Future Hindsight

Thursday, October 13th, 2022   Ryan Busse is a former firearms executive, Senior Policy Advisor to Giffords, and author of Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry That Radicalized America. We discuss how guns are intricately interwoven through our democratic division and radicalization in our everyday lives and in our politics.   The assault weapons ban helped codify societal norms. In the years after the legislation lapsed, the culture of hatred, division, fear, and conspiracy became widespread. In fact, this culture became useful to the NRA to drive political outcomes. Legislation that re-establishes norms of responsible behavior is critical to controlling radicalization. Busse argues that we can start with outlawing open-carry armed intimidation across the nation. Follow Ryan on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ryandbusse    Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listene

Thursday, October 6th, 2022   Aidan Kohn-Murphy is the founder and Executive Director of the organization Gen Z for Change, a youth-led nonprofit working to educate and create change on issues that affect young people. Jack Petocz is a political strategist who also mounted a campaign to recall his local school board in Florida to fight back against anti-LGBTQ board members.    With the tool of social media, Gen Z for Change is reaching millions of youth across the country to mobilize them to be citizen changemakers. They’re leading school walkouts in the face of discriminatory laws, knocking on doors to turn out the vote, unseating anti LGBTQ school board members, raising money for abortion funds, voting themselves, and running for office.     Follow Aidan on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/aidankohnmurphy    Follow Jack on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Jack_Petocz    Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/  

Thursday, September 29th, 2022   Jonathan Friedman is the director of free expression and education programs at PEN America. He oversees research, advocacy, and education related to academic freedom, educational gag orders, book bans, and general free expression in schools, colleges, and universities. We discuss the driving forces behind campaigns to ban books and silence teachers.   Education has always been political and a part of the culture war. We’re currently experiencing an eruption of citizen anger against schools, books, school librarians, and teachers for allegedly engaging in something dangerous. For example, anything about diversity and inclusion is labeled as critical race theory. Libraries were actually put inside schools to encourage literacy and development, civic engagement, and exploration that is very healthy for a society. Politicians are increasingly trying to label whatever they don't like in schools as something that should be censored, and there are efforts to defund or close public li

Thursday, September 22nd, 2022   Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale and the author of 5 books, including How Propaganda Works and most recently How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them. We discuss the logic of fascism and why we need to use it as a concept to make sense of our times.   Using a concept like fascism makes plain that their goal is to end democracy. Fascists use projection as the core of their propaganda; they scapegoat a variety of targets like the LGBTQ community and labor unions; and they live in a constant state of paranoia that they–the dominant group–will be replaced. And yet, a vibrant democracy today requires a multiracial coalition.   Follow Jason on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jasonintrator   Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey!  http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&

Thursday, September 15th, 2022   Steve Pierson is the host of the How We Win podcast. He’s an activist, community organizer, and trainer, who started as a “class of 2016” volunteer. He’s currently an elected California Democratic Party Delegate and chairs their Organizing Committee. We discuss the nitty gritty of Get Out the Vote, phone banking, and a whole host of other boots on the ground politics as we head toward the midterms.   According to a recent NBC poll, threats against democracy are perceived to be the number one issue facing voters. Help fight for our democracy! Before the midterms, check your voter registration status, be an influencer in your circle about voting, and–if possible–volunteer to knock on doors. And finally: VOTE on election day! Follow Steve on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/bluesboysteve   Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! 

Thursday, September 8th, 2022   Ian Bremmer is a political scientist and he’s the founder and president of the research and consulting firm Eurasia Group. We discuss his latest book, The Power of Crisis: How Three Threats -- and Our Response -- Will Change the World. He argues that the major challenges humanity is facing are spurring us to create a new world order that works against these common threats.   The climate crisis, disruptive technologies, and pandemics are existential threats to humanity. These crises are truly global and provide an opportunity for real cooperation across the world. For example, everyone around the world now sees that the climate is only going to get worse. Even though the solutions are not optimally coordinated, and arguably not acting fast enough, everyone is now rowing in the same direction.  Follow Ian on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ianbremmer    Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futur

Thursday, September 1st, 2022   Christopher Beem is Managing Director of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy, co-host of the Democracy Works podcast, and the author of The Seven Democratic Virtues: What You Can Do to Overcome Tribalism and Save Our Democracy. We discuss vices and virtues in the context of democratic thinking, democratic acting, and democratic belief.   American democracy is at a crisis point. To fix our politics, we have to change our culture first. We can all take part in creating a culture that cultivates democratic virtues. Humility, for example, recognizes that all of us are biased and that we will disagree. In fact, anger is an essential emotion in democracy. Hatred, however, is disastrous. When we hate, we cannot operate as a democracy.    Follow Chris on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/cbeem1    Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey

Thursday, August 25th, 2022   Rob Sand is Iowa’s State Auditor, which is the taxpayers’ watchdog in the state. He’s the first Democrat to beat an incumbent Republican in Iowa in 50 years. We discuss putting public service above politics, delivering good governance, and how to get stuff done even when you are part of a political minority.    The auditor’s job is to promote transparency, uncover wrongdoing, and report their findings to the public. Their work is key in holding powerful people in positions of trust accountable. Questions about whether government should be smaller or bigger miss the mark because the goal is to have better government that meets people where they are. Good governance is the bedrock of a self-governing society.    Follow Rob on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/RobSandIA    Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey!  http://survey.podtrac

Thursday, August 18th, 2022   Jennifer Taub is a lawyer, advocate, and author of Big Dirty Money: The Shocking Injustice and Unseen Cost of White Collar Crime. We revisit our discussion on who gets a pass for committing such crimes, what the actual consequences are to our society, and how to hold the perpetrators accountable.   White collar crime, as originally defined by Edwin Sutherland in 1939, are offenses committed by someone of high social status and respectability in the course of their occupation. Today, we tend to define white collar crime by the nature of the offense, instead of the status of the offender. Precisely because of the high status of white collar criminals, very few are prosecuted and held accountable for their actions. White collar crime operates on a massive scale. Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, has pleaded guilty to federal crimes related to its opioid marketing scheme; over 200,000 people have died of prescription opioid overdoses. Embezzlement and fraud cost US citizens an e

Thursday, August 11th, 2022   Zephyr Teachout is Senior Counsel for Economic Justice for the New York Attorney General and law professor at Fordham University. We revisit our conversation with her about her book, Break 'Em Up: Recovering Our Freedom from Big Ag, Big Tech, and Big Money. We discuss how monopolies are deeply anti-democratic, how we can break them up by enforcing existing anti-trust laws, and protect our democracy.   Monopolies are anti-democratic because they have the power to set the terms of interactions, from the pricing of consumer goods to interactions with suppliers and resolving disputes. They exert a form of private governing power and control over citizens within our democracy. Chickenization refers to the ways large poultry distributors subjugate independent chicken farmers who depend on them to bring their chickens to market. These regional monopolies force farmers to use their feed, accept the equivalent of poverty wages, require arbitration contracts, and retaliate against farmers

Thursday, August 4th, 2022   Elizabeth Yeampierre is an internationally recognized Puerto Rican attorney and environmental and climate justice leader of African and Indigenous ancestry, a national leader in the climate justice movement, and the co-chair of the Climate Justice Alliance. She is also the Executive Director of UPROSE, Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community-based organization.    UPROSE helped the Sunset Park community in Brooklyn lead their efforts against industry city with a vision that reflected community priorities. They preserved the working class character of the neighborhood and prevented displacement, which would have threatened social cohesion. Now, the community and the developers know that an economy built on just relationships is possible.   Follow Elizabeth on Twitter: https://twitter.com/yeampierre    Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Surv

Thursday, July 28th, 2022 Amanda Renteria the CEO of Code for America, an organization of people-centered problem solvers working to improve government in a meaningful way. We discuss making government work better for everyday people by design. Good governance starts with getting the basics right, such as delivering clean water to all communities. Making government simple and accessible is also key. Currently it’s so complicated that many people have lost trust in the government's ability to respond to crises. Modernizing systems so that the government reaches folks where they are is an incredibly powerful tool to reimagining trust and rebuilding a government for, and by, us all. Follow Amanda on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaRenteria  Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos  Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod//a> Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard 

Thursday, July 21st, 2022   Miles Rapoport and E.J. Dionne are the co-authors of 100% Democracy: The Case for Universal Voting. In a time when the erosion of democracy is real and undisputed, they argue that every adult American citizen should be made to vote. We discuss the big idea at the core of America: democracy!   Democracy itself needs to be on the ballot and the dangers of extremism need to be on the ballot. If we want something close to 100% democracy, we have to abandon the idea that including everyone in the electorate is a partisan effort. It's a myth that if more people vote, Democrats automatically win the election. We had one of the highest turnouts ever during the pandemic because Republican and Democratic officials all over the country made it easier for people to vote. Moreover, 61% of Americans think that voting is both a right and a duty.  Read 100% Democracy: https://bookshop.org/books/100-democracy-the-case-for-universal-voting/   Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos 

Thursday, July 14th, 2022   Matthew E. Kahn is Provost Professor at the University of Southern California and the author of six previous books about environmental and urban economics issues. His latest book is Going Remote: How the Flexible Work Economy Can Improve Our Lives and Our Cities. We discuss the future of our cities and the future of work--whether that's remote or in person.   The pandemic revealed a new geography of economic opportunity. Some jobs that were only in person before are now possible remotely, which could be good for working mothers or for those who might want ready access to the outdoors. Cities could transform into places that are more attractive because of the lifestyle as opposed to the job opportunities. Matt also wonders if working from home will lead to more life satisfaction, less divisive politics, and more civic engagement.   Follow Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mattkahn1966    Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram

Thursday, July 7th, 2022   Rachel Vindman is the host of the Suburban Women Problem podcast and wife of retired Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman. We discuss the disenchantment of suburban women with our politics–who historically vote in very high numbers, our personal responsibility to use our voices for change, and the war in Ukraine.    One of the fastest ways to mitigate domestic issues like inflation and high gas prices is to help Ukraine defeat Russia. This would ease pressure on the world wide economy. Policy makers can and should listen to the priorities of their constituents and legislate accordingly. Being a resource to your network of family and friends to demystify things that they’ve seen in the news is an effective form of activism.   Follow Rachel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/natsechobbyist    Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Sponsors Thanks to Avast for supporting Future Hindsigh

Thursday, June 30th, 2022   This week, Future Hindsight is sharing an episode of The Financial Confessions – a podcast by The Financial Diet. The Financial Diet is the largest personal finance platform for women on the internet.  Money impacts everything we do, and talking about it can be scary. In each episode, host Chelsea Fagan sits down with a subject matter expert for an in-depth chat about their particular field of work with a financial-first lens. In this episode, she speaks with writer and disability advocate Imani Barbarin about navigating our broken healthcare system, how being disabled affects one's finances, and what everyone should know about living with a disability in America. Listen to Financial Confessions Now: https://thefinancialdiet.podbean.com/   Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI

Thursday, June 23rd, 2022   Katie Fahey is the Executive Director of The People, an organization working to find common ground and take action to create a more responsive government of, by, and for the people. In 2016, Katie founded Voters Not Politicians, an organization that successfully organized and passed a ballot initiative to end gerrymandering in Michigan in 2018. We discuss the appetite for non-partisan civic engagement and more accountability from elected representatives.   Voters Not Politicians swelled to 14,000 non-partisan volunteers that gathered 425,000 signatures in support of an independent redistricting commission for Michigan. Most Americans agree that politics should be fair and that our democracy should be strong. Ending gerrymandering is an effort that unites Democrats, Republicans, and Independents towards those goals.   Follow Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kteafahey   Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.ins

Thursday, June 16th, 2022   Sung Yeon Choimorrow is the executive director of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, whose mission is to elevate AAPI women and girls to impact policy and drive systemic change in the United States. We discuss age-old and hardened stereotypes, changing the narrative about who Asian-Americans are, and activating Asian communities to take civic action.   The term model minority was coined by a white sociologist to pit Japanese Americans against Black Americans. Many Asian-Americans have used the model minority myth to protect them, though in the end it does not insulate them from discrimination and racism. In fact, the objectification of Asian women for entertainment persists, and Asian-Americans are perpetually seen as foreign.    Follow Sung Yeon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/schoimorrow   Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Sponsors Thanks to Avast for suppo

Thursday, June 9th, 2022   Jeff Clements serves as President of American Promise, an organization that is focused on repairing the constitutional foundation to renew freedom for all Americans, to support effective and honest government and an equal shot at the American dream. He is the author of Corporations Are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy from Big Money and Global Corporations. We discuss ratifying a constitutional amendment that would rid American politics of dark money.   Once the Supreme Court decided that corporations have free speech rights to spend unlimited money in elections, our politics were effectively captured by the donor class. Wealthy people and corporations deploy their power by, for example, funding toxic, divisive ads that are so hateful that many Americans don’t want to vote. This is one strategy to win elections, but even the candidates are losing control. We need to pass laws to limit the powers of money and lift up the power of the human voice for a functioning democratic system. 

Thursday, June 2nd, 2022   Amy Westervelt is a climate journalist and the founder and executive producer of the Critical Frequency Podcast Network. She hosts the Drilled and Hot Take podcasts. We discuss the long tentacles of the fossil fuel industry, the key takeaways from this year's IPCC report, and how a small group of people have locked us into climate crisis.    We have the tools and technology to mitigate the climate crisis now and the reasons that we're not taking dramatic action come down to political will. We could reduce emissions by about 40% by taking advantage of all the things that already exist, like public transit. We need to stop subsidizing the fossil fuel industry, incentivize a shift towards renewables, and push for systemic change that gives more options to everybody. There is also a huge potential to decarbonize via the food system. Community action is key to democracy and to solving climate.   Follow Amy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/amywestervelt   Follow Mila on Twitter: https://tw