Better Future with Michael Mezz

My guest today is Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party – one of the leading progressive institutions in U.S. politics today. Their platform includes universal health care, “a home you can afford,” paid family leave, and a unionized national jobs program – all paid for by taxing the rich. 

In this episode, we start by discussing the tech billionaire takeover of our political system, the technofascist ideology underpinning the AI race, and the techbros’ radically anti-human vision for the future. Then we get into why now is the time to build a movement that takes advantage of the widest populist opening we’ve seen in decades. We delve into the failure of the two-party system, the need for another option, and how “fusion voting” can give us more nuanced voting power. Then we end with what it’ll actually take to build – and wield – political power, getting real about the work it will take.

Better Future is an independent, listener-supported podcast; if you enjoyed this episode, please support us by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack, where we also publish frequent articles: https://betterfuturemedia.substack.com/

Learn more about the Working Families Party: https://workingfamilies.org/

Learn more about their 2026 candidates, including Randy Villegas, Mai Vang, Jane Kim and Chris Rabb: https://workingfamilies.org/candidates/

Here are links to resources mentioned in our conversation:

The Working Families Guarantee, the WFP's platform: https://workingfamilies.org/guarantee/

Building Resilient Organizations, Maurice's 2022 essay on maximalism and what weakens progressive organizations: https://forgeorganizing.org/article/building-resilient-organizations/

The TESCREAL Bundle by Timnit Gebru and Émile P. Torres, the paper mapping the ideologies behind the AI race: https://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/13636

The Movement for Black Lives: https://m4bl.org/

Our episode with Dr. Butch Ware on the failures of the two-party system: https://betterfuturemedia.substack.com/p/can-the-us-empire-be-dismantled-from

Our episode with Gabriel Zucman on why we must tax billionaires: https://betterfuturemedia.substack.com/p/billionaire-tax-gabriel-zucman

Follow Maurice on social media: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mauricewfp/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maurice-mitchell-3071b06/

X: https://x.com/mauricewfp

Follow the Working Families Party: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/workingfamilies/ 

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/workingfamilies.org 

X: https://x.com/workingfamilies

Subscribe to the Better Future podcast on your preferred platform: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4mgozhfv

Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael__mezz/ 

Follow the Better Future Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterfuturepod/

00:00 Building political power for a pro-humanity future

00:34 Introducing Maurice Mitchell and the Working Families Party 

06:44 Why this moment is ripe for political transformation

11:29 The anti-human ideology of the AI oligarchs

18:22 The radicalization of tech billionaires 

26:25 How AI is harming working Americans today

29:42 How to build power in this populist window

35:20 Building an on-ramp for regretful Trump voters

39:09 Unpacking the Working Families Guarantee 

48:47 Why winning in November isn't enough to stop authoritarianism

57:32 How fusion voting works 

1:03:23 Third party political strategy: what sets WFP apart

1:11:51 Maximalism as a trauma response to fascism 

1:18:47 How to get involved

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta 

Guest: Maurice Mitchell 

Producer: Jade Risser 

Editor: Nuria Salgado 

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching episode 019. Stay tuned for more.

My guest today is Dr. Gabriel Zucman, the world's leading expert on wealth taxes. He’s a professor at both the Paris School of Economics and UC Berkeley, and he’s the author of several books, including his most recent: We Need To Tax Billionaires. We recorded this conversation during the lead up to the November 2026 elections in the US, when Californians will vote on Prop 40. If passed, it would be the first-ever tax on the net wealth of ultra-rich people in the history of the US.

In this episode, Prof. Zucman explains how the ultra-wealthy in the US and Europe have managed to pay a lower effective tax rate than average citizens, and how their tax avoidance has led to massive inequality and the erosion of democracy around the world. He debunks common myths against a wealth tax, and explains why wealth taxes are necessary for a functioning democracy. We end on what’s currently at stake in California, and how Prop 40 could be the first domino to fall in a global fight to normalize wealth taxes on the ultra-rich.

Support the Better Future podcast by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack, where we also publish frequent articles: https://betterfuturemedia.substack.com/

Learn more about Gabriel Zucman and his work: https://gabriel-zucman.eu/

Check out Dr. Zucman’s new book, We Need to Tax Billionaires: 

https://gabriel-zucman.eu/we-need-to-tax-billionaires/

Thanks to Shared Future for sponsoring this episode. #SharedFuturePartner

Here are links to resources mentioned in our conversation:

The Hidden Wealth of Nations, Prof. Zucman’s book on tax havens: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo20159822.html

How Much Tax Do Billionaires Pay? Evidence from Administrative Data – NBER: https://www.nber.org/papers/w34170

California Billionaires: Wealth, Taxes, and Wealth Tax Revenue Estimates – NBER: https://www.nber.org/papers/w35218

ProPublica's 2021 article on the IRS file leak that showed what US billionaires actually pay in taxes: https://www.propublica.org/article/the-secret-irs-files-trove-of-never-before-seen-records-reveal-how-the-wealthiest-avoid-income-tax

The California Proposition 40 Official Voter Information Guide: https://voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/40/

The Yes on 40 campaign: https://yeson40.com/

Follow Gabriel Zucman on social media: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gabriel.zucman/

Instagram (English): https://www.instagram.com/gabrielzucman.english/

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/gabriel-zucman

Substack: https://substack.com/@gabrielzucman

X: https://x.com/gabriel_zucman 

Subscribe to the Better Future podcast on your preferred platform: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4mgozhfv

Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael__mezz/ 

Follow the Better Future Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterfuturepod/

00:00 California’s billionaire tax: a matter of democracy vs oligarchy 

00:36 Introducing Dr. Gabriel Zucman 

04:43 How tax havens hide the wealth of billionaires

09:18 Why the billionaire tax is part of an unfinished revolution

12:37 Billionaires pay a lower tax rate than we do

20:46 How wealth inequality erodes democracy

26:04 Debunking common myths against wealth taxes

36:06 Ending tax competition between countries

41:48 Wealth taxes don’t actually slow innovation

46:20 How Gabriel’s global wealth tax would work 

54:08 The USA’s history of high income taxes

57:56 What’s at stake with California's billionaire tax 

1:10:35 Conclusion

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta 

Guest: Gabriel Zucman 

Producer: Jade Risser 

Editor: Nuria Salgado 

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching episode 018. Stay tuned for more!

My guest today is Dr. Timothée Parrique – ecological economist and author of Slow Down or Die: The Economics of Degrowth. Tim is one of the clearest and most-cited academics in the degrowth movement. We recorded this conversation in Paris in the middle of a heat wave – fitting conditions for a conversation about overshooting planetary boundaries.

Support the Better Future podcast by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack, where we also publish frequent articles about system change: 

https://betterfuturemedia.substack.com/

This episode was filmed at the Académie du Climat, Paris's climate-education hub, which generously provided the space – merci!

https://www.academieduclimat.paris/

In this episode, we break down the problems with economic growth, and why Tim calls green growth "macroeconomic greenwashing." We explore what degrowth would be like in daily life – working less, sharing more, and reclaiming what sociologists call “time wealth.” Then Tim lays out how a post-capitalist economy would actually work: democratic businesses, participatory budgeting, Vienna-style nonprofit housing, local currencies, wealth caps, and a monetary system designed to sustainably deliver social and ecological returns. We end with the gift economy, and why the best things in life have never shown up in GDP.

Learn more about Timothée Parrique and his work: 

https://timotheeparrique.com/

Check out Tim's mom's choir, Chœur Dédicace :)

https://choeurdedicace.fr/

Here are links to the resources mentioned in our conversation:

Tim's book, Slow Down or Die: The Economics of Degrowth:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/slow-down-or-die-the-economics-of-degrowth-timoth-e-parrique/621938db18e607a5

Our episode with Johan Rockström on planetary boundaries:

hhttps://open.spotify.com/episode/7k0jRrHuX1dgTAdZ9h2rLy?si=KFZh2YHlTpS-VrQZhzHfpw

Prosperity Without Growth by Tim Jackson:

https://timjackson.org.uk/ecological-economics/pwg/

Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth, by philosopher Ingrid Robeyns:

https://astrapublishinghouse.com/product/limitarianism-9781662601842/

Vienna's nonprofit housing model, which keeps median rents at roughly half of Paris levels:

https://socialhousing.wien/policy/the-vienna-model

The Eusko, the Basque Country local currency Tim pays for his baguettes with – currently the largest local currency in France:

https://www.euskalmoneta.org/

Follow Tim on social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/timotheeparrique/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timothée-parrique-7b593450/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/timparrique.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Better Future podcast on your preferred platform:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4mgozhfv

Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael__mezz/

Follow the Better Future Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterfuturepod/

00:00 Green growth: Macroeconomic greenwashing

00:53 Introducing Timothée Parrique

01:45 Ecological issues with economic growth

04:39 Does more growth in developed countries improve lives?

07:58 Can growth be “green?”

15:46 Can capitalism be “green?”

20:43 Degrowth vs. recession

32:18 What degrowth would be like: work less, live more

41:07 Moving away from advertising & consumption

50:47 What is post-capitalism? Toward a democratic economy

59:16 Liberating resources for development & wellbeing

1:03:45 How do we get there? Removing growth imperatives

1:10:54 Financing post-capitalism: a new monetary system

1:24:04 Decentralizing power via wealth caps

1:33:49 Demonetarization, melting currencies & the gift economy

1:39:19 Conclusion 

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta

Guest: Timothée Parrique

Producer: Jade Risser

Editor: Nuria Salgado

Thanks for watching episode 017. Stay tuned for more!

My guest today is Dr. Jason Hickel – professor at the Institute for Environmental Science & Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and author of The Divide and Less Is More. This is our second conversation on the podcast, and it comes at a moment of escalating geopolitical violence – in Iran, Lebanon, Cuba, and beyond.

In this episode, we get into how these conflicts are symptoms of capitalist imperialism: Western states asserting dominance over sovereign-seeking states to protect their own growth. We dive into ecosocialism as an alternative to capitalism, and what economic democracy actually looks like in practice. We cover China’s rise – how its economy actually works, why the West has turned against it, and what it means for the Global South – and we end with a discussion of how to build the mass movements capable of bringing a better future to life.

You can support the Better Future podcast by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack:

https://betterfuturemedia.substack.com/

Here are links to the resources mentioned in our conversation:

• Mondragon Corporation, the worker-owned cooperative federation in Spain that Jason mentions as a real-world model of economic democracy: https://www.mondragon-corporation.com/en/
• GKN Factory in Florence, Italy, which workers have converted from an auto parts plant into a solar panel factory: https://jacobin.com/2023/04/italy-gkn-factory-occupation-transform-production-workers-jobs-climate-change
• Jason’s Substack article on “delinking”: https://jasonhickel.substack.com/p/what-is-delinking
• Global Inequality Project, a research platform by Jason and team that publishes data on imperialism, unequal exchange, and global inequality: https://globalinequality.org/

Learn more about Jason Hickel and his work: https://www.jasonhickel.org/

Follow Jason Hickel on social media: 

Twitter: https://x.com/jasonhickel 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjasonhickel/ 

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/jasonhickel.bsky.social

Subscribe to the Better Future podcast on your preferred platform:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4mgozhfv

Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael__mezz/

Follow the Better Future Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterfuturepod/

00:00 What capitalism really is

01:09 Introducing Jason Hickel

02:20 Capitalist imperialism in action: Venezuela, Iran, Lebanon

05:27 Why the US supports Israel

08:45 Capitalism, coups & the war on sovereignty

22:13 How capitalism creates poverty

25:25 Socialism as a solution

31:41 Why solving the climate crisis means overcoming capitalism

36:09 Economic democracy in practice

48:09 Elections vs. revolution: building a mass movement

57:01 The immiseration of the Western working class

59:28 Socialism is our best alternative to fascism 

1:06:31 The limits of identity politics

1:13:52 Why the West fears China’s rise

1:20:16 How China builds what the West won’t

1:32:54 Delinking from the capitalist law of value 

1:38:02 Hope for a better future

1:46:51 Conclusion

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta

Guest: Jason Hickel

Editor: Nuria Salgado

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Producer: Jade Risser

Thanks for watching episode 016. Stay tuned for more!

My guest today is Johan Rockström – one of the world’s leading climate scientists and the co-creator of the ‘planetary boundaries’ framework. His work is the scientific foundation for much of the new economic thinking I've explored on this show.

We recorded this conversation at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and our discussion covers why the climate crisis is no longer a purely environmental or moral issue but a question of security, resilience, and prosperity. We also dive into the nine planetary boundaries – what they are, how many we've breached – and the ecological tipping points we are approaching within the earth system. We end with a discussion of the path forward, including needed transformations across our energy and food systems – and how some countries are starting to lead the way toward a better future.

You can support the Better Future podcast by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack:

https://betterfuturemedia.substack.com/

__

Johan references the second EAT-Lancet Commission report, which found that the way we produce and consume food is now the single largest cause of breaching planetary boundaries: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01201-2/abstract

He also references this Nature paper on the combined role of climate change and deforestation in pushing the Amazon rainforest across a potential tipping point: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-026-10456-0

At the end of our conversation, we discuss the Second Conference for the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels, which is happening next year in Tuvalu: https://transitionawayconference.com/

__

Follow Johan Rockström:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johan-rockstr%C3%B6m-325551331/

X: https://x.com/@jrockstrom

Follow the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PotsdamInstitute

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pik-potsdam-institute-for-climate-impact-research/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pik_klima

X: https://x.com/PIK_Climate

Subscribe to the Better Future podcast on your preferred platform:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4mgozhfv

Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael__mezz/

Follow the Better Future Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterfuturepod/

__

00:00 Ecological overshoot – but there is a path forward

00:49 Introducing Johan Rockström

01:37 Narrative shift: climate is becoming a security issue

06:44 Planetary boundaries, explained

10:46 The Great Acceleration & the Anthropocene

13:35 7 of 9 boundaries exceeded but it’s not too late

22:20 Tipping points explained (with examples)

28:12 Debunking climate misinformation

34:41 What we need to do: Innovate within constraints

37:56 Energy transition & food system transition

42:01 The political economy of solving the climate crisis

44:44 The path forward: Building coalitions of the willing

51:59 Conclusion

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Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta

Guest: Johan Rockström

Producer: Jade Risser

Editor: Nuria Salgado

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching episode 015. Stay tuned for more!

My guest today is Kate Raworth – renegade economist, author of Doughnut Economics, and co-founder of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab. We get into why mainstream economics leaves out ecology, inequality, and human wellbeing – and what a 21st century economic framework should look like. Kate introduces doughnut economics: a model for meeting the needs of all people within the planetary boundaries of the planet. We discuss the fictional character at the core of mainstream economics, the entrenched narratives holding us back, and how cities like Amsterdam are adopting doughnut economics to move towards a better future. 

Learn more about the Doughnut Economics Action Lab: https://doughnuteconomics.org/

Support the Better Future podcast by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://betterfuturemedia.substack.com/

Subscribe to the Better Future podcast: 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Check out Kate’s website to learn more about her work: kateraworth.com

Find Kate’s book, Doughnut Economics, on Bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/doughnut-economics-seven-ways-to-think-like-a-21st-century-economist-kate-raworth/c567b77a6aa8a1bf

Follow Kate on social media: 

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kateraworth.bsky.social

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-raworth-188399291/

X: ⁠https://x.com/KateRaworth

Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael__mezz/ 

Follow the Better Future Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterfuturepod/

Timestamps:

00:00 The myth of human nature

01:05 Introducing Kate Raworth

02:18 Should we trust economists?

09:03 The power of diagrams

11:14 Inside the doughnut

15:28 Externalities and earth systems

19:24 Rational Economic Man

28:01 Distributive ownership

31:05 Beyond the capitalism vs. socialism paradigm

39:29 Our addiction to growth

43:53 From growth to thriving

46:15 Mapping our lock-ins to growth

51:35 Doughnut economics in action

01:03:18 Having kids and climate anxiety

01:08:13 Kate as a circus ringmaster

01:19:52 Conclusion

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta 

Guest: Kate Raworth 

Producer: Jade Risser

Editor: Nuria Salgado 

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching episode 014. Lots more on the way!

My guest today is Olivier De Schutter – UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, and one of the most important voices in the global movement to redesign the economy around human wellbeing rather than endless growth for the ultra-rich.

We recorded this conversation at the +Wellbeing Economy Forum in Iceland, and our discussion covers a lot of ground – the myths that prop up capitalism; the winners and losers of globalization; the case for economic democracy; how to direct capital toward care work and the solidarity economy; and what a post-growth transition would actually look like.

For a detailed picture of the policies that can guide this transition, you can view the newly-released roadmap “Eradicating Poverty Beyond Growth” here: https://www.neep-poverty.org/roadmap-for-eradicating-poverty-beyond-growth/

Support the Better Future podcast by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://betterfuturemedia.substack.com/

Learn more about the Wellbeing Economy Forum, an annual conference in Iceland for the wellbeing economy movement: https://www.wellbeingeconomyforum.com/

Subscribe to the Better Future podcast on your preferred platform:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Follow Olivier on social media: 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivier-de-schutter-83990552/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/odeschutter/

X: https://x.com/DeSchutterO

Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MICHAEL__MEZZ/

Watch our clips on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterfuturepod/

00:00 Intro: The economy panders to the rich 

00:58 Introducing Olivier De Schutter

01:47 Why capitalist efficiency is a myth 

07:19 Has capitalism actually defeated poverty? 

12:27 The commodification of life and the dismantling of the commons 

16:28 The winners and losers of growth and globalization

22:21 The progressive alternative to protectionism 

30:38 Why we need economic democracy 

35:46 The Easterlin paradox: growth without happiness 

39:34 Post-growth as a culture shift 

43:10 How international debt traps the Global South 

50:43 Care work, wages, and the solidarity economy

59:00 Recessions are not post-growth 

01:02:45 Conclusion

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta 

Guest: Olivier De Schutter 

Producer: Jade Risser

Editor: Nuria Salgado 

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching episode 013. Stay tuned for more!

My guest today is Rob Hopkins – co-founder of the Transition Network, a global movement supporting communities to reimagine and rebuild their local economies in response to climate and economic crisis. He's the author of several books, including his most recent, How to Fall in Love with the Future, which makes the case that imagination – not fear – is the most powerful force for change we have. We discuss the limits of the climate movement’s fear-based narrative, Afrofuturist and other resistance movements bringing Rob and Michael hope, and what it means to build a mass longing for a better world. We also did a live imagination exercise with the audience – and you'll want to stick around for it.

This was the first-ever live interview on the Better Future podcast, recorded at ChangeNOW in Paris.

Learn more about Rob and his work: https://www.robhopkins.net/ 

Find his new book, How to Fall In Love With The Future, on Spotify and Bookshop.

Support the Better Future podcast by subscribing: 

Substack:⁠ https://michaelmezzatesta.substack.com/⁠ 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0 

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Follow Rob on social media: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/robhopkins5085/

X: https://x.com/robintransition

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-hopkins-09442948/

Learn more about ChangeNOW, an annual climate solution conference in Paris: https://www.changenow.world/

Timestamps:

00:00 Filling our minds with stories of hope

00:53 Introducing Rob Hopkins 

02:14 Why the future is being canceled (and colonized)

03:34 The problem with the climate movement

08:02 Afrofuturism, Sun Ra, and filling the future with stories 

12:15 What “longing” means - and why it matters 

16:43 Filling our minds with better stories

21:39 Is climate optimism naive?

26:04 Evidence-based dreaming 

29:21 Stopping the rise of the far right: the UK Green Party

33:10 Why fascism hates creativity 

38:33 Afrofuturist history & reimagining the future from the US

43:20 Live exercise: Imagining a better future

48:27 Conclusion

Credits:

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta 

Guest: Rob Hopkins 

Producer: Jade Risser

Editor: Nuria Salgado 

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching, and see you soon!

My guest today is Dr. Butch Ware – historian, professor, and Green Party candidate for Governor of California. In this episode, Dr. Ware argues that the Democrat-Republican duopoly serves the same corporate donors, wages the same wars, and has delivered the same failed outcomes for working people – and that California's 2026 governor's race is a chance for something better. We get into why the lesser-of-two-evils argument keeps well-intentioned voters trapped, what a world built around universal healthcare, housing, and human rights could look like, and how the ongoing collapse of the US empire might be the political opportunity progressives have been waiting for.

Support the Better Future podcast on Substack: https://michaelmezzatesta.substack.com/

Support Dr. Ware’s campaign for California Governor: https://www.butchware4gov.com

Note: Dr. Ware is currently appealing a legal decision (made after we recorded) that would remove his name from the California ballot. His social media channels will have updates on the status of his appeal 👇

Follow Dr. Ware on social media:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/butchware

X: https://x.com/butchware

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@butch.ware

Subscribe to the Better Future podcast:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@michaelmezz

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/16K0dkbk35q0mTslKJJ7z0

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/better-future-with-michael-mezz/id1823942833

Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michael__mezz/

Follow the Better Future podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterfuturepod/

00:00 Intro: The extinction burst of American empire

00:58 Introducing Dr. Butch Ware

01:34 The viability of third party politics in California

08:00 The “lesser of two evils” trap

14:53 The corporate power behind both major parties

21:17 The extinction burst of the American empire & what comes next

24:52 What comes after empire? A vision for a care economy

35:39 Why a care economy is better for everyone

39:28 The stock market is not the economy

44:22 War, capitalism and resource extraction

49:37 Investing in wellbeing instead of empire

55:15 The UK Green Party breakthrough

1:01:05 Policy Vision: Healthcare, Housing, and Human Rights

1:10:41 Why Dr. Ware & the Greens can win

1:15:08 Conclusion

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta

Guest: Dr. Butch Ware

Producer: Jade Risser

Editor: Nuria Salgado

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching episode 011. Lots more on the way.

My guest today is Greg Stoker, a former U.S. Army Ranger who has become a prominent anti-imperialist activist, journalist, and geopolitical commentator. In this conversation, we discuss the escalating conflict in Iran and the broader forces driving U.S. military intervention abroad. Greg shares an insider perspective on how soldiers are taught to understand America’s role in the world, the pervasive influence of evangelical Christianity within the military, and the ideological forces behind U.S. foreign policy. Finally, we talk about his run for Congress (TX-31), and what ordinary people can do to challenge imperialism and build a more peaceful and democratic world.

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Support Greg’s campaign for Congress: https://www.stokerfortexas.com/

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greg.j.stoker/

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X: https://x.com/gregjstoker

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Youtube: https://youtube.com/@colonialoutcasts

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You can email Michael at [email protected]

0:00 This is a war on the working class

1:41 Introducing Greg Stoker

2:39 Why the U.S. & Israel are waging war in Iran

6:08 U.S. capitalist imperialism and wars on the working class

11:49 Why the U.S. needs homelessness

15:32 Debunking justifications for this war in Iran

24:42 The role of radical Christian evangelicalism

29:31 Israel’s role in the “rapture”

33:20 Why evangelical ideology is useful to billionaires

37:36 AI for military targeting

40:50 Pathways toward a better future

46:24 Building coalitions across movements

57:25 Conclusion

Host/Creator: Michael Mezzatesta

Guest: Greg Stoker

Editor: Nuria Salgado

Designer: Amea Wadsworth

Thanks for watching episode 10. Lots more on the way :)