It's the Brian Laris show on WNYC. Good morning, everyone, and thanks to Cusha and Matt for filling in in recent days.

This is my first show since Tim Wals was chosen to be Vice President Harris's

running mate. And I want to start by playing an excerpt from a speech of his as governor of Minnesota

that someone sent me that is a little different from the straight up political analysis that's

been going around. I had the time in the last few days to listen to some extended clips,

and we always have the luxury of time on this show compared to the newscasts.

So I want to play about a three-minute clip.

The context is that as governor of Minnesota,

he's giving a speech to something called the 2024 ESRI user conference.

Now, ESRI is a company that makes what they call geographic information system or GIS software.

Remember those initials GIS because they come up in the clip.

The company says GIS promotes problem solving from a geographic approach.

And remember, Tim Walz was a high school geography teacher for a long time before going

into politics.

And at this conference earlier this year, before the Biden debate changed the election year,

before Walls was being considered to run for vice president, therefore, he gave this talk.

He described working on a farm early in his life where there wasn't much to do during his breaks,

but there was a pile of old National Geographic magazines that wound up sparking his interest in the people and places of the outside world. And so he went to school for geography to become a geography teacher.

And we pick this up as he tells a story of being a geography teacher in 1993,

using the GIS software for a class project on what?

On predicting where the next genocide might take place in the

world. Now, as background, he describes getting interested in the subject of genocide or more

...