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!

Pete’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Join a club!

2. Re-inhabit the world that you’re in, by learning about it.

Pete Davis is a bestselling author of Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing, the founder of the Democracy Policy Network, and the co-director of Join or Die, a film about why you should join a club and why the fate of America depends on it. 

Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

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Follow Mila on X:

https://x.com/milaatmos

Follow Pete on X:

https://x.com/PeteDDavis

Sponsor:

Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight

Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Pete Davis

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss a vision for the Democratic Party that goes back to its roots and represents working people and champions issues such as healthcare, student debt, and wages through a class lens.

Faiz’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Call your member of Congress. Write a letter to the editor.

2. Gather in civic organizations, host a house party and wrestle together with collective actions you can engage in.

Faiz Shakir is Executive Director of More Perfect Union, formerly ran the Bernie 2020 campaign for president, served as the ACLU’s national political director, and also served as senior advisor to the late Senator Harry Reid.

Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

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Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:

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Follow Mila on X:

https://x.com/milaatmos

Follow Faiz on X:

https://x.com/fshakir

Sponsor:

Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight

Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Faiz Shakir

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss the influence of Karl Marx in American politics and the continued relevance of Marxism today.

Andrew’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Form a reading group to change your collective political consciousness

2. Read something challenging at an intellectual, political, or philosophical level

Andrew Hartman is professor of history at Illinois State University and the author of several books, including A War for the Soul of America: A History of the Culture Wars. His upcoming book is Karl Marx in America.

Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/

Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:

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Follow Mila on X:

https://x.com/milaatmos

Follow Andrew on X:

https://x.com/HartmanAndrew

Sponsor:

Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight

Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Andrew Hartman

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss that Americans should prize truth over tribe. A lot of disinformation is hiding behind the First Amendment – using the right to free speech to tell lies. The muddy media and information ecosystem is turning us against our neighbors.

Barb’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Meet people in real life because when we know them it’s harder to vilify them

2. Get accurate election-related information from your secretary of state’s office

Barbara McQuade is a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, co-host of the podcast #SistersinLaw, and a professor at the University of Michigan Law School. Her first book is Attack From Within: How Disinformation is Sabotaging America. We discuss the dangers of disinformation and how we can defeat it.

Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

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Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:

https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark

Follow Mila on X:

https://x.com/milaatmos

Follow Barbara on X:

https://x.com/barbmcquade

Read Attack from Within:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/attack-from-within-how-disinformation-is-sabotaging-democracy-and-the-rule-of-law-barbara-mcquade/20068804?aid=11259&ean=9781644213636&listref=books-we-re-reading-in-2024

Sponsor:

Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight

Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Barbara McQuade

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

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.

Paul’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Focus on state and local government

2. Make liberal cities and states compelling models for good governance to be replicated across the nation

Paul Sabin is the Randolph W. Townsend, Jr. Professor of History and Professor of American Studies at Yale University and previously served as the founding executive director of the non-profit Environmental Leadership Program. Paul is the author of Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism.

Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

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Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:

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Follow Mila on X:

https://x.com/milaatmos

Follow Paul on X:

https://x.com/paulesabin

Sponsor:

Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight

Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Paul Sabin

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

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.

Ezra’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Organize in your community with like-minded Americans

2. Use your constituent power to influence the political calculus of your elected representative

Ezra Levin is the Co-Executive Director of Indivisible, which he co-founded with Leah Greenberg in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. He’s also the co-author of We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump.

Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

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Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:

https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark

Follow Mila on BlueSky:

https://bsky.app/profile/milaatmos.bsky.social

Follow Ezra on BlueSky:

https://bsky.app/profile/ezralevin.bsky.social

Check out Indivisible:

https://indivisible.org/

Sponsor:

Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight

Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Ezra Levin

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss many of our rights that are at risk under the new Trump administration, what our rights actually are–like due process and the 1st amendment, and an action plan for when they come under attack.

Monica’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Know what your rights are and speak up.

2. Talk to your friends and family about DC statehood

Monica Hopkins is the Executive Director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia (ACLU-DC).

Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

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Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:

https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark

Follow Mila on X:

https://x.com/milaatmos

Follow the ACLU D.C. on X:

https://x.com/ACLU_DC

Sponsor:

Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight

Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Monica Hopkins

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss the long history of organizing as a tool for fortifying American democracy, making it more equitable and just. Americans live from the benefits of organizing every day, whether that’s women’s suffrage or disability rights. Organizing is the tool for everyday people who are not in positions of power to solve the problems their communities are facing.

Elyssa’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Get clarity on what you’re good at and what brings you joy.

2. Organize for the long haul.

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.

Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/

Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:

https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark

Follow Mila on X:

https://x.com/milaatmos

Follow Elyssa on X:

https://x.com/elyssafeder

Check out Rising Organizers:

https://www.risingorganizers.org/

Sponsor:

Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight

Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Elyssa Feder

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis