Working together across party lines is anathema to much of political Washington, but Margaret Spellings says doing so is the only way to create solutions that last. 

A nationally recognized leader in public policy, Spellings serves as President and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center. Previously, Spellings was President and CEO of Texas 2036, president of University of North Carolina System and president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas after she served as U.S. Secretary of Education. As secretary, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, a bipartisan initiative to provide greater accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students. She also launched the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, a plan to address challenges of access, affordability, quality and accountability in our nation’s colleges and universities. Before serving as secretary, Spellings was a White House domestic policy advisor, overseeing the agenda on education, transportation, health, justice, housing and labor.  

Working together across party lines is anathema to much of political Washington, but Margaret Spellings says doing so is the only way to create solutions that last. 
A nationally recognized leader in public policy, Spellings serves as President and CEO of the Bipartisan Policy Center. Previously, Spellings was President and CEO of Texas 2036, president of University of North Carolina System and president of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas after she served as U.S. Secretary of Education. As secretary, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, a bipartisan initiative to provide greater accountability for the education of 50 million U.S. public school students. She also launched the Commission on the Future of Higher Education, a plan to address challenges of access, affordability, quality and accountability in our nation’s colleges and universities. Before serving as secretary, Spellings was a White House domestic policy advisor, overseeing the agenda on education, transportation, health, justice, housing and labor.

Story in the Public Square is a weekly, 30-minute series that brings audiences to the intersection of storytelling and public affairs. Hosted by Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller, Story in the Public Square offers a spirited but respectful dialogue. Often funny, always provocative, each episode of Story in the Public Square
moves beyond traditional public affairs programming to consider the impact of narrative and storytelling on public life today.

Story in the Public Square is a weekly, 30-minute series that brings audiences to the intersection of storytelling and public affairs. Hosted by Jim Ludes and G. Wayne Miller, Story in the Public Square offers a spirited but respectful dialogue. Often funny, always provocative, each episode of Story in the Public Square moves beyond traditional public affairs programming to consider the impact of narrative and storytelling on public life today.

Story in the Public Square

Season 15

Secretary Margaret Spellings on a Path to Bipartisanship in America

When many of us think about animal rescue, we think about abandoned pets looking for a new home. But Carol Mithers chronicles the work of one woman in Los Angeles who challenges us all to understand that animal and human suffering are connected.

Mithers is writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, L.A. Weekly, Smithsonian, O, the Oprah Magazine, Architectural Digest, Ladies’ Home Journal, Glamour, The Nation, Los Angeles, Salon, The Daily Beast and many other outlets. Her Village Voice cover story, “My Life as a Man,” was syndicated internationally and made into an NBC movie of the week. Mithers is also the author of four books including “Mighty Be Our Powers,” written with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee. Her fourth book, “Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America’s Forgotten People and Pets,” tells the story of Lori Weise, known in Los Angeles as the Dog Lady, who’s spent decades caring for people in poverty and the animals that love them. 

When many of us think about animal rescue, we think about abandoned pets looking for a new home. But Carol Mithers chronicles the work of one woman in Los Angeles who challenges us all to understand that animal and human suffering are connected.
Mithers is writer whose work has appeared in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, L.A. Weekly, Smithsonian, O, the Oprah Magazine, Architectural Digest, Ladies’ Home Journal, Glamour, The Nation, Los Angeles, Salon, The Daily Beast and many other outlets. Her Village Voice cover story, “My Life as a Man,” was syndicated internationally and made into an NBC movie of the week. Mithers is also the author of four books including “Mighty Be Our Powers,” written with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Leymah Gbowee. Her fourth book, “Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America’s Forgotten People and Pets,” tells the story of Lori Weise, known in Los Angeles as the Dog Lady, who’s spent decades caring for people in poverty and the animals that love them.

Understanding Humanity Through the Healing Power of Pets and Unconditional Love with Carol Mithers

Shakespeare called death “the undiscovered country.”  Luke Lorentzen documents the work of spiritual guides, also known as hospital chaplains, as they help patients navigate this country and the next.  

Lorentzen is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and a lecturer in Stanford University’s Department of Art and Art History. His latest film, “A Still Small Voice,” follows a chaplain during her year-long hospital residency. Exploring perseverance, spirituality, and the human connection, the film received critical acclaim. It won the U.S. Documentary Best Director Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was listed among the New York Times’ top ten films of the year. Lorentzen is also a co-founder of Hedgehog Films, an independent production company. His previous film, “Midnight Family,” was also shortlisted for the best documentary Oscar after winning over 35 awards from film festivals and organizations around the world including a Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, Best Editing from the International Documentary Association, and the Golden Frog for Best Documentary from Camerimage. 

Shakespeare called death “the undiscovered country.”  Luke Lorentzen documents the work of spiritual guides, also known as hospital chaplains, as they help patients navigate this country and the next.  
Lorentzen is an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and a lecturer in Stanford University’s Department of Art and Art History. His latest film, “A Still Small Voice,” follows a chaplain during her year-long hospital residency. Exploring perseverance, spirituality, and the human connection, the film received critical acclaim. It won the U.S. Documentary Best Director Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and was listed among the New York Times’ top ten films of the year. Lorentzen is also a co-founder of Hedgehog Films, an independent production company. His previous film, “Midnight Family,” was also shortlisted for the best documentary Oscar after winning over 35 awards from film festivals and organizations around the world including a Special Jury Award for Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, Best Editing from the International Documentary Association, and the Golden Frog for Best Documentary from Camerimage.

Luke Lorentzen Explores the Journey of a Hospital Chaplin in His Documentary “A Still Small Voice”

The most 2024 story would have to involve the Olympics, presidential politics, and Taylor Swift. Joanna Weiss unpacks the recent convergence of those cultural phenomena and what they portend for American politics.  

Weiss a Boston-based writer and editor. She is executive director of the AI Literacy Lab at Northeastern University, a project to connect journalists and technologists. Weiss is a former columnist, television critic, and a political reporter at the Boston Globe. She is the founding editor of Experience magazine, published by Northeastern University. She started her career covering Louisiana politics for the Times-Picayune of New Orleans. A contributing writer for Politico Magazine, she has also covered culture and politics for Boston Magazine, The Atlantic, Slate, The Economist, and others. Weiss is also contributing to an album-by-album coffee table book about Taylor Swift, coming out in 2025.  

The most 2024 story would have to involve the Olympics, presidential politics, and Taylor Swift. Joanna Weiss unpacks the recent convergence of those cultural phenomena and what they portend for American politics.  
Weiss a Boston-based writer and editor. She is executive director of the AI Literacy Lab at Northeastern University, a project to connect journalists and technologists. Weiss is a former columnist, television critic, and a political reporter at the Boston Globe. She is the founding editor of Experience magazine, published by Northeastern University. She started her career covering Louisiana politics for the Times-Picayune of New Orleans. A contributing writer for Politico Magazine, she has also covered culture and politics for Boston Magazine, The Atlantic, Slate, The Economist, and others. Weiss is also contributing to an album-by-album coffee table book about Taylor Swift, coming out in 2025.

Secretary Margaret Spellings on a Path to Bipartisanship in America

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