May Boeve sits down with two longtime movement builders (who also happen to be married), Miya Yoshitani and Danny Kennedy. Miya, co–executive director of the Movement Innovation Collaborative (MIC), shares how MIC is strengthening California’s people-power infrastructure: investing in regional power-building centers, experimenting with new organizing models, and building durable capacity beyond elections and one-off mobilizations. Danny, a clean energy entrepreneur and advisor, argues that organizing “solutions power” (solar + storage) is inseparable from movement work. He breaks down why distributed energy can shift both economics and political power. 

Plus, the origin story of this power couple (that actually builds power!).

Finally, please stay until the end to hear a direct ask to support organizing in Minnesota as communities mobilize against ICE. A list of local groups to support can be found at : https://www.standwithminnesota.com

Mark your calendars for a Minnesota statewide shutdown on January 23rd. No school, no work, no shopping. ICE OUT. 

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod

can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement! 

May Boeve talks with Cristina Jiménez Moreta, co-founder of United We Dream and author of Dreaming of Home, about what it means to build power when everything feels on the line. Cristina shares about the 2016 election-night moment that pushed her to write a book that turned out to be a letter of self-love, as well as a practical guide to organizing through fear. She also explores the vulnerable shift from being “the organizer” accountable to a community, to writing in her own voice. Plus: Cristina’s surprising “superpower”: planning a toddler birthday party that exhausts kids and delights parents!

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod

can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement! 

May Boeve welcomes Nisha Agarwal,  The Executive Director of the Mental Hygiene Policy and Communications Office in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City, and a longtime movement lawyer-turned-policy leader. Agarwal shares about how transformative public policy gets built, and the behind-the-scenes story of IDNYC, the country's largest municipal identification program. She also opens up about surviving brain cancer and a stroke, alongside a clear-eyed critique of how race, class, and geography shape who gets to recover. 

Plus Nisha’s “creation” hot tip: daydreaming!

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod

can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement! 

Host May Boeve sits down with organizer George Goehl to chart the shift from doom scrolling to a fighting stance, and how everyday people build real power. George traces his lineage from Alinsky-inspired community organizing to launching new projects today. He breaks down practical fundamentals: listen for widely and deeply felt issues, cut winnable demands, and develop leaders at every step. A grounded, hopeful handbook for turning momentum into wins.

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod

can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!

Host May Boeve talks with Alex T. Tom, the Executive Director for the Center for Empowered Politics and longtime leader in California. Tom shares about how Bay Area organizers prepared for ICE raids, and why prebuilt infrastructure, “pods,” and non-cooperation trainings, turned people power into concrete wins. Tom and Boeve discuss “movement utilities,” conflict mediation as capacity, and why understanding philanthropy and class is essential to durable organizing. Plus: parenting as political work, and what it means to “hug it out” as a dad while building a bigger tent.

Host May Boeve kicks off Season 2 of How We Build This with NY Times Bestselling Author and strategist,  Heather McGhee for a timely post-election debrief. Heather explains why authenticity plus clear, repeatable policy wins volunteers and votes. She also revisits her book,  The Sum of Us, to unpack “drained pool politics” and the real costs of zero-sum thinking. Together, May and Heather spotlight the organizing muscle behind big victories, from Working Families Party, to year round door-knocking. 

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod

can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement! 

In this heartfelt episode of How We Build This, host May Boeve sits down with longtime organizer, photographer, and storyteller Shadia Fayne Wood. Together they trace Shadia’s path from youth climate activism to founding Survival Media Agency, a global network of movement storytellers capturing the tenacity and power of people fighting for climate justice. Shadia reflects on lessons from her grandmother, the importance of letting communities tell their own stories, and how love and generosity can sustain us in times of crisis. 

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod

can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!

Organizer and facilitator Yotam Marom joins host May Boeve to unpack the living legacy of Occupy Wall Street. They trace the decade of uprisings that followed, why “feeling powerful” changes strategy, and how movements succeed when they choose priorities. Yotam shares lessons from the Wildfire Project, the role of storytelling and irreverence in mass moments, and why healthy groups run toward generative conflict to make real choices. 

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod

can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement! 

In this episode of How We Build This, host May Boeve sits down with labor leader and care visionary Ai-jen Poo. As president of the National Domestic Workers Alliance and executive director of Caring Across Generations, Ai-jen has spent decades building a movement that centers dignity, empathy, and accountability. She shares her theory of change for uniting people across generations, classes, and communities around the universal need for care. From Medicaid battles in Congress to the everyday realities of families and caregivers, Ai-jen explains why investing in care is essential to democracy and justice.

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Connect with Ai-jen Poo

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod

can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement! 

In this hopeful episode of How We Build This, host May Boeve sits down with leader, strategist, and longtime friend Miriam Yeung for a wide-ranging conversation about identity, movement-building, and the fight for reproductive justice. 

Together, they unpack the decades-long erosion of abortion rights, the deep impact of stigma and silence, and why the fall of Roe v. Wade wasn’t a surprise to those on the frontlines. Miriam also discusses the transformational power of facilitation, the importance of local action and personal storytelling, and what intergenerational leadership should look like now.

This episode is a deep dive into the personal and political—tender, strategic, and energizing. Whether you're organizing on the ground or seeking your place in the movement, Miriam offers a vision for how we build a future where all bodies are cared for, and all people are free.

How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve

Producer: Phil Surkis

Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project.

Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod

can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod. 

Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!