Democracy Café

Our latest podcast is with Noor Al-Hajji, organizer and facilitator of the Socrates Cafes in her hometown of Al-Hassa, Saudi Arabia, as well as at Arabian Gulf University in Bahrain, where both men and women from a number of countries in the Middle East take part. In her latest exchange with us, Noor shares in a most passionate and eloquent way how the version of philosophical inquiry she and I both seek to advance the world over via Socrates Cafe connects us to the past (including to Socrates) and the future, and how it cultivates an all-important ethical dimension that ideally drives a keener social conscience. Noor, a graduate student in the field of Geographic Information Systems, makes a remarkable comparison between her studies and philosophical inquiry, and how the unseen dimensions -- whether a band on the spectrum of an image, or an abstraction of a philosophical concept -- should drive our everyday actions, and in ways that in turn cultivate individual and societal excellence. Listen in. (I'm very

Ron Nirenberg, who in June 2017 became Mayor of our nation's seventh largest city, believes that a blend of pragmatic, progressive and visionary bottom-up governance stands the best chance of having a kind of spillover effect that can make our world more vibrant and inclusive on national and global scales. To that end, besides an array of pioneering environmental, housing, education, transportation and education initiatives that he seeks to implement at the local scale in San Antonio, Mayor Nirenberg also is Chair of Sister Cities International, created in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, such is his commitment to building diplomatic bridges the world over in an era of increasing nationalism. "It's extremely important, especially in these days, that people understand who it is that lives next to them," says Mayor Nirenberg, who has attended our thriving annual Conversation with the Constitution in San Antonio. "And we must all strive to understand the differences between us and the importance of

About a year ago, Tobiasz Budzyński, who is from Poland but is living in Berlin, started a Socrates Cafe at a Polish-German bookstore there. He first learned about our gatherings through a childhood friend who has a Socrates Cafe in Krakow. He decided it could be, among other things, a great way to create a greater sense of connection and commonality, "especially because the meeting takes place in a non-virtual world," and explores questions that are as timely as they are timeless, including ones on identity, nationality, and how language shapes our thinking "I think that’s a very important aspect," shares Tobiasz, who considers himself, more than anything, a "European citizen" and "part of this global village". He is pleased that German citizens have also taken part, and that a group might soon start in the German language as well. "It takes an effort to come to a meeting," Tobiasz shares. "Then we can talk, we have time for listening to one another, and actually to get to know each other." Listen in.

In this latest episode of 'The Openist,' Chris is joined by the towering public intellectual and human rights activist Cornel West, an Honorary Board Member of the nonprofit Democracy Cafe (democracycafe.org) of which Chris serves as Executive Director. To agree or disagree with Brother West is almost beside the point; he aspires to make us think deeply, critically, compassionately. Chris and Dr. West chart their way through sundry timely and timeless issues that have to do with maintaining and evolving open hearts, open minds, open societies in times of rising absolutism and fundamentalism. Brother West lauded Democracy Cafe's efforts to make our world more thoughtful, understanding and lovable -- he is wowed by what we accomplish with no philanthropic funding but with several generous individual donors. He urged Chris to hurry and finish up his newest book, so he could write the forward to it. Listen in to Cornel West. And as an extra, here is a link to a video interview with Brother West: https:/

Rock and Latin music writer and curator Isabela Raygoza has opened my world to an array of artists and great music that I otherwise would not be privy to. She provides vistas, contexts and perspectives that help me and many others see how this rich artistry both stems from and drives American democracy, identity, and greater gender equality at this critical moment. I once had the honor of having Isabela as a student of mine when I was professor of the graduate Thesis Writing course for the Department of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University. She has gone on to do great things, including writing regularly for publications like Rolling Stone, Remezcla and VICE. Listen in as Isabela shares her compelling take on the music and democracy scene.

In 1998, 'Civic ideals: Conflicting Visions of citizenship in U. S. History,' was a finalist for the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in History. If anything, the comprehensively insightful award-winning book -- authored by Rogers Smith, who until 2001 was Alfred Cowles Professor of Government at Yale University before then becoming the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Political Science -- is more relevant today than ever. As Yale University Press, the publisher of 'Civic Ideals,' notes, it "traces political struggles over U.S. citizenship laws from the colonial period through the Progressive era and shows that throughout this time, most adults were legally denied access to full citizenship, including political rights, solely because of their race, ethnicity, or gender. Basic conflicts over these denials have driven political development and civic membership in the U.S., Smith argues. These conflicts are what truly define U.S. civic identity up to this day." And as Rogers Smiths shares in our thoughtful

"A question for you: knowledge and understanding -- how do the words and concepts themselves differ in your eyes?" That was the message I received from Claire Diao, a very thoughtful former student at University of Vermont who is now applying to study at Brown University even as she continues to work as a bartender. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a one-on-one Socratic give-and-take as much as I did this one with Claire, as we explore together the very question she posed to me. Listen in and you just might find yourself moving further along your own path towards achieving greater wisdom, as I did thanks to Claire.

Democratic freedoms are on the decline. What can be done to arrest this pernicious development and make sure freedom rings the world over? Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House (freedomhouse.org), an independent watchdog organization that supports democratic change and monitors the status of freedom around the world, has an array of timely insights on the matter.  Michael - who before joining Freedom House in February 2017 was director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Levine Institute for Holocaust Education, and before that was National Editor and White House correspondent for the Washington Post -- discusses Freedom House's annual report, 'Freedom of the World,' which they've been producing for nearly a half century. Its key indicators -- which track everything from freedom of the press, to rule of law, to free and fair elections -- show that, as Michael puts it, "after a long period of steady growth of democratization....you've had kind of a reversal of that over the last twelve yea

When Joaquin Gonzalez heard about the effort of Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig and other compatriots to challenge and prospectively overhaul the 'unrepresentative' way Electoral College votes are distributed via a winner-take-all system, he immediately reached out to offer his services and help bring a lawsuit in Texas. To Joaquin, a recent graduate of Yale Law School, radically changing the way the Electoral College operates is a key way to bring about a more egalitarian and participatory democracy --- his paramount aim. As Lessig readily recognized, Joaquin is a force to be reckoned with, and he enlisted him at once to join in the admirable effort. Joaquin, 33, based in San Antonio, where his family is from, is the recipient of the 2018 Shirley Adelson Siegel Public Interest Fellowship. As part of his fellowship, he is working at the Texas Civil Rights Project on voting rights issues and election protection in Texas. TCRP is a Texas-based nonprofit which in its twenty-six year history has brought

Our representative democracy is more and more unrepresentative. As Lawrence Lessig asserts, American voters are being "essentially silenced by constitutional inequality." This is made abundantly evident by the winner take all system that pervades the way nearly all states allocate electoral votes -- and yet this system isn't at all mandated by the Constitution; rather, it's been created by the states. The tragic result of denying proportionality in distributing electoral votes is that millions of votes for presidential candidates effectively don't count. It's downright undemocratic. This is an ever more alarming predicament, as the winner take all system increasingly likens the odds that we'll face more presidential election outcomes in which the candidate with the least votes wins. Listen in as Lessig, Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard University, shares how he and other concerned citizens are taking on the existing system. As Lessig puts it, such vitally needed change can only co

Kathy Cadwell is my kind of educator -- she is dynamic, passionate, curious, and best of all, equips her charges not just to lead the classroom, but to take leadership roles in the community. A teacher at Harwood Union High School in Moretown, Vermont, Kathy has had a Socrates Cafe for students and the community for a decade (and I've had the privilege and honor of visiting twice to hold Socratic inquiries, give workshops and presentations). She also was one of the select few to be named a Rowland Fellow in 2016. Listen in as Kathy shares her philosophy of living, learning, and changing the world, one student at a time. Be sure also to check out her website: https://katherinecadwell.wordpress.com/ And here's a link to a very compelling Ted Talk she gave: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzQhiB2EOVE Here also is an article about my most recent visit to her school -- the students themselves facilitated the give-and-take when we broke into smaller groups (sure hope to return soon! I learn so much fro

I had the great pleasure and honor of picking the brain of the celebrated, award-winning journalist and author James Fallows, who with his wife Deborah co-scribed Our Towns: A 100,000 Mile Journey into the Heart of America. It is a sumptuous read, as sweeping as it is intimate. I can't recommend it highly enough; it is that absorbing and insightful. As Jim eloquently shares with me, the American affinity for affiliation, for organization, for association still thrives "more than we expected and more than many would expect." Tocqueville himself likely would be most pleased that "the agglutinative nature of the American people," as Jim puts it, remains as singularly distinctive and inventive as ever, at least among the communities that he and Deborah visited. Be sure also to visit the website OurTownsBook.com Now, listen in as Jim recounts their fascinating years-long journey via prop plane that Jim piloted across an America that still 'works.' [And I apologize that it's a bit echo-y on my end, but I

Paul Martin is a beloved mentor. He is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of Martin Capital Advisors (MartinCapital.com), for which I'm an Investment Advisor Representative, an inveterate Socratic questioner, philanthropist, and all-around fabulous human being. The epitome of a person who continually wonders and inquires -- and hence establishes a beachhead against stupidity -- Paul models a way of being and doing that sets a high bar. "As long as you say to yourself, maybe I don't know everything, then you're open to inquiry," Paul asserts. "What drives stupidity is a lack of inquiry" and the concomitant sense of wonder with which inquiry is entwined. Listen in as Paul -- a graduate of St. John's College and erstwhile commander of a reserve Navy SEAL unit -- compellingly challenges much of the conventional wisdom of 'experts' when it comes to investing, the stock market, and the economy as a whole. In the process, you might well discover how better to create a roadmap for achieving greater excel

For many moons there has been an ongoing Socrates Cafe in Pasadena, California, and for nearly the last ten years, Brian Yoder has been its organizer and on most occasions its facilitator. Listen in as he describes how and why it is a boon for all those who gather to philosophize regularly. (And kudos to our amazing volunteer engineer Odin Halvorson for splicing this together.)

If you walk into the Twig Book Shop, a idyllic bookstore situated in the Pearl District of San Antonio, in the afternoon on just about any second Tuesday of the month, you'll see a group of thoughtful souls clustered in a circle pondering timely and timeless questions a la Socrates Cafe. At their last gathering, they explored, with the facilitation of Socrates Cafe organizer Marta Amezquita: What does it mean to empty ourselves; is it good or bad? To which I wonder: Why does Socrates Cafe fill us with good things? I had the honor of being part of one of their gatherings late last year, and now also the honor having Marta as a guest on our podcast. Listen in as this wonderfully thoughtful and inquisitive person shares why their Socrates Cafe is such a singularly fulfilling staple for cultivation of self and community. {In the photo, Marta is on the far right)

For many years, there has been a thriving Socrates Cafe at Thomas Memorial Library in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, a figurative stone's throw from Portland. Then, they kindly invited me to give a presentation about how my Socrates Cafe initiative, where I shared how it also has evolved into a Democracy Cafe endeavor that has touched a chord the world over. Their interest was so piqued that they invited me to return later that year to inaugurate one. Democracy Cafe now has become one of the library's mainstay gatherings for diverse folks who want to 'democratize' about timely and timeless issues pertaining to open societies in these polarizing times. Listen in as their fearless and marvelous facilitator, Janie Downey Maxwell, describes the boons of convening an ongoing Democracy Cafe at the library. Janie is the Innovative Programming Librarian (what a cool title), and is committed to making ours a more thoughtful, inclusive and participatory world. On a side note, the southern Maine region is where I began my

Can we discover, or rediscover, our humanity in the world of finance? Are there stores of essential wisdom embedded at their core in financial matters? Is there even a nobility to finance, and of a sort that can nurture the ascent of open societies? So asserts Mihir Desai, professor of finance at Harvard Business School and Harvard Law School, and author of the intriguing bestseller 'The Wisdom of Finance: Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return.' Listen in as Professor Desai makes an eloquent case for why those immersed in the orbit of finance should be imbued with more humanity (and more of the humanities, which are entwined with the enterprise)... -- and conversely, how and why it is far from a stretch to maintain that most all of us can benefit from teasing out the humanity that can be plumbed from finance, if we know how and where to look. As a scholar and street philosopher who also is an Investment Advisor Representative for Martin Capital Advisors (MartinCapital.com), I found

For a dozen years, twice a month there has been a Socrates Cafe gathering in beautiful Edinburgh, Scotland, where according to my mom part of our family genealogy extends. I recently had the opportunity to chat with four of the group's close-knit devotees -- we even had a fun mini-Socrates Cafe, exploring a question that has never received a majority thumbs-up during their regular ongoing gathering. Listen in to this insightful and informative podcast with long-time Edinburgh, Scotland Socrates Cafe participants Penny Ciancanelli, Jon Davey, Nancy Fraser, and Lorraine McCann, about why Socrates Cafe has been such a boon in this polarizing era. And by the way, I had the pleasure of meeting some when I was there in 2008 giving presentations for my book 'Socrates in Love: Philosophy for Die-Hard Romantic' and holding dialogues. Here's a link to a feature article that was in Scotland's Sunday Herald about the Socrates Cafe and my visit: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12763616.Food_for_thought/ And h

A thriving Socrates Cafe has taken hold in Gujurat, India. According to 31-year-old Mayuri Talia, a writer, student, mother of a 4-year-old, and the organizer of the Socrates Cafe, it is helping cultivate a more flourishing participatory democracy in her city, particularly for women, and forging new bonds of friendship among people who otherwise would not have had a chance to know one another. What's more, Mayuri is sure that Socrates Cafe will soon spread to other communities throughout India. Participants at their Socrates Cafe, who hail from diverse walks of life and experiences, have explored questions like, What is an excellent marriage? What does it mean to have a successful and rewarding life? How do we best educate our children? Mayuri says the Socrates Cafe has helped make the world, and her world, a smaller and more connected place, and that all who take part vastly improve their listening and observation skills, and that it has made them more understanding and less judgmental, even if and as t

Peter Atwater, president of Financial Insights (financial-insights.com), has made it his bailiwick to understand how changes in confidence affect our preferences, decisions and actions. His acclaimed book 'Moods and Markets' gives investors keen insights about how they might improve their returns by using non-market indicators of confidence. But now we are entering new territory -- an age of what Peter by turns describes as 'fanaticism', 'stridentness', and 'colornessness'. How might we invest in such times -- not only in the markets, but in our democracy itself? Listen in as Peter, a fellow graduate of the College of William & Mary, where I first knew him way back in 1980 when he was resident advisor on the dormitory hall of none other than Jon Stewart of 'Daily Show' fame. Hopefully you'll come away from this exchange with Peter, a popular commentator on programs like CNBC, with more tools to deal effectively on a number of fronts with these deeply uncertain times -- but also, surprisingly, you might e