Future Hindsight

This is a recording of a live event of the American Voter Project at the Eric H. Holder Jr. Initiative for Civil and Political Rights. We discuss the long history of voter suppression, voting rights, the electoral college, the Supreme Court, and democracy.

General Holder’ and Michael’s civic action toolkit recommendations are: 

1. Vote!

2. Engage in a major social movement

Eric H. Holder, Jr. serves as Chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee. He served in the Obama Administration as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from February 2009 to April 2015, the third longest-serving Attorney General in U.S. history and the first African American to hold that office.

Michael Waldman is president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law. A nonpartisan law and policy institute that focuses on improving systems of democracy and justice, the Brennan Center is a leading national voice on voting rights, money in politics, criminal justice reform, and constitutional law. 

Follow General Holder on X: 

https://x.com/EricHolder 

Follow Michael Waldman on X: 

https://x.com/mawaldman 

Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos 

Be the Spark!: 

https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guests: Attorney General Eric Holder & Michael Waldman

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss deepening our understanding of the climate crisis, the urgent need for decarbonization, and our role in speaking truth about phasing out fossil fuels. 

Genevieve’s civic action toolkit recommendations are: 

1. Call your elected representatives and demand policies to phase out fossil fuels.

2. If extreme weather comes up in conversation, connect the dots to climate change and say: “We really need to phase out fossil fuels so we can halt global heating.” 

Genevieve Guenther is the founding director of End Climate Silence and affiliate faculty at The New School. Her most recent book is The Language of Climate Politics: Fossil-Fuel Propaganda and How to Fight It.

Follow Genevieve on X: 

https://x.com/DoctorVive

Read The Language of Climate Politics: 

https://bookshop.org/shop/futurehindsight

Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos 

Be the Spark!: 

https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey!

https://www.democracygroup.org/survey

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Read the transcript here:  

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/end-climate-silence-genevieve-guenther 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guests: Genevieve Guenther

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss the power and the promise of public schools, the universal rejection of book bans by parents across the country, and an inclusive vision for democracy.

Their civic action toolkit recommendations are: 

1. Have a conversation with people with whom you disagree

2. Remain open-minded.

Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider are co-hosts of the education podcast Have You Heard. Their new book is The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual. 

Follow Jennifer on X: 

https://x.com/BisforBerkshire 

Follow Jack on X: 

https://x.com/edu_historian 

Read The Education Wars: 

https://bookshop.org/shop/futurehindsight

Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey!

https://www.democracygroup.org/survey

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Check out the Future Hindsight website! 

www.futurehindsight.com

Read the transcript here:  

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/everybody-benefits-from-public-schools-jennifer-berkshire-and-jack-schneider 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guests: Jennifer Berkshire & Jack Schneider 

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss how ballot measures give voters the opportunity to take power and agency. It is about citizens putting issues that are important to their communities, gathering signatures, and then putting them on the ballot directly to effect policy change.

Her civic action toolkit recommendations are:  

1. Voting is the starting line, not the finish line.

2. Hold your elected officials accountable after elections by reaching out to them about the issues that matter to you, and making sure they are keeping their promises.

Chris Melody Fields Figueredo is the Executive Director of The Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which works to strengthen American democracy using ballot initiatives. 

Follow Chris on X: 

https://x.com/fieldsy 

Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey!

https://www.democracygroup.org/survey

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Check out the Future Hindsight website! 

www.futurehindsight.com

Read the transcript here:  

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/people-power-on-the-ballot-chris-melody-fields-figueredo 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guests: Chris Melody Fields Figueredo

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss how two parties alone cannot represent the diversity of views in American society, how fusion voting could solve for better representation, and who exactly should get engaged in our civic lives.

His civic action toolkit recommendations are: 

1. Support political parties and reforms that create more choices.

2. Be a good neighbor and participate in a local meeting.

Lee Drutman is Senior Fellow in the Political Reform program at New America, co-host of the Politics in Question podcast (a fellow Democracy Group podcast!), and author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America. 

Follow Lee on X: 

https://x.com/leedrutman 

Read Lee’s Paper: 

https://protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/The-Case-for-Multiparty-Presidentialism.pdf

Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey!

https://www.democracygroup.org/survey

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Check out the Future Hindsight website! 

www.futurehindsight.com

Read the transcript here:  

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/break-up-the-two-party-system-lee-drutman 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guests: Lee Drutman

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss what it takes for citizens to take action and run for elected office. Wendy ran as a Democrat in Utah because she wanted to give voters a viable, different choice. She knew it was going to be difficult to win as a first time candidate, but she ran so hard that she left a body mark in the wall. She lost by a mere 78 votes.

Her civic action toolkit recommendations are: 

1. Vote and encourage other people to vote

2. Work or volunteer for a candidate during an election year

Wendy Davis is a former candidate for Utah House of Representatives and the author of The Fight You Don’t See – an honest memoir about her campaign. 

Follow Wendy on X: 

https://x.com/wendydavisutah 

Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey!

https://www.democracygroup.org/survey

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Check out the Future Hindsight website! 

www.futurehindsight.com

Read the transcript here:  

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/what-is-it-like-to-run-for-office-wendy-davis 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guests: Wendy Davis

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

Joe Spielberger is the policy counsel for the Effective and Accountable Government team at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), where he advocates in Congress and the executive branch to strengthen whistleblower rights, protect a merit based civil service, and promote government ethics and transparency. We discuss how government can be transparent and accountable to us, the People. 

All Americans need to be confident that federal employees are hired based on their qualifications and not because of their partisan political ideology. In retaliation to the whistleblower on Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian president Zelensky, Trump signed Schedule F, an executive order that could have allowed a complete purge of the civil service of nonpartisan career civil servants. Because whistleblower retaliation is rampant, protecting whistleblowers and civil servants is one of the best ways to protect the public from harm. The Supreme Court does not have a binding code of ethics because the Supreme Court refuses to adopt one. However, Congress has clear and direct mechanisms to hold the Supreme Court accountable and can pass legislation that would implement a binding code of ethics. 

Follow Joe on X: 

https://x.com/jdspielberger 

Follow Project on Government Oversight on X: 

https://x.com/POGOwatchdog 

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https://x.com/milaatmos 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey!

https://www.democracygroup.org/survey

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Check out the Future Hindsight website! 

www.futurehindsight.com

Read the transcript here:  

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/protect-whistleblowers-joe-spielberger 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guest: Joe Spielberger

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

Daniel Alvarenga is a journalist who covers issues pertaining to immigration, racial equity, and Latinx cultures – with a special emphasis on Central America and its diasporas. He’s also the English language podcast host of Humo: Murder and Silence in El Salvador. We discuss the intersection of foreign policy, immigration policy, and democracy.

US foreign interference in Central America has had a huge impact on destabilizing the region. During the civil war in El Salvador between 1980 and 1992, the US contributed $1 billion in military aid. This destabilization is one reason Central Americans migrate to the United States, which in turn creates problems in the US. For example, MS-13 was started by Salvadoran children who moved to Los Angeles. In response, the US government has deported many of them back to El Salvador where the cycle of violence continues. El Salvador has the largest number of murders and disappearances in the world. 

Listen to Humo: 

https://sonoromedia.com/podcasts/humo 

Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey!

https://www.democracygroup.org/survey

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Check out the Future Hindsight website! 

www.futurehindsight.com

Read the transcript here:  

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/us-influence-in-central-america-daniel-alvarenga 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guests: Daniel Alvarenga

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

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.

Democracy depends on truth, and as Americans we should prize truth over tribe. A lot of disinformation is hiding behind the First Amendment – telling lies as a right to free speech. We are overrun with disinformation. One of the strategies is to exhaust us by constantly pumping false claims into the media ecosphere, so that we become cynical or disengage. That is fertile ground for would-be authoritarian regimes. For example, in response to the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen, a number of states have passed laws making it more difficult to vote. Defending truth is vitally important when it is under attack. 

Follow Barbara on X: 

https://x.com/BarbMcQuade 

Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey!

https://www.democracygroup.org/survey

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Check out the Future Hindsight website! 

www.futurehindsight.com

Read the transcript here:  

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/disinformation-is-sabotaging-america-barbara-mcquade 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guests: Barbara McQuade

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

Daria Dawson is the Executive Director of America Votes, which coordinates more than 400 partners to engage and mobilize voters for elections up and down the ballot across the country. We discuss why 2024 is - yet again - the most important election of our lifetimes. 

The biggest threat to American democracy is fascism and thus the most important issue in this election is preserving our democracy. Of course, democracy and protecting democracy is a process and never just one election. The top priority for America Votes this year is electing leaders who are committed to protecting the foundations of our democratic system, so that our voices can continue to be heard and counted. Every vote matters. Elections have been won or lost on the margins, so it’s imperative that everyone turns out to vote.

Follow Daria on X: 

https://twitter.com/DariaCharlei 

Follow Mila on X: 

https://x.com/milaatmos 

Follow America Votes on X: 

https://twitter.com/AmericaVotes 

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: 

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

Sponsor: 

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.

Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey!

https://www.democracygroup.org/survey

Want to support the show and get it early? 

https://patreon.com/futurehindsight 

Check out the Future Hindsight website! 

www.futurehindsight.com

Read the transcript here:  

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/protecting-democracy-daria-dawson 

Credits: 

Host: Mila Atmos 

Guests: Daria Dawson

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis