Two Worlds, One Country

Anthony is joined by Andy Levison, Contributing Editor to The Democratic Strategist and author of The White Working Class Today: Who They Are, How They Think and How Progressives Can Regain Their Support, as they discuss the differences withing this broad group of voters, including his distinction between “Cultural Traditionalists” and “MAGA Extremists”.

Anthony is joined by Stephanie Muravchik to discuss her book, Trump’s Democrats, which examined three communities, one rural, one a small town and the other a small city, which had voted Democratic for at least four decades but went for Donald Trump in 2016. She explores the details of why Trump appealed to these long-time Dems.

In this interview with Reece Peck, the author of "Fox Populism:  Branding Conservatism as Working Class", Two Worlds, One Country explores how and why Fox News has built such a strong and enduring loyalty among a major segment of the American public.  Hint: There's much more to Fox than what most liberals believe!

Heidi Binko is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Just Transition Fund, a funding and advocacy group dedicated to helping rural communities transition away from fossil fuels. She discusses alternatives for coal towns and centering local communities in environmental activism.

[1:14] Getting involved in clean energy

[8:02] What could a just transition look like?

[13:19] The Just Transition Fund

[19:07] What kind of funding has JTF done?

More from Heidi:

https://justtransitionfund.org

https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-binko

@JustTransitionFund

Joe Fortier is the owner of two construction companies in the Radford, VA area specializing in green, energy-efficient housing initiatives. He talks getting his start in green construction and how we can build a more sustainable future.

[1:31] From stay-at-home dad to small business owner

[6:07] How we can build better buildings

[12:43] Energy-efficient and hurricane-resistant walls

[19:44] The economics of green construction

[24:48] Supporting small business

More from Joe:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-fortier-93207b10/

https://acmepanel.com/

https://taylor-hollow.com/energy-efficient-homes/

Dwayne McIntyre is the owner of Goshen Homestead, a 110 acre family farm, and a friend of Anthony’s. He talks his farmstead operation, sustainable agriculture practices, and his take on federal regulations for small farmers.

[1:45] Pennsylvania Amish roots

[9:22] How Goshen Homestead is rethinking agriculture

[16:06] Mobilizing local capital—crowdfunding local business

[22:35] How the federal government can support local farming

Goshen Homestead:

https://goshenhomestead.com/

@goshen_homestead

https://www.facebook.com/goshenhomestead

Brandon Dennison is the founder and CEO of Coalfield Development. He talks his 33/6/3 hour training model, creating sustainable businesses, and his vision for rebuilding the Appalachian economy.

[2:01] Growing up in West Virginia

[9:03] 33/6/3 model—building jobs for disadvantaged people

[15:20] Is it really true that people don’t want to work?

[19:43] Rural people don’t need handouts, they need investment

More from Brandon:

https://coalfield-development.org/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-dennison-5a026638/

Anthony tackles a solo episode about Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (RUBI)’s latest projects, in particular RUBI’s joint work with the Progressive Democrats of America on the recently released Rural New Deal guidelines.

[3:23] What is the Rural New Deal?

[6:53] Rural health care needs revamping

[11:52] Farming for a better future

[18:49] Restoring American manufacturing

RUBI Directory of Rural Organizations:

https://ruralurbanbridge.org/resources

Rural New Deal:

https://ruralurbanbridge.org/rural-new-deal

Progressive Democrats of America:

https://pdamerica.org/

Marjorie Kelly is an author and Senior Fellow at the Democracy Collaborative. She talks the structure of capitalism, how we can do better, and more, from her newest book Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today’s Crises.

[1:52] Why capitalism is so crazy

[6:22] No amount of wealth is ever enough

[11:30] What happens when workers own the companies?

[18:02] Can we really democratize the economy?

More about Marjorie:

https://marjoriekelly.org/

https://marjoriekelly.org/wealthsupremacy/ Buy the book!

https://www.facebook.com/MarjorieKellyPage

@marjorie_kelly

This is the third part in our three-part series on Community Works. Thomas Bates is an ex-federal prosecutor and the founder of Democrats Work, a precursor to Community Works. He discusses Democrats Work’s experiment with a service-based approach to politics and the path forward he sees for Democratic politics today.

[1:29] Getting his start in campaign politics

[4:36] How do bake sales win elections?

[10:35] Democrats Work: proving that service-based politics work

[20:11] Voters can be persuaded

[34:15] Does the Democratic party have a future in America?

More about Thomas:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/batesthomas/

https://cssp.org/team/thomas-bates/

Get involved with Community Works:

https://ruralurbanbridge.org/our-work/community-works