the roots of change podcast

Hey y’all! Welcome back. We have tech & disinformation expert, Joe Cardillo, on to dig into TikTok's eventful January and how it's a harbinger for more social media uncertainty to come.

Upgrade by Friday for 25% off to get access to our a private podcast feed. We'll go deeper on navigating this tech, media, political, and economic landscape including actionable steps for organizing & communications and how we stay human.

Upgrade: https://www.rootschangemedia.com/25for25activist

We're speaking directly to the issues at hand, how we support ourselves in this moment, and what organizers and organizations can do to build resilience in their communications and activism.

• The history of Big Tech's influence on social media
• What lead to the TikTok ban
• What are the political, tech, and social implications
• Adapting to changing digital landscape for organizers and regular folks
• Strategic advice for communicators in this moment

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Hey y’all! Welcome back and welcome to season 3 of the roots of change podcast!

In our 2025 kickoff, host Sam Chavez (she/they/he) shares a quick update about our visions for 2025 and reflect on Modern Hollywood’s impact on society with a voiceover of our December newsletter series. As a film school geek, I had a lot of fun playing with sounds to deepen the story I tell. I hope you enjoy!

If you aren’t familiar with this podcast, I am a queer, Latine, and white activist who founded the roots of change agency in 2020 to support heart-first activists and social change communicators to avoid burnout and cultivate connections that empower social change. I am, as my partner calls me, a New Texican living on Raymaytush Ohlone Land in the Bay Area of California.

Join our membership in January for 25% to set yourself up for an uncertain year of activism and social change ahead.

Upgrade: https://www.rootschangemedia.com/25for25activist

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It’s been one week since the 2024 U.S. election and many are still processing, while others are acting and building (I’m moving through both). I want to speak to you no matter where you find yourself. I had planned a different podcast about celebrating volunteers. Not many listeners are in a celebratory mood, so I want to talk about organizing and moving forward in this moment. In my first solo pod, I reflect on:

• Some of my experiences in the Southwest that signaled the results
• How grassroots organizing worked when superficial branding didn’t
• How the roots of change agency is moving forward in this moment
• Finally, I share interviews with volunteers in Reno, NV & Modesto, CA

Organizing on both the macro and most personal levels of our lives is more important than ever. I hope you’ll join me in continuing to learn, grow, and organize for true liberatory & sustainable change.

As we move into this new period of movement work, I plan to be a key resource for anyone who is working to shift our world towards a more compassionate and sustainable society. But I can only do that if I am sustainable and able to also support myself. If you’ve considered upgrading in the past, I’m asking you to please upgrade today. Your contribution will go directly back into the community in terms of resources.

https://bit.ly/SeedlingPlan

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I’ve been on the road in Southwest swing states for almost a month! I’ve been lucky enough to meet some amazing local and state candidates who are just real people who are working hard and caring for their communities. It has been refreshing to find when the pundits want us to believe they’re all crooked!

I was lucky enough to have a casual sit-down conversation with Dallas Harris, Nevada State Senator, at her office at the Nevada Nevada Legislature building. You can find our awesome tees on YouTube if you want to watch the interview. In our 20-minute chat, we covered:

• What Dallas Harris has already done for Nevadans and what she hopes to do in her next term
• How she’s dealt with GOP government inaction firsthand to support her community
• Why down-ballot races are so crucial for our daily lives
• The case for Millennials and Gen Z to go vote!
• Addressing the economic angst in the country and the Democrat’s closing economic message
• The amazing organizations and support networks for women, people of color, and queer folks running for office

• Visit the Dallas Harris website
• Donate to Dallas Harris

• Subscribe to the roots of change newsletter
• Upgrade for members-only podcasts and resources
• We are 100% reader supported, consider donating to support our work.
• Explore the roots of change agency

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I was so happy to have my friend and voter outreach extraordinaire, Elizabeth Chur, on the podcast to talk about her latest book just in time for the election. 'The Joy of Talking Politics with Strangers: How to Save Democracy, One Conversation at a Time' is a practical and beautifully written book to help folks use the power of conversation to create lasting change.'

As the first crisp of fall weather graced us, we gathered for a casual conversation about motivational interviewing and how we can shift our culture through individual conversations.

If you want to brush up on your motivational interview skills, you can check out our one-sheeter Motivational Interviewing guide.

• Learn More About Elizabeth
• Subscribe to Elizabeth’s Substack
• Buy The The Joy of Talking Politics with Strangers

• Subscribe to the roots of change newsletter
• Upgrade for members-only podcasts and resources
• We are 100% reader supported, consider donating to support our work.
• Explore the roots of change agency

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I had an amazing chat with political organizer, Natalie Burdick, where we discussed the upcoming election, Democratic messaging, and the importance of strategic campaign efforts in Arizona and the California Central Valley.

1. Focusing on Impactful Campaign Efforts
2. The 3 Messaging Strategies to Remember: Don’t repeat MAGA talking points, Talk about us and our vision, & Repetition, repetition, repetition
3. Economic Messaging & Democratic Party Strategy
4. Unprecedented Victories in Local and State Elections
5. Strategies for Political Engagement

I love talking to Natalie because she can share complex electoral stakes in the simplest of terms. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

About the Roots of Change agency

Navigating heart-first activism & storytelling. We explore the 🌱 roots of our world to support organizations and activists 🥵 avoid burnout and 📚 tell empathetic stories that cultivate connections that 🌍 empower ✊🏽 social change.

• Subscribe to the roots of change newsletter
• We are 100% reader supported, consider donating to support our work.
• Explore the roots of change agency

About Natalie Burdick

• Follow Natalie on Twitter
• Learn more about Sister District San Francisco
• Learn more about Swing Left San Francisco

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Hi Y’all! 👋🏽

As soon as enthusiasm grew around VP Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for President, mysogynoir and racism in media accelerated. I spoke with Dr. Heliana Ramirez about the impact of racial trauma, the concept of misogynoir, its impact on Black women, and how non-Black folks can support Black women now and after the election. I hope you enjoy the rest of our conversation!

• Misogynoir and its Emotional Impact
• Impact of Racial Tropes and Trauma
• Coalition Building and Allyship in the Fight Against Racism and Misogynoir
• Combatting Misogynoir in Real Time
• Addressing Harm Reduction and Backlash in Activism
• Building Genuine Relationships to Support Black Women in the Workplace

Learn More

• Learn about guests & read the transcript
• 🎬 Prefer video? Watch on our YouTube channel!
• Subscribe to our weekly newsletter
• Donate: to our 100% reader supported podcast

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Hey y'all! Through my activism, I have met many incredible people. Charlie Varon has brought joy and art to political activism along with his decades of performance and story building. We carry that same joy and humor into our conversation about voter outreach! Come for the Bernie Sanders impression and stay for the helpful tips on how you can get involved in this election. Charlie demystifies phonebanking, donation asks, and talking to voters to help more folks feel comfortable doing the uncomfortable! 📋 Learn more or sign up for a volunteer shift with grassroots organizations like Swing Left San Francisco, Northeast Arizona Native Dems, and All In for North Carolina.

• Storytime for Democracy
• Election Whiplash & Happy Shock
• Forget Postcards, Talk to People!
• Turning Fear into Fun
• Action Over Speculation
• Realism and Imperfection

Learn more: https://www.rootschangemedia.com/voter-outreach-scripts-charlie-varon

• 🎬 Prefer video? Watch on our YouTube channel!
• Read the transcript
• Subscribe to our newsletter
• Donate to support our work

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I'm excited to share our 1st ever Bonus podcast episode for Seedling members! Each month, we'll have a bonus episode that either goes into an after party with one of our guests or a brand new conversation. Upgrade and subscribe on the roots of change newsletter: www.rootschangemedia.com/#/portal/account/plans

I'm honored to have Dr. Linda Berberich as our first Seedling After Party! We dove into more details around AI and if we can use it ethically. We talked about:

• Where to start with your own AI journey
• How do we find good AI?
• The Bros Club of Tech and why we can't have good AI
• Building our own solutions and combatting harmful tech
• How to choose who owns our data? China vs. Mark Zuckeburg vs. Ourselves
• We also get into the politics of it all and how Vote Run Lead is helping women run for office.
• We wrap up with our Pride plans and protests for the last week of June.

Upgrade: www.rootschangemedia.com/

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Hi Y’all! 👋🏽 I am so excited to host my friend and AI expert, Dr Linda Berberich, on the podcast this month! We dove into the intersectionality of AI and its impacts on society, especially marginalized communities. We spoke of the real harms that AI poses to society, but also how technology can be used to augment human behavior and learning. Our discussion delved into:

• What is AI behind the hype and media's misconceptions
• The challenges of consent and regulation in the digital space
• The repercussions of AI on creativity and authenticity in society
• Ethical implications of technology – facial recognition technology and data privacy

I especially loved hearing about Linda's experiences in Big Tech and how her own experiences of misogyny reflect the broader historical context of misogyny and white supremacy in the development of AI. We end our conversation on a hopeful note, discussing the launch of ChatBlack GPT last month. I hope you enjoy the conversation!

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