Stay ConnectedA show that takes the big ideas in civic life and democracy and turns them into action items for everyday people.
Join host Mila Atmos for in-depth conversations with citizen changemakers that inspire civic action and hope. Citizen participation is fundamental to a thriving democracy. Now more than ever, our engagement is critical.
Copyright: © 2023 Mila Atmos
Madiba Dennie is Deputy Editor and Senior Contributor at the critical legal commentary outlet Balls and Strikes. Her debut book is The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We The People Can Take it Back. We discuss a fresh way to interpret the Constitution.
Inclusive Constitutionalism interprets the Constitution in a way that makes inclusive democracy real. By contrast, originalism interprets the meaning of the Constitution as fixed in time in the 1800s. However, the Reconstruction Amendments that were enacted in the wake of the Civil War tried to address the status of newly freed, formerly enslaved people. The Amendments were designed to foster a multiracial democracy for the first time. In addition, the public has a role in articulating what it believes the Constitution means.
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Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Madiba Dennie
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
Jessica González-Rojas is the New York State Assembly Member representing the 34th District in New York City. We discuss the New York State budget and how she represents her constituents on housing, food insecurity, and healthcare.
The number one issue for constituents is housing, ranging from vermin problems and bad landlords to high rents. Food insecurity became more apparent during the pandemic and continues to be rampant. Access to healthcare is still uneven and passing the New York Health Act is critical. The Assembly Member listens to and acts upon the needs of her constituents in the State Legislature.
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Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Jessica González-Rojas
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
Debbie Cox Bultan is the CEO of the NewDEAL, a network of 150 rising state and local officials, and the NewDEAL Forum, which identifies and promotes innovative state and local pro-growth progressive policies. We discuss what it means to deliver good governance at the state and local level.
We have a big problem with our democracy right now, and it stems from people believing that the government is to blame for all of our problems. In 24-hour media cycles that fill airtime with the loudest voices instead of the voices with the most common sense, it's easy to see why. But our government can do good things, and it works best when public officials can find compromise and come together to find common ground.
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Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Debbie Cox Bultan
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
Bill Weir is CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent and the author of Life As We Know It (Can Be). We discuss Carbon Godzilla, decarbonization, and the many existing and accessible technologies to mitigate climate change.
Decarbonization must start with big industry, but there are many ways for individuals to make a difference, too. Clean energy can be had with tax incentives, reducing costs for consumers. Energy efficient homes – passive houses and innovations in heating and cooling – reduce or even eliminate monthly energy bills. At the same time, utility and power companies in the US function as legal monopolies whose primary incentive is to build more infrastructure and raise rates. Fossil fuel companies – despite being the most profitable companies in human history – are still getting billions in direct and indirect subsidies.
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Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Bill Weir
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
Mandela Barnes is the president of Power to the Polls Wisconsin. He also served as Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 2019 to 2023 and is the co-founder of The Long Run PAC. We discuss how grassroots voter outreach connects the dots for the voters on policy that impacts their lives.
Voters need to know what politicians have done for their constituents and why it is worth their time to vote. In order to be a part of the democratic process and to make things better, citizens need to show up on election day and beyond. People can exercise their power at city hall meetings, at the courthouse for county board, and even in state legislative hearing rooms. Voting is still crucially important and being a voter should be a part of everyone's personality!
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Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Mandela Barnes
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Producer: Zack Travis
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick is the Policy Director at the American Immigration Council, a non-profit organization that strives to strengthen the United States by shaping immigration policies and practices. We discuss how out-of-date immigration laws are and why the only cure is comprehensive immigration reform from Congress.
US immigration laws have not changed since the 1990s. The current border enforcement and asylum system dates back to 1996, and in fact, one of the reasons that asylum seekers are living in shelters is because Congress decided in 1996 to make it illegal for them to get a work permit until six months after they apply for asylum. The asylum system is severely underfunded and is a major reason for processing delays. In addition, there are more than 4 million people who have already been approved for visas but the wait time to get the legal status is decades long.
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Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
Jonathan M. Metzl is the Frederick B. Rentschler II Professor of Sociology and Psychiatry and the Director of the Department of Medicine, Health, and Society at Vanderbilt University. His most recent book is What We've Become: Living and Dying in a Country of Arms. We discuss lax gun laws and gun ownership as an identity.
The public health narrative is about how guns pose a health risk, a threat to mortality to our bodies. Those who vote based on guns see guns as symbols of power or protection. In fact, many people in the South own guns because they're afraid of government tyranny. Unfortunately, gun laws have become more and more lax in a country that has almost 500 million civilian-owned firearms. Metzl shares that "We've had a dramatic erosion in the ability of states and towns and the country itself to limit who can own and carry a firearm."
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Producer: Zack Travis
Philip K. Howard is the founder and chair of Common Good, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocates for simplifying government, and has advised both parties on needed reforms. His latest book is Everyday Freedom: Designing the Framework for a Flourishing Society.
Every community depends on democracy to deliver, whether that's government services, schools, hospitals, or housing. Howard argues that a democracy depends on people being able to take responsibility, to interpret guidelines and perform their jobs or service accordingly. In a time when a significant percentage of Americans no longer believe in democracy, we need a national movement to remake institutions that honor the capacity of humans.
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Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
Danielle Allen is the author of Justice by Means of Democracy. She is also the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University and Director of the Allen Lab for Democracy Renovation at Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. We discuss power sharing liberalism as a new paradigm in the practice of democracy.
Whether it's through ballot measures to introduce ranked choice voting or open primaries, we are experiencing great innovation in democratic practice that make it more possible for us to bring our whole selves and to share political power within US democracy. Power sharing liberalism centers around the lived human experience, which needs foundations for flourishing. To that end, the economy should serve the ends of human flourishing. Allen envisions a "dynamic economy that supports people in their lives and to support people in their lives requires supporting their empowerment politically as well as supporting them materially."
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Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Danielle Allen
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
Jeffrey Rosen is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center and the author of The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America. We discuss how the Constitution is a framework for a productive conversation for people with fundamentally different points of view.
For the Founders, personal self government was a pre-requisite for political self government. In order to deliberate with fellow citizens and vote wisely, citizens ought first be their best selves, which puts a high bar for citizens to educate themselves. In fact, the founders thought education was central to creating the perfect citizen. Thinking in constitutional terms opens citizens up to hear arguments they might disagree with, which in turn makes it possible to change their minds. Jeffrey Rosen stresses that "that openness, that curiosity to diverse points of view is exactly the point of the Constitution".
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Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Jeffrey Rosen
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
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