Mia and Spencer Jordan of the Urban Ore Workers Union discuss the workplace as a microcosm of the authoritarianism currently sweeping the American political system and how their strike is fighting back.
On 17 December 1967, Harold Holt, the immensely popular prime minister of Australia, went for a swim -- and vanished. In the decades since, his family and the public still have questions about what exactly happened. In tonight's episode, Ben, Matt and Noel explore a mystery that remains unsolved in the modern day, along with a meditation on empathy, and a bevy of increasingly bizarre conspiracy theories.
This episode features Steph and Lance: one conservative, one liberal, both neighbors, both school board members. With the support of Urban Rural Action, they chose relationship over partisanship. Listening over labeling. Curiosity over contempt.
And the result? A school board that works. For the kids. For the community. For all of us. This is what it looks like to citizen:
Listen deeply. Speak honestly. Resist the pull to polarize. Build something different—together
🎙️ This story series is a collaborative effort by Shira Abramowitz, Jon Alexander, Elizabeth Stewart, and Baratunde Thurston. Video produced by Anne Gutteridge.
Gare and James discuss a meeting between Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on expanding CECOT style prisons to hold US citizens and immigrants.
The United States invaded Afghanistan on October 7th, 2001 and remains embroiled in the conflict almost two decades later, making this the longest war in US history. Leaders from both of the dominant political parties continually argued that this was a winnable war, proposing new strategies, more troops, and more surges. Yet documents obtained by The Washington Post show that the long-running internal conversations painted a different -- and vastly more disturbing -- picture. Tune in to learn more about the Afghanistan Papers in tonight's Classic episode.
It’s Tax Day in the U.S., a moment when many of us think about how we fund collective life. So today’s story? It’s about layoffs — but not the kind we’ve come to expect.
We’re often told democracy is too slow or messy for hard moments. But this episode shows that it’s exactly in those moments that shared power matters most. This isn’t just a story about layoffs. It’s a rejection of the authoritarian reflex in boardrooms, governments, and beyond. It’s about choosing to citizen, even — and especially — when it’s hard.
This story is not the teary CEO on Zoom. Not the cold memo. Not the decision handed down from above. This story is different. Kate “Sassy” Sassoon helped an organization in financial crisis involve everyone in the decision-making process. Together, they:
Cut costs with consent
Shared the burden of leadership
Kept more people employed — and all people respected
“They felt like complete, full humans. Seen. Heard. Valued.” — Kate
James and Gare discuss the terrible impact of the earthquake that hit Sagaing in late March, how the Junta has blocked aid workers, and how the revolution has responded. We also talk about how you can help.
Better Offline & Weird Little Guys are nominated for this year’s Webby Awards! Get your votes in by April 17th! 🗳️🗳️🗳️
Watch this first video story from the Week of Citizening on Instagram or LinkedIn: https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/1st-story-libraries-are-hubs-for?r=204q7
What if every library in the world was a hub for citizening—a space where people could come together, tell their own stories, and build new ones? It’s already happening. And Cossit Llibrary in downtown Memphis is leading the way.
🎙️ Meet Ena Esco — Innovator-in-Residence for podcast programming. In a city that’s majority Black and shaped by deep economic challenges, Ena is turning a traditional library into a platform for power.
Inside this public library you’ll find:
📸 A podcast studio
🎥 A video + photo lab
🎭 A performance space
All free. All open to the public.
“We live in an era where a lot of people are being silenced. I’m proud to mentor folks and watch them realize: they can say what they truly want to say.” — Ena Esco
This is what it looks like to practice power. To citizen.
It's been almost two years, and I (Baratunde) am back with an experimental drop because democracy is something we DO, not something we HAVE (or don't), and this moment calls for that reminder. So...
I’m teaming up with my friend and fellow citizenist Jon Alexander (author of CITIZENS) to do something we believe is urgent and necessary: shine a light on the everyday people practicing democracy in extraordinary ways.
We’ve gathered a week’s worth of short, powerful stories from across the U.S.—people showing up for their communities, bridging divides, building something better.
We’re releasing one story per day this week on LinkedIn and Instagram. But we know there are more.
We’re not doing this for clicks. We’re doing this to prove there’s demand for a different kind of story.
One where people aren’t problems to be fixed, but solutions already in motion.
✅ Follow @baratunde, Jon (@thecitizensguy), and @HowToCitizen on Instagram
💬 Engage. Comment. Share. Tag someone doing similar work.
📣 Know someone with a platform or newsletter? Ask them to help spread the word.
We want to show funders—and each other—that this kind of storytelling matters.
Let’s make this the week we saw the democracy we deserve and counterprogram the nonsense and chaos with something beautiful and joyful already happening.
Major appreciation to Shira Abramowitz who has run point on finding the stories we are releasing this week. And to Elizabeth Stewart for great partnership.
In his day, American labor union leader James "Jimmy" Riddle Hoffa was one of the most well-known figures in the US. On July 30th, 1975, Hoffa disappeared. He has not been seen, living or dead, since that day. In the decades following his death numerous investigators have tried (and failed) to figure out what exactly happened to this infamous American icon. So what actually happened to Jimmy Hoffa? Tune in to learn more in tonight's Classic episode.
