Our first guest in Episode 29 of the Eastern Standard series “Democracy Optimist” is Joyce Vance, the author of Giving Up is Unforgivable: A Manual for Keeping Our Democracy. The title says it all. The book explains that democracy is the collective responsibility of all concerned Americans, and that there is a role in the preservation of our democracy for each and every one of us. Joyce Vance is a New York Times bestselling author, former United States Attorney, and current professor at the University of Alabama School of Law. She’s also a legal analyst for MS Now—formerly known as MSNBC—writes the Civil Discourse newsletter on Substack, and co-hosts two podcasts, SistersInLaw and The Insider.