America at 250: Staying Hopeful, plus Saying No in a World That Demands Yes
America at 250: Staying Hopeful, plus Saying No in a World That Demands Yes
Are we heading toward a second civil war? No, but what might happen could still be unsettling. Sharon has an honest conversation with YouTube civics creator Mr. Beat about radicalization, propaganda, and why there’s a difference between optimism and hope.
Plus, in a culture that rewards compliance and punishes pushback, Dr. Sunita Sah tells us why saying no can be courageous and the most effective thing you can do.
And be sure to read our newsletter at ThePreamble.com – it’s free! Join hundreds of thousands of readers who still believe understanding is an act of hope.
Listen on your favorite platform:
- Host: Sharon McMahon
- Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks
- Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon
- Audio Producer: Craig Thompson
- Host: Sharon McMahon
- Supervising Producer: Melanie Buck Parks
- Executive Producer: Sharon McMahon
- Audio Producer: Craig Thompson
Guests
Guests
Dr. Sunita Sah
Dr. Sunita Sah is an award-winning professor at Cornell University and an expert in organizational psychology. She leads groundbreaking research on influence, authority, compliance, and defiance. A trained physician, she practiced medicine in the United Kingdom and worked as a management consultant for the pharmaceutical industry. She currently teaches executives, leaders, and students in healthcare and business. Dr. Sah is a sought-after international speaker and consultant, advisor to government agencies, and former Commissioner of the National Commission on Forensic Science. Her multidisciplinary research and analyses have been widely published in leading academic journals and media entities including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Harvard Business Review, and Scientific American. She lives with her husband and son in New York.
Matt Beat
Matthew Beat, also known as Mr. Beat, is a multifaceted creator from Kansas—a YouTuber, video producer, educator, and musician. With experience teaching a range of subjects from grades 7-12, Matt has expanded his classroom to a global audience through his YouTube channels, Mr. Beat (https://www.youtube.com/@iammrbeat) and The Beat Goes On (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJYlBBZRh5nYl8fEb_XdoLA), which have collectively gained over 1 million subscribers and over 350 million views.
Named the Dole Institute of Politics Spring 2025 Fellow (https://news.ku.edu/news/article/dole-institute-spring-programming-season-opens-with-kansas-governors-sebelius-and-hayden-bestselling-author-sharon-mcmahon), Matt has also appeared on C-SPAN2 (https://www.c-span.org/program/american-history-tv/history-through-new-media/653062) and Kansas Public Radio (https://kansaspublicradio.org/podcast/kpr-presents/2025-03-09/exactly-how-much-power-does-an-american-president-have). Matt has been featured on various podcasts and interviewed by numerous news outlets.
While his specialty is American history, Matt is also passionate about geography, economics, and politics. As for his band, Electric Needle Room (https://electricneedleroom.band/), they are best known for original indie-pop songs about all of the American Presidents.
