This week, we launched a campaign to primary Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema in 2024. In this episode we: discuss the new kind of politics we're dreaming of that can win in states like AZ and WV, the kind of leader that could win in those states, listen to some buttery-smooth ads that WV neighbor Corbin Trent has recorded, and talk about Joe Manchin’s chances of winning in 2024 if he is the Democrat running.

Also, Saikat wants to know whether you think we should call our new brand of politics  "neo-Americanism," while Corbin is rooting for "industrial populism." You can vote on our Twitter feed: @buildingpod 

We hope you enjoy this episode!

Over the Christmas holiday one of my cousins was locked up for violating the terms of her probation. Due to the holiday's she is still there awaiting a bail hearing. Thought this time she hasn't been provided clean underwear or basic hygiene products. The way we treat people that are held in our "justice system" is terrible. In this episode I talk with Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Messenger about how much we exploit those we jail. We discuss the fees that land you in jail, the fees for being in jail, and the terrible conditions you face once you are in jail. 

Catherine Flowers knows her shit and she has committed herself to making sure we know it too. For years now, Catherine has taken on the herculean task of exposing the impacts of extreme poverty on the people of the United States. 

I had recently had the opportunity to sit down with her for a conversation. This episode is that conversation. 

Enjoy? 

I know there is a lot going on. This episode has nothin to do with any of it. It's about being a hillbilly and media depictions of hillbillies and a shitty book/movie. Dan Riffle and I watched and read this terrible piece of shit book/movie called "Hillbilly Elegy" so you can take it off of your to-do list.

Dan and I have conversation about that and what it was like to grow up in the South and rural Ohio. We really took one for the team here so I hope you enjoy the conversation about the shared pain of growing up in a crumbling community, the struggle of addiction, and just how wrong the guy who wrote this book got it. 

For those of you who have never heard of Dan Riffle he's a really cool dude. I've had the privilege of working with him for a number of years going back to my days at Justice Democrats. He currently serves as AOC's policy guy. 

We are launching a new show y'all. It's called "Building the Dream: No Excuses."

Now that the Democrats control the House, Senate and Presidency, they should have no excuses for inaction. Our country has some big problems to solve, and Joe Biden campaigned on big promises to solve them. But we fear that Democrats might try to find ways to get out of it -- and just today, we saw Senator Joe Manchin declare that he would be against $2,000 relief checks for struggling Americans, something an overwhelming number of Americans of both parties support.

We are changing the name of the show because we're changing the focus of the show. We are going to talk about the big solutions that Democrats can actually do right now with their new power,  we'll tell you when Democratic leadership is trying to find excuses to not do it, and  we will tell you how only  5 members of the House of Representatives could strategically fight for the American people and get real big things done.

But most importantly, we will tell you you can join the fight to save this country. Tune in.

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Nate Mook is the CEO of World Central Kitchen. World Central Kitchen is is an organization founded by chef José Andrés that has been providing meals to people in the wake of natural disasters since 2010. WCK fed Puerto Ricans after Hurricane Maria, Texans after Hurricane Harvey, federal workers after the government shut down in 2019, the Grand Princess cruise ship that was quarantined off the coast of San Francisco due to a COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020, and many others. In 2020, they have focused their efforts on responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by using and staffing local restaurants to provide the meals, thereby creating jobs for unemployed restaurant workers while also feeding millions of people at risk of going hungry. To date, they have provided over 33 million meals in over 400 cities.

We chatted with Nate about how he got into this work, how they manage to solve seemingly intractable problems that even FEMA was unable to, and how we should be thinking about food policy in this country so that we don't need to rely on organizations like World Central Kitchen to keep people fed.

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Anand Giridharadas is the bestselling author of Winners Take All, MSNBC contributor, and author of The Ink. We chatted with him about how Democrats should be fighting now and next year to solve the current poverty and hunger crisis, and what the consequences of failure are if Biden doesn't manage to get the job done.

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Jonathan Alter is journalist, Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker, and best-selling author who has interviewed and written biographies of multiple American Presidents. His latest biography is about Jimmy Carter -- you can buy His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, A Life from Indiebound here.

But in this interview, we talked with Jonathan Alter about a book he wrote in 2006. In The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, Alter digs deep into the characteristics, experiences, and leadership style that allowed FDR to bring the nation back from the brink of total collapse. We thought now, as millions of Americans face hunger and abject poverty, and a new President comes into office, would be a good time to talk to Jonathan to see if there is anything we can learn from FDR's leadership for the trying times we have ahead of us.

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Alexandra Rojas is the executive director of Justice Democrats. In this past election cycle, Justice Democrats racked up enough wins that there are now 10 Justice Democrats in Congress. We talked with Alexandra Rojas today about what those 10 members can do, the plan for 2022, and the new memo Justice Democrats put out painting a clear strategy Democrats could take to win in 2022 and 2024.

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Corbin and Saikat talk about Corbin's experience getting tested for COVID-19 and the poverty and hunger crisis in America.

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