This is our wrap of our Week of Citizening that I've been doing with Jon Alexander. We found 8 stories from across the U.S. — across sectors, communities, and divides — where people are coming together to make life better, together. See them all here . See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here: https://linktr.ee/weekofcitizening Join our mailing list and share the stories you’re seeing. stories.howtocitizen.com The story is everywhere. It’s happening in libraries...
May 01, 2025•6 min
There is a model for how we rebuild and heal after the human-made disaster being inflicted on the USA right now. Welcome to Dena Heals —a mutual aid marketplace and wellness center born in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena. See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here: https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/this-is-how-we-recover-from-disasters This is our final story (for now) in the Week Of Citizening. Join our mailing list and share the stories you’re seein...
Apr 21, 2025•8 min
We head to Eliot, Maine, where a multiracial, multidisciplinary group of artists have reimagined what a conference can be. At SeaCHANGE , creativity isn’t an afterthought—it’s the starting point. The gathering opens with movement and dance. It invites deep connection through shared meals, collaborative workshops, and artistic expression. And it creates space for belonging, especially for artists of color. Full video viewing options for this story plus links to the Instagram and LinkedIn versions...
Apr 20, 2025•4 min
Today we bring you Story #6 in our Week of Citizening . We’ve already shown you how people are rethinking democracy through libraries, labor, and school boards. Now we’re headed to a place often overlooked but brimming with democratic possibility: West Virginia . See the visuals and links to all these stories here: https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/dont-wait-for-better-leaders-become We’re told politics is about picking the lesser of evils. Ordering off a fixed menu. But what if we left the tab...
Apr 19, 2025•7 min
Today, we head to Chicago , where a civic gathering called Chi Hack Night is bringing technologists, designers, policy nerds, and everyday residents together to build a better city. Access to visuals for this story are here: https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/we-found-the-anti-doge-in-chicago and that conversation on Life With Machines with Deb Roy is here https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-with-machines/id1766829040?i=1000703577941 mRelief , a woman-led initiative that’s made it easier ...
Apr 18, 2025•7 min
We’re told some people just need to be saved. But what people really need is to be needed. This community of young single mothers in Lexington, Kentucky reveals a version of this story. Full video viewing options for this story plus links to the Instagram and LinkedIn versions: https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/young-mothers-asked-to-lead-and-they-did This episode features Tanya Torp, Executive Director of Step by Step , a nonprofit that chose to stop assuming what young mothers needed—and star...
Apr 17, 2025•7 min
We’re told America is hopelessly divided. But zoom in—like, say, to a school board in South Central Pennsylvania—and a different story emerges. Full video viewing options for this story plus links to the Instagram and LinkedIn versions: https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/proof-we-can-overcome-division-3rd 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 partisanshi...
Apr 16, 2025•7 min
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. See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here: https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/this-tax-day-solidarity-and-consent 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 abo...
Apr 15, 2025•5 min
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 ...
Apr 15, 2025•4 min
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.—pe...
Apr 14, 2025•6 min
Welcome to a special bonus episode of How To Citizen. We are sharing Baratunde's appearance on the What Could Go Right? podcast, created by The Progress Network. Baratunde discusses technology, and specifically generative artificial intelligence, and how it might help or hinder human progress and how it aligns or deviates from our concept of citizen as a verb. As always, find How To Citizen on Instagram or visit howtocitizen.com to join our mailing list and find ways to citizen besides listening...
May 25, 2023•56 min
So much of the conversation around democracy focuses on the external: from elections and policy to protests and organizing. While getting active is important...what could happen if we ALSO turn inwards? When we shift our relationship with our insides—what we believe and feel and the unconscious patterns we act from—our world shifts with us. In the final episode of season four, Baratunde sits down with Source Code creator and former psychologist, Dr. Sam Rader , about how we can learn to citizen ...
Apr 27, 2023•1 hr 14 min•Season 4Ep. 12
There’s no shortage of volunteer opportunities or organizations offering them. But how often are the communities meant to benefit from all of this volunteer work determining what help is truly needed, and which issues are most pressing? Christian Vanizette has spent the last decade building MakeSense, a global network of over 100,000 citizens and entrepreneurs committed to solving social and environmental issues where they live — bringing neighbors together to share solutions to address local ch...
Apr 20, 2023•57 min•Season 4Ep. 11
Whether you’re a sports fanatic, or you’ve never stepped foot on a court or field—there’s a lot we can learn about citizening from the lens of coaches and athletes. To show us how sports can help us with teamwork, discipline, and a sense of play in our citizening efforts— Baratunde is joined by Steve Kerr , head coach of the NBA championship-winning Golden State Warriors and relentless advocate for gun violence prevention, along with Dr. Kensa Gunter , a clinical and sports psychologist, and Jam...
Apr 13, 2023•38 min•Season 4Ep. 10
How we gather matters. A lot. And what is a nation but a big ol’ gathering of gatherings? Baratunde talks with Priya Parker , facilitator and author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters , about how we can use gatherings as a tool for strengthening our relationships by doing things together that invoke joy and have meaning. Listen till the end to hear Priya answer a listener’s pressing question during the live taping. SHOW ACTIONS Internally Reflect - Gatherings & their imp...
Apr 06, 2023•1 hr 6 min•Season 4Ep. 9
The intensifying political division and violence in our country is concerning — but it’s not unique. And few know that better than Tim Phillips. For 30 years, his organization Beyond Conflict has been bringing people from opposing sides of violent divides together to find common ground. He shares insights from their research into human psychology that could hold keys for overcoming violent division, along with lessons from Northern Ireland, South Africa and beyond to help us fight polarization h...
Mar 30, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Season 4Ep. 8
According to Ruha Benjamin, we’re living inside someone else’s imagination. An imagination that limits our ability to build a more just, liberated world. So, how do we take back our agency and begin to seed something different? Baratunde talks with Princeton professor and founding director of the Just Data Lab , Ruha Benjamin to find out. SHOW ACTIONS Internally Reflect - Bear witness and create a ripple This one is inspired from Ruha’s book Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want which say...
Mar 23, 2023•52 min•Season 4Ep. 7
It’s no secret that our economy only works for a select few. But what would our economy look like if we prioritized people and the planet, instead of profit? Economist Kate Raworth says it might look like a doughnut and to build it requires changing how we talk about, teach, and imagine economics. Baratunde talks with Kate about her theory of doughnut economics and how we can build an economy that works for all life on Earth—exploring how our small acts of consumerism can enhance or degrade a cu...
Mar 16, 2023•52 min•Season 4Ep. 6
Imagine if the members of your group chat shared more than memes but also shared a bank account, or if the early users of a social media app helped decide how that app grew, made money, and moderated content. How does the group make decisions and make sure everyone is heard? Who decides how the money is spent? These are some of the questions Friends with Benefits (FWB), a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) has had to answer. Baratunde talks with FWB Mayor Alex Zhang about DAOs, online c...
Mar 09, 2023•1 hr 25 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Instead of electing politicians to represent us…what if we just represented ourselves? Peer to peer. Neighbor to neighbor. Baratunde talks with Claudia Chwalisz about citizens’ assemblies—groups randomly-selected by lottery that are shifting political and legislative power into the hands of everyday people. Claudia is one of the world’s leading voices on citizens’ assemblies and founder and CEO of DemocracyNext , an organization working to build new institutions for the next democratic paradigm....
Mar 02, 2023•1 hr 9 min•Season 4Ep. 4
We all know that voting alone won’t save democracy. But it does help…a lot. No one understands that better than voting rights organizer Nsé Ufot . She’s the former CEO of the New Georgia Project , where she leveraged technology and culture to register 600,000+ new voters. Nsé and Baratunde talk about why voting still matters and how we can bring love into the ways we citizen together. SHOW ACTIONS Internal Reflection - What Do You Love? Take a moment to reflect on what you LOVE about your city, ...
Feb 23, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Saving our democracy isn’t just about registering people to vote, ending gerrymandering, and so on. It’s about getting back to the basics of living together well through micro, everyday moments. To kick off season four of the show, Baratunde talks with writer, activist, and fellow Virgo adrienne maree brown about how we can learn to practice democracy in every space we’re in and how our small, civically-minded behaviors in society create a culture that isn’t easy to shake. Stay till the end to h...
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 29 min•Season 4Ep. 1
The stories we’re told & tell about ourselves shape the ways we act and how we citizen. And the story we’ve been living in for decades now is one of consumerism and self-interest. Baratunde talks with reformed ad-man and author of CITIZENS: Why the Key to Fixing Everything is All of Us Jon Alexander about how we can tell a new story rooted in community and interdependence. SHOW ACTIONS Internally Reflect - Tell a new story Think about the three stories – Subject, Consumer, and Citizen. Where...
Feb 16, 2023•1 hr 11 min•Season 4Ep. 2
The podcast for people tired of tuning into bad news is back with a fourth season and brand new ways to interpret the word “citizen” as a verb! This season we’re asking, how can the practice of “citizening,” in ways big and small, create a dope culture of democracy? We’re getting practical, sharing things you can try in your community, in your workplace, in your home, and within yourself. To help us, we’ll hear from people like adrienne maree brown, Steve Kerr, Priya Parker, Nsé Ufot, and you! O...
Feb 09, 2023•4 min
In this bonus episode, Baratunde learns how data, well-defined goals, and a sense of collective ownership are helping those at the front lines of America’s housing crisis work to solve, not manage, homelessness. His partner in conversation is Aras Jizan, the Portfolio Lead for Data and Technology for the Built for Zero initiative at Community Solutions. Guest: Aras Jizan Bio: Portfolio Lead for Data and Technology for the Built for Zero initiative at Community Solutions Online: Community Solutio...
Feb 18, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Baratunde asks how can we citizen with tech when we disconnect millions from technology and from society as a whole by incarcerating them? He closes the season in conversation with two people who’ve served time for felony convictions and are now working in tech to expand opportunities for all: Shaka Senghor, author and head of DEI for TripActions, and Teresa Hodge, president of Mission: Launch and co-founder of R3 Score which changes how employers use background checks. Guest: Shaka Senghor Bio:...
Dec 30, 2021•55 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Baratunde is reminded that “tech companies” are really just people and asks what it would mean for tech employees to think critically about their work and its impact and use that power to remake the industry from the ground up? He talks with Xiaowei Wang, whose work at Logic School helps workers answer those questions. They also discuss blockchain, rice farming in rural China, and tarot. It’s all connected. Guest: Xiaowei Wang Bio: Lead steward of Logic School, author of Blockchain Chicken Farm ...
Dec 23, 2021•48 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Baratunde continues his journey to discover how we can embed more justice into the data driving our increasingly automated lives and focuses on the most intimate data there is: our DNA. He talks with Krystal Tsosie, an indigenous geneticist, and bioethicist who fights for data sovereignty and the rights of indigenous peoples to have agency over their personhood and knowledge. Guest: Krystal Tsosie Bio: Indigenous (Diné/Navajo) geneticist-ethicist at Vanderbilt University and incoming faculty at ...
Dec 16, 2021•49 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Baratunde knows what is healthy to eat or not, thanks to the required nutrition labels on our food. But how do we know the ingredients in the algorithms and AI we depend on are safe to use? Baratunde speaks with Kasia Chmielinksi about the Data Nutrition Project, which helps data scientists, developers, and product managers assess the viability, health, and quality of the data that feeds their algorithms and influences our decisions daily. Guest: Kasia Chmielinski Bio: Co-Founder of the Data Nut...
Dec 09, 2021•37 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Can we inoculate ourselves against misinformation and conspiracy theories in the way we do for infectious diseases? Instead of debunking, can we “pre-bunk?” Sander van der Linden, co-founder of Inoculation Science, has created games that offer to do just that. Baratunde plays one of them and speaks with Sander about online misinformation campaigns, polarization, and how we can better protect ourselves. Guest: Sander van der Linden Bio: Professor of Social Psychology in Society at the University ...
Dec 02, 2021•47 min•Season 3Ep. 8
