“I think we’re going to prosper together when we work to make changes in this democracy– to unburden our children from everything that has held them back in the past. I think we can survive amongst ourselves. I think we can only prosper with everybody else.” – Julián Castro, episode 205 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
We’re back! To help unpack this political moment, we sit with former Mayor of San Antonio and 2020 Presidential candidate, Julián Castro. We discuss Trump’s impeachment (4:30), the filibuster as an obstacle to action (14:10), the fundamental difference between Democrats and Republicans (17:57), what it means to do the right thing in politics (20:35), the complexity of Latinx identity (23:02), connecting to Latino voters (26:10), and the how we keep the American Dream alive (31:52). Finally, Julián closes our conversation with an excerpt from the poem “I Am Joaquin” (34:31) and shares his hopes for how we can prosper (36:40).
Show notes:
- Listen to Julián’s podcast: Our America with Julián Castro.
- Follow Julián Castro on Twitter.
- Read Ezra Klein’s New York Times piece, “Democrats, Here’s How to Lose in 2022. And Deserve It.”
- Read Adam Jentleson’s book, Kill Switch.
- Return to our closing poem, “I Am Joaquin”, by Rodolfo Gonzales.
- Listen to our episodes with Rep. Ilhan Omar, Dolores Huerta, and Beto O’Rourke.
- Illustrations by: Krishna Shenoi.