During his 18 years in Congress, Arizona Republican Jeff Flake became known for his willingness to challenge his own party, in particular President Donald Trump. After leaving the Senate, Flake went on to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey from 2022 to 2024.
Flake joins River to River ahead of his visit to Iowa State University. He will be giving a Constitution Day lecture titled, “When Congress Steps Back: A Call for Restoring Constitutional Balance in Governance,” on Monday, September 15th that is free to attend.
He discusses why he sees restoring the balance of power between Congress and the presidency as a critical challenge for American democracy, and he also weighs in on the recent announcement from his former colleague U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), that she is not seeking reelection.
Later in the episode, we hear from University of Iowa professor Dan McGehee.
McGehee has been developing crash-avoidance and driver-assistance systems for more than 30 years, and he explains how studying the paramecium - a microscopic, single-celled organism - helps better understand how to design technologies that detect hazards and respond quickly to avoid them.
Guests:
- Jeff Flake, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, former U.S. Representative and former U.S. Senator
- Dan McGehee, director, Driving Safety Research Institute, University of Iowa professor of industrial and systems engineering
