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
Thursday, April 13th, 2023
Anat Shenker-Osorio is a renowned communications researcher and campaign advisor, the host of Words to Win By, and the Principal of ASO Communications. We discuss how to empower voters, the impact of repetition, and the importance of being clear on what you stand for.
All candidates should repeatedly state what they stand for because repetition is an essential ingredient in making sure a message is heard. Negative messaging can often be counterproductive because when you're negating the other side, you are actually reinforcing their argument. What's more, by focusing on the opposition and not clearly stating your own position, you risk leaving your message unheard. It's impossible to have a message resonate if no one hears it. The most telling sign that a message is reaching the masses effectively is if the public acts on it.
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Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Anat Shenker-Osorio
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham
Thursday, April 6th, 2023
We're sharing an episode of Drilled, a true-crime podcast about climate change, hosted and reported by award-winning investigative journalist Amy Westervelt.
Four years ago, the Drilled podcast asked a question that changed how people thought about climate stories: What if we stopped acting like the climate crisis was inevitable and instead treated it like it truly is… the crime of the century? Now, the original true crime podcast about climate change is back with a new season all about the opportunistic oil industry.
The story is packed with high stakes court cases, intrepid journalists, and a whole lot of intrigue, set in the world's largest oil boom town.
Listen to the new season of Drilled:
https://link.chtbl.com/futurehindsightdrilled
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Thursday, March 30th, 2023
Alana Sivin is the New York State Director of Criminal Justice Reform at FWD.us. We discuss the history of bail reform legislation, the subsequent roadblocks, and the truth behind the efficacy of this policy.
Bail reform was passed to end a system of wealth-based detention of people who have not been convicted of a crime. Many of them are Black and brown. Verified public data shows that bail reform is not leading to a rise in re-arrest rates. It is also not contributing to a rise in crime. Alana says, "Bail reform has been an extremely successful policy that is not only good because it's the right thing to do for human beings, but it's also the right thing to do to create long-term public safety."
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Read the transcript here:
https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/bail-reforms-success-alana-sivin
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Alana Sivin
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham
Thursday, March 23rd, 2023
Joanna Schwartz is a professor of law at UCLA, where she teaches civil procedure and courses on police accountability. Her new book is Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable. We discuss the multiple levels of protection for police offers and how local and state laws can break us out of the qualified immunity maze.
There is a broad systemic problem with holding police accountable when they abuse their power or violate the law. The Supreme Court and state and local governments have created interlocking layers of shields for law enforcement officers. Qualified immunities have become so strong that officers are protected even if they have acted in bad faith, so long as they have not broken a law. Indemnification is also an important part of the shield, which results in officers virtually never paying. Police accountability can improve and we should all be invested in making it work better.
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Read the transcript here:
https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/holding-police-accountable-joanna-schwartz
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Joanna Schwartz
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham
Thursday, March 16th, 2023
Laphonza Butler is President of Emily's List, an organization that aims to help elect pro-choice democratic women to office. We're inspired by the organization's motto to "reject apathy and the status quo. Repeat daily." We discuss how women bring the challenges and dreams of their community to the policymaking table.
Running for office is perhaps the ultimate form of civic participation. Bringing more women to policy making discussions is crucial, but it takes women to be asked at least seven times before they choose to run for office. In addition, we have to pay extra attention to women as voters. We need to ask and answer the question of whether women will elect women to office.
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Read the transcript here:
https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/elect-women-laphonza-butler
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Laphonza Butler
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham
Thursday, March 9th, 2023
Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider are co-authors of A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School and co-hosts of the education podcast Have You Heard? We discuss the ideology behind the unmaking of public education and the dangers of losing one of our most prized public goods.
One of the original visions of public education was about building individual democratic citizens for a polis, an American society. Schools are at the forefront of expanding civil rights, whereas private schools can discriminate on all kinds of grounds. The current intense push to dismantle public education is part of a larger effort to roll back the gains of the civil rights revolution from the 1960s.
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Read the transcript here:
https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/defend-public-education-jennifer-berkshire-jack-schneider
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Jennifer Berkshire & Jack Schneider
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham
Thursday, March 2nd, 2023
Daniel Squadron is the co-founder and Executive Director of The States Project and also a former New York State senator. We discuss what it takes to win legislative majorities in state houses and why this is the essential ingredient to making change.
State legislatures are the most important force in this country. When parties win legislative majorities, they can govern effectively. The good news is that tiny levels of new engagement make a seismic difference in state legislative races. Regular folks getting involved and becoming strategic players will create governing power that can deliver for people.
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Read the transcript here:
https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/winning-legislative-majorities-daniel-squadron
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Daniel Squadron
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham
Thursday, February 23rd, 2023
Leah Goodridge has served on the New York City Planning Commission since 2021 and is the Managing Attorney for Housing Policy at Mobilization for Justice. She oversees a team that provides legal representation to tenants in eviction proceedings. We talk about housing in New York City, ranging from high rents and evictions to land use discussions.
Tenant unions have advocated for tenants' rights in New York and Albany, which pushed for right to counsel and new rent laws. Developers and landlords have successfully shifted the media narrative to portray them as the little guy and the victim, and the tenant as the villain. Joining community boards is an effective way for everyday New Yorkers to have a voice; community boards vote on the housing proposals before the planning commission sees them. Private developers are being pushed to be at the forefront of building affordable housing, but the City can and does decide how much money it will allocate toward housing. It could decide to fund more affordable units.
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Read the transcript here:
https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/housing-justice-leah-goodridge
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Leah Goodridge
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham
Thursday, February 16th, 2023
Gregg Colburn is the co-author of Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain US Patterns. He's also an Assistant Professor of Real Estate at the University of Washington's College of Built Environments. We discuss the prevalence and variety of homelessness and the big ideas to tackle the housing crisis.
About 5% of the population in the US will experience homelessness at some point in their life. Housing costs and other structural factors drive homelessness. Hence, the easiest path to providing greater support for low-income households would be through an expansion of the federal government's housing voucher program. In the long run, the best response to this crisis is building much more housing.
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Read the transcript here:
https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/solving-homelessness-gregg-colburn
Sponsor
Thanks to Shopify for supporting the show! Go to shopify.com/hopeful for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify's entire suite of features. Start selling on Shopify today.
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guest: Gregg Colburn
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham
Thursday, February 9th, 2023
Octavia Abell is the co-founder and CEO of Govern For America, which describes its mission as bridging the gap between governments and emerging leaders to build a pipeline of diverse and dynamic public sector talent. We discuss the power of public sector workers to be agents of change, whether that's public policy on climate or streamlining the process of getting a birth certificate.
Government can deliver public policy that improves our daily lives. For example, civil servants are hard at work right now in deploying the broadband and infrastructure funds from the infrastructure bill in 2021. There are many policy areas that young people are really fired up about, like climate. With 40% of the public sector workers nearing retirement, now is an opportunity for young graduates to work in government.
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Read the transcript here:
https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/create-responsive-government-octavia-abell
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Octavia Abell
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham
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