In todays fractionalized & polarized world, facts and reality are too often less important than which narrative you embrace or which stories you believe. Here’s my 2012 conversation with JONAH SACHS, Co-Founder of Free Range Studios – the folks behindthe classic Story of Stuff – and author of WINNING THE STORY WARS. Learn how and why narrative works so well and how to use it to your advantage.

The market – using money in politics to write its own rules – cannot respond effectively to critical challenges we face . JOAN WALSH, formerly at Salon, CNN, and MSNBC and now national affairs correspondent for The Nation, authored CORPORATE BULLSH*T with Nick Hanauer (Pitchfork Economics; Civic Action) & Donald Cohen (The Public Interest). Digging into myths and strategies of the Right, they focus on six big lies used over and over again to hold onto power and hold back progress. To learn more, go to thenation.com – search for Joan Walsh. 

American democracy is under attack in 2024. Last week I talked with SAM DALEY-HARRIS about the life-tested lessons in his book RECLAIMING OUR DEMOCRACY: Every Citizen’s Guide to Transformational Advocacy. I recommend the book and the episode. I follow this week with my 2017 conversation with FRANCES MOORE LAPPE and ADAM EICHEN. LAPPE, who published Diet For A Small Planet over 50 years ago and whose work since has consistently updated the best the 60’s had to offer, and EICHEN, who graduated from college in 2015, met on a pro-democracy march. They co-authored DARING DEMOCRACY: Igniting Power, Meaning, and Connection for the America We Want – their report on pro-democracy movements near the end of Trump’s first year in office.

We must up our game in 2024. We sign petitions and make donations, but how many meet with a Congressperson or write a letter to the editor? SAM DALEY-HARRIS, founder of anti-poverty lobby RESULTS and Civic Courage, has a new 2024 edition of RECLAIMING OUR DEMOCRACY: Every Citizen’s Guide to Transformational Advocacy. His message: Find and get involved this year with a group that offers a rich structure of support – that coaches you, empowers you, emboldens you, and educates you. To learn more go to civiccourage.org or reclaimingourdemocracy.com 

Despite the conflicts and injustices in the news, during this season we’re reminded to love and care for our families and neighbors, as well as those we don’t even know. I wish health, happiness, and peace to you and your loved ones. Here’s my 2011 conversation with John Prendergast and Michael Mattocks. As an emotionally wounded 21-year-old, John formed a “Big Brother/Little Brother” relationship with 7-year-old Michael. We talk about the book they wrote together, UNLIKELY BROTHERS: Our Story of Adventure, Loss, and Redemption, in which they share their experiences over 25 years as their lives intertwine.