A How to Citizen Huddle (Coach Steve Kerr & Friends)

We're leaving the theoretical clouds and hitting the ground with inspiring examples of people and institutions that are showing us new ways to govern ourselves. You know, since high school, athletics have not been a driving force in my life, not nearly as much as technology or politics. But as a child, your boy was pretty into sports. We're talking youth soccer, single season experiments in cross country, ouched and last, swimming even shorter, and wrestling well that's a funny story

for another day. But I spent years on the track and field team, very consistent. Shout out to coach Gold. Once I was out of school, though, I drifted from playing or even watching sports outside of championship games and major events like the World Cup. I told myself I was too busy for it and that it wasn't super

important to me. Instead, I'd obsess over to YouTube videos comparing the latest electric vehicles or home studio setups, and I'd click between the Washington Posts and the New York Times and a thousand tweets in an attempt to read all the articles on all the politics. But I've missed being part of a team, the camaraderie, shared victory, shared losses,

fans doing the wave in the stands poorly. More than the physicality of sports, I miss and respect its power to help us consist instantly show up for something, to build with others through relationships, and to use power for a collective self interest victory playing as a team. I missed that sports can provide a literal arena for us to practice. How to Citizen, Yeah, I'm talking about practice.

I mean, listen, we're talking about practice now. The conversation you're about to hear happen because of a collaboration between this podcast How to Citizen and some folks in the NCAA, the National Collegiate Athletics Association, who saw that connection between

athletics and citizening. College basketball coach Eric Revenue was fired up after police killed George Floyd in twenty twenty, and he wanted to do more to empower his players, so we helped to lead an effort that became known as the All Vote, No Play Pledge, where athletics take Election Day off from practice or games so players can vote

and volunteer. Coach Rev later teamed up with designer and educator Lisa K. Solomon of the Stanford d School, who was also designing better ways to get young people engaged in voting and civics more broadly, and we at How the Citizen joined these two in their efforts to train

athletes to become active citizens. Our executive producer and my wife, Elizabeth, led the collaboration on behalf of How the Citizen, and we've developed a pilot program and curriculum with NC double A coaches to translate their athletic coaching into citizen coaching. So what does that backstory have to do with Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr being in this episode title, Well, Coach Rev and Lisa Kay brought a group together let's call him a team to discuss why teaching civic culture

and citizening is vital for student athlete programs. The discussion was hosted by D one Ticker, creators of the most popular newsletter for college sports administrators, and they asked me to model rated after what I heard. I know I had to run tell you, and instead of telling you about it, I figured I just let you hear it directly, So you're gonna hear from three people BLUs me. Doctor Kensea Gunter is a clinical and sports psychologist and mental

health expert who works with student and professional athletes. Jamie Zaninovich is the Deputy Commissioner and COO of the PAC twelve Conference, the Western US conference representing over twenty sports at the collegiate D one level. And Steve Kerr is Steve Kerr. Kerk shot from and that's my story in and I'm sticking to it. I mean, head coach of the NBA championship winning Golden State Warriors. He's won nine titles,

five as a player and four coaching the Warriors. As important, though, is how he's used his platform repeatedly to stand up for a future free of avoidable, nonsensical and deadly gun violence. You've probably heard him going off in his press conferences. I'm tired, I'm so tired of getting up here and offering condolences too, to the devastated families that are out there. I'm so tired of the excuse me, I'm sorry. I'm

tired of the moments of silence. Enough. There's fifty Senators right now who refused to vote on HR eight, which is a background check rule that the House passed a couple of years ago. It's been sitting there for two years, and there's a reason they won't vote on it to hold on to power. Coach Kerr and I both lost our fathers to gun violence, so his way of showing up made it more personal, more emotional, more meaningful for

me to take part in the conversation too. So Doctor Kinson, Gunter Jamie Zaninovich, and Coach Kerr on the trinsic connection between sports and citizening after this break, what's up? I am honored to be in this Brady bunch box. This

is like the opening of a wonderful joke. A sports psychologist, a league commissioner, and a professional head coach walk into a zoom room to have a conversation about athletics, civics, and how to make teammates well beyond the field, the pool, the arena, but in our society at large, building America's teammates this idea of the principles of our podcast, that we show up and participate, invest in relationships with ourselves others in the planet, understand our power and how to

flex it, and doing that for our collective self interest, not just our individual self interest. That is prealigned with the best of athletics, the best of coaching. Was itian just about physical performance, it's about team performance, it's about collective benefit. It's about strength not just through force. So thank the three of you for making this time to be here today, and I want to start with each of you one of the time understanding why you're here.

What do you see as the alignment between athletics and civics, and what has brought to you to this conversation today. Doctor KENSA Gunter, let's go, well, thank you so much, Barren to today. It's a pleasure to be a part of this conversation. And I'll just jump right in to

answer your question by trade. I am a clinical and sports psychologist, and when you ask that question about what is the intersection between civics and why is it important to athletics, I think because at the root of who is participating in both Our humans are people, right, and so thinking about how we can engage and create environments where there's a sense of belonging to use your word, where there's the focus on the collective, I think that's

really important for us to think about. In sport historically has been used as a platform by many to advocate for issues around justice and injustice and equity, and I think it's one of those rare places in society where we see the value of team, we see the ben a fit of coming together, and if we can take the lessons that we learn in athletics and apply them to the world at large, I think that really can create again one of those environments where, like you said,

we're all teammates for one another. And so I think really looking at the way in which the people who participate in athletics and sports can teach us lessons about how to participate and how to citizen is really a huge place where that comes together and there's benefits to our mental, emotional, and collective wellness when we think about how we do this thing together again, whether it's civics or whether it's sports, it's how we do life together,

and that I think is the bridge that connects the two. How we do life together. That's a bumper sticker. That's a call to action right there. Thank you so much, doctor A Deputy Commissioner Jamie Zaninovich, can you answer the same question, why are you here and what are you seeing as a connection between athletics and civics? Yeah? Well, first of all, thanks for having me. It's humbled to be a part of this group for sure, and inspired by your words and doctor Gunter's words. Listen, I think

there's two things for me. I've worked in college athletics my whole life. I now work at the Pac twelve. The reason I work in college athletics is because it is about this co curricular activity, right, It's really about what young people who come to us when they're eighteen years old and spend four or five, sometimes six years with us, how they can develop emotionally, socially, in other words, otherwise, not just through the classroom, but in the fields of play,

in the swimming pool, on the track. The lessons that they can learn being part of these teams, achieving, failing, struggling, learning how to activate their voice, their passion and be a teammate and be a citizen. I think it's incredibly powerful, and as a result, you create these dynamics within these teams.

With the profile and the popularity now of college athletics, where these student athletes now have incredible platforms and they in the PAC twelve we encourage them to activate those platforms. And we've seen that sort of across many sports and our seven thousand athletes for years. You Know. The other thing I would say is I'm very to be part of the PAC twelve. We have a long tradition of having game changers, right. You go back to Arthur Ashe,

you go back to Jackie Robinson. We have had athletes in our conference that have been brave and forward thinking and have had the courage to help change society through their sport. And that's something that I think is incredibly powerful.

I think you've seen sport change society in so many ways over time, and we should not lose that now more than ever, with the hope that we need to give the next generation, we all have a responsibility to leverage what we do in my case and Steve's case and others in sport to help change society or what is our impact, What is our real legacy? Yeah, that

sport goes so much farther than just sport. We're having this conversation about Serena Williams right now collectively, and that's not just about tennis, right, It's about representation, power of health, equity, so many different things connected to that tennis court. But well beyond coach Steve Kerr in the house, man, I've been trying to stay calm this whole time. I'm gonna be very professional. Yeah, we got to doctor the commissioner. Man.

Come on now, hello, welcome, Thanks for having me, thank you for being had with us here. And the same question to you, what brings you here and what do you see as the connection between athletics and cities? Well, I may have another bumper stick sticker for you. You know, I played for a couple of amazing coaches. Actually I played for like five amazing coaches, but two of them stand out in particular in terms of their ability to connect life and basketball. And Phil Jackson used to have

a great saying he would tell us in Chicago. He said, life is a metaphor for basketball, and basketball as a metaphor for life. And I really connected to that, because it's amazing how true that is. You know, when you're on a really good team and you feel that sense of community and you feel that connection, the team's better.

And when you translate that to life and you witness something really beautiful, whether it's a classroom of students who are really interactive and learning and from each other and teaching each other and enjoying each other's company, or maybe a thriving business or a panel of people talking and really connecting, you can feel that a connection between people

is really a powerful force. Whether it's a force for winning basketball games or a force for changing society, it's that connection, that teamwork that ultimately creates what you're looking for. So I think Phil was right. You know, basketball really is a metaphor for life and for anybody who out

there who is actually coaching. One of the lessons that I've really learned is that engaging your athletes in things like civic responsibility is not just important in terms of making the world a better place, but it's a pretty powerful tool to make the team better too. Civics can mean a lot of things, and one of pet peeves is that it sometimes is whittled down solely to voting. Voting is critical and essential, and so that's a part of the puzzle. It also includes many other things, and

so inclusive of voting for anyone. And feel free to cross talk with each other as you hear something that may resonate from someone else. What have you seen in your worlds of athletics, whether it's students who are your patients, they're in your leagues, they're adults on your team right now or in their journey to get to you to where you are right now. What type of civic engagement, what type of citizening are you seeing that it's deeply

connected to the world of athletics. Anybody can jump in first. I mean, I guess I'll start. I'll go back to twenty twenty in our conference, and what a dynamic time

after George Floyd headed to a pandemic. And one of the things I think that was pretty incredible and dynamic that we saw in the PAC twelve was just how these young people, these eighteen to twenty one year olds that are so incredible on the courts and also sort of leadership roles, were inspiring We adults, right, it's really not their job, but they were really grabbing their head coaches, grabbing their assistant coaches and saying, hey, there's a march

in Boulder tonight. Hey there's a march in Berkeley tonight. We're going get the team together. Let's wear our stuff. To Steve's point, this is going to be a team bonding exercise because it's going to be something that we can do together that's going to have an impact on

something much bigger than all of us. It was incredibly emotional because it really was sort of going back to some of the real impactful sort of civil rights history in this country where the young people were taking it upon themselves, which again they shouldn't have to do, but they were so inspired by their energy, and you know, these athletes have this unique ability to, like Steve said, bring people together and to lead as a collective in

a way that was really really powerful. So that's just one thing that I remember from a couple of years ago, and that's continued. I think we're pretty proud of our programs in the Pact twelve that that activity is not alt thanks to people like Coach Revenue and others. Naturally, they've reminded everyone how to citizen that this should be core to team building exercises and otherwise. So for me, that was one thing that really kind of inspired me, honestly, Yeah,

I think so. I was trying to think through kind of how I've seen a position, how I've seen this civics and this activism, if you will, outside of voting, And what comes to mind for me is the power of sharing your story as a way of humanizing people. Right.

And we talk about understanding our power and understanding the systems that we're in, but I also think a huge piece of civics is trying to understand the people that we're living alongside, right, and viewing them not just in the context of what they do or what platform they may hold. I really feel like trying to see them as the people that they are, whether it's humanizing, this

conversation about civics humanizing the conversation about voting. Voting is not just about going to the poll, but those votes that you cast have very real implications for the lived experience of people beyond that moment. And so as I think about athletes who have worn certain phrases on the back of their jerseys, if I think about the single

site experience and the bubble experience. If I think about Black Lives Matter being written on the court for the w NBA seasons, If I think about the ways in which based in Atlanta, the Atlanta Dream were really instrumental in one of our Congress votes here a few years ago, right thinking about Reverend one up, And if I think about the way in which people have activated in that way but also demon strated activism by sharing more of their story so that you get to know more of

who they are. And for me, again, the mental health story has been one that's been really powerful. So I think, yes, action around issues that are important, but also sharing more of our story, humanizing us as people understanding the collective, but also understanding the people that make up that collective. I think that to me feels like a huge element of the civics conversation. That's a really powerful reminded doctor

the humanity piece. I think you know, as much as I can pick at this idea that it's more than just voting. I also appreciate you reminding us it doesn't always have to be kind of in the street activism either. And I know a lot of us feel pressure when we hear like participating your civic community and get involved. It's like do I have to go on a march, am I getting petition signed? And it can also be

from the mental health perspective. I'm thinking of some own biles and the kind of leadership that it takes as a high performance person to say I'm not down to perform right now. And here's some of why health exactly exactly and so not just performance right remind you there's a person in there that we need to privilege and value and honor honor in the person there. Coach Kur, do you have anything to add in terms of some things you've seen as how people are showing up more

actively in their civic lives. Yeah, I'm really struck by what doctor Gunter talked about in terms of just being human and being present. For so many athletes that they're in the limelight, and you know, they want to make sure they're using their name, using their words for a good cause, but sometimes it's just being there listening. And I had a really amazing experience with Steph and Clay about quick Explainer Tune day for anyone who's not a

basketball nerd. Steph Curry and Clay Thompson are NBA players. They played for Coach Curse team the Golden State Warriors, and they're really really good at basketball and apparently citizening amazing experience with Steph and Clay about three years ago.

It was just before the pandemic. And I do some work with gun violence prevention and I have a good friend in Oakland and Mike McBride, he's a pastor who does amazing work, and I invited Steph and Clay to come with me to one of the meetings that Pastor

McBride has every month in Oakland. And it was part of this gun violence prevention program where everybody involved in that community in Oakland, whether it's police, social workers, the mayor, mayor Livy schaff was their pastors, gang members, everybody gathered for this roundtable discussion that actually helped to limit gun violence in Oakland. Really powerful program. Steph and Clay just came.

It didn't take part. They just observed and to watch all of the people in that room see the look on their face and for them to know that man Steph and Clay her warriors, like these guys care, they care about us. It was really powerful. There were no cameras there. Nobody ever knew Steph and Clay were there, So this wasn't about you know, some headline or like showing who they was, just humanity and just being there for people in the community who are either victims of

gun violence or people trying to limit gun violence. And it was it was a really great reminder to me of what doctor Gunter just mentioned. Just the humanity piece, just connecting with your fellow human being, now powerful that can be, especially for people who have that type of power that you know Steph and Clay do, I mean people in the limelight. They can really impact people just by being there. But really we all can, you know, just showing humanity to each other is just so so

crucial to anything that we're talking about. The willingness to kind of learn in public and use the power of your presence on behalf of someone, those combined are are really powerful. I think. I know, I feel a lot of pressure in the current moments, whether it's climate related, race related politics, electoral politics, related LGBTQ issues, there's a list that we often feel pressure to have a statement ready, you know, what is your stance on how do you

feel about this position? And it's okay not to know, you know, and to learn having the answers isn't the point being curious? I think is a really essential value, greater than having knowledge itself. After the break the risks and rewards of speaking up, I'm curious about any of the hard parts. And that can be interpreted in a number of ways. What occurs to me is you've got some public and outside pressure from the shut up and dribble wing, right, why are you meddling and muddying and

these matters? Just perform? Do your thing. There's also the challenge of fatigue and even backlash to a level of activism and statement making by folks involved in athletics, and the twenty twenty moment has passed in certain ways where a lot of these companies needs are pulling back and

people are kind of retrenching. So maybe there's a fatigue challenge, or maybe there's some other challenge in this work that you've identified that what do you think people need to know about what might be hard as you continue to weave the athletics and active citizenship world together, A doctor gunt, could you start us off with anything you might have

experienced or witness. It takes work, and it takes intentional effort, right, Like, I think that's one of the things that sometimes is hard because in the midst of all the other responsibilities that we are trying to adhere to, in the midst of trying to learn offenses and defenses and due strength and win games and build team in our sport, in

addition to also living our personal lives. As we talk about this how to be a citizen, it takes deliberate effort and work to dedicate yourself to having a level of humility that allows you to recognize there are multiple truths that coexist in the world that we live in, and trying to understand somebody else's experience takes intention, right, Trying to educate your yourself about issues that you may not be familiar with takes intention, That takes effort, and

so it's not just going to happen, right, But I think that is a part of the hardness. In the moments where we may feel more disconnected than we've ever felt, In the moments where we may heal burned out, where we may heal exhausted, it's important for us to take care of ourselves. Let me be clear, right, we absolutely need to do those things to try to restore ourselves and replenish our energy. But it takes effort to be

in community, to value the collective. But ultimately we all want to feel like we belong and so that level of reciprocity, that level of us needing to be able to give and to take, to show up and to listen, to be present and to sometimes do all of that takes work. And so I think the hard part is this is not something that can happen separate from the life you're living. This has to be integrated into the life you live, and it takes effort, but the reward

can be tremendous. We want to close on those rewards and I'll have to do a kind of lightning round. Deputy Commissioner Jamie, do you have anything to add on this one? Doctor Gunder's words really really struck me. I think, you know, we don't always know what actions are the right actions to take, but I think as leaders you can always approach it with a vulnerability and a curiosity, right, And I think it's really important. I think Coach Kurr

talked about this with the players. To say I don't know, or just to start with emotions, say I'm scared, that concerns me. I don't know what the action is, but if we can open up the conversation by being vulnerable people and being willing to learn, that opens up the conversation from especially those in leadership positions like coaches. The more vulnerable and authentic you're willing to be, and we're seeing this in the next generation of athletes. I'm sure

Coach Kurrs as well. You have to do it that way. You have to connect with them right, to motivate them and to keep them bought into the team. So there's an incentive system in that too. But I just think this authenticity, this vulnerability, of this willingness to not know, just opens up the door or for people to work together instead of you know what, we've seen a lot which is shutting down and people taking kind of bifurcated positions.

Coach Kerves, what's the hard part you've seen in intertwining these kind of different parts of people's identity and to anticipate where doctor Gunner was going to take us. What's the reward? What makes it work? Yeah? Well, I think what Jamie mentioned is so important, you know, the vulnerability aspect of it, but the hard part of being vulnerable is that we're living in an era where you know, people are out there ready to pounce as soon as

you make a mistake. And that's that's what I've found, you know, being in the in the public eye, I've had to really make sure that I feel like I have a good grasp on what I'm talking about, you know. So I think it's important if you're going to be involved in the community and involved in some kind of you know, social change that you're looking for, find a passion, find something that you're particularly interested in, and focus on it and read about it and get to know your subject.

For me, that topic gun violence. I lost my dad to gun violence when I was eighteen years old, and so that issue is my passion and I've really had to learn over really since i started talking about it publicly, which started in about twenty sixteen. I think I've had to learn a lot of things. You know, I made a lot of mistakes just with my words and phrases.

For example, you know, if you want to try to connect with people who are on the other side of the gun issue, don't say gun control, you know, we say gun violence prevention. It's an important distinction because if you want to actually make a connection with people and actually create progress, there's got to be common ground. And I've got a dozen other things that I could say in the same realm of expressions that I needed to learn, things that I needed to learn, statistics that I had

to learn. But because it was a passion of mine, I really wanted to learn, and I found great resources to help me. And now I've really connected with some of the gun violence prevention groups you know nationally, with the Brady Center and Gifford's March for Our Lives. I've learned so much from these people. But the reward has been phenomenal. I've received letters and calls from high school students, junior high school students thanking me for speaking up based

on what's happening around the country. It's incredibly inspiring to learn and grow and meet like minded people and what is really a nationwide movement to try to improve our society. So I guess that's my thought. My advice is to focus on something that you're passionate about, Otherwise you can get, you know, sort of get yourself in a little bit of trouble. But the rewards are really really impressive and satisfying.

We are always short on time and discussions like these, doctor guns there, I want to give you an opportunity. Any last thought that you want to share, I'll come to you, Jamie, as well as you coach current. Then I'll put a button on this and let us get back to the rest of our days and our citizen And go ahead, doctor. There are two things that came to mind. And I've used this phrase now and a lot of talks and presentations that I do, and I'm sure it came from somebody much wiser than me, but

I'll share it. And it's We're human beings, not human doings, right, And so as we think about civics, as we think about team, as we think about community, as we think about ourselves, it's really important for us to think about how we show up and how we can be in the world. And a just an equitable society is beneficial for all of us. And again I have to take it back to the mental health part, right, Like our mental health is impacted by what happens in us, to

us and around us. So in addition to thinking about the ways that we take care of ourselves, the ways that we take care of each other. And the way that we help to create systems that promote health and wellness for the collective really creates a society that's better for all of us. And so those are some of the things that I think are important about this intersection and how it intersects with life. Thank you for that, Jamie.

You know, again, working with young people like we do in college sports, you know, I think there's really this void of hope for the future for them, and I really hope that our leadership, you know, and I think that is affecting their mental health. We're hearing it stories every day in terms of we're trying to load up the services on campus. It's not just athletes, it's it's college students more broadly and youth more generally. But there's really this lack of hope because of sort of everything

that they're being bombarded with. And I hope as leaders we can turn that around, and I think it will lead to better mental health and lead to better the reward will be a more just, comforting and supportive society for all of us. It's a massive undertaking. But whether it's climate change or social justice or otherwise, you know, these kids are being bombarded and I hope we can all step up and make a brighter future for them.

Related to that, I think coach kerb brought up something really important, which is this notion of sort of talking to the other side, right. I mean, we have people that are so entrenched in their positions and we need to find way, and his is a good example to reach out and to speak to quote unquote the other side and people that have different ideals and philosophies and otherwise and come together in a way to determine this brighter future for sort of the young people of tomorrow

who will lead us when we need their help. So those are sort of my two takeaways Code Curve bring us home. As Jamie said, our athletes, our students are getting bombarded with bad news and the difficulty of living modern life. As a result, it can cloud the picture. You know, there's a sense that, oh, my gosh, the world's in a terrible place. The world's actually in a way better place than it was fifty years ago. There's a lot of great things happening. There's a lot of

wonderful people doing amazing things. There's a lot of beauty on earth. Yes, there are a lot of problems. But we live in a time where it's media for profits. It's just people trying to make money by sensationalizing everything, which is terrible for our mental health. So how can we help our students and our athletes and people around us understand that? Pardon my French, but all that stuff is bullshit, right, It really is. What matters is human connection truth And how do you get to the truth.

It's it's through communication and respect and and interacting with people in your community. But we've got to find a way to lessen the mental impact of all this bombardment of negativity and divisiveness that is in many ways created just for profit in our world. Thank you for naming that. Thank you all for this beautiful communication, very respectful. I feel more connected to each of you in certain ways,

Coach Kurr. I didn't remember that about you. I lost my father a gun violence when I was a child as well, and so I'm feeling extra human with all of you right now. Thank you for your vulnerability, your honesty, and your reminders as I interpret it, that we're not alone. You know, some of the weight that we've described, some of the news pressures, some of the criticisms and expectations. They weigh more heavily when we try to carry them

by ourselves. And the principle of sport, as well as the principle of a democratic, small d society or any society, really is that we're stronger together. Our health is improved when we take it in a collective consideration and know that we can't do any of these things all by ourselves. That's really a tortuous and unhappy life. So thanks for coming together to remind us that we can be better together. Really appreciate all of your time here and certainly off screen.

Thank you wa. We moved fast through that. That was one of the most efficient conversations I've been a part of in a while. It makes me think and really reminds me that there are so many ways to citizen. There's so many on ramps to having us create a culture we're caring about and fighting for our communities, and

our democracy is actually exciting and cool and inviting. And I am clearly not the dude out there always talking about sports, but I'm aware enough to know that billions of people are deeply connected to them and the sense of belonging they provide that team's spirit extends well beyond

the players, into the stands, into the living rooms. So the more things we can connect to this idea of citizen as a verb that people are already connected to, I say use it because that's more likely to help us create the culture and society we want to live in. Ergo Therefore, sports, sports, sports, sports, sports, whatever it takes to help us learn, to help us practice. Yeah, I'm

talking about practice. Listen, We're talking about practice. A huge thank you to doctor KENSA Gunser, Jamie Zaninovich, and coach Kerr for their ongoing work and for sharing their wisdom. Also, again, big thanks to Lisa Kay Solomon and coach Eric Revenoe for inviting us to be a part of this discussion and for being great partners in citizening. As always, we've got some specific actions you can take after listening to this episode that fall into three categories reflection, learning, and

public participation. So go on build on the momentum you feel after listening to these incredible people. Our suggestions for internal reflection are inspired by doctor kinseb Gunter. For those of you that played sports, how did belonging to a team make you feel? What about teamwork was easy for you? What about it was hard? And if you weren't into sports, hello picture any other team you've been a part of,

whether it's school, or work or somewhere in between. What personal benefits that you receive by coming together with others to work on something. Now, when terms of getting more informed, we got a simple recommend to go to our website how does citizen dot com because we've designed a quiz just for you. It's called what makes You Citizen and we built it to help you figure out what topics

or issues you're most interested in. So take the quiz and once you get your results, we've got episodes you can listen to, and books and articles to read to get you started. For our final action recommendation, I invite you to join me in attending a gathering in your community. I'm not showing up to your community. I'm showing up in mind. But think about a council meeting, a nonprofit assembly, a school board meeting, a church pot luck, any kind

of community forum to simply be present and listen. I'm going to find one in my neighborhood in Highland Park, Los Angeles. These neighborhood council meetings have been on my list for a long time, so I'm going to do it, and then I'm going to report back on the how does Citizen Instagram at how to Citizen and share with you what I learned, not what I said, what I learned. As always, we'd love to hear from you about your experiences taking any of the actions after listening to an episode.

Did you discover a cause for the first time driven by your passion? Did you join me in attending a community gathering just to bear witness? Tag or DMUs on Instagram at how to Citizen, And if you don't do the social media thing, we got you, you can also just email us comments at how to citizen dot com. We may even ask to share your story with our listeners. If you take any of these actions, please brag about it online and use the hashtag how to Citizen. Also

tag our Instagram how to Citizen. I am always online and I really do see your messages, so send them. You can also visit our website, how to citizen dot com, which has all of our shows, full transcripts, actions and more. How to Citizen with barrettun Day as a production of iHeartRadio podcasts and Row Home Productions. Our executive producers are Me barrettun Day Thirsty, and Elizabeth Stewart. Our lead producer is Ali Graham, Our associate producer is Danya abdel Hamid.

Alex Lewis is our managing producer, and John Myers is our executive editor and mixed engineer. Original music by Andrew Eapen with additional music by Blue Dot Sessions. Special thanks to Joel Smith from iHeart Radio and lay Labina. Next time on how the Citizen we go to Paris really every three weeks, we have a big happening in front

of the Lloyd's Marketplace. They had one hundred and fifty den Sels who came and did a show of I forgot her name, chim Chimney him Mary pops okay, And so they did because the story of bankers being sad. Because so they had one hundred and fifty bankers with fake fake Mary. Path to the Future Insures product Come back to hear my conversation with Christian vunny Zette about organizing volunteers into activists and bringing joy, dance parties and

innovation to the fight for climate justice. Row Home Productions