Episode 2 - Congressman James Himes

Welcome to “Spirit of the Hall”, a podcast series brought to you by the alumni of St Edmund Hall, one of the University of Oxford’s oldest colleges. In this episode Olly Belcher, President of the St Edmund Hall Alumni Association, talks to US Congressman James Himes. Born in Lima, Peru, Congressman Himes spent his early childhood in Lima and in Bogota, Colombia. Upon graduating from Harvard, Himes came to Teddy Hall as a Rhodes Scholar, leaving with an MPhil in 1990. After a short career in banking, Himes moved into the non-profit sector. He first took office as Congressman for Connecticut’s 4th District in 2009. He was the first Democrat to hold the seat since 1969. Hear Congressman Himes talk about the transition from the Trump Presidency to Biden and what it was like to find himself trapped in the Capitol building when it was stormed by Trump supporters. He also describes the stark contrast between Biden’s inauguration on 20th January this year with Obama’s first inauguration 12 years ago. Spirit of the Hall podcast is produced by the St Edmund Hall Association, the voluntary alumni body independent which represents all Aularians.  The views and opinions expressed in the podcast are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Association, St Edmund Hall or the University of Oxford