, we thought it important and informative to hear from those people who've actually run for president. What goes into the decision? How do you possibly get to the place of thinking you can take on the toughest job in the world? What were your biggest mistakes as a...

It was one of the defining moments of the civil rights movement and one of the most iconic speeches in American history. 56 years ago this week The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, or the March on Washington, was held in the Nation’s Capital on Wednesday, August 28, 1963.  More than 250,000 people turned out to advocate for the civil and economic rights of black Americans. At was here, st...

In case you missed this important episode -- Katie and Joe sat down with Professor Kathleen Hall Jamison author of Cyberwar: How Russian Hackers and Trolls Helped Elect a President Professor Jamieson is the Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, the Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, and Program Directo...

Battle for the Marble Palace – Abe Fortas, Earl Warren, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon and the Forging of the Modern Supreme Court Author Michael Bobelian is a contributor to Forbes where he writes on the Supreme Court, white collar crime and politics. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choic...

Our guest this week is a celebrated historian and the award-winning author, co-author or editor of more than 30 books. Most of these works are focused on American presidents or people we know because of presidents. Douglas Brinkley is the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Chair in Humanities and Professor of History at Rice University, a CNN Presidential Historian, and a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. ...

Last week we lost one of the most influential and celebrated novelists in American literary history Toni Morrison. A novelist, essayist and Princeton Professor, Morrison wrote nine major novels -- all of which earned extensive critical acclaim.  Among dozens of other awards and achievements, she won both a Pulitzer Prize and American Book Award in 1988 for her novel Beloved. And in 1993, Toni Morr...

Is the federal government doing enough to fight domestic terrorism? This week we talk to one former senior law enforcement official who says no. For nearly two decades, Daryl Johnson was senior domestic terrorism analyst at the Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Back in 2009 he wrote a DHS Report on “Rightwing Extremism” that was widely circulated in t...

Shannon Watts is the author of Fight like a Mother – How a Grassroots Movement took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women will Change the World. Until December of 2012 Shannon Watts was a stay-at-home mother of five and former communications executive. The day after the Sandy Hook tragedy, Shannon Watts started a Facebook group with the message that all Americans can and should do more to reduce gun viol...

Over the last few weeks, Donald Trump has left no doubt that he is a racist. He has also made it clear -- race will be perhaps THE biggest issue in 2020.  The question is: Can racism win? This week Katie and Joe talk to Keith Boykin. Keith is a CNN political commentator, New York Times best-selling author, and a former White House aide to President Bill Clinton. Keith teaches at the Institute for...

This week we sit down with Lauren Moxley, the host of The Ginsburg Tapes Podcast -- which chronicles Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s oral arguments before the then all-male United States Supreme Court from 1972 to 1978 —before she became #Notorious RBG. The Ginsburg Tapes allows the listener to be a fly on the wall for some of the most important cases in American jurisprudence as future Justice Ginsburg cha...

Few know more about the origins of the FBI's Russia investigation than our guest this week, former Justice Department and FBI senior official James A. Baker.  From 2014 to 2017 Mr. Baker was general counsel of the FBI and was involved in the initial and some of the most important aspects of the investigation into Russia's attack on the 2016 presidential election.  We talk to Jim Baker about that,...

As Special Counsel Robert Mueller prepares to testify in front of Congress the week, Katie and Joe previewed his testimony with National Security expert Jeremy Bash in last week's episode. Some things are worth repeating. So in case you missed this important preview, here it is again. From 2009 to 2011, Jeremy served as Chief of Staff at the CIA under Director Leon Panetta and from 2011-2013 as Ch...

Katie and Joe talk to two journalists to go beyond the tweets and find out what's really going on race and immigration in Donald Trump's America. Eugene Scott covers identity politics for the Washington Post. He joined the Post from CNN Politics, where he covered the 2016 presidential election and was the senior reporter on the website’s breaking news team. He’s a regular on-air contributor, provi...

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...

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is scheduled to testify in front of Congress next week. Katie and Joe preview his testimony with National Security expert Jeremy Bash. From 2009 to 2011, Jeremy served as Chief of Staff at the CIA under Director Leon Panetta and from 2011-2013 as Chief of Staff at the Department of Defense under then Secretary Panetta. A graduate of Georgetown and Harvard Law School...

William D. Cohan is a special correspondent for Vanity Fair and is one of the most meticulous and intrepid journalists working today – a truly great reporter covering the intersection between Wall Street and Washington. Bill has also written for The Financial Times, The New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, The Atlantic, The Nation, Fortune, and Politico. In addition, Bill is the author of: The...

This week Katie and Joe review the Trump Family's Excellent Adventure: Part II - Ivanka Trump's prominent role at the G20 and the photo-op diplomacy in North Korea. They also discuss how Donald Trump tried to turn a national celebration into a celebration of himself. And last week Gold Star parent Khzir Khan welcomed new citizens to this country as he delivered the keynote address in Charlottesvil...

On July 4th we celebrate the birth of the American Experiment. The Declaration of Independence -- written in the Spring of 1776 by a 33 year old Thomas Jefferson -- is America’s mission statement. And like all mission statements, the words represented not what we were, but what we aspired to be. In fact, the author himself was a gifted writer, but a deeply flawed person who – like his country -- d...

Last week the Democrats held their first debates in Miami -- 20 candidates over 2 nights. Now that the dust has settled a bit Katie gets Joe's take on what happened and what – if anything has changed in the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination as a result. Katie and Joe go through the candidates and talk about who broke out and which ones aren't going anywhere. 9keczija Support thi...

Cindi Leive is the former editor-in-chief of both Glamour and Self magazines. She was the driving force behind barrier- breaking initiatives like “Glamour Women of the Year” and “The Girl Project” which supports girls’ education. Cindi is the author and editor of numerous books including the 2018 New York Times bestseller Together We Rise, about the organizing of the Women's March. She has intervi...

Welcome to a Special Edition of Words Matter – Joe previews the first Democratic debates held this week on MSNBC in Miami. 20 candidates, 5 moderators, 4 hours total. The Moderators will be Lester Holt, Savannah Guthrie, Chuck Todd, Rachel Maddow and José Díaz-Balart.  The first group of 10 appearing on Wednesday: ·      Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey ·      Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts...

This week Katie and Joe sit down with award winning author and the Chief White House Correspondent for the New York Times, Peter Baker. Peter has covered 4 presidents as a reporter – Presidents Trump and Obama for the New York Times and George W. Bush and Bill Clinton with the Washington Post. He is also the author of 5 books including Obama: The Call of History, Days of Fire: Bush and Cheney in t...

Katie and Joe discuss the legacy of outgoing White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. Joe explains how damaging Sanders decision to end the White House press briefings has been and what is needed from the next Press Secretary to repair that damage. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choice...

Would Congressional impeachment hearings have the same impact as they did during Watergate? Washington Post media critic Margaret Sullivan talks to Katie and Joe about how the media landscape has changed and how it is far more difficult to have an impact with voters and the American people. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/words-matter. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out inf...

Shannon Watts is the author of Fight like a Mother – How a Grassroots Movement took on the Gun Lobby and Why Women will Change the World. Until December of 2012 Shannon Watts was a stay-at-home mother of five and former communications executive. The day after the Sandy Hook tragedy, Shannon Watts started a Facebook group with the message that all Americans can and should do more to reduce gun viol...