Democratic Perspective » Podcast Feed

Keeping Perspective: Looking To The Past And To The Future. As Democratic Perspective celebrates 11 years of programming, Steve Williamson and Gary LaMaster, two of the show’s founders, offer a retrospective of the past 11 years. Steve explains how the … Continue reading →

Issues Over Ideology. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Jeanne Casteen, teacher, school board member, and director of the Secular Coalition of Arizona. She is running for the LD2 Senate seat in the Arizona legislature with hopes of reducing the … Continue reading →

The Arizona GOP’s Long-Running Plan To Privatize Education. Karen McClelland and Steve Williamson welcome Nicky Indicavitch, Statewide Outreach Director of Save Our Schools Arizona and a self-described angry mother, to discuss why Arizona ranks dead last in per pupil funding. … Continue reading →

Russia’s Invasion Of Ukraine. The History And Unseen Consequences. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Andrew Bacevich to the show. Bacevich is a Professor Emeritus of International Relations and History at Boston University as well as co-founder and president of … Continue reading →

No, Inflation Isn’t The Biggest Story Of The Biden Economy. Steve and Karen welcome Dean Baker, one of the nation’s leading economists, and friend of the show Steve Segner to discuss the economy and inflation. When asked whether inflation is … Continue reading →

A Modern-Day Form Of Slavery. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome international human rights attorney Dianne Post to discuss the abuses and disproportionate cost of for-profit private prisons. Post was first on our show in 2013 to discuss the same … Continue reading →

Critical Race Theory As A Political Weapon. Our guest host, Holli Ploog, welcomes Heather Hermen, Heather Isom, and our own Karen McClelland to discuss their views of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and public education in general. To begin, let’s be … Continue reading →

Bridging The Political Divide In Arizona. Co-hosts Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome to the show three well-qualified Democratic candidates for the Arizona State Legislature along with their campaign manager, Jay Ruby. The candidates include Mike Fogel, a school board … Continue reading →

Assessing Putin’s War. Steve Williamson welcomes Paul Lenze, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics & International Affairs at Northern Arizona University, to discuss Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Asked about the news coverage of the invasion, Lenze responds, “They’ve done … Continue reading →

Identifying And Addressing The Issues Facing Sedona. Steve Williamson welcomes three candidates for Sedona City Council: Brian Fultz, Pete Furman, and incumbent John (JT) Thompson. Steve leads the candidates in a wide-ranging discussion that addresses many of the most important … Continue reading →

Critical Race Theory According To The People Who Teach It. Steve Williamson and Sedona City Councilor Holli Ploog welcome Dr. Francis Reimer, Prof. Angelina Elizabeth Castagno, and Dr. Ijeoma Ononuju, all of Northern Arizona University to discuss the now controversial … Continue reading →

On Becoming A Candidate For Public Office. Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland welcome Sedona City Councilor Kathy Kinsella to discuss how to become a candidate for public office and run a successful campaign. Before moving to Arizona, Kinsella was elected … Continue reading →

GOP Assault On Free Speech. “You must pledge allegiance to Israel and to the corporations for which we stand.” That’s the message given to state contractors by Republican legislatures in the more than 30 states that have passed draconian laws … Continue reading →

Making Sense Of Presidential Elections. Steve and Karen welcome back author and historian, Dan Singal, to discuss Critical Election Theory. If you are unfamiliar with the theory, it holds that, approximately every 36 years, a political realignment occurs in which … Continue reading →

The History Of Trump’s Paranoid Style Of Politics. Friend of the show, author Dan Singal, joins Steve Williamson and Karen McClelland to discuss the rural/urban divide and how Trumpism came about. He explains the phenomenon by referencing Richard Hofstadter, perhaps … Continue reading →

The Importance Of Enacting Voting Rights Legislation. On Martin Luther King Day, Democratic Perspective welcomes Mark Robert Gordon to discuss the ongoing struggle for equal access to voting. Gordon is an attorney who specializes in election law and represents Arizona … Continue reading →

An Enthusiastic Voice For Change. Karen McClelland and Steve Williamson welcome Jevin Hodge, former vice-chair of the AZ Democratic Party and candidate for the congressional seat currently held by the ethically challenged Rep. David Schweikert. He says, “When elected, I … Continue reading →

Sedona 2021: A Year Of Accomplishment. Steve Williamson welcomes Mayor Sandy Moriarty and City Council Members, Kathy Kinsella and Holli Ploog, to discuss the changes that took place last year, and what Sedona residents might look forward to in the … Continue reading →

Putting 2021 In The Rearview Mirror. As always, at the end of the year, our hosts and contributors review the major events and news stories of the past year. In 2021, there were many to choose from: The continuing pandemic, … Continue reading →

Should The Free Speech Rights Of Corporations Outweigh Those Of Citizens? In our upside-down culture, money now equals free speech and corporations are people. And, according to our guests, those beliefs are becoming increasingly apparent in our universities and colleges. … Continue reading →