What does it take to lead a progressive movement in the midst of rising authoritarianism and political despair? MoveOn Executive Director Rahna Epting joins How We Build This host, May Boeve, to share her path from aspiring family lawyer to one of the most pivotal organizers in the country. Boeve asks Epting about building solidarity in times of disillusionment, the mentors who shaped her approach to leadership, and how the progressive movement is finding power through community and joy—even in the face of a Trump 2.0 era. 

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 timely episode of How We Build This, host May Boeve sits down with visionary climate leader Wahleah Johns—former Director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy and co-founder of Native Renewables. A member of the Navajo (Diné) Nation, Wahleah shares how growing up without running water or electricity shaped her life’s work: bringing clean, resilient energy to tribal communities. She recounts her organizing roots at Black Mesa, explains the meaning of a “just transition,” and reflects on what it means to lead with ancestral wisdom inside one of the most powerful institutions in the country. 

To dig deeper:

• More on Trump’s Big Bad Bill and how it hurts the climate and communities
• A New York Times oped from Wahleah Johns
• More on David Morris

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 enlightening episode, May Boeve sits down with Rashad Robinson, civil rights leader, and former president of Color of Change, for a conversation that spans legacy, leadership, and the long arc of movement work. They reflect on critical wins like marriage equality—and their limitations—while unpacking what it really takes to sustain cultural and political progress. This episode underscores that real power means more than presence—and the work never gets easier, only deeper.

Links to dig deeper, 

Rashad Robinson

Color of Change

GLAAD

About Julian Bond

About Black Voters Matter and LaTosha Brown

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 expansive and poetic conversation, writer and activist Rebecca Solnit joins May Boeve to talk about her new book No Straight Road Takes You There, and the urgent need to reclaim hope—not as naive optimism, but as a strategic force in uncertain times. Solnit explores why movements often succeed indirectly, why despair is a luxury we can’t afford, and how poetic language helps shape public imagination. From climate justice to feminist history, this episode is a powerful meditation on connectedness,  endurance, and the often invisible victories that build the world we want to live in.

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 debut episode of How We Build This, host May Boeve is joined by Alicia Garza—co-creator of Black Lives Matter and one of the most influential movement architects of our time. Together, they talk about the origin stories behind BLM, what it really means to build people power, and the personal and political moments that shaped the movement. Alicia also shares unexpected reflections, from imagining a dream job naming nail polish with Rihanna, to unpacking the 2024 election. It’s a raw, hopeful, and necessary conversation about how movements rise, fall, evolve—and persist.

To dig deeper on topics discussed in this episode:

Alicia Garza's book: The Purpose of Power

About “I believe Anita Hill” 

About the Ferguson uprising

Heather McGhee's book, The Sum of Us

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!