Unmuted

Every book is, in some measure, a conversation with history. Mine began not in the marble corridors of power, but as a child who discovered early that politics and history were the lenses through which I made sense of the world. Since second grade, I could tell you, almost instinctively, who occupied the Oval Office in any given year, along with the broad strokes of their triumphs and failures. It was never about trivia or showing off; it was simply the way my mind lit up, the way some children memorize baseball stats or recite lines from their favorite movies. For me, politics was that thing—the subject that made me lean forward, curious and alive. That curiosity eventually led me to Howard University School of Law, where I launched The Political Mike, a podcast born of equal parts conviction and urgency. Its purpose was simple but demanding: to cut through apathy, to draw young people into the democratic process, and to insist that our young Americans have both the power and the responsibility to shape the course of American life.
Through that platform, I have had the privilege of sitting across from figures who have defined and interpreted our political era—journalists like Judy Woodruff and Jeff Greenfield, strategists like Chris Matthews and Jaime Harrison, leaders like Rep. Jim Clyburn, Michigan State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Senator Doug Jones, former Majority Leader Dick Gephardt, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. These conversations were not merely interviews; they were living seminars in power, history, and the human stakes of politics. They taught me something critical: democracy is fragile, and preserving it requires more than commentary. It requires citizens—especially young citizens—who are prepared to do the work of self-government.
Unmuted : A Call for Young Americans to Reclaim their Democracy

(This excerpt comes from the Author’s Introduction of Unmuted.)