We’re told America is hopelessly divided. But zoom in—like, say, to a school board in South Central Pennsylvania—and a different story emerges.

Full video viewing options for this story plus links to the Instagram and LinkedIn versions:
https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/proof-we-can-overcome-division-3rd 

This episode features Steph and Lance: one conservative, one liberal, both neighbors, both school board members. With the support of Urban Rural Action, they chose relationship over partisanship. Listening over labeling. Curiosity over contempt.

And the result? A school board that works. For the kids. For the community. For all of us. This is what it looks like to citizen:

Listen deeply. Speak honestly. Resist the pull to polarize. Build something different—together

🧭 More stories and updates: https://stories.howtocitizen.com

🎙️ This story series is a collaborative effort by Shira Abramowitz, Jon Alexander, Elizabeth Stewart, and Baratunde Thurston. Video produced by Anne Gutteridge.

We&rsquo;re told America is hopelessly divided.&nbsp;But zoom in&mdash;like, say, to a school board in South Central Pennsylvania&mdash;and a different story emerges.
Full video viewing options for this story plus links to the Instagram and LinkedIn versions: <a href="https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/proof-we-can-overcome-division-3rd">https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/proof-we-can-overcome-division-3rd</a>&nbsp;
This episode features Steph and Lance: one conservative, one liberal, both neighbors, both school board members. With the support of Urban Rural Action, they chose relationship over partisanship. Listening over labeling. Curiosity over contempt.
And the result? A school board that works.&nbsp;For the kids. For the community. For all of us.&nbsp;This is what it looks like to&nbsp;citizen:
Listen deeply.&nbsp;Speak honestly. Resist the pull to polarize.&nbsp;Build something different&mdash;together
🧭 More stories and updates: <a href="https://stories.howtocitizen.com">https://stories.howtocitizen.com</a>
🎙️ This story series is a collaborative effort by Shira Abramowitz, Jon Alexander, Elizabeth Stewart, and Baratunde Thurston.&nbsp;Video produced by Anne Gutteridge.

How To Citizen with Baratunde reimagines the word “citizen” as a verb and reminds us how to wield our collective power. So many of us want to do more in response to the problems we hear about constantly, but where and how to participate can leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless. Voting, while critically important, simply isn’t enough. It takes more to make this experiment in self-governance work! Listen in to learn new perspectives and practices from people working to improve society for the many. Join writer, activist, and comedian Baratunde Thurston on a journey beyond politics as usual that will leave us all more hopeful, connected, and moved to act.

How To Citizen with Baratunde

Can a School Board Teach Us to Overcome Division?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1d582a90-b375-49e1-ae9e-b2c101320399/transcript

Baratunde returns to the How To Citizen feed with a conversation that sits right at the intersection of character, democracy, and what it means to citizen in this moment.

This episode features Baratunde in a live discussion with retired U.S. General Stanley McChrystal at the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco. The two dig into the responsibility of leaders in a time of democratic crisis, the historic norms around deploying the U.S. military inside American cities, and why character is not something we simply “have” but something we practice.

They talk about the pressures facing the country, the role of national service, and how AI is changing the speed and stakes of decision-making in military and civic life. Stan shares candid reflections from his own experiences, including moments when he fell short of the character he expected from himself, and what it takes to recover and stay aligned with one’s convictions.

This conversation originally aired on the Rapid Response podcast from the Masters of Scale network. Special thanks to their team for allowing it to run here.

Baratunde closes with reflections on the polycrisis we’re living through, the people who continue to speak up for what’s right, and the power we still have to shape the next chapter of this country.

For more from Baratunde, see his substack newsletter. 

Baratunde returns to the How To Citizen feed with a conversation that sits right at the intersection of character, democracy, and what it means to citizen in this moment.
This episode features Baratunde in a live discussion with retired U.S. General Stanley McChrystal at the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco. The two dig into the responsibility of leaders in a time of democratic crisis, the historic norms around deploying the U.S. military inside American cities, and why character is not something we simply &ldquo;have&rdquo; but something we practice.
They talk about the pressures facing the country, the role of national service, and how AI is changing the speed and stakes of decision-making in military and civic life. Stan shares candid reflections from his own experiences, including moments when he fell short of the character he expected from himself, and what it takes to recover and stay aligned with one&rsquo;s convictions.
This conversation originally aired on the Rapid Response podcast from the Masters of Scale network. Special thanks to their team for allowing it to run here.
Baratunde closes with reflections on the polycrisis we&rsquo;re living through, the people who continue to speak up for what&rsquo;s right, and the power we still have to shape the next chapter of this country.
For more from Baratunde, see <a href="https://newsletter.baratunde.com">his substack newsletter</a>.&nbsp;

When the Military Is in the Streets w Gen. Stan McChrystal

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/0893cac6-3433-4bcc-bd4f-b3a10109bc94/transcript

This is our wrap of our Week of Citizening that I've been doing with Jon Alexander. We found 8 stories from across the U.S. — across sectors, communities, and divides — where people are coming together to make life better, together. See them all here.

See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here: https://linktr.ee/weekofcitizening 

Join our mailing list and share the stories you’re seeing. stories.howtocitizen.com 

The story is everywhere.

It’s happening in libraries, tech hubs, small towns, and fire-stricken neighborhoods.
It’s happening in real politics, real businesses, and real lives.
It’s what humans do — when given the chance.

🌎 We believe it’s time to tell a bigger, truer story about who we are.
💥 We’re just getting started — and we need you with us.

👉🏽 Sign up to get all 8 films + hear what’s next.

Let’s tell this story. Let’s be this story.

Video Produced by: Chilli.app and Summer Solstice

Week of Citizening Collaborators: Baratunde Thurston, Jon Alexander, Shira Abramowitz, Elizabeth Stewart

This is our wrap of our Week of Citizening that I've been doing with Jon Alexander. We found 8 stories from across the U.S. &mdash; across sectors, communities, and divides &mdash; where people are coming together to make life better, together.&nbsp;<a href="https://linktr.ee/weekofcitizening">See them all here</a>.
See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here: <a href="https://linktr.ee/weekofcitizening">https://linktr.ee/weekofcitizening</a>&nbsp;
Join our mailing list and share the stories you&rsquo;re seeing. <a href="https://stories.howtocitizen.com">stories.howtocitizen.com</a>&nbsp;
The story is everywhere. It&rsquo;s happening in libraries, tech hubs, small towns, and fire-stricken neighborhoods. It&rsquo;s happening in real politics, real businesses, and real lives. It&rsquo;s what humans do &mdash; when given the chance. 🌎 We believe it&rsquo;s time to tell a bigger, truer story about who we are. 💥 We&rsquo;re just getting started &mdash; and we need you with us. 👉🏽&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.howtocitizen.com/">Sign up</a>&nbsp;to get all 8 films + hear what&rsquo;s next. Let&rsquo;s tell this story. Let&rsquo;s be this story.
Video Produced by: Chilli.app and Summer Solstice
Week of Citizening Collaborators: Baratunde Thurston, Jon Alexander, Shira Abramowitz, Elizabeth Stewart

The true story of who we really are

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/4ea228dc-89ef-4b12-a209-b2d000f9c870/transcript

There is a model for how we rebuild and heal after the human-made disaster being inflicted on the USA right now. Welcome to Dena Heals—a mutual aid marketplace and wellness center born in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena.

See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here:
https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/this-is-how-we-recover-from-disasters 

This is our final story (for now) in the Week Of Citizening. Join our mailing list and share the stories you’re seeing. stories.howtocitizen.com 

When the 💩 hits the fan, we are told people become selfish and look after themselves alone. Every disaster ever proves otherwise including after the most devastating fire to hit Los Angeles. Something extraordinary took root. Not fear. Not isolation. But care for each other.

Rebecca Solnit said it well: “When all the ordinary divides and patterns are shattered, people step up—not all, but the great preponderance—to become their brothers’ keepers. And that purposefulness and connectedness brings joy even amidst death, chaos, fear and loss.”

Rooted in Indigenous wisdom and the Black Panther 10-Point Program, Dena Heals is a blueprint for what happens when we lead with love, show up for each other, and practice power together.

They’ve supported 3,500+ people from over 500 families. This is what it looks like to citizen in the midst of disaster. Not with despair—but with collective action, healing, and hope.

We saved this story for last in our Week Of Citizening series because it reflects all the pillars of How to Citizen:

🌱 Show up & participate

⚡ Understand power

🤝 Commit to the collective

❤️ Invest in relationships (including nature)

This is how we rise. This is how we rebuild. This is how we citizen. Happy Earth Day

Sign up to share and discover more stories like this: https://stories.howtocitizen.com

Video Produced by: Revolve Impact

Week of Citizening Collaborators: Baratunde Thurston, Jon Alexander, Shira Abramowitz, Elizabeth Stewart

There is a model for how we rebuild and heal after the human-made disaster being inflicted on the USA right now. Welcome to <a href="https://denaheals.com">Dena Heals</a>&mdash;a mutual aid marketplace and wellness center born in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena.
See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here: <a href="https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/this-is-how-we-recover-from-disasters">https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/this-is-how-we-recover-from-disasters</a>&nbsp;
This is our final story (for now) in the Week Of Citizening. Join our mailing list and share the stories you&rsquo;re seeing.&nbsp;<a href="https://stories.howtocitizen.com">stories.howtocitizen.com</a>&nbsp;
When the 💩 hits the fan, we are told people become selfish and look after themselves alone. Every disaster ever proves otherwise including after the most devastating fire to hit Los Angeles. Something extraordinary took root. Not fear. Not isolation. But&nbsp;care for each other.
Rebecca Solnit said it well: &ldquo;When all the ordinary divides and patterns are shattered, people step up&mdash;not all, but the great preponderance&mdash;to become their brothers&rsquo; keepers. And that purposefulness and connectedness brings joy even amidst death, chaos, fear and loss.&rdquo;
Rooted in Indigenous wisdom and the Black Panther 10-Point Program, Dena Heals is a blueprint for what happens when we lead with love, show up for each other, and practice power together.
They&rsquo;ve supported 3,500+ people from over 500 families. This is what it looks like to citizen in the midst of disaster. Not with despair&mdash;but with collective action, healing, and hope.
We saved this story for last in our Week Of Citizening series because it reflects&nbsp;all the pillars of How to Citizen:
🌱 Show up &amp; participate
⚡ Understand power
🤝 Commit to the collective
❤️ Invest in relationships (including nature)
This is how we rise. This is how we rebuild. This is how we citizen. Happy Earth Day
Sign up to share and discover more stories like this: <a href="https://stories.howtocitizen.com">https://stories.howtocitizen.com</a>
Video Produced by: Revolve Impact
Week of Citizening Collaborators: Baratunde Thurston, Jon Alexander, Shira Abramowitz, Elizabeth Stewart

We Know how to Rebuild Our Democracy - final story

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/79ae8574-5694-4794-abc6-b2c6010bbe58/transcript

Can a School Board Teach Us to Overcome Division?

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