To mark World Nature Conservation Day, we're revisiting this 2024 episode with Benji Backer.

July 28th is World Nature Conservation Day, a day that calls attention to the critical importance of protecting our natural resources for future generations – something President Theodore Roosevelt took very seriously. He set aside more than 230 million acres during his presidency, protecting American forests and wildlife, and providing invaluable park land for all Americans to enjoy.

Perhaps just as powerful was his belief that conservation transcends party lines and is a shared responsibility. Benji Backer has embraced this principle, building a new environmental movement – one that has directly influenced President Trump’s "Make America Beautiful Again" executive order. His group, Nature is Nonpartisan, brings together major conservative and progressive figures to establish environmental priorities and solutions for all Americans.

In revisiting this episode we celebrate a revival of the nonpartisan environmental tradition.

Find his work at natureisnonpartisan.org.

For more, visit goodcitizenpodcast.com.

Follow us on Facebook @TRPresidentialLibrary

Instagram @trlibrary

X @TRPresLibrary.

And sign up for our newsletter at trlibrary.com/newsletter to stay up-to-date on the TRPL!

--

Good Citizen is hosted by Ted Roosevelt V and produced by The Future of StoryTelling in collaboration with Charts & Leisure, on behalf of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Learn more about T.R.’s upcoming presidential library at www.trlibrary.com.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation

350 Third Avenue

Medora, North Dakota 58645

Future of StoryTelling

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Producer, Alison Byrne

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Edward F. O’Keefe, Robbie Lauf, Courtland Miller, and Matt Briney.

Ben Jealous reflects on the personal toll of leadership, how to connect with communities, and what his deep American roots reveal about our shared humanity. He is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and the author of Never Forget Our People Were Always Free: A Parable of American Healing.

For more, visit goodcitizenpodcast.com.

Follow us on Facebook @TRPresidentialLibrary

Instagram @trlibrary

X @TRPresLibrary.

And sign up for our newsletter at trlibrary.com/newsletter to stay up-to-date on the TRPL!

--

Good Citizen is hosted by Ted Roosevelt V and produced by The Future of StoryTelling in collaboration with Charts & Leisure, on behalf of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Learn more about T.R.’s upcoming presidential library at www.trlibrary.com.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation

350 Third Avenue

Medora, North Dakota 58645

Future of StoryTelling

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Producer, Alison Byrne

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Edward F. O’Keefe, Robbie Lauf, Courtland Miller, and Matt Briney.

Aloe Blacc navigates the crossroads of creativity, fame, empathy, and activism. His latest album, Stand Together, is a genre-blending collection of songs driven by a call for social change.

Find him at aloeblacc.com.

For more, visit goodcitizenpodcast.com.

Follow us on Facebook @TRPresidentialLibrary

Instagram @trlibrary

X @TRPresLibrary.

And sign up for our newsletter at trlibrary.com/newsletter to stay up-to-date on the TRPL!

--

Good Citizen is hosted by Ted Roosevelt V and produced by The Future of StoryTelling in collaboration with Charts & Leisure, on behalf of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Learn more about T.R.’s upcoming presidential library at www.trlibrary.com.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation

350 Third Avenue

Medora, North Dakota 58645

Future of StoryTelling

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Producer, Alison Byrne

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Jerome Ware, Andrea Evenson, Edward F. O’Keefe, Robbie Lauf, Courtland Miller, and Matt Briney.

Matthew Continetti discusses American political thought and governance, along with the strategies and values that shape the parties. He’s the director of domestic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and the author of The Right: The Hundred-Year War for American Conservatism.

Find him @continetti

For more, visit goodcitizenpodcast.com.

Follow us on Facebook @TRPresidentialLibrary

Instagram @trlibrary

X @TRPresLibrary.

And sign up for our newsletter at trlibrary.com/newsletter to stay up-to-date on the TRPL!

--

Good Citizen is hosted by Ted Roosevelt V and produced by The Future of StoryTelling in collaboration with Charts & Leisure, on behalf of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Learn more about T.R.’s upcoming presidential library at www.trlibrary.com.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation

350 Third Avenue

Medora, North Dakota 58645

Future of StoryTelling

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Producer, Alison Byrne

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Edward F. O’Keefe, Robbie Lauf, Courtland Miller, and Matt Briney.

As Mental Health Awareness Month wraps up, this interview with Dan Harris deserves a second spotlight.

May has been a time to remind ourselves that emotional resilience is not about hiding our struggles, but facing them with courage, compassion, and community.

That idea runs deep in Roosevelt family history. When Theodore Roosevelt lost both his wife and his mother on the same day—in the same house—he was devastated. He wrote a large “X” in his diary that day and rarely spoke their names again. But he didn’t retreat forever. Instead, he went west. He found solace in the Badlands of North Dakota, embracing the rhythms of nature and the demands of ranch life, and finding a quiet space to grieve. It was there, amid the buttes and blizzards, that TR rebuilt himself—mind, body, and spirit.

Nature didn’t just heal him, it transformed him. And it gave rise to his life’s work in public service, conservation, and a belief that the strenuous life was not about going it alone—but about showing up for something bigger than yourself.

In that spirit, we revisit this powerful conversation with Dan Harris—author and host of the 10% Happier podcast. Dan challenges the myth of rugged individualism and argues that true strength lies in mindfulness, self-awareness, and altruism. It’s a timely reflection for Mental Health Awareness Month, and a reminder that even the most driven among us need to slow down, breathe, and reconnect—with ourselves and with each other.

Find Dan at: www.danharris.com

For more, visit goodcitizenpodcast.com.

Follow us on Facebook @TRPresidentialLibrary

Instagram @trlibrary

X @TRPresLibrary.

And sign up for our newsletter at trlibrary.com/newsletter to stay up-to-date on the TRPL!

--

Good Citizen is hosted by Ted Roosevelt V and produced by The Future of StoryTelling in collaboration with Charts & Leisure, on behalf of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Learn more about T.R.’s upcoming presidential library at www.trlibrary.com.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation

350 Third Avenue

Medora, North Dakota 58645

Future of StoryTelling

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Producer, Alison Byrne

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Edward F. O’Keefe, Robbie Lauf, Courtland Miller, and Matt Briney.

Edward F. O’Keefe brings to life the mission and design behind the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, and ties T.R.’s story to the present moment. He is CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation and author of The Loves Of Theodore Roosevelt: The Women Who Created A President.

For more, visit goodcitizenpodcast.com.

Follow us on Facebook @TRPresidentialLibrary

Instagram @trlibrary

X @TRPresLibrary.

And sign up for our newsletter at trlibrary.com/newsletter to stay up-to-date on the TRPL!

--

Good Citizen is hosted by Ted Roosevelt V and produced by The Future of StoryTelling in collaboration with Charts & Leisure, on behalf of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Learn more about T.R.’s upcoming presidential library at www.trlibrary.com.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation

350 Third Avenue

Medora, North Dakota 58645

Future of StoryTelling

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Producer, Alison Byrne

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Edward F. O’Keefe, Robbie Lauf, Courtland Miller, and Matt Briney.

Leah Hunt-Hendrix frames solidarity as a movement that can shift culture, reshape politics, and empower marginalized communities. She is a political theorist and activist, and the co-author of Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea.

For more, visit goodcitizenpodcast.com.

Follow us on Facebook @TRPresidentialLibrary

Instagram @trlibrary

X @TRPresLibrary.

And sign up for our newsletter at trlibrary.com/newsletter to stay up-to-date on the TRPL!

--

Good Citizen is hosted by Ted Roosevelt V and produced by The Future of StoryTelling in collaboration with Charts & Leisure, on behalf of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Learn more about T.R.’s upcoming presidential library at www.trlibrary.com.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation

350 Third Avenue

Medora, North Dakota 58645

Future of StoryTelling

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Producer, Alison Byrne

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Edward F. O’Keefe, Robbie Lauf, Courtland Miller, and Matt Briney.

Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser takes us inside the effort to breathe new life into parks and connect more Americans to public spaces. She is President & CEO of Trust for Public Land.

Find her at TPL.org

For more, visit goodcitizenpodcast.com.

Follow us on Facebook @TRPresidentialLibrary

Instagram @trlibrary

X @TRPresLibrary.

And sign up for our newsletter at trlibrary.com/newsletter to stay up-to-date on the TRPL!

--

Good Citizen is hosted by Ted Roosevelt V and produced by The Future of StoryTelling in collaboration with Charts & Leisure, on behalf of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. Learn more about T.R.’s upcoming presidential library at www.trlibrary.com.

Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation

350 Third Avenue

Medora, North Dakota 58645

Future of StoryTelling

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Producer, Alison Byrne

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Vanessa Martin, Edward F. O’Keefe, Robbie Lauf, Courtland Miller, and Matt Briney.