Friends and fellow citizens,

Summer break is coming to a close, but there’s still time to add our newest episode of Unity Talks: A Summer Series to your summer listening list. I was honored to sit down with former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd to learn more about his experiences in public service and leadership. You can watch our discussion here.

Will is a former member of Congress, cybersecurity executive and CIA officer. In this episode, he joined me for a brief chat about political participation and how he believes unifying leadership can restore effective governance. We talked about pressing political issues, including immigration reform, the future of the Republican party and the dire need for technological innovation to maintain American leadership on the world stage.

For two decades, Will has been involved in the country’s most challenging national security issues. Recently, he wrote American Reboot, which explores five seismic problems our country is facing: the Republican Party’s current track; the lack of honest leadership in Washington, D.C.; income inequality; threats to U.S. economic and military dominance; and how technology will change in the next 30 years.

Toward the end of this discussion, Will and I talk about the three reactions people tend to have to our current political climate: to assimilate, withdraw or engage. Thank you for choosing to engage, which is vital to maintaining democracy. Stay tuned for more Unity Talks episodes in the coming weeks; in the meantime, you can watch the first three episodes here.

Respectfully,

Bill Haslam
Co-Chair
The Vanderbilt Project on Unity & American Democracy