We discuss the importance of shifting our mindset to one that is infused with hope. Positive change comes when we choose hope. Though nobody can fix it all, we can all do something and make an impact. Sharon reminds us that if something is worth doing for everyone, it's worth doing for one person.

Sharon's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Choose hope.

2. Get involved in an issue that is important to you because your actions do matter.

Sharon McMahon is the creator of "Sharon Says So" and host of the "Here's Where it Gets Interesting" podcast. She's also the author of The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement.

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:

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Follow Sharon on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/sharonsaysso/

Sponsor:

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! 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: Sharon McMahon

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss why American democracy should not treat the Latinx community as a monolith, what actually matters to this community, and how the strength of their engagement in U.S. democracy will play out in this year's presidential election.

Maria Teresa's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. VOTE!

2. Share your excitement to vote with everyone you know, especially young people.

Maria Teresa Kumar is the President and CEO of Voto Latino, a civic engagement organization focused on educating and empowering a new generation of Latinx voters, as well as creating a more robust and inclusive democracy.

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 Maria Teresa on X:

https://x.com/MariaTeresa

Sponsor:

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! 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: Maria Teresa Kumar

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss the purpose of fascist education, the political nature of universities in defending democracy, and the dangers of America's powerful exceptionalist narrative.

Jason's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Stand up in solidarity with those who are political targets

2. Understand other people's perspectives because that gives them the voice in a democracy

Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and the author of seven books. His most recent is Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future.

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

Sponsor:

Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! 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: Jason Stanley

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss the necessary policies that make a family friendly economy possible, such as investments in child care, elder care, and paid family leave. Such investments ought to be considered basic infrastructure, which contribute to the economy.

Sondra's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Talk to your friends and family who are having challenges around caregiving.

2. Vote for candidates who support child care and paid family leave, and hold them accountable after elections.

Sondra Goldschein is the Executive Director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, which focuses on building grassroots support for family-friendly policies. The organization also runs a political action committee that focuses on electing candidates who support paid family and medical leave and affordable elder and childcare.

Follow Sondra on X:

https://x.com/SGoldschein

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Be the Spark!:

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Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

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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: Sondra Goldschein

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

Future Hindsight is a finalist in the 2024 Signal Awards and we need your help to win the gold!

We're being recognized in the Activism, Public Service, & Social Impact category for our episode on Policing Equity and Justice with Dr. Phillip Atiba Solomon.

Public voting is open until Oct 17th, 2024 and every vote counts. Go to this link to vote for Future Hindsight now:

https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2024/individual-episodes/general/activism-public-service-social-impact

You can also vote for us by following us on Instagram @FutureHindsightPod and clicking the link in our bio there!

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

We discuss the deep impact of Project 2025 policies on the American people, even if only 10-15% were implemented. Well beyond abortion bans and no-fault divorces, Project 2025 would adversely affect democracy. It would be easier for big money to influence election outcomes, for disinformation and misinformation to spread, and for foreign actors to meddle in elections.

Matt's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Look at what's going on around you and take action at the local level

2. Join a mutual aid group in your community

Matt Cohen is a senior staff writer covering elections, voting rights, and threats to democracy at Democracy Docket, the leading digital news platform dedicated to information, analysis, and opinion about voting rights and elections in the courts.

Follow Matt on X:

https://x.com/Matt_D_Cohen

Follow Mila on X:

https://x.com/milaatmos

Be the Spark!:

https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark

Listen to Skye Perryman's Episode:

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/courts-for-democracy-skye-perryman

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: Matt Cohen

Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer: Zack Travis

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

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https://x.com/milaatmos

Be the Spark!:

https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark

Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:

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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?

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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