Radio Atlantic

Donna Shalala

Florida congresswoman Donna Shalala was one of many first-time candidates in 2018. But unlike other freshman Democrats that flipped a district, she’d already had a decades-long career in public life. At age 77, she became the second-oldest person ever to win a seat in Congress.

Besides serving as an early Peace Corps volunteer and co-founding EMILY’s List, Shalala was also the longest-serving Secretary of Health &amp; Human Services in U.S. history. She discusses what the federal government should be doing, working in Congress with John Lewis, and naming her new rescue dog “Fauci.”

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The Atlantic has long been known as an ideas-driven magazine. Now we’re bringing that same ethos to audio. Like the magazine, the show will “road test” the big ideas that both drive the news and shape our culture. Through conversations—and sometimes sharp debates—with the most insightful thinkers and writers on topics of the day, Radio Atlantic will complicate overly simplistic views. It will cut through the noise with clarifying, personal narratives. It will, hopefully, help listeners make up their own mind about certain ideas.
The national conversation right now can be chaotic, reckless, and stuck. Radio Atlantic aims to bring some order to our thinking—and encourage listeners to be purposeful about how they unstick their mind.