Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance

Five Questions with Former Senate Counsel Emily Amick

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Joyce Vance
May 23, 2025
∙ Paid

Emily Amick is a lawyer who worked for Senator Schumer as junior counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee from 2014 to 2017. She has a finely tuned understanding of how the Senate works—and how it doesn’t.

I invited her to join us tonight to share some of that wisdom. Senate Republicans seem to still be in thrall to Trump. Democrats are in the minority. What’s a democracy to do? And what can ordinary citizens do in the face of this situation?

If you’ve seen the viral Instagram account @EmilyinYourPhone, that’s Emily! She offers insight into the political process and helps people find ways they can take action. She also has a New York Times bestselling book, Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives, co-authored with Sami Sage. We are so lucky to have her with us tonight to answer questions and provide her insight into what each of us can be doing to protect democracy in this moment.

Emily is a graduate of Wellesley College, holds a master’s in journalism from the University of Alabama (Roll Tide!), and also earned a law degree from Columbia.

“Five Questions” is a feature for paid subscribers to Civil Discourse. The rest of my posts are also available to free subscribers. This is my way of thanking people who support my work financially, which allows me to devote more time and resources to it. But I want to make sure you know how much I value having each and every one of you here.

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