Introducing: How To Citizen with Baratunde

How To Citizen with Baratunde reimagines the word “citizen” as a verb and reminds us how to wield our collective power. With humor and empathy, Baratunde explores societal topics that affect us all, speaks with people using their relationships and power for the benefit of the many, and offers audience members ways to participate. With so much media focused on what is wrong with our society, this show focuses on what is right and how to build on it. Our democratic experiment is up for grabs, and we the people will decide, through our action or inaction, where we go next.

SHOW NOTES

Visit Baratunde's website to sign up for his newsletter to learn about upcoming guests and live tapings, and more. Follow him on Instagram or join his Patreon. You can even text him, like right now at 202-894-8844.

How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of I Heart Radio Podcasts. executive produced by Miles Gray, Nick Stumpf, Elizabeth Stewart, and Baratunde Thurston. Produced by Joelle Smith, edited by Justin Smith. Powered by you.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yo, I'm Baritone Day, and I want to tell you
a crazy story from my childhood. When I was nine
years old, my mother gave me a special assignment. She
said it was up to me to come up with
the system we would live under after democracy and maybe
capitalism had failed. I repeat, I was nine years old,

(00:21):
and I know that's a wild assignment one apparently I
failed at because all the headlines thirty three years later,
we're talking about democracies and crisis, democracies at the tipping point,
and I agree, But which way our democracy tips? That's
up to us, and that is the spirit of my
new show, How to Citizen with Baritone Day. By the way,

(00:45):
I'm the Barton Day. In that title, there's no other
barratuone days. It's a one barrattone day show. But it's
not an only barratone day show because in this show,
I'm going to introduce you to people who are tapping
into that collective power. Were all a part of organizing
communities to make a difference and change outcomes in areas

(01:06):
as diverse as public safety, worker rights, voter turnout, even
our food systems. Did you know that we can keep
ourselves safe without giving all of our money to the
police department. Did you know that we can build an
economy that works without giving all of our money to
Jeff Bezos? I know is wild. This show is going

(01:28):
to involve you in that project because it'd be very
authoritarian for me to make a show called Hot the
Citizen where I just talked down at you. Instead, I'm
inviting you in literally to be a part of the
tapings of the show, which we do live with the audience,
and also to convert some of that news rage you're
probably sitting on into action where we are going to

(01:50):
give you things you can do to be a better citizen.
Our media isn't fake, but it is incomplete because so far,
much of the mess sage we've been getting is how
broken the world is, as opposed to all the work
being done to mend it. Much of the message we've
been getting is how alone we are, how powerless we are.

(02:11):
But there's another side to the story that talks about
us as a part of something greater, something that we
can do together, that sees the current moment as an opportunity,
with pandemic revolution and all, to reimagine and reclaim this
word citizen. Take it back from those who have weaponized
it against people who don't have the right paperwork, and

(02:34):
converted into a verb big enough to invite us all
to participate in determining our society, how it works and
for whom, the whom being the many, not just the few.
How do citizen with Baritune day? It literally takes all
of us, and that includes you coming August to the

(03:00):
I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast or wherever you listen
to podcasts. M M