1
00:00:05,360 --> 00:00:08,520
Speaker 1: Everybody, welcome to the shop. What's up?

2
00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:11,960
Speaker 2: I don't know. We just had a fun night last

3
00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:13,480
Speaker 2: night in Memphis at Grind City Brewing.

4
00:00:13,840 --> 00:00:18,720
Speaker 1: That was pretty awesome. I encourage everybody listening to this

5
00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:24,240
Speaker 1: shop talk to listen to the live interview we did

6
00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:31,200
Speaker 1: with fire officer Tim Brown from Manhattan who was twenty

7
00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:34,640
Speaker 1: steps from the front door of the tower on nine

8
00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:37,680
Speaker 1: to eleven when it fell. He saved lives and lost

9
00:00:37,720 --> 00:00:40,479
Speaker 1: lots of people. And we did a live interview in

10
00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:42,760
Speaker 1: Memphis with them last night, and we're a little tired

11
00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:47,080
Speaker 1: because it went late. But my goodness, what an inspirational story.

12
00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,640
Speaker 2: Plus, Grind City Brewing has a Rice Crispy Tree beer.

13
00:00:51,120 --> 00:00:51,800
Speaker 2: That's amazing.

14
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:53,920
Speaker 1: I did not have that. Was it good?

15
00:00:54,000 --> 00:00:54,600
Speaker 2: It was good?

16
00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:55,120
Speaker 1: Really?

17
00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,600
Speaker 2: You gotta go. It's like across the street from your office. Bro.

18
00:00:57,880 --> 00:00:59,800
Speaker 2: You hear like literally admitted drive to that.

19
00:01:00,200 --> 00:01:03,160
Speaker 1: No idea that a Rice Krispy Treat beer.

20
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,720
Speaker 2: Yeah, I say that right, Yeah, incredible. Anyway, the interview

21
00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:08,600
Speaker 2: will not be out for a few weeks, so just

22
00:01:08,760 --> 00:01:09,920
Speaker 2: it's not available yet.

23
00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:12,080
Speaker 1: But where's George? I need somebody ring the bell?

24
00:01:12,160 --> 00:01:13,120
Speaker 2: What's score right now?

25
00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:18,720
Speaker 1: That's ridiculous. I gotta I'm training an official bell ringer.

26
00:01:18,959 --> 00:01:23,440
Speaker 1: And what is George for He's five five. I've got

27
00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:25,679
Speaker 1: a five year old bell ringer. He's not here, George.

28
00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,319
Speaker 1: If you're listening, you know this is not cool, not

29
00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:34,240
Speaker 1: showing up to bell ringing. Down together, guys, we're going

30
00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:39,880
Speaker 1: to talk about a potluck dinner saving our democracy, So

31
00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:44,000
Speaker 1: that's coming up next, right after these brief messages from

32
00:01:44,080 --> 00:02:01,000
Speaker 1: our general sponsors. All right, everybody, shop Talk number fifty two,

33
00:02:02,440 --> 00:02:04,960
Speaker 1: fifty two weeks in a year, fifty two weeks. That

34
00:02:05,520 --> 00:02:08,359
Speaker 1: means we've done a year of shop talks. That's true,

35
00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:09,880
Speaker 1: that's incredible.

36
00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:11,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, where's my present?

37
00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:14,560
Speaker 1: I think I deserve the present. You just sit there

38
00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:17,760
Speaker 1: with the earphones on your head and comment occasionally. I

39
00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:20,800
Speaker 1: have to do all the work. Where's my present? I

40
00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,560
Speaker 1: know what I want. I want another cake so I

41
00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,360
Speaker 1: can eat it with my fingers because that's yummy.

42
00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:28,720
Speaker 2: I think you forgot to say this, and the episode

43
00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:32,400
Speaker 2: were just recorded. Well, it's going to come out before

44
00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,880
Speaker 2: her episode two. But no what the guests won't know

45
00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:38,120
Speaker 2: about the cake yet. That episode's not live yet, by

46
00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:38,960
Speaker 2: the title talk.

47
00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,040
Speaker 1: Well, then here's the deal. I just tease.

48
00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:43,640
Speaker 2: We've got a Cake Lady, Cake Lady episode coming out.

49
00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:46,400
Speaker 1: We have a cake Lady episode coming out, and I

50
00:02:46,480 --> 00:02:50,160
Speaker 1: make a complete glutton of muscle.

51
00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,960
Speaker 2: Actually, there's a good transition. We're about to talk about food. Well,

52
00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:55,000
Speaker 2: that's what we would bring to a potlucker perfect.

53
00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,440
Speaker 1: I didn't plan that, but it just rolled into it.

54
00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:04,239
Speaker 1: Could a potluck Save Our Democracy? All right, y'all listen

55
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:08,960
Speaker 1: up to the shop talk. It's inspiring, it's interesting. Ebu

56
00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:14,520
Speaker 1: Patel is the founder of an Inner Faith America and

57
00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:19,200
Speaker 1: excuse me, the founder of inter Faith America. And he

58
00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:23,079
Speaker 1: gave a fascinating talk to NYU titled could a pot

59
00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:26,400
Speaker 1: luck Dinner Save Our Democracy? I'm going to read a

60
00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:29,560
Speaker 1: portion of it now. I want to begin with something

61
00:03:29,600 --> 00:03:32,440
Speaker 1: of a political story, if you will. So, when I

62
00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:34,880
Speaker 1: was at junior in high school, this is probably ninety

63
00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,920
Speaker 1: one ninety two, my mom asked a question that made

64
00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:42,839
Speaker 1: my life considerably more delicious by the way. I love

65
00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:43,320
Speaker 1: that word.

66
00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:46,680
Speaker 2: And you call your kids there, which is weird and

67
00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:48,960
Speaker 2: it's not weird, and a past shop talk that people

68
00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,400
Speaker 2: can listen to. My kids are delicious.

69
00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:54,800
Speaker 1: Savor my children.

70
00:03:56,080 --> 00:03:58,320
Speaker 2: Say that you could say that would be a little

71
00:03:58,360 --> 00:03:58,880
Speaker 2: more normal.

72
00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:03,480
Speaker 1: Well, then this guy, that mister Eubu Pattel, is also

73
00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:04,640
Speaker 1: weird because.

74
00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:07,360
Speaker 2: He's calling a meal delicious, not his children. No, he's

75
00:04:07,400 --> 00:04:08,560
Speaker 2: not accountable, he said.

76
00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:12,520
Speaker 1: My mom asked a questions that made my life considerably

77
00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:17,320
Speaker 1: more delicious via food. But keep going, okay, She said,

78
00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,680
Speaker 1: would you like to have turkey for Thanksgiving or briyani

79
00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:27,039
Speaker 1: this year? I mean, anybody ever had brianni? The answer

80
00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:30,120
Speaker 1: to that is obvious, right, And there's a deep logic

81
00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,800
Speaker 1: to my mom's thinking. So don't get me wrong. The

82
00:04:32,839 --> 00:04:35,880
Speaker 1: turkey is a wonderful bird. It's perfectly nice foul if

83
00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:38,800
Speaker 1: you will. But as far as the dish goes, I mean,

84
00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,920
Speaker 1: it can be improved upon. Let us say, my mom's

85
00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:46,800
Speaker 1: sticking to herself. We Muslims from South Asia, we have

86
00:04:46,920 --> 00:04:51,040
Speaker 1: a feast food, we have a celebration food, and Thanksgiving

87
00:04:51,160 --> 00:04:53,640
Speaker 1: is a feast and a celebration, So why wouldn't we

88
00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:57,680
Speaker 1: prepare the far tastier celebration of food of our culture

89
00:04:58,160 --> 00:05:00,160
Speaker 1: for the feast day of the nation of which which

90
00:05:00,200 --> 00:05:03,280
Speaker 1: we live. And we had birani.

91
00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:05,600
Speaker 2: I think it's Biriyani, which I actually had to look

92
00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:06,320
Speaker 2: up this morning.

93
00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:10,080
Speaker 1: It's spelled b r Ya A and I, So what

94
00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:10,880
Speaker 1: do you think it's called.

95
00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:13,200
Speaker 2: I think it's Brianni. But we're clearly both ignorant and

96
00:05:13,520 --> 00:05:14,479
Speaker 2: need to try this dish.

97
00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:19,240
Speaker 1: Fine Brianni. This is glenn Ellen, Illinois in the early

98
00:05:19,320 --> 00:05:23,039
Speaker 1: nineteen nineties. Can you guess how many people at glen

99
00:05:23,080 --> 00:05:26,159
Speaker 1: Bard's South High School. I told that my family was

100
00:05:26,200 --> 00:05:29,840
Speaker 1: having biriani for Thanksgiving instead of turkey, and you want

101
00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:34,360
Speaker 1: to venture a guess? Zero? So now here's what's interesting.

102
00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:39,120
Speaker 1: My friends, people I'm still close to today, included a

103
00:05:39,240 --> 00:05:44,320
Speaker 1: South Indian Hindu, a Cuban, a Jew, a Mormon, a Catholic,

104
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:49,279
Speaker 1: a Lutheran, and a Nigerian Evangelical. That almost sounds like

105
00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,280
Speaker 1: the beginning to a joke where they all walked in

106
00:05:52,360 --> 00:05:56,920
Speaker 1: a boar. I promise you turkey was not the main

107
00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:01,080
Speaker 1: dish at everybody's Thanksgiving. My South Indian Hindi friends family

108
00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:05,400
Speaker 1: was vegetarian. None of us talked about the distinctive religious

109
00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,240
Speaker 1: and ethnic foods we were having on an American feast day.

110
00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:13,000
Speaker 1: There's a diversity paradigm that describes this reality. It's called

111
00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:16,720
Speaker 1: the melting pot. The idea is that we should all

112
00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:21,520
Speaker 1: melt our distinctiveness into the same general goo. Everybody's heard

113
00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:24,760
Speaker 1: of this diversity paradigm. I grew up in the eighties

114
00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:27,480
Speaker 1: and nineties. This is the paradigm that I grew up with.

115
00:06:28,240 --> 00:06:30,000
Speaker 1: For those of you who were born and raised in

116
00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,599
Speaker 1: the twenty first century, this is ancient history to a

117
00:06:33,600 --> 00:06:35,880
Speaker 1: lot of you. In all honesty, you grew up with

118
00:06:35,960 --> 00:06:39,799
Speaker 1: a different diversity paradigm. But for those of us who's

119
00:06:39,839 --> 00:06:43,240
Speaker 1: formative years when the late twentieth century you had to

120
00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:46,400
Speaker 1: have biyani at home, you just didn't talk about it

121
00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:49,960
Speaker 1: at school. At school, you just did what everybody else did.

122
00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:51,920
Speaker 1: You ate what they ate, You wore what they wore,

123
00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:55,320
Speaker 1: You listened to what they listened to. That's the melting Pot.

124
00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:58,680
Speaker 1: Let me tell you something. The melting Pot was a

125
00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:02,360
Speaker 1: step forward for nineteen seven And I'm being serious when

126
00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:05,560
Speaker 1: I say that, right, that's when the term was invented.

127
00:07:06,320 --> 00:07:08,679
Speaker 1: It's the title of a play by a guy named

128
00:07:08,839 --> 00:07:13,160
Speaker 1: Israel Zangwil, who is a Jewish refugee from Russia and

129
00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:19,000
Speaker 1: who witnessed back in Russia very ugly pograms pigrums. What

130
00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:19,520
Speaker 1: is that?

131
00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:22,200
Speaker 2: It's I mean, they'd just go around and killing a

132
00:07:22,200 --> 00:07:22,800
Speaker 2: bunch of Jews.

133
00:07:23,120 --> 00:07:27,520
Speaker 1: Good programs who witness back in Russia very ugly pograms

134
00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:30,720
Speaker 1: against minorities. And he comes here and he says, you

135
00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:34,600
Speaker 1: know what, we don't bring our conflicts here. It's actually

136
00:07:34,880 --> 00:07:38,240
Speaker 1: a really important thing to consider. Conflicts everywhere should not

137
00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:43,239
Speaker 1: pattern our relationships here. The problem with that is should

138
00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,720
Speaker 1: we not bring something of our of our identity, should

139
00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:50,360
Speaker 1: we not be proud of our distinctiveness? So the melting

140
00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,680
Speaker 1: pot is a step forward if the alternative is conflict

141
00:07:53,760 --> 00:07:57,440
Speaker 1: between identity groups. And by the way, what happens long

142
00:07:57,880 --> 00:08:00,880
Speaker 1: not long after nineteen oh seven World War One in

143
00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:07,360
Speaker 1: Europe tens of means people die in e ethnic national conflicts.

144
00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:10,480
Speaker 1: The United States has a lot of ugliness in the

145
00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:14,560
Speaker 1: twenty first century, but not that level. The melting pot

146
00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:16,920
Speaker 1: is a step forward for that period in time. But

147
00:08:16,960 --> 00:08:20,600
Speaker 1: for our period, we need a different metaphor. And what

148
00:08:20,680 --> 00:08:23,400
Speaker 1: I want to suggest is the way we think about

149
00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:29,000
Speaker 1: American democracy is it's a potluck? Could it save our democracy? Well,

150
00:08:29,120 --> 00:08:32,200
Speaker 1: let's discuss, but let's talk for a moment about what

151
00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:36,240
Speaker 1: a potluck is. This is again extremely familiar, But I

152
00:08:36,360 --> 00:08:38,880
Speaker 1: actually think the best metaphor and the best symbols are

153
00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:43,000
Speaker 1: extremely familiar. The big idea of a potluck is that

154
00:08:43,040 --> 00:08:45,640
Speaker 1: you want to gather a diverse array of people and

155
00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:48,160
Speaker 1: invite them to bring a dish that is distinctive to

156
00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,200
Speaker 1: their identity and household to a common space. And in

157
00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:55,079
Speaker 1: that common space, things work best if there are an

158
00:08:55,120 --> 00:09:00,240
Speaker 1: interesting creative combinations between those dishes and enriching conversation between

159
00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:09,520
Speaker 1: diverse people. So everything I'm describing as super straightforward, super colliloqual, colloquial, colloquial, thanks,

160
00:09:09,559 --> 00:09:12,120
Speaker 1: I have the worst time with that word, super familiar,

161
00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:16,440
Speaker 1: and totally magic. This is the everyday magic of American

162
00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:20,160
Speaker 1: civic life. Let's break this down. Number one, everyone is

163
00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:24,640
Speaker 1: a contributor. So as anybody ever said to someone if

164
00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:27,520
Speaker 1: you've hosted a potluck, hey, I know that you are

165
00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:31,080
Speaker 1: too marginalized to bring a dish. That's a totally serious question.

166
00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:35,400
Speaker 1: Has anyone ever said that everyone else can bring a dish,

167
00:09:35,679 --> 00:09:39,160
Speaker 1: but you are too oppressed to bring a dish? No,

168
00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:43,880
Speaker 1: Holy smokes, that's a great line. Just think about that.

169
00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:47,559
Speaker 1: I'm going to repeat that. Everybody listening need to consider

170
00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:53,720
Speaker 1: what this man's saying. The everyday magic of American civic life.

171
00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:58,200
Speaker 1: Let's break this down. Number one, everyone is a contributor.

172
00:09:58,920 --> 00:10:01,160
Speaker 1: So has anybody ever s I said to someone if

173
00:10:01,160 --> 00:10:03,960
Speaker 1: you voted a potluck, hey, I know that you are

174
00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:07,560
Speaker 1: too marginalized to bring a dish. Has anyone ever said

175
00:10:07,600 --> 00:10:10,520
Speaker 1: that everybody else can bring a dish, but you are

176
00:10:10,559 --> 00:10:14,720
Speaker 1: too oppressed to bring a dish. No, The assumption is

177
00:10:14,760 --> 00:10:18,480
Speaker 1: everybody can bring a dish. Everybody is a contributor. Everybody's

178
00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:23,040
Speaker 1: going to enrich the space of the potluck. Now, people

179
00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:25,480
Speaker 1: are aware that it's easier for some folks than others.

180
00:10:25,559 --> 00:10:27,760
Speaker 1: If you have a really nice house with a nice

181
00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,000
Speaker 1: kitchen and plenty of money, it's going to be easier.

182
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:31,680
Speaker 1: If you have a nice car that you can bring

183
00:10:31,760 --> 00:10:34,240
Speaker 1: that food in, it's going to be easier. There are

184
00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:38,320
Speaker 1: barriers to some people's contributions. We realize that. But the

185
00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:43,400
Speaker 1: barriers don't define people. The contributions to find the people.

186
00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:46,720
Speaker 1: So that's the first thing. The assumption of a potluck

187
00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:50,559
Speaker 1: is that everybody is a contributor. By the way, if

188
00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:53,000
Speaker 1: you don't have a kitchen, you show up early and

189
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:55,360
Speaker 1: you help clean the space before the other people come.

190
00:10:56,080 --> 00:11:00,680
Speaker 1: Everybody knows they have to contribute. Part one, Part two.

191
00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:05,199
Speaker 1: As much as I like Brianni and for whoever has

192
00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,160
Speaker 1: not had it, I highly suggest it. I don't want

193
00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:12,160
Speaker 1: to potluck all of Brianni. And as much as you

194
00:11:12,280 --> 00:11:17,240
Speaker 1: might like hummus or falafol or hamburgers or whatever, you

195
00:11:17,280 --> 00:11:20,040
Speaker 1: don't want a potluck with just that kind of food.

196
00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:24,560
Speaker 1: A potluck is the most delicious, most wonderful, most beautiful

197
00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:27,480
Speaker 1: if there's a diverse array of food that shows up,

198
00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,840
Speaker 1: and if you have a wide variety of contributors. Everyone

199
00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,600
Speaker 1: knows that, right. So here's the thing. The third thing.

200
00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:39,160
Speaker 1: You don't actually just want there to be an a

201
00:11:39,280 --> 00:11:41,680
Speaker 1: ray of food. You want people to kind of mix

202
00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:45,120
Speaker 1: the food together on their plates. There's nothing better to

203
00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:48,439
Speaker 1: potluck than here's somebody say, oh my gosh, I never

204
00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:52,079
Speaker 1: knew how awesome this crusty bread recipe from Eastern Europe

205
00:11:52,120 --> 00:11:55,120
Speaker 1: would go with this spicy dip from the Middle East.

206
00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,480
Speaker 1: And you know what we call that America. We call

207
00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:01,719
Speaker 1: that a space where people from the four corners of

208
00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:05,720
Speaker 1: the earth, praying in different ways, speaking in different tongues,

209
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,840
Speaker 1: bringing their dishes from their identities, come to a single

210
00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:14,920
Speaker 1: space and build out of it a community that's called America.

211
00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,840
Speaker 1: Where else do you get this very interesting combination of

212
00:12:18,880 --> 00:12:21,800
Speaker 1: people each invited to bring their dish to the table.

213
00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,840
Speaker 1: Where else do you get those cool combinations? There are

214
00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,000
Speaker 1: kosher Chinese restaurants in New York. How cool is that?

215
00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:34,000
Speaker 1: They just think it's normal. Right. There are Korean tacos

216
00:12:34,040 --> 00:12:37,720
Speaker 1: in Chicago. They don't even know it's magical. That's just normal.

217
00:12:38,360 --> 00:12:41,240
Speaker 1: People come here and they bring their dishes to the table,

218
00:12:41,679 --> 00:12:46,640
Speaker 1: and those dishes are beautiful and creative. What do you

219
00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:50,760
Speaker 1: do at a potluck? That's living and talking together? What

220
00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:55,280
Speaker 1: else makes a potluck spatial? No mayor, no general, no president,

221
00:12:55,320 --> 00:12:58,280
Speaker 1: no governor can command you to do it. It's the ultimate

222
00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:03,240
Speaker 1: civic form. Citizen by and by citizens, I mean anybody

223
00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:07,040
Speaker 1: who participates in public life can put together their own potlucks.

224
00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,480
Speaker 1: They create their own spaces. It's a form that we

225
00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:13,920
Speaker 1: generate and create for ourselves. And when I ask people

226
00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:17,560
Speaker 1: how many of you participated a potluck, virtually every hand

227
00:13:17,640 --> 00:13:20,560
Speaker 1: of the room went up. We do this ourselves. We

228
00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:25,000
Speaker 1: are the generators of this civil society. So for about

229
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,920
Speaker 1: fifteen months after college, every Tuesday night I hosted a potluck.

230
00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:31,880
Speaker 1: It started with five to seven people in a group

231
00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:35,160
Speaker 1: to like sixty people in this little one and a

232
00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:38,760
Speaker 1: half bedroom apartment, this neighborhood between Lincoln Park and Logan

233
00:13:38,880 --> 00:13:42,840
Speaker 1: Square in Chicago. And so I have lived this, and

234
00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:45,679
Speaker 1: I have to tell you something. The first few potlucks,

235
00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,760
Speaker 1: I like lost sleep on Monday nights. The put likes

236
00:13:48,800 --> 00:13:52,240
Speaker 1: for it was Tuesday nights. I lost sleep on Monday nights.

237
00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:56,280
Speaker 1: You want to know why, be like, are the vague

238
00:13:56,440 --> 00:14:00,840
Speaker 1: vegans going to be mad? Seriously? Like something could go wrong?

239
00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:03,560
Speaker 1: Just think about the million things that could go wrong

240
00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,360
Speaker 1: in a potluck. And you know what's kind of wild.

241
00:14:06,760 --> 00:14:11,040
Speaker 1: It never did. It's possible someone could bring poison, it's true,

242
00:14:11,640 --> 00:14:22,239
Speaker 1: but it almost never happens. That's awesome. The entire speech, obviously,

243
00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,400
Speaker 1: is using potluck and a food as a metaphor that we,

244
00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:30,960
Speaker 1: as normal folks, have to not worry about what you

245
00:14:31,040 --> 00:14:34,800
Speaker 1: look like, who you pray to, who you love, how

246
00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:40,400
Speaker 1: you vote. But the beauty of our democracy, the beauty

247
00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:45,080
Speaker 1: of our America, is a melting pot. And mister Patel

248
00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:49,200
Speaker 1: here suggests that we quit using the nineteen oh seven

249
00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:53,440
Speaker 1: term melting pot and go to a nineteen twenty five

250
00:14:53,600 --> 00:14:55,920
Speaker 1: or a twenty twenty five version of that and call

251
00:14:55,960 --> 00:15:02,960
Speaker 1: it a potluck. Because everybody enjoys a potlin It's a

252
00:15:03,040 --> 00:15:07,920
Speaker 1: combining of cultures in a delicious way that you can

253
00:15:08,120 --> 00:15:12,680
Speaker 1: both appreciate and celebrate one another. And over that pot

254
00:15:12,760 --> 00:15:18,520
Speaker 1: luck invariably becomes conversation, where when you leave with your

255
00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:24,040
Speaker 1: bellies full, you also leave with your soul full, understanding

256
00:15:26,240 --> 00:15:32,040
Speaker 1: that our distinctiveness is beautiful and our ability to bring

257
00:15:32,080 --> 00:15:36,560
Speaker 1: that distinctiveness together around a meal and conversation to learn

258
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:40,760
Speaker 1: about one another is even more fulfilling than the food itself.

259
00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,440
Speaker 1: Could a pot luck dinner save our democracy? I would

260
00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:47,400
Speaker 1: say it could, Alex.

261
00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:49,880
Speaker 2: I think it could reduce a lot of our tribals,

262
00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:52,360
Speaker 2: and that's for sure if we actually had these potluck dinners.

263
00:15:52,880 --> 00:15:54,960
Speaker 2: I love his example too, like he actually did this.

264
00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,200
Speaker 2: He's not just preaching it. But you did this thing

265
00:15:57,240 --> 00:15:58,840
Speaker 2: with a couple of friends, and it grew to sixty

266
00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:01,880
Speaker 2: people in this smaller part. And imagine if you had

267
00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:03,760
Speaker 2: an arby of normal folks doing that too.

268
00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:10,760
Speaker 1: I love that he said, here's what's interesting. My friends,

269
00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:15,640
Speaker 1: people I'm still close to today include a South Indian Hindu,

270
00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,840
Speaker 1: a Cuban, a Jew, a Mormon, a Catholic, a Lutheran,

271
00:16:18,960 --> 00:16:23,840
Speaker 1: and a Nigerian evangelical. Assuming that these are some of

272
00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,640
Speaker 1: his closest friends, I would imagine that group of people

273
00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,040
Speaker 1: are also close with one another as a group. You

274
00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:31,720
Speaker 1: can't get any more diverse than that.

275
00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:35,120
Speaker 2: It's beautiful and way more interesting if we just say

276
00:16:35,120 --> 00:16:38,040
Speaker 2: barbecue every day. How boring is that?

277
00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,320
Speaker 1: Is that on the potluck thing? There's a place in

278
00:16:41,360 --> 00:16:44,600
Speaker 1: Memphis that has barbecue egg rolls and uh.

279
00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:51,000
Speaker 2: And barbicue spaghetti and barbecue spaghetti Italian and yeah, Chinese

280
00:16:51,160 --> 00:16:54,120
Speaker 2: Italian and barbecue, good old Southern stuff.

281
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,760
Speaker 1: And I promise you I don't care how you vote,

282
00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,880
Speaker 1: or how you worship or who you love. If you

283
00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:04,280
Speaker 1: and I are sitting around some barbecue spaghetti and barbecue aggrolls,

284
00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:09,119
Speaker 1: we can all agree that's pretty damn good. That's shop

285
00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:10,960
Speaker 1: talk number fifty two, y'all.

286
00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:13,840
Speaker 2: I'm going to include a plug our next lunch and listen,

287
00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,240
Speaker 2: hold on, do.

288
00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:16,119
Speaker 1: It just second?

289
00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:16,600
Speaker 2: All right?

290
00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:21,080
Speaker 1: That's that's that's that's number fifty two. Can a pot

291
00:17:21,160 --> 00:17:25,280
Speaker 1: luck dinner save our democracy? And I would suggest, both

292
00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:30,640
Speaker 1: literally and metaphorically, Ebo Hotels onto something. A pot lug

293
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,760
Speaker 1: dinner can save our democracy? Now, Alex, what you got well?

294
00:17:34,800 --> 00:17:36,919
Speaker 2: And you're saying that reminds me of people actually do this,

295
00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:40,480
Speaker 2: and you host a potluck dinner that's this interesting and

296
00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:41,720
Speaker 2: diverse email us about it.

297
00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:44,520
Speaker 1: You know what, Thanksgiving pot luck dinner would be kind

298
00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:46,280
Speaker 1: of cool. That would be Wait, which is where this

299
00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:47,520
Speaker 1: generated from?

300
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:49,760
Speaker 2: And He's right, turkey's good, But it's not like it's

301
00:17:49,760 --> 00:17:51,600
Speaker 2: the best food in the world. I mean, there's better

302
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:52,680
Speaker 2: dishes out there.

303
00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:54,919
Speaker 1: I don't know, at least as turkey gravy. When you

304
00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,320
Speaker 1: put it on turkey and mashed potatoes. I actually look

305
00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:00,320
Speaker 1: for it. Really Ah, it's good stuff. Yeah, yeah, all right.

306
00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:03,399
Speaker 2: So the plug is our next live interview in Memphis

307
00:18:03,680 --> 00:18:07,920
Speaker 2: our luncheon. Listen June twelfth, Father Mark Hannah, He and

308
00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:11,160
Speaker 2: four other civilians helped save fifty people's lives on nine

309
00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:15,399
Speaker 2: to eleven. To RSVPN learn more. It is Fathermark dot

310
00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:18,160
Speaker 2: Eventwright dot com. And one thing I was actually thinking

311
00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:20,080
Speaker 2: to driving up to your office today to do this

312
00:18:20,200 --> 00:18:23,639
Speaker 2: is it could be interesting to explain, not explained, but

313
00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:26,600
Speaker 2: justify ourselves. We're doing a lot of this stuff in

314
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,320
Speaker 2: Memphis because you are here, but if people are interested

315
00:18:30,320 --> 00:18:32,480
Speaker 2: in doing this in their cities around the country too.

316
00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:34,399
Speaker 2: Some of these live events. Make sure to email me

317
00:18:34,440 --> 00:18:37,280
Speaker 2: and we could talk about it and see what's possible.

318
00:18:37,320 --> 00:18:39,960
Speaker 1: But obviously I am more than happy to take a

319
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,200
Speaker 1: day and to fly to any city in this country.

320
00:18:42,480 --> 00:18:45,200
Speaker 2: Oh, don't make some commitment that you're not prepared to keep.

321
00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,560
Speaker 1: I didn't commit. What I said was I am more

322
00:18:47,600 --> 00:18:50,880
Speaker 1: than happy to fly to any city in this country

323
00:18:51,520 --> 00:18:55,760
Speaker 1: for any Army member to do a live recorded an interview.

324
00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,840
Speaker 1: If they can get three hundred people or more there

325
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:02,280
Speaker 1: so that we can actually have an event, I will

326
00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:04,760
Speaker 1: do it. I will absolutely go to It's.

327
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:06,280
Speaker 2: A good challenge. We didn't plan this. You just threw

328
00:19:06,320 --> 00:19:07,000
Speaker 2: down the gauntlet.

329
00:19:07,119 --> 00:19:09,600
Speaker 1: Well, I'll do it. If any of you can get

330
00:19:09,640 --> 00:19:12,440
Speaker 1: three hundred people to an event for a live recording

331
00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:15,719
Speaker 1: of a podcast for someone in your community that is

332
00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:19,240
Speaker 1: worthy of being on this show because of the work

333
00:19:19,240 --> 00:19:22,639
Speaker 1: that they're doing, and you can put together an event

334
00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:25,840
Speaker 1: place with three hundred people more in it, I'll come

335
00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:29,040
Speaker 1: and you'll have to do all the audio and video

336
00:19:29,119 --> 00:19:32,160
Speaker 1: and everything else, but I'll do it. I will absolutely

337
00:19:32,160 --> 00:19:32,639
Speaker 1: do that.

338
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:36,160
Speaker 2: That's awesome. So email us Bill a normal Folks out

339
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:38,920
Speaker 2: Us or me at Army and Normal Focus out Us.

340
00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:41,000
Speaker 2: We need more shop talk ideas too.

341
00:19:41,560 --> 00:19:43,960
Speaker 1: Yeah, what else you got, They'll send a shop talk

342
00:19:44,040 --> 00:19:44,800
Speaker 1: I mean I gotta go.

343
00:19:44,760 --> 00:19:46,040
Speaker 2: To work, so yeah, that's funny.

344
00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,359
Speaker 1: All right, after you shop Talk number fifty two, let's

345
00:19:49,359 --> 00:19:53,200
Speaker 1: put together some potlucks. Hey, I got an idea. Let's

346
00:19:54,359 --> 00:19:58,040
Speaker 1: do remote events in other cities with three hundred people

347
00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:02,520
Speaker 1: and everybody bring a small dish. Let's do national potlucks.

348
00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:03,720
Speaker 2: That would be a big potluck.

349
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:06,880
Speaker 1: I don't care. It would be awesome, and my fingers

350
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:08,000
Speaker 1: if someone brings cake.

351
00:20:09,560 --> 00:20:11,600
Speaker 2: It's really respectful if we're going to be sharing these

352
00:20:11,600 --> 00:20:12,600
Speaker 2: dishes whatever.

353
00:20:13,200 --> 00:20:16,159
Speaker 1: If y'all are interested, it's open to you. You just

354
00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:18,800
Speaker 1: gotta gotta meet us halfway and help us pull it off.

355
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:21,240
Speaker 1: And we'll be there at chop Talk number fifty two.

356
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:24,560
Speaker 1: We'll see you next week.