Future Hindsight

We discuss how the SpeechNow v. FEC decision in 2010 created Super PACs and how combating corruption in American politics starts with getting rid of Super PACs. 

Larry’s civic action toolkit recommendations are: 

1. Build the muscle of deliberating with each other.
2. Start with the principle that we should not have a political system where people can buy influence and get results with their money.

Lawrence Lessig...

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

Michael’s civic action toolkit recommendations are: 

1. Gather 4-5 friends to talk about what’s happening
2. Share ideas on what you can do to resist 

Michael Ansara is a seasoned community organizer and the author of The Hard Work of Hope: A Memoir.

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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: 

1. Organize! Join an organization.
2. 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...

In the middle of the night, the police move in to raid the encampment. What follows is chaotic, emotional, and unforgettable. But the story doesn't end when the tents come down. Former occupiers reflect on the movement's surprising legacy, the political forces it helped unleash, and what its successes and failures can teach us about organizing in an age of rising authoritarianism.

Want to dive deeper? Listen to these episodes of Fut...

As the weather gets colder and tents go up, life inside the encampment grows more complicated. Questions of safety and accountability become increasingly urgent, but occupiers have wildly different ways of responding to the problems. It turns out that the movement's greatest strength—its openness—may also be its greatest vulnerability.

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A month in, the Occupy movement goes global, but pressure is mounting from every direction. A hipster cop confirms that police have infiltrated. Rumors of sabotage are circulating. The authorities want to kick the occupiers out. The movement is able to win a major victory—but even the most committed activists are starting to get worn out.

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For a primer on surveil...

When a march reaches the Brooklyn Bridge, a split-second decision changes everything. Hundreds of people face arrest – and deeper questions emerge about the power dynamics and strategy within the movement. How can they contain the chaos of an ever-growing, leaderless movement? And should Occupy work with politicians and celebrities, or remain fiercely independent? 

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The encampment grows as anarchist organizers introduce radical new ways of making decisions and taking action. Armed with livestreams, smartphones, and social media, participants invite the world to watch—and join. Then, a shocking encounter with police is captured on camera, transforming a local protest into a national story overnight.

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For a primer on how the m...

In 2011, a handful of skeptical New Yorkers answer a call to Occupy Wall Street. What they find feels less like a protest and more like a glimpse of a different world—one where people openly share stories of debt, hardship, and frustration. They start to build an anti-capitalist village in a tiny Manhattan park — under the watchful eyes of police.

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For a co...

Occupy Wall Street is the story of the improbable becoming possible.

In 2008, millions of people were devastated by an economic crash caused by Wall Street greed, but it wasn’t until 2011 that there was a mass response from the Left. A call to protest went out, and thousands of people responded. They raged against a system that was rigged against them and tried to create their own anti-capitalist village in a small Manhattan p...

We discuss the intersection of policymaking on economics and democracy, the harm of intense concentration of wealth, and the need for building durable civil society.

Alex's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Join an organization in your community

2. Be in community with other people

Alex Hertel-Fernandez is a labor policy scholar and the Herbert H. Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University's School...

We discuss the enthusiasm for civic engagement by right-wing women, which translates to power and victory at the ballot box.

Katie's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Research and know the issues on your ballot

2) Vote in local elections

Katie Gaddini is a sociologist, visiting scholar at Stanford University, and the author of Esther's Army: The Christian Women Who Power the American Right.

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We discuss the overlooked and insidious complications from gerontocracy in American democracy.

Sam's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Think of democracy as a political form for transient human beings

2) Evangelize one of these ideas: age quotas, tax code reform, or campaign finance reform

Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, the cohost of the Digging a Hole podcast, and the author...

We discuss the balance of influence between activists and the majority in local politics and how we can reinvigorate democracy at the local level.

Brian's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Identify the problem you want to fix in your community

2) Develop an innovative solution and advocate for it

Brian Adams is professor of political science at San Diego State University and the author of Activism, Majority Rule, and...

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.

Steve's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Find your Minimum Viable Community and engage

2) Do a SWAMP audit!

Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color, a political media organization dedicated to race, politics, and the multicultural progressive New American Majority. His new bo...

We discuss the hidden power inside the U.S. Constitution, what it was designed to protect against, and how it can fortify American democracy today.

Melissa's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Commit to voting and follow through

2) Make your demands clear to your elected representatives

Melissa Murray is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, and...

We discuss how each of us is a node of possibility for change in the climate crisis, taking us from overwhelm to participation.

Katharine's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Keep telling the truth.

2) Join with others in the climate movement.

Dr. Katharine Wilkinson is the host of the podcast A Matter of Degrees and the author of Climate Wayfinding: Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home.

Let's connect! Foll...

We discuss the myriad of ways to fix Congress, ranging from campaign finance reform and age limits to town hall meetings and stopping violence against members of Congress.

Maya's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Engage with your member of Congress!

2) Share what matters for you and demand your member to take action

Maya Kornberg is senior research fellow at NYU Law's Brennan Center for Justice and author of Stuck: H...