George Mitchell

In the depths of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt appointed Frances Perkins as the first woman on a presidential cabinet. Against overwhelming odds, she became the driving force behind Social Security, the 40-hour work week, the eight-hour day, minimum wage and unemployment compensation. Summoned: Frances Perkins and the General Welfare features compelling interviews with David Brooks, Nancy Pelosi, Amy Klobuchar, Lawrence O’Donnell and others while telling Perkin’s heroic story which explores the history of women in politics, Social Security, our attitudes toward immigration, poverty, Socialism, and the role of government. Without this context our current dialogue is ill-informed and diminished.

In a world riven with conflict what is needed to turn war into peace? How can all parties to a war become all parties to a peace? Experience shows it’s the presence of a critical individual in whom all sides can have confidence to chair talks and create the space for an agreement to emerge. In Northern Ireland, one of the few examples of a long-lasting negotiated peace settlement, that critical person was former US Senate Majority Leader, Senator George J Mitchell.