We discuss what we can all do to say "no" to Project 2025, including getting Democrats to play hardball in local, city, and state offices, and to protect and win elections this year and in the midterms next year.   Ezra’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Organize in your community with like-minded Americans  Use your constituent power to influence the political calculus of your elected representative   Ezra Levin is the Co-Executive Director of Indivisible, which he co-founded with Leah Greenberg in the wake of the 2016 presidential election. He’s also the co-author of We Are Indivisible: A Blueprint for Democracy After Trump.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on BlueSky:  https://bsky.app/profile/milaatmos.bsky.social    Follow Ezra on BlueSky:  https://bsky.app/profile/ezralevin.bsky.social    Check out Indivisible: https://indivisible.org/    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Ezra Levin Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Future Hindsight

Playing Defense for Democracy: Ezra Levin

We discuss many of our rights that are at risk under the new Trump administration, what our rights actually are–like due process and the 1st amendment, and an action plan for when they come under attack.    Monica’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Know what your rights are and speak up. Talk to your friends and family about DC statehood   Monica Hopkins is the Executive Director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia (ACLU-DC).   Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow the ACLU D.C. on X:  https://x.com/ACLU_DC    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Monica Hopkins Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Know Your Rights: Monica Hopkins

We discuss the long history of organizing as a tool for fortifying American democracy, making it more equitable and just. Americans live from the benefits of organizing every day, whether that’s women’s suffrage or disability rights.  Organizing is the tool for everyday people who are not in positions of power to solve the problems their communities are facing.    Elyssa’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Get clarity on what you’re good at and what brings you joy. Organize for the long haul.   Elyssa Feder is the co-founder and executive director of Rising Organizers, which has trained nearly 4,000 activists and held fourteen intensive fellowship cohorts on community organizing skills.      Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Elyssa on X:  https://x.com/elyssafeder    Check out Rising Organizers: https://www.risingorganizers.org/    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Elyssa Feder Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Organizing Is Power: Elyssa Feder

We discuss the role of political parties in representing your interests and turning those interests into public policies that meaningfully make a difference in your life. Since the 1980s, both major political parties have adopted neoliberal policies, marked by declining responsiveness to major policy areas, and instead prioritizing pro-market and anti-state policies for economic growth and reliance on the private sector.    Didi’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Get engaged on the local level so you can be part of the solution. Support the party builders!   Didi Kuo is a Center Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University and the author of The Great Retreat: How Political Parties Should Behave and Why They Don’t.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Didi on X:  https://x.com/didikuo1    Read The Great Retreat: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-great-retreat-how-political-parties-should-behave-and-why-they-don-t-didi-kuo/21705105?aid=11259&ean=9780197664193&listref=books-we-re-reading-in-2025&new-list-page=true    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Didi Kuo Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

How Political Parties Should Behave: Didi Kuo

We discuss why now is the time for a third political party to really take center stage in American democracy.   Maurice’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Organize! Join an organization. Create conditions where people can govern and decide the direction of their country and their democracy   Maurice Mitchell is the National Director of the Working Families Party. He's a nationally recognized social movement strategist, a visionary leader in the Movement for Black Lives, and a community organizer for racial, social, and economic justice.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Maurice on X:  https://x.com/MauriceWFP    Check out the Working Families Party: https://workingfamilies.org/    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Maurice Mitchell Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

WFP Represents You!: Maurice Mitchell

We’re sharing an episode from our friends at Latino USA! In this episode, producer Reynaldo Leaños Jr. travels to southern Arizona where one of the first major concentrations of surveillance towers on the southern border were built, and he looks at what these towers mean today, and for the future of those crossing, and living, there.   The “virtual wall” across the U.S.-Mexico border is made up of things like drones, sensors, cameras and… surveillance towers. Both Democrats and Republicans have supported border technology through the years, but advocates and researchers argue that a virtual wall can be as controversial, and deadly, as a physical wall.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Listen to Latino USA:  https://www.latinousa.org/    Sponsors:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Thanks to SelectQuote for supporting Future Hindsight! Go to SelectQuote.com/hopeful now!   Need a gift idea? Head over to Masterclass.com/HOPEFUL for the current offer. Thanks to MasterClass for supporting Future Hindsight!   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Featuring: Latino USA Podcast Host: Mila Atmos Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

The Border Has Eyes: Latino USA

We discuss how ungoverning is the equivalent of a bull in a china shop. Many institutions will be destroyed, but we don't know which ones and to what extent!   Nancy’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Don’t let unpredictability strip you of your agency Vote in local, county, and state elections   Nancy Rosenblum is the Senator Joseph Clark Professor of Ethics in Politics and Government Emerita at Harvard University, and the co-author of Ungoverning: The Attack on the Administrative State and the Politics of Chaos.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Nancy on X:  https://x.com/Nlrosenblum    Listen to our previous episode with Nancy:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/the-new-conspiracism-nancy-rosenblum   Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Thanks to SelectQuote for supporting Future Hindsight! Go to SelectQuote.com/hopeful now!   Need a gift idea? Head over to Masterclass.com/HOPEFUL for the current offer. Thanks to MasterClass for supporting Future Hindsight!   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Nancy Rosenblum Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Be Ready for Ungoverning: Nancy Rosenblum

We discuss election integrity and voting machines, the amazing work of election workers, and the logistics of election audits.   Ben’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Talk to your town or county clerk and offer to help. Be a poll worker for a day!   Ben Adida is the Executive Director of Voting Works, the only non-profit voting system vendor in the U.S. Their mission is to make election technology everyone can trust through transparency, simplicity, and demonstrable security.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Ben on X:  https://x.com/benadida    Sponsor:  Thanks to SelectQuote for supporting Future Hindsight! Go to SelectQuote.com/hopeful now!   Need a gift idea? Head over to Masterclass.com/HOPEFUL for the current offer. Thanks to MasterClass for supporting Future Hindsight!   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Ben Adida Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Yes, Our Elections Are Secure: Ben Adida

We discuss why the American electorate voted the way they did in 2024, the history of various voter suppression tactics, and how we can bounce back from a feeling of post-election civic helplessness.   Michael’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Use your platform! Do the research. Read books. Go deep on what's going on and convey what you've learned.   Michael Waldman is the CEO and President of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and a constitutional lawyer and writer who is an expert on the presidency and American democracy.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Michael on X:  https://x.com/mawaldman    Sponsor:  Need a gift idea? Head over to Masterclass.com/HOPEFUL for the current offer. Thanks to MasterClass for supporting Future Hindsight!   Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Michael Waldman Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

We Voted… Now What?: Michael Waldman

We discuss the long history of vigilante democracy in the US and its return in our current politics. The playing field is currently tilted in favor of these vigilante policies, but blue states can level the playing field by playing constitutional hardball. David Noll reminds us that the American people have beat back movements to use vigilante power to enforce a reactionary agenda time and again.   David’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Get involved in local politics Resistance works and there are a lot of opportunities to resist authoritarianism    David Noll is the co-author of Vigilante Nation: How State-Sponsored Terror Threatens Our Democracy. He’s also the Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development and a professor of law at Rutgers Law School, as well as an academic fellow of the National Institute for Civil Justice.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow David on X:  https://x.com/davidlnoll    Sponsor:  Need a gift idea? Head over to Masterclass.com/HOPEFUL for the current offer. Thanks to MasterClass for supporting Future Hindsight!   Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: David Noll Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Vigilante Democracy Returns: David Noll

We discuss how the Democratic party continues to ignore AAPI voters in schools despite their increasing power at the ballot box and the necessity to build coalitions with them to win elections. Between 2016 and 2020, voter turnout in this community increased by 47%. The near doubling of AAPI voters in Georgia and Arizona effectively made the Biden victory in 2020 possible.    Varun’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Show up to a school board meeting Gather insight from engaging in your local community   Varun Nikore is Executive Director of the AAPI Victory Alliance, an organization that works to build Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) political power across the country by providing education on progressive issues; creating and advocating for policies that affect our communities; and building alliances with organizations to help AAPIs exert their power and be the margin of victory at the local, state, and national levels.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Varun on X:  https://x.com/varunnikore   Sponsor:  Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Varun Nikore Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

The AAPI Movement: Varun Nikore

We discuss the intersection of feminism and democracy and discover how the egalitarian underpinnings of feminism are fundamental to an equal society. Abortion bans illustrate this well. “Any time there's a conflict between the Constitution and someone's personal bodily autonomy and the subject of rights under the law, that is anti-democratic.”    Nicole’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Start small, engaging directly in your community Maintain hope and optimism and believe that you’re going where you want to go   Dr. C. Nicole Mason is the founder and president of Future Forward Women, a project at the New York Women’s Foundation.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Nicole on X:  https://x.com/cnicolemason     Sponsor:  Thanks to SelectQuote! Go to SelectQuote.com/hopeful Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Dr. C Nicole Mason Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Feminism at the Heart of Democracy: Dr. C. Nicole Mason

We discuss the importance of shifting our mindset to one that is infused with hope. Positive change comes when we choose hope. Though nobody can fix it all, we can all do something and make an impact. Sharon reminds us that if something is worth doing for everyone, it’s worth doing for one person.    Sharon’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Choose hope. Get involved in an issue that is important to you because your actions do matter.   Sharon McMahon is the creator of “Sharon Says So” and host of the “Here’s Where it Gets Interesting” podcast. She's also the author of The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Sharon on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/sharonsaysso/    Sponsor:  Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Sharon McMahon Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Go Beyond Voting: Sharon McMahon

We discuss why American democracy should not treat the Latinx community as a monolith, what actually matters to this community, and how the strength of their engagement in U.S. democracy will play out in this year’s presidential election.   Maria Teresa’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  VOTE! Share your excitement to vote with everyone you know, especially young people.   Maria Teresa Kumar is the President and CEO of Voto Latino, a civic engagement organization focused on educating and empowering a new generation of Latinx voters, as well as creating a more robust and inclusive democracy.     Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Maria Teresa on X:  https://x.com/MariaTeresa    Sponsor:  Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Maria Teresa Kumar Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

The Future American Electorate: Maria Teresa Kumar

We discuss the purpose of fascist education, the political nature of universities in defending democracy, and the dangers of America’s powerful exceptionalist narrative.   Jason’s civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Stand up in solidarity with those who are political targets Understand other people’s perspectives because that gives them the voice in a democracy   Jason Stanley is the Jacob Urowsky Professor of Philosophy at Yale University and the author of seven books. His most recent is Erasing History: How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future.   Let’s connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Sponsor:  Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Jason Stanley Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Abandon the False Narratives: Jason Stanley

Future Hindsight is a weekly podcast that takes big ideas about civic life and democracy and turns them into action items for everyday citizens.

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Future Hindsight

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