The Sum of Us

As Heather’s journey across America ends, she meets with the person who sparked her lifelong commitment to social justice. They discuss the cross-racial experiences that shaped their paths early on, and Heather reflects on the most important lessons she learned from the folks she met on the road.TRANSCRIPT: HERECREDITS: Host and Creator: Heather McGheeOriginal Music and Theme Song by: Thee Sacred Souls Producers: Cassim Shepard, Ryan Kailath, Emilce Quiroz, Joaquin Cotler and Juan Diego Ramirez, with help from Liliana Ruiz, Sophia Lo, Susanna Kemp and Alissa VladimirSenior Producers: Nicole Rothwell, Jeanne Montalvo, and Fernanda EchavarriEditors: Sandy Rattley and Maria GarciaMix Engineers: Stephanie Lebow and Julia CarusoResearchers: Lynn Kanter and Carolyn LipkaExecutive Producer for Futuro Studios: Marlon BishopExecutive producers for Higher Ground: Mukta Mohan, Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, and Janae MarableEditorial assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna LevinExecutive producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A primary care physician and former Baptist preacher, Dr. Curtis Boyd hadn’t planned on being an abortion provider— until the late 1960s, when ministers and rabbis from Texas reached out and asked him to be their trusted doctor. At 86, he is still at it. Heather visits his clinic in a story that uncovers the hidden history of how faith leaders were a linchpin of abortion access before Roe v. Wade, and how attacks on abortion rights have led to the revival of an underground clergy network today. Now, thanks to the tireless work of a cross-racial coalition of activists, clergy and religious volunteers are once again escorting women to obtain safe, legal abortions in New Mexico.TRANSCRIPT: HERECREDITS: Host and Creator: Heather McGheeOriginal Music and Theme Song by: Thee Sacred Souls Producers: Cassim Shepard, Ryan Kailath, Emilce Quiroz, Joaquin Cotler and Juan Diego Ramirez, with help from Liliana Ruiz, Sophia Lo, Susanna Kemp and Alissa VladimirSenior Producers: Nicole Rothwell, Jeanne Montalvo, and Fernanda EchavarriEditors: Sandy Rattley and Maria GarciaMix Engineers: Stephanie Lebow and Julia CarusoResearchers: Lynn Kanter and Carolyn LipkaExecutive Producer for Futuro Studios: Marlon BishopExecutive producers for Higher Ground: Mukta Mohan, Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, and Janae MarableEditorial assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna LevinExecutive producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Third generation dairy farmer Charlie Hilliard spent his life working the land that had been in his family since the 1930s. But with retirement looming, it seemed impossible to find a buyer who would be willing to preserve the land that he grew up with. Then he met Muhidin Libah, a refugee from the local Somali Bantu community, who, along with nearly 200 Somali farmers and supportive Mainers, are betting it all on a new model for the future of local farming.TRANSCRIPT: HERECREDITS: Host and Creator: Heather McGheeOriginal Music and Theme Song by: Thee Sacred Souls Producers: Cassim Shepard, Ryan Kailath, Emilce Quiroz, Joaquin Cotler and Juan Diego Ramirez, with help from Liliana Ruiz, Sophia Lo, Susanna Kemp and Alissa VladimirSenior Producers: Nicole Rothwell, Jeanne Montalvo, and Fernanda EchavarriEditors: Sandy Rattley and Maria GarciaMix Engineers: Stephanie Lebow and Julia CarusoResearchers: Lynn Kanter and Carolyn LipkaExecutive Producer for Futuro Studios: Marlon BishopExecutive producers for Higher Ground: Mukta Mohan, Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, and Janae MarableEditorial assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna LevinExecutive producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne GilliardSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Republican Congressional aide Neil Volz was convicted for conspiring to bribe members of Congress. Desmond Meade was a Black military veteran who fell into addiction, homelessness and prison. As people with a felony record, they were both stripped of their vote in the state of Florida. A chance encounter led to Desmond recruiting Neil, a white conservative, to join his audacious campaign to overturn the Jim Crow era felony voting ban. Their shared belief in second chances formed the basis of an unlikely friendship--and that friendship was one of the secret weapons in a broad multiracial, cross-partisan coalition that unleashed one of largest expansions of voting rights in US history.TRANSCRIPT: HERECREDITS: Host and Creator: Heather McGheeOriginal Music and Theme Song by: Thee Sacred Souls Producers: Cassim Shepard, Ryan Kailath, Emilce Quiroz, Joaquin Cotler and Juan Diego Ramirez, with help from Liliana Ruiz, Sophia Lo, Susanna Kemp and Alissa VladimirSenior Producers: Nicole Rothwell, Jeanne Montalvo, and Fernanda EchavarriEditors: Sandy Rattley and Maria GarciaMix Engineers: Stephanie Lebow and Julia CarusoResearchers: Lynn Kanter and Carolyn LipkaExecutive Producer for Futuro Studios: Marlon BishopExecutive producers for Higher Ground: Mukta Mohan, Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, and Janae MarableEditorial assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna LevinExecutive producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

As president of a national think tank, Heather McGhee thought that the most important change came out of Washington. But as the years passed and she saw the limitations of the law to make real change, she started wondering: Why can’t we all have nice things in this country? Like good schools, jobs and healthcare?In the first episode of the season, we’ll meet Heather as she takes to the road to try and find answers. And she finds her first clue in an unlikely place: a drained public pool. Organize with us. Take action @ www.thesumofuspodcast.com.TRANSCRIPT: HERECREDITS: Host and Creator: Heather McGheeOriginal Music and Theme Song by: Thee Sacred Souls Producers: Cassim Shepard, Ryan Kailath, Emilce Quiroz, Joaquin Cotler and Juan Diego Ramirez, with help from Liliana Ruiz, Sophia Lo, Susanna Kemp and Alissa VladimirSenior Producers: Nicole Rothwell, Jeanne Montalvo, and Fernanda EchavarriEditors: Sandy Rattley and Maria GarciaMix Engineers: Stephanie Lebow and Julia CarusoResearchers: Lynn Kanter and Carolyn LipkaExecutive Producer for Futuro Studios: Marlon BishopExecutive producers for Higher Ground: Mukta Mohan, Dan Fierman, Anna Holmes, and Janae MarableEditorial assistant for Higher Ground: Jenna LevinExecutive producers for Spotify: Daniel Ek, Dawn Ostroff, Julie McNamara and Corinne Gilliard Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.