Event Details
Monday April 28, 2025 5:30 pmZoom
Stories that Subvert Government Stereotypes—Why Audiences Love Them and How to Find Them
Join W. Kamau Bell (Who is Government? – The Untold Story of Public Service) and Debora Cahn (THE DIPLOMAT) in conversation with Will Jenkins of The Partnership for Public Service, as they share why audiences love stories that subvert stereotypes of lazy, incompetent government workers. This virtual discussion will be followed by interactive breakout rooms with government workers who will reveal unexpected and engaging stories about their public service–precisely what DOGE doesn’t want you to know about–and answer your questions to help inform your writing and spark your imagination.
Public leaders appear in many films and shows, including ones that aren’t about politics. They are food safety researchers, weather forecasters, health care providers, park rangers, and rocket scientists. These portrayals shape audiences’ ideas about government, civics, and democracy. Just as science fiction has sparked scientific innovations, the civic stories we tell have the potential to help people create better civic futures together. But only if they can imagine it.
W. Kamau Bell is a stand-up comedian, director, producer, and dad. For seven seasons, he was the host and executive producer of the five-time Emmy Award-winning CNN docuseries UNITED SHADES OF AMERICA. Kamau took home three Emmys from that series. Kamau won a Peabody Award for his Showtime docuseries WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT COSBY. He contributed a chapter to the new New York Times bestselling Michael Lewis book _Who is Government? – The Untold Story of Public Service. Kamau is also the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Do The Work: An Antiracist Activity Book. His first book was his memoir with the easy-to-remember title: The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6′ 4″, African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama’s Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. Kamau’s HBO documentary 1000% ME: GROWING UP MIXED _won both an Emmy Award and a Television Academy Honor. As a stand-up comic, Kamau has recorded two comedy specials. The second one, PRIVATE SCHOOL NEGRO, is available on Netflix and was one of Time Magazine’s top ten best stand-up comedy specials of 2018. Kamau is on the board of directors of DonorsChoose – a non-profit that helps teachers raise money for class projects, and Live Free – a non-profit dedicated to ending gun violence, mass incarceration, and mass criminalization. Kamau also is the ACLU’s Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice, and he is the host of The ACLU’s podcast AT LIBERTY. Kamau is currently competing on this season of CELEBRITY JEOPARDY. He lives in Oakland, California. He cares too much and sleeps too little.
Debora Cahn is the creator and showrunner of Netflix’s critically acclaimed drama series THE DIPLOMAT, starring Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell. Seasons 1 and 2 of the series are streaming on Netflix. She recently wrapped production on Season 3 and began writing Season 4. Previous credits include serving as writer and executive producer on the award-winning Showtime series HOMELAND, writer and producer of FX’s limited series FOSSE/VERDON, writer of the HBO film PATERNO, starring Al Pacino and directed by Barry Levinson, writer and co-executive producer of Martin Scorsese’s HBO series VINYL and writer and producer on the ABC series GREY’S ANATOMY. She began her career as a writer and producer on the landmark NBC drama THE WEST WING.
Cahn was most recently nominated for the Critics Choice Awards, Golden Globes, Writers Guild and Producers Guild Awards in the best drama series categories for THE DIPLOMAT. She was part of the writing staff that won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for THE WEST WING in 2003, and part of the writing staffs nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for THE WEST WING in 2006 and GREY’S ANATOMY in 2007. In 2005, she won the Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama for THE WEST WING episode “The Supremes.” She won a second Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Long Form Television Series for her work on FOSSE/VERDON.
Will Jenkins is leading initiatives to build better government and stronger democracy at the Partnership for Public Service. Previously, he served in senior positions across multiple administrations at the White House, the Department of Health and Human Services, and Congress. As a person with a disability, he has dedicated many years to expanding health care and opportunity for everyone. In the field of creative media, Will has collaborated with and advised many film, TV and other content creators telling stories about civic leadership and government through the Sundance Institute, the South by Southwest Festival, the Tribeca Film Institute, Warner Bros., MTV, the American Film Institute, and others.
He helped launch the Civic Leadership Stories Project in 2018. During his time in government, Will worked on a wide range of issues, including criminal justice reform, mental health and addiction, immigration, the environment, healthcare, national security, and education. While in the nonprofit sector, Will worked on restorative justice, conflict resolution, and community leadership initiatives.