Jason Kander: podcast appearances and interviews

Jason David Kander, born on May 4, 1981, is an American attorney, author, veteran, and former politician. He served as the 39th secretary of state of Missouri from 2013 to 2017 and was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 2009 to 2013. Before his political career, he served as an intelligence officer in the Army Reserve, achieving the rank of captain, and saw service in Afghanistan. In 2016, Kander was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate in Missouri but lost to the incumbent Roy Blunt. Following the election, he founded Let America Vote, an organization dedicated to combating voter suppression. Kander was also involved in political campaigns, including a bid for Kansas City mayor in 2019, which he eventually withdrew from in 2018 due to health issues stemming from PTSD and depression related to his military service. Since 2019, he has been serving as president of national expansion at Veterans Community Project, an organization supporting homeless and at-risk veterans through initiatives such as tiny homes and supportive services. After the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Kander led a group of veteran volunteers in orchestrating Operation Bella, a private rescue mission to evacuate Afghan allies. The operation successfully evacuated 383 individuals by using deception techniques such as a fake wedding to outwit the Taliban. Inspired by this mission, he founded the Afghan Rescue Project, a nonprofit dedicated to evacuating Afghan allies who faced retribution from the Taliban.