Who Controls Change?

Young Women’s Freedom Center Chief Operating Officer Abigail Richards goes behind the scenes of the movement and solutions reshaping youth justice in Los Angeles. Discover how frontline advocates are replacing broken systems with community-led care, mentorship, and real pathways for youth to thrive.

Senator María Elena Durazo shares stories from decades of organizing alongside workers, the exhilarating moments when everyday people found the courage to stand up for themselves, and what these moments can teach us about mustering our courage to take action for a change. 

Visionary author and founder of the Collective Acceleration Community of Practice, Norma Wong, joins us for a refreshing conversation about moving past everyday crisis mode, building a bigger “we” through collective responsibility, and rewriting the broken rules that hold our movements back. 

Longtime housing advocate Laura Raymond joins the show to spotlight the community-led strategies providing real, lasting solutions to LA’s housing crisis. Explore the actual blueprints reshaping the city—from social housing and decommodification to community land trusts—and see how frontline organizations are taking control of their neighborhoods’ future from the ground up.

Project Director at the UCLA Labor Center, Victor Narro, reflects on the evolution of the labor movement, the deep connection between immigrant rights and worker justice, and why joy, compassion, and radical solidarity are essential to sustaining movements for the long haul. 

Award-winning author and journalist Sonali Kolhatkar joins the show to discuss race, democracy, and the power of storytelling. We examine how grassroots movements challenge dominant narratives to build a more just and inclusive future. Discover why reshaping our future requires rewriting the stories we tell about what is possible. 

In the Season 5 premiere episode, Glen Galaich, CEO of the Stupski Foundation, challenges longstanding assumptions about power in philanthropy and explores how funders can move beyond traditional models of control to build trust-based partnerships that share power with communities.

In this special episode, we revisit some of the most powerful moments from Season 4. Hear from inspiring movement leaders, experts, and authors as they share insights on today’s most pressing social justice issues and the ongoing work to build community power and drive lasting change.

Powerhouse voices, New York Times best-selling author Anna Malaika Tubbs and Donors of Color Network co-founder Hali Lee, join us LIVE for a studio audience recording to explore the roots of American racism and sexism—and reveal how community-based giving can rewrite our future. 

LA’s leading frontline organizers—Ivette Ale-Ferlito (La Defensa), Derek Steele (Social Justice Learning Institute), and Jared Rivera (PICO California)—unpack this season’s organizing theories, reveal how they hold up in the real world, and explore what it really takes to turn big ideas into on-the-ground activism and community power.