Democracy Café

Of late, there has been been what I'd call almost an explosion of new or renewed interest in Socrates Cafe and Democracy Cafe, in the U.S. and around the globe. Imagine my delight in receiving a message from a young woman in Seoul, Republic of Korea, to let me know that she'd inaugurated a Socrates Cafe there, after talking it over with one of her philosophy teachers. "You’re kind of spreading philosophy to the common populace," 18-year-old June Seong tells me in this latest podcast. "You’re making philosophy more tangible," she continues, "more accessible, more fun. I think that is incredibly important, especially for people my age." June and her fellow 'Socratizers,' as I fondly call devotees of Socratic inquiry, are getting set to hold their next gathering, after exploring the beautiful and intriguing question, at their first Socrates Cafe, "What does Socrates stand for?" A long-time aficionado of all things Socrates and Socratic exploration, June realizes keenly "the importance of questioning, the i

Rivkah Sass is to me the ideal librarian -- imbued with creativity, curiosity, openness, social conscience, as well as an abiding, passionate sense of mission. Rivkah is determined to make the libraries in the Sacramento, CA, library system (the fourth largest in that vast state) the go-to place for reading, for inquiry, for belonging, indeed for human flourishing on sundry scales. Rivkah, named by the Library Journal their Librarian of the Year in 2006, has been director of the Sacramento Public Library since 2009. Thanks to her, I had the great pleasure of holding a Constitution Cafe there in 2012 -- and can't wait to return this fall to convene a Democracy Cafe. Rivkah believes libraries play a more vital role than ever in this era of our democracy: "Where we’re going now is we’re really embedding ourselves out in the community and looking externally and saying, 'What do people need, how can we be more inclusive? How can we help children who don’t have the advantage of going to robotics camp of having

For nearly two decades, Dr. Richard Bernstein has had a thriving Socrates Cafe at the Ethical Culture Society in Teaneck, New Jersey. As he said in a New York Times feature about Socrates Cafe, "Everybody has to deal with ultimate questions about why we're here and what's a good life and what's the meaning of life given the inevitability of death. Most of the time there's not a clear forum for discussing things that are very philosophically important, to give one's life a better sense of meaning and clarity.'' Thanks to his vibran Socrates Cafe, diverse participants in the Teaneck area have now had that clear forum for years on end. It was a joy to have a chance to pick the brain of this incredibly thoughtful and generous human being. Dr. Bernstein studied philosophy at Yale before going on to medical studies. His interests as a physician, as well as life itself, have a decided philosophical and existential dimension. In the tradition of William Carlos Williams, he is truly a doctor who cares about his pa

Nearly every day of the week features an observance day of some sort. So I picked several out of the hat, threw down the gauntlet, and asked the peerless donor engagement expert Christopher McGown to work his magic in coming up with ways to connect our nonprofit Democracy Cafe (DemocracyCafe.org) with these observances. Voila and hey presto, as we riffed together, Chris came up, on the spot, with an array ingenious pitches that deftly and convincingly link our nonprofit Democracy Cafe with such observances as Celebration of Senses Day, Color TV Day, Sunglasses Day, World Music Day -- this one he hit not just out of the park, but out of the planet -- among others. I must have done something good in my life for the forces of the universe to connect me with Christopher McGown. He has made such a difference in helping us chart a more vibrant course for Democracy Cafe, as we seek to bring it to the next level. In this and many other ways, he has been more of a godsend than he can know -- so much so that if my w

Stewart Harris, law professor extraordinaire and host of the wildly popular syndicated public radio program and podcast, Your Weekly Constitutional, believes we all need to be steeped in our supreme law of the land. Why? Here's how Stewart eloquently puts it: "The Constitution doesn’t belong to lawyers or judges or politicians. It belongs to every American. And to the extent that it captures universal human values, it belongs to all of humanity. And so I think we all need to know about it." "We can’t protect our rights if we don’t know what they are," Stewart asserts during our wide-ranging give and take. "So that’s the first stage in making sure that our constitution does endure -- simply reading it and understanding it." Listen in. And then listen in to Stewart's own podcast, which you can easily access just by Googling 'Your Weekly Constitutional.'

What compellingly comes through in a give-and-take with Reverend Rob Schenck, author of the recently published 'Costly Grace: An Evangelical Minister's Rediscovery of Faith, Hope and Love,' is his singular thoughtfulness and exceptional introspective capacity. Rob's is a quest for honesty, and of a sort that can be transformative both for self and society. Rob, president of The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute in Washington, D.C., is committed to rigorous, thoughtful and unflinching self examination and inquiry of a kind sorely needed the world over, but American society in particular. I hope you are as moved to engage in some serious soul-searching after your encounter with Rob here in this podcast as I was. Listen in. And be sure to visit Rob's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pg/RevRobSchenck/photos/?ref=page_internal

Imagine you are a woman and live in a country in which you have no rights. None. Not the right to vote, nor even the right to drive a car (while that will change next month at long last, the government -- an absolute monarchy -- has arrested many who led the movement for this right). Imagine you love philosophy, but that you have to read philosophical works, including 'Socrates Cafe: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy,' secretively online, because it's forbidden. Imagine you love exploring philosophical and political questions, and that you are so courageous enough to arrange a gathering with like-minded women, in a public place, to do just that, come what may. That is what Jenan Abdullah has accomplished. Jenan, 21, is a dentistry student at a university in the city of Qatif. When she learned about Socrates Cafe and read our facilitators guide, she felt this was just the thing for her, and other women in Saudi Arabia, and she was inspired and determined to start one, even though it could put her at risk if th

At age 5, Yuleymi Mariano, originally from Acapulco, Mexico, was separated from her mom as she travelled north to cross the border into Mexico. Yuleymi's indelible memory, when at last reunited with her mom days later, is of seeing her mom, who crossed the Sonora Desert, with her feet bleeding badly from the harrowing journey. For an extended period, Yuleymi had to live in hiding at an abandoned home in Texas, until she and her family then made there way to Philadelphia, where she lives to this day. Yuleymi graduates next month from Constitution High School, a public magnet school in Center City Philadelphia. She's already enrolled at Philadelphia Community College, and is excited about her future. At the same time, she -- as with so many other children of parents who are undocumented immigrants -- lives in limbo, not knowing if or when her status as part of the DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program will be revoked, and whether she, as one of the hundreds of thousands of DACA 'Dreamers', mi

When my dad's birthday (he would have been 85 on March 20) rolled around this year, I decided to do something special. I decided upon an award competition in my dad's honor -- and launched the inaugural Alexander Phillips Arete Award. Even though there was the smallest of windows to submit entries, the International Baccalaureate class of 2018 at Vanguard High School in Ocala, Florida, created something very special, insightful and meaningful. Here's my announcement about their winning entry: http://www.socratescafe.com/?p=951 I was originally scheduled to record a podcast with some of the winners of the competition on Friday April 20th -- on the afternoon of the National Student Walkout, also the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School massacre.... only to receive a text message from their teacher, the extraordinary Todd Carstenn: "Chris, Don’t know if you got my text but we are still on code red lockdown. The lights are out and the kids are on the floor. There was a shooting in the school across

What accounts for Silicon Valley's virtually unrivaled history of innovation on the technology front? Well, it's storied history for one big thing. "What other places don’t have is Silicon Valley’s history," according to Michael Schwarz, the Peabody- and Emmy-Award winning producer, director, investigative journalist and founder of Kikim Media (Kikim.com) -- of which his wife and our dear friend Kiki Kapany is the CEO. The recently released three-part series 'Silicon Valley: The Untold Story,' was produced by Kikim Media, and surely is and will be for many moons to come the definitive documentary on this region that has had an outsize impact on the world. The series premiered in March on Discovery's Science Channel, and now is available on the SciGo app, iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon, and it also will be rebroadcast on the Science Channel. "This place has evolved over a 150-year period," Michael relates. "Like any ecosystem in nature, the different elements of it have grown and matured and interacted.

There is simply no one whom I've had the privilege to know who is doing more to bring about democratic revival and renewal than Eric Liu, founder and CEO of Citizen University -- www.CitizenUniversity.us Citizen University itself is peerless in its modeling and inculcating of the art of powerful citizenship, and continues to expand and evolve its efforts to create replicable civic and citizen engagement initiatives that resonate across the fruited plain at this critical crossroads. From CitizenFEST, to Civic Saturday, to Citizen University, and more, Eric and his dedicated staff, along with committed people of many ages and walks of life, are rolling up their sleeves day in and day out to make our democracy all it can be. Eric's newest book, You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to making Change Happen, is now available in paperback, and is a must-read. Listen in as Eric, who also directs the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program, shares with unmatched eloquence h

Kat Imhoff hit the ground running when she became President and CEO of The Montpelier Foundation in 2013. Among the first generation of women to oversee all aspects of a national historic site. Kat has spearheaded the extraordinary efforts that have made James Madison's Montpelier (Montpelier.org) a leader in the of slavery in the Early Republic, but also a gathering place to hold vital and timely exchanges on the legacy of slavery today. Listen in as Kat shares the unique role that James Madison's Montpelier continues to play, more so than ever, in American life and indeed in the worldwide discourse on slavery. I also urge you to check out Kat's moving and insightful TedTalk in Charlottesville, VA, after the tragic events of August 2017; here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4x8gMU2vvg4&feature=youtu.be And be sure to visit Montpelier, and their groundbreaking slavery exhibition, The Mere Distinction of Colour. As Kat notes in our podcast, "We have a very accurate and emotional and human stor

If you look at the Meetup page for this thriving ongoing Socrates Cafe in London, you'll see the "Imagine," photo we've uploaded here for this podcast. Their dedicated organizer, Austin Caffrey, tells me in this thoughtful exchange that Socrates Cafe is one good place to engage in broad and deep and methodical imagining blended with reasoning with one's fellow philosophical inquisitors. Listen in as Austin thoughtfully relates why he thinks Socrates Cafe, along with some iterations of other kinds of philosophy cafes and political philosophy cafes, are good for society and democracy. "We have over 30 people [who regularly participate] who can freely discuss their viewpoints and criticize the ideas," Austin tells me. "That to me is an example of the kind of freedom that comes with the kind of democracy that i think is beneficial." And when I mention to him that Socrates Cafe has also established footholds in societies that are not so open, his eloquent reply is, "I’m not sure you can quell human curiosit

A thriving Socrates Cafe in historic Kyoto, Japan? Yes, indeed. It never occurred to me, when I first started Socrates Cafe in September 1996, that it would touch such a chord across the fruited plain in the U.S. My only aim was to start one ongoing group. But it turns out it resonates the world over, indeed more so than ever. One thriving group is in Kyoto, Japan, where I once had the pleasure of visiting and engaging in Socratic give-and-takes (experiences I shared in my book Socrates in Love: Philosophy for a Die-Hard Romantic.) Listen in as regular participant Midori Yao explains why Socrates Cafe is so meaningful to her and her fellow participants. And a world of thanks to Yoko Nishiyama for being our translator. (We got off to a bit of a rickety start, through every fault of my own, but soon hit a nice stride in this podcast.) [I once met Yoko when doing a Philosophers' Club (often the name of our philosophical inquiry groups for children and youth, as well the title of one of my children's bo

Robert G. Hagstrom is my kind of thinker and doer and questioner. He has a peerless and contagious intellectual honesty and integrity and openness, and he draws from and builds on the worldly wisdom of thinkers from across the ages and disciplines -- as you will see for yourself when you listen in to his wealth of insights on investing, living, learning, and the liberal arts. Senior Portfolio Manager for EquityCompass Strategies, an investment advisory subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corporation, Robert is a celebrated bestselling author of books including the New York Times best-selling 'The Warren Buffett Way' and 'The Warren Buffett Portfolio: Mastering the Power of the Focus Investment Strategy.' (I'm now diving into his 'The NASCAR Way: The Business That Drives the Sport' and 'The Detective and the Investor: Uncovering Investment Techniques from the Legendary Sleuths.' But the book that inspired me to reach out to him is his 'Investing: The Last Liberal Art.' Robert most graciously accepted my invite,

Why do people love getting together on a particular day at a particular hour to Socratize in Fiji? "To find out what other people are thinking," says one of the Fijian Socrates Cafe participants who participated in this exchange. This is the first time I've held a podcast with more than one person, much less with seven -- including Fijian islanders, as well as transplants from Wales, and even my own Virginia, among others -- and it was a delight (though a few times we had a bit of trouble hearing one another). In these days in which people hide behind social media to 'communicate' (or, much too often, to derail attempts at communication) these thoughtful Socrates Cafe-goers believe it's more vital than ever to meet in person and philosophize face to face. Listen in.

At a time when Poland is at a critical crossroad in its experiment with democracy, our Socrates Cafe and Democracy Cafe initiatives are burgeoning throughout the country -- from Krakow, to Konstancin-Jeziorna, to Poznan to Warsaw to Wracow to Zielona Gora (all the info is at http://socratescafe.pl/ -- and there is a Polish speaking gathering in Berlin as well). Jakub Kocikowski, organizer of the Democracy Cafe and Socrates Cafe in Krakow, believes that when we have a genuine conversation, "we can find solutions, come up with a consensus agreement" -- and conversely, that when we stop conversing, we all lose out. Jakub is a big proponent of the culture of conversations, of hearing and considering varying views, including those with which we disagree. Only then can we hope to find common ground, in his estimation. "Even if we disagree , it is okay," asserts Jakub, 25. "From disagreement we can find something new and come up with new solutions." Listen in.

Only in the last 40 years or so have gun laws and gun rights become viewed as a zero sum relationship, according to Robert Spitzer, noted scholar and author of five acclaimed books on gun policy, including most recently the acclaimed 'Guns across America: Reconciling Gun Rules and Rights,' and Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at the State University at Cortland. Indeed, as he puts it, while gun ownership is as old as america, so are gun laws, and for most of our first 300 years, there were thousands of gun laws in every state and colony. What can we do today to lessen the probability that gun violence, including mass shootings, can occur? Listen in to Dr. Spitzer's important perspective, and what we the people might do to bring about the enactment of public policy (some of which used to be in place) to help prevent such tragedies in the future. (Check out this recent essay by Dr. Spitzer in the Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/postever

Our democracy is experiencing a singular moment, no doubt about it. Chris Gates, for one, our latest Democracy Cafe guest, has faith that we’ll get through this and that just perhaps the outcome of what we're experiencing right now is that we the people will become more attuned, more active, and more informed. Chris has his ear to the ground and finger on our pulse like few other Americans I have the privilege to know. He's past president of the National Civic League, former Executive Director of Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement (PACE), and also was president of the Sunlight Foundation, which advocates for open and transparent government; Chris is now a consultant for nonprofits such as Kettering Foundation, New America Foundation, and Common Cause, on issues that have to do with democracy, political reform and civic engagement. As Chris shares with me, he believes that there is potentially a silver lining to what most everybody agrees is a rather rough moment in the history of our country. His h

How can we bring together Americans in ways in which they'll feel compelled to explore in meaningful ways our most pressing political issues -- and to consider an array of perspectives and possible solutions? Enter an amazing project on civic engagement that is unfolding at Florida Gulf Coast University in conjunction with WGCU Public Media, Gulfshore Life Magazine, and FGCU's PAGES program (https://www2.fgcu.edu/pages/). Yours truly is honored to be part of it. It all began with an email to me from Jennifer Reed, senior writer for Gulfshore Life magazine. She was "interested in exploring the roots of the growing political division, hostility and communication breakdowns we're witnessing, and then examining how we as a community might bridge those divides." This kicked off the conversation that eventually led to Florida Gulf Coast University's PAGES, philosophy and journalism programs, along with WGCU's Public Media, to provide and sponsor an incredible opportunity for students and the public to delve in