Steve Pierson is an activist and organizer who has trained thousands of canvassing volunteers. He also co-hosts the podcast How We Win, where he interviews fellow activists, politicians, and insiders about what is happening on the front lines. You can find Steve on Instagram and Twitter @BluesBoySteve. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jun 15, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Heather (we aren’t using her last name) is a mother of two living in Alabama, a state that recently passed an anti-trans bill, SB184, that makes it a felony for her to seek the medical care her son needs. Heather discusses her family’s journey, her son, the recent wave of transphobia, and the repercussions of this bill. Please consider donating to Heather’s gofundme, which will allow her to relocate her family to a state where her son will be safe. They are very close to reaching their goal. Lea...
Jun 01, 2022•47 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Sebastian Junger is an award-winning author, journalist, and filmmaker. His newest book, Freedom, discusses the innate conflict between the need for community and the desire for independence. Sebastian is also the founder of Vets Town Hall, an organization that gives veterans a platform to share their stories. You can follow him on Twitter @SebastianJunger Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 18, 2022•43 min•Season 1Ep. 75
Amed Khan is an activist, philanthropist and humanitarian who worked with the International Rescue Committee after the Rwandan genocide. He's evacuated refugees from Afghanistan and helped them resettle safely, and he's now focused on Ukraine, helping to lead evacuation efforts there and deliver medical supplies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 16, 2022•39 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Currently, more than 76,000 Afghan refugees who have immigrated to the U.S. have been granted temporary, two-year humanitarian parole status. Shawn VanDiver and his coalition #AfghanEvac, with support from the White House, are urging Congress to pass the Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, which among other things, would provide these refugees with a path to a green card and permanent residency. If this does not pass in the coming days, Shawn believes that many Afghans will lose their tempo...
May 09, 2022•32 min•Season 1Ep. 73
Amanda Weinstein is a Professor of Economics at the University of Akron who studies the quality of life in suburban America. She is also the co-host of the podcast, The Suburban Women Problem. You can find her on twitter at @ProfWeinstein Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
May 04, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 72
David Pepper is an author and the former Chair of the Ohio Democratic Party. In his new book, Laboratories of Autocracy, David argues that the greatest threat to American Democracy is not the alt-right, January 6th, or even Donald Trump, but rather, the corrupt politicians in state houses across the country. You can find David on Twitter @DavidPepper Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 20, 2022•52 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Today’s episode consists of two interviews. First we’re joined by Anna, a Ukrainian student who was supposed to be finishing her senior year of high school. On the first day of the invasion, her city was targeted, and she fled to Poland. She was helped by our second guest, Nico Marseillan, a volunteer aid worker who has been assisting refugees at the border. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apr 12, 2022•36 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Olga Lautman is a researcher and analyst who has been monitoring Russian and Ukrainian internal politics for years. She’s a Senior Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, and the co-host of the Kremlin File, a podcast that details the rise of Putin and the spread of authoritarianism across the globe, including the Trump White House. You can Olga on Twitter @OlgaNYC1211, and make sure to check out her podcast, Kremile File. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Mar 29, 2022•59 min•Season 1Ep. 69
David Chasteen is a former CIA officer on the covert action staff. While at the agency, David conducted overseas operations, guided human intelligence collection, evaluated foreign threats to computer systems, and provided analysis on cyber issues to the president. David was also a consultant for the Amazon Prime series, Jack Ryan, starring John Krasinski, and the show is heavily influenced by David's experiences. You can find David on Twitter @DavidChasteen Learn more about your ad choices. Vis...
Mar 23, 2022•56 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Stephen Marche is an author and columnist whose work has appeared in Esquire, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and elsewhere. His new book, “The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future,” details ways in which a civil war could realistically break out in this country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 23, 2022•51 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Today we interviewed Nikolay, who’s a volunteer soldier in Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces. Shortly after the war began, his family was able to flee to the U.S., but despite having no military experience, Nikolay decided he had to stay and fight for his country. Please visit our website for a transcript of this interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 21, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Ward Carroll spent 20 years in the U.S. Navy as an F-14 Radar Intercept Officer, retired at the rank of commander, and went on to serve as the editor of Military.com. He now hosts a popular YouTube channel on military aviation. To hear more from Ward, visit his YouTube channel, or follow him on Twitter @wardcarroll Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 11, 2022•53 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots organization that advocates for and passes common sense gun laws. We’ve invited her back on the show to check in on the status of gun safety efforts and to learn what they might mean for candidates in the 2022 midterms. Visit MomsDemandAction.org and Everytown.org to learn more about Shannon and gun safety efforts. You can find these organizations on all social media platforms. You can also follow Shannon on Twitter at @ShannonRWat...
Mar 09, 2022•44 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Dan Barkhoff is a former Navy SEAL with multiple combat deployments, and an expert in urban warfare. In this interview, he discusses what the Russian invasion force is likely to face. This episode is a part of a series of special, unedited episodes that are separate from our normal content. As the invasion of Ukraine unfolds, we’ll be releasing these to provide you with timely insights from the experts. If you want to help, two of the most efficient organizations doing front-line work are Spirit...
Mar 03, 2022•45 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Oliya Scootercaster is a Ukrainian Video Journalist who has lived and reported around the globe, but recently returned to her hometown of Kyiv to document the ongoing conflict with Russia. We interviewed her right before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 23rd. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 25, 2022•22 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Billy Ray is an award-winning film producer, director, and writer whose credits include The Comey Rule, Captain Phillips, The Hunger Games, and a project in development titled J6, about the assault on the US Capitol. In his free time, he works with Democratic candidates to improve their messaging and communication, specifically as they relate to independents and disillusioned republicans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 23, 2022•54 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Josh Remillard is an Army Vet running for congress as a Democrat in North Carolina’s 13th congressional district. His campaign focuses on education, healthcare, and sustainability, and defeating Madison Cawthorn. For more information about his campaign, visit joshremillard.com Find Josh on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 09, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Dr. Kate Starbird is an Associate Professor at the University of Washington, where she co-founded the Center for an Informed Public, which is dedicated to resisting strategic misinformation, promoting an informed society, and strengthening democratic discourse. Her academic research focuses on how people use social media platforms during crises such as natural disasters, mass shootings, and lately, antidemocratic insurgencies. You can follow Dr. Starbird on Twitter at @katestarbird Learn more ab...
Jan 26, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 59
This week, to mark the one year anniversary of the January 6th Insurrection, we are re-airing the story of someone who was in the Capitol during the attack. Rep. Crow served as a House impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment trial in early 2020. In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection, he has been hailed by his colleagues in Congress as “one of the heroes of that day,” for his actions guiding fellow members to safety. Learn more about Jason’s legislative priorities at crow.house...
Jan 12, 2022•30 min•Season 1Ep. 58
On the one year anniversary of the January 6th insurrection, we’re sharing clips from six Burn the Boats interviews that delve into the causes and consequences of the attack. Here are the guests featured in this Bonus episode, with links to their full interviews: Anne Nelson, an award-winning war correspondent and author. Congressman Jason Crow, who was in the House Gallery during the attack Christian Picciolini, a former leader in the American white power movement who now works in extremism pre...
Jan 06, 2022•50 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Lucas Kunce is a Marine Corps veteran running to fill Missouri's vacant Senate seat in 2022. Lucas served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, and eventually went on to become an international negotiations officer at the Pentagon. He's now running a campaign that focuses on taking power out of the hands of corporate monopolies and putting it back in the hands of working people. To learn more about his campaign, visit lucaskunce.com You can also find him on Twitter at @LucasKunceMO Learn more about you...
Dec 29, 2021•49 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Heidi Heitkamp is a former Senator who represented North Dakota from 2013 to 2019. She was one of the only Democrats in the Senate representing a state that voted overwhelmingly for President Trump. Now, she helps lead the One Country Project, an organization dedicated to reopening dialogue with rural communities and advancing opportunities for rural Americans. You can find Heidi on Twitter at @HeidiHeitkamp For more information about One Country Project, visit their website, Onecountryproject.c...
Dec 15, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 55
Fred Wellman is the former Executive Director of the Lincoln Project. He is a Westpoint and Harvard graduate, and served in the Army as an aviator and public affairs officer for 22 years. The Lincoln Project is a political action committee that was founded in 2019 by former and present Republicans, with the goal of preventing the re-election of Donal Trump and defeating ‘Trumpism.’ You can find Fred on Twitter at @FPWellman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Dec 01, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 54
Tyler Merritt is an Activist, Author, Actor, and public speaker. His video monologue, “Before You Call the Cops,” garnered national attention after the murder of George Floyd in 2020, and has been viewed tens of millions of times. In his new book, I Take My Coffee Black, Tyler talks about his experiences as a black man in America, as well as privilege, religion, multiculturalism, and even musical theater. Follow Tyler on Twitter at @TTMProject, and on instagram at @thetylermerrittproject. Learn ...
Nov 17, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Kareem Crayton is an attorney, law professor, and academic whose work explores the effects of state-sanctioned racial discrimination on campaigns, elections, and governance. He served as the Executive Director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, and is the founder and Managing Partner of Crimcard Consulting, which is now advising the Virginia Redistricting Commission. You can learn more about Kareem and his work at kereemcratyon.com You can also follow him on Twitter at @KareemCrayton ...
Nov 03, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 52
Chris Harnisch was the Deputy Coordinator for Countering Violent Extremism at the State Department during the Trump Administration. Among other various national security roles, he also was the Director for Transnational Threats and the Director for Afghanistan at the National Security Council. Chris also is a part of the Army reserves. He served for 14 months in Kabul, Afghanistan, and worked for an intelligence task force that focused on corruption, organized crime, and insurgency. Learn more a...
Oct 20, 2021•46 min•Season 1Ep. 51
Shontel Brown is the Chairwoman of the Cuyahoga County Democratic party, and was both the first woman, and the first African American elected to the position. She recently won a heated primary in Ohio’s 11th congressional district, which gained national attention and has been seen as an indicator for the direction of the Democratic Party. Find Shontel on Twitter at @ShontelMBrown Learn more about her House campaign at shontelbrown.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoice...
Oct 06, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 50
In 2018, Miles Taylor anonymously authored a New York Times op-ed titled “I Am Part of the Resistance Inside the Trump Administration”. At the time, Miles worked in a senior role in the Department of Homeland security. Eventually, after Trump asked him and other officials to break the law, Miles quit. He decided to author a book, again anonymously, titled A Warning, which described in detail the morally gray, and sometimes blatantly illegal orders that came from the President. In the lead up to ...
Sep 22, 2021•50 min•Season 1Ep. 49
Amy McGrath talks about her new book, Honor Bound: An American Story of Dreams and Service, which details her groundbreaking time in the military, her tough political campaigns, and the challenges we face as a country. Follow Amy on Twitter at @AmyMcGrathKY Check out her interview from last year here For more details about her time in the Marine Corps, listen to her interview on our other podcast, Warriors In Their Own Words, out next Thursday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.f...
Sep 08, 2021•43 min•Season 1Ep. 48