The So What File?

In this unedited episode, Kenny Xu shares his experience of how some DEI measures have at times led to the exclusion of Asian-Americans, including himself, from ivy league schools. Listen to our brief conversation about how in an effort to be more inclusive, institutions sometimes create unintended consequences which may be viewed by some as unfair. Is it? You decide. Whatever your position, the fact remains that there is a national conversation to be had around how to reconcile equity with fairness without tipping the scale in favor of one identity over another. The aim of this interview was to delve deeper into this question, but unfortunately technology decided to cut us off midway.

About Kenney Xu:

Kenny Xu is the President of the race-blind advocacy group Color Us United, the author of the book An Inconvenient Minority: The Attack on Asian American Excellence and the Fight for Meritocracy and School of Woke, he is also the host of the podcast Inconvenient Minority. Kenny has written commentary for the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The New York Post, among others and has spoken on identity politics and advocated for colorblindness in front of groups as diverse as the nationally renowned Pacific Legal Foundation to the Boston Rally for Education Rights to the all-Black Connecticut Parents Union. His commentary has propelled him to interviews with Fox News, Newsweek, The Epoch Times, various YouTube shows, radio and podcasts, and features in the New York Times Magazine, the New York Post, and NPR.

This is a brief monologue-a reflection on the seal deal that was struck between Lebanon and Israel just this week. What will Lebanon gain?

The concept of grand strategy sounds well, grand. Although not as illusive as the word may suggest, grand strategy is a vital power planning process in statecraft.  Simply put, a grand strategy is a long-term plan pursued at the highest level of a state to achieve its foreign policy interests and secure its place in the international community. With me in this episode to discuss grand strategy in the context of President Biden's most recent trip to the EU is prolific writer, scholar, and professor, Simon Reich.  Listen in as Professor Reich and I further discuss this concept and its overlooked nuances by referencing his most recent co-authored book entitled Across Type, Time and Space: American Grand Strategy in Comparative Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2021).

Simon Reich is a professor in the Division of Global Affairs and Department of Political Science at Rutgers, Newark and Chercheur Associé at Le Centre de recherches internationales (CERI), Sciences Po (Paris). He is author, co-author and editor of 13 books and over 60 articles or book chapters. His most recent book is a brand-new co-authored volume (with Peter Dombrowski) entitled Across Type, Time and Space: American Grand Strategy in Comparative Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2021).  Other recent books have included a co-edited volume with Thierry Balzacq and Peter Dombrowski, entitled Comparative Grand Strategy: A Framework and Cases (Oxford University Press, 2019) and The End of Grand Strategy: US Maritime Operations in the Twenty-First Century (with Peter Dombrowski, Cornell University Press, 2018). Reich has published in several major journals including International Affairs, International Organization, International Security and Security Studies. He is currently working on a book on the grand strategy of the European Union. His work has been translated into Chinese, Dutch, French, German, Japanese and Turkish. Reich has received numerous grants and visiting scholarships and maintains an active online presence including publications in The New Republic, Forbes, Fortune Magazine, Washington Spectator, Salon.com, Washington Monthly, and The Huffington Post.

Reich previously served as Director of Research and Analysis at the Royal Institute for International Affairs (also known as Chatham House), the counterpart to New York’s Council on Foreign Relations in London and was the inaugural director of the Ford Institute for Human Security at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the recipient of numerous awards and fellows and will spend the winter and spring of 2022 as the George Soros visiting distinguished chair in Vienna, Austria. Reich generally divides his time between Paris and New Jersey.

Listen in to my brief interview with Al-Mayadeen journalist and translator Rasha Reslan as she sends a message to our listeners about the latest Israel-Palestine situation after the ceasefire. Please excuse the recording as the sound quality and connection was poor.  Stay tuned for more conversations with Rasha Reslan.

Darius Mayfield is a business strategist and political visionary who partners with CEOs, executives and solopreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands, human-to-human, team-to-team. Darius attributes his humble beginnings of living in Section 8 (Housing Choice Voucher Program) with his mother and sister as his motivation to achieve success, not only for himself but for all ambitious Americans. With that fuel, he entered the auto industry at age 17, became the youngest sales manager of a Top 10 US auto group at age 20, and has now become the first Black general manager in the third largest growing company in the US.

Darius has been a featured speaker in national and global broadcast and print outlets including Comedy Central, CNN, Fox & Friends, Walk Away Campaign, the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Go Africa Network, Social Lifestyle Magazine’s Town Hall with Anthony Pope, Latinos for Liberty Roundtable with Rich Valdes, and HGTV.

Listen in to my interview with Darius Mayfield as he discusses his campaign platform and message of unity. Darius Mayfield has come to be known for his Not Black. Not White. American hashtag which became the driving force behind his run for office.  As an African-American republican, Darius bring an interesting and fresh the current political landscape and how to improve it.

Darius Mayfield can be found on https://www.dariusmayfieldforamerica.com. Darius Mayfield also hosts the Not Black Not White American podcast.

If it's broken, let's fix it!

In this episode, Dr. Saqib Qureshi, author of The Broken Contract: Making our Democracies Accountable, Representative, and Less Wasteful, eloquently and simply lays out the ways in which our democracy is broken and how to fix it.

You can find Dr. Qureshi by visiting his blog on drsq.com.