Podcasts about citizen university

This week on Conflict Managed we welcome Taneum Fotheringill. Join us as we discuss:

Every day I get asked "Wtf are we supposed to do?!" Thankfully, our friend, Eric Liu, with Citizen University, has a helpful framework: the "Five P's." Let's talk through them.

"Power is like water. It flows all around us at all times. Sometimes it takes the liquid form of politics-in-action...Sometimes it takes the solid form of settled law: policy is power frozen. Sometimes it is like vapor in the air, invisibly shaping the climate and our behavior in just the way beliefs or ideology or emotions do..." So states Eric Liu, founder of Citizen University and Director of the Aspen Institute Program on Citizen and American Identity. This week on World Ocean Radio, founder Peter Neill expands upon water as metaphor for our changing political landscape and exceptional time of transition. About World Ocean Radio World Ocean Radio is a weekly series of five-minute audio essays available for syndicated use at no cost by college and community radio stations worldwide. Weekly insights into ocean science, advocacy, education, global ocean issues, challenges, marine science, policy, exemplary projects, advocacy, and solutions. Hosted by Peter Neill, Founder and Strategic Advisor of W2O. Learn more at worldoceanobservatory.org.World Ocean Radio: 5-minute weekly insights in ocean science, advocacy, education, global ocean issues, challenges, marine science, policy, and solutions. Hosted by Peter Neill, Director of the W2O. Learn more at worldoceanobservatory.org

What does it mean to be an engaged citizen and a positive leader? Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University, has dedicated his career to answering this question. Through his work, he empowers individuals to embrace civic leadership, take action, and shape a stronger, more inclusive democracy. In this episode, Eric shares how leadership isn't just about positions of power—it's about participation, influence, and impact. He explores how everyday actions can foster a culture of engagement, why citizenship is a muscle we must exercise, and what leaders can do to inspire civic responsibility in their communities. Listen to this insightful conversation with JP and discover how you, too, can lead with purpose and engagement. For more leadership wisdom, revisit these inspiring episodes: 

Connie is feeling compelled to get involved in her local community, but she's never even attended a PTA meeting. On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin enlists Eric Liu of Citizen University to explain how busy parents, introverts, and first-timers like Connie can test the waters of civic engagement in the Trump 2.0 era—without getting sucked under.  Eric is the author of You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen. If you liked this episode, check out our companion episode, How To Become an Expat, or this recent conversation: How To Lead Your Local Nonprofit.  For an upcoming episode, we want to hear from listeners affected by the disastrous wildfires in the Los Angeles area. If you're able to do so during this stressful time, tell us about the questions and challenges you're facing as you rebuild your home and your life. Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001.  How To's executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connie is feeling compelled to get involved in her local community, but she's never even attended a PTA meeting. On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin enlists Eric Liu of Citizen University to explain how busy parents, introverts, and first-timers like Connie can test the waters of civic engagement in the Trump 2.0 era—without getting sucked under.  Eric is the author of You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen. If you liked this episode, check out our companion episode, How To Become an Expat, or this recent conversation: How To Lead Your Local Nonprofit.  For an upcoming episode, we want to hear from listeners affected by the disastrous wildfires in the Los Angeles area. If you're able to do so during this stressful time, tell us about the questions and challenges you're facing as you rebuild your home and your life. Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001.  How To's executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connie is feeling compelled to get involved in her local community, but she's never even attended a PTA meeting. On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin enlists Eric Liu of Citizen University to explain how busy parents, introverts, and first-timers like Connie can test the waters of civic engagement in the Trump 2.0 era—without getting sucked under.  Eric is the author of You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen. If you liked this episode, check out our companion episode, How To Become an Expat, or this recent conversation: How To Lead Your Local Nonprofit.  For an upcoming episode, we want to hear from listeners affected by the disastrous wildfires in the Los Angeles area. If you're able to do so during this stressful time, tell us about the questions and challenges you're facing as you rebuild your home and your life. Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001.  How To's executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connie is feeling compelled to get involved in her local community, but she's never even attended a PTA meeting. On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin enlists Eric Liu of Citizen University to explain how busy parents, introverts, and first-timers like Connie can test the waters of civic engagement in the Trump 2.0 era—without getting sucked under.  Eric is the author of You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen. If you liked this episode, check out our companion episode, How To Become an Expat, or this recent conversation: How To Lead Your Local Nonprofit.  For an upcoming episode, we want to hear from listeners affected by the disastrous wildfires in the Los Angeles area. If you're able to do so during this stressful time, tell us about the questions and challenges you're facing as you rebuild your home and your life. Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001.  How To's executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connie is feeling compelled to get involved in her local community, but she's never even attended a PTA meeting. On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin enlists Eric Liu of Citizen University to explain how busy parents, introverts, and first-timers like Connie can test the waters of civic engagement in the Trump 2.0 era—without getting sucked under.  Eric is the author of You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen. If you liked this episode, check out our companion episode, How To Become an Expat, or this recent conversation: How To Lead Your Local Nonprofit.  For an upcoming episode, we want to hear from listeners affected by the disastrous wildfires in the Los Angeles area. If you're able to do so during this stressful time, tell us about the questions and challenges you're facing as you rebuild your home and your life. Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001.  How To's executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Connie is feeling compelled to get involved in her local community, but she's never even attended a PTA meeting. On this episode of How To!, Courtney Martin enlists Eric Liu of Citizen University to explain how busy parents, introverts, and first-timers like Connie can test the waters of civic engagement in the Trump 2.0 era—without getting sucked under.  Eric is the author of You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen. If you liked this episode, check out our companion episode, How To Become an Expat, or this recent conversation: How To Lead Your Local Nonprofit.  For an upcoming episode, we want to hear from listeners affected by the disastrous wildfires in the Los Angeles area. If you're able to do so during this stressful time, tell us about the questions and challenges you're facing as you rebuild your home and your life. Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001.  How To's executive producer is Derek John. Joel Meyer is our senior editor/producer. The show is produced by Rosemary Belson, with Kevin Bendis. Want more How To!? Subscribe to Slate Plus to unlock exclusive bonus episodes. Plus, you'll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of the How To! show page. Or, visit slate.com/howtoplus to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jen is joined this week by Eric Liu, they discuss  the pain and disillusionment many feel towards politics and how Citizen University aims to empower individuals to take active roles in their communities. He emphasizes the importance of understanding local power dynamics, fostering civic character, and creating spaces for connection through programs like Civic Saturdays. Liu also reflects on the significance of immigrant stories and the upcoming 250th anniversary of America as opportunities for civic engagement and reflection. Miracle Made: For 40% off high-quality self-cooling sheets plus an extra 20% off with 3 free towels, use promo code GREENROOM when you go to trymiracle.com/greenroom

How can donors support a revitalization of civic engagement and a renewed commitment to democratic citizenship? Eric Liu, co-founder CEO of Citizen University, joins Phil and Grace to discuss the crisis in civic faith, our individual power to effect positive change in our communities, and the importance of supporting literacy in power. He also exhorts donors to recognize that democracy and citizenship go beyond electoral politics, addresses the difficult question of when to engage in bridging and when it may be unproductive, and speaks to the importance of inviting youth into the conversation. Additional Resources Citizen University You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen by Eric Liu Whitney Kimball Coe, Director of National Programs, Center for Rural Strategies, The Aspen Institute  Report: Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century Report: Youth Civic Empowerment: Insights from the Student Experience Report: Habits of Heart and Mind: How to Fortify Civic Culture

On Sunday, President Joe Biden announced he would not be running for re-election, and would instead endorse Vice President Kamala Harris. A lot of the news coverage in the last twenty four hours has focused on how party officials from both sides of the aisle are considering the President's decision to step down from race.  But those aren't the people who will ultimately be deciding the outcome of this race in November. The question is: will an influx in Democratic Party fundraising, institutional support – as well as a new narrative – be enough to engage the average American voter? Or does the seeming momentum of the Republican Party sweep former President Tump back into office? Guest:     Eric Liu: CEO and co-founder of Citizen University, a cross-partisan non-profit dedicated to reviving civic engagement. He's also a former foreign policy speech writer and deputy domestic policy advisor under the Clinton Administration. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  As the United States heads for what portends to be a raucous convention season, Dialogue host Marcia Franklin talks with Eric Liu, the founder of Citizen University in Seattle, about whether it's even possible in a seemingly fractured society to have a civil discussion about politics. Liu, also the executive director of the Citizenship and American Identity Program at the Aspen Institute, is trying to reclaim civic education from the doldrums and encourage Americans to act on their rights. His TED Talk on the subject has more than a million and a half views. Franklin and Liu discuss the “tectonic” demographic shift in the country and what it potentially means for governing, how Americans from diverse backgrounds are still bound together by a common creed, and what he describes as a “third Reconstruction Period” in the United States. Liu, an attorney, is the author of more than a half-dozen books, including “Gardens of Democracy,” “Guiding Lights,” “The True Patriot,” and “The Accidental Asian.” Originally aired: 07/15/2016

At this week's Round Table, Emmanuel, Hannah, and Heba conversed with a remarkable young leader, Chelsea Osei. Chelsea, a Ghanaian American high school senior based in Illinois and a member of Citizen University's Youth Collaboratory brings with her a wealth of experiences and insights that inspire and enlighten. Throughout her academic journey, Chelsea has distinguished herself as a passionate advocate for equity and inclusion. As a founding board member of her school's Student Equity Action Committee and the founder of AP Advisory, she has tirelessly championed the cause of fairness and justice within her educational community. But Chelsea's activism extends far beyond the walls of her school. Engaging with platforms such as Civics Unplugged and her local Board of Education, she has found her voice and her purpose in effecting positive change on a broader scale. Thanks to her participation in Citizen University's Youth Collaboratory, Chelsea's vision for change has grown stronger: inspired by the resilience and creativity of activists and artists during the pandemic, she is embarking on a power project aimed at elevating young artists who shine a light on societal conflicts and educating others on these vital issues. At the heart of Chelsea's work lies a deep commitment to community organizing and civic education. Her experiences on the Board of Education and her advocacy for educational equity and diversity, equity, and inclusion have shaped her understanding of the power of collective action and informed her approach to grassroots activism. Join us as we delve into Chelsea's journey as a young activist, exploring the challenges she has faced, the victories she has achieved, and the lessons she has learned along the way. Together, we'll uncover the transformative potential of youth leadership and the importance of fostering inclusive spaces where all voices are heard and valued. Thank you for listening! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nextgenpolitics/message

We'd be lying to ourselves if we acted like our country's history wasn't filled with societal pains and traumas.Eric Liu, the CEO of Citizen University, says that when we grieve together, we open the opportunity to heal and move forward as a nation. By renewing faith in ourselves, we can carry on the legacy of our ancestors.Resources mentioned in this episode:Citizen University websiteFollow Tulaine Montgomery on:InstagramLinkedinXSubscribe to “Say More with Tulaine Montgomery” wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the New Profit and Hueman Group Media. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We continue our Best of 2023 episodes with an  episode from the When the People Decide podcast, hosted by Jenna Spinelle.Librarians have spoken for years about “library faith,” the belief that public libraries are central to democracy because they contribute to an informed citizenry. Today, the idea is gaining even more traction, and even conservative crackdowns on what's permitted in libraries reinforce the idea that they're more than just “book warehouses” but centers for community engagement and representativeness. This week, hear from two librarians working to enhance the role libraries of libraries democracy and civic engagement. Shamichael Hallman explains how he brought his experience in tech and faith leadership to bear when he ran a branch of the Memphis Public Libraries, including bringing Civic Saturdays to his community, a program of Citizen University. And public policy advocate Nancy Kranich of Rutgers University shares the high hopes she has that libraries remain crucial institutions that allow us to engage with our government–and each other.Learn more about the podcast at thepeopledecide.show and follow us on Twitter @PeopleDecidePod.Additional InformationWhen the People Decide PodcastMore shows from The Democracy Group

We're excited to present an episode from our sister podcast, When the People Decide, about how libraries can be sites of civic engagement and building a new social fabric in America's cities and towns.Librarians have spoken for years about “library faith,” the belief that public libraries are central to democracy because they contribute to an informed citizenry. Today, the idea is gaining even more traction, and even conservative crackdowns on what's permitted in libraries reinforce the idea that they're more than just “book warehouses” but centers for community engagement and representativeness. This week, hear from two librarians working to enhance the role libraries of libraries democracy and civic engagement. Shamichael Hallman explains how he brought his experience in tech and faith leadership to bear when he ran a branch of the Memphis Public Libraries, including bringing Civic Saturdays to his community, a program of Citizen University. And public policy advocate Nancy Kranich of Rutgers University shares the high hopes she has that libraries remain crucial institutions that allow us to engage with our government–and each other.Subscribe to When the People Decide

Librarians have spoken for years about “library faith,” the belief that public libraries are central to democracy because they contribute to an informed citizenry. Today, the idea is gaining even more traction, and even conservative crackdowns on what's permitted in libraries reinforce the idea that they're more than just “book warehouses” but centers for community engagement and representativeness. This week, hear from two librarians working to enhance the role libraries of libraries democracy and civic engagement. Shamichael Hallman explains how he brought his experience in tech and faith leadership to bear when he ran a branch of the Memphis Public Libraries, including bringing Civic Saturdays to his community, a program of Citizen University. And public policy advocate Nancy Kranich of Rutgers University shares the high hopes she has that libraries remain crucial institutions that allow us to engage with our government–and each other.

In what ways is democracy under threat in the United States? And how do we strengthen our union? Those are two of the key questions posed in a new series of reports, editorials, podcasts and radio segments from WBEZ and the Sun-Times called “The Democracy Solutions Project,” which will run through the 2024 presidential election. The project is a partnership between Chicago Public Media and the University of Chicago's Center for Effective Government at the Harris School of Public Policy. Reset sits down Eric Liu of Citizen University to hear more about the role civic engagement can play in strengthening democracy.

How can we cultivate informed and active citizens in these divided times? Eric Liu, founder of Citizen University, joins Andrew to discuss why civic engagement is so crucial to the survival of our democracy. Eric distills the American creed into Civic Sermons, hosts Civic Saturdays, and has created a Civic Seminary to train everyday citizens to become leaders in their own communities. Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/m1mAcauwWXw Become America: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/605353/become-america-by-eric-liu/ Follow Eric Liu: https://citizenuniversity.us | https://twitter.com/ericpliu Follow Andrew Yang: https://twitter.com/andrewyang | https://forwardparty.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hate has unfortunately been a part of the United States since the founding of the country, enshrined at various times in policies and regulations, and showing up in the practices and everyday behavior of individuals. We have made progress in addressing some of those harms and removing some of the structural barriers people face, but we still have a ways to go as a society. And in the last few years, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hateful incidents have been on the rise, putting minority groups at great risk. In this panel at the 2022 Aspen Ideas Festival, civic leaders and researchers who are leading the fight against hate explain its inner workings and tell us what they've learned about stopping hate from spreading. Eric Liu, the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University and the director of the Aspen Institute's Citizenship and American Identity Program, moderates the conversation between Manjusha Kulkarni, executive director of AAPI Equity Alliance, Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, and Dana Coester, media professor at West Virginia University.

When it comes to voting, we believe that you should be the person your dog believes you are! This episode focuses on the myriad of connections between dogs and politics. Can dogs secure elections? Encourage voter registration? Join a congressional session? Even avert a nuclear war? Almost anything is possible with man's best friend. In this episode, we introduce our #wagthevote campaign. It is our dog-centric, non-partisan campaign dedicated to encouraging voter participation. Vote! Your dog thinks it's the right thing to do! For more please visit the official Wag The Vote website: https://wagthevote.org/ About Andrew Hager Andrew Hager has been historian-in-residence at the Presidential Pet Museum since 2017. Prior to that, he spent a decade teaching middle school social studies for Baltimore County Public Schools. He graduated from Towson University with an undergraduate degree in Political Science and a Master's in the Art of Teaching. Andrew understands firsthand the power of a canine companion. He is legally blind and travels with a black Labrador Retriever guide dog named Sammy. Andrew also has two cats, a fish, and a fluffy mixed-breed rescue dog named Emmy. https://www.presidentialpetmuseum.com/ About Rob Schwarts Rob is the Chair of the newly-formed TBWA NEW YORK GROUP and the man behind Dog Lovers for Joe voting project in 2017. Rob was recognized as ThinkLA's “Leader of the Year” and is considered one of Adweek's “25 Voices to Follow in Social Media.” When he's not working or tweeting, you'll find him hanging out with Betsy, his wife of 25+ years. And walking their black Labrador, Pepper around Washington Square Park. Daniel Holt Dan is the Assistant Historian at the U.S. Senate Historical Office. He earned a Ph.D. in history in 2008 from the University of Virginia, where his studies focused on U.S. political, legal, and financial history. At the Senate Dan's responsibilities include creating online features, documentary editing, conducting oral histories with Senators and former staff, giving talks and tours at the Capitol, and answering questions from the public about the Senate's institutional development and its historical role in the American political system. Robert Kahn Columnist for the Courthouse News. https://www.courthousenews.com/ Erika Herrmann & Shari Aronson Co-Creators of the Wag The Vote campaign created for Citizen University's Joy of Voting project in 2017. https://citizenuniversity.us/news/joy-of-voting/ Episode Links Find the full interview with Andrew Hager here: American Presidents and Their Dogs with Andrew Hager Find the full interview with Rob Schwarts here: Dogs Sell Tacos and Trucks. Can They Sell a President? About Dog Podcast Network (DPN) DPN is the first of its kind. A podcasting network as devoted to dogs, as they are to us. Our mission is simple: entertain, inspire and inform. We will improve the quality of life for dogs and the people who love them. Check out Dog Podcast Network for other dog-adjacent shows: The Long Leash where we rescue tasty scraps from the editing room floor in an unscripted interview show Dog Cancer Answers which offers vetted advice from real veterinarians who answer your questions about dog cancer Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In our field, we often talk about the importance civic infrastructure, the connection between people, institutions, and systems in a community. We also love to engage in discussions power. But have you ever stopped for a moment to really break down what those words mean or thought about how people outside the Cradle to Career movement engage with those ideas? In this episode, we dive into this deep world of power, civics, and democracy with founder of Citizen University, Eric Liu. Eric is one of the keynote speakers at the 2022 Cradle to Career Network Convening.  

"[The authors] distill decades of experience into this bracing, often surprising book about what college is, and is for. With rigor and wisdom, they burn away myths and challenge every American to recommit to truly higher learning." -- Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University

As the United States heads for what portends to be a raucous convention season, Dialogue host Marcia Franklin talks with Eric Liu, the founder of Citizen University in Seattle, about whether it's even possible in a seemingly fractured society to have a civil discussion about politics. Liu, also the executive director of the Citizenship and American Identity Program at the Aspen Institute, is trying to reclaim civic education from the doldrums and encourage Americans to act on their rights. His TED Talk on the subject has more than a million and a half views. Franklin and Liu discuss the “tectonic” demographic shift in the country and what it potentially means for governing, how Americans from diverse backgrounds are still bound together by a common creed, and what he describes as a “third Reconstruction Period” in the United States. Liu, an attorney, is the author of more than a half-dozen books, including “Gardens of Democracy,” “Guiding Lights,” “The True Patriot,” and “The Accidental Asian.” Originally aired: 07/15/2016

If you're a regular listener of this program,  you may have noticed that we didn't publish an episode last week. As I'm sure you are all aware, on the day that we usually record, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling that overturned Roe vs Wade and effectively ended Americans' right to abortion in more than half of the country, including here in Oklahoma. If you want to learn more about the specifics of Oklahoma's abortion laws, including the four that were added this year, listen to episode 210, called “Why so many abortion bans?”  which was published just a few weeks ago, on May 29th. It features an interview with Tamya Cox-Toure, who is the executive director of ACLU Oklahoma and co-chair of the Oklahoma Call for Reproductive Justice.  While this Supreme Court ruling was expected because the decision was leaked a few months ago, the reality of it actually happening has left millions of people feeling heavier, angrier, and more despondent than I think we anticipated. The ruling is unequivocally harmful to every person who can become pregnant and to our society at large. American women, including my daughters, are now growing up in a world where they have more risk and fewer rights than did their mothers and grandmothers.  This ruling will have a disproportionate impact on black and brown communities and people who are in poverty. Abortion is still legal in many states, but that doesn't mean it is accessible. Thousands of people who will need abortions are now unable to get one.  In addition to its overt harm, this ruling is remarkable for a number of reasons - the contemputous tone taken by the author, Justice Samuel Alito, for example. Also the fact that several members of the court have been credibly accused of sexual harrassment and were appointed by a president who was also credibly accussed of sexual assault. Or that nearly all the justices, when asked during their Senate confirmation hearings if they would overturn Roe v Wade, stated that they would not, agreeing that Roe was settled precedent. And yet, here we are. And then there is the concurring opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas, which openly advocates for the overturning of the precedent set by three other Supreme Court cases - Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell - which provide protections for access to birth control, consensual sex, and same-sex marriage, respectively. Justice Thomas is regarded as one of (if not the) most conservative justices on the bench, and these type of comments should give all Americans reason for serious concern. This kind of approach, often called “orginialist” or "textualist,” is dangerous to the American way of life because it implies that every right and privilege that is conveyed to us by legal precedent but not specifically outlined in the Constitution is now at risk. There is a lot of prededecent that all of us take for granted because  it has been settled for years or even decades.  Abortion isn't just a partisan issue, it's a power issue. People of all political affiliations need and receive abortions every year. The issue is about who has the power over women. Who gets to make decisions about their health needs, about what happens to their bodies, about their freedom and independence and autonomy.  The people opposed to abortion have been very open that this fight is not about science or reason, it is about values. Public policy is rooted in values, and sometimes  values cut across partisan lines in ways we don't expect. But we don't usually talk about our values with one another, we usually just talk about policy. Why is that? To explain, I'm going to borrow (and extend) an analogy from my friend Eric Liu, founder and CEO of Citizen University and the author of several books, including “The Gardens of Democracy.”  Consider our democracy to be a garden. Our values are the soil and policy are the flowers and fruit that grow from that soil. We...

As a philosophy that means different things to different people and groups, it can be hard to know what liberalism stands for. Traditionally, liberalism is viewed as a political and moral philosophy based on individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise. In the 1990s and 2000s, democracy spread and markets prospered, and it seemed like the continuing expansion of liberal values was assured. But recent years have revealed major challenges to liberalism from both the right and the left. In his book Liberalism and Its Discontents, political philosopher Francis Fukuyama wrote that classical liberalism is in a state of crisis and asked essential questions about how to move forward. While liberalism was developed to help govern diverse societies and was grounded in fundamental principles of equality and the rule of law, huge inequalities still evolved. And while liberalism emphasizes the rights of individuals to pursue personal happiness, free from encroachment by the government, we still disagree about what those freedoms entail. Fukuyama wrote about how liberalism hasn't always lived up to its own ideals. In the U.S., many people have been – and still are – consistently denied equality before the law, including African Americans and other people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, women, and many more. He also examined how, in recent decades, the principles of liberalism have been pushed to new extremes by both the right and the left. The result, Fukuyama argues, has been a fracturing of our civil society and an increasing peril to our democracy. Francis Fukuyama is the Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. He has previously taught at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University and at the George Mason University School of Public Policy. He was a researcher at the RAND Corporation and served as the deputy director in the State Department's policy planning staff. He is the author of The End of History and the Last Man, Trust, and America at the Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy. Eric Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University and director of the Aspen Institute's Citizenship & American Identity Program. He is the author of several acclaimed books, most recently, Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy — a New York Times New & Notable Book. He has been selected as an Ashoka Fellow and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is featured on the PBS documentary American Creed and is a frequent contributor to The Atlantic. Liu served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and as the President's deputy domestic policy adviser. He was later appointed by President Obama to serve on the board of the Corporation for National and Community Service. Buy the Book: Liberalism and Its Discontents (Hardcover) from Elliott Bay Books Presented by Town Hall Seattle. To become a member or make a donation click here. 

Like history, the term civics has been pulled into recent political debates. So in this episode, we're examining the role history museums and organizations can play in the new civics. How can we help our communities find meaning, a sense of belonging, and the tools they need to make their world a better place? To help answer that question, we're joined by Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University; Melanie Adams, Director of the Anacostia Community Museum; and Caroline Klibanoff, Managing Director of Made By Us. 

Episode 17: The Opportunities and Obligations of Citizenship in K-12 EducationWhat if each of us believed we had the power to make change happen in civic life—and felt we had the responsibility to try? That's the premise behind Eric Liu's Citizen University, and the starting point for this New View EDU discussion on power literacy, changemaking, and civic agency in schools. How did the study of “civics” become a boring, drill-and-kill topic? When and why did we stop treating civic literacy as a relevant, necessary skill for students to learn? And how can we reclaim a sense of civic responsibility, citizenship, and future agency in our school communities?Guest: Eric LiuResources and Expanded Show NotesFull TranscriptIn This Episode:“And as I've said in many contexts, power is like fire or physics. It just is. It's there. And though it can be put to bad uses, that fact doesn't absolve us of the responsibility to think of what good uses it could be put to.” (3:22)“You know, the purpose of schooling is not just to create good workers or good employees or people who can compete in the global economy as, as has become the dominant refrain of justification for schooling and especially public schooling. But fundamentally it is to create citizens, people capable of self-government. And that was certainly the case for universal compulsory public education.” (7:16)“If you want to teach civics, you have to teach the arguments. You have to show young people the ways in which, from the beginning and to this day, we are perpetually contesting several sets of tensions, between Liberty and equality, between a strong national government and local control, between federalism and anti federalism, between the Pluribus part of our national motto and the Unum part of our national motto. Right? And these tensions are never meant to be resolved finally, one direction or the other…The tension that we are always in is the argument. And the point of American civic life isn't right now to have fewer arguments, it's to have less stupid ones.” (20:23)“Education is not all critical thinking and SEL. You got to have some raw material about which you are thinking critically. And we have to have some common facts around which we can have emotional intelligence, right? And I think schools, public and private over the last two generations, have failed our country, have failed our democratic experiment, in providing that core knowledge.” (34:09) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

"[The authors] distill decades of experience into this bracing, often surprising book about what college is, and is for. With rigor and wisdom, they burn away myths and challenge every American to recommit to truly higher learning." -- Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University

At this week's Round Table, Jack, Inica, and Kenisha spoke with Hassan Javed and Zoey Belyea of Citizen University's Youth Collaboratory, which focuses on equipping the next generation with the skills to build civic power and use it for good—right up our alley. We have to change narratives of power as part of this. Zoey and Hassan underscored that we can't solve problems with the same old strategy; we NEED to help young people realize and wield our individual and collective power. It's a key to transformation and empowerment, both societal and personal. Hassan talked about the pain of wanting to call out and address injustices he saw but not having a vehicle to do so. So HOW do we build power? By organizing of course! One person can bring four more people in. By building community and networks, especially of young activists, we can become civically super charged and start to change culture and, ultimately, cultural change is even more important than policy change. Yet it doesn't happen overnight or even over many nights and we have to hold the vision and be willing to work for it, day after day and night after night, and to pursue multiple avenues to find what works. The more we learn now—and maybe even the more we fail now—the more effective we'll be in 20-30 years. We loved how Zoey talked about using creative capacity to combine a logic framework with a heart centered approach to enable each of us to show up in ways that are fulfilling, loving, and inspiring and that help the world become the best version of itself. Here's to that version–and thanks for listening! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nextgenpolitics/message

Americans' trust in both their government and in each other is declining. That's according to the Pew Research Center, who have been collecting this data for decades. Researchers Bradley Jones and Katerina Eva Matsa discuss how and why Americans are losing trust in two critical institutions: elections and news media. Then, Eric Liu, the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, and Tony Marcano, managing editor of member station KPCC and the LAist, share the steps they are taking to help citizens engage in civic life and re-establish trust in our country's election systems and news media. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

Eric Liu dives into his journey of public service and his founding of Citizen University, an innovative organization dedicated to promoting civic life and education.

A 2019 study by the Pew Research Center, surveyed Americans' attitudes across 30 political values such as guns, race, climate, immigration, and foreign policy. The average gap between Democrats and Republicans on these hot button issues was 39 percentage points. And things don't seem to be getting any better when it comes to finding common ground. In the summer of 2020, another study by Pew reported that 77% of Americans said the country was now more divided than before the COVID-19 pandemic began.But division isn't an issue solely owned by the United States. The rise in populism, old and new cultural conflicts, and economic hardships have all intensified polarization and conflict across the world. What led us to these deep divisions? Is it human nature or a product of systems we've created? How are social media and information echo chambers contributing? One thing is clear - to solve our greatest challenges people need to work together across differences.To discuss how we get there, we're turning to experts on how people and communities transcend divides. Amanda Ripley is an investigative journalist and New York Times best-selling author. Her latest book High Conflict is an exploration of what happens when people get locked in seemingly intractable feuds and how they've broken free. Amanda is joined by Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. He also directs the Aspen Institute's Citizenship & American Identity Program: home to an initiative that trains people in how to have what they call: “better arguments.” To learn more about High Conflict and Amanda's other work visit amandaripley.com and for more on the Better Arguments project, visit betterarguments.org. This conversation comes from the stage at the Resnick Aspen Action Forum. It is moderated by Rima Maktabi, London Bureau Chief of Al Arabiya news, and Fellow of the Middle East Leadership Initiative - Over the past 20 years, Rima's covered conflicts across the Middle East, making her no stranger to the topic of this dialogue. Download the Episode Transcript HereFor more conversations from the Resnick Aspen Action Forum, click here. 

The American Promise—that all men and women are inherently equal—is not being fulfilled because racism continues to corrode our society. Author and veteran Theodore R. Johnson says what's need is a more multi-racial national solidarity, and the Black American experience has lessons on how to get there. In his book, When the Stars Begin to Fall: Overcoming Racism and Renewing the Promise of America, Johnson writes that a blueprint for unity can be found in Black Americans' exceptional citizenship. Even when the Federal Government broke its end of the social contract by returning Black soldiers to slavery after they fought in the Revolutionary War, for example, Black Americans continued to serve their country. Johnson tells Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, that Black Americans, like other groups that have been oppressed in the nation's history, have picked up lessons about standing together and fighting back. Liu is also the executive director of the Citizenship and American Identity Program at the Aspen Institute.

Eric Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, Director of the Aspen Institute's Citizenship & American Identity Program, author of several popular books, and former White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later as the President's deputy domestic policy adviser. He has served as a board member of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Washington State Board of Education, and the Seattle Public Library. He is a co-founder of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility. Eric addresses the question of “What Could Possibly Go Right?” with thoughts including:That Citizen University is working to foster a culture of powerful citizenshipThat “all great endeavors are collective endeavors”The “incredible surge of mutual aid” we've seen during the pandemicThe importance of civic catalysts, who “may not have the title, authority or formal office of a leader, but they're the ones who make it happen.”That “you can't possibly change another person's mind if you yourself aren't willing to have your own mind changed or your own heart opened.”ResourcesBook: “Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America” by James and Deborah FallowsBook: “You're More Powerful Than You Think: A Citizen's Guide to Making Change Happen” by Eric LiuBook: “Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy” by Eric LiuThe Better Arguments Project https://betterarguments.orgConnect with Eric LiuWebsite: https://citizenuniversity.us Twitter: https://twitter.com/ericpliu Follow WCPGR on Social MediaFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhatCouldPossiblyGoRightPodcast​Twitter: https://twitter.com/buildresilience​Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/buildresilienceJoin our Patreon Community to receive bonus conversations with guests and "backstage" conversations between Vicki and other podcast hosts: https://www.patreon.com/vickirobinLearn more: https://bit.ly/wcpgr-resSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/vickirobin)

Citizen power | Eric Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University and the Director of the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship and American Identity Program. In this episode that delves into the meaning of citizenship and the nature of power in politics, Liu and host Andrew Keen discuss contemporary conceptions of power in the United States and responsibilities of citizens. There is a tension, especially in America, between individualism and citizen responsibility toward building communities and cooperating for a common good, argues Liu, and it's important to explore this and find a way to give citizens positive agency.

In this podcast we are excited to hear from three members of our local democracy who all contribute to our civic life in different ways. We are lucky to have RaShelle Davis. Rashelle is a Senior Policy Advisor for Governor Jay Inslee. She is joined by Whitney Keyes, Executive Director Seattle City Club and Kayla Demonte, Managing Director of Citizen University. Our guests discuss why they decided to enter into civil service and how they got started in the work of democracy. They spend time discussing the impact of their families, the experiences learned from other sectors, the inspiration that came from leaders and mentors, traveling, rank-choice voting, and how to stay engaged. All three shared personal and professional projects towards the end. RaShelle wanted to let listeners know about Washington Senate Bill 5010 which prohibits the use of credit scores to determine rates for personal lines of insurance. Whitney spoke about how City Club was looking to start a Dialogue across Differences and are looking for organizations to partner with. Kayla pitched the great work of The Better Arguments Project and their approach and framework. She also talked about a new book out called The Sum of Us. RaShelle advocated for the Aspen Institute's Ideas Festival and agreed to introduce her to folks from there. Kayla asked listeners for two things. First, she pitched for people to be trained in the Civic Saturday programs so they can lead these civic events in their own communities. Second, she plugged the push by Fair Vote Washington to push forth the ability of Washington House Bill 1156 to allow for rank-choice voting in local cities and counties. Responses for any of these endeavors can be sent to us at f.nam@civic-commons.org. We will happily forward along any notes to our guests. We thank our guests for their service, the work they continue to do, and we'll see you at our next episode! Special thanks to Big Phony for providing music for the We Belong Here podcast. 

[Replay of Episode 9 (11/25/2020), with new introduction] Long after the news outlets called the election for Biden, Trump still refuses to concede his loss. This reminds us that our democracy relies on not only the rule of law, but also a shared set of beliefs about how we choose to govern ourselves. Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University, joins Mind of State to discuss his prescription for bolstering our collective faith in the ongoing experiment of the American democracy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

To build more inclusive & equitable communities, we will need to repair trust with fellow citizens and regenerate hope within ourselves. How do we do this? In this episode, Zina Jacque, Jessica Green & Claire Nelson reflect on wisdom shared by civic evangelist Eric Liu of Citizen University immediately following the 2020 Election. Among our charges: questioning our certitude, leaning into curiosity, being trustworthy, and rehumanizing each other. To watch Zina's conversation with Eric, visit CourageousCommunity.us.

Long after the news outlets called the election for Biden, Trump still refuses to concede his loss. This reminds us that our democracy relies on not only the rule of law, but also a shared set of beliefs about how we choose to govern ourselves. Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University, joins Mind of State to discuss his prescription for bolstering our collective faith in the ongoing experiment of the American democracy. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University.

Restaurants, art and citizenship in Chinatown; Papa Kurt's; CEO of Citizen University; Downtown-Chinatown Neighborhood Board; Taiji Terasaki; Donkey Mill Art Center; Scaled Down Thanksgiving Ideas

Many in America do not feel safe in spaces that used to be seen as refuges: our churches and schools, our movie theaters and dance clubs, our workplaces and neighborhoods. But this feeling begs the question: Is America destined to always be a violent nation? Pulling from his carefully researched and deeply emotional book The Violence Inside Us: A Brief History of an Ongoing American Tragedy, Senator Chris Murphy joined us via livestream to attempt to answer this question. Telling the story of his profound personal transformation in the wake of the mass murder at Newtown, he advocated that in order to confront the problem, we must first understand it. Dissecting our country’s violence-filled history and the role of our unique fascination with firearms, he came to the conclusion that while America’s relationship to violence is singular, we are not inescapably violent. Join Murphy as he takes on the familiar arguments, addresses the usual talking points, and charts the way to a fresh, less polarized conversation about violence and the weapons that enable it—a conversation he urges we need in order to transform the national dialogue and save lives. Chris Murphy is the junior Senator from Connecticut, elected in 2012 as the youngest member of the US Senate. Since the Newtown school shooting in December 2012, he has also become the best-known leader in Congress in confronting the plague of gun violence in America. He has also been a strong voice fighting for job creation, affordable health care, education, and a forward-looking foreign policy. Eric Liu is an author and the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. He has served as a board member of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Washington State Board of Education, and the Seattle Public Library and is a co-founder of the Alliance for Gun Responsibility. A regular contributor to the Atlantic, Eric can be found on Twitter @ericpliu Buy the Book: https://www.elliottbaybook.com/book/9781984854575  Presented by Town Hall Seattle, Seattle U College of Arts and Sciences, and Elliott Bay Book Company To become a member of Town Hall Seattle or to make a donation online click here or text TOWN HALL to 44321. 

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey joins Christiane Amanpour to unpack voter suppression. Then, Gérard Araud, the former French Ambassador to the U.S., and Norbert Röttgen, Chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee, discuss the future of transatlantic ties. Our Michel Martin speaks to Pete Peterson, Dean of Pepperdine University School of Public Policy, and Eric Liu, co-founder & CEO of Citizen University, about how to create more resilient democracies.To learn more about how CNN protects listener privacy, visit cnn.com/privacy

Baratunde shares the four pillars of How To Citizen. Eric Liu, founder of Citizen University, schools us on power - what it is, who has it, and how the practice of citizenship is empty without this literacy. They also discuss how this power needs to be coupled with civic character to prevent us from becoming finely-skilled sociopaths. Eric answers questions from the live audience and Baratunde gives you some ways to practice understanding and using power. Show Notes + Links We are grateful to Eric Liu for coming on the show and schooling us on power. Buy his books here at our online bookshop for the show that supports local bookstores. Check out Citizen University for more tools for how to citizen and follow @ericpliu on Twitter.  We will post this episode, a transcript, show notes and more at howtocitizen.com. ACTION FOR THIS EPISODE, HERE IS WHAT YOU CAN DO External Action:   Start or join a club. Practice power by being in relationship with others in a self-organized environment.  Interacting with a group of people who are self-organized around a shared interest but who may be very different from you otherwise, allows you to experience and practice being a part of how groups of people make decisions, self-govern, be accountable to each other, negotiate different needs and perspectives, collaborate, and resolve conflicts. Because it is all self-selected, the dynamics are more peer-to-peer, mimicking how we work together as members of society as opposed to a work or family environment. Internal Action: Practice seeing and understanding power.  It will literally become your “super-power” as a citizen.  Pick an issue that you care about that impacts a specific community or the general public. Who benefits from the current state of things, and who doesn’t? Lastly, how are the decisions about this issue made - is there accountability, transparency, and participation by those most affected? Who influences the decision-making process and what types of power do they use? If you took either action or both, share with us what happened or how you felt - action@howtocitizen.com. Mention Episode 01 in the subject line. We love feedback from our listeners - comments@howtocitizen.com.  Visit Baratunde's website to sign up for his newsletter to learn about upcoming guests, live tapings, and more. Follow him on Instagram or join his Patreon. You can even text him, like right now at 202-894-8844. How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of I Heart Radio Podcasts. executive produced by Miles Gray, Nick Stumpf, Elizabeth Stewart, and Baratunde Thurston. Produced by Joelle Smith, edited by Justin Smith. Powered by you.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://news.iheart.com/podcast-advertisers

In this episode, I share my thoughts on how this pandemic is political, and how it can be seen as a window into some of our greatest challenges as a species, both historically and going forward. I share a lot of uncomfortable truths I think many of us need to think about and hear, about how most of us are illiterate in the understanding and languages of science, technology, economics, politics, law, business and power that dominate our world, and how we need to take a good hard look at ourselves, individually and collectively, as to how we got here. I muse on just how laughably absurd so many things are, and how we need to do our best to get our information from reputable and reliable sources—rather than monolithic conspiracy theories—if we're to understand what's actually going on and do something to improve matters. And I end by sharing reasons for hope and optimism and what we can do, and what some of my favourite sources for information are, namely:  • Munk Debates and Dialogues (for important and meaningful conversations with experts, and currently focused on how coronavirus will affect our world going forward) • Future Crunch (for great news in science, tech, business, government, philanthropy, and some fun...including their coronavirus daily dozen good news stories) • Kurgesagt (one of my favourite things on the internet...amazing animated videos about science, technology, philosophy, and more) • Good Food Institute (for the future of food and food policy) • Citizen University (for understanding power dynamics and civic duty) • James Clear (for expertise in habits and behaviour) • TED Talks and NPR's Ted Radio Hour (for amazing ideas worth spreading and cutting-edge research in many fields) • Nafeez Ahmad's Insurge Intelligence (for deep-dive political investigations about the depth of the shit we find ourselves in and challenges that lie ahead) Other sources not mentioned:  • Masterclass, MentorBox, and MindValley (for great and relatively affordable online learning spaces) • Peter Diamandis and Abundance Insider (for a look into the rapidly evolving technology and advancements of the future, happening right now) • Dandapani (for wisdom and guidance about how our minds work, meditation, and how to use our minds to create the life we want to live) • Richard Davidson and the Center for Healthy Minds (for new research into the science of mental health and wellbeing) • Yuval Noah Harari (for an understanding of the history and future of the human species). Enjoy. Rate and Review. Share. Provide Feedback.

Built on a sense of shared community responsibility, Civic Saturday talks politics, the future of our youth and baseball! Citizen University's Civic Saturday Year in Review looks back at the best of 2019.

On this episode of Grow Kinder, we talk with Eric Liu, co-founder and CEO of Citizen University, and director of the Aspen Institute's Citizenship & American Identity Program. Eric is a leader in local and national citizen reform movements. He served as a White House speechwriter for President Bill Clinton and later as the President's deputy domestic policy adviser. Eric talks with us about his new book, Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy. He also talks about his efforts to build a culture of powerful, responsible citizenship across the country. To learn more about Eric and his work, visit citizenuniversity.us.

Citizen University’s Eric Liu sits down with Matt Kibbe for an across-the-aisle discussion of liberty, equality, power, and responsibility, proving that we can disagree without being disagreeable. Subscribe to Kibbe on Liberty on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, YouTube, or anywhere you get podcasts.

As we celebrate this season of gratitude and forgiveness, Eric Liu adds three things to celebrate: our presence, our openness, and our heritage. Liu says presence matters because it's getting too easy to retreat into small circles of comfort. He says openness is to be celebrated because open and inclusive societies tend to outperform and outlast closed, exclusive ones. And when it comes to celebrating our heritage, he advises us to have an open mind, saying "Who we are as Americans is this: a people ever arguing over who we are as Americans."Read Eric Liu's full address delivered December 7, 2019, at the Town Hall Forum as part of Citizen University's Civic Saturday, the civic analogue to a faith gathering.

As part of a month-long campaign called the Purple Project for Democracy, (a strictly non-partisan, apolitical effort that a number of other large news organizations have also contributed to) we are featuring a series of conversations about an alarming loss of trust, faith and devotion by Americans for American democracy -- and what to do about it. Bob is one of the Purple Project organizers. Democracy is in trouble. Not necessarily because of our current political mayhem, or even because of the accumulated sins and failures of American society, but because vast swaths of the public are giving up on the system that has governed us for 243 years. Here are some alarming data points: One, in 2018 only 33% of the general population expressed trust for government. Two, among 1400 adults asked about the importance of democracy, only 39% of younger participants said “absolutely important.” Three, in a 2018 Democracy Fund survey of 5000 Americans, 24% of respondents expressed support for “a strong leader who doesn’t have to bother with Congress or elections,” and either a “strong leader” and 18% for “army rule. The more complicated question is what as a society we are to do about it? In this mini-series we’ll be talking that over, but we’ll begin with the actual state of public sentiment and public participation. Eric Liu is the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University and Co-chair of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship. He and Bob discuss potential solutions for taking on widespread disaffection. Music: We Insist by Zoë Keating

Eric Liu says we are all "gardeners" of our democracy and our community. He says we ought to pay more attention to our roots and root systems and know what it is we believe and why. Liu believes we are a mixed, intermingled group of gardeners tending a mixed, intermingled plot. He admits it's a complicated concoction, but if we tend it just right the result could be new forms of civic responsibility. Other speakers include Citizen University's Jená Cane and Taneum Fotheringill, and poet Ebo Barton. Read Eric Liu's full address delivered at El Centro de la Raza as part of Citizen University's Civic Saturday, the civic analogue to a faith gathering.

Our democracy has become a punching bag. From Russian hacking and hate-filled tweets, to demands for impeachment and increasingly nasty political infighting, our public conversation is increasingly narrow, dispiriting and disempowering.According to Pew Research, trust in government is near historic lows. Most Americans believe that declining trust in our public institutions and in each other make it harder to solve key problems. A new poll says 75% of Americans say trust in government is shrinking, while 64% say this is also true for each other-- suggesting we have become more fearful and suspicious.Our guest, Debilyn Molineaux, Executive Director and co-founder of Bridge Alliance, says it's time to restore the nation's social contract. Her organization works to transform the political process by finding new and effective ways to bridge divides in our politics and among our families and local communities. Find out more in this episode.Bridge Alliance has more than 80 member organizations. Including All Sides, Common Good, headed by Philip K Howard, Living Room Conversations, Citizen University and Unite America… All groups we’ve interviewed on “How Do We Fix It?” See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The ongoing migrant crisis is getting worse, as the Department of Homeland Security is running out of room to house the increasing number of migrants detained at the border. And when evidence of the conditions dominated the news cycle earlier this month, the outrage prompted lawmakers to get involved. But how that involvement played out became the latest point of contention between factions within the Democratic Party. The Senate passed a spending bill aimed at alleviating what the Trump administration said was a lack of funding to properly house detained migrants. But the Democratic-controlled House, wary of writing a blank check without strict limits on how that money would be spent, sent a revised bill back to the Senate. But when that bill died with Mitch McConnell, the conservative-leaning "Problem Solvers" caucus of the House Democrats signaled that they were willing to pass the Senate's no-strings-attached bill, with or without the support of Speaker Pelosi. When Pelosi ultimately sided with the Problem Solvers, it set off a backlash among the party's progressive wing, most notably Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar, known collectively as "The Squad." And the outrage breathed new life into a long-simmering division between The Squad and Party leadership. This week, Amy examines how deep these divisions go, and whether or not party unity is possible heading into 2020. Also, Representative Seth Moulton from Massachusetts, who's running for the Democratic presidential nomination, joins Amy for her Candidate Talk series. And Eric Liu discusses his new book, Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy.  Guests: Ryan Grim, the DC bureau chief at The Intercept, and the author of We’ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to AOC, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement Seth Moulton, Represents Massachusetts's Sixth District in the House of Representatives, Democratic presidential candidate Heidi Heitkamp, former Senator from North Dakota Steve Kornacki, National Political Correspondent for NBC News and MSNBC, author of the book The Red and the Blue Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University and executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Citizenship and American Identity Program, author of Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy

In these fractured and fractious times it can sometimes be difficult to see past the political chasms that divide us; harder still to find the common ground needed to attempt anything approaching a healthy public discourse.  On this edition of In Depth -- hot on the heels of the fourth of July -- we get to know the work of one group attempting to address these challenges: Citizen University is a Seattle-based nonprofit working to draw people together around a common commitment to bettering American life through civic engagement. Over the past few years they've organized what they're calling Civic Saturday events in dozens of cities around the country. We discuss those community gatherings and the prospect that America just might be on the verge of a civic revival.  Host: KCBS Radio reporter Keith Menconi  Guest:Eric Liu, the co-founder and CEO of Citizen University. His new book, which draws together 19 of the Civic Saturday sermons he’s delivered over the past few years, is called "Become America: Civic Sermons on Love, Responsibility, and Democracy.”

We must shine a light on the past to live more abundantly now. Historian Annette Gordon-Reed and painter Titus Kaphar lead us in an exploration of that as a public adventure in this conversation at the Citizen University annual conference. Gordon-Reed is the historian who introduced the world to Sally Hemings and the children she had with President Thomas Jefferson, and so realigned a primary chapter of the American story with the deeper, more complicated truth. Kaphar collapses historical timelines on canvas and created iconic images after the protests in Ferguson. Both are reckoning with history in order to repair the present. Titus Kaphar is an artist whose work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions from the Savannah College of Art and Design and the Seattle Art Museum to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His 2014 painting of Ferguson protesters was commissioned by “TIME” magazine. He has received numerous awards including the Artist as Activist Fellowship from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and the 2018 Rappaport Prize. Annette Gordon-Reed is the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School and a professor of history in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. Her books include “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family,” for which she won the Pulitzer Prize, and “‘Most Blessed of the Patriarchs’: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination.” This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “Annette Gordon-Reed and Titus Kaphar — Are We Actually Citizens Here?” Find more at onbeing.org.

We must shine a light on the past to live more abundantly now. Historian Annette Gordon-Reed and painter Titus Kaphar lead us in an exploration of that as a public adventure in this conversation at the Citizen University annual conference. Gordon-Reed is the historian who introduced the world to Sally Hemings and the children she had with President Thomas Jefferson, and so realigned a primary chapter of the American story with the deeper, more complicated truth. Kaphar collapses historical timelines on canvas and created iconic images after the protests in Ferguson. Both are reckoning with history in order to repair the present. Titus Kaphar is an artist whose work has been featured in solo and group exhibitions from the Savannah College of Art and Design and the Seattle Art Museum to the Museum of Modern Art in New York. His 2014 painting of Ferguson protesters was commissioned by “TIME” magazine. He has received numerous awards including the Artist as Activist Fellowship from the Robert Rauschenberg Foundation and the 2018 Rappaport Prize. Annette Gordon-Reed is the Charles Warren Professor of American Legal History at Harvard Law School and a professor of history in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. Her books include “The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family,” for which she won the Pulitzer Prize, and “‘Most Blessed of the Patriarchs’: Thomas Jefferson and the Empire of the Imagination.” This interview originally aired in June 2017. Find the transcript for this show at onbeing.org.

Civic Seminarian Kristin Leong leads a special presentation of Civic Saturday, introducing guest speaker Aliyah Musaliar, a first-year student at the University of Washington. Musaliar reveals her turmoil as she wrestles with the only question people seem to be focused on: What are you going to be? And that leads to even greater anxiety for Musaliar, since the predetermined path her parents envision does not align with her own interests. This, she says, is the reality for many members of Generation Z. "We're told to dream big, but those dreams need to be kept in check by how the market is fluctuating," said Musaliar in an address delivered April 27, 2019 at Hillman City Collaboratory as part of Citizen University's Civic Saturday, the civic analogue to a faith gathering.

Naa Akua, Citizen University, Poet-in-Residence, is a queer poet, emcee, and actor. They are, poetry teacher at The Northwest School and WITS writer-in-residence at Franklin High School. Intentionality, love, and encouragement is the focus of Akua's work that can be found in tracks like “The Elements” or “Till It All Goes Away” from their mixtape Odd(s) Balance (on SoundCloud.com). Recently, Naa Akua was a cast member of Book-it Repertory Theater's adaptation of T. Geronimo Johnson's “Welcome to Braggsville”. Naa is currently a cast member for Theater Schmeater's production of “Welcome to Arroyo's” and in a original boilesque ballet called “Tailfeathers”. Naa Akua's one person show, Akwaba ran at part of Gay City's Mosaic program and Earth Pearl Collectives, Sovereign Queer Black Womyn Festival. When Akua is not writing and performing they are facilitating Sound Healing sessions which focus on breathing, being in the body and meditation.

Eric Liu refers to America's favorite pastime, baseball, to help answer the question, what does it mean to be responsible? He says there are two ways to interpret this. First, what is it we should expect to be blamed for or held to account? Second, what ways are we living up to obligation or expectation? He says both are at play as our political culture has increasingly favored one definition over the other, often with negative consequences. Liu says to move forward we need to recommit ourselves to our duties: to connect, cultivate, circulate, and to question ourselves. Read Liu's full address delivered April 6, 2019, at the Impact Hub Seattle as part of Citizen University's Civic Saturday, the civic analogue to a faith gathering.

Citizen University visits El Centro de la Raza for a special edition of Civic Saturday. As the country celebrates Black History Month, host Eric Liu cites the readings of abolitionist and statesman Frederick Douglas to provide context to the term liberation. But Liu goes a step beyond, exploring the full arc that runs from slavery to liberation to freedom. He reminds us that liberation is not freedom. Liberation is only the removal of oppression. Freedom, on the other hand, is much more than the removal of restraints. With freedom comes great responsibility. Liu provides a vivid example, sharing a personal story from his childhood in upstate New York. Civic Saturday is the civic analogue to a faith gathering. It celebrates the American civic tradition with a "Beyond Liberation" address by Liu, special readings, small-group discussions and reflection.

With so many people living so much longer, what is the meaning of the increasing years beyond 50? How can a society with more older people than younger ones thrive? How do we find happiness when we know life is long and time is short? Encore.org founder and CEO Marc Freedman joined us to answer these questions and more with a poignant and unique perspective contained in his book How to Live Forever: The Enduring Power of Connecting the Generations. He met onstage with Eric Liu, CEO of Citizen University and executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program. Together they explored our drive for longevity and the perils of age segregation, sharing his discussions with social innovators from across the globe about bringing the generations together for mutual benefit. Freedman found wisdom in stories from young and old, featuring ordinary people and icons like jazz great Clark Terry and basketball legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Join Freedman and Liu for a deeply personal call to find fulfillment and happiness in our longer lives by connecting with the next generation and forging a legacy of love that lives beyond us. Marc Freedman is CEO and president of Encore.org, an organization he founded in 1998. Freedman is a member of the”Experts” group of the Wall Street Journal, a frequent commentator in the national media, and the author of four previous books including Encore: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life and The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife. Eric Liu is the founder and CEO of Citizen University and executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program. Eric served as a White House speechwriter and policy adviser for President Bill Clinton. He is a regular columnist for CNN.com and a correspondent for TheAtlantic.com. Recorded live at Phinney Neighborhood Association by Town Hall Seattle on Monday, December 10, 2018. 

Citizen University: Year in Review 2018 looks back at 'What is Civics?'  We highlight the ways to practice civics in our community, as well as participating with your neighbors through Civic Saturdays.

Citizen University presents a special edition of Civic Saturday from its home turf at Impact Hub Seattle. Host Eric Liu explores the topic of time and citizenship, focusing on three aspects of time that shape our civic lives: tempo, horizons, and patterns. Liu reminds us to move at our own tempos and to be intentional. But he admits that can be a challenge. Take Seattle, for example, he says the city is moving both too quickly and too slowly to deal with growth and that's led to turbulence in local politics. And what can baseball, Winston Churchill and Star Trek teach us about the patterns of time? Civic Saturday is a civic analogue to a faith gathering that celebrates the American civic tradition with an address by Liu, readings, song and reflection.

"Taking yourself global!" -Tune in to the talk show LA40 as host Katerina Cozias interviews revolutionary goddess and founder of the largest peaceful army of love, Global Citizen University, Colleen Gallagher. Empowering leaders to evolve their mindset so that they can transform the world, Colleen has been featured on ABC, NBC, CBS and Yahoo News. Don't miss your chance to catch her LIVE and find out how you too can join Global Citizen University and be the change you want to see in the world. See you then. For more Colleen, visit: ColleenGallagher.com For more Katerina, visit: Katerina360.com

Host Eric Liu says "neighbor power" matters. Those who study relationships refer to it as "social cohesion." And according to a recent civic health report, Seattle ranks low on the national scale. Many Seattleites don't know their neighbors or share favors. Liu examines what it means to be a good neighbor and how fostering relationships at the neighborhood level helps the broader community. And hear from local residents who are part of the team cleaning and restoring the Duwamish River. Plus, Seattle's Department of Neighborhoods shares innovative ways to build neighbor power.

Citizen University TV makes a stop at the Fremont Abbey for a special presentation of Civic Saturday. In his "civic sermon," Eric Liu reminds us, "It's a Free Country." But when he explores that notion it reveals much about who we are as a nation. As Alexis de Tocqueville noted in "Democracy in America," we are both "independent and weak." Liu adds context to that belief by discussing three themes that are deeply connected: freedom, loneliness and help. His thoughts are both eye-opening and uplifting. Civic Saturday is a civic analogue to a faith gathering that celebrates the American civic tradition with an address by Liu, readings, song and reflection. The unique civic experience aims to instill a spirit of shared purpose - with liberty, equality and self-government at the heart.

How do you get city hall to listen to your concerns? As we continue this season's civics lesson, host Eric Liu explains how to get the attention of local powerbrokers and what to do once you have their ear. He highlights successful workers' rights campaigns and talks with Clara Cantor of Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, a volunteer organization that advocates for safe streets. Cantor recounts the long road to a recent victory that will result in improvements to Seattle's bike network.

The final episode in our series discusses how citizens can rewrite the social contract through participation in the democratic process. We hear from Larry Lessig, professor of law at Harvard Law School and 2016 presidential candidate; Eric Liu, founder and CEO of Citizen University; Charlotte Alter, national correspondent at TIME Magazine; and Amanda Nguyen, founder and CEO of Rise.For additional information on the issues we briefly examine, we recommend the following resources:E.J. Dionne & Kayla Meltzer Drogosz, The Promise of National Service: A (Very) Brief History of an Idea, Brookings (June 2, 2003), https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-promise-of-national-service-a-very-brief-history-of-an-idea/.Lawrence Lessig, Republic, Lost: Version 2.0 (Twelve 2015).Lawrence Lessig, I'm Trying to Run for President, but the Democrats Won't Let Me, POLITICO Mag. (Oct. 1, 2015), https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/10/lessig-lawrence-democrats-debate-2016-213215.Eric Liu, You're More Powerful than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen (PublicAffairs 2017).Eric Liu & Nick Hanauer, The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government (Sasquatch Books 2011).Eric Liu, How Donald Trump Is Reviving American Democracy, Atlantic (Mar. 8, 2017), https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/03/how-donald-trump-is-reviving-our-democracy/518928/.Charlotte Alter, The School Shooting Generation Has Had Enough, TIME (Mar. 22, 2018), http://time.com/longform/never-again-movement/.Charlotte Alter, A Year Ago, They Marched. Now a Record Number of Women Are Running for Office, TIME (Jan. 18, 2018), http://time.com/5107499/record-number-of-women-are-running-for-office/.Amanda Nguyen, TED: Re-Writing Laws to Help Sexual Assault Survivors, YouTube (Dec. 20, 2016), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBJBi8oyG18.Diana Pearl, How a 24-Year-Old Rape Survivor Is Pushing Congress to Change the Way the U.S. Handles Sexual Assault, People (Aug. 30, 2016), https://people.com/celebrity/amanda-nguyen-and-rise-profile-passing-sexual-assault-bill-of-rights/.Patrick D'Arcy, How to Turn a Cause into a Law, TED (Nov. 17, 2017), https://ideas.ted.com/how-to-turn-a-cause-into-a-law/.This episode was produced by Mareva Lindo.Thanks to Doctor Turtle for the music:"Lullaby for Democracy" (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Doctor_Turtle/The_Double-Down_Two-Step/lullaby_for_democracy)"Go Tell It On the Molehill" (http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Doctor_Turtle/Flush_Your_Rolex_1416/go_tell_it_on_the_molehill_2)

Hour One   Special guest Robert Harris, author of "Munich" and "The Fear Index"... uncovering the truth in history... what did it take to drive Hitler mad?... there are huge 'forces' in play today... which is more likely, N. Korea launches or Putin re-establishes the Soviet Union?... special guest, the 'Polka King'- Jan "Lewin" Lewandowski... a 12% return?... what I love about living in this time period... trickle down economics?... what would you do if you had 'extra' money?   Hour Two   People are going to continue debating gun control... special guest Eric Kurlander, author of "Hitler's Monsters"... churches were nothing more than a 'political organ'?... people need faith in something... coming out of Atlantis... Scientology, Astronomy or Thor's hammer?... are there multiple paths to the Lord?... border science, what is it?... who can you trust?... we have a constitutional crisis   Hour Three   Women's decisions to have children are now based on climate change?... weren't we supposed to run out of food in the 1990's?... global warming is nothing in comparison to A.I.?... we need to find balance... let's talk about humility and self-worth... what is a heart full of grace?... have we become self-hating egomaniacs?... Stu shares a 'love story' from 25 years ago... special guest Eric Liu, founder and CEO of Citizen University... nobody 'feels' heard anymore... do we have an 'Imperial Presidency'?... what are we willing to 'put at risk' in order to change where we are?   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Behind many important social and political movements are community organizers. Citizen University TV host Eric Liu examines an age-old tool of the art of civics with a look at how community organizing can upend the status quo and how simple acts can lead to powerful actions. He reviews the legacy of some well-known local leaders and looks at how people in the Northwest are responding to current crises surrounding addiction, hunger, gentrification and growth. Guest Katie Wilson, general secretary of the Transit Riders Union, discusses how the group's mission has expanded beyond public transit to include advocating for the rights of the working poor. Plus, sit in with us at a seminar co-hosted by Seattle's Somali Family Safety Task Force designed to help women targeted in our community because they are Muslim, minorities, immigrants, or all three.

Citizen University TV hits the road with a special presentation of Civic Saturday from the Northwest African American Museum. Host Eric Liu hits "rewind" with a fascinating journey back in time, decade by decade. Liu recounts pivotal moments in history when he had the foresight to warn people of what was to come. But his talk is more than a flashback. The lessons learned from Liu's time travel are revealed in five separate truths. Ultimately, he says hindsight is foresight if we know how to see. Civic Saturday is a community gathering that celebrates the American civic tradition with an address by Liu, readings, song and reflection.

Have you ever accomplished something that you were certain was going to give you utter happiness, only to find a continued void—like something was missing? You’re not alone. Get ready to answer the unending question, what’s it all for? Emily Esfahani, journalist and author of The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment In A World Obsessed With Happiness, breaks down the research to what we need to find, build, and sustain a life worth living. Emily’s articles and essays have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Criterion, and many other publications. She’s an editor at the Stanford University Hoover Institution where she advises the Ben Franklin circles project, a collaboration with the 92nd Street Y, and Citizen University to build meaning in local communities. There’s a life bursting with meaning and purpose waiting for you, it’s time you found it. Key takeaways: The chosen path. There’s a “happy” life and a “meaningful” life. Pursuing one of these has actually been proven to cause loneliness while the other can leave you feeling connected to something beyond yourself. THIS is the life you should pursue and why…[10:38]. The friendly side. When was the last time you spoke to your neighbor? If the answer’s never, you’re not alone. Communities are dissolving, interpersonal skills such as empathy are on a decline, and while this doesn’t seem to be problematic, the NEED to belong is an existential one. Break this phase of isolation—start HERE…[18:00]. The nonfiction story. Who are you and how did you become this version of yourself? Your inner narrative colors your day, your week, your life. All too often we focus on the negative side of ourselves, the parts that need “work,” but what if we changed that? Learn to focus on the BIG picture of yourself—try THIS…[28:47]. Tune in and turn the volume up for a dose of inspiration and life lessons. You're never more than One Idea Away from a whole, new reality.

In this conversation acclaimed writer and journalist Emily Esfahani Smith and I discuss a wide array of topics related to meaning in life including:-The difference between meaning and happiness -Why we should pursue meaning -A bit about the science of meaning -Leveraging meaning and purpose to overcome adversity and fear -Practical ways to build meaning into our lives and ultimately craft a life that matters. If you enjoyed this episode check out www.joshuasteinfeldt.com/podcast for show notes and more. Background: Emily Esfahani Smith is a journalist and the author of The Power of Meaning: Finding Fulfillment in a World Obsessed With Happiness. Her articles and essays have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Criterion, and other publications. The former managing editor of The New Criterion, Smith is also an editor at the Stanford University's Hoover Institution, where she advises the Ben Franklin Circles project, a collaboration with the 92nd Street Y and Citizen University to build meaning in local communities. To find out more about Emily visit www.emilyesfahanismith.comSupport the show (https://joshuasteinfeldt.com/donate/)

Citizen rights are frequently top of mind, but host Eric Liu turns our attention to responsibilities. "Civic engagement isn't just voting or saying yes to jury duty. The new civic engagement is running for office," according to the founder of an online service that helps organize campaigns and manage political offices. We'll profile some local school board members (elected on their first try) who share what they learned on the campaign trail. And our in-studio guest talks about her unsuccessful run for office and how she landed a job at City Hall anyway. While running for office is challenging, Liu explains the reward is the evolution of community solutions.

Citizen University TV hits the road with a special presentation of Civic Saturday, a series of community gatherings designed to instill a spirit of shared purpose - with liberty, equality and self-government at the heart. And when you add singing, poetry, readings and speeches, you get a lively and unique civic experience. Eric Liu explores the question: Who really is a dreamer? Responding to Donald Trump's recent comment that, "Americans are dreamers, too," Liu fires back, "Dreamers are American, too." His civic talk at the Hillman City Collaboratory centers on young undocumented immigrants, who under the DREAM Act would have been able to achieve a pathway to citizenship, and an exploration of the American Dream and what it means for the insiders and outsiders in American life.

Hour 1  'Communism' under another name?...liberal to progressive to socialist...the masks are coming off…please, someone, run against the Nazi ...the media's war on America...mocks Republican as all racists ...progressive = socialism...'120 db' movement rising ...More hate...World National Conservative Movement...'conservative'? they’re not = Communist ...More of Glenn's Fox News predictions are coming to fruition? ...Where have all the former bad guys gone?...the Putin walk?     Hour 2  Mitch and Chuck cut a deal...no one in Congress is even trying to 'appear' fiscally conservative anymore...Dangerous downward spiral of endless spending...Just winning to win? ...FBI informant routed big bucks to the Clinton Foundation ...Glenn remembers friend and ‘father figure’ Jon Huntsman, Sr....he was a 'giving and forgiving’ man ...Finding the truth with humility = Better way to live life ...Cutthroat baby contest?...she posted a pic for the contest and forgot about it… surprise!... ‘Thank you, Gerber, thank you!’   Hour 3 Is Glenn welcome in Seattle?...Opposite points of view and common ground with Eric Liu, founder & CEO of Citizen University...joins Glenn to discuss the dangers of a kangaroo court and the hypocrisy from both sides…why are the fringes taking over?....how social media destroys discourse...differences in listening and being heard…remembering extreme rhetoric from when Obama was president…the right and the left both have problems…Robert Spencer, Richard Spencer’s much worse older brother? ...A 'Poppycock' Republican?  The Glenn Beck Program with Glenn Beck and Stu Burguiere, Weekdays 9am–12pm ET on TheBlaze Radio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our first show of 2018 asks: With everything that’s been going on in our government, do we still feel hopeful? Can change really happen, and if so, how? Hosts Maria Hinojosa and Julio Ricardo Varela talk with Eric Liu, founder of Citizen University, about power and whether in the end, Americans feel powerless under the current administration. But before Eric joins the show, Maria and Julio reflect on the first few days of the year—from Trump's Korea tweets to Steve Bannon's latest comments. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

When you hear the word power, what comes to mind? For most of us, we imagine power-hungry leaders or think of phrases like power corrupts. But when my guest, Eric Liu, considers power, he sees something different. He views power as a positive force. In fact, he believes it is a gift each of us can use to shape society. At a time when many of us feel powerless, Eric offers a simple set of instructions for seizing power and using it to help shape our communities, our nation, and the world. He is Founder and CEO of the non-profit, Citizen University and author of the book, You’re More Powerful than You Think: A Citizen’s Guide to Making Change Happen. His TED Talk on citizen power and voting has been viewed over 2 million times. In this interview we discuss: How power is an important literacy Why power is about who gets to decide How power is a gift we are continuously giving away How our citizenship endows us with unearned power and privilege that we should share with intention Why we need to ask ourselves, to whom am I giving my power, my might, and my imagination? The myth of rugged individualism in the face of game-changing collective action and collaboration we have seen across history How we are part of a collective web of relationship, obligation, and mutual aid The fact that power compounds as people with voice and connections amass it The fact that power justifies itself as incumbents spin narratives to maintain it The realization that many rely on intimidation and self-justifying narratives to maintain their power How power is infinite as demonstrated by movements to push back and reinforce pockets of power How we can reframe power by changing the game, the story, and the equation The fact that we are all better off when we are all better off The power of story in organizing for change -- the story of self, the story of us, and the story of now How a civic collaboratory taps into the shared need and wisdom of organizations to amplify their impact How we are strong in our ideals of citizenship but weak in practicing them Why citizenship is about power plus character - working on behalf of a greater good How we accuse others in order to excuse ourselves How taking responsibility sets in motion a cycle of responsibility that is contagious Links to Topics Mentioned in this Podcast @ericpliu http://www.citizenuniversity.us/ The Power Paradox by Dacher Keltner Nick Hanauer Marshall Ganz Jose Antonio Vargas Bonds that Make Us Free by C Terry Warner If you enjoy the podcast, please rate and review it on iTunes - your ratings make all the difference. For automatic delivery of new episodes, be sure to subscribe. As always, thanks for listening! Thank you to Emmy-award-winning Creative Director Vanida Vae for designing the Curious Minds logo, and thank you to Rob Mancabelli for all of his production expertise! www.gayleallen.net LinkedIn @GAllenTC

If you're disillusioned, depressed or downright furious at the state of politics today, this episode is for you. Eric Liu, founder and CEO of Citizen University, says that you're more powerful than you think. We discuss the stories, strategies and ideas raised in his timely new book. The key to fighting back successfully is to have a strategy and know how to read and write power,” but most people have no understanding of power and how to use it.   Political illiteracy is one reason we feel so powerless. “I think the reality of American life, right now, is that so many people have neither the motivation nor the ability to read or write power,” Eric tells us. “They lapse into this “House of Cards” or dark conspiratorial vision that all politics are like "Scandal,” and out of that are born people like Donald Trump as President.” Look for solutions and links to useful sites at our website, howdowefixit.me. Please rate and review our shows at iTunes. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s hard to imagine honest, revelatory, even enjoyable conversation between people on distant points of American life right now. But in this public conversation at the Citizen University annual conference, Matt Kibbe and Heather McGhee show us how. He’s a libertarian who helped activate the Tea Party. She’s a millennial progressive leader. They are bridge people for this moment — holding passion and conviction together with an enthusiasm for engaging difference, and carrying questions as vigorously as they carry answers. This interview is edited and produced with music and other features in the On Being episode “Matt Kibbe and Heather McGhee — Repairing the Breach.” Find more at onbeing.org.

It’s hard to imagine honest, revelatory, even enjoyable conversation between people on distant points of American life right now. But in this public conversation at the Citizen University annual conference, Matt Kibbe and Heather McGhee show us how. He’s a libertarian who helped activate the Tea Party. She’s a millennial progressive leader. They are bridge people for this moment — holding passion and conviction together with an enthusiasm for engaging difference, and carrying questions as vigorously as they carry answers.

On this episode of The Psychology Podcast, friend of the show Emily Esfahani Smith sheds light on how we can craft a life that truly matters. Finding meaning in life is a crtitical existential good, and with today’s discussion we take a science backed look at how we can achieve this vital purpose. Topics include Sufism, mystical experiences, authenticity, finding purpose, magic mushrooms, mortality, life narratives, transcendence and more. If you would like to hear about how to experience more meaning on a daily basis, give this episode a listen! Emily Esfahani Smith writes about culture, psychology, and relationships. Her work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, The Atlantic, and elsewhere. She is also a columnist for The New Criterion and an editor at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, where she manages the Ben Franklin Circles project, a collaboration with the 92nd Street Y and Citizen University to build community and purpose across the country. She studied philosophy at Dartmouth College and has a master’s in positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. She lives with her husband in Washington, DC. Blurb taken from amazon.com

Eric Liu wants citizens to understand that they have the voice and power to shape our democracy. KCTS 9’s Enrique Cerna talks with Liu about the challenge and importance of developing a stronger culture of citizenship, especially as America’s demographics are undergoing dramatic change. Liu is the founder and CEO of the Seattle-based Citizen University, where the focus is promoting and teaching the art of powerful citizenship. Liu is a prominent writer, author and speaker. His latest book is titled A Chinaman’s Chance: One Family’s Journey and the Chinese American Dream. Citizen University’s annual national conference is scheduled for March 18 and 19, 2016, in Seattle.

Author Eric Liu (A Chinaman’s Chance), discusses the evolving identity of Chinese-Americans in light of their growing role in American society in the midst of America’s engagement with a more prosperous China. Liu discusses the personal experiences reflected in the book’s themes and the unique history and development of Chinese-American identity. Interviewed on February 20, 2015 by Jonathan Lowet, NCUSCR’s Senior Director, Leadership Initiatives. Eric Liu is an author, educator, and civic entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Citizen University, which promotes and teaches the art of great citizenship through a portfolio of national programs, and the executive director of the Aspen Institute Citizenship and American Identity Program.    The National Committee on U.S.-China Relations is the leading nonprofit nonpartisan organization that encourages understanding of China and the United States among citizens of both countries.

Eric Liu served as a speech writer and policy advisor during Bill Clinton’s administration, and is the founder and CEO of Citizen University, which teaches “the art of powerful citizenship”. Based out of… Continue reading →

Just as China has experienced a remarkable economic ascent, Chinese Americans too are modern exemplars of the “American Dream,” going from servitude to success in 150 years. While this achievement is impressive for so many Chinese immigrant families, not all are living that dream. Despite the tales of success, some still feel left behind, others feel anxiety with China’s economic rise, while still others continue to struggle with the idea of what it means to be an American. As the founder and CEO of Citizen University, Eric Liu explores the complexities of American identity and seeks to revitalize the idea of citizenship in the United States. Liu will touch upon what it means to be a Chinese American in this grand moment for China and the United States and how each generation throughout America’s kaleidoscope of migration and acculturation has changed this country. For more information about this event please visit: http://www.worldaffairs.org/media-library/event/1315

Weaving history, journalism, and memoir, the author of The Accidental Asian and founder of Citizen University explores the parallel rise of China and the Chinese American—how Chinese immigrants have exceled despite racism and xenophobia, and how they reconcile competing beliefs about what constitutes success, virtue, and belonging in a time of deep flux. From Confucius to the Constitution, Liu discusses his new collection of personal essays that provide insight into the evolving Chinese American dream.*Click here to see photos from the program!

Who gets to claim the title "citizen"? In this acclaimed and affecting one-man performance, Eric Liu weaves storytelling, conversation, music, and theatricality into an imaginative exploration of the content and contradictions of American citizenship. This piece, a sensation in its Los Angeles and Phoenix premieres, leaves audiences seeing each other and their country with new eyes. Liu is founder of Citizen University and author of The Gardens of Democracy and The Accidental Asian.