logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2020
4m 13s

Finding Hope with Steven Garza

Zak Rosen
About this episode

Steven Garza is one of the main subjects in the spectacular documentary, Boys State. He's currently a student at the University of Texas.

Boys State | Official Trailer HD | A24 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1Kh_T5ZBIM

To offer your own advice, call Zak @ 844-935-BEST

TRANSCRIPT:

I consider myself of connoisseur of movie trailers. And the trailer for the documentary, Boys State, blew me away. The film is about over a thousand teenage boys from Texas who spend a week of their summer building their own government.

TRAILER: My name is Steven Garza and I'm running for governor.

Steven Garza is one of 4 main characters in Boys State. Since the movie came out, he's become a kind of folk hero and a symbol for why are politics aren't necessarily doomed.

TRAILER: When we show the world what patriots are made of. That when things get tough, we pull ourselves by our bootstraps...one nation under God...members of the constitution of the United States of America!!!!!!!!

ZAK: To find out if Steven won his governor's race, you're gonna have to see Boys State. It's on Apple+ and the movie is just as good as the trailer. Its been a few years since the movie was made and now Steven is a sophomore at the University of Texas in Austin. We Zoomed from his dorm room.

Theme song

ZAK: A lot of are pretty disenchanted with, uh, the electoral process and especially, like, as the political season is in full-gear right now...what does it mean to you to be hopeful right now?

STEVEN: I think you have to stay hopeful and you have to stay optimistic about the future of the country, no matter how bleak it is because personally, if I ever lost hope or lost that optimism or idealism about our country, then that's a major defeat mentally and spiritually for me, because it's a huge part of my identity. And you're basically give up on the country...you're giving up hope and you're resigning yourself to the circumstance that the bad guys or the dark will win.

ZAK: On those bleak days when it's really hard, what does your self-talk sound like to, you know, remind yourself of the citizen you want to be?

STEVEN: It's looking back at the history of the country and realizing, you know, the history of this country I think is...the American people continually fighting for the rights that they're owed. Weather it be the Civil Rights Movement, Woman's Suffrage, Disability Rights, Farmers Movement, LBGT...and just imagining how bleak it must have seemed before for people back then, especially that 600-thousand people had to die in a way for slavery to end in this country. And then for another 100 years after that, they were denied the promises guaranteed ot them in the Constitution and they were beaten and murdered...It's just complete awfulness. They were treated as...not even second-class citizens. And the perseverance that they had to have...people like John Lewis, like Dr. King to get thrown in jail...be, you know, threatened and sometimes these people were murdered for their views. But not wavering and not letting that fear get to them. It's, you know, that's the only way, um, the only way that I think change is ever come to this country is by the people rising up and taking, you know, to the streets and demanding that change come to them.

ZAK: If you want to give some advice on civics or citizenship or electoral politics of anything, I'd love to hear it. Give me a call on the hotline at 844-935-BEST. You've been listening to The Best Advice Show. Thank you so much. I'm Zak Rosen. Talk to you soon.




Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices



See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Up next
Apr 2022
A Rainbow Squared with Ilyse Iris
ilyse iris magy is an interdisciplinary performance artist whose work positions daily life as a site of creation, documenting and engineering experiences that interrogate and elevate the ordinary. Her social practice engages the would-be audience as co-creators through playful pu ... Show More
5m 27s
Apr 2022
Rehearsing your Future with Bob Doyle
Bob Doyle is best known for his contribution to the film and book “The Secret”, as a law of attraction expert and coach. Recently, Bob’s attention has shifted from the metaphysical aspects of the Law of Attraction or “reality creation” process, to a more grounded and biological l ... Show More
7m 11s
Apr 2022
Earth Day with Tamara Lindemen from The Weather Station
Tamara Lindeman is a musician from the band, The Weather Station. Their latest album is HOW IS IT THAT I SHOULD LOOK AT THE STARS.---INVESTIGATING YOUR SHAME WITH HEATHER RADKE---To offer your own advice, call Zak @ 844-935-BEST----Instagram Facebook Twitter See acast.com/privacy ... Show More
10m 35s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2021
“Boys State” Star Isn’t Ready to Run Again
Documentary “Boys State” was short-listed for an Oscar for its engrossing portrayal of Texas teenagers’ cutthroat politics. One of its stars, Steven Garza, stops by to discuss if the kids are alright. Spoiler alert: Maybe not! For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooke ... Show More
49 m
Jan 2024
How to Keep Going When Things Get Hard | Bryan Stevenson
New episodes come out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for free, with 1-week early access for Wondery+ subscribers. --- Have you already bailed on your resolutions? Where are you on your other life goals? This episode is a master class on sticking with it, no matter what. Brya ... Show More
1h 3m
Oct 2022
Peut-on garder espoir tout en étant réaliste ?
Entre le dérèglement climatique, les guerres et les risques de crise économique, tout le monde semble au bout du rouleau. Et si la solution pour garder espoir dans les pires situations, c'était justement d'être le plus réaliste possible sur ce qui nous arrive ? Pierre a vu son gl ... Show More
45m 53s
Sep 2018
We Are Better than the Worst Things We’ve Done
Bryan Stevenson, the New York Times–bestselling author of Just Mercy, has been called America’s Nelson Mandela by Desmond Tutu and Nicholas Kristof. As a civil rights lawyer, he’s liberated more than 100 people from death row, proving their innocence in the process. And as the fo ... Show More
40m 13s
Mar 2018
The Fear Never Leaves, You Just Keep Doing the Work: Arian Moayed
As a young child, Arian Moayed's family fled Iran, taking a years-long journey that split the family, and eventually landed them just outside Chicago, where they set about building a new life in a radically different world. Stumbling into a love of acting, Moayed began to pursue ... Show More
1h 17m
Dec 2020
TURNOUT Episode 10: ‘If we raise our expectations we would have a better system’
This series began in the past, to better understand the origin and history of our ongoing fight for voting rights. And as Turnout comes to a close, we consider its future. Where do we go from here? What lessons can we take with us, and what impact might this election have on our ... Show More
36 m
Apr 2023
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE - The Most Motivational Interview | Attila Korosi
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE! The Most Motivational Interview with Filmmaker Attila Korosi. This is how he went from a war torn country to a college athlete with a full scholarship and now a filmmaker in America. "When I told people I want to go to America to make the greatest movies, t ... Show More
13m 50s
Jul 2019
Having a Fighting Chance
“To me, justice is when everybody has a fighting chance to have a fighting chance,” says Lindsay Toczylowski, cofounder and immigration attorney at Immigrant Defenders Law Center—and easily one of the most inspirational people we’ve ever met. Toczylowski represents the most margi ... Show More
48m 20s
Aug 2020
Arian Moayed: Fear Never Leaves, Just Keep Going [Best Of]
Maybe you’ve seen today’s guest, Arian Moayed, on HBO’s Emmy-Award winning show, Succession, where he played Stewy. Or, in movies where h worked with legends like Bill Murray, Spike Lee. Or, on stage, where he was nominated for a TONY. Or, you might’ve caught his groundbreaking t ... Show More
1h 18m