Thanks again for your support and listening.Today, I’m very honored to speak with Lawrence Lessig. For those that don’t know this impressive human.Lawrence Lessig is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law and Leadership at Harvard Law School, prior to which he founded the Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School, and taught at the University of Chicago. Founder of Equal Citizens and a founding board member of Creative Commons, Lessig serves on the Scientific Board of AXA Research Fund and has received numerous awards including a Webby, Free Software Foundation's Freedom Award, Scientific American 50 and Fastcase 50 Awards.Cited by The New Yorker as “the most important thinker on intellectual property in the Internet era,” Lessig's current work addresses “institutional corruption”—relationships which, while legal, weaken public trust in an institution—especially as that affects democracy. His books include: They Don't Represent Us (November 2019), Fidelity & Constraint: How the Supreme Court Has Read the American Constitution (May 2019), America, Compromised (2018), Republic, Lost v2 (2015), Republic, Lost: How Money Corrupts Congress—and a Plan to Stop It (2011) among many others. Lessig holds undergraduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in philosophy from Cambridge University, and a JD from Yale.We get in a little bit of Lawrence's personal background, why he didn't become a corporate lobbyist.We discuss why we need to get fundraising type money out of politics.What public campaign financing looks like and how citizens could take part in this.We discuss civic juries, what they are and how they can be useful for our democracy.How everyday citizens can meaningfully impact our democracy right now.We also discuss electoral college reform and his non-profit that is working on this named Fix the College.And some media recommendations. Namely, the The Swamp on HBO and his podcast Another Way.Again, please rate, review and subscribe. Thanks again for your support!Note: the background music is by my good friend Taavi of https://bestproducer.substack.com/

Fringe Voices

Fixing our Democracy with Lawrence Lessig

Hey, its James Oehler and welcome back to the Fringe Voices show. I just want to thank Niles as a new Patreon subscriber, the new ratings on Apple podcasts and the new review from bingo4213. Please rate, review and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. This week I’m featuring interesting friends of mine that do cool stuff. Today we welcome Taavi Haapala, we talk about his rap group Bag Boyz, the musical colloboration project Hōi with his wife. Taavi's musical interests and influences. How Taavi approaches his music and his different styles. How Buddhism has impacted his life and art.  And just life. It's a great episode and let me know what you think and make sure to share this if you like it.These are links to Taavi's projects:Taavi's newsletter: THE BEST MUSIC PRODUCER™ Newsletter/Podcasthttps://www.thebestmusicproducer.com/BAG BOYZ: http://bagboyz.net/    IG: https://www.instagram.com/bagboyz_official/Hōi: hoimusic.love    IG: https://www.instagram.com/hoimusic/IG: https://www.instagram.com/taavihaapala/Nichiren Buddhism (SGI-USA) http://www.sgi-usa.org

Rap, Life and Buddhism with the Multifaceted Human and Artist Taavi Haapala

Hey it’s James and welcome back to the Fringe Voices show. I wanted to give a shout out to 2 recent reviews on Apple Podcasts from chris3412 and gardener2591. Thanks! Again, if you’re enjoying the content of this show please subscribe, rate and review on wherever you listen to podcasts. I would definitely appreciate it!Today I welcome a very special guest Niles Heckman. Niles is a documentary photographer & filmmaker, essayist, and speaker who's work focuses around themes of ageless wisdom for our modern times. Sharing insights in his films, spoken-word essays, podcast An Infinite Path also his productions with the films Transmutations and Shamans of the Global Village. He has also worked on multiple Academy Award-winning teams in Hollywood with New Line Cinema, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, and Marvel Studios.Some things we discuss:What draws you to do the work you do? You have worked in Hollywood and sometimes Hollywood can be a bit generic but your work is very unique.What was your life like growing up, what’s a bit of your background?How did your early years influence your later life?Take aways from his popular film Shamans of the Global VillageWhat’s your spiritual journey been like and what spiritualities are you drawn to and why?How Niles approaches being a parent in this modern eraNiles recommends some great media:The Master Key System (book)As a Man Thinketh (book)The Kybalion (book)The Habit Poem (Anonymous poem)Ron Fricke DocumentariesDavid Attenborough (documentarian)Finding Vivian Maier (documentary)Hearts of Darkness (documentary)Blood Road (documentary)Jiro Dreams of Sushi (documentary)Exit Through the Gift Shop (documentary)Living Myth podcastPsychedelic Salon podcastThe Higherside Chats podcast

Art, Spirituality and Parenting in the Modern Era with Niles Heckman

Today, I welcome Micah Uetricht. Micah Uetricht is the deputy editor of Jacobin and host of Jacobin Radio's podcast The Vast Majority. He is the author of Strike for America: Chicago Teachers Against Austerity and coauthor of Bigger than Bernie: How We Go from the Sanders Campaign to Democratic Socialism. Micah can also be found on Twitter. In this episode we discuss: What is Democratic Socialism? Isn't there socialism for big businesses and the rich in the USA? Will Democratic Socialism ever dominate US politics? A bit of Micah's personal history The Bernie Sanders campaign His newest book cowritten with Meagan Day A strategy for progressives to transform current politics The missing Joe Biden campaign A bit about Jacobin and his podcast A great historical book recommendation Thanks Micah! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fringe-voices/support

Democratic Socialism with Jacobin's Micah Uetricht

Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe and support through Patreon if you enjoy this show! Today, I spoke with Rachel Balkovec, she is the first female full time hitting coach in MLB. Rachel is extremely hard working, she has 2 Master's degrees in Human Movement Science and has played multiple sports herself. She is an amazing person and she shares her challenges to becoming the first female hitting coach in the MLB with the New York Yankees. Her stint in the Latin American league and learning Spanish to prepare for this experience. This was a long, winding journey for Rachel and it wasn't easy and there was a lot of grit, resilience and perseverance on her part. She spoke about being a waitress, working at a retail store and having an unpaid internship before being hired by the Yankees. We also talk about the possibility of the first female baseball player, her favorite podcasts and books and her additional work helping females in their own careers through her Virtual Handshake Academy.  Links to visit Rachel's personal  website and Virtual Handshake Academy website that helps other females in their careers. Rachel's Twitter Rachel's podcast The Theta Wave Podcast Rachel's favorite podcasts: MindStrong Project, Finding Mastery, Laughter Permitted and The Gabby Reece Show --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fringe-voices/support

Rachel Balkovec - First Female Hitting Coach in MLB

Today, we welcome back Vinay Gupta. Vinay, who is based in London, is the CEO and cofounder of Mattereum. Vinay is also a renaissance man and futurist interested in the technological transformation of society and commerce, Vinay has a strong track record of thought leadership in environmental and infrastructure risk, failing states, energy policy (with five years at the Rocky Mountain Institute) and disaster management.” He was also responsible for launching the cryptocurrency Ethereum. Please check out Vinay on Twitter and at his website. Also please check out his colleague, Lucas Gonzalez on Twitter. Today we spoke about what exactly a pandemic is, what SCIM is, the politics of this issue, importance of people on the frontlines of this crisis, societal challenges with intergenerational families responding to the coronavirus and some different scenarios of what may happen. Thanks again for listening and if you wish to support the show, rate and review it, subscribe and also consider going to my Patreon page. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fringe-voices/support

Pandemics and Coronavirus Part 2 with Vinay Gupta

Fringe Voices is show that interviews interesting people with interesting ideas. If you like the podcast and would like to support it, I have started a Patreon account. Thanks in advance for your support!  Today, we welcome Professor Harvey Kaye. Professor Kaye is a professor of Democracy and Justice Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay and author of several books, more recently Take Hold of Our History: Make America Radical Again, The Fight for the Four Freedoms, Thomas Paine and the Promise of America. Professor Kaye also has an upcoming book, that is available for pre-order, entitled: FDR on Democracy: The Greatest Speeches and Writings of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He also can be found on Twitter @HarveyJKaye.  We discussed Professor Kayes early life and inspiration along with his early introduction to Thomas Paine that has stuck with him ever since. Professor Kaye explained the importance of Thomas Paine to us, as American citizens, and why we should care about Thomas Paine. We then take a deep dive into the importance of FDR during his time and what we should take away from his Presidency for today. How Bernie's policies align with FDR and what we can learn from the FDR presidency. Professor Kaye also has some helpful suggestions for the Bernie Sanders camp on how he can realign his message with FDR. Towards the end we discussed some other radical figures in US history that are of importance as well. I hope you learn something that you can use in your own life. Thanks for listening! --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/fringe-voices/support

The Bernie Sanders campaign, FDR and Thomas Paine with Professor Harvey Kaye

This is a bonus episode for the increasing worries about Coronavirus. I interviewed Vinay Gupta, who is based in London, and along with being the CEO and cofounder of Mattereum is also a renaissance man and futurist interested in the technological transformation of society and commerce, Vinay has a strong track record of thought leadership in environmental and infrastructure risk, failing states, energy policy (with five years at the Rocky Mountain Institute) and disaster management.” He was also responsible for launching the cryptocurrency Ethereum. It was an honor to speak with Vinay and his balanced, pragmatic and thoughtful approach to this pandemic. There are some real nuggets of wisdom throughout but especially towards the end of our conversation.  Please check out Vinay on Twitter and at his website. Also please check out his colleague, Lucas Gonzalez on Twitter.  Again, if you like this episode please rate and review on whichever platform you are listening on. Thanks! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

Coronavirus and Pandemics with Vinay Gupta

In this episode I spoke with Sole an awesome rapper about his music, the state of the music industry, politics and the coronavirus. Check out his  Twitter and webpage. Also check out his podcast The Solecast.

No God Nor Country with the rapper Sole

On today's show I had a great conversation with Jamaal Bowman, a middle school principal and former teacher running as a Democrat for US Congress in NY-16. We talk about meditation instead of detention, treating students like humans instead of cogs in a machine and community schooling, among other things. Please consider supporting Jamaal's run for US Congress by visiting his website, Twitter and Facebook pages.

How to fix public education with US Congress political candidate Jamaal Bowman

Today we welcome New York State Senator of the 34th Senate District, Alessandra Biaggi.   Alessandra came out of nowhere, it seemed, with the last state senate election and strongly defeated an incumbent Democratic senator. She has had numerous successes with legislating since being elected on November 6, 2018. We have a great conversation in which Alessandra discusses some of her personal struggles that enable her to face the challenges of her senate run. Alessandra also provides some real nuggets of wisdom about the political process itself and she takes a hard stance on the recent crackdown of subway fare evaders. As a resident of the district she represents I can attest that she is working very hard to help our district.   New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi can be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Here are some links to some helpful items mentioned in the show:  New Leaders Council  The Pied-à-terre tax is a proposed tax on a second, luxury home that could potentially generate $800 million a year in revenue for New York.  Silver v. Pataki is the case that was referred to by the Senator surrounding the New York state budget process. 

New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi discusses her perseverance against personal struggles, the recent crackdown on subway fare evaders and the political process itself

Today we step away from the Bronx to interview NYTimes best selling author and Professor of Economics, Bryan Caplan about his book Open Borders: The Science and Ethics of Immigration. We also discuss his future book about Poverty and some other interesting "food for thought" topics. Note: Not all of the views Bryan expresses in this episode are a reflection of my own, I just wanted to present someone with a different perspective on these ideas. Bryan Caplan can be found on Twitter and at http://econlib.org

Open Borders with NYTimes best selling author Bryan Caplan

Today we welcome Ed Garcia Conde of the successful publication Welcome2TheBronx.  We discuss the emerging gentrification of the Bronx and community land trusts as a strategy to defeat gentrification. We also talk about what true affordable housing means.  Ed also discusses healthy food as a right of all residents regardless of income and we highlight some people and organizations that are working on this issue. You can find Ed on the web at Welcome2TheBronx, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Thanks for listening!

Gentrification of the Bronx with Ed Garcia Conde, Bronx writer and activist

Dave Lopez the co-owner of Gun Hill Brewery, in the Bronx, discusses the brewery’s involvement in the community and how to make running a business enjoyable for the community and owners. You can find out more about the Gun Hill Brewery by visiting their website.  Also find them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest information and upcoming events.

Community Building with the Bronx’s Gun Hill Brewery

A short introduction to what this podcast is about by your host James Oehler. Thanks for your support!

Fringe Voices Trailer

Giving a voice to outsiders, radicals and agitators from the Bronx and beyond! Signup for my publication at fringe.substack.com

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Fringe Voices

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