For writer, comedian, and cultural critic Baratunde Thurston, host of the How to Citizen podcast, humility is a tool to connect with people—and to bring them together around some collective sense of truth. Through his work, Thurston serves as an ambassador to his audiences, always considering what they’re going through and the questions they might ask. A Harvard graduate, he has advised the Obama White House and worked as a producer on The Daily Show, and is author of the best-selling memoir How To Be Black. 

A dogged dedication to transparency shines through all that Thurston does. Across his projects, he takes on nuanced discussions about race, technology, and democracy—and in the hopes of galvanizing his readers, listeners, and viewers, uses compassion and humor to make these subjects more approachable. Whether writing about Will Smith’s Oscars slap or the metaverse for the media company Puck (of which he is a founding partner) or hosting the new PBS travel series America Outdoors With Baratunde Thurston, he navigates everything with great self-awareness, curiosity, and an open mind. 

On this episode, Thurston speaks with Andrew about storytelling as a collaborative process, the value of open-source technology, and the word “citizen” as a verb.

Special thanks to our Season 5 sponsor, L’ÉCOLE, School of Jewelry Arts.

Show notes:

• Full transcript
• baratunde.com
• [04:16] Sidwell Friends School
• [13:49] We’re Having A Moment podcast
• [14:59] Live on Lockdown
• [21:56] “How To Do a Data Detox In a Zillion Easy Steps”
• [25:06] Thurston’s TED Talk, “How to Deconstruct Racism, One Headline at a Time”
• [39:01] How to Citizen podcast
• [01:22:27] How to Be Black
• [01:24:26] “The Human Shield Against Technology”
• [01:25:17] Thurston’s TEDx Talk, “Hacking Comedy”
• [01:32:53] America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston