Founding Fathers, Kids and Voting, 4th of July Snacks, Petitions, American Spirit, Summer Activities

Lessons from the Founding Fathers (0:00:00) In just a couple days we’ll be celebrating the 243rdanniversary of our country’s independence. Most of us learned our American History early on in our education. But, why should we still care about it today? To find out what lessons the founding can teach us, we invited Rick Atkinson on the show. Mr. Atkinson is a Pulitzer Prize winner and author of “The British Are Coming”, the first book in the Revolution Trilogy. Teaching Kids about Voting (0:21:42) Politics can often be an unpleasant topic of discussion, and with the 2020 presidential election right around the corner, we can expect politics to dominate the news and social media. With all the political noise, it can be hard to know where to begin when talking with our children about the importance of voting. Thankfully we have Barbara Gruener with us today to help us hone in on the important value of citizenship. Barbara has worked as an educator for 36 years and is a nationally recognized school counselor, speaker, and character coach. 4th of July Snacks (0:37:05) What’s more patriotic than a red, white, and blue popsicle? Today we’re Talkin’ ‘Bout Snacks with Josh and Amy, 4thof July edition! Amy Biedel is our savory expert and Josh Bingham is our sweet expert. Petitions (0:52:50) One of the blessings of living in America is the first amendment, which gives us the right to freedom of speech and to petition the government. There are a lot of differing opinions swirling the United States, but you might not have to storm the white house or start a protest rally to get your opinion across, for centuries people have been making a difference by quietly just collecting some signatures. Petitioning is one of the oldest and maybe simplest ways citizens have advocated throughout history. But with petitioning moving online, is it still even effective? Here to tell us the real impact of those signatures is Harvard professor specializing in petition research, Daniel Carpenter. American Spirit (1:11:07) We live in a wor