When the People Decide

We're excited to bring you an episode fro Top of Mind, a podcast from BYU Radio about becoming better citizens and kinder neighbors.

If you enjoyed our episode on civic media, you'll want to check out this episode the podcast Local News Matters, which explores issues in local news and democracy.

The final episode of the season takes a step back from individual democracy reforms to look at what it will take to create a healthy civic culture where power is shared across the community — rather than concentrated in the hands of a few stakeholders. Eric Liu believes this can happen and is working tirelessly to spread his idea of civic faith across the U.S.

In this episode, we visit Petaluma, California to learn about how the city opened up the decision making process about the future of the local fairgrounds.

Amid book bans and restrictions on programming, things seem pretty rough for libraries right now. But that doesn't mean we can't fight for something better. This week, we hear from two librarians working to enhance the role libraries of libraries democracy and civic engagement.

Take a deep dive into the practice of participatory budgeting and learn how it can bring civic power to people who are not normally in the driver's seat on local decisions.

This season's first episode explores what happens when neighbors and local government work together to make their communities stronger and more inclusive.

When the People Decide is back for a second season starting July 17. This time, we're exploring civic innovation at the local level. Learn how citizens and government leaders are working together to strengthen democracy at the local level.

In this bonus episode, we hear from Roger Asterino, a former Cincinnati city employee whose story was at the heart of the anti-LGBTQ ballot initiative in the 1990s.