Brent Wilkes is the former CEO of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and a lifelong advocate for Latino rights. We discuss what fair and comprehensive immigration could be, the positive impact of immigrant labor in the US economy, and how we can demand sound immigration policy at the ballot box. Our economy depends on immigrant labor Immigrants are doing some of the hardest jobs in America for the lowest amount of pay, such as producing food, building houses, and providing care...
Jul 21, 2018•25 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Hetfield is the President and CEO of HIAS, the oldest refugee assistance organization in operation. We discuss our humanitarian obligations to refugees, the tremendous benefits that they bring to American society, and bust the misconceptions about the current refugee situation in the US. Taking refugees is an act of humanity: Refugees have escaped persecution, their country, their homes, and their jobs in order to survive. The Refugee Convention of 1951 is an international law that requires...
Jul 14, 2018•27 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Paul Lagunes is a Columbia University political scientist whose scholarship focuses on corruption in the Americas. His current book project is Corruption and Oversight: Insights from Field Experiments. We define corruption, discuss how it relates to democracy, and learn that voting is a tool to fight against it. Corruption is a contingent behavior In a world of multiple equilibriums, the rules of the game differ from place to place, thus it may be rational to engage in corruption in certain cont...
Jul 07, 2018•26 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast Raise consciousness: Globalists have been willing to stand by while many people were left behind. Elites need to acknowledge their complicity in order to reverse the increasing division between us and them, as well as make clear to people in power that the current version of globalism is not acceptable. More experiments are necessary: The only effective way to tackle global issues is to start experimenting around possible solutions, each of us in the ways that we can. There are already many inte...
May 26, 2018•32 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Shafi Goldwasser is an award-winning mathematician and computer scientist and the Director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley. Her most notable work is in cryptography and zero knowledge proof. We discuss the promise of cryptography to make our society more secure. Data privacy and you: Cryptography is the field that deals with the privacy and correctness of how our information is used. It makes our data more secure, with a range of tools such as encryption, authe...
May 19, 2018•33 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Jennifer March is the Executive Director of the Citizen’s Committee for Children of New York. This non-profit and nonpartisan child advocacy organization combines public policy research and data analysis with citizen action. We discuss family homelessness, juvenile justice, and the power of effective advocacy. Growing up poor likely leads to long term damaging outcomes: Every child should be guaranteed a prosperous environment with proper access to health care, housing, education, and safe livin...
May 12, 2018•28 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke represents his hometown, El Paso, TX. Currently a Candidate for US Senate, he is running a people-powered campaign, visiting every single county in Texas and listening to the needs and concerns of the state’s constituents. We talk about how to rebuild our democracy, the necessity of bipartisanship, and how big money corrodes our political process. Rebuilding democracy from the ground up: We need representatives who truly represent the people by directly engag...
May 05, 2018•27 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Ruth Milkman is a sociologist of labor and labor movements, and Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the CUNY Graduate Center and at the Joseph S. Murphy Institute for Worker Education and Labor Studies. We examine the role of unions for workers, the main factors of de-unionization, and the potential leadership by millennials in this space. It’s safer to speak up as a group: The purpose of unions is to give workers a collective voice in relation to their employers. They also negotiate contrac...
Apr 28, 2018•31 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Robert Hammond is the executive director and co-founder of Friends of the High Line, which was the driving force behind turning an abandoned elevated railroad in New York City into a public park. We discuss the essential role of a city’s public open spaces and how exhilarating it is to pursue your dreams. Parks are at the intersection of social issues: Parks have a role in our social issues from economic injustice to education and the environment. A city’s true ingredient is people, and parks al...
Apr 21, 2018•28 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Nick Ehrmann is the founder and president of Blue Engine, which was borne from the discovery that the strongest predictor of college completion is sustained academic rigor in high school coursework. The organization re-imagines the classroom in order to teach students how to master core academic skills and be truly ready for college. Prepare for success College readiness is defined by the ability to persist and complete degrees. We need to equip students with skills and habits of mind that allow...
Apr 14, 2018•25 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Tyler Ruzich is a 17-year old Republican candidate for governor of Kansas, one of eight teens in the race this year. We discuss what it means to be a Republican of the next generation, why it’s important to get involved now, and what young people can do to become more engaged. Young people offer fresh perspectives: We can make better decisions when we are well informed and more educated. Young people bring ideas and perspectives that may not have been considered before. They’re eager to do somet...
Apr 07, 2018•23 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast A sneak peek of our next episode: civic engagement requires no minimum age. Tyler Ruzich, 17-year old Kansan, shows us how.
Mar 31, 2018•56 sec•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast In the 8th and last episode of Season 1, we discuss the elder boom, and the increasing importance of home care and domestic work in our society. Award-winning activist Ai-Jen Poo, a leading advocate for domestic workers’ rights and family care, discusses the challenges of the elder boom. She lays out how home care can help us face the coming demographic change and the ways in which we can engage to demand a new Caring infrastructure. The Care Crisis is Here: Baby boomers are aging at a rate of 1...
Mar 10, 2018•21 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Andrea Miller is the president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health. We talk about the broad support among men for Roe vs. Wade, the Hyde Amendment, and the two most damaging misconceptions about abortions. This interview belongs to a two-part episode in which we discuss the importance of reproductive rights and why we should engage with this issue for the general welfare of our communities. Listen to the first part here . Men Are Supportive: There is no huge gender gap in attitudes...
Mar 06, 2018•20 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Andrea Miller is the president of the National Institute for Reproductive Health. We talk about the impact that reproductive legislation has in society and how it’s historically been affected by safety and public health concerns. This interview belongs to a two-part episode in which we discuss the importance of reproductive rights and why we should engage with this issue for the general welfare of our communities. Listen to the second part here . Learn the Facts: Polls show that 80% of the publi...
Mar 03, 2018•25 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Joe Hartigan has cracked the code on how to effect change. He is a retired NYC Fire Department lieutenant and community activist since 1995. His passion, dedication, and consistency over many years brought about ferry service for the residents of Rockaway, Queens. Every community would benefit from a fervent advocate like Joe. We can become advocates for our communities by focusing on specific issues, joining forces, and staying persistent. Show Up: Showing up and pushing the point helps you to ...
Feb 24, 2018•26 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Roland Augustine is an art dealer, tireless activist, and active member at the Bard College Prison Initiative. We discuss the necessity of finding new ways of activism for social justice in our daily lives. Be an Advocate: Civic engagement means becoming an advocate for social equality and social justice. It can begin at the most basic level such as your town or school. You can give hands-on support and/or money to a cause that is important to you. Consistent and rigorous advocacy creates more k...
Feb 17, 2018•24 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast James R. Doty, MD, is a neurosurgeon and clinical professor at Stanford University. He shows us how to shape our own lives and of those around us by reframing, practicing compassion, and living with an open heart. Reframe Negative talk dominates our narrative. What we tell ourselves manifests in our lives. Positive talk is based on kindness towards oneself. Practice Compassion When you change the way you look at the world, then the world changes the way it interacts with you. Accepting the reali...
Feb 10, 2018•28 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Richard K. Betts, Ph.D, is the Director of the Saltzmann Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University. We talk about how we can be meaningful stakeholders in foreign policy by voting and supporting political movements. Vote & Support We must use our power to vote and support political movements in order to activate fundamental change in our world. Be an active volunteer in an organization Historically, the United States has been a country of joiners in various organizations to promo...
Feb 03, 2018•30 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Matt Kalmans is the CEO and co-founder of Applecart, a strategic political consultancy and lab. We discuss the power of voting, how social pressure can influence our actions, and the ways in which science and technology can help us understand our political behavior. Human communication is the strongest tool for high civic engagement Most decisions we make on a day-to-day basis are based on what our friends and co-workers tell us. Real life conversations are deeply influental in our political beh...
Jan 27, 2018•29 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Bernard Harcourt is an author, lawyer, and critical theorist. In our conversation, we discover that civic engagement is a learned skill, the power of collective action, and the importance of remembering our truths and values. Voting is a learned skill A study showed that children who experienced the voting process or political conversations with their parents showed more civic engagement. It's a skill that can be learned and should be promoted. Children and young people should learn that they ca...
Jan 20, 2018•23 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast A sneak peak of the first episode of Future Hindsight — Bernard Harcourt discusses why and how civic engagement matters.
Jan 18, 2018•1 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast The Future Hindsight podcast launched on January 20, 2018. Join us for our premier episode where we interview Bernard Harcourt to speak about civic engagement and The Holder Initiative.
Jan 08, 2018•1 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast 
