Make Your Damn Bed

Latest Episodes:

31: fighting florida's book ban crisis Jun 18, 2025

Show notes

historically speaking, the good guys have never restricted access to information. In fact, well intentioned people tend to provide MORE information so everyone involved can make the most informed decisions based on their situation. The Nazi party, the Soviet Union, Communist China, + North Korea all advocated for suppression and censorship which always started and never ended with government overreach through things like book bans.

THE SOURCES:

The PEN article: https://pen.org/floridas-hillsborough-county-faces-a-frightening-state-driven-censorship-campaign/

The Beacon Article: https://www.tampabeacon.com/hillsborough_county/under-fire-from-state-hillsborough-s-ayres-pledges-to-pull-more-books/article_d6826981-001d-4f36-818b-4c6b6af7a4e8.html

Resources for Resisting a Coup: https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66

SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed

DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.net

GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

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The opinions expressed by Julie Merica and Make Your Damn Bed Podcast are intended for entertainment purposes only. Make Your Damn Bed podcast is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

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30: the protests are working Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

Successful protests start by rupturing the narrative. It takes time to make real change, but we're moving the needle. Don't stop.

THE SOURCES:

https://makeyourdamnbed.medium.com/practical-guides-to-resisting-a-coup-b44571b9ad66

https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/voices-of-resistance-and-insight-on-the-eve-of-no-kings-day/

SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed

DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.net

GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

TUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcast

OR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcast

OR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM ANDYOUTUBE or TIKTOK

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

29: hope after the protest Jun 15, 2025

Show notes

He's losing, and we the people are realizing our power.

THE SOURCES:

https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/voices-of-resistance-and-insight-on-the-eve-of-no-kings-day/

SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed

DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.net

GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

TUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcast

OR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcast

OR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM ANDYOUTUBE or TIKTOK

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

28: a lil hope for the protest Jun 14, 2025

Show notes

"Hope isn’t a mood. It’s a decision.

And if you’re struggling to find it—borrow mine.

I’ve lived through a coup. I’ve lived under martial law.

And I’m telling you right now: This moment isn’t over.

We’re still writing the ending."

- Confetti Tactics

THE SOURCES:

The Thread: https://www.threads.com/@confettitactics/post/DKs5QjQIQn9

Protest advice: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/hong-kong-protest-latest-bruce-lee-riot-police-water-a9045311.html

SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed

DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.net

GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

TUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcast

OR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcast

OR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM ANDYOUTUBE or TIKTOK

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

27: the heart of the matter Jun 13, 2025

Show notes

"I am not giving up. I'm hopeful because I believe in

civil society, I believe in our power, and I believe in our idealism. I don't

know what is going to happen, because we make the future in the present, but in

the present I see solidarity, commitment, principle, and courage." - Rebecca Solnit

THE SOURCES:

Rebecca Solnit's Blog: https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/the-heart-of-the-matter/

The Newsletter by Ruth Ben Ghiat: Lucid

SUPPORT Julie (and the show!): https://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed

DONATE to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: www.pcrf.net

GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

TUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcast

OR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcast

OR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM ANDYOUTUBE or TIKTOK

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

26: the optics of the american flag Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

The stage before the success stage is all about shifting public sentiment, and we do that by working on our communication. Optics are crucial.

One tactic is to reclaim the American flag and wave them at the front of the ICE protests. That way, when the National Guard shoots into a crowd of Americans waving American flags, it will look so horrific that NOBODY could support it and may actually start to shift the media narrative, too.

Bill Moyer's (MAP): https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/moyermap.html

The reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/behindthebastards/comments/1l85hyi/bring_american_flags_to_protests/

DONATE:www.pcrf.net

GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

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OR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcast

OR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM ANDYOUTUBE or TIKTOK

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

25: are we in the success stage now? Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

Success often doesn't feel like success because of the backlash paradox: Authoritarians escalate violence when they lose control, not when they’re strong. We're slowly shifting the overton window and creating mass support for the movement of the people. We're closer to success than we'd think.

THE SOURCE: Bill Moyer's (MAP): https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/moyermap.html

AND "Doing Democracy In the 21st Century

AND The Moyer Model

AND https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/9/freedom-flotillas-a-history-of-attempts-to-break-israels-siege-of-gaza

DONATE:www.pcrf.net

GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

TUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcast

OR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcast

OR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM ANDYOUTUBE or TIKTOK

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

24: continuing success Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

There is no end. There is only the continuing struggle, acted out in cycles of social movements. The process of winning one set of demands creates new levels of citizen consciousness and empowerment, and generates new movements on new demands and issues.

Today we're going through the conclusion of Bill Moyer's 1987 Movement Action Plan (A Framework for Effective Social Movements).

Normal Times - "Business as usual" - Politically quiet times that the public is unaware (or feels defeated in face) of the violations of the general public's rights/values/interests.
Prove the failure of Institutions - A prolonged period of increasing stress on the system.
Ripening Conditions - The calm before the storm. Nobody feels like anything is happening.
The Take Off - Seemingly overnight, a social problem becomes something EVEaRYONE is talking about, based on a trigger event AND a non-violent action campaign, that can be repeated on a local level throughout the country.
Identity Crisis of Powerless: (The movement is meant to move on to stage 6, but many activists move into this stage, instead.) Many activists lose sight of the long game + quit.
Majority Popular Support: Long game of garnering the public's support for your cause. It feels like nothing is happening, but depends on grassroots engagement to challenge the status quo.
Success: when the long process of building opposition reaches a new plateau + the new social consensus turns the tide of power against the powerholders, an endgame process leads to the movement's success. This process can take three forms: dramatic showdown, quiet showdown, or attrition.
Continuing the Struggle: Celebrate success, Follow up (local, national, etc.), Work on other demands, New social consciousness issues, Beyond reform to social change. Alternative systems not just opposing the ones that exist.

THE SOURCE: Bill Moyer's (MAP): https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/moyermap.html

AND "Doing Democracy In the 21st Century

AND The Moyer Model

DONATE:www.pcrf.net

GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

TUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcast

OR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcast

OR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM ANDYOUTUBE or TIKTOK

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

23: the pitfalls of success Jun 09, 2025

Show notes

The movement needs to recognize successes achieved, follow up on the demands won, raise larger issues, focus on other demands which are in various stages, and propose larger alternatives and a new paradigm.

Today we're going through step 7 (success) of Bill Moyer's 1987 Movement Action Plan (A Framework for Effective Social Movements).

Normal Times - "Business as usual" - Politically quiet times that the public is unaware (or feels defeated in face) of the violations of the general public's rights/values/interests.
Prove the failure of Institutions - A prolonged period of increasing stress on the system. The intensity of public feeling, opinion, and upset required for social movements can happen only when the public realizes that the governmental policies violate widely held beliefs + values.
Ripening Conditions - The calm before the storm. Nobody feels like anything is happening.
The Take Off - Seemingly overnight, a social problem becomes something EVERYONE is talking about, based on a trigger event AND a non-violent action campaign, that can be repeated on a local level throughout the country.
Identity Crisis of Powerless: (The movement is meant to move on to stage 6, but many activists move into this stage, instead.) Many activists lose sight of the long game + quit.
Majority Popular Support: Long game of garnering the public's support for your cause. It feels like nothing is happening, but depends on grassroots engagement to challenge the status quo.
Success: when the long process of building opposition reaches a new plateau + the new social consensus turns the tide of power against the powerholders, an endgame process leads to the movement's success. This process can take three forms: dramatic showdown, quiet showdown, or attrition.
Continuing the Struggle: Celebrate success, Follow up (local, national, etc.), Work on other demands, New social consciousness issues, Beyond reform to social change. Alternative systems not just opposing the ones that exist.

THE SOURCE: Bill Moyer's (MAP): https://www.historyisaweapon.com/defcon1/moyermap.html

DONATE:www.pcrf.net

GET AN OCCASIONAL PERSONAL EMAIL FROM ME: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

TUNE IN ON INSTAGRAM FOR COOL CONTENT: www.instagram.com/mydbpodcast

OR BE A REAL GEM + TUNE IN ON PATREON: www.patreon.com/MYDBpodcast

OR WATCH ON YOUTUBE: www.youtube.com/juliemerica

Read Julie's Medium Blog.

Support JULIE (and the show!)

Support + get some bonus stuff over on PATREON.

Get an occasional personal email from me: www.makeyourdamnbedpodcast.com

Tune in on INSTAGRAM ANDYOUTUBE or TIKTOK

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/make-your-damn-bed.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

22: what success looks like Jun 08, 2025

Show notes

Today we're going through steps 6 - 7 of Bill Moyer's 1987 Movement Action Plan (A Framework for Effective Social Movements).

Normal Times - "Business as usual" - Politically quiet times that the public is unaware (or feels defeated in face) of the violations of the general public's rights/values/interests.
Prove the failure of Institutions - A prolonged period of increasing stress on the system. The intensity of public feeling, opinion, and upset required for social movements can happen only when the public realizes that the governmental policies violate widely held beliefs + values.
Ripening Conditions - The calm before the storm. Nobody feels like anything is happening.
The Take Off - Seemingly overnight, a social problem becomes something EVERYONE is talking about, based on a trigger event AND a non-violent action campaign, that can be repeated on a local level throughout the country.
Identity Crisis of Powerless: (The movement is meant to move on to stage 6, but many activists move into this stage, instead.) Many activists lose sight of the long game + quit.
Majority Popular Support: Long game of garnering the public's support for your cause. It feels like nothing is happening, but depends on grassroots engagement to challenge the status quo.
Success: when the long process of building opposition reaches a new plateau + the new social consensus turns the tide of power against the powerholders, an endgame process leads to the movement's success. This process can take three forms: dramatic showdown, quiet showdown, or attrition.
Continuing the Struggle: Celebrate success, Follow up (local, national, etc.), Work on other demands, New social consciousness issues, Beyond reform to social change. Alternative systems not just opposing the ones that exist.