Background Briefing: August 19, 2024
An Update From Chicago on the Pro-Palestinian Demonstrations and the Change of Fortune For Democrats in Down-Ticket Races
We start by going to Chicago to get an update on the pro-Palestinian demonstrations ahead of Biden’s speech on the first night of the Democratic Convention and speak with David Faris, a professor of political science at Roosevelt University in Chicago. A regular contributor to Slate, The Week and Newsweek, he is the author of Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics and, most recently, The Kids Are All Left: How Young Voters Will Unite America. We will discuss his latest article at Slate, “Kamala Harris Has Transformed the Race to Control Congress.”
A Presidential Speechwriter on the Delicate Job of Writing a Speech For a Sitting President Passing the Baton to His VP
Then we will examine the delicate job of writing speeches for a sitting president who is passing the baton to his VP as only Eisenhower, Reagan, and Clinton have done before tonight, when Joe Biden will speak at the DNC in Chicago. Joining us is Paul Glastris, the editor in chief of The Washington Monthly who was a special assistant and senior speechwriter to President Bill Clinton and wrote over 200 speeches for the president, on subjects ranging from education to health care to the budget. We will discuss his latest article at The Washington Monthly, “How Will Biden Pass the Baton at the Democratic Convention?”
As Bombs Fall on Gaza and Ukraine, Arms Industries Benefit From Tragedy
Then finally, as bombs and missiles continue to fall on Gaza and Ukraine, we will look into how much the arms industries are benefiting from these tragedies and speak with Rhona Michie, the Director of Projects and Planning at Shadow World Investigations and a co-founder of the Corruption Tracker. She was listed as an Emerging Expert by the Forum on the Arms Trade in 2022, is a member of the Steering Committee of Campaign Against Arms Trade and coordinator of the ‘Arms Out’ film and workshop tour. Along with Andrew Feinstein and former UK Labor leader Jeremy Corbyn, she is the editor of the new book, Monstrous Anger of the Guns: How the Global Arms Trade is Ruining the World and What We Can Do About it.