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
Rachel Leyland and Kendra Abel are public school teachers in Oklahoma City who participated in the walkout in April of 2018. We discuss how the walkout shed light on the problems caused by chronic underfunding of public education, the power of standing together to demand change, and the importance of supporting pro-education candidates for office.
Support for Public Education Bolsters Democracy Chronic underfunding and continued cuts to public education have grave consequences. In Oklahoma, teachers and parents are supplementing educational programs out of their own pockets in order to level the playing field with education in other states. Teachers are underpaid and are forced to take second jobs, or even leave the state for better pay.
Our Humanity A good education transforms lives. Our humanity is at stake when we forsake the future of our children. We need to teach them to have critical thinking skills, a vision for a better tomorrow, the tools to participate in our democracy, and an innate understanding that their voice is important. What we do today will affect us for generations to come.
The Power of Civic Action The teacher walkout in Oklahoma raised awareness on the issues facing public education, ranging from large class sizes to hostile state representatives. The public now understands how meager the education budget is and what that means, as well as how their elected representatives have voted on education. Oklahomans are now engaged in an open conversation about how to improve public education.
Find out more: Rachel Leyland and Kendra Abel are both teachers in the Oklahoma City Public School system. They participated in the teachers' walkout that took place in Oklahoma in April of 2018. They continue to be involved with this issue through the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the OKCPS Board of Education.
Scott Warren is the CEO and co-founder of Generation Citizen, an organization that works to ensure students in the United States receive an effective civics education. We talk about the unique power of political action to bring about change and the need to teach our youngest generations how to be active participants in our democracy.
Political action is still king All of the important issues that affect our daily lives touch the government in some way. Politics is a powerful agent for systemic change within government. The more frustrated we are, the more imperative it becomes to participate.
The problems in our democracy run deep One of the most reliable predictors of voting behavior is income: the participation rate is 80% at $80,000 or more, and only 40% at $40,000. We need to invest in teaching all citizens, and especially young people, their rights and responsibilities in a democracy.
Action Civics is an essential part of the answer Action-oriented civics education in school should be prioritized like STEM subjects. Without the knowledge and practice, we cannot expect the population to be engaged. Students should learn by doing in the classroom: identifying an issue they care about, devising a plan of action, and following through with elected officials.
Find out more: Scott Warren is the CEO and co-founder of Generation Citizen, an organization that works to bring civics education to middle and high schoolers in the US.
Brent Wilkes is the former CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and a lifelong advocate for Latino rights. We discuss what fair and comprehensive immigration could be, the positive impact of immigrant labor in the US economy, and how we can demand sound immigration policy at the ballot box.
Our economy depends on immigrant labor
Immigrants are doing some of the hardest jobs in America for the lowest amount of pay, such as producing food, building houses, and providing care. Labor abuse is common with undocumented workers, as their status makes them particularly vulnerable. Providing a path to legalization for these individuals is the least we can do.
Comprehensive immigration reform
The goal is to help out-of-status residents, those who work hard and contribute to the economy, to get right with the law. Three major focus areas are: the Dreamers, children who were brought to the US by their parents as minors; the agricultural sector, which produces major exports to the rest of the world and is a traditional employer of immigrants; and the rest are laborers in other industries, such as care giving or construction.
Voter turnout is the answer
Immigrants have historically come to America from all over the world to pursue their dreams. We need to remember that our ancestors were once immigrants too, and be more welcoming to those who are pursuing the American dream today. The best way to win on immigration and encourage people to vote is to raise awareness, talk to people who are different than you, and show them that they are included in the process.
Find out more: Brent Wilkes is the former CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). He was recently given the Lifetime Achievement, Excellence in Community Service Award by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
Mark Hetfield is the President and CEO of HIAS, the oldest refugee assistance organization in operation. We discuss our humanitarian obligations to refugees, the tremendous benefits that they bring to American society, and bust the misconceptions about the current refugee situation in the US.
Taking refugees is an act of humanity:
Refugees have escaped persecution, their country, their homes, and their jobs in order to survive. The Refugee Convention of 1951 is an international law that requires countries to give them protection. We bring refugees to the US because it's a way to protect human rights and our collective humanity.
Refugees are a tremendous positive force:
They are among the most productive members of society because they have lost everything, and they know that they can't take anything for granted. In the US, refugees have contributed many billions of dollars more than they take in services. Some of our most successful companies, such as Google and Intel, were started by refugees.
We have enormous untapped capacity to resettle refugees:
The US can take in hundreds of thousands of refugees without noticing the impact or the stress. Many faith-based agencies are clamoring to welcome and help more refugees, but the exhaustive and extreme vetting process to enter the country and the cut in funding will result in the resettlement of less than 20,000 refugees in the US this year.
Find out more:
Mark Hetfield is the CEO and President of HIAS, a refugee assistance organization, and a major implementing partner of the United Nations Refugee Agency and the U.S. Department of State.
Paul Lagunes is a Columbia University political scientist whose scholarship focuses on corruption in the Americas. His current book project is Corruption and Oversight: Insights from Field Experiments. We define corruption, discuss how it relates to democracy, and learn that voting is a tool to fight against it.
Corruption is a contingent behavior In a world of multiple equilibriums, the rules of the game differ from place to place, thus it may be rational to engage in corruption in certain contexts. The same individual will behave one way in one setting and another way in another setting. Corruption involves costs for societies at large. The losers are every day, law-abiding citizens.
The Watchful Eye and the Cracking Whip Both transparency and punishment are essential. We need to make clear and visible that everyone who participates in corruption is punished because revealing corruption without punishment emboldens bad actors. They feel and seem empowered. Government agencies and oversight non-governmental organizations can effectively work together to satisfy both roles.
How citizens can fight corruption We need to be informed, care about curbing corruption, and make our voices heard on the issue. The best way to do so is to vote on Election Day and to use public forums, such as town hall meetings, to confront and engage public officials. Democracy's promise to solve corruption hinges on the premise that officials are the agents, and citizens are the principals.
Find out more:Paul Lagunes is a political science and an Assistant Professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. His work has been widely published, and he is currently working on a book titled Corruption and Oversight: Insights from Field Experiments.
Raise consciousness:
Globalists have been willing to stand by while many people were left behind. Elites need to acknowledge their complicity in order to reverse the increasing division between us and them, as well as make clear to people in power that the current version of globalism is not acceptable.
More experiments are necessary:
The only effective way to tackle global issues is to start experimenting around possible solutions, each of us in the ways that we can. There are already many interesting projects ranging from continuing education for workers to flexible employment. Everyone who has the ability to do something on this issue, must do so.
Invest in humans:
The role of the government is to promote equal access to opportunity, so that all people are included in the system. Maximizing profit is not human, but it is capitalist. Injecting humanity into public policies on diverse issues like refugees or free community college will create a society where a gig economy can support families and provide a public good.
Find out more:
Ian Bremmer is the president and founder of Eurasia Group, and the foreign affairs columnist and editor-at-large at TIME Magazine. His latest book "Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism" is a New York Times bestseller that explores the rejection of globalism as an ideology and possible solutions for a more equitable world.
Shafi Goldwasser is an award-winning mathematician and computer scientist and the Director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley. Her most notable work is in cryptography and zero knowledge proof. We discuss the promise of cryptography to make our society more secure.
Data privacy and you:
Cryptography is the field that deals with the privacy and correctness of how our information is used. It makes our data more secure, with a range of tools such as encryption, authentication, and verification. Every time we are online, we need to be vigilant about what private information we share and with whom. We should use the tools of cryptography and be careful about giving permissions for apps to access our data.
Algorithmic Fairness and Data Bias:
We have an idea that algorithms are fair because they are machine computations. However, algorithms do no account for actual individuals, so the data is trained with existing societal norms, which can perpetuate unfairness. Data can also be poisoned once people figure out what algorithms are used by tweaking the information in order to get the desired outcome.
Demand accountability:
We must demand that our personal information is only used in ways that can keep our identity private. There are already collaborative platforms using various encryption methods that are effective for governments and companies to use. "If companies get into trouble because of fiascos having to do with private data you don't just blindly continue supporting them."
Find out more:
Shafi Goldwasser is the Director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley, the world's leading venue for collaborative research in theoretical computer science. She is also the Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, and professor of computer science and applied mathematics at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. She is currently working on the project "Splinter: Practical Private Queries on Public Data".
Jennifer March is the Executive Director of the Citizen's Committee for Children of New York. This non-profit and nonpartisan child advocacy organization combines public policy research and data analysis with citizen action. We discuss family homelessness, juvenile justice, and the power of effective advocacy.
Growing up poor likely leads to long term damaging outcomes:Every child should be guaranteed a prosperous environment with proper access to health care, housing, education, and safe living conditions. Children in poverty often face multiple risk factors such as poor quality housing and low-quality schools.
Effective child advocacy requires a coalition:A virtuous circle of a large group of people with a common interest is the most effective in pushing for change. Everyone ranging from service providers and beneficiaries, advocates lobbying the government, volunteers writing letters and making phone calls, social media, as well as participants in visible rallies come together to be heard.
A holistic approach:We need to focus on pragmatic solutions that we know will serve a holistic approach to help provide stability and promote wellbeing, such as a housing subsidy or affordable childcare. Universal systems of early education and healthcare are fundamental building blocks for children to evolve and develop into thriving adults.
Find out more:Jennifer March is the Executive Director of the Citizen's Committee for Children of New York (CCC), a non-profit advocacy organization that works to ensure that every child is healthy, housed, educated, and safe.
Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke represents his hometown, El Paso, TX. Currently a Candidate for US Senate, he is running a people-powered campaign, visiting every single county in Texas and listening to the needs and concerns of the state's constituents. We talk about how to rebuild our democracy, the necessity of bipartisanship, and how big money corrodes our political process.
Rebuilding democracy from the ground up:
We need representatives who truly represent the people by directly engaging with and listening to their constituents. Removing the power of political action committees (PACs), special interests, and corporations is vital to getting our democracy back and making sure that elected government is responsive to the interests and concerns of human beings.
Work together and set aside differences:
Achieving bipartisan collaboration comes through putting the small differences, including parties, behind us. Compromise is key in being able to pass legislation that will benefit all Americans on issues as diverse as healthcare, the cost of higher education, and immigration.
Big Money corrodes our democracy:
Our representatives are not corruptible on the issues that they really care about, but they often vote along with special interests when they are not experts, and don't have a specific need to vote a certain way. It's these little decisions in the aggregate that create dysfunction and disconnect between Congress and the people.
Find out more: Beto O'Rourke is the US Representative for El Paso, TX, and is running for US Senate for Texas.
Ruth Milkman is a sociologist of labor and labor movements, and Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center and at the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies. We examine the role of unions for workers, the main factors of de-unionization, and the potential leadership by millennials in this space.
It's safer to speak up as a group:
The purpose of unions is to give workers a collective voice in relation to their employers. They also negotiate contracts and collective bargaining agreements, and promote and defend workers' concerns in the public and political spheres.
Factors that led to the decline of unionization:
Employer opposition is at the heart of the de-unionization. They have successfully mounted a series of direct attacks against them, such as double breasting in the construction industry. Two other big factors are the decline of manufacturing and deregulation.
The time to engage is now:
Many workers experience precarious labor conditions, such as in retail, where they often don't know their schedule from week to week and they don't know how many hours they will end up working. Teachers in non-union states are striking instead of collectively bargaining, which is more disruptive than organizing.
Find out more:
Ruth Milkman is a Sociology Professor at the CUNY Graduate Center and at the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies.
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