Ron DeSantis Archives - Public Seminar

Interviews

The Return of the Oppressed

A conversation with Robert Fieseler on American Scare and the recovery of queer history long obscured by state censorship

March 11, 2026 • by Robert W. Fieseler and Katelyn Kimberlin

“I kept wondering why it felt like we were all living in the United States of Florida,” says Robert W. Fieseler. In his new book, American Scare: Florida's Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives (Penguin Random House, 2025), Fieseler examines the forces shaping the fastest-growing state in the ...

Podcast

Nobody Else Has My Eyes

Episode 53: A conversation with Nell Irvin Painter about her new book, I Just Keep Talking: A Life in Essays

April 30, 2024 • by Claire Potter

Episode 53: A conversation with Nell Irvin Painter about her new book, I Just Keep Talking: A Life in Essays...

Education

Political Polarization Threatens American Education

Fighting back against the anti-learning culture wars

April 24, 2023 • by Molly Nolan

State and local governments and right-wing private organizations collaborate closely to both promote state control of education and defund it....

Political Polarization Threatens American Education

Past Present

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis

Past Present Podcast, Episode 368

March 28, 2023 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

In this episode, Natalia, Neil, and Niki discuss the politics and political future of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis....

Politics

All Trump’s Men

A potential Trump indictment in New York created many problems for the Republican Party leaders

March 21, 2023 • by Heather Cox Richardson

Trump's demands for his supporters to rally around him again have produced anemic results......

Past Present

The History of Advanced Placement

Past Present Podcast, Episode 361

February 7, 2023 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Natalia, Niki, and Neil discuss the history of the Advanced Placement program. ...

Migration

Why the U.S. Needs Migrants

Migrant workers have an important role in the economy

November 9, 2022 • by Steve Max

Contrary to what the Republicans would have us believe, foreign-born workers, nearly half of whom are Spanish speaking, participate in the workforce at a higher rate than their native-born counterparts: 65 percent compared to 61 percent of the native-born. ...

Migration

Migrants Need Safety, Not Stunts

There are two big stories behind DeSantis chartering planes to move migrants from state to state

September 20, 2022 • by Heather Cox Richardson

DeSantis apparently dispatched the migrants with a videographer to take images of them arriving, entirely unexpectedly, on the upscale island, presumably in an attempt to present the image that Democratic areas can’t handle immigrants (in fact, more than 12% of the island’s 17,000 full-time residents were born in foreign countries, ...

Politics

Are Republicans Sobering Up?

Trump’s star appears to be dimming, and there are more clouds on the horizon

July 26, 2022 • by Heather Cox Richardson

Trump’s star appears to be dimming, and there are more clouds on the horizon...

Politics

Will GOP Voters Go to War with Corporations Over New Vaccine Mandates?

And what are Republican leaders going to do when the civil society moves in the direction of good public health?

August 30, 2021 • by John Stoehr

_____ Now that the Food and Drug Administration has finally given its full blessing to the Pfizer BioNTech shot, the president is jawboning corporate leaders into establishing mandates requiring employees to be vaccinated. This is not a reversal, as some reporters have said. Joe Biden is not ordering firms to do ...