OCCUPY! An Unfinished Uprising

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.

Let's connect! Follow Fu...

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...

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.

Gal's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Be in person

2) Be deliberate about how you operate online

Gal Beckerman is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author of How to Be a Dissident.

Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

h...

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.

Michael's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Find a place to plug in at the local level

2) Go to a Civic Saturdays event near you

Michael Zakaras is the director of Ashoka US, the...

We discuss why Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is running for Senate in Michigan and what kind of Senator he aspires to be. A public health expert with deep understanding of the healthcare system, Dr. El-Sayed believes that Medicare for All can be a realistic future.

Abdul's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Have an in-person conversation with someone you disagree with

2) Find the thing that you share in common

Abdul El-Sayed is ...

We discuss the foundational lies of the Lost Cause, the organic nature of more recent lies, and the constant vigilance necessary to defend democracy.

Ann's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Pay attention to what your (or your children's) textbooks are saying

2) Speak up if there is a historical site near you that is being erased

Ann Bausum is an award-winning historian and the author of White Lies: How the South Lost ...

We discuss the main goals of copaganda: narrowing our conception of safety and threat, constantly warning us that those harms are increasing, and telling us that the solution to our fears is more investment in the punishment bureaucracy.

Alec's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Educate yourself on how copaganda works

2) Read the Copaganda book in a group!

Alec Karakatsanis is the founder and executive director of Civi...

We discuss the building blocks of the authoritarian playbook, the strategy behind intersectional solidarity, and the power of knowing your neighbor.

Yelena & Tatyana's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Go local!

2) Get to know your neighbors

Yelena and Tatyana are co-founders of Stroika — an organization connecting and resourcing frontline anti-authoritarian movements worldwide.

Let's connect! Follow Futur...

We discuss the strategy for electing from-the-gut economic populists who exude outsider vibes and who acknowledge that our system is broken. They are often outsiders who believe in issues such as protecting social security and taxing billionaires, which are super majoritarian issues. Outsiders can win in blue, purple, and red states.

Adam's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Join effective groups like boldprogressives.o...

We discuss the influence of the U.S.-China relationship on American democracy, on issues ranging from "garbage time" to soft power to geopolitical dominance of the South China Sea.

Jane's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Visit China!

2) Read To Change China by Jonathan Spence and/or Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick

Jane Perlez is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, former New York Times Beijing bureau ...

We discuss the corrupting effect of the Citizens United decision on policymaking and elections.

Tiffany's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Go to town halls and hold your elected officials accountable

2. Participate in phone banking or write postcards to get out the vote

Tiffany Muller is the President of End Citizens United, Let America Vote, and the End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund. The org...

We discuss the power of showing up for local politics and the benefits of running an in-person campaign without relying on social media.

Carleigh's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Take an hour to attend a local government meeting

2. Make a comment at that meeting!

Carleigh Beriont is a union organizer, vice chair of the Hampton Select Board, and is running for Congress in New Hampshire's First District.

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