CORRUPTION AND CITIZENSHIP A conversation with Zephyr Teachout

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**Note** The initial version of this episode had some audio problems, with some assistance from Eric Weber from Philosophy Bakes Bread this second version should be better.

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Zephyr Teachout Graduated Yale with a BA in 1993 and went on to complete two simultaneous degrees from duke university; a JD and an MA in Political Science. She is an associate Professor at Fordham law school. She is the Author of Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United.



In 2004, she served as director of internet organizing for Howard Deans presidential campaign. In 2009, she helped found the Antitrust League.

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Zephyr came to national prominence in 2014 when she challenged incumbent New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in the democratic primary, despite being outspent 40 to 1, she surprised many observers by claiming 33% of the vote. She was also the candidate for New York’s 19th congressional district in 2016 (A republican district). She was one of the few Democratic congressional candidates to endorse Bernie Sanders in the primary – A favor he returned; she was one of the first candidates he endorsed and campaigned for.

She is currently involved in a lawsuit suing the Trump administration for conflicts of interest.



In her role as an anti- corruption campaigner Zephyr has made numerous media appearances: She is a regular on The Young Turks, and has appeared on C-Span, The Real News, MSNBC, and the Daily Show.



In our conversation, we talked about her lawsuit, impeachment, Citizen’s United, how liberals can still feel patriotic in Trump’s America, and what it means to be a citizen. It was a great discussion, I really enjoyed it and appreciated Zephyr taking the time.