Organizing & Civic Action

We discuss the basics of organizing and the fruits of that work. Michael reminds us that “organizers organize organizations.”

We discuss Practical Radicals: Seven Strategies to Change the World—a guide for a new generation of activists seeking not just to understand power, but to build it.

We discuss the case for SWAMP audits, how we can truly build a multiracial democracy, and why we’re going to have to fight for it.

We discuss the radical idea that dissidence belongs to all of us. Living with truth is the starting point to being a citizen changemaker and to taking impactful civic action.

We discuss the vision of an everyone-a-changemaker society. Now is the moment to step up to protect healthy civil society in America by making the mechanisms and the rituals for participation in local politics more robust and more meaningful.

We discuss the investments to foster civic participation on college campuses, voter behavior among young people, and getting ready for the midterms.

We discuss how our everyday choices to resist, organize, and act collectively can stop authoritarian takeovers. Feeling powerless does not mean that we’re actually powerless!

We discuss the building blocks of narrative power and the strategies to succeed in changing hearts and minds.

We discuss Practical Radicals: Seven Strategies to Change the World—a guide for a new generation of activists seeking not just to understand power, but to build it.

We discuss the basics of organizing and the fruits of that work. Michael reminds us that “organizers organize organizations.”

We discuss the enduring power of protesting and the significance of the Ferguson uprising in the long arc of the Black liberation movement.

We discuss the importance of shifting our mindset to one that is infused with hope. Positive change comes when we choose hope. Though nobody can fix it all, we can all do something and make an impact. Sharon reminds us that if something is worth doing for everyone, it’s worth doing for one person.

We discuss "calling in" as a practice rooted in a human rights framework that can transform how we engage across our divide and potentially be the bridge that helps our democracy survive with Loretta Ross.

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!

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.

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 with Ezra Levin of Indivisible.

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.

We discuss the importance of shifting our mindset to one that is infused with hope. Positive change comes when we choose hope. Though nobody can fix it all, we can all do something and make an impact. Sharon reminds us that if something is worth doing for everyone, it’s worth doing for one person.

Rachel Vindman is the co-host of the Suburban Women Problem podcast and she has her finger on the pulse on all things politics for American women. We discuss abortion, Trump's conviction, Ukraine, and relational organizing.

Rich Harwood is the president and founder of The Harwood Institute, who just launched a campaign to reclaim the public square from the most divisive voices and build it into a place that can make hope real for all.

Just in time for Thanksgiving, Neal Rickner joins us to talk about the American Values Coalition, a growing community of Americans who are empowered to lead with truth, reject extremism and misinformation, and defend democracy. Get some pointers to dialogue across political divides and across the table.

Yoni Landau is the CEO and founder of Movement Labs, the founder of Contest Every Race, and a former White House Office of Management and Budget and Robert Reich staffer. We explore just how technology can empower our practice of democracy and enrich our civic action toolkit.

David Pepper is a lawyer, writer, political activist, and former elected official. He served as the Chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party between 2015 and 2021. He’s the author of several books, including the excellent how-to guide: Saving Democracy: A User’s Manual for Every American. We discuss how every one of us can use our personal footprint to lift democracy.

Cecile Richards is the co-chair of American Bridge, former president of Planned Parenthood, a co-founder of Supermajority, and author of the book Make Trouble. We make sense of the midterms, take away some gold nuggets for democracy, and are reminded that grassroots organizing is all about the long game.

Aidan Kohn-Murphy is the founder and Executive Director of the organization Gen Z for Change, a youth-led nonprofit working to educate and create change on issues that affect young people. Jack Petocz is a political strategist who also mounted a campaign to recall his local school board in Florida to fight back against anti-LGBTQ board members.

Steve Pierson is the host of the How We Win podcast. He’s an activist, community organizer, and trainer, who started as a “class of 2016” volunteer. He’s currently an elected California Democratic Party Delegate and chairs their Organizing Committee. We discuss the nitty gritty of Get Out the Vote, phone banking, and a whole host of other boots on the ground politics as we head toward the midterms.

Nisha Anand is an Indian-American activist, leader for racial justice, and the CEO of DreamCorps. Her expansive organizing experience solidified her belief in the power of working with unlikely partners to find real solutions. Nisha leads a diverse group of people who are learning, like her, the value of unconventional relationships. We discuss Dream Corps' work in criminal justice reform, building a green economy, and creating equity in tech.