132. How to Reboot America with Will Hurd

Here's Where It Gets Interesting

Sharon McMahon

Government, History, Storytelling, Education

4.9 • 15.1K Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2022

⏱️ 40 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Sharon talks with Will Hurd, a former CIA officer and member of Congress. Will recently released his book, American Reboot: An Idealist’s Guide to Getting Big Things Done. In it, he details some of the issues he’s seen up close and personal through his careers, and carries with him his mother’s advice: you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution. Will talks about what being part of the solution looks like: appealing to the middle, not to the edges, showing up for people, and learning to inspire and not fear-monger. Will and Sharon also talk about the importance of America retaining its democracy, which may seem like a given, but is dependent on how we uphold the principles that support political involvement and freedoms.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello friends, welcome! So fun having you here with me today! I'm chatting with Will
0:06.4	Heard. Will Heard is a former CIA officer and also a former member of Congress.
0:12.0	And he has a book that I know you're going to be like, hmm, that sounds like what
0:18.0	we need. It's called American Reboot. An idealist guy to get in big things done.
0:25.8	So, let's start it! I'm Sharon Nickman and welcome to the Sharon Says So podcast.
0:33.6	I am so excited to be chatting with Will Heard today. Thank you so much for doing this.
0:38.8	Oh my god, I'm so excited to be here. So thanks for having me.
0:41.6	Oh, it's truly a pleasure. I read with a great interest your new book, American Reboot.
0:49.3	And I know a lot of people in this, we're going to be listening to this, they're going to be like,
0:53.5	well, that sounds exactly like what we need. That's why I wrote it. Yeah, sounds exactly like what we
1:01.1	need. So, for people who are not familiar with you, you've been in the CIA. And you've also been in
1:06.9	Congress. Which one is worse? I'm teasing. I'm teasing. It depends. I probably got more surveillance
1:15.4	when I was in Congress and I was when I was in the CIA. But I've been fortunate to have some
1:21.1	awesome careers. And I thought I was going to be a programmer. That's why I was studying computer
1:27.2	science at Texas A&M. And I remember walking across campus, my freshman year in college.
1:33.5	And I'm from Texas. I was born and raised in San Antonio and I had never really been outside of
1:38.1	Texas. And I see a sign on campus that said, take two journalism classes in Mexico City for $425.
1:46.1	And I had $450 in my bank account. So I go to Mexico. And I thought it was cool seeing things.
1:53.7	I only read about books. I fell in love being with another culture. You know, you go the pyramid
1:59.4	of the sun. You're like, this is amazing. And then you realize, wait a minute, we don't even know
2:02.9	the names of the people that built that. The pyramid of the sun was a name that was given to it
2:07.7	by the Aztecs. And the Aztecs founded a thousand years after it was built. Like seeing these things
	...

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