What Can I Do

Are you looking for some hope and next steps when it comes to combatting gun violence in your community and nationally? This week we spoke to Angela Ferrell-Zabala from Mom's Demand Action to dig into the seemingly intractable issue of gun violence and learn about how Mom's Demand Action, their affiliated organization Students Demand Action, and the larger ecosystem of gun violence prevention organizations are working together, advocating for better policy, and, most importantly, supporting volunteer actions at the local level that you (yes you!) can get involved in. Beyond the headlines there's progress getting made on this issue all over the country, and Angela told us how Mom's Demand can help interested “mothers and others” get involved in lobbying and learn how to take smaller, more approachable actions in their communities. Episode Links: Mom's Demand Action: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Take Action: Text “Ready” to 64433 Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you retired and looking for a way to get involved? A few weeks ago we heard from a listener looking for information about how to approach activism as a retired person. She was sick of postcarding and other activities that don't feel effective, so we decided to chat with the busiest retired activist we know…Lila's mother, Carla Nordstrom! In our wide-ranging conversation, we talk about the many skills retired people bring to the table, how they're uniquely situated for effective community organizing, and what kinds of things Carla does to keep her community informed and promote the candidates and causes she's working on. Episode Links: Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you interested in aiding in the fight to make the vote more accessible in your state or community? Hannah Fried is a lawyer by trade who worked for the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama before founding All Voting is Local, a non-profit that works in eight states to protect the vote at the local level. She talks us through the founding of All Voting is Local, including how she funded the organization and assembled her team in the early days, as well as what their work entails and how regular people can step up to protect the vote in their communities. Episode Links: All Voting is Local: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you a part of a fan community and wondering how to use your passion and interest to make the world a better place?  Sabrina Cartan and Eliyannah Amirah Yisrael are organizers, creatives, fans, and believe communities organized around pop culture are inherently political and ripe for organizing. Sabrina talks about the power of fan movements and how they are harnessed through her work with Fandom Forward, an organization that connects causes to fan communities. Eliyannah talks to us about how her political and fan interests inform her work as a creative and how her activism and work are often one in the same. A really inspiring and timely episode for anybody looking for ways to connect their activism to their other interests! Episode Links: Sabrina Cartan: Website | Instagram | Twitter Eliyannah Amirah Yisrael: YouTube | Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Fandom Forward: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thinking about how to effectively use graphic design in your organizing work? Innosanto Nagara is a designer who has long used his visual communication skills in his organizing, but found a unique way to help the next generation join the fight by writing and illustrating the best-selling board book A is For Activist. So began a successful second career as a children's book author. Inno's books cover the topics he wanted to teach his own child about, things like taking action, being part of a community, learning about legacies of colonialism, and understanding how movement's are constructed and how they succeed. We talk about effective graphic design, why he began writing books for children, and how we can help the next generation learn about the issues that matter. Episode Links: Innosanto Nagara: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter Buy the Books: Bookshop | Seven Stories Press Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Terrified about the state of SCOTUS and the courts and wondering how you can take action to support court reform? We started this podcast in the days after Dobbs, so we couldn't be more thrilled to welcome Brett Edkins from Stand Up America to chat about his journey from law school to advocacy, how lawyers can use their skills to advocate for and support court reform, and the role regular people can play in standing up to corruption in the American courts. He's got advice on everything from simple actions you can take right now to policy changes regular citizens and politicians alike can pursue at the local and national level. Episode Links: Action Items: Text “Stand” to 63033 | Email Your Representatives Follow Stand Up America: Website | TikTok | Instagram | Twitter Follow Brett Edkins: Twitter Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Watching Hot Labor Summer unfold and interested in learning more about how to unionize your workplace or support the labor movement? Maggie Carter, a single mom and college student, had worked as a Starbucks partner for years (including through the entire pandemic) when she saw union drives working in far-away stores and wondered if she could help bring that kind of change to her own door. She's now a staff organizer with the Starbucks Workers United and talks about how the union vote came together, the roadblocks Starbucks threw up in their way, and how much things have changed since her store became the first in the south to unionize. Episode Links: Follow the Starbucks Workers Union: Website | TikTok | Instagram | Twitter Follow the Southern Starbucks Workers Union: Twitter Follow Maggie Carter: Twitter Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Looking for a way to build community and make political change using your artistic skills or an interest in crafting?  Jayna Zweiman was an architect recovering from a life-changing head and neck injury when she found the knitting and crocheting community. It became a critical part of her recovery, and, ultimately, activism. Since then she's founded multiple projects focused on giving crafters a political community that helps educate people through art and provides real, tangible resources to people in need. After co-founding the Pussyhat Project in 2016, she created the Welcome Blanket Project, which gives knitters the chance to create blankets that are turned into educational exhibits, then sent to refugees and asylum seekers through a network of organizations serving the immigrant community. Jayne talks about the logistics of starting and managing a project of this scope, the challenges of making that project sustainable in the long-run, and the joys of creating political communities that welcome introverts. Episode Links: Welcome Blanket Project: Website | Facebook | Instagram Jayna Zweiman: Website Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it take to overcome your anxieties and concerns about canvassing, public speaking, and more? Jade Pacheco gives us an unfiltered look at how she went from being a shy, passive citizen to a builder of communities through her work with ACT 4 SA, the first grassroots organization in San Antonio to focus on policing the police. In the process she talks about developing the confidence to canvas for candidates and causes, the training and support that allowed her to take the leap, the medical barriers that kept her from getting diagnosed with ADHD, the accommodations she now requests to ensure she can do her community work well, and so much more.  Episode Links: Follow ACT 4 SA: Website | Facebook | Instagram Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Does it seem like being an engaged citizen is starting to feel like a full-time job? Are you looking for ways to cut down on the costs, both in terms of time and resources, that it takes to make your voice heard? Kevin Elliott, lecturer in ethics, politics and economics at Yale University and author of Democracy for Busy People knows you're not alone. We talk to him about how to create space for busy people to participate in our democracy, the seemingly positive democratic innovations can actually create more problems than they solve, and what it means for a government to be truly inclusive. Episode Links: Buy Democracy for Busy People: Publisher | Amazon | Barnes & Noble Kevin J. Elliott: Website | Twitter Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you're thinking of getting involved, but you're not sure how to find your place as an activist? Have no fear! The attendees and speakers of this year's Netroots Nation are here to help. In this episode we compile the stories of everybody from members of Congress to local candidates to state-level Democratic activists to hyper-local community activists and learn how they got involved and what their work has taught them. Episode Links: Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12): Website | Twitter Rep. Maxwell Frost (FL-10): Website | Twitter Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35): Website | Twitter Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-3): Website | Twitter Sean Frame (Founder, The Six PAC): Website | Twitter Carlyn Cowen (Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer, Chinese-American Planning Council): Website | Twitter Karen Gamez Lopez (Engagement Director, Fuse WA): Website | Twitter Kristin Foster (Deputy Executive Director, Get Loud Arkansas): Website | Twitter Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you want to fight climate change but you're feeling overwhelmed by the enormity of the problem? Margaret Klein Salamon is a clinical psychologist turned climate activist eager to help people overcome inertia and fear so they can get involved in the climate movement. We talk about how to activate “emergency mode” instead of “panic mode” to face some of the biggest challenges of our time, and what's at stake if we don't. Episode Links: Learn more about Margaret / Climate Awakening: Website | Twitter Facing the Climate Emergency: Read A Free Chapter | Buy Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you're interested in running for state assembly? In 2021, Irene Shin took on an incumbent Delegate in Virgina's 86th district and won! Now embarking on her second campaign for the VA House of Delegates, we talk about how she got involved in state-level politics, how she decided to run for office, the first steps she took to declare and build a campaign staff, and what life looks like in a part-time state assembly. In the process we talk about the challenges of being a historic “first,” why it's so important to make state positions accessible, and the excitement of running in a bellwether state. Episode Links: Connect to Irene Shin's Campaign: Website | Twitter | Instagram  Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you're a journalist interested in using your skills to amplify new narratives and voices and promote a more just, more equitable world? This wide-ranging, incredibly thoughtful conversation with journalist and Long COVID activist Fiona Lowenstein is all about the power of storytelling, using journalism for good, the importance of accessibility, and how to use privilege and access constructively in one's activist work. Fiona talks about how their skills as a communicator have helped them not just write about their own experiences, but pass the mic to the voices we might not otherwise hear from, and reflect on about how activism has changed in the COVID era, as well as what we can all do to make sure our work and life in general is accessible to all. Episode Links: Fiona Lowenstein: Website | Twitter | Instagram  The Long COVID Survival Guide: Publisher | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble Long COVID Justice / JD David's Organization Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you're hoping to meet other activists, learn about their work, and figure out how you can join forces or support each other's work?  Netroots Nation 2023, the largest annual conference for progressives in America, is almost here! We spoke to longtime program communications director Mary Rickles Conley about the value of building a progressive community, how she got involved with Netroots, how their speakers and panelists are selected, and what attendees can gain from attending, both in person and online. This year's conference, which will take place in mid-July, will feature appearances from some of this year's most exciting and impactful progressive champions and elected officials, not to mention bring together thousands of activists to meet, mingle, strategize, and support progressive action.  Episode Links: Netroots Nation 2023: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you're hoping to propel a cause into the public eye in a way that's thoughtful and effective? What do you do? For David Fenton, the longtime progressive PR guru who began his activist work in the late 1960s alongside figures like Abbie Hoffman and Yoko Ono, the answer has been to stick to some simple rules: straightforward and understandable messaging, repetition, effective storytelling, and the other principles that he lays out in his book, The Activist's Media Handbook. We spoke about his activist origin story and how he's paying forward his decades of experience, as well as how he's continuing to put the PR rules he writes about into practice to fight climate change. Episode Links: David Fenton: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Buy The Activist's Media Handbook Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you're thinking about your place in larger political systems and wondering how your own biases are showing up in your work. What do you do? For Jessica Nordell, a journalist who has extensively covered the fallout of our political and social biases, the answer was the dig into how they're formed, how they impact our lives, and how we can change our minds and the minds of others. Her book, The End of Bias, forced her to confront not only our larger cultural biases, but her personal biases as well. She delivers into the research regarding how to make change by starting with the very thing that prompts us to try: our minds. Episode Links: Jessica Nordell: Website | Newsletter | Twitter | Instagram Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, the election is over, political changes are afoot, and you're looking to help people take action into their own hands. What do you do? For Elyssa Feder and her team at Rising Organizers, the answer was to teach emerging activists the tools they need to change their communities, policies, and the world. By focusing on issues instead of elections, Rising Organizers helps people take steps towards making this change whether or not an election is on the horizon. Episode Links: Rising Organizers: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook  Elyssa Feder (personal): Twitter  Mentioned in the Episode: Deepa Iyer's (@deepaviyer) Social Change Ecosystem Map Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this special post-election edition of TL;DL, we're looking back at the action items we discussed on the most recent seven episodes of “What Can I Do” featuring: Candice Kerestan of Democrats Abroad, Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodard of Dirt Road Revival, Rev. Angela Williams of SACReD, Amanda Litman of Run for Something, Don Hebbard of Compressor-Free Franklin, Rosie Torres and Susan Zeier of Burn Pits 360, and New York City Councilman Chi Ossé. In this episode we'll be focusing on actions you can take AFTER election day is done. Episode Links: Unsung History Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. The mid-episode audio is "OctoBlues" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com); Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. The audio clip is from "The Politics of Reproductive Rights in 1960s & 1970s New York," the October 31, 2022, episode of Unsung History and is used with permission of Kelly Therese Pollock. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So, you're campaigning for a timely but hot-button ballot initiative and need to reach voters without eliciting knee-jerk reactions. What do you do? For Ashley All and the many coalition partners working with Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, the answer was to empower local activists to reach out in their communities and work together to message that protecting a woman's right to have an abortion is one way to protect something Kansans of all political stripes value: Freedom. Kansas was the first state to defeat an abortion ban via popular vote after the Dobbs ruling, and the campaign has helped shape campaigns in other states, with several voting on the issue this month. Episode Links: Kansans For Constitutional Freedom: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook  Ashley All (personal): Twitter  Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you've gotten involved in a major political protest movement but you want to do more. What else can you do? For Chi Ossé, an active organizer with the BLM movement working in nightlife, the drive to make change led into a successful city council bid, making Ossé the youngest member of the New York City Council and the youngest person ever to pass a bill in New York City. Ossé believes that local politics are the best place to begin the work of improving communities, cities, and the nation at large. Episode Links: Chi Ossé: Website | Twitter | Instagram  Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So your community of veterans is getting sick because of toxic exposures on the job, but nobody, including the federal government, wants to take responsibility for your care. What do you do? For Rosie Torres and Susan Zeier, the answer was the organize a major lobbying effort to ensure that burn pit victims like their family members were taken care of. For Rosie, the founder of Burn Pits 360, this involved organizing a community and marshaling the efforts of people like Susan, who were willing to show up again and again. They built a successful lobbying force and (with some help from Jon Stewart) passed the groundbreaking PACT Act earlier this year. Episode Links: Burn Pits 360: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. 

So you're concerned about a local issue in a small rural community and you need to start an advocacy effort from scratch. What do you do? Donald Hebbard was a retired farmer and longtime resident of a rural area in upstate New York when he learned of a plan to put a natural gas compressor station in his town. Concerned about the impact this would have on the environment and community, he and a group of concerned citizens put together a local advocacy effort and won. Episode Links: Compressor Free Franklin  Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. 

So you're thinking about how to connect young people interested in running for office with the resources and community they need to win. What's your first step? For Amanda Litman, a veteran of the Obama campaign, the first step was to put up a website looking for people interested in running for local office. What the response was greater than she could have ever imagined, she and a friend recruited volunteers and got to work helping thousands of young candidates navigate how to file, how to run a campaign, and how to win.  Episode Links: Find out which offices are available in your area at Run for What: Website Run for Something: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Amanda Litman: Twitter Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.

So you're looking to be a part of a faith community, but one that shares your values about things like reproductive rights LGBTQIA+ issues, and more? How do you find one? How do you create one? For Rev. Angela Willams, the co-director of Movement Building at SACRED, faith and political action are intertwined. She talks about being called to become a Pastor while finding her political voice, working to change the narrative that religious communities are inherently conservative, and how religious communities and individuals can work towards cultural change and liberation. Episode Links: SACReD: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. 

So you live in a rural community that's been ignored by the Democratic establishment, but you want to get involved in the political system. So, what do you do?  For Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward, taking the lessons they'd learned while working in the climate movement and applying them to what they knew about Chloe's rural home community taught them a lot about how to win campaigns in rural spaces. After working together to get Chloe elected to the Maine statehouse - the youngest woman ever to serve as a Maine Senator - they collaborated again on a book filled with helpful action items for Democratic rural candidates looking to run successful campaigns. Episode Links: Dirt Road Revival: Website Rural Runners: Website Chloe Maxmin: Twitter Canyon Woodward: Website | Twitter Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. 

You're an American living abroad, but you want to have a voice in choosing who represents you, so what do you do?  For Candice Kerestan, an American living in Germany, the question of how to work towards a more equitable and just American system was made more urgent by her experience living in the German system, where issues like education, healthcare, and combating climate change were being prioritized. So, she got involved at the ground level with her local chapter of Democrats Abroad, and now helps other Americans abroad work to elect their preferred candidates and ensure their vote is counted. Episode Links: Democrats Abroad: Website | Twitter Vote From Abroad: Website Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at:  hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.

A recap of the actions and strategies we've discussed in our recent interviews. Find out more on our blog! Episode Links: “The trouble with viewing 9/11 and the pandemic through a wartime lens,” by Lila Nordstrom and Sarah Senk, The Washington Post, September 9, 2022. The Op-Ed Project Writing Effective Op-Eds, Duke University “15 Actionable Media Training Tips From Former Journalists,” LiaisonPR, August 23, 2021 Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.

You're skilled in the arts and you want to use those skills to make change, so what do you do?  For Shannon Downey, a.k.a. Badass Cross Stitch, the answer was simple: Build a community of craft lovers and doers, and connect them with activists, issue-based craft challenges, fundraising opportunities, bystander training and advocacy workshops, and, of course, each other. Shannon tells us how she took her love of embroidery and lifelong passion for political action and combined the two. Episode Links: Shannon Downey / Badass Cross Stitch: Website | Twitter | Instagram  Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. 

If you can see how big, seemingly-intractable national and international issues impact your local community, what do you do?  For Rachel Dawn Davis, community activist and public policy and justice organizer with Waterspirit, the answer has been to search for intersections and connections between myriad local and national causes and do…whatever needs to be done. Between her work with veterans, her environmental activism, and her work in her community and New Jersey more broadly, she's built advocacy and connecting communities into a lifelong habit and career. Find out how she approaches her work, where she finds opportunities, and how you can do the same! Episode Links: Waterspirit: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. 

If you don't see any people in power who look like you or come from your background, what do you do?  For A'shanti Gholar, President of Emerge America, the answer was to jump into the ring herself. From her high school showdown with a candidate for U.S. Senate to her work training women to run for office all over the nation, A'Shanti shares the story of how she took an early interest in politics and turned it into a career helping others. Episode Links: Emerge America: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram A'Shanti Gholar: Bio | Twitter | Instagram Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission. 

A new crisis explodes and you're the frontlines. What do you do?  Marked by COVID co-founder Kristin Urquiza's father died from COVID after trusting Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's claims that “it was safe to resume normal activities.” While reeling from the loss, she and co-founder Christine Keeves made the decision to act, hoping to save others from facing similar losses. Find out how they went about forming Marked by COVID and began helping lead the fight for accountability, recognition, and justice in the age of COVID-19.  Episode Links: Follow Marked by COVID on Twitter and Facebook or visit their website. Follow Kristin Urquiza on Twitter Donate to Marked by COVID Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.

Feeling down about the state of the world? Looking for substantive ideas about how to take action? We're here to help! In this first episode, Lila and Kelly discuss their own activist journeys, what it takes to move beyond voting and donating, what first steps can look like, and how to figure out where your skills can be of use. Episode Links: Order Lila's book: Some Kids Left Behind: A Survivor's Fight for Health Care in the Wake of 9/11. Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: hello@WhatCanIDoPodcast.com.  Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.  Episodes are recorded, mixed, and edited by Lila Nordstrom and Kelly Therese Pollock.

You voted (again), you protested (again), you posted on social media (again), yet you're still reeling from all the terrible news. But…what else can you do? We'll help you figure that out! Each week hosts Kelly Therese Pollock and Lila Nordstrom interview activists working on a range of issues, from national policy to local concerns, not about why but about how they took action: What got them started, who helped them along the way, and what they'd do differently if they had to do it all again. In the process, we'll offer concrete advice on how to take the leap from freaking out on Twitter to making a difference, building community, and finding joy in getting involved.

While we gear up to bring you Season 3 of What Can I Do, focused on how to take action in a presidential election year, please enjoy this episode of Unsung History focused on antiwar activism.In 1971, a group of performers calling themselves the Free Theatre Associates (FTA), including Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland, began putting on popular antiwar shows for audiences of active-duty GIs. Over 10 months they performed near military bases all over the United States and in the Pacific Rim. The Pacific Rim tour led to a documentary, which was released briefly in July 1972 and then quickly yanked from theaters. To help us learn about the FTA, Kelly is joined by theater historian Dr. Lindsay Goss, Assistant Professor in the School Of Theater, Film And Media Arts at Temple University and author of F*ck the Army!: How Soldiers and Civilians Staged the GI Movement to End the Vietnam War.Complete Show Notes: https://www.unsunghistorypodcast.com/FTA/