Season 4: Creating a Culture of Democracy

The podcast for people tired of tuning into bad news is back with a fourth season and brand new ways to interpret the word “citizen” as a verb! This season we’re asking, how can the practice of “citizening,” in ways big and small, create a dope culture of democracy? 

We’re getting practical, sharing things you can try in your community, in your workplace, in your home, and within yourself. To help us, we’ll hear from people like adrienne maree brown, Steve Kerr, Priya Parker, Nsé Ufot, and you! Our guests and live audience will help us find inspiration in everything from sports and birthday parties to climate action and web3. 

Cause we need to prioritize the culture we create around our democracy as much as the systems that make it function!

 

SHOW NOTES

Find How To Citizen on Instagram or visit howtocitizen.com to join our mailing list and find ways to citizen besides listening to this podcast! 

Please show your support for the show by reviewing and rating. It makes a huge difference with the algorithmic overlords and helps others like you find the show!

How To Citizen is hosted by Baratunde Thurston. He’s also host and executive producer of the PBS series, America Outdoors as well as a founding partner and writer at Puck. You can find him all over the internet. 

 

CREDITS

How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of iHeartRadio Podcasts and Rowhome Productions. Our Executive Producers are Baratunde Thurston and Elizabeth Stewart. Allie Graham is our Lead Producer and Danya AbdelHameid is our Associate Producer. Alex Lewis is our Managing Producer. John Myers is our Executive Editor. Original Music by Andrew Eapen and Blue Dot Sessions. Jasmine Lewis and Gabby Rodriguez  are our Audience Engagement Fellows. Special thanks to Joelle Smith from iHeartRadio and Layla Bina.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey you it's me Bartune Day. Yeah, I missed you two.
I know, I know. I've been very busy. I've been
writing for Puck, this new media outlet. I shot a
whole TV show for PBS called America Outdoors. I even
left the country for a minute. When I came back,
I was inspired to make this next season of How
the Citizen with You. In previous seasons, we dug deep

(00:24):
into the systems of technology and economics and reckoned with
our relationship to them as citizens. In this, our fourth season,
we're far from the surface, deep in the soil where
these systems take root. This show has always been based
on interpreting the word citizen as a verb. We believe
that the citizen is to show up and participate, invest

(00:46):
in relationships, understand power, and value the collective. Now, it's
one thing to talk about these as principles. It's a
whole another thing to practice them. How do you do
that day to day? Where you're at right now? How
can the practice of citizening in ways big and small
create a dope culture of democracy. We've crossed borders and

(01:10):
disciplines to try to answer this question. That's what this
whole season is about We'll look at citizen ng within
teams and in sports with NBA legend and coach Steve Kerr.
Connection between people is really a powerful force, whether it's
a force for winning basketball games or a force for

(01:32):
changing society. Will explore our practice of democracy and our
homes and in our hearts with Adrian Marie Brown, and
I feel like we have to be able to say that,
like if this ship is sinking, but we're all still
alive and there's still on earth here, there's still a
way to live, how quickly will we tune into that?
How quickly can we have the right conversation. We'll learn

(01:53):
how to maintain and rebuild our communities by rethinking the
way we gather with Prea Parker so and what we
actually need to shared experiences where we're literally talking less.
Dialogue is one form of communication, and sometimes there are
so many landmines that actually what you need to remember
is that there's other ways to be and we might

(02:14):
even skip electing candidates altogether and instead conscript ourselves into
the process through citizen assemblies. With Claudia Clouds, I really
feel personally a sense of disillusionment with how things work,
but I also feel like we cannot give up hope
that things could be different, because it's in that uncertainty
around hope that motivates us into action and to say that,

(02:36):
you know, we are all capable of making some changes,
to actually do things differently, to change the way things work.
So this season we're getting practical sharing things you can
try in your community, in your workplace, in your home,
and within yourself to contribute to a culture of democracy.

(03:00):
I am committed to helping us tell a better story
of who we are. Whether you know me from America Outdoors, Puck,
The Daily Show, MSNBC, or Twitter Rest in Peace Twitter,
I hope you'll see the connective tissue. How the Citizen
is the centerpiece of that work. For me, we can

(03:21):
citizen in every area of our lives. We just need
a bit more practice, some guidance, and the belief that
we can do it. I hope you'll join us in
creating that new story. Listen to How the Citizen with
Baritunday starting February six on the I Heart Radio app,

(03:41):
Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.