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The Democrats have for too long ceded rural voters to the GOP. When the solution to minority rule is voting, connecting with and winning over rural voters is essential. Here’s my 2022 conversation with Maine state senator CHLOE MAXMIN and CANYON WOODWARD about the the book they’ve co-authored, DIRT ROAD REVIVAL. It tells the story of their winning elections in rural Maine with CHLOE as candidate and CANYON as campaign manager and offers lessons they’ve learned to guide other rural progressives. You can learn more at dirtroadrevival.com 

Blind spots. In his book, EXCLUDED: How Snob Zoning, NIMBYism, and Class Bias Build the Walls We Don’t See, RICHARD KAHLENBERG points out not only how restrictive zoning laws negatively influence all sorts of things in this country, but also that such laws are more likely or more restrictive in communities that are otherwise more liberal and progressive. KAHLENBERG also testified on the side of doing away with race-based affirmative action in higher education. It’s a provocative conversation. You can learn more at richardkahlenberg.org 

This episode, archived conversations with two wise elders recently in the news. First, my 2007 conversation with PHIL DONAHUE who died August 18th at the age of 88. Donahue always seemed to be as focused on the common good as he was on ratings – while delivering well on both. We talked about his decades of work as well as Body of War, the documentary he co-directed about Tomas Young, a severely disabled Iraq War veteran. Second, my 2008 conversation with Nobel Peace Prize-winner Muhammad Yunus, pioneer of micro-credit, about his work and his book, CREATING A WORLD WITHOUT POVERTY. Since August 8th, Yunus has been serving as Chief Adviser of the interim government of Bangladesh following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Learn more at grameenfoundation.org and muhammadyunus.org

RANDY OLSON earned a Harvard Ph.D. in Biology and was a tenured professor when he quit and moved to LA to attend USC film school. His goal: help scientists learn to communicate better. We receive so much input that we can no longer deal with separate bits of information, so we look for narratives. He’s the author of DON’T BE SUCH A SCIENTIST and HOUSTON, WE HAVE A NARRATIVE. and he’s developed tools. His Narrative Index predicted Trump’s 2016 victory and his ABT framework – and, but, therefore – helps folks create compelling stories. Learn more at abtframework.com

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80-some days till the polls close. The Harris-Walz campaign is riding a wave of momentum in the country to move past Trump that feels sustainable to me. I assume Trump/the Right/the GOP will get very dirty. That’s a reality, but so is my 2019 conversation with JOSHUA DOUGLAS, about his book – VOTE FOR US: How to Take Back Our Elections and Change the Future of Voting: Americans working to take back their democracy, one community at a time – expanding voter eligibility, easing voter registration rules, making voting more convenient, giving redistricting back to the voters, improving civics education.  You can learn more at joshuaadouglas.com 

BILLY WIMSATT is founder and executive director of Movement Voter Project and Movement Voter PAC. MVP helps progressive donors invest in the election efforts of local community-based organizations in battleground states. In that role, during the Biden-Harris-Walz relaunch, Wimsatt and MVP listened to and at times spoke for both grassroots organizers and donors. Billy shares what he calls a “roller coaster” of events, in which he and MVP stuck their necks out and made three big bets that paid off. He also fleshes out MVP’s model and let’s you know how you can get involved.

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Given Biden’s exit from the race, I thought it might be interesting to replay the first episode I recorded following his election. Here is my November 5th, 2020 conversation with Rob Johnson, Executive Director of the Institute for New Economic Thinking. Rob and I have made a point to talk after the last several elections. This episode is very much a conversation rather than an interview, as the two of us give you our take on where the country stood at that moment, how we’d gotten there, and our hopes for a Biden administration. Joe Biden’s age was the one issue where voters agree with the Republicans for which there was no defense. 

I’ve talked with journalist and best-selling author, GEORGE PACKER, about 2013’s National Book Award-winning The UNWINDING and 2021’s LAST BEST HOPE, in which he offers four narratives of America that motivate and divide us. Today our jumping off point will be his current cover story in The Atlantic on Phoenix, Arizona, WHAT WILL BECOME OF AMERICAN CIVILIZATION? Conspiracism and Hyper-partisanship in the Nation’s Fastest-growing City. More tour guide than pundit, George chooses the characters and makes the introductions, but the voices in this piece are those of the people of Phoenix. 

Packer, George – Edited Transcript – 7.11.24

Two conversations about the big picture. First, 20 years ago USPS released a stamp honoring inventor and multi-hyphenate visionary Bucky Fuller. Here’s my 2004 conversation about the man and his work with his daughter, ALLEGRA FULLER SNYDER. Buckminster Fuller Institute: bfi.org. Second, one of my favorites, my 2008 conversation with MacArthur-winning evolutionary biologist STUART KAUFFMAN about his book, REINVENTING THE SACRED: A NEW VIEW OF SCIENCE, REASON, AND RELIGION. Is the universe’s ceaseless creativity the best way for us to think about God? Learn more: stuartkauffman.com

This week, we step aside from today’s news to dig into a story millions of years in the making, as I speak with ZOE SCHLANGER about her best-selling THE LIGHT EATERS: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth. What are we to make of a vine that grows leaves to blend into the shrub on which it climbs, a flower that shapes its bloom to fit exactly the beak of its pollinator, a pea seedling that can hear water flowing and make its way toward it? Schlanger‘s research over the last several years reveals a reality that challenges our understanding of consciousness, intelligence, and life itself. You can learn more at zoeschlanger.com