On Democracy with FPWellman

David Hogg had a literal baptism of fire into activism after surviving the Parkland High School shooting, so the barbs and attacks of politics don’t stop him from fighting for change. Now he’s got a new mission. He and Fred discuss it Gen Z’s activism, and why these fights matter. David is a leader in the fight to end gun violence and Co-Founder of March for Our Lives, an organization that has hel...

Journalist Aaron Rupar immerses himself in the madness of the far right every day and broadcasts the lunacy for us all to see. He posts the clips and analysis we need to see to understand what is happening now and why it matters. We talk about all of the madness from the Trump indictments to the GOP primary and more. He is the former politics and policy editor at Vox and associate editor of Think...

From CRT hysteria, to Supreme Court decisions on affirmative action, and Ron DeSantis’ war on ‘Woke’ there is no denying there is an ongoing attack on any progress made by Black Americans by a new white nationalist movement. Michael Harriot has been studying white America his entire life and offers a very direct analysis of our society that must be heard. Michael Harriot is a writer, cultural crit...

The new PACT Act is one of the largest expansions in veterans healthcare in modern history and is available now. If veterans of Vietnam and the Gulf War era apply by August 9th they can have their benefits backdated to when the law was passed last year. Fred speaks with Terrance Hayes the press secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs about this important new benefit and why veterans shoul...

How does a former CIA officer in Congress deal with the politicization of our national defense but still find ways to work across party lines? Guest U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is doing just that. She represents Virginia's 7th Congressional District. Abigail’s career has been defined by public service — first serving as a federal agent with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, working money launde...

What is it like to battle the most far right ideas of the GOP in a red state where they hold all the power? How do you stop the onslaught of extremist policies from gender affirming care to abortion when you're working with a weak hand? Missouri Representative Crystal Quade has been fighting it for 6 years as Minority Floor Leader and now she’s running for governor. There are lessons for everyone...

California Representative Eric Swalwell joins the show this week to discuss the insanity of the House GOP, why Democrats need to be on the offensive, the increasingly great news on the economy along with his work to support Afghan Americans and his constituents. Swalwell represents California’s 14th District located in the East Bay region. He was first elected in 2012 and serves on the House Judic...

In this week’s show Fred speaks with retired Army General Ben Hodges about the situation in Ukraine, the inhumanity here at home, and the danger to our national security from partisan hacks. Ben is the former Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe. He is now Senior Advisor to Human Rights First, a nonprofit, nonpartisan international human rights organization. Prior to joining Human Rights First,...

In this week’s show Fred speaks with New York Times and national bestselling author Jeff Sharlet on the underpinnings of the growing authoritarian movements in the U.S. Sharlet is a multi-award winning author of 8 books, and many articles in top journals. His newest book, THE UNDERTOW: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, is a travelogue of the slow march to violence in America. He is the Frederick Sessi...

In this week’s show Fred and Tim Miller discuss the Trump interview, GOP primary prospects, his book and much more. Tim Miller is an MSNBC analyst, writer-at-large at The Bulwark, podcaster, and best-selling author of ‘Why We Did It: A Travelogue from the Republican Road to Hell’. He was the communications director for Jeb Bush’s 2016 Presidential Campaign and the spokesman for the Republican Nati...

In this week’s show Fred and David Pepper discuss his new book ‘Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual’ as well as the problem with uncontested races, getting disconnected voters into the fight and much more. David is a lawyer, accomplished author, political activist, and former elected official. He also teaches election law and voting rights. He served as the Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party betw...

Rachel Vindman joins Fred to talk about how real parents are fighting for their kid’s educations, the danger from Trump and DeSantis, and how she found her voice and wants to help others too. Rachel is a wife, mom, podcast host, writer, and activist. She is a co-host of the Suburban Women Problem podcast, and an advisory board member for the Renew Democracy Initiative. After her husband retired Lt...

John Nichols is a pioneering political blogger and writes about politics for The Nation as a national affairs correspondent and the Associate Editor of The Capital Times in Madison, Wisconsin. He is one of Wisconsin’s best-known progressive voices. John is the author of seven books on politics and the media. His pieces have been circulated internationally, quoted in numerous books, and mentioned i...

Charlotte Clymer is a writer, communications consultant, transgender activist, and military veteran. She writes “Charlotte’s Web Thoughts,” a popular Substack newsletter about politics, religion, and culture. She served as the Director of Communications & Strategy at Catholics for Choice, a reproductive rights advocacy organization. Prior to that, she was the Press Secretary for Rapid Response at...

Guest Christopher Titus is a comedian, podcaster and actor. He has been performing comedy since he was 18 and starred in his own FOX series, ‘Titus’ in which he was the star, executive producer and co-creator. He is a stand-up comedian and longtime host of his popular podcast the Armageddon Update. He is currently on tour and you can find him at https://www.christophertitus.com/.Turn your food was...

Tom Nichols is often everyone’s favorite internet foil as a Never Trump but still very conservative political voice with strong opinions on music and Jeopardy too. He is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the Atlantic Daily newsletter. He is a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, where he taught for 25 years, and an instructor at the Harvard...

Kevin M. Kruse knows all too well that as Winston Churchill said, “those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” He has made it his life’s work to show how today’s issues have historic precedent and roots that we ignore at our peril. He is a Professor of History at Princeton University. He specializes in the political, social, and urban/suburban history of twentieth-century Ameri...

Who is fighting for our children’s best interests before anything else? Dr. Annie Andrews is a pediatrician and mom who was the Democratic nominee in South Carolina’s First Congressional district in 2022 and is now doing just that. With her cofounder Renee Harvey they have launched Their Future. Our Vote. to be the voice for children and the issues impacting their lives and future.

John Sipher and Fred talk about the danger of authoritarians, Republicans riding the violence, and the undermining of the intelligence community. Sipher is a former CIA officer and now nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and co-founder of Spycraft Entertainment, a production firm providing content and talent to the entertainment industry. He is a foreign policy, inte...

Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor who has argued and won cases in the Supreme Court of the United States and of California.  As Chief Assistant City Attorney in San Francisco in the era before Obergefell v. Hodges, Dennis successfully defended suits brought by Pat Robertson’s legal foundation and United Airlines challenging San Francisco’s ground-breaking Equal Benefits Ordinance, a n...

Fred is solo this week and finds there is hope to be found in Democratic victories in Wisconsin and local elections but the Trump Circus in New York is getting a lot of attention and hiding the real game that is afoot. That shell game is hiding the real ball in play across the country as Republican led states take what some want to call ‘culture wars’ to dangerous levels that will have real world...

Kris Brown is President of Brady one of the oldest and most respected anti-gun violence organizations in the United States named after legendary White House Press Secretary and gun violence advocates Jim and Sarah Brady. Kris has led Brady since 2016 and is a long time veteran of gun violence prevention work starting her career on Capitol Hill working for Rep. Jim Moran, advocating for the bill th...

Leo Shane is the Deputy Editor of Military Times in Washington D.C. Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for the Military Times family of newspapers. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalis...

Dr. Chris Jones grew up in Pine Bluff, Arkansas with a deep love for science. He attended Morehouse College on a full NASA Scholarship, for physics and math, then went on to study at MIT earning a masters degree in Nuclear Engineering, a masters degree in Technology & Policy, and a Ph. D. in Urban Planning. After becoming ordained as a minister, he returned home to Arkansas with his wife, an emerg...

Dr. Eli Merritt is a political historian at Vanderbilt University who writes a newsletter on Substack called ‘American Commonwealth’. He has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune, among other news outlets. He is an expert on demagogues and democracy and the editor of the new book How to Save Democracy: Advice and Inspiration of 95 World Leaders. He and Fred discuss...