Can America overcome the political polarization and dysfunction afflicting us in recent decades?
Or are our circumstances so dire and unprecedented that decline is inevitable and history holds few lessons?
If you’re a pessimist, Ted Van Dyk would like a word.
In this episode of the Serve to Lead podcast, Van Dyk applies his extraordinary experiences in politics, government, and academe, pointing toward the potential for positive change ahead.
He offers lessons and observations of great relevance amid our fraught moment. He also shares insights into the character of various consequential figures, including from the eventful 1960s, when he served in the White House.
About Ted Van Dyk
Ted Van Dyk is an author and former government official with a long history of involvement in public policy and international affairs.
He was a longtime advisor to Hubert Humphrey. Humphrey was a consequential leader in civil rights as mayor of Minneapolis and senator from Minnesota. Subsequently he served as vice president to Lyndon Johnson during the 1960s.
Van Dyk worked as an intelligence analyst at the Pentagon, and represented the predecessor organization of the European Union in Washington, D.C.
He served as president of the Center for National Policy; executive vice president of the Milken Institute; vice president of Columbia University; and vice president of the Weyerhaeuser Company.
Van Dyk is an accomplished author and writer. He has penned essays and columns for many of the top journalistic outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Newsweek, and The Atlantic.
Ted Van Dyk’s memoir, Heroes, Hacks and Fools: Memoirs from the Political Inside, was published in 2007 by University of Washington Press.
Van Dyk has served on the boards of the Roosevelt Institute, the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, the Jean Monnet Council, and Washington News Council and is a member of the University of Washington Department of Communication Hall of Fame, and the Council on Foreign Relations national program committee. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a master’s from Columbia University.
Image Credits | Color photo Ted Van Dyk; Hubert Humphrey, Larry O’Brien and Van Dyk; Lyndon Johnson with Van Dyk; All images Public Domain via Ted Van Dyk.
Ted Van Dyk | Lessons from a Witness to American History