As 21st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General CQ Brown, Jr. advised the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Council. He now serves as an executive in residence at Duke with appointments in the Sanford School of Public Policy and the Pratt School of Engineering. Over his career, General Brown has held many different roles. As a pilot with the U.S. Air Force, he has logged more than 3,100 flying hours. He also served as the first African American chief of a U.S. military service, the Air Force, and was unanimously confirmed for that role by the Senate in 2020.

Every year, 250 million Americans face issues that land them in the civil justice system; think eviction, debt collection and poor housing. And here's a shocking number: more than 90% of people with low incomes either get no legal help or inadequate legal assistance. Today's guest, Mallory SoRelle, is a public policy faculty member at Duke. She's co-written a book called Uncivil Democracy: How Access to Justice Shapes Political Power. The book is filled with true stories and analysis about how to harness power, politics, and justice to create effective public policy for everyone.

Danny Werfel recently served as the 50th Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service. He led the U.S. tax system twice, and in his most recent stint he was in charge of a dramatic transformation, launching more digital solutions in a two-year period than in the previous two decades combined. Werfel joins us to talk about leadership, organizational change, and how a broader understanding of what the government does – and gets right – could have a profound impact on political polarization and democracy itself.

Danny Werfel earned a Master of Public Policy degree at Duke, and is now serving as a distinguished fellow with Polis, Duke's Center for Politics.