Tghis episode is about the history of the US Capitol Building, and is part of our #US250 podcast specials.

Jeananne interviews Steve Livengood, Chief Guide & Historian at the US Capitol Historical Society.

We provide great detail on the design, building, rebuilding, and how it operates from its beginnings to this very day.

The US Capitol Building is the home of the legislative branch, was once the home of The US Supreme Court and has been the backdrop of some of the most important discussions and debates over issues that have shaped our nation.

As promised, here are some of the links we mention in this podcast:

This podcast is on the life and work of Thurgood Marshall. Most of us know Thurgood Marshall as the first black justice of the US Supreme Court, but we do not know is the road he took to get into that role.

We discuss how he bacame a lawyer, the many influences in his life, his time at the NAACP, and how he came to be a Supreme Court Justice.

Take a listen, there is always more to learn,

Jimmy & Jean

We pivot back to our coverage of the civil rights movement and in this episode we focus our attention to the Montgomery Bus Boycott & Rosa Parks.

We are joined by Donna Beisel who is the Director of Museum Operations at The Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama.

This episode discusses themes related to racial violence, discrimination, and sexual assault, including references to cases Rosa Parks worked on during her time with the NAACP. These topics may be sensitive for some listeners. Please take care while listening and feel free to pause or step away if needed. For your reference this is discussed from the 15 min - 17 minute mark.

There is always more to lear - talk to you soon,

Jimmy & Jean

We have been going mainly chronologically thus far, and with 2026 being the 250th anniversary of our country, we decided to mix in some different types of episodes to recognize where we have been, along with reminders of how we got there, and what we need to do to keep it going!

Today's podcast title, It Starts with Us: Keeping Democracy Alive for the Next 250 Years, delves into the responsibilities we have as citizens to stay educated and remember that the power is in the hands of the people. We assign that power to our elected officials in order for them to represent US!

Today, Jeananne is joined by Ira Chaleff

Ira and Jeananne discuss open dialogue with people who have differing views, not being closed off to other opinions, and more importantly, educating yourself with the viewpoints from the political left, center, and right.

There is always more to learn, talk to you soon!

-Jimmy & Jean

Our podcast on the legislative branch and civic engagement focuses on the interactions between politicians and their constituents.

Do you know who your congressman is? Do you know who your two state senators are? Do you know how to reach them?

Well we will get into all of this and more! Jeananne is joined by Bradford Fitch, the former CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation. He has spent 40 years in Washington as a journalist, congressional aide, consultant, college instructor, Internet entrepreneur, and writer/researcher. He is a leading trainer of citizen-advocates in the U.S., with more than 50,000 Americans participating in one of his programs. His most recent book was just published, Citizen's Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials: Engaging with Congress and State Capitols

and can be found on Amazon with the link above.

Take a listen as there is always more to learn!

-Jimmy & Jean

Additional Guest information:

BradfordFitch.com Find Your Members in the U.S. Congress | Congress.gov | Library of Congress

In this podcast we continue our coverage of the civil rights movement with a discussion on Brown vs. The Board of Education.

Most of us know Brown v. Board of Education as the Supreme Court decision that struck down racial segregation in public schools. But what’s often forgotten is that this landmark case has deep roots in a place that, nearly a century earlier, was a battleground over the issue of slavery.

That place? Kansas.

As students of history, you may have heard the phrase “Bleeding Kansas." This wasn’t just a metaphor. From 1854 to 1859, the Kansas Territory became a war zone as pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers fought over whether the state would enter the Union as free or slave-holding state. In an earlier episode, we discussed John Brown and his infamous raid on Harpers Ferry. And here's a little-known fact: Kansas had four competing constitutions during its territorial years. Yes — four! Each one representing a different vision of the state’s future. The debate over slavery wasn’t just national — it was hyperlocal, fought at the ballot box, in homes, and with rifles. When Kansas finally entered the Union in 1861, it did so as a free state — just months before the Civil War began. And a century later, it would once again become a frontline in the battle for civil rights, this time in the classrooms of Topeka.

On this episode, our resident history expert, Jeananne Xenakis is joined by Ms. Fatimah Purvis, who serves as the Education Specialist at Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park in Topeka, Kansas.

We continue our conversation on The Civil Rights Movement and in this podcast we delve into the story of Emmett Till. Emmett Till was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered. We delve into his story and how it was a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement here in The United States.

We are joined by Devery Anderson, author of Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement

Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights Movement (Race, Rhetoric, and Media Series): Anderson, Devery S., Bond, Julian: 9781496814777: Amazon.com: Books

There is always more to learn!

Talk to you soon,

Jimmy & Jean

With this podcast we begin our coverage of the Civil Rights Movement here in the United States. There will be multiple podcasts, which Jeananne will introduce some topics later on in this one.

To understand the importance of The Civil Rights Movement and why it was such an uphill battle to get legislation passed to protect voting rights, to desegregate schools and public facilities and allow for equal protection under the law, we have to go back to the era of Reconstruction and look at the journey from slavery to segregation.

We reference content from earlier podcasts, so if you want to take a refresher, go back and listen to our podcasts on:

1. The Civil War (Parts 1 & 2)
2. Reconstruction / Presidency of Andrew Johnson
3. Booker T. Washington
4. Plessy v. Ferguson & The Emergence of Segregation in the US

Take a listen, there is always more to learn!

-Jimmy & Jean