This week, we revisit an important episode of “Why Am I Telling You This?” on the escalating opioid crisis, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This episode features U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy and harm reductionist and Clinton Foundation partner Julie Stampler who joined President Bill Clinton in 2019 to discuss how we can work together to fight this epidemic, and a personal story from Sarah Gad, who ove...

America has always been at its best when we pull together in common cause. But rampant misinformation campaigns, media silos, and polarization have undermined faith in our institutions and trust in each other, which has made working together more challenging. Changing the behavior and attitudes that have led to this polarization will start with changing our perception of each other—seeing one another as people again and finding a c...

Television has always had the capacity to serve a greater purpose than just providing entertainment. It can introduce us to stories and characters we may never have known, and allow people who identify with them to feel seen, heard, and represented. Especially during a time when many people have felt isolated, television can keep us connected, give us an escape, and make us laugh. 

But it takes a visionary writer and producer like S...

On March 25, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a 98-page bill creating several new voting restrictions in the state—one of the now 361 bills in 47 states that have been introduced to restrict voting access since last November’s election. The right to vote is both fundamental to individual liberty and to the proper functioning of representative democracy. When voting rights are denied, diluted, or restricted, the ability of our gov...

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and shared his dream that one day his “four little children would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” In the 50-plus years since that hot summer day, our nation has made important progress toward achieving that vision—but it is still painfully clear every day that we have a very long way to go. 

In thi...

A year ago, under the leadership of head coach Dawn Staley, the University of South Carolina Gamecocks women’s basketball team entered the NCAA tournament with a 32-1 record and were favored to win another national championship. But that dream was cut short when the men’s and women’s tournaments were abruptly canceled amid the outbreak of COVID-19. This year, March Madness is back and Staley’s team is again a No. 1 seed. 

Even in a ...

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a dramatic rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the country, with New York City reporting an increase of more than 800 percent in 2020. These attacks have been fueled in large part by scapegoating and xenophobic rhetoric spread rapidly through social media. But they are also just the latest in a long—and often overlooked—history of preju...

On September 18, 2020, America lost one of the greatest advocates for equality in the history of our country, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, Justice Ginsburg’s remarkable story is an important reminder of the barriers she faced that her male counterparts not only weren’t subjected to, but often didn’t even consider. She didn’t just overcome those barriers; she tore many of them dow...

In the summer of 1963, Bill Clinton had one of the most formative experiences of his life when he participated in the American Legion’s Boys State and Boys Nation programs—learning about government and politics, meeting President John F. Kennedy, and for the first time seriously considering pursuing a life in public service. In 1992, President Clinton became the youngest president to be elected since JFK, and the first of his gener...

Whether taking a leap of faith to pursue a new path or overcoming an unforeseen obstacle, we all reach crossroads in our lives where we have to figure out what’s next. But no one should ever assume that their best, most productive days are behind them. 

In this episode, Magic Johnson joins President Clinton to discuss how, after his HIV diagnosis abruptly ended his NBA career, he channeled his talent and drive to become a champion o...

Presidential elections have taken place in America every four years since 1788, but the 2020 election was unlike anything we had experienced before. Amid a pandemic, an economic crisis, and a long overdue reckoning with systemic racism, Americans made their votes and voices heard in record numbers, electing the historic ticket of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Yet even after the results made clear that he had lost, Donald Trump tried...

In commemoration of Presidents Day, President Bill Clinton traces the evolution of the presidency from America’s founding through modern history and explores how the best presidents used the office to build an America that more closely resembled our highest ideals and aspirations. 

This special episode, from the original version of “Why Am I Telling You This?”, features President Clinton’s keynote speech from the 2019 Presidential I...

From the time the first U.S. cases of the coronavirus began to be reported a year ago, America found itself in a battle against two interconnected diseases. The first, COVID-19, has now claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and completely upended the ways we live, work, and interact with each other. And the second is a major reason why COVID-19 has had such a devastating toll: the spread of misinformation to downplay the seriousne...

After a year in which we were all forced to improvise, and some of the most fundamental ideas and foundations of our society have been challenged, there may be no better art form to help us understand these times than jazz. In many ways, jazz is the music of democracy at its best, and shows how we can find harmony with one another and work together to become a more inclusive, kinder, and equitable nation. 

In the premier episode of ...

President Bill Clinton is a master at using storytelling to explain complex issues and highlight our common humanity. To hear him tell it, this comes from growing up in a family where everyone had a story, but in order to tell one, you first needed to listen. In this new podcast, hear President Clinton share stories and ideas with some of the most fascinating people of our time as they make sense of the issues and events that conti...