The City Club of Cleveland Podcast

It was the legendary civil rights leader and human rights advocate John Lewis who famously said in his autobiography Walking with the Wind: A Memoir of the Movement, \"I believe in freedom of speech, but I also believe that we have an obligation to condemn speech that is racist, bigoted, anti-Semitic, or hateful.\"\r\n\r\nThis year, the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage and The City Club of Clevelan...

U.S. Congressman Anthony Gonzalez represents Ohio's 16th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. As the son and grandson of Cuban immigrants who fled the Castro regime, Congressman Gonzalez cherishes the opportunity to serve his country and his community. Congressman Gonzalez serves on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and on the Financial Services Committee, where he is th...

A year after the COVID-19 pandemic reached Ohio, Cuyahoga County and the rest of the state are beginning to see signs of hope that we\'re at the beginning of the end of the pandemic. Vaccine distribution is accelerating, confirmed cases and positivity rates are declining, schools are returning to in-person classes, and certain restrictions are being lifted.\r\n\r\nIn his annual address, Cuyahoga C...

On March 16, a series of mass shootings occurred at three spas in Atlanta killing eight people, six of whom were Asian women. The 21-year suspect claims the murders were not racially motivated, however, the shootings stirred outrage and fear in the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, which had seen dramatic increases in racism and hate crimes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic....

Even before the effects of COVID-19 ravaged the nation, care providers and social service organizations were putting increased effort into addressing people\'s most basic needs including healthcare, food, shelter, childcare, counseling, transportation, and education. This was due, in part, to increased awareness of the reality that community conditions and social needs largely influence health out...

In April, four years after President Donald J. Trump began to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, President Joe Biden and his top officials are reengaging with world leaders and making aggressive commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions. As part of a two-day summit, he announced the United States will target reducing emissions by 50-52 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 levels.\r\n...

In March of 2011, protestors took to the streets in Syria to show solidarity with the growing pro-democracy movements in Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia. Across the region, these protests sparked a domino effect of citizens taking to the streets to demand democratic reforms and greater freedoms; on a larger scale, this period became known as the Arab Spring. In Syria, however, the initial uprisings were...

President Dwight Eisenhower established the first Law Day in 1958 to mark the nation\'s commitment to the rule of law. The 2021 Law Day theme - Advancing the Rule of Law, Now- reminds all of us that we the people share the responsibility to promote the rule of law, defend liberty, and pursue justice.\r\n\r\nNo society can thrive, or even continue to exist, without the rule of law and respect for i...

For years, researchers, experts, and journalists have raised alarm bells about the rising numbers of Northeast Ohio children presenting with elevated blood lead levels and lead poisoning. One study even found that the rates of lead poisoning in Ohio rivaled that of Flint, Michigan. The region\'s industrial past and aging buildings and housing stock laden with lead paint are often cited as culprits...

While the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe over the last year, experts forecasted a \"parallel pandemic\" of declining mental health due to the stress, isolation, loneliness, and anxiety brought on by job loss, economic uncertainty, and work and social restrictions. For those who already suffered from mental health and substance abuse disorders, the pandemic often exacerbated their symptoms and c...

Joe Marinucci will retire from the Downtown Cleveland Alliance (DCA) at the end of April, after serving as President and CEO since its inception 16 years ago. Created in 2006, DCA manages services within a district that stretches from the Cuyahoga River to East 18th Street and includes areas in and around the Flats. The Alliance\'s most visible presence is in the form of the yellow-clad Downtown A...

The lack of public comment at Cleveland City Council meetings has been a source of resident anger and frustration for decades. Except for a brief time in the 1920s and 1930s when the city was under a city manager form of government without an elected mayor, Cleveland City Council has not routinely held a space for public comment in its regular meetings. This is in stark contrast to other Ohio citi...

Last year, the United States commemorated the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment. Women and men of all races, ethnicities, and identities fought for-and against-women's right to vote. The national movement that led to the women\'s right to vote is not only a story about women's rights, but is also an American story of race, class, citizenship, gender, immigration, politica...

The crisis in Venezuela has been making headlines for years. As violence erupts in the streets, people without food, water, or electricity have been fleeing the country in droves. Unsustainable economic practices compounded by Nicol?s Maduro's authoritarian reign has created the perfect storm for a national catastrophe, and has inspired enormous demonstrations throughout the country, uniting peopl...

Cleveland Browns\' teammates Andrew Hawkins and Joe Thomas are co-hosts of the popular The ThomaHawk Show podcast in addition to their current roles with NFL Media.\r\n\r\nAn undrafted wide receiver out of Toledo, Hawkins started his professional football career with the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes before joining the NFL in 2011, playing first for the Cincinnati Bengals before si...

In America and other Western democracies, older industrial communities are in a painful process of economic transition. These geographic regions were once economic powerhouses, but have experienced a decline in manufacturing, and a subsequent decline in local economies, property taxes, education, and other community assets. Research has shown that when election season rolls around, residents of th...

For the first time in more than a decade, the Democrats control the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Their majorities in congress are exceptionally slim, requiring them to govern and legislate with unity-which they don't always have. United in their effort to deny President Trump a second term, they rebuilt the \"blue wall\" in the Midwest, expanded their base in the popu...

This March, many Ohio students will return to the classroom for the first time in a year, after schools first shut down because of COVID-19 last spring. Teachers, administrators and parents have worked tirelessly to educate these students, but most agree that remote instruction simply cannot replace the learning done in-person with a teacher and student face-to-face. Some educators and policy make...

Despite the attention paid to tech and gig jobs and workers, the manufacturing industry continues to occupy a central place in the American economy. For many, a manufacturing job provides the most promising path to job stability and upward mobility. However, over the last decade, the implementation of technological advances in manufacturing - digitalization, automation, robots, artificial intellig...

It has been one year since the COVID-19 pandemic entered Ohio. Now, hioans are hopeful that we\'re at the beginning of the end of the pandemic. Vaccine distribution is accelerating, confirmed cases and positivity rates are declining, schools are returning to in-person classes, and certain restrictions are being lifted. Governor Mike DeWine discusses what\'s next for the state of Ohio.\r\n\r\nThis...

Dwindling enrollment. Another look at the digital divide. Hybrid and totally remote learning. The pandemic has sent ripples through the education system in the United States, in many ways permanently changing how our nation's children learn. Amongst these change, how students are tested has been altered as well.\r\n\r\nAfter schools were shut down a year ago, several college and universities made...

For more than 30 years, The City Club of Cleveland has hosted the annual High School Debate Championship in which the top two area high school debaters square off in a classic \"Lincoln-Douglas\" style debate. Despite the pandemic, we are moving forward with this tradition and presenting the championship virtually.\r\nThe two finalists, Sophia Avery, a junior at Chagrin Falls High School, and Sore...

In 2021, Cleveland faces a mayoral election. Leading up to the primary, the City Club will be speaking with candidates seeking the city\'s highest office.\r\n\r\nRoss DiBello grew up in Chesterland and graduated from both The Ohio State University and the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. An attorney, he spent most of his career working for Judge Cassandra Collier-Williams, most recently as her s...

A recent poll from the Associated Press and the National Opinion Research Center found that 91 percent of Americans favor some sort of criminal justice system and police reform. But that\'s not the only aspect of our legal system hampered by decades of discrimination, racism, and classism. There is also a persistent civil justice gap in America - and it\'s widening.\r\n\r\nThe civil justice gap is...

As the nation begins to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we\'re learning that the availability of child care, decisions regarding when to safely re-open schools, and the broader workforce are inextricably connected.\r\n\r\nWhile child care professionals were initially lauded as essential employees at the start of the pandemic, their prioritization declined as time passed. Statewide lockdowns, t...