Society & Culture Episodes

Today, as voters head to the polls in record numbers and with concerns around the election at a fever pitch, we’re talking about a topic that has us alternately feeling like Chicken Little and Pollyanna. But we’re not alone. Everywhere you look people (and organizations) are prepping for this election—and most would say with good reason. So when we heard about a training designed to prepare people to take action in the event of an undemocratic power grab, we decided it was definitely worth our virtual attendance. The premise of the training, called Choose Democracy, can be distilled into a few simple sentences: We will vote and we will refuse to accept election results until all of the votes are counted. And if this, the most basic principle of democracy, is denied, then we the people will defend our democracy through nonviolent mass protests. (Now, it’s important to say here that no one candidate is supported for the win. The objective is simply that democratic processes are …

There's nobody better to kick off our new season — and "Plan Be" — than the man who helped inspire it: Citizen Baratunde, Executive Producer and Host of the hit podcast How to Citizen with Baratunde. Writer, activist and comedian Baratunde Thurston has been "citizening" since way back in high school (which we discuss). In addition to his podcast, check out his Ted Talk, and his New York Times bestselling book, How to Be Black. You can find all of that and more on his website: www.baratunde.com

As the pandemic drags on and the American project feels like it’s spiralling out of control, hope can feel hard to come by. What’s an ordinary person to do? Especially if you're more comfortable ghosting family members with different political beliefs than engaging them, and clicktivism is your idea of getting involved. Join hosts Kelley Lynch and Cindy Sealls in Washington, DC and Obaidul Fattah Tanvir in Bangladesh as they step outside their comfort zones and embark on "Plan Be"— a project to live more in line with at least a few of their loftier ideals by cultivating connection, community and conversation in their own backyards one episode at a time.