Podcast
Straight to It
Hosted by Charlie Zeitlin · EN
The Straight to It podcast hosts conversations with leaders in government, journalism, business, the arts, and beyond.
Each episode shares the story of a new guest and provides listeners with an understanding of fascinating people and the work that animates them.
Tune in every two weeks for conversations with guests that have included a member of the U.S. Congress, the Editor of Foreign Affairs, and an Emmy-winning film producer.
14episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ep.88: Collecting, Selling, and Loving Books with Andy Nettell of Stellar Books & Ephemera
2w ago00:33:03Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Andy Nettell. Andy, with his wife Marcee, founded Stellar Books & Ephemera in 2022. Based out of Sequim, Washington, Andy and his wife focus on selling rare Americana. This past February, I visited their wonderful booth at the International Antiquarian Book Fair, which came to San Francisco. I met Andy and purchased a collection of presidential campaign pins. I really enjoyed learning about how Andy finds these amazing items, his journey, and his book recommendations for all of us.
Transcribe →Ep.87: Fixing our Democracy through Deliberation with Dr. Alice Siu, Associate Director of Stanford’s Deliberative Democracy Lab
4w ago00:26:56Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Dr. Alice Siu of Stanford University’s deliberative democracy lab. The lab is devoted to research on democracy and public opinion using Deliberative Polling. It is a process that includes convening a representative sample of the group, educating the group on the issue, hearing from experts, and debating it. Consistently, the lab has found that this process makes participants' viewpoints less extreme and more likely to empathize with others' perspectives. Dr. Siu earned her Ph.D. from Stanford's Department of Communication, specializing in political communication, deliberative democracy, and public opinion. Dr. Siu also holds bachelor's degrees in economics and Public Policy, as well as a master's degree in political science, all from Stanford University.We discuss the surprising statistic that nearly one in five Americans prefer authoritarianism to democracy, and what a survey on a made-up issue reveals to Dr. Siu about democracy.
Transcribe →Ep. 86: Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library Curator Lara Hall discusses LBJ and his Legacy
Jun 1500:30:29Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Lara Hall. Lara is the Museum Curator of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library. Lara worked as an archivist, organizing the over 45 million documents housed at the library, for about a decade before becoming the curator. She creates exhibits predominantly focused on the life, times, and legacy of President Johnson. We discuss the challenge of communicating LBJ’s complicated legacy (with his civil rights and social triumphs, juxtaposed with the disastrous Vietnam War). Lara also tells us about how she curates the museum. Finally, Lara shares with us some of the more colorful stories from LBJ’s Presidency.
Transcribe →Ep. 85: Dan Kurtz-Phelan, Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Affairs on Trump’s Foreign Policy, Stewarding a Legendary Institution and Creating Its Future
Jun 400:25:57Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Dan Kurtz-Phelan. Since 2021, Dan has served as the Editor-in-Chief of Foreign Affairs, which for the past 100 years has been one of the leading publications covering foreign policy. Before his tenure as editor, Dan worked in the State Department during the Obama Administration. He went on to work for then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as a speechwriter and for the State Department’s Policy Planning Staff—focusing on long-term strategy. Given the rapid and chaotic state of U.S. Foreign Policy, I ask Dan about whether he thinks the Trump administration has a coherent long-term strategy for global affairs. We also discuss Dan’s time in the State Department, what Dan thinks politicians miss about foreign policy, and how history enables Dan to make better sense of the current state of global affairs.
Transcribe →Ep. 84: The Past, Present, and Future of the U.S. Tax Code with Professor Ray Madoff
May 2200:21:23Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Professor Ray Madoff of Boston College. Ray focuses on philanthropic policy, the rights of the dead (including the dead's ability to control their bodies, reputation, and property), estate taxes, comparative inheritance law, and wealth inequality and taxes.Recently, I became acquainted with Ray’s work through her award-winning book, The Second Estate. The book reveals the inadequacies of the U.S. tax code and its fascinating history. The book was selected as a The New Yorker’s Best Book of 2025. We discuss the Gilded Age origins of the tax code, how the wealthy exploit the system today, and what we ought to do to fix it in the future.
Transcribe →Ep. 83: Ethics, the Philosophy of Alasdair MacIntyre, and a Wide-Ranging Conversation with Scholar and Yale Lecturer Peter Wicks
May 400:33:54Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Peter Wicks. Peter is a scholar-in-residence at the Elm Institute whose research focuses on the contemporary applications of Aristotle’s ethical and political thought, the history and philosophy of higher education, and the psychology and ethics of argument and persuasion. Recently, Peter co-edited Alasdair MacIntyre on Practical Philosophy: Essential Works, which was published by the University of Notre Dame Press in 2026. Peter is a faculty affiliate of the Yale Program for Biomedical Ethics and a fellow of Davenport College. We discuss his course at Yale on the psychology and ethics of persuasion, the philosophy of one of the century's most important thinkers (Alasdair MacIntyre), and more!Enjoy the interview!
Transcribe →Ep. 82: Risk, Complexity, and Adventure with Tony Haile
Apr 1800:30:06Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Tony Haile. Currently, Tony is the CEO of Filament, a company that aims to revolutionize professional networking through smaller, private spaces for connection. Previously, Tony was on Twitter's Global Leadership Team, the Founding CEO of Scroll (which Twitter acquired), and the Founding CEO of Chartbeat. Tony got his education at St. Andrews and spent a semester studying at a Palestinian university in the West Bank. He is also an accomplished adventurer; Tony has done Arctic expeditions and a sailing race around the world. We discuss his experience living in the West Bank, his adventures, and what eventually led him to technology entrepreneurship. Finally, he shares his vision for Filament with us. Enjoy the interview!
Transcribe →Ep. 81: Sherri Franklin — Founder of Muttville and Hero to Senior Dogs
Mar 2800:27:47Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Sherri Franklin. Sherri is the founder of Muttville, a senior dog rescue in San Francisco. After understanding how wonderful senior dogs can be and seeing how inhumanely they are treated in the shelter system, Sherri started a grassroots dog rescue that eventually grew into Muttville. Every year, Muttville rescues over 1,000 senior dogs. Sherri and I discuss Muttville’s unique philosophy of emphasizing the happiness of dog rescue, how Sherri got Muttville off the ground, and what excites her about the future of senior dog rescue.
Transcribe →Ep. 80: Addressing Rural Youth Suicide with Janet Lindow
Mar 1400:26:34Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Janet Lindow. Janet founded the Rural Behavioral Health Institute to address the startling issue of rural youth suicide. For the past 12 years, Janet's career goal has been to improve the health of populations with limited access to effective treatment, with a primary focus on those experiencing mental disorders. After finishing her doctoral work, she taught a science course in Botswana, which widened her understanding of health disparities and left her with a fervent desire to help improve the health of people globally. Janet is currently a Research Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Kansas Medical School. We had an insightful, wide-ranging conversation covering Janet's personal journey with mental health, her experience of coming to understand the issue of rural youth suicide, and how she and RBHI are working to combat it.
Transcribe →Ep. 79: Rookly, The Power of Chess, and Building a Fun Future of Education with Matt Zeitlin, Co-Founder of Rookly
Feb 2800:25:31Tap to summarizeIn this episode, I interview Matt Zeitlin, the Co-Founder of Rookly. Matt and his co-founder, Amir Moazami, have known each other since they were six. They played chess together growing up, and both eventually won National Championships.Rookly works to make school chess more fun and accessible by offering easy online competition. Students can see their opponents, play with friends, and connect with other schools while staying on campus. We discuss Matt’s experience with chess, what chess can do for education, and the journey of building Rookly. Enjoy the interview!
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