The Authoritarian Playbook: Yelena V. Litvinov & Tatyana Margolin

We discuss the myriad of ways to fix Congress, ranging from campaign finance reform and age limits to town hall meetings and stopping violence against members of Congress.    Maya's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Engage with your member of Congress! Share what matters for you and demand your member to take action   Maya Kornberg is senior research fellow at NYU Law's Brennan Center for Justice and author of Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress.   Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Maya on X:  https://x.com/KornbergMaya    Read Stuck:  https://bookshop.org/shop/futurehindsight    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Maya Kornberg Executive Producer: Zack Travis Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the radical idea that dissidence belongs to all of us. Living with truth is the starting point to being a citizen changemaker and to taking impactful civic action.   Gal's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Be in person Be deliberate about how you operate online   Gal Beckerman is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author of How to Be a Dissident.     Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Gal on X:  https://x.com/galbeckerman    Read How to Be a Dissident:  https://bookshop.org/shop/futurehindsight    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Gal Beckerman Executive Producer: Zack Travis Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the vision of an everyone-a-changemaker society. Now is the moment to step up to protect healthy civil society in America by making the mechanisms and the rituals for participation in local politics more robust and more meaningful.   Michael's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  1) Find a place to plug in at the local level 2) Go to a Civic Saturdays event near you   Michael Zakaras is the director of Ashoka US, the world's largest network of social entrepreneurs and a global leader in social innovation.   Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Ashoka on X:  https://x.com/Ashoka    Check out Ashoka US: https://www.ashoka.org/en-us    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Michael Zakaras Executive Producer: Zack Travis Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss why Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is running for Senate in Michigan and what kind of Senator he aspires to be. A public health expert with deep understanding of the healthcare system, Dr. El-Sayed believes that Medicare for All can be a realistic future.    Abdul's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  1) Have an in-person conversation with someone you disagree with 2) Find the thing that you share in common   Abdul El-Sayed is a doctor, public health expert, and candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan. He's also the author of Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide.   Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Abdul on X:  https://x.com/AbdulElSayed    Learn about the campaign:  https://abdulforsenate.com/    Read Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide:  https://bookshop.org/shop/futurehindsight    Sponsor:  Get the right life insurance for you and save more than 50% on term life insurance at SelectQuote.com/HOPEFUL    Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Abdul El-Sayed Executive Producer: Zack Travis Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the foundational lies of the Lost Cause, the organic nature of more recent lies, and the constant vigilance necessary to defend democracy.   Ann's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  1) Pay attention to what your (or your children's) textbooks are saying 2) Speak up if there is a historical site near you that is being erased   Ann Bausum is an award-winning historian and the author of White Lies: How the South Lost the Civil War, Then Rewrote History.   Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Ann on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/AnnBausum/    Read White Lies:  https://bookshop.org/shop/futurehindsight    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Ann Bausum Executive Producer: Zack Travis Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the main goals of copaganda: narrowing our conception of safety and threat, constantly warning us that those harms are increasing, and telling us that the solution to our fears is more investment in the punishment bureaucracy.   Alec's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  1) Educate yourself on how copaganda works 2) Read the Copaganda book in a group!   Alec Karakatsanis is the founder and executive director of Civil Rights Corps and author of Copaganda: How Police and the Media Manipulate Our News.   Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Alec on X:  https://x.com/equalityalec/    Read Copaganda:  https://bookshop.org/shop/futurehindsight    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful. Get the right life insurance for you and save more than 50% on term life insurance at SelectQuote.com/HOPEFUL    Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guest: Alec Karakatsanis Executive Producer: Zack Travis Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the building blocks of the authoritarian playbook, the strategy behind intersectional solidarity, and the power of knowing your neighbor.   Yelena & Tatyana's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  1) Go local! 2) Get to know your neighbors   Yelena and Tatyana are co-founders of Stroika — an organization connecting and resourcing frontline anti-authoritarian movements worldwide.    Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Yelena on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/yvl/    Follow Tatyana on LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tmargolin/    Check out Stroika: https://www.stroikainc.com/    Sponsors:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful. Get the right life insurance for you and save more than 50% on term life insurance at SelectQuote.com/HOPEFUL    Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Yelena V. Litvinov & Tatyana Margolin Executive Producer: Zack Travis Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss  the strategy for electing from-the-gut economic populists who exude outsider vibes and who acknowledge that our system is broken. They are often outsiders who believe in issues such as protecting social security and taxing billionaires, which are super majoritarian issues. Outsiders can win in blue, purple, and red states.   Adam's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  1) Join effective groups like boldprogressives.org 2) Support a bold progressive candidate running for office   Adam Green is Co-Founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC).    Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Adam Green on X:  https://x.com/AdamGreen    Check out the PCCC:  https://x.com/BoldProgressive    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Adam Green Executive Producer: Zack Travis Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss  the influence of the U.S.-China relationship on American democracy, on issues ranging from "garbage time" to soft power to geopolitical dominance of the South China Sea.    Jane's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  1) Visit China! 2) Read To Change China by Jonathan Spence and/or Daughters of the Bamboo Grove by Barbara Demick   Jane Perlez is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, former New York Times Beijing bureau chief, and fellow at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center. She's also the podcast host of Face-Off: The U.S. vs. China.   Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Jane Perlez on X:  https://x.com/JanePerlez    Listen to Face-Off: https://www.belfercenter.org/face-us-vs-china    Sponsor:  Get the right life insurance for you and save more than 50% on term life insurance at SelectQuote.com/HOPEFUL   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guest: Jane Perlez Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

We discuss  the corrupting effect of the Citizens United decision on policymaking and elections.    Tiffany's civic action toolkit recommendations are:  Go to town halls and hold your elected officials accountable Participate in phone banking or write postcards to get out the vote   Tiffany Muller is the President of End Citizens United, Let America Vote, and the End Citizens United/Let America Vote Action Fund. The organization's mission is to fix our democracy by getting big money out of politics and protecting the right to vote.      Let's connect! Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Discover new ways to #BetheSpark:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/spark    Follow Mila on X:  https://x.com/milaatmos    Follow Tiffany on X:  https://x.com/Tiffany_Muller    Sponsor:  Thank you to Shopify! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   Early episodes for Patreon supporters: https://patreon.com/futurehindsight  Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Tiffany Muller Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis