Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
“I honestly believe that the struggles behind us are bigger than the struggles in front of us.”
In this clip from our podcast, Lavin Voices, Jelani Cobb reflects on the distance between his father’s life and his own. His father was born in a segregated town, had a third-grade education, and could have been hurt or killed for trying to vote. Jelani himself has a PhD, teaches at Columbia, and served as a delegate at the convention that nominated the first Black president. There’s still a long way to go—“but there is the possibility, and where there’s the possibility, then we have reason to fight on.”
Jelani is the Dean of Columbia Journalism School, a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, and a Peabody Award-winning journalist whose work explores history, justice, politics, and democracy in America. A Lavin Exclusive Speaker and the author of Three or More Is a Riot, he helps audiences see the present more clearly by tracing the deep historical patterns that shape it.
Enjoyed this clip? The full episode is out now! Watch it and learn more about Jelani at the link in bio.
“I honestly believe that the struggles behind us are bigger than the struggles in front of us.”
In this clip from our podcast, Lavin Voices, Jelani Cobb reflects on the distance between his father’s life and his own. His father was born in a segregated town, had a third-grade education, and could have been hurt or killed for trying to vote. Jelani himself has a PhD, teaches at Columbia, and served as a delegate at the convention that nominated the first Black president. There’s still a long way to go—“but there is the possibility, and where there’s the possibility, then we have reason to fight on.”
Jelani is the Dean of Columbia Journalism School, a longtime staff writer at The New Yorker, and a Peabody Award-winning journalist whose work explores history, justice, politics, and democracy in America. A Lavin Exclusive Speaker and the author of Three or More Is a Riot, he helps audiences see the present more clearly by tracing the deep historical patterns that shape it.
Enjoyed this clip? The full episode is out now! Watch it and learn more about Jelani at the link in bio.
