The Next System Podcast

For a new generation of climate activists, the 50th anniversary of Earth Day is not a day of celebration but a day of mobilization combined with a sober critique of why the ideals of the first Earth Day are still so far from being realized. Gus Speth, co-chair of The Next System Project, was beginning a long career as an environmental activist and leader on the first Earth Day. Dulce Arias is an 18-year-old leader in Youth vs. Apocalypse looking to play a pivotal role in the next 50 years of environmental activism. Together, they discuss what they have learned from the past 50 years and how to apply that knowledge to today's climate crisis. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Tune-In, and Spotify. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here.

Dominique Walker left her hometown of East Oakland for university, only to come back to find it gentrified and her neighbors displaced. This week, she shares the story of how she and Moms 4 Housing, an activist group pushing for American recognition of housing as a human right, took direct action against a real estate speculator and reclaimed its property for the people. The Next System Podcast is presented by The Next System Project at The Democracy Collaborative. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher, Tune-In, and Spotify.You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here. The Podcast is hosted by Isaiah J. Poole and produced by Luís Garcia de la Cadena. The music heard on this podcast is "A New Start" by Zoë Blade. ( full transcripts are available at thenextsystem.org/podcast )

As a Black woman leading one of the nation's most prominent philanthropic organizations, La June Montgomery Tabron is taking on the challenge of addressing the impact of systemic racism on families and communities. She talks with Rev. Ronnie Galvin Jr., The Democracy Collaborative's vice president for racial equity and the democratic economy, about the work of truth-telling, racial healing and "looking at the systems that need to shift so that families and children can thrive." The Next System Podcast is presented by The Next System Project at The Democracy Collaborative. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Tune-In, and Spotify. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here. This podcast is hosted by Isaiah J. Poole and produced by Luís García de la Cadena. The music, "A New Start," is by Zoë Blade. Full transcripts of all our episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast.

New Belgium Brewing has been held up as a shining example of what could be possible through worker ownership. Bu now that it's been purchased by an international conglomerate, there are new questions about the best strategy and models for turning workers into owners. We talk to Jessica Rose, co-founder of the worker ownership advocacy organization Fifty by Fifty, and to two experts in advancing alternative ownership models, Camille Kerr and Jason Wiener.  The Next System Podcast is presented by The Next System Project at The Democracy Collaborative. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Tune-In, and Spotify. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here. This podcast is hosted by Isaiah J. Poole and produced by Luís García de la Cadena. The music, "A New Start," is by Zoë Blade. Full transcripts of all our episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast.

Today's so-called "full-employment economy" still fails millions. We examine the campaign for a federal jobs guarantee and why now is the time to fight for transformative changes in the job market. We talk to Policy Link's Sarah Treuhaft about the "Job Guarantee Now!" campaign PolickLink is helping to lead and Darrick Hamilton of the Kirwan Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity about the systemic transformation of the workforce that would be possible. The Next System Podcast is presented by The Next System Project at The Democracy Collaborative. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Tune-In, and Spotify. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here. This podcast is hosted by Isaiah J. Poole and produced by Luís García de la Cadena. The music, "A New Start (Radio Edit)," is by Zoë Blade. Full transcripts of all our episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast.

This week, we sit down with Marjorie Kelly and Ted Howard, co-authors of The Making of a Democratic Economy. Illuminating the principles of a democratic economy through the stories of on-the-ground community wealth builders and their unlikely accomplices in the halls of institutional power, this book is a must read for everyone concerned with how we win the fight for an economy that's equitable, not extractive. You can purchase their book online at ademocraticeconomy.org, where you can find an independent bookstore in your area. Music: A New Start (Radio Edit) by Zoë Blade The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Tune-In, and Spotify. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here. Full transcripts of all our episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast.

This is the second in a two-part discussion with Clark Arrington, a pioneer in the cooperative movement, an innovative legal practitioner, and a leader in the movement for Black economic empowerment.  In Part 2, Arrington discusses his work in Tanzania, following his successes at Equal Exchange, and in the United States today as general counsel for The Working World, which provides innovative, nonextractive financing and support for cooperatives. He is interviewed by John Duda, The Democracy Collaborative's communications director.

Part 1 of a special two-part edition of The Next System Podcast features Clark Arrington, a pioneer in the cooperative movement, an innovative legal practitioner, and a leader in the movement for Black economic empowerment. He now works as general counsel for The Working World, which provides creative, nonextractive financing and support for cooperatives. He is also known for his work in helping Equal Exchange grow from a niche organic coffee importer to a $70 million business. He is interviewed by John Duda, communications director for The Democracy Collaborative.

The United States is in the midst of a housing affordability crisis, with at least 21 million households spending more than 30 percent of their income on housing, and an estimated 553,000 people are completely homeless. Its roots are systemic, and this edition of The Next System Podcast features people at the front lines of the crisis and activists fighting for transformative solutions based on the principle that housing is a human right. You will hear from Christy Respress of Pathways to Housing DC, Stephanie Bastek of Stomp Out Slumlords, Tiana Caldwell of KC Tenants, Tara Raghuveerof People's Action and The Next System Project's Peter Gowan. See a transcript and previous episodes at thenextsystem.org/podcast.

In this episode, we're discussing how to further democratize rural electric cooperatives and what that means for the communities that these institutions serve. In this podcast, we're joined by The Democracy Collaborative's Johanna Bozuwa, Nikita Perumal from Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and Chris Woolery from the Mountain Association for Community Economic Development. We're talking about their recent collaboration on the New Economy Coalition's latest toolkit on rural electric cooperatives. Be sure to check it out! https://www.electriccooporganizing.org/ The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, Tune-In, and Spotify. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here. Full transcripts of all our episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast.

This week we're featuring a podcast from our peers at the National Economic and Social Rights Initiative. The Next World: A Podcast About Building Movements focuses on a range of topics that will resonate with listeners interested in a more equitable and democratic economy. In this episode, Co-hosts Puck Lo and journalist Sarah Lazare are in conversation about reparations, the Green New Deal, capitalism, and an exploration of the fight against the school to prison pipeline with guest Zakiya Sankara-Jabar of Dignity in Schools Campaign. See more info at https://nesri.org, https://inthesetimes.com, and http://dignityinschools.org.

This episode is hosted by Ronnie Galvin, The Democracy Collaborative's Vice President of Racial Equity and the Democratic Economy.  This week, Ronnie is discussing how best to contextualize the topic of reparations within the framework of a democratic economy. He is joined by Dr. Ron Daniels of the Institute of the Black World and Dr. Akilah Watkins-Butler of the Center for Community Progress. A full transcript of this episode is available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast. You can learn more about Dr. Daniels' work at https://ibw21.org/author/dr-ron-daniels/. You can learn more about Dr. Watkins-Butler's work at https://www.communityprogress.net/akilah-watkins-butler-pages-533.php.

One of the key points of contention in the Democratic Primary race is defining what policies and proposals are “radical” and which are “pragmatic.” One primary contender went as far to dismiss a so-called radical agenda as “wish-list economics.” This week Adam Simpson speaks to thought leaders across The Democracy Collaborative and Next System Project to find out precisely what should be on a “wish-list” for economic transformation. The conversation week ranges from housing to healthcare to finance to climate change and beyond—and why that transformation in those sectors is more practical than moderates are willing to admit. Transcripts of all episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast.

This week we're looking at building worker ownership in the economy from a policy perspective. Given new policies proposed by a host of Democratic Candidates, worker power and inequality are two topics very much on the policy agenda for the 2020 presidential race. Today we're talking about why worker ownership is a particularly unique strategy to addressing both of those challenges and the policies thus far that have entered the discourse. We're joined by Next System Project Policy Associate Peter Gowan, as well as Mo Manklang, Communications Director for the US Federation of Worker Cooperatives. Transcripts of all episodes are available at The Next System Podcast is available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast.

This week we are discussing how to design communities for justice, in particular as communities seek to respond to challenges of climate change, with new projects from transit to infrastructure. Isaiah Poole hosts a panel featuring The Next System Project's Johanna Bozuwa, the Institute for Policy Study's Basav Sen, and We Act for Environmental Justice's Michael Velarde. You can learn more about the Next System Project at www.nextsystem.org. Transcripts for all our episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast. 

This week, we're talking about how Social Wealth Funds can play a role in empowering both individuals and communities in the economy. Joining us is member of the Maryland House of Delegates Gabriel Acevero, Vice President at the Insight Center for Community and Economic Development Jhumpa Bhattacharya, and President of the People's Policy Project, Matt Bruenig. Transcripts for all episodes can be found at https://thenextsystem.org/podcast

This week we're talking about how to confront the fossil fuel industry. To discuss how to contain and curtail the deleterious effects of this tremendously powerful industry, we have three exceptional guests including journalist Kate Aronoff, Oil Change International's Steve Kretzmann, and the Next System Project's own Carla Skandier. Transcripts for all episodes can be found at https://thenextsystem.org/learn/collections/next-system-podcast.

This week we are talking about deepening democracy in our communities through participatory budgeting and participatory decision making more broadly. We're joined by three great guests: Shari Davis of the Participatory Budgeting Project, Lorian Ngarambe of the Rochester-Monroe Anti-Poverty Initiative, and Yale University Ph.D. student Alexander Kolokotronis. Transcripts for all episodes can be found at https://thenextsystem.org/learn/collections/next-system-podcast.

This week we are discussing how to finance a transition from an ecologically harmful economy dependent on fossil fuels to a clean economy defined by renewables. We have three great guests tackling perspectives at different levels of service, from municipal to state to the federal level. We are joined by Jackie Fielder, an organizer working toward a public bank for San Francisco, Kat Taylor, the CEO of Beneficial State Bank, and Carla Skandier, a Senior Research Associate at the Democracy Collaborative. Transcripts for all episodes can be found at https://thenextsystem.org/learn/collections/next-system-podcast.

This week we're talking about public ownership and privatization with three special guests. We are joined by Shahrzad Habibi, research director at In The Public Interest, Thomas Hanna, The Democracy Collaborative's research director and author of Our Common Wealth: The Return of Public Ownership in the United States, and Cat Hobbs, founder and director of We Own It.  The conversation runs the gamut from the pitfalls of the privatization of goods and services to the social benefits of public ownership and envisioning democratic governance thereof.

This week we have a panel discussion detailing the proposed Green New Deal that activists have been mobilizing for recently. We spoke with The Democracy Collaborative's own Johanna Bozuwa, the Sierra Club's Anthony Torres, and Sunrise Movement Co-Founder Evan Weber to explore the economic and social ramifications of a Green New Deal and the obstacles standing in its way. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here. Transcripts of all episodes are available at https://thenextsystem.org/learn/collections/next-system-podcast.

This week on the Next System Podcast we're joined by Carina Millstone to discuss how to design business for an economic system that is rooted within ecological limits. Millstone is the executive director of Feedback, and her book Frugal Value: Designing Business for a Crowded Planet confronts issues of ownership, scale, consumption, and the other issues society must confront on the path to a more sustainable economy. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here. Transcripts for all episodes are available at https://thenextsystem.org/learn/collections/next-system-podcast.

Editorial Manager Isaiah J. Poole hosts Next System Project fellow Devin Case-Ruchala in a discussion about the future and yet-to-be-fulfilled potential of a landmark community investment law with  John Holdsclaw, senior vice president of corporate affairs at National Cooperative Bank, and Gregory Jost, director of organizing at the Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association in New York City and a leading expert in community development issues. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here. Transcripts of all episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org/podcast.

This week on the Next System Podcast David Jette from Public Bank LA and Juleon Robinson from Public Bank NYC sit down to discuss the transformative potential of public banks. These institutions aim to hold finance publicly accountable, directing credit into the real economy with the public goods prioritized over profit.  Transcripts of all Next System Podcast episodes are available at https://thenextsystem.org/learn/collections/next-system-podcast. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio. You can also subscribe independently to our RSS feed here.

This week Stacy Mitchell, Co-Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR) and Director of ILSR's Community-Scaled Economy initiative, joins Adam Simpson and special co-host Katie Parker to discuss locally-minded economics and what effects they might have on our communities. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS. Transcripts of all episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org.

The Democracy Collaborative's Senior Research Fellow, Jarrid Green, joins the Next System Podcast to discuss his new report on community control of land and housing, which includes a discussion of actionable policies that cities can take to halt gentrification and build community wealth. Read the report here: https://thenextsystem.org/learn/stories/community-control-land-and-housing

Councillor Matthew Brown, head of the Preston City Council, sits down with the Next System Project to discuss his the strategy that Preston is pursuing to build community wealth as a path to economic development. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS. Full transcripts of all Next System Podcast Episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org

This week Esteban Kelly of the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives joins us to talk about his experience with cooperatives and his perspective on how they fit into a movement for systemic change. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

This week, we speak with Dr. Dorian Warren about a wide range of subjects, from the persistent importance of unions and solidarity, to transformative electoral politics and guaranteed income schemes. In addition to serving as the President of the Center for Community Change Action, the Vice President of the Center for Community Change, and the Co-Chair of the Economic Security Project, Dorian is also a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute and the co-author of The Hidden Rules of Race: Barriers to an Inclusive Economy.   Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS. Transcripts of all Next System Podcast episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org.

This week we're talking with Elizabeth Catte, author of What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia. The book focuses on how narratives have been constructed to explain the region's poverty and how those narratives fail to serve Appalachia's people. Transcripts for all episodes are made available at www.thenextsystem.org.

On this episode of the Next System Podcast, Rev. Dr. Delman Coates discusses “The New Abolitionism: The Campaign for Monetary Freedom,” a program that seeks to empower people with knowledge about the monetary system and how it could be used to promote the public good. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS. Full transcripts of episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org.

David Bollier joins us this week to discuss “the commons” and what such a concept means for social transformation. You can read more about David's ideas in his paper for the Next Systems: Models and Possibilities series, and also read more of his work at www.Bollier.org. Transcripts of all of our episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

Emily Kawano, coordinator of the US Solidarity Network, Intercontinental Network for the Promotion of the Social Solidarity Economy (RIPESS), and co-director of the Wellspring Cooperative in Springfield, Massachusettes, joins us to discuss her work on the Solidarity Economy. Transcripts of all Next System Podcast episodes are available at https://thenextsystem.org/learn/collections/next-system-podcast.

This week on the Next System Podcast, Adam talks with Max Rameau about his article "Community Control of Police: A Proposal," part of the Prisons and Policing: Systemic Challenges & Alternative Visions collection at thenextsystem.org. Transcripts of all of our episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org.

This week Adam is joined by the Next System Project's Research Associate Cecilia Gingerich to interview Pavlina Tcherneva about the transformative potential of a federal job guarantee. Pavlina is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Economics at the Levy Economics Institute, Bard College. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

This week Sarita Gupta sits down to discuss her work on Caring Across Generations. Sarita is the executive director of Jobs With Justice and the co-director of Caring Across Generations.  Transcripts of all episodes are available at www.thenextsystem.org. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

This week Nishani Frazier sits down to discuss her book Harambee City: The Congress of Racial Equality and the Rise of Black Power Populism. Nishani is a fellow at The Democracy Collaborative and an Associate Professor at Miami University of Ohio. You can learn more about the project at https://harambeecity.lib.miamioh.edu/.  Full transcripts of our podcasts are available at www.thenextsystem.com.

This week on the Next System Podcast, Dr. Andrew Cumbers sits down to discuss his work on public ownership and how such paradigms can pave the way for democratic controls over the economy. The Democracy Collaborative's Director of Research, Thomas Hanna, joins the conversation as well. A full transcript of this episode (and all others) can be found on our website at www.thenextsystem.org. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

In the second of a two-part interview, Next System Project Co-Chair Gar Alperovitz talks about ‘what comes next' after our current corporate capitalist system: the Pluralist Commonwealth. Be sure to listen to the first episode, in which Gar discusses his trajectory as a system changer and how he views the present political and economic environment. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

In the first of a two-part interview, The Next System Project's Co-Chair Gar Alperovitz describes his journey toward system change and what is myriad experiences tell him about our present political and economic circumstances. In part-two, scheduled for next week, Gar will be talking about ‘What Comes Next' and describes his own model, the Pluralist Commonwealth Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

This week Johanna Bozuwa joins host Adam Simpson to discuss energy democracy with Dr. Denise Fairchild,  the President & CEO of Emerald Cities Collaborative. Denise is the co-author of a new anthology, with Al Weinrub, entitled Energy Democracy: Advancing Equity in Clean Energy Solutions.  You can learn more about Denise and the work of the Emerald Cities Collaborative here. And don't forget the Next System Project's energy democracy strategies card deck! Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

This week, Adam is joined by Laura Flanders to discuss her latest paper for the Next System Project on the “urgent necessity” of Next System Media. You can read Laura's paper in full here. Be sure to follow The Laura Flanders Show to stay connected to powerful, independent journalism. A full copy of the transcript is available at www.thenextsystem.org. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

Next System Project Co-Chair Gus Speth joins the Next System Podcast to discuss his experience with the environmental movement and how that led him to the work on systemic change that he pursues today. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

This week, Adam sits down with Marjorie Kelly to find out why she believes that worker ownership is fundamental to building a new economy and detail a new initiative to begin realizing that vision. Full Transcript available online at: https://thenextsystem.org/learn/stories/episode-6-capital-bias-vs-generative-design-w-marjorie-kelly Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS.

This week, Adam sits down with Jacqueline Patterson, the Director of the NAACP's Climate Justice Program, and Basav Sen, the Climate Justice Project Director at the Institute for Policy Studies to discuss the intersection of ongoing environmental crises and systemic bias along the lines of race, gender, and social class. Subscribe to the Next System Podcast via iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, Stitcher Radio, or RSS. A quick note before we begin our conversation. This podcast was recorded soon after Hurricane Harvey made landfall off the coast of Texas and weeks before Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida. The Next System Project encourages those who are able to assist relief efforts, consider doing so with the locally-based organizations like the Texas Organizing Project, the New Florida Majority, and other organizations that are very much on the front line of climate change.

This week on the Next System Podcast, Adam sits does with Darrick Hamilton to discuss his work on the racial wealth gap in the United States, as well as Hamilton's proposal for a federal job guarantee program. This episode touches on economic planning, labor force dynamics, stratification patterns along race and gender lines, as well as workforce automation.

Adam Simpson and Carla Santos-Skandier sat down with Jeremiah Lowery and Camila Thorndike, the Climate Justice Organizer and Carbon Pricing Coordinator, respectively, of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) to discuss the group's campaign for a carbon fee and rebate program for the District of Columbia. The proposal, resembling an early stage of a universal basic income, could have large implications for combatting both economic inequality and climate change.  You can learn more about "Put A Price On It DC" here: http://www.carbonpricedc.org/. And you can lear more about CCAN here: http://chesapeakeclimate.org/

This week on The Next System Podcast. Adam talks with Kate Raworth about her Doughnut Economics model. The pair discuss economic justice, unpaid labor, the commons, and much more. You can learn more about Doughnut Economics at Kate's website or purchase the book wherever books are sold. You can also follow Kate on twitter.

In the debut episode of the Next System Podcast, host Adam Simpson sits down with the co-chairs of the Next System Project, Gar Alperovitz and Gus Speth. The co-chairs discuss what NSP means to them in the context of the unique historical moment that the United States and indeed the world currently finds itself. The Next System Podcast is available on iTunes, Soundcloud, Google Play, and Stitcher Radio.

This music was taken from the song "You Won't Believe What Happens Next" by artist Tiny Robots. It is available under a Creative Commons license and found at the Free Music Archive.