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
We discuss why joining a club or an association is the glue that binds civic society to democracy. They are the classrooms for our citizenship!
Pete's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Join a club!
Re-inhabit the world that you're in, by learning about it.
Pete Davis is a bestselling author of Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing, the founder of the Democracy Policy Network, and the co-director of Join or Die, a film about why you should join a club and why the fate of America depends on it.
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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
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Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Pete Davis
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
We discuss a vision for the Democratic Party that goes back to its roots and represents working people and champions issues such as healthcare, student debt, and wages through a class lens.
Faiz's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Call your member of Congress. Write a letter to the editor.
Gather in civic organizations, host a house party and wrestle together with collective actions you can engage in.
Faiz Shakir is Executive Director of More Perfect Union, formerly ran the Bernie 2020 campaign for president, served as the ACLU's national political director, and also served as senior advisor to the late Senator Harry Reid.
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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
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Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Faiz Shakir
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
We discuss the influence of Karl Marx in American politics and the continued relevance of Marxism today.
Andrew's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Form a reading group to change your collective political consciousness
Read something challenging at an intellectual, political, or philosophical level
Andrew Hartman is professor of history at Illinois State University and the author of several books, including A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars. His upcoming book is Karl Marx in America.
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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
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Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Andrew Hartman
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
We discuss that Americans should prize truth over tribe. A lot of disinformation is hiding behind the First Amendment – using the right to free speech to tell lies. The muddy media and information ecosystem is turning us against our neighbors.
Barb's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Meet people in real life because when we know them it's harder to vilify them
Get accurate election-related information from your secretary of state's office
Barbara McQuade is a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, co-host of the podcast #SistersinLaw, and a professor at the University of Michigan Law School. Her first book is Attack From Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America. We discuss the dangers of disinformation and how we can defeat it.
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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
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Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Barbara McQuade
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
We discuss how the public interest movements in the 60s and 70s can be a source of inspiration for American democracy and why this movement was a formidable force in influencing public policy that benefits all of us, from traffic safety to the Clean Water Act.
Paul's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Focus on state and local government
Make liberal cities and states compelling models for good governance to be replicated across the nation
Paul Sabin is the Randolph W. Townsend, Jr. Professor of History and Professor of American Studies at Yale University and previously served as the founding executive director of the non-profit Environmental Leadership Program. Paul is the author of Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism.
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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
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Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Paul Sabin
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
We discuss what we can all do to say "no" to Project 2025, including getting Democrats to play hardball in local, city, and state offices, and to protect and win elections this year and in the midterms next year.
Ezra's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Organize in your community with like-minded Americans
Use your constituent power to influence the political calculus of your elected representative
Ezra Levin is the Co-Executive Director of Indivisible, which he co-founded with Leah Greenberg in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. He's also the co-author of We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump.
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Check out Indivisible:
Sponsor:
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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
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Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Ezra Levin
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
We discuss many of our rights that are at risk under the new Trump administration, what our rights actually are–like due process and the 1st amendment, and an action plan for when they come under attack.
Monica's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Know what your rights are and speak up.
Talk to your friends and family about DC statehood
Monica Hopkins is the Executive Director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia (ACLU-DC).
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Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.
Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
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Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Monica Hopkins
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
We discuss the long history of organizing as a tool for fortifying American democracy, making it more equitable and just. Americans live from the benefits of organizing every day, whether that's women's suffrage or disability rights. Organizing is the tool for everyday people who are not in positions of power to solve the problems their communities are facing.
Elyssa's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Get clarity on what you're good at and what brings you joy.
Organize for the long haul.
Elyssa Feder is the co-founder and executive director of Rising Organizers, which has trained nearly 4,000 activists and held fourteen intensive fellowship cohorts on community organizing skills.
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Check out Rising Organizers:
https://www.risingorganizers.org/
Sponsor:
Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.
Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
https://patreon.com/futurehindsight
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Elyssa Feder
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
We discuss the role of political parties in representing your interests and turning those interests into public policies that meaningfully make a difference in your life. Since the 1980s, both major political parties have adopted neoliberal policies, marked by declining responsiveness to major policy areas, and instead prioritizing pro-market and anti-state policies for economic growth and reliance on the private sector.
Didi's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Get engaged on the local level so you can be part of the solution.
Support the party builders!
Didi Kuo is a Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and the author of The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don't.
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Sponsor:
Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.
Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
https://patreon.com/futurehindsight
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Didi Kuo
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
We discuss why now is the time for a third political party to really take center stage in American democracy.
Maurice's civic action toolkit recommendations are:
Organize! Join an organization.
Create conditions where people can govern and decide the direction of their country and their democracy
Maurice Mitchell is the National Director of the Working Families Party. He's a nationally recognized social movement strategist, a visionary leader in the Movement for Black Lives, and a community organizer for racial, social, and economic justice.
Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:
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Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:
https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark
Follow Mila on X:
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Check out the Working Families Party:
Sponsor:
Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.
Early episodes for Patreon supporters:
https://patreon.com/futurehindsight
Credits:
Host: Mila Atmos
Guests: Maurice Mitchell
Executive Producer: Mila Atmos
Producer: Zack Travis
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