Georgia Today Podcast – November 13, 2025

Episode Theme:
This episode covers the end of the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, a continuing trend of layoffs in Georgia, and features an in-depth interview with documentary filmmakers Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt about their new PBS series "The American Revolution."

Main Stories and Segments

The End of the Longest Federal Government Shutdown

• Overview:
  The 43-day federal government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, has ended following a vote in the House (222-209), with six Democrats breaking ranks. President Trump signed the funding bill late last night.

• Impact in Georgia:

  • Federal workers, air travelers, and SNAP recipients were stressed during the shutdown.
  • Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian discussed over 2,000 flight cancellations since Friday, with disruptions due to the FAA ordering schedule cuts.
  • Bastian advocated for making TSA agents and air traffic controllers “essential workers” who get paid despite shutdowns.
    • Quote (Ed Bastian, Delta CEO, 01:40):
      “The thing we don't like is being a political football because our people aren't getting paid... If they're not going to get paid for a month and a half, that's unacceptable.”

• Local Political Response:

  • Georgia U.S. House member Austin Scott (R) before the vote:
    • Quote (Austin Scott, 01:07):
      “The American farmer needs this bill to pass. The American soldier needs this bill to pass. Our air traffic controllers need this bill to pass.”

Economic Strains: Layoffs in Georgia

• Details:
  • Around 800 Georgians are facing layoffs this week.
    • General Motors is closing its Roswell innovation center (300 employees affected).
    • Book distributor Baker & Taylor is shutting its Jackson County facility (another 300 jobs).
  • These are due to ongoing labor market weaknesses.

Middle Georgia Deputy Trial

• Background:
  • Three former sheriff’s deputies are on trial for the 2017 tasing death of Yuri Martin, a mentally ill man.
  • Prosecutors focus on the extended use of tasers.
    • Quote (Prosecutor George Lipscomb, 03:06):
      “If they weren't struggling and tasing him, would he still be alive? Would he still be alive?”
  • Defense argues deputies used “reasonable force” as Martin was illegally in the road and littered.
  • Prior trial ended in a hung jury.

Cell Phone Bans in Schools

• Marietta City Schools:
  • Enacted a cell phone ban; 90% of middle school teachers surveyed say it improved academics and reduced bullying.
  • Quote (District Superintendent Grant Rivera, 03:57):
    “They can learn better, they're socializing better, and they tell us that overwhelmingly on statewide survey.”
  • Governor Brian Kemp signed a statewide ban for grades K–8, effective in 2026.

Savannah Gun-Car Ordinance Overturned

• Court Ruling:
  • A Savannah judge struck down the city ordinance against leaving guns in unlocked cars, citing conflict with Georgia state law and the Second Amendment.
• City Response:
  • Mayor Van Johnson says the ordinance is more about education than punishment.
    • Quote (Van Johnson, 04:40):
      “It's not the punitive effect, it's the educational effect... I would love it if we issued zero citations and we had zero guns stolen from unlocked cars.”

Georgia Tech’s Public Policy School Renamed

• Update:
  • Now called the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School of Public Policy.
  • Carter’s grandson, Josh Carter, hopes students keep the Carters’ humanitarian focus at the “North Star.”
    • Quote (Josh Carter, 05:55):
      “As long as this school keeps perhaps my grandparents at the North Star, we're going to have some amazing leaders come out of this building.”

Feature Interview: Inside Ken Burns' "The American Revolution"

Interviewees: Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, David Schmidt
Segment Start: [06:26]

Why Tackle the Revolution Now?

• Sarah Botstein:
  • The story is “our origin story... we've been working on it for nine-plus years, a deep dive into it and are excited to share.”
  • Quote (06:51):
    “What could be more important, particularly in this day when I think there's so much questioning and the fabric of what has brought us together seems a little bit frayed, to go back and look at it now?”

Key Surprises During Research

• Ken Burns:

  • “Every day was actually filled with revelation and discovery... the war went on for eight years. People don’t realize that.”
  • The war’s geographic and demographic complexity surprised the team.

• David Schmidt:

  • Quote (08:56):
    “What wasn't on the table at the start of the revolution… was not the goal of any of the colonists... None of those were the war aims when the first shots were fired. But quickly they became necessary in order to win the war.”
  • Unity, independence, democracy, and alliances developed as survival strategies, not initial aims.

• Ken Burns on Complexity:

  • “There is a lot of stuff between all of those signposts [Lexington and Concord, Trenton, Yorktown], and so many different groups and factions involved... adding dimension to familiar people is the thing for us to learn.”
  • The example of Benedict Arnold: introduced early as a talented general, with his betrayal only revealed late in the series to highlight complexity.

Portraying Flawed Heroes

• Ken Burns:
  • Quote (11:46):
    “Heroes become more heroic when they’re flawed. They’re more human. It makes what they do… more heroic when they are not just one dimensional.”

The Challenge of Thomas Jefferson

• Ken Burns:

  • He “knew slavery was wrong. He was also extremely profitable.”
  • The film does not “let him off the hook” but won’t “chastise” either. The filmmakers act as “umpires, calling balls and strikes.”
    • Quote (12:12):
      “He still distilled a century of enlightenment thinking into the second most remarkable sentence after I love you… and that's a really important contribution.”

• David Schmidt:

  • Emphasizes seeing Jefferson and Washington as uncertain men, not marble gods—but relatable and ordinary in their time, which allows viewers to “become a better citizen… if you just see them as people.”

Notable Quotes

• Ed Bastian (Delta CEO, 01:40):
  “The thing we don't like is being a political football because our people aren't getting paid... If they're not going to get paid for a month and a half, that's unacceptable.”

• Austin Scott (Congressman, 01:07):
  “The American farmer needs this bill to pass. The American soldier needs this bill to pass. Our air traffic controllers need this bill to pass.”

• Van Johnson (Savannah Mayor, 04:40):
  “It's not the punitive effect, it's the educational effect... I would love it if we issued zero citations and we had zero guns stolen from unlocked cars.”

• Ken Burns (Filmmaker, 11:46):
  “Heroes become more heroic when they’re flawed. They’re more human.”

• Sarah Botstein (Filmmaker, 06:51):
  “What could be more important… when I think there’s so much questioning and the fabric of what has brought us together seems a little bit frayed, to go back and look at it now?”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:37] — Government shutdown ends; House vote and Georgia response
• [01:17–02:00] — Delta CEO on shutdown’s airline impact
• [02:00–02:37] — Major layoffs in Georgia
• [02:49] — Washington County deputies’ trial coverage
• [03:37] — Cell phone ban in Marietta City Schools
• [04:06] — Statewide K–8 cell phone ban signed
• [04:25] — Savannah gun ordinance overturned
• [05:37] — Georgia Tech school renaming
• [06:26] — Filmmaker interview: Ken Burns and “The American Revolution”

Final Notes

• “The American Revolution” premieres November 16th on PBS (GPB at 8pm).
• Watch the full filmmaker interview at gpb.org/news.
• Upcoming event: Discussion with author Larissa Reinhart, November 19th at GPB Studios.

This rich and varied episode offers Georgia listeners an essential update on politics, the economy, education, and new perspectives on America’s origins. The interview with Burns, Botstein, and Schmidt deepens understanding of how history is made, perceived, and retold, echoing modern anxieties and hopes about national unity and identity.