American Enough with Vikrum Aiyer

This is Life with Lisa Ling is an investigative docuseries on CNN. Lisa Ling, award-winning journalist and author, immerses herself in extraordinary, unusual, and sometimes dangerous communities across America . What she has learned over several seasons as an executive producer and host has profoundly changes her as a person, as a mother, and perhaps even as an American. Lisa sits with MouthMedia Network co-founder Marc Raco for a special interview, in which she reveals how the stories that her show covers have impacted her and her production team, and what she’s learned about America and the country’s changing identity from the people, communities and remarkable stories shared on the series. Lisa gives a glimpse into one of the stories from the upcoming season of "This Is Life with Lisa Ling", and why it struck a nerve, and about a big decision she had to make when Hillary Clinton didn’t win the presidency. Plus, what "This Is Life with Lisa Ling" has to do with Lisa seeing herself as "American enough".

From the NFL to Media Executives to elected office, the trust & faith we have in the very organizations that define American culture is has dwindled. But Dr. Jerry Toomer, a 30 year veteran of behavioral psychology, joins the pod to discuss how a few core principles can be applied to catalyze change in our communities, and build a new generation of American leadership that doesn’t always require a board room or a podium. Dr. Jerry Toomer serves as an Executive Partner and Adjunct Professor in the Lacy School of Business at Butler University.  With over three decades of applied experience as a Human Resource executive, he brings unique insights into leadership and organization effectiveness.

While wealth has been used to hack college admissions for generations, the FBI indictment in Operation Varsity Blues underscores vast inequities in higher education. Eric Rath, a 14 year veteran of college counseling & SAT prep, joins the pod to diagnose what’s gone wrong with the admissions process, and steps we need to take to break the caste system of education.Eric Rath is founder of Rath Education Group, a test prep and tutoring firm. Before starting his own firm, Eric’s 14 year tutoring career spans companies ranging from large corporations to small startups, with roles as varied as writing multiple curricula (specifically SAT, ACT, & GRE), training hundreds of instructors, managing over 75,000 hours of tutoring programs, and even personally teaching over 14,000 hours of one on one private tutoring. A perfect score holder on the SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT, from 2010-2015, prior to the 2016 SAT & ACT redesign, Eric’s students averaged score increases of 670 points (SAT) and 7.5 points (ACT). Eric earned his B.A. with high honors from U.C. Berkeley.

Emily Cherniack & Micah Scharf of New Politics join the pod to discuss why recruiting service members for a second tour of duty — representing their country, after spending years fighting for it — is more important now than ever.Emily Cherniack, Founder and Executive DirectorEmily Cherniack is steeped in the traditions of servant leadership. From her service in AmeriCorps and employment with City Year AmeriCorps, to being part of the founding team of Be the Change — where she led a coalition of over 200 organizations to engage 250,000 people for a Day of Action in support of the $6 billion Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009 — Emily has worked tirelessly to serve our country and support others who serve. In 2018, Emily was named to the Politico 50 as one of the 50 “thinkers, doers, and dreamers driving politics.” Emily’s path to politics came when her boss and mentor, Alan Khazei, decided to run for the US Senate in 2009. Khazei asked Emily to become his Deputy Campaign Manager and, although he was defeated, Emily learned a great deal from his campaign and the power of political leaders who chose to serve country before self. This experience led Emily to conclude that our current system for recruiting political talent is broken. The current talent pipeline is intentionally exclusive, and has significant barriers that prevent transformational leaders from successfully running for office; the only way to change that is to change the pipeline. New Politics was founded in 2013 to address exactly that. Emily graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice and Psychology and a Masters Degree in Education Policy. She lives in Boston.Micah Scharff, Director of Strategy & DevelopmentMicah serves as the Director of Strategy and Growth, where she oversees the organization’s ambitious growth plan following an election cycle where service veterans were a national movement and ran some of the strongest races in the country on both sides of the aisle. She joined the team after serving as the Finance Director and Senior Advisor to Ken Harbaugh’s congressional campaign, where she led a fundraising operation that raised the most money in the country for a Democrat in a Solid Republican district. Her leadership in Harbaugh’s operation earned her a feature story on CBS This Morning, profiling millenial women who were changing politics. Ken Harbaugh’s campaign was Micah’s first job in politics. Frustrated with the 2016 election, Micah left her role as a management consultant to join Harbaugh’s campaign. Micah quickly became one of the country’s top fundraisers, leading Harbaugh’s groundbreaking effort that earned national attention. A proud Midwesterner, Micah was born and raised in St. Louis. She graduated from Emory University, where she studied Economics and earned 4 NCAA letters. She currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Ricardo Leite, a Member of Parliament from Portugal, joins the pod to discuss how multilateral relations between traditional allies is shifting in real time; and what those evolutions mean for countries to tackle shared interests (like public health goals) together. Recorded at the Concordia Summit 2018.

Should Amazon Have Invested In Opportunity Zones? And, what do Napster, Cory Booker, and VP Pence have in common? Even though Amazon was pilloried for seeking tax “incentives” from New York, “opportunity zones” offer investors new tax breaks to revitalize traditionally distressed zones. Eddie Cullen, founder of the Border Freedom Fund, joins the pod to describe how these “zones” can create new hopes in overlooked American communities, including the US-Mexican border.

Why Millennials in America are becoming the face of community organizing, new technologies, and the nation…Founder & Executive Director of the Association of Young Americans (AYA), Ben Brown, joins the pod to discuss why young people in America are increasingly becoming the face of community organizing, new technologies, and the nation. Ben argues how representing their voice in politics will be vital to the growth and competitiveness of the country in the 21st century.Ben Brown started AYA in his NYC apartment in 2016 and is responsible for leading its growth and strategy, including inking partnerships with Lyft, CoachUSA and others. Prior to AYA, Ben was a consultant at Enovation Partners where he worked with Fortune 500 companies to develop innovation strategies, invest in clean-tech startups, and evaluate market entry opportunities. Before working with some of the world’s largest companies, Ben advised clean energy startup companies as a Manager at non-profit Clean Energy Trust (CET). At CET, Ben oversaw the development of a multimillion-dollar public-private investment fund and advised dozens of startups leading to millions of dollars in follow on funding. Ben is a graduate of Middlebury College.

Showing up at The Women’s March in San Francisco, CA – January, 2019 While 2019’s Women’s March was criticized for size, affiliation, accusations of bigotry and beyond — women and girls and allies of all backgrounds still showed up in cities across the nation. Join American Enough for live dispatches with leaders, organizers and skeptics of this year’s March explaining why it was important for so many to show up. The opinions expressed in this episode do not necessarily reflect those of the host or of MouthMedia Network.

Why working families in the United States struggle to spend time with newborns & raise their families…Executive Director of the nation’s leading paid family leave advocacy organization PL+US, Katie Bethell, joins the pod to discuss why working families in the United States struggle to spend time with newborns & raise their families (when the rest of the industrialized world invests in robust parental leave protections) and why hope may be on the horizon in 2019.Katie Bethell is the Founder and Executive Director of PL+US and one of Fortune’s 2018 “World’s Greatest Leaders” with 15 years of public policy and issue advocacy experience in the United States. Prior to founding PL+US, Bethell was the Campaign Director at MomsRising.org leading successful bids for family friendly policy at the local, state, and federal levels. Her portfolio included work to win passage of statewide paid family leave in New Jersey and Washington State, paid sick days legislation in Connecticut, and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Following MomsRising, Katie was Managing Director of North America Campaigns at Change.org, where she oversaw the team that ran hundreds of impactful public campaigns in the US. For her Change.org organizing, Katie was named by Fast Company as one of the “Most Creative People in Business.”

The transforming of creative content in Hollywood… In an era where entertainment increasingly mirrors the despair contained within our daily news cycle, one studio in Hollywood is doubling down on creative content that seeks to unite Americans with hope & inclusivity. Co-Founder of Wayfarer entertainment, Farhoud Meybodi, joins the pod to discuss how their brand of TV, Film, and Web-driven content can both speak to the issues of our time, while using art to galvanize change. BIO Co-Owner of Wayfarer Entertainment, Farhoud Meybodi is a Clio Award-winning director, and executive producer focused on premium storytelling content across scripted, unscripted, and branded distribution channels. Unlike many creatives in the entertainment business, Farhoud started his career in law, and spent his mid-twenties climbing up the corporate ladder as a sales and marketing executive for a global luxury brand. This non-traditional background gave Farhoud a marketers mindset – something he draws upon frequently when helping brands, agencies, TV networks, studios and NGOs connect with audiences through the power of human connection and social impact. At his core, Farhoud is passionate about creative storytelling content that entertains, educates and inspires. Mostly recently, Farhoud directed and executive produced Season Four of My Last Days, an award-winning documentary series about life told by courageous people living with a terminal illness, for the CW Network. He received a bronze Clio Award for directing and executive producing “Meet Anthony,” a season three episode of the show profiling renowned street photographer Anthony Carbajal, and his harrowing life experience with ALS. He developed, and executive produced Chefs Without Borders, a documentary series featuring celebrity Chef, Curtis Stone, and Actress/Model, Lindsay Price, as they journey from Los Angeles to Tanzania to live with, and learn from three Indigenous tribes, each representing a unique perspective on food insecurity. Farhoud also developed, executive produced and wrote Man Enough, a dinner conversation series featuring Scooter Braun, Anderson Silva, Justin Baldoni, Matt McGorry, Javier Munoz, Prince EA, Derek Hough, Tony Porter, Aydian Dowling and Jamey Heath that explores the heart of traditional masculinity in America. Farhoud created, developed and executive produced Project Upgrade, an unscripted series for Google featuring YouTube stars, The Merrell Twins, as they set out to design and build a new consumer product with the help of successful, female mentors from Google, Space X, NASA, and Disney. Farhoud has also developed and directed national campaigns for Subaru, Kellogg’s, MetroPCS, and The Ad Council, and sold several scripted pitches to major studios and television networks.

Why Most Americans Can’t Afford a $400 BillRachel Schneider (Author of the Financial Diaries, and Entrepreneur in Resident at the Aspen Institute’s FSP) followed 235 American families to understand why so many American’s still feel financial duress even while our economy grows at a rapid rate. She joins to the pod to detail how experimenting with new policies, like short term cash infusions, can address wage stagnation in the country. Rachel Schneider is the Omidyar Network Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Aspen Institute Financial Security Program (FSP), and co-author of The Financial Diaries: How American Families Cope in a World of Uncertainty. Described as a “must-read for anyone interested in causes of – and potential solutions to – American poverty” by Publisher’s Weekly, The Financial Diaries challenges conventional wisdom about inequality. As a social entrepreneur, Rachel is launching a new effort to explore how the social contract should evolve as a result. She is particularly interested in how small, strategic cash infusions can go a longer way by helping families at pivotal moments in which they simply don’t have the cash on hand that they need. She is developing hypotheses about how cash infusions can not only be stopgap measures, but also be a bridge toward stability and an investment in mobility. She is seeking partners with whom to expand and test those hypotheses by designing and implementing prototypes, and drawing attention to the range of solutions that can help families in need. For the last decade, Rachel has lead many of the projects at the heart of the work of the Center for Financial Services Innovation (CFSI), where she is still a Senior Advisor. She is both a conceptual, and a practical thinker, with an unusual ability to think both about big ideas and about the smaller steps that can be taken today. Her research has been cited in the nation’s largest publications, and she is a highly sought-after consultant, writer and public speaker. Rachel began her career as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch & Co., but credits her commitment to the potential for innovative finance to solve major social problems from her days as a VISTA Volunteer (now AmeriCorps). She holds a J.D./M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. from UC Berkeley

With all the promise & fret of automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics — Karen Bhatia, Vice President of New York City’s Economic Development Corporation, joins the pod to discuss how to leverage private dollars & public curricula to train workers for the jobs of tomorrow, today.Bio: Karen Bhatia is an innovative strategist and vision-led leader at the intersection of technology and entrepreneurship. Over 13 years of experience helping businesses start and scale. Integrate big vision with specific plans to execute. Lead strategy to identify market opportunities, develop business framework and prototype innovative products. Expertise analyzing challenges from business, legal, and policy perspectives. Currently lead Creative & Applied Tech strategies at the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) to support emerging tech and inclusive entrepreneurship in the city. This includes developing NYC’s blockchain strategy, launching the first publicly-funded VR/AR Lab in the country, spearheading the City’s strategy for ethical development of AI & leveraging big data, and growing advanced manufacturing in fashion. * Co-founder & President Emeritus, Stanford Startups NY * Western Queens Tech Council, appointment * Advisory Board, Tech Day * Executive Committee, Springboard Enterprise Business of Blockchain * Advisory Board, Rutgers University Big Data Program * Advisory Board, rLab, NYC VR/AR Lab * Advisory Board, German Tech Accelerator * Advisory Board, NYC Media Lab * Advisory Board, Made in NY Media Center * Advisory Board, Jamaica FEASTS (culinary incubator)

Dealing with changing Federal policy in immigration affairs departments in major US cities… Dr. Linda Lopez, Chief of Immigrant Affairs to LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, joins the pod to discuss how Cities can still connect immigrants to the promise of the American dream at the local level, even while the Administration attempts to water that dream down at the national level. Recorded on location at the 2018 Concordia Summit in New York. Linda currently serves in a senior leadership role with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti focused on policy guidance impacting underserved communities in Los Angeles in areas of immigration, public safety, and community building. Previous leadership roles include University of Southern California, American Political Science Association and National Science Foundation. Established track record in developing innovative projects and successful implementation with diverse set of stakeholders. She regularly consults with non-profits, and other municipalities on policy design and implementation. She has also worked with the UN, UNICEF, and Red Cross on humanitarian relief at the local level. Media: Linda has extensive experience speaking at international and domestic conferences on topics focused on education and access, technology and services, migration and security, and innovative public private partnerships with the philanthropic and private sector. Sampling of speaking engagements and panels include: Smart Cities New York (2018), Concordia (2017),Rockefeller Foundation 100 Resiliency Athens Network on Refugee Populations (2016), German Marshall Fund Strategic Planning Conference(2017),Truman Security Project (2018) Pacific Council on International Policy (2018), Open Society Foundation (2018) panel on how global cities are integrating immigrants and refugees, Atlantic Live Dialogues (May 2018)

Lyft’s Head of Social Impact, Mike Masserman, joins the pod to talk about how a tech company can still invest in social good — even in an era of heightened government scrutiny across some of the world’s largest technology corporations. Mike Masserman is currently the Head of Global Policy & Social Impact at Lyft, where he works on initiatives related to civic engagement, autonomous vehicles, opening global markets, and smart cities.  Michael was previously the Senior Director for Federal & International Government Relations where he built out Lyft’s Federal and Policy Partnerships teams. Prior to Lyft, Michael held a number of senior positions in the Obama Administration, and worked in various capacities on Obama’s 2008 campaign.  He began his career practicing international corporate law at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York, and then at King Wood & Mallesons in Sydney, Australia. He received his B.A. with distinction from the University of Michigan, his J.D. cum laude from University of California, Hastings College of the Law, and is a National Security Fellow with the Truman National Security Project.

Presidential speechwriters, Pentagon advisors, and the staff who help confirm Supreme Court justices don’t often grace the front pages of newspapers or tabloids. But in their book The West Wingers, 18 former White House staff detail how their own personal stories helped shape the work of the nation. Editor Gautam Raghavan, and contributing writers Aneesh Raman & Stephanie Valencia, join host Vikrum Aiyer.

New forms of work, through apps like Uber, and new forms of automation — are sparking both new opportunities and considerable angst among American workers. CEO & Co-Founder of The Workers Lab, Dr. Carmen Rojas, joins the pod to discuss how to build a 21st century set of organizing principles around preparing and protecting workers, while balancing the innovations that are fueling this century’s growth. Dr. Carmen Rojas is the Co-Founder and CEO of The Workers Lab, an innovation lab that invests in entrepreneurs, community organizers, and government leaders to create replicable and revenue generating solutions that improve conditions for low-wage workers. For more than 20 years, Carmen has worked with foundations, financial institutions, and non-profits to improve the lives of working people across the United States. Prior to building The Workers Lab, Carmen was the Acting Director of Collective Impact at Living Cities. She supported 22 of the largest foundations and financial institutions in the world to invest in improving economic opportunity for low-income people by supporting projects in the fields of economic and workforce development, energy efficiency, and asset building. From 2008 to 2011, Carmen was the Director of Strategic Programs at the Mitchell Kapor Foundation, where she oversaw the foundation’s Green Access and Civic Engagement programs. Alongside her work at the foundation, Carmen also taught in the Department of City and Regional Planning at the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to this, Carmen was the Coordinator of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency’s Taskforce on African American Out-Migration to address African American displacement from the city.  Carmen currently sits on the boards of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, Neighborhood Funders Group, General Service Foundation, JOLT, Certification Associates, and on the Advisory Boards of Fund Good Jobs and Floodgate Academy. Carmen holds a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley and was a Fulbright Scholar in 2007.

Bush v. Gore Florida recount attorney, and veteran campaign operative, Todd Elmer joins the pod to describe what the chaos inside an election recount looks like, while reflecting on the opportunity America has to protect the voices of voters in Georgia, Arizona, and Florida.Todd Elmer has built a 20 year career at the intersection of politics, law, communications, and artificial intelligence policy. Most recently, he served as part of the DNC’s national Deployment Project, which sent seasoned political veterans to support targeted Congressional races in the 2018 midterm elections and help win back the House of Representatives to Democratic control.  That recent service traced back to his experience in the 2000 presidential campaign of Al Gore, where he worked at the campaign headquarters and was then deployed to serve as a Democratic attorney in the 2000 Florida recount.In addition, he has served as White House advance staff for President Bill Clinton, Vice President Al Gore, Vice President Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden at official events throughout the United States and around the world.  He spent several years in the administration of President Barack Obama, where he was appointed to be the Chief Communications Officer of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), directing all internal, external, and crisis communications, as well as social media and business engagement efforts, for the 13,000 person federal intellectual property agency.Prior to joining the Obama administration, he directed communications and public affairs initiatives for artificial intelligence pioneer H5. Mr. Elmer’s public affairs and policy work with H5 supported the company’s efforts to effectively replicate and automate expert human relevance assessments through a precise combination of patented artificial intelligence technologies and a proprietary professional services process.Prior to joining H5, Mr. Elmer designed corporate communications and public affairs strategies for a wide variety of Fortune 500 corporations and national political organizations. He also practiced law within the public and private sectors, as an international trade attorney at the U.S. Department of Commerce and in the Washington, D.C. office of Kaye Scholer.  Mr. Elmer holds a Juris Doctor, with distinction, from Emory University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree, cum laude, from Furman University.

The first openly transgender staffer to The White House, RaffiFreedman–Gurspan, outlines how Americans can stand up to a White House plan to rewrite definitions of sex in this country, and undercut protections for millions of non-gender conforming citizens. Raffi Freedman-Gurspan is the Director of External Relations at the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE), where she oversees public education and field organizing operations. She was both a Senior Associate Director for Public Engagement, where she served as the primary liaison to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and Outreach and Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel at the White House from 2015-2017. Raffi was the first openly transgender staffer to work at the White House. She also currently sits on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council as an appointee named by President Barack Obama.

As the nation turned out to the ballot box in record numbers for the November midterm elections… …the world watched in awe as Americans were pitted against each other with threats of migrant caravans and the loss of healthcare. But what does the make-up of the new Congress (and the promise of newly minted elected officials) actually mean for Immigration? Privacy? Infrastructure? Or American civility?

Chicago, immigrants, and American identity… Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has stood up to anyone who tries to point at a finger at an immigrant in Chicago and imply that they’re not welcome in this country. Seemi Choudry, the Director of the Office of New Americans, is the muscle behind that backbone and has built new sources to help anyone afraid of losing their American identity, keep it, and reimagine the promise of this country.

Ahead of the November 6th elections, executive director of the College Republican National Committee (CRNC) Ted Dooley  joins Vikrum Aiyer. on location at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York City, to discuss how the GOP engages college campuses across the country to  be an “R” in the age of Trump. Ted Dooley is the Executive Director of the College Republican National Committee. Prior to that, he served as the organization’s National Co-Chairman, Regional Vice-Chairman, and was a three-term State Chairman for the Massachusetts Alliance of College Republicans. Aside from his work with College Republicans, Ted most recently worked as Vice President of Merrimack Potomac + Charles, a full-service strategic communications firm based in Boston and Concord, NH where he oversaw a broad range of strategic communications campaigns across the region. Ted began his political career managing and consulting for local and state Republican campaigns in Massachusetts. During the 2016 cycle, Ted served as a digital media advisor to New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu’s campaign. Ted has been quoted in The Boston Globe, The Boston Herald, Politico, CNN, ABC Nightly News, Fusion, Univision and other outlets for his insights on millennial politics and the Republican party.

Politico’s Daniel Lippman and seasoned investigative journalist Tim Burger join the pod to discuss what the gruesome death of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi and The White House reaction means for a free & open media at home, and around the world. Daniel Lippman is a reporter for POLITICO and a co-author of POLITICO’s Playbook, the most indispensable morning newsletter for the biggest influencers in politics. He graduated from The Hotchkiss School in 2008 and from The George Washington University in 2012. Daniel hails from the Berkshires in western Massachusetts and enjoys playing tennis, seeing movies and trying out new restaurants in his free time. Tim Burger is a writer and consultant based in the Washington, DC, area, where he was a full-time journalist from 1989 until 2010.  Tim broke numerous investigative, national security and political stories as a staff writer at publications such as TIMEMagazine, the New York Daily News, Bloomberg News, Roll Call and Legal Times. Tim recently wrote a widely-noted article in POLITICO Magazine last June about gay staff in the George W. Bush White House. He is a contributor to VICE News, where in December he broke the story of Congress effectively legalizing medical marijuana in the year-end spending bill (by defunding Justice Department enforcement of the federal ban on medical marijuana in states that have approved it) — the biggest change in marijuana law in 50 years.

How blockchain could transform the world…As revolutions in technology continue to change the way we interact with the world, perhaps no one tool promises to change the way we move assets around the world other than Blockchain. The mystique of blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies continue to be investigated by skeptics by are being leveraged by believers to change everything from the way we bank, to the way we vote, to the way we build governments. Sam Cassat, the Chief Strategy Officer of Consensys (one of the world’s leading block chain labs), joins Vikrum Aiyer on location at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York City.

Has our broken immigration and criminal justice systems locked too many people out from the American dream? Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us, a bipartisan political organization that believes America’s families, communities, and economy thrive when more individuals are able to achieve their full potential, joins Vikrum Aiyer at the 2018 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City.In this episode: The Trump administration’s political rhetoric vs. policy The objective of drastically fewer immgirants Designing an immigration system that works in the 21st Century requires pressure on officials Certain industries require immigrants, and as immigration systems changes, industries must change America’s economy and identity both hurt How our broken immigration and criminal justice systems have locked too many people out from the American dream Keeping the American promise

Brett Kavanaugh is now Associate Justice Kavanaugh. What does this controversial addition to the Supreme Court of the United States mean for the identity of the court, the country, and consent? Host Vikrum Aiyer offers some perspective, and heads to the streets and subways of the San Francisco Bay Area for public reaction.

How do we train and upscale workers for the 21st Century? And how can an entire pipeline of 7 million formerly incarcerated workers, seeking to be productive in society, “skill-up”. contribute, and fill roles competitively in the labor market, connect with willing and welcoming company? Stanley Richards, Executive Vice President at The Fortune Society, a non-profit organization based in New York City, NY with a mission to support successful reentry from prison and promote alternatives to incarceration, joins Vikrum Aiyer at the 2018 Concordia Annual Summit in New York City. Richards serves at The Fortune Society, a $35 million non-profit organization based in New York City, with a mission to support successful reentry from jail and prison and promote alternatives to incarceration, thus strengthening the fabric of our communities. Mr. Richards is second in charge and is involved in all aspects of the agency including the development and implementation of programs – discharge planning, education, workforce development, HIV/AIDS services, supportive housing, family services, substance use disorder treatment and mental health services, alternatives to incarceration and access to health care. Mr. Richards is a formerly incarcerated man of color and has over 30 years of experience in the criminal justice field. Mr. Richards has developed the expertise and extensive knowledge of programs, services, policies, and systems that impact the lives of people involved in the criminal justice system and reenter society. Mr. Richards was honored by the Obama Administration as a “Champion of Change” for his commitment to helping formerly incarcerated individuals reenter successfully into society. Mr. Richards was also a member of Governor Cuomo’s Ending the Epidemic Task Force which produced New York State’s Blueprint to End the AIDS Epidemic. Mr. Richards was a key participant in the NYC Discharge Planning Collaboration launched in 2004 by NYC Dept. of Corrections (DOC) and NYC Dept. of Homeless Services (DHS) that led to the launch of the Rikers Island Discharge Enhancement (RIDE) program. Mr. Richards graduated from Medaille College. He is certified as a Counseling Aide by the NYS Department of Labor. Mr. Richards was a Robert Wood Johnson Fellow in their Developing Leadership Program to Reduce Substance Use and completed Columbia University’s Institute for Non-Profit, School of Business Management, Executive Management Program. Mr. Richards is a member of the Board of Directors of JobsFirstNYC, an intermediary with a mission to reduce the number of out-of-school and out-of-work young people in NYC He also serves on the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) Juvenile Justice Oversight Board and the Vera Institute of Justice National Leadership Group: Pathways from Prison to Post-Secondary Education; as well as the Vera Institutional Review Board. Mr. Richards also serves on Community Board (7) in the Bronx.

Kumar Garg on whether America can maintain its leading edge in scientific discovery if it routinely bucks the very investments & truths that have been core to American discovery… For nineteen months, The White House has not appointed a science advisor, has dismissed third party research outlining shifts in our climate, and has even entered into nuclear arms negotiations with North Korea without a physicists in the room. Former White House science advisor Kumar Garg joins the podcast to discuss how science & tech policy can shape the American identity, and what Trump’s new nominee to head the Office of Science & Technology Policy means for respecting science in the face of politics.Bio: Kumar Garg helped shape science and technology policy for the Obama Administration for nearly eight years, serving in a variety of roles in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). He led the Obama Administration’s efforts to bolster science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, including the Educate to Innovate campaign with over $1 billion in in-kind and philanthropic investment, development of major State of the Union initiatives to train 100,000 excellent STEM teachers and bring computer science to all K-12 students, and creation of iconic events such as the White House Science Fair. Working with OSTP Deputy Director, Kumar supervised a team of twenty staff with portfolios ranging from biotechnology, entrepreneurship, space, advanced manufacturing, broadband, nanotechnology, behavioral sciences, the Maker Movement, digital media, prizes and broader innovation policy. As a senior leader at OSTP, Kumar was involved in policy-development, implementation and communication of a wide range of science and technology issues, including more than twenty-five Presidential events. Prior to his time in government, Kumar worked on behalf of parents and children seeking educational reform as an education lawyer and advocate. Kumar received a B.A. from Dartmouth College and a law degree from Yale Law School.

Mom, Wife, and former foreign policy advisor to the Secretary of State jumps into a race for Congress… Lauren Baer joins the pod to reflect on what it means to be a candidate for office at a time where political divisions are at an all time high, and trust for Congress is at a new low.Lauren Baer was raised in Florida’s 18th Congressional District and calls Palm Beach Gardens home. An attorney and foreign policy expert, Lauren served as an official in the Obama Administration from 2011-2017, acting as a senior advisor to two Secretaries of State and the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. Lauren holds a B.A. from Harvard University, a J.D. from Yale Law School, and an MPhil from the University of Oxford, where she was a Marshall Scholar. She is also a proud graduate of Palm Beach County public schools, where she earned recognition as a valedictorian of Suncoast Community High School.Lauren currently works as a consultant for Albright Stonebridge Group, the global strategy firm founded by former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. She and her wife Emily are active athletes who enjoy tennis, distance running, and spending time outdoors with their young daughter, Serena, and their dog, Biscuit.“American Enough” and MouthMedia Network do not necessarily support nor endorse any specific candidate for elected office.

A year of momentum for movements like #MovingForward… If 2017 was the year of revelations that roiled the entertainment, news, and tech industry by way of sexual misconduct & workplace harassment coming to light, 2018 has been a year of momentum for movements like #MovingForward. But the technology community, especially with its inherent power imbalance between startup founders and wealthy financiers, has faced a set of unique problems that plague how young innovative companies get off the ground. The Co-Founders of the #MovingForward project detail how their approach to transparent accountability among Venture Capitalists is putting sexual harassers in their place, and build a new ethos for the Silicon Valley.Cheryl Sew Hoy is a Startup Founder, Advisor, Angel Investor and Board Member, and currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area. She was listed in TIME’S “2017 Person of the Year,”as one of the 61 women featured in the magazine’s “Silence Breakers.” “Silence Breakers” are the women who’ve spoken out against sexual harassment and sexual assault in the workplace. On March 8, 2018, she launched #MovingForward, which is an open-source directory to highlight VC’s anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies and reporting contacts. As of July 2018, 100+ VC firms have committed as full participants.Ginny Fahs is a software engineer and writer committed to making technology’s next chapter more human and inclusive. She lives in San Francisco, where she works as a backend engineer at Uber Eats. Outside of work, Ginny co-founded #MovingForward, rallying 100+ VC firms to share their external discrimination and harassment policies and reporting contacts in the first open-source directory of its kind.

For as long as there have been babies, there have been debates over how to feed them…Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Trump administration opposed an international resolution to encourage breastfeeding, stunning maternal health advocates and drawing swift criticism… including from Lucy Sullivan, the Executive Director of 1,000 Days, a non profit focused on maternal health advocacy across the globe. Lucy joins the pod to discuss how corporate interests are reshaping America’s role as a public health leader, and what this may mean for the future of mothers, families, and countries of tomorrow.Lucy Martinez Sullivan helped found 1,000 Days and serves as its Executive Director. At 1,000 Days, Lucy is proud to lead a team of fierce advocates who work tirelessly on behalf of women and children in the U.S. and throughout the world. Previously Lucy worked on philanthropic partnerships on behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Action Against Hunger and the UN Foundation. Earlier in her career, she worked in senior marketing and brand management roles for a number of Fortune 500 companies, including Merrill Lynch, L’Oréal, and Limited Brands. Lucy holds a Masters of Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.BIO: 

When Americans vote, many positions on the ballot don’t even make sense to us. A superintendent? A comptroller? However vague they may sound, these “down-ballot” posts can sway everything from the lunch your kids eat at school to the way the subway system runs. New York State candidate for Comptroller Jonathan Trichter joins “American Enough” to tell us what the hell a comptroller is and why he suited up as a Republican to change the game.BIO: Jonathan Trichter is an investment banker and expert in public pensions and public finance. He has worked for J.P. Morgan, the restructuring firm MAEVA Group LLC and served on underwriting teams for the largest municipal bond issuers in the country. His work has helped state and local governments identify major long-term liabilities that were previously unaccounted for. Active in New York government, policy and civic causes for decades, Jonathan spent his early career in New York City government and on political campaigns. He worked for the New York Public Interest Group both in high school and through college. At J.P. Morgan, Jonathan covered the Office of New York State Comptroller and put together a complete directory of New York’s outstanding bonds to provide the details of the State’s debt profile for the incoming Comptroller, Tom DiNapoli. In 2010, Jonathan served as policy director on Harry Wilson’s campaign for New York State Comptroller. His work included researching and contributing to white papers on the New York State’s pension system that were covered extensively by the media and helped earn Mr. Wilson the endorsement of every major newspaper in the State, including The New York Times. Jonathan went on to work for Mr. Wilson’s restructuring firm, MAEVA, where he was a key leader on the largest out-of-court pension consent process in a corporate restructuring in recent years for a private sector workout. He later ran a municipal restructuring subsidiary of MAEVA, which was tapped by the Pew Charitable Trusts to work on public pension restructurings across the county. In this capacity, Jonathan helped lead some of the most meaningful pension reforms implemented by cities and states at that time. In Jacksonville, Florida he worked with Mayor Alvin Brown and the Police and Fire unions to restructure one of the most distressed public-safety pensions in the country; the work ultimately preserved the system’s defined benefit status via a consensual solution that saved the city $1.5 billion while funding the pension plan in a reasonable period without major benefit cuts to its members. Jonathan spent 2014 working for a venture capital firm owned by his wife’s family. There he managed a digital media startup, serving as its President in preparation for a key round of financing. With his background in communications, Jonathan took monthly traffic from under 2 million “uniques” per month to over 7 million in just 60 days. Afterwards, he worked directly with the VC firm’s chairman on a successful Series A, in which Discovery Communications led the round along with participation from Softbank, RRE Ventures, Greycroft Partners and Sterling. In 2015, Jonathan returned to MAEVA as a principal. Jonathan has published numerous articles and op-eds in The New York Times, The New York Post, The Daily News and others. His commentary has appeared on local news and national networks. He served as an adjunct professor at Fordham University in the political science department, and he founded a polling institute at Pace University. He is a graduate of Emory University and resides in New York City on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with his wife, the Executive Editor of Seventeen Magazine, and son. He is also an ironman triathlete, marathoner and open-water swimmer, but mostly before his son was born. “American Enough” and MouthMedia Network do not necessarily support nor endorse any specific candidate for elected office.

The #1 Donald Trump Impersonator in the World, John Di Domenico, on how comedy, satire, and late night TV is dividing, uniting, and trolling America…John Di Domenico is an American, Emmy Nominated, Actor, Writer, Comedian and Impersonator, he performs many different characters and is best known for his award-winning Donald Trump impersonation. Di Domenico has been performing Trump since 2004. When Donald Trump announced his presidential run in June of 2015, Di Domenico’s career took off, he became the official Donald Trump for numerous TV shows, making countless appearances on Conan O’Brien, Chelsea Handler, Fox News Redeye, Fox & Friends and many more outlets. Di Domenico also reads the tweets and performs sketches on Slate’s Trumpcast podcast and live shows. Di Domenico is the only Trump impersonator in the world to appear on the This Morning, Britain. Today Show & Sunrise Australia, Today Show Ireland, plus hundreds other international TV, radio and news appearances. John has made hundreds of live appearances as Donald Trump around the country and internationally he can be seen and heard in videos on Youtube, commercials, animated series, voiceovers, virtual reality, apps and even toys. John has appeared as Trump in four feature films and the 13 episode Canadian Comedy Awards Winning web series “You’ve Got Trumped” and is the winner of ABC’s The View’s National Trump Contest and The Laugh Factory’s International Trump Competition. John is originally from the Philadelphia area where he started his acting career, then moved to New York to work in theatre, television, film, standup and was a member of the Improv Company “Some Assembly Required”. He now lives in Las Vegas. John appeared in the off-Broadway hit Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding, The Line That Picked Up 1000 Babes,Bernie’s Bar Mitzvah and KABOOM directed by BT McNicoll. His off-off Broadway credits include The Execution and Big Blonde. Along with his theatre work John appeared in the comedy feature films Meet The Spartans, Disaster Movie, Purge of Kingdoms, Not Another Celebrity Movie and 30 Nights of Paranormal Activity. John was grateful to be cast as Howie Reinstein in the Heidi and Kennedy episode of The Soprano’s. He has numerous national commercials to his credit including VISA, Olive Garden, Comcast, Miller Beer, and recently shot a commercial in Israel as Jay Leno for the Israeli Lottery. John attended East Stroudsburg University and graduated from Temple University with a BA in Speech Communications. John spent a year as an Intern for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter. He overcame a severe speech impediment as a child to become a performer.  

Fighting Family Separation at the Border… While The White House & Congress must act to rescind a policy of cruelty playing at on America’s border with family separation, a number of legal aid services are seeking donations, volunteers, and language experts throughout the country. Find out who needs what and where with this special list of resources compiled by Slate. ______________________________________________ There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.“American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.

Bleeding America’s spirit of inclusivity… Immigrants seeking asylum at the US border are being separated from their children en masse due to new enforcement policies by the Department of Justice. But exactly how many kids can’t be accounted for is being inconsistently reported. The Intercept’s Debbie Nathan joins “American Enough” to clarify what is resulting in a mass separation of families, and how this is bleeding America’s spirit of inclusivity.Bio: Debbie Nathan is an investigative reporter for The Intercept. She lives in Brownsville, Texas, on the Mexico border, and has been writing about the border and immigration for over three decades. Those interested in following up with her directly about border patrol politics can email her directly at: naess2@gmail.com.  ______________________________________________ There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.“American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.

Vogue Model, and Instagram celebrity, Richie Shazam Khan joins the pod for a reflection during PRIDE month on how gender non-conformity on the fashion runway has sparked a new brand of queer activism… Richie Shazam is an Artist, Curator and Model born in New York City and currently based between New York and Berlin. Recent and upcoming performances include “Love Me Installation” New Museum, NY NY (2017), “Blind Audition” at Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (2018), Zucca Project Space, Venice, Italy (2018), and “CELL ECHO”, Yuz Museum Shanghai (2018). Shazam’s artistic and curatorial approach investigates subversive radical queer ideologies by deconstructing antiquated notions of gender identity through text, photography and performance. Her work has been featured in publications such as Vogue, Novembre, Cultured Mag, Elephant Journal, i-D, Garage, amongst others. __________________________________________________________________________ There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.“American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.  

At 4pm on June 4th, 2018  — a Monday — the White House issued a statement from the President, and it said: “The Philadelphia Eagles are unable to come to the White House with their full team to be celebrated tomorrow. They disagree with their president because he insists that they proudly stand for the national anthem. Hand on heart in honor of the great men and women of our military and people of our country.” To say nothing of the fact that the White House just issued a statement by the President in which he references himself in the third person, the statement actually sets off a new precedent for any Oval Office holder but frankly for the United States Constitution. The very notion of American identity has been rooted in dissent and free expression, in disagreeing with one’s neighbor, by having the right the ability and frankly the marketplace of ideas to have that conversation to debate it to engage in disagreement and to yell at one another — but knowing that the extent of one’s words stopped at the water’s edge of the end of that sentiment. It didn’t get quelled, didn’t get squashed, and get silenced and get banned. It didn’t get disinvited. The Philadelphia Eagles. It seems ironic — Philadelphia as the birthplace of democracy. The eagle as a national symbol. For a president to start allocating his measurement of who is or is not American enough — it’s not only dangerous, but it underscores the reason why this podcast is so important. __________________________________________________________________________ There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough.“American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.  

California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman discusses how the state of California’s primaries will shape the future of the nation and reclaim America’s identity…Polls open @ 7AM (find out where to vote here: www.sos.ca.gov/elections/where-and-how). GUEST BIO:  Eric C. Bauman was elected Chair of the California Democratic Party in May, 2017, having previously served as Vice Chair of the CDP (2009-2017). He previously served as Chair of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, the largest local Democratic Party organization in the nation, for 17 years.Eric has held various senior-level positions in California Government, including serving as Senior Advisor and Los Angeles Director of the Speakers Office of Members Services to Speakers John A. Perez, Toni Atkins and Anthony Rendon; Senior Advisor to Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez; Senior Advisor to Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, Deputy Insurance Commissioner – overseeing the Community Relations Branch of the California Department of Insurance and as Special Assistant to Governor Gray Davis and Director of the Governor’s Los Angeles Regional Office. He retired from state service upon his election as Chair of the CDP. Eric is also Registered Nurse with graduate education in Health Care Administration. He spent many years in intensive care and trauma nursing before moving into hospital administration. In 1991, Eric co-founded a health care management consulting firm, Consultants in Nursing Services Administration, specializing in the administrative, staffing and information system needs of hospital nurses.He is a member of the NARAL Pro-Choice Privacy PAC, is the Vice Chair of the LA County Insurance Commission and is on the advisory board of the Medical Reserve Corps of Los Angeles and the LA County Voting Systems Assessment Project Advisory Committee. Until recently, he was on the board of Glendale Memorial Hospital and the Latino Coalition Against AIDS.Eric lives in North Hollywood with his husband of many years, Michael, his late mother’s partner Trisha, and his dog Moe.“American Enough” and MouthMedia Network do not necessarily support nor endorse any specific candidate for elected office.

The ACLU‘s Director the Racial Justice Program, Dennis Parker, reflects with host Vikrum Aiyer, on the 64th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the progress we’ve made in racial inclusion, and the setbacks we confront…Guest bio: Dennis Parker (@DennisDParker) is director of the ACLU Racial Justice Program, leading its efforts in combating discrimination and addressing other issues with a disproportionate impact on communities of color. Parker oversees work to combat the “School-to-Prison” pipeline, the profiling of airline passengers subjected to searches and wrongfully placed on watch lists and the racial bias in the criminal justice system. Prior to joining the ACLU, Parker was the chief of the Civil Rights Bureau in the Office of New York State Attorney General under Eliot Spitzer. He previously spent 14 years at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Parker has also worked with the New York Legal Aid Society. He teaches Race, Poverty and Constitutional Law at New York Law School. He graduated from Harvard Law School and Middlebury College. _________________________________________________________There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough. “American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.  

Head of the NFL Alumni Association’s New York Chapter, and former NY Jets footballer, Michel Faulkner, debates the NFL’s decision penalizing players who kneel during the national anthem to protest policy brutality and racial inequities…Staking a position that defends the ban, while supporting civic protest, Faulkner and host Vikrum Aiyer also debate the state of America’s right to free expression in an era where everyone from the President to the ACLU and now even sports franchises are shaping how and where we are able to speak our minds.Guest Bio: For more than 32 years, Rev. Michel Faulkner has dedicated his life to serving God and his community. Growing up in Washington, D.C., he was an all-star football player that became a freshman All-American and four-year starter at VirginiaTech. In 1980, Rev.Faulkner graduated with a B.A. in communications. Then in 1985 he earned his M.A. in Education with emphasis in Career Counseling. After college, Rev. Faulkner played two seasons (1980-82) in the NFL, one season with the NY Jets. In 1983, Faulkner returned to Virginia Tech and graduated with a Master’s. Upon completing of his Master’s degree, he became the Assistant Dean of Students at Liberty University in 1985, and was promoted to Vice President for Urban Ministry in 1987. In 1988, Rev. Faulkner and his family moved to Times Square in New York City, to run a soup kitchen as Assistant Pastor for the Lamb’s Church. A little more than one year later, he joined the staff of Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan as Pastor for Youth and Community Outreach, where he was ordained inDecember 1991. While at Calvary he also served as co-chairman for the New York City Board of Education’s HIV/ AIDS Task Force from 1991- 1994 In 1993, Rev. Faulkner became the Senior Pastor of Central Baptist Church in the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He was able to grow the congregation from an average of 50 weekly attendees to over 400. While serving as Senior Pastor at Central he also served as the Vice President for Community Government Relations at King’s College from 1998 to 2002. He served on Mayor Giuliani’s Task Force on Police Community Relations and wasa Commissioner for the City Charter Revision. Also from June of 2002 to February of 2004, Rev. Faulkner served as World Vision’s Director of U.S. Programs in New York City helping to give share to their 9/11 response in NYC. In 2005, Rev. Faulkner founded the Institute for Leadership, a 501-3c organization to develop leaders and bring scalable solutions to difficult community problems. In June 2006, Rev. Faulkner he founded the New Horizon Church of New York in Harlem on the purpose to build bridges between the economically and socially disadvantaged in the name ofChrist. In 2010 Rev. Faulkner he was the Republican candidate for Congress for New York’s 15th Congressional district. Also in 2010, Rev. Faulkner published his first book “Restoring the American Dream”, which highlights his vision and goals to save the American Dream for future generations. In September 2015 Rev. Faulkner became a Republican candidate for Mayor and in May 2017 switched to a candidacy for Comptroller. He was nominated by Republican, Conservative, Reformed and Independence Parties. He received 22 percent of the vote November 8 2017. Rev. Faulkner has completed four marathons including the 2010 NYC Marathon which was a lifelong goal for him. In October 27, 2013, he completed the Marine Corp Marathon in Washington D.C. Rev. Faulkner is also a frequent commenter for numerous national and local media outlets including CNN and FOX News. In February 2014 Rev. Faulkner lost his wife, Virginia, of more than 31 years to lupus. Together they raised 3 children in New York City, all have graduated College. In March 2015, Rev. Faulkner married Dr. Sarai Padilla. She is a practicing psychologist for more than 30 years and has one daughter and three grandchildren.

Whistleblower Brittany Kaiser and information privacy legal expert Cameron Russell join MouthMedia Network CEO Rob Sanchez for a wide-ranging discussion on data privacy… Brittany Kaiser (international law, diplomacy and data-driven campaigning professional and Co-Founder of the Digital Asset Trade Association (DATA), as well as former Business Development Director for Cambridge Analytica) and Cameron Russell (Executive Director, Fordham Center on Law and Information Policy (CLIP), and Adjunct Professor of Law teaching Information Privacy law at Fordham University) join MouthMedia Network CEO Rob Sanchez in the MouthMedia Network studios powered by Sennheiser. With an introduction by host Vikrum Aiyer.In this episode: Kaiser discusses working in data and politics, her prior work with Cambridge Analytica, why she left there, being a whistleblower because of the way the data industry worked in a parasitic way, her goal to be contributing on how to change things, and the social and legal contracts with companies who collect data A review of what happened with Cambridge Analytica and Facebook, and how the revelations about them made Kaiser reflect on everything that happened The lack of due diligence, thinking about ethics, laws, whether they are sufficient to protect individuals Is personal data “property”, and the control we should have over it Paying the price for the way we’ve been sharing info, the boundaries of privacy and identity How tracking and keep up where one’s personal info is going to, and monetization and the cost transparency of goods Is data a public utility or commodity, should data be regulated the same way? Why Kaiser is against the “Delete Facebook” campaign. The potential solution offered by blockchain, trackable, traceable, and an encrypted digital identity that would require consent for every usage Are lawmakers from the wrong generation to have meaningful discourse around these issues, and how do we build a system that works? Do tech giants want to reform on their own? Issues with using proprietary algorithms (entrenching existing bias) in proceedings while allowing due process When talking about use of data on government side vs. private company, is utilizing citizens’ data a form of taxation by the government? The government needs to maintain law and order, but needs transparency – yet some things need to be covert Most US residents don’t realize there is data to be opting out of, but in Europe it is by default opt out The issue with “data brokers” Protection for children regarding data, and whether that should be extended to adults, as also in COPPA The hope that privacy is not dead, and Kaiser’s appeal to Mark Zuckerberg to offer transparency of data on Facebook Are we at privacy-risk with new technology, and is privacy perhaps something we can only protect for our children?

What if the source of this polarization in our country had little to do with where people actually fall on the issues, or what people actually believe in? The Intercept’s Zaid Jilani joins the pod to unpack a new study that identifies how a team-sports mentality in America is wedging more of us against each other, rather than a division on ideas or policies. Mapping the evolution and rise of tribal sports in politics, Jilani highlights how our politics exploit this distinction between team & topic, and what that means for the day to day governance in our democracy. According to The Intercept, “Zaid Jilani is a journalist who hails from Atlanta, Georgia. He has previously worked as a reporter-blogger for ThinkProgress, United Republic, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, and Alternet. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in international affairs and received his master’s in public administration from Syracuse University in 2014.” _________________________________________________________There’s a lot going on in America (and the world) and Vikrum Aiyer — Former White House Senior Economic Policy Advisor (Obama Administration) and Former Chief of Staff of the United States Patent and Trademark Office — has something to say about it all and about what it takes these days to be American enough. “American Enough™ with Vikrum Aiyer”, is a weekly, town hall-style podcast discussing your questions and comments about current events, politics, and American ideals. As events unfold, Vikrum will share timely commentary wherever he is, as he travels, between meetings, and even en route to the office.  

Why Florida teacher Alex Heeren is running for office, and sees hope in the modern student… How does the identity of a public school, its teachers, and it students change after a tragedy like Parkland? All too often it’s easy to reduce the current assessment of our schools as political debates around whether teachers should be armed, whether gun control laws pass, or what the Secretary of Education did or didn’t say. But for Alex Heeren, the future of the identity of public schools extends far beyond politics; it demands a rigorous debate around resources, representing teacher voice, investing in a 21st century infrastructure, and empowering student activism. As a life long teacher himself, he details why he has decided to run for office, and how despite gun violence or divisions in America, he sees hope in the identity of the modern public school student. Alex Heeren was born in Seminole and has lived there for almost his entire life. He went to Lakewood High School, and received his Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunications from the University of Florida. He has been serving his community since he was a child. He was a Boy Scout who often engaged in service projects, and as an adult has earned the rank of Eagle Scout. In his professional life, Alex was a math teacher for several years at Meadowlawn Middle School. He also ran a Girls Who Code after school program, and still coaches the school’s volleyball team. Now, Heeren is a Technology Integration Coordinator with Pinellas County Schools. He helps teachers incorporate technology into their classrooms. He and his wife Teal, who is an English teacher, live in Seminole.