Podcasts about Omidyar Network

Send us a textDr. Nina Sabarre, founder and CEO of Intention to Impact, takes us deep into the urgent challenges philanthropy faces in our current political climate. With federal programs under attack and DEI initiatives being dismantled, foundations stand at a pivotal crossroads – will they retreat or boldly step forward?Dr. Sabarre reveals how foundations aren't responding uniformly to these challenges. While some double down on equity commitments, others conduct closed-door strategy sessions, fearing repercussions from a hostile administration. This tension highlights a fundamental question: How can philanthropy effectively support communities when macro-level systems are shifting dramatically?The conversation explores how traditional philanthropic models might be fundamentally misaligned. Most foundations distribute just 5% of their assets, while the remaining 95% remains invested in markets that often perpetuate the very problems their grants aim to solve. Dr. Sabarre unpacks impact investing as a powerful alternative, enabling foundations to generate both financial returns and positive social outcomes while deploying a greater portion of their capital toward their mission.Perhaps most compelling is Nina's analysis of systems change strategies. Using the "Waters of Systems Change" framework, she demonstrates how conservative movements have masterfully funded long-term influence through strategic investments in media, churches, and educational institutions. At the same time, progressive philanthropy often focuses on immediate community needs rather than building lasting power.For those working in evaluation, nonprofit leadership, or community organizing, Dr. Sabarre offers practical wisdom for navigating these turbulent waters – from maintaining commitment to community-centered approaches despite funding pressures to building stronger coalitions and drawing lessons from successful social movements of the past.Subscribe to Community Possibilities wherever you get your podcasts to continue exploring what's possible when people come together to create lasting change in our communities. Be sure to connect with Nina and sign up for Intention 2 Impact's newsletter.BioNina is passionate about gender, racial, and social equity, and using #evalpreneurship to dismantle the status quo. She has consulted for a wide variety of cross-sector institutions ranging from Earthjustice, WK Kellogg Foundation, The California Endowment, TED's Audacious Project, Elevate Prize Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Colorado Health Foundation, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Omidyar Network, and USAID to name a few. Her work focuses on equitable evaluation for strategic grantmaking and syLike what you heard? Please like and share wherever you get your podcasts! Connect with Ann: Community Evaluation Solutions How Ann can help: · Support the evaluation capacity of your coalition or community-based organization. · Help you create a strategic plan that doesn't stress you and your group out, doesn't take all year to design, and is actionable. · Engage your group in equitable discussions about difficult conversations. · Facilitate a workshop to plan for action and get your group moving. · Create a workshop that energizes and excites your group for action. · Speak at your conference or event. Have a question or want to know more? Book a call with Ann .Be sure and check out our updated resource page! Let us know what was helpful. Music by Zach Price: Zachpricet@gmail.com

My guest today is Stephanie Cohn Rupp, Chief Executive Officer of Veris Wealth Partners — one of the first impact-only wealth management firms in the world, and one of the rare few that has been majority women-owned or led since day one.Stephanie was born in the U.S. and raised just outside Paris by parents who did medical missions in underserved communities. She learned early on that work should serve a bigger purpose. That belief shaped her path — from microfinance in Central Asia to leadership roles at the Omidyar Network, Toniic, and Threshold Group.But what she really wanted was a firm fully aligned with her mission — a place where impact wasn't just a side offering but the whole point.That's exactly what she found at Veris. They weren't just any firm – Veris was one of the first impact-only wealth management firms in the world. Majority women-led, deeply mission-driven, and at the time – looking for their next CEO.It was a perfect match! Stephanie stepped in, and today, she leads a team managing $2.3 billion in assets, all dedicated to an ambitious goal – to create a more sustainable, equitable, and just world. Veris focuses on four core impact themes: climate solutions, sustainable agriculture, racial and gender equity, and community wealth building. They use a holistic approach, integrating environmental, social, and governance factors across all asset classes.Unlike most firms, Veris doesn't just offer impact investing – it operates as an impact investment itself. They hold themselves to the same standards on diversity, equity, climate, and inclusion that they expect from the investments they make.It's not always easy with the current political backlash against ESG in the USA and climate denial still making headlines.Yet despite these headwinds, Stephanie has no dilemma - impact investing is here to stay. Because climate challenges, inequality, and injustice aren't going anywhere. And will eventually affect us all.So tune in and let Stephanie show you that impatience for change is actually the best growth engine around.—About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights into how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors.—Connect with SRI360°:Sign up for the free weekly email updateVisit the SRI360° PODCASTVisit the SRI360° WEBSITEFollow SRI360° on XFollow SRI360° on FACEBOOK—Additional Resources:- Veris Website - Veris LinkedIn   - Stephanie LinkedIn 

What could the tech world look like if it served the needs and interests of people instead of bots? If it tackled the world's most pressing problems instead of creating memes? If it created communities of founders who change the system that funds innovation?Aniyia Williams has some ideas about that.In this week's episode, Aniyia Williams—inventor, “systempreneur,” and Director of the Responsible Technology team at the Omidyar Network—shares her mission to rid the tech world of dependence on VCs and help build a more healthy & responsible tech future for everyone.To learn more about Aniyia Williams' work helping to make a more diverse and responsible culture for founders and tech, visit her website aniyiawilliams.com.And if you haven't yet read Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows (highly recommended by English and Aniyia) you can find it here:https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/thinking-in-systems/--If you aspire to be a System Catalyst and need resources to help you on your journey, subscribe to our newsletter. To learn more about our mission and our partners, visit systemcatalysts.com.Subscribe to our YouTube channel This podcast is produced by Hueman Group Media.Views and opinions expressed during the podcast are those of the individuals expressing them and do not necessarily reflect those of System Catalysts or Hueman Group Media Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Subscribe, Rate, & Review on YouTube • Spotify • Apple PodcastsThis week's guest is my friend and inspiration, knowledge ecologist Christina Bowen. If I were to try and start a movement, I would call her first. Christina is CEO and co-founder of socialroots.io, an NSF- and Omidyar Network-funded software platform for cross-group collaboration that promotes aligned action and helps teams communicate legible impact metrics to stakeholders. Or, in the parlance of our times, she is a master of negotiating the complexities of human communication and community.She has deep, lived experience of what it takes to subvert the toxic status quo, cultivate the health of teams, and rethink our “social” spaces so they actually work for human beings. She also introduced me to the world of “mycopunk”, an earthier and more distributed alternative to solarpunk that places more priority on our relationships and narrative construction as an inherently collective project. This is a warm and grounded dialogue with someone I respect immensely as a force for betterment. Here is how her team describes their work and principles on their own website:Our greatest challenges as a global civilization will require an unprecedented amount of cooperation and may have been caused in large part by unmitigated competition. We have founded Socialroots on a few key principles, summarized below, to support this shift into a more healthy future.* Efficient coordination across groups enables more decentralized organizing and greater innovation.* Data is a commons and must be treated as such. Platform users need to be empowered when it comes to their data.* Power stays healthier when shared. We are dedicated to fair, transparent, and consent-driven work, enabling participatory communities to share values and approaches, and to approach teamwork informed by insights from healthy living systems.There you have it. I highly recommend you reach out to her and her team if you are trying to do better work in groups.Special Announcement: Join me for the first in a new series of live hangout calls for patrons on Saturday, January 18th at 2 pm Mountain Time! Let's foster real and lasting collaborations in a safe place for collective inquiry.Thank you and enjoy this episode!Project LinksLearn more about this project and read the essays so far (1, 2, 3, 4, 5).Make tax-deductible donations to Humans On The LoopBrowse my reading list and support local booksellersJoin the Holistic Technology & Wise Innovation Discord serverJoin the private Future Fossils Facebook groupHire me for consulting or advisory workChapters0:00:00 – Teaser0:01:31 – Intro0:06:58 – Meet Christina Bowen0:08:54 – Scaling Social Networks Without Burning Out0:14:00 – Working Out Loud in Small & Large Groups0:19:25 – Social Protocols of Coordination0:22:44 – Healthy Boundaries Online0:30:10 – Supporting Invisible or Illegible Labor0:40:50 – Subverting The Status (More-Than-Human) Pyramid0:51:44 – Salience Landscapes & Safe/Brave/Inclusive Spaces0:53:35 – AI-Augmented Communication & Spacemaking1:01:34 – Edge-Based Coherent Sensemaking vs. Toxic Hierarchies1:09:11 – Mindful Tech Use & Recommended Guests1:12:38 – OutroMentioned MediaMycopunk PrinciplesBuild Capacity: Scaling your network without burning outby Socialroots, Christina Bowen, Naomi Joy SmithWhat is coordination and why is it so important to effective networks?by Ana Jamborcic, Christina Bowen, SocialrootsIntimacy Gradients: The Key to Fixing Our Broken Social Media Landscapeby Socialroots, Ana JamborcicLet's subvert the status pyramidby Socialroots, Ana JamborcicWorking and learning out loudby Harold JarcheAlyssa Allegretti on Sacred Domesticity and Hard Times in The Liminal WebFuture Fossils Podcast 225Descartes' Errorby Antonio DamasioSeeing Like A Stateby James C. ScottC. Thi Nguyen on The Seductions of Clarity, Weaponized Games, and Agency as ArtFuture Fossils 175Amber Case & Michael Zargham on Entangled Technologies & Design As GovernanceFuture Fossils 213Stephen Reid on Technological MetamodernismFuture Fossils 226Nora Bateson on Warm Data vs. The Cold EquationsFuture Fossils 141The Dawn of Everythingby David Graeber & David WengrowGenerative Team Design: Innovation, Psychological Safety, and Empathyby Dara BlumenthalBeing Glueby Tanya ReillyIdentity Is Such A Dragby Luis Mojica and Sophie Strand on Holistic Life NavigationThe future is fungi: The rise and rhizomes of mushroom cultureby ASU Center for Science and The Imagination with Merlin Sheldrake, Kaitlin Smith, Jeff VanderMeer, and Corey PressmanOther Mentions• DWeb Camp• Responsive.org• Jeff Emmett• Plato• Bayo Akomolafe• Douglas Rushkoff• John Fullerton• Capitalinstitute.org• Cris Moore• Friedrich Hölderlin• Interspeciesinternet.io• Kumu.io• Joe Edelman• Pri Bertucci This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit michaelgarfield.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Dreaming in Color, a show hosted by Darren Isom, a partner with The Bridgespan Group, that provides a space for social change leaders of color to reflect on how their life experiences, personal and professional, have prepared them to lead and drive the impact we all seek. In this bonus episode, Darren is joined by a dynamic panel of philanthropic leaders: Don Chen (President of Surdna Foundation) Flozell Daniels, Jr. (CEO of the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation), Mayra Peters-Quintero (Executive Director of Abundant Futures Fund), and Vanessa Mason (Principal at Omidyar Network), and . Recorded live at the Surdna Foundation offices in New York City, the group dives into an in-depth discussion about building a more equitable world through racial justice, cross-racial solidarity, and community-driven solutions.Join the conversation as the panelists explore the role of relationships in movement building, the power of joy and imagination in sustaining hope, and the importance of investing in intergenerational leadership. They discuss the challenges of systemic change, the need for incremental wins, and how to create space for collective healing and repair.Jump Straight Into:(00:22) Darren introduces the panel and sets the stage with a poem by Audre Lorde.(01:45) Flozell Daniels, Jr. reflects on his family history, his racial equity work, and what brings him sunshine.(07:28) Mayra Peters-Quintero shares her journey in immigrant rights advocacy and her hopes for creating a culture of belonging.(15:12) Don Chen discusses the critical role of cross-racial solidarity in achieving systemic change.(21:30) Vanessa Mason highlights the importance of joy and care in equity work and the necessity of dreaming together.(29:15) The panel reflects on the generational shift in leadership and creating space for younger leaders to thrive.(42:03) A forward-looking conversation about building a shared future and fostering collective imagination.Episode Resources:Connect with Flozell Daniels, Jr., Don Chen, Mayra Peters-Quintero, and Vanessa Mason on LinkedIn.Learn more about the organizations they represent: Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Abundant Futures Fund, and Omidyar Network.Listen to past Dreaming in Color episodes here.

Allison Wolff is CEO of Vibrant Planet PBC which builds platforms that help build community and landscape resilience in the face of climate change and wildfire. After building the Netflix brand and digital experience, Allison advised corporate and nonprofit leadership teams on vision, strategy, and social and environmental innovation. Clients include Google, eBay, Facebook, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Omidyar Network, Patagonia, Nike, HP, Drawdown, Conservation International, and GlobalGiving. She is now leveraging her experience and network to develop solutions for forest and landscape resilience and carbon drawdown.

It is the big challenge for fintech: making the financial lives better for the those who are underserved. We have come a long way in the past decade but there is still so much more that has to be done. And one of the people who has been at the center of this fintech transformation is Arjuna Costa, Managing Partner at Flourish Ventures.He is someone I have wanted to get on the show for many years, so I am fortunate that the stars aligned and we were able to sit down for the engaging discussion (I had another Flourish partner, Emmalyn Shaw, on the show back in 2019). We cover a lot of territory here, including a topic I have never before covered on the podcast.In this podcast you will learn:The journey Arjuna took from microfinance to venture capital.The early days of the Omidyar Network and how they thought about financial inclusion.How Flourish Ventures grew out of the Omidyar Network.The five principles they believe that underlie a fair financial system.The advantages of having a single funding source.How Flourish measures success.What is different today from investing 10 years ago.The change in the quality of entrepreneurs and business models.How much better financially people are doing today in emerging markets.What else needs to happen to really make a difference.How Flourish is helping to address the challenges of the mental health of fintech founders.The state of fintech venture capital in 2024.Connect with Fintech One-on-One: Tweet me @PeterRenton Connect with me on LinkedIn Find previous Fintech One-on-One episodes

Kevin Werbach is joined by Paula Goldman, Chief Ethical and Humane Use Officer at Salesforce, to discuss the pioneering efforts of her team in building a culture of ethical technology use. Paula shares insights on aligning risk assessments and technical mitigations with business goals to bring stakeholders on board. She explains how AI governance functions in a large business with enterprise customers, who have distinctive needs and approaches. Finally, she highlights the shift from "human in the loop" to "human at the helm" as AI technology advances, stressing that today's investments in trustworthy AI are essential for managing tomorrow's more advanced systems. Paula Goldman leads Salesforce in creating a framework to build and deploy ethical technology that optimizes social benefit. Prior to Salesforce, she served Global Lead of the Tech and Society Solutions Lab at Omidyar Network, and has extensive entrepreneurial experience managing frontier market businesses. Creating safeguards for the ethical use of technology Trusted AI Needs a Human at the Helm Responsible Use of Technology: The Salesforce Case Study   Want to learn more? ​​Engage live with Professor Werbach and other Wharton faculty experts in Wharton's new Strategies for Accountable AI online executive education program. It's perfect for managers, entrepreneurs, and advisors looking to harness AI's power while addressing its risks.

Stand Up is a daily podcast. I book,host,edit, post and promote new episodes with brilliant guests every day. Please subscribe now for as little as 5$ and gain access to a community of over 700 awesome, curious, kind, funny, brilliant, generous souls From Helaine Olen Website I'm thrilled to announce I'm going to be a 2024 Reporter in Residence with the Omidyar Network. My work on politics, economics, workplace culture and women's issues has also been published in numerous other print and on-line publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Salon, Pacific Standard, and The Los Angeles Times, where I wrote and edited the popular “Money Makeover” feature. I'm the author of the critically acclaimed book Pound Foolish: Exposing the Dark Side of the Personal Finance Industry, and The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn't Have to be so Complicated, which I co-wrote with Harold Pollack. Pete On Threads Pete on YouTube Check out all things Jon Carroll Follow and Support Pete Coe Pete on Twitter Pete On Instagram Pete Personal FB page Stand Up with Pete FB page

Originally recorded at our 2024 Rogue Women event earlier this spring, La Keisha Landrum Pierre, General Partner & Co-Founder of Emmeline Ventures shares insights from her journey in venture capital, featured in the documentary "Show Her the Money." She talks about how the film is helping to rewrite the narrative on women and fundraising. Before starting at Emmeline Ventures, La Keisha was the MD at NLA Ventures. Prior to that, she was the CEO at Sahara Reporters and co-Founder of Sahara Reporters' Civic Media Lab, in partnership with MacArthur Foundation and Omidyar Network and others.

Tech Bytes is a technology podcast, produced by the Digital Services department at Niles-Maine District Library. In this episode, we talk about Permission Slip, an app from Consumer Reports which empowers users to take back control of their online personal information. Transcript: [Music - Tech Bytes theme] Hi, and welcome back to Tech Bytes. I'm your host, Todd, and today, we're talking about privacy. Specifically: what happens with your personal data on the Internet? In my experience, a lot of conversations that I've had on this subject end with someone saying, ‘well, my information is already out there, so does it really matter?' And the answer to that question is: Yes! A new app called Permission Slip, from Consumer Reports, is here to help and give control back to users to decide what happens with their personal information. In a moment, we'll get into what this app actually does for consumers. [Music - Tech Bytes theme] Ok, we're back, and we're talking about Permission Slip. This app, from Consumer Reports, was developed with funding from Omidyar Network, an organization whose mission is to “invest to build more inclusive and equitable societies.” Permission Slip acts as an Authorized Agent, which is an “intermediary with the authority to send data rights requests on behalf of a consumer.” In other words, someone can give this app permission to contact companies and request that they either delete their data and/or stop selling that data. Now, a data broker is a company that collects and sells personal consumer information to other entities. Often this is done in service of marketing, but there are many reasons why a company may buy or sell someone's data. The Permission Slip app essentially has four main functions: First, it gives users an easy way to tell companies not to sell their personal information The next is to allow consumers to tell companies to delete the data that they have on them. Next, is to allow customers to delete customer accounts on websites that they no longer use. Last, a user can use the app to report a company if they believe that their personal information is being misused. When setting up the automatic opt out, a user needs to provide their phone number, address, and sign a waiver that allows Permission Slip to contact companies on their behalf. While our personal data is in many far flung corners of the Internet, and it may be difficult or impossible to reel it all back in, I appreciate that this free app is giving users the ability to start to take back control of their personal information and data. Permission Slip is available on both the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store. Tech Bytes is recorded in Studio A on the lower level of the Niles-Maine District Library, where Niles-Maine cardholders have access to the recording equipment and software that were used to produce this episode. A text transcript of this episode can be found in the show's notes. Thank you for listening, and if you have questions about Consumer Reports (which can be accessed with your Niles-Maine library card), personal data, or any other technology question, you can find us on the lower level, at the Library's technology desk. You can also email us at digitalservices@nileslibrary.org. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, and want to have easy access every time a new episode is released, please consider subscribing on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Spotify. [Music - Tech Bytes theme]

Hoy tengo como invitado a Angel Sahagun, CEO y fundador de Albo, el primer neo banco mexicano. Angel fundó Albo en 2016 con tan solo 26 años, cuando no existía regulación alguna de fintech en México y había mucha desconfianza por los servicios de banca digital. Hoy Albo cuenta con más de 2 millones de clientes que transaccionan varios miles millones de dólares por año y, a la fecha, ha levantado más de 100 millones de dólares de fondos de inversión como Valar Ventures, Omidyar Network y Nazca Ventures.Este episodio es presentado por Zendesk, la plataforma en la que confían miles de startups y empresas globales como Slack, Shopify y Airbnb para gestionar su atención al cliente. Prueba Zendesk completamente gratis por 6 meses registrándote en: https://bit.ly/3SqKvCVEn este episodio conversamos sobre:   • De los costos de levantar demasiado capital y crecer desmesuradamente   • De los cambios de negocios y cultura que ha implementado Albo para alcanzar la rentabilidad   • Y sus estrategias para diferenciarse de los otros bancos digitales.Espero disfrutes esta conversación muy abierta donde hablamos de los momentos altos de emprender y también de los bajos, con Angel Sahagun de AlboPor favor ayúdame dejando una reseña en Spotify o Apple Podcasts: https://ratethispodcast.com/startupeableNotas del episodio: https://startupeable.com/albo/Para más contenido síguenos en:YouTube  | Sitio Web -Este episodio es presentado por Zendesk, la plataforma en la que confían miles de startups y empresas globales como Slack, Shopify y Airbnb para gestionar su atención al cliente.Gracias a la plataforma omnicanal de Zendesk que integra todos tus canales de comunicación en un solo lugar, puedes gestionar tickets, ofrecer un gran experiencia, aumentar tus ventas, pero sobre todo construir relaciones cercanas con tus clientes.Como beneficio exclusivo por escuchar Startupeable, prueba el CRM de Zendesk completamente gratis por 6 meses registrándote en: https://bit.ly/3SqKvCV

In this episode, we explore Ed Marcum's unique journey from Santa Cruz to leading the charge against labor exploitation as the Managing Director of Working Capital Fund.Marcum's career choices were heavily influenced by his parents' commitment to social activism. After studying political science at UC Berkeley, Marcum had a brief but impactful tennis career, instilling in him lessons of resilience and hard work.Following his tennis stint, Marcum recognized the need to integrate business skills into mission-driven work. Pursuing an MBA at Wharton broadened his skill set, opening the door to impact investing. This transition began at the Omidyar Network, working for Pierre & Pam Omidyar and focusing on human rights issues.Within Humanity United, Marcum spearheaded efforts against labor exploitation in multinational companies' supply chains. Identifying technological innovations to tackle supply chain issues, Marcum laid the groundwork for the Working Capital Fund. Initially incubated within Humanity United, the fund became an independent entity in 2020, marking a pivotal moment in its evolution.They invest in startups offering scalable solutions to enhance supply chain accountability, promoting a more equitable and sustainable global supply chain ecosystem. Marcum highlights a significant change in recent years – the global push for supply chain transparency. Companies must now take responsibility for knowing who is in their supply chain and ensuring responsible practices. This shift creates a vast and growing market for investments aimed at improving transparency and accountability.I enjoyed my discussion with Ed and learned a lot about the dark side of global supply chains.Please enjoy!Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/ed-marcum/About the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes.Connect with SRI360°:Sign up for the free weekly email updateVisit the SRI360° PODCASTVisit the SRI360° WEBSITEFollow SRI360° on X/TwitterFollow SRI360° on FACEBOOKKey TakeawaysIntro (00:00)Ed Marcum's career journey (02:43)Working Capital Fund (09:39)Who is in the global supply chains? (16:30)The scale of the labor exploitation problem (21:27)What constitutes labor exploitation (24:34)Working Capital Fund's theory of change (28:20)How Working Capital Fund deploys capital (39:49)Investment selection process for the fund (41:33)Red flags to look out for in supply chains (55:03)Outro (01:06:29)Additional ResourcesEd Marcum's LinkedInWorking Capital Fund Twitter/XCompany WebsiteOther links mentioned in this episodeGlobal Education PartnershipHumanity First InitiativeOmidyar NetworkPierre OmidyarPam OmidyarHumanity UnitedSave Darfur Advocacy Movement

We talk with Matthew Bannick, the Former Managing Partner of Omidyar Network, Former President of eBay International, and former President of PayPal on his advice in entering the impact investment sector as one of the pioneers in the industry. The conversation also covers Matt's advice on helping a company achieve global expansion, strategies to measure impact and what it takes to be a great leader. This full interview is dedicated to BRAC. Its mission is to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease, and social injustice. BRAC has been a leader in poverty reduction efforts through encouraging social and economic empowerment, both in Bangladesh and around the world. There will be a Q&A section with questions selected from the comments section! Post your questions below. Check out Omidyar Networks website here: ⁠https://omidyar.com/

In this new episode of the Stories in AI podcast, I sit down with the Architect of Ethical AI Practice at Salesforce, Yoav Schlesinger. Yoav gives us a great look at how large industry players like Salesforce are implementing AI, looking ahead at future AI developments, and managing all the risks that come with managing large swaths of data. About Yoav: Yoav Schlesinger is an Architect of Ethical AI Practice at Salesforce, helping the company embed and instantiate ethical product practices to maximize the societal benefits of AI. Prior to coming to Salesforce, Yoav was a founding member of the Tech and Society Solutions Lab at Omidyar Network, where he launched the Responsible Computer Science Challenge and helped develop EthicalOS, a risk mitigation toolkit for product managers. Find him at: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yschlesinger/

Thomaz Srougi, the founder and former CEO of Dr. Consulta, has an inspiring story that stretches from the swimming lanes of Sao Paulo, Brazil, to the boardrooms of one of Brazil's leading healthcare providers. His journey is an amalgamation of competitive sports, public policy education, successful entrepreneurship, and an unwavering desire to solve social problems. The startup, Dr. Consulta, has attracted funding from top-tier investors like Madrone Capital Partners, Omidyar Network, KaszeK Ventures, and Kamaroopin.

Roqayah is off this week, so Kumars is joined from the top of the show by independent journalist Bryce Covert to discuss her latest for In These Times about the impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization one year after the Supreme Court's decision overturned the limited constitutional protections for abortion in the United States. Bryce is a reporter in residence at the Omidyar Network and a contributing writer at The Nation. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, New York Magazine, Time Magazine, the Washington Post, Wired, the New Republic, Slate and many other outlets.  After briefly sharing her own political origin story, Bryce relates the ongoing struggles of Lationna Halbert and her family after Mississippi's trigger abortion ban forced her to carry her pregnancy to term. Bryce and Kumars discuss the legal and economic barriers Lationna and people in her position face when seeking abortions in the even more repressive landscape of reproductive care post-Dobbs, as well as the failure of states like Mississippi to address the increased financial and infrastructure needs of parents and families robbed of their reproductive autonomy. Make sure to read Bryce's full report at In These Times. You can also follow Bryce on Twitter @brycecovert and find more of her work at her website, brycecovert.com. If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

Over the last two seasons, Felicia and Michael have talked with politicians, superstar activists, and renowned academics—from Senator Elizabeth Warren to economist Thomas Piketty. In this final episode of How to Save a Country, they're taking a look back, and hashing out debates they've had between themselves along the way: What's the real difference between “progressive” and “liberal”? What big projects should the left set their sights on, and which are politically out of reach? And how well does “the middle out” work as a descriptor for post-neoliberalism? And later, they play back some of the boldest ideas guests have discussed on the show, including expanding the House of Representatives (a pet cause of Michael's). “I hope that in the years to come, we can look back on this capsule of conversations that we've had over the last few seasons and see that we captured a moment in time. Right on the cusp of changing the economic paradigm, but before that paradigm was fully instantiated,” says Felicia.  “And I hope that we can see these conversations as a prelude maybe to a new way of organizing, organizing our economy, organizing our democracy, organizing and fighting for our vision of freedom.” Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Almost a decade ago, economist Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century changed the way many people understood capitalism and inequality. In the years since, his research and ideas have helped jolt our politics out of autopilot and elevate solutions like a wealth tax into the mainstream. This episode—recorded in Paris following a panel discussion Thomas and Felicia participated in with historian Gary Gerstle—is about what comes next. “I think it's important that progressives . . . start thinking again not only about next week, but also about next decade and next century,” Thomas tells Felicia. He talks about the possibility of a universal basic inheritance, the battle for progressive taxation, and what he sees as the key to prosperity: “much more investment in education, human capital, public infrastructure.” Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do people mean when they talk about freedom? Throughout history, that question has often had dark answers, as Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Jefferson Cowie explains in this episode. “Going all the way back to Athenian democracy is the freedom to enslave, the freedom to oppress, the freedom to dominate,” he tells Felicia and Michael. In his book, Freedom's Dominion: A Saga of White Resistance to Federal Power—which won the 2023 Pulitzer for History—Jefferson argues that this kind of freedom is deeply American, and explores the story of one place that exemplifies it: Barbour County, Alabama. Jefferson takes Michael and Felicia on a journey through the county's history, highlighting the treatment of the Muscogee Nation, political dynamics during the Reconstruction Era, and the political career of four-time Alabama governor and Barbour County native George Wallace. And later, Jefferson, Felicia, and Michael discuss the present-day fight over freedom, and the role historians have in this moment of political instability. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Almost a decade ago, economist Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century changed the way many people understood capitalism and inequality. In the years since, his research and ideas have helped jolt our politics out of autopilot and elevate solutions like a wealth tax into the mainstream. This episode—recorded in Paris following a panel discussion Thomas and Felicia participated in with historian Gary Gerstle—is about what comes next. “I think it's important that progressives . . . start thinking again not only about next week, but also about next decade and next century,” Thomas tells Felicia. He talks about the possibility of a universal basic inheritance, the battle for progressive taxation, and what he sees as the key to prosperity: “much more investment in education, human capital, public infrastructure.” Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

If you've never heard of OIRA, you aren't alone. But while small, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is a mighty federal agency, with a vital role in reviewing and implementing executive branch regulations. It's also a popular target for some on the right. When conservatives target the administrative state and paint executive powers or civil service as overreaching, agencies like OIRA are what they're disparaging. What would the US look like without the administrative state? And what can progressives do to protect it? This week, Felicia and Michael ask those questions (and many more) of OIRA's recent leader, K. Sabeel Rahman, who served in the agency from 2021 to early 2023. Sabeel is the co-founder and co-chair of the Law and Political Economy Project, the former president of the think tank Demos, and the author of the books Democracy against Domination and Civic Power: Rebuilding American Democracy in an Era of Crisis (co-authored by Hollie Russon Gilman). As Sabeel tells Michael and Felicia, OIRA is indispensable in that rebuilding. “Of course we want our government to be responsive and accountable to the public,” Sabeel says. “But I would actually argue that the way we do that is through the regulatory process, through having policymakers in government who are apolitical, neutral civil servants whose whole mission is to serve the public, not to serve any one party.” And later, the trio discuss OIRA's efforts to make government services more accessible and reflect on the too-close-for-comfort debt ceiling battle. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Samhita's Founder and CEO, Priya Naik, talks with us about sustainable livelihoods in India, social inclusiveness, gender, returnable grants and much more. Their initial funders include the Omidyar Network and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation; their partners include the likes of Unilever, Google and Kimberly-Clark. Samhita embraces an ecosystem mindset, and they work closely not just with individual organisations but also with a range of collectives and collaboratives who engage diverse audiences and stakeholders. Thank you for downloading this episode of the Do One Better Podcast. Visit our Knowledge Hub at Lidji.org for information on 200+ case studies and interviews with remarkable leaders in philanthropy, sustainability and social entrepreneurship.   

What is feminist economics? How is the field changing what we want from policy? And what is the value of unpaid labor in our economy? In this episode, renowned economist Nancy Folbre answers those questions, and traces the much-needed rise of the care agenda.  Nancy is director of the program on gender and care work at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She's the editor of For Love and Mercy: Care Provision in the United States, and author of Greed, Lust, and Gender: A History of Economic Ideas, among other works. As she tells Michael, feminist ideas once considered subversive are now common in the mainstream–and changing how policymakers think about the economy. “I think we want to consider what the output of the care economy is, and the actual output is us. It's our capabilities,” says Nancy. “The care economy is about the production and the development and also the maintenance of human capabilities. This doesn't factor into GDP.”  And later, Michael and Felicia discuss how care can be a winning political message. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

One of the clearest ways to see how a political idea lands in the real world is to hit the campaign trail. These ideas go through the ultimate test in cafes and backyards, in conversations with people who want to share their own experiences. Last year, Harvard political philosophy professor Danielle Allen was able to experience this firsthand when she ran for governor of Massachusetts.  This week, Danielle—who is also the founder and president of the organization Partners in Democracy—speaks with Felicia and Michael about her 15-month campaign and what she learned about our political institutions.  “The thing that was amazing about that was how frank people were in sharing about their lives, challenges, frustrations, tragedies,” Danielle says. “And so what I came to understand was that this actually conveyed a deep faith and optimism in the power of our institutions to deliver for people.” Michael and Felicia also talk to Danielle about the policies she advocated, what freedom for all actually looks like, and her most recent book, Justice by Means of Democracy.  Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Political pundits often discuss the differences between red and blue states in the US. But political strategist Michael Podhorzer argues that this framework drastically understates the true nature of the divisions in our country. We have always been more like two separate nations—tenuously united under the Constitution. These “red and blue nations,” as he calls them, are divided by geography, by political economy, and by different views toward religion and even toward democracy itself.   In this week's episode, Podhorzer—former political director of the AFL-CIO—talks with Felicia and Michael Tomasky about the historical origins of this split, the ramifications for electoral strategy, and the role the Supreme Court has played in hardening these divisions. “They don't actually hear cases anymore,” Podhorzer says. “They look for opportunities to legislate. And in fact, I think that's really the frame we need to think about the court now: It's the only functioning legislative body in the country.”  The trio also discusses the 2024 election, the Federalist Society, and the importance of unions.  Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

The majority of people who participate in or follow US politics focus on four- and six-year election cycles. But certain political and economic developments take place over much longer time scales, as our guest this episode knows well. Historian Gary Gerstle, author of the recent book The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era, calls these longer stages in our political history “political orders”—a concept he created with Steve Fraser (co-editor of a previous book). Political orders are a new way to conceptualize political time, Gary explains to Michael and Felicia. They are political movements that are able to popularize certain norms and ideas with the general public, and also sway opposing political parties to align with said norms and ideas.  This week, Gary takes Felicia and Michael on a historical journey spanning nearly a century to discuss domestic and international factors that led to the ascension and demise of the New Deal and neoliberal orders. They also discuss the present, including different possibilities for the next political order. One possibility, Gary explains, is a revived progressive political order—one that “harks back to successful elements of the New Deal while also guiding us in new directions, with the ability to take into consideration those issues that the New Deal either ignored or repressed.” Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Once the foot soldiers of the right-wing movement, social conservatives are increasingly setting the agenda, arguing for a state that takes an active role in shaping and preserving traditional institutions like the nuclear family. However, this vision of family offered by social conservatives is inextricably linked with a disturbingly retrograde view of gender, sexuality, reproductive rights, and American history. This week, Michael and Felicia talk to Julie Kohler—writer and host of the podcast White Picket Fence, which is about the fractured politics of white women. Julie's writing on politics, feminism, and gender and family under neoliberalism has appeared in outlets like CNN, the Washington Post, Fortune, the Daily Beast, and Democracy, A Journal of Ideas. Julie, Michael, and Felicia discuss the role social conservatives played in American politics in the past, and the increasing power this coalition wields in politics today. “At the most extreme, if you really endorse this notion that the state should be playing a role in establishing moral culture, what you can end up with is a comfort with, if not open embrace of, illiberal authoritarianism,” Julie says. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

In front of a live audience at the Hewlett Foundation's New Common Sense Conference in March, Felicia and Michael talk to New York Times bestselling author Heather McGhee about her book The Sum of Us and how racism impacts the implementation and perception of public goods and services. Her research for the book, and for the audio documentary podcast that followed, took her across America and gave her unique insight into how racial resentment can be an obstacle to a better world—and how to overcome it.  Heather argues that the “zero-sum mindset” has altered many white people's support for public infrastructure because they falsely believe progress for people of color must come at their expense. To combat zero-sum politics, she says, we need to work across our differences to achieve a common good. Heather calls the material improvements that come from this the “solidarity dividend.” “There are gains, real gains, that we can unlock—cleaner air and water, higher wages, better funded schools—but through the power of cross-racial solidarity,” she explains. Heather, Michael, and Felicia also talk about how powerful stories shape our beliefs and politics; how housing, inequality, and racial segregation are linked; and how neoliberalism undercut the aspirations of the civil rights movement. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

To understand the challenges of this moment, we need to be clear-eyed about the emotional dynamics of partisanship and the dangerous tendencies they've fostered—people who care more about their group winning than the greater good, or about policies that would help us all. Today's guest is the perfect person to explain this phenomenon. Dr. Lilliana Mason is an expert in political psychology and group psychology, and the co-author of Radical American Partisanship: Mapping Violent Hostility, Its Causes, and the Consequences for Democracy.  As she's observed in her research, many of our political behaviors aren't rational or even individual. And that's because our political identities have become mega-identities. They don't just represent how we think government should work or what our policy preferences are; these identities now encompass where we go to church, where we went to school, our values, and our prejudices. “Before the social sorting occurred, the status of our party was the only thing at risk in every election,” Dr. Mason says. “But now that we have all of these other important identities linked to the status of our party, every election feels like it's also about the status of our religious group and our racial group, and our culture and where we live, and who we grew up with.” And later, Dr. Mason talks with Felicia and Michael about the threat of white supremacist and anti-democratic blocs, the importance of union participation as a tool for progress, and the need for truth-telling with compassion. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Whether you're a canvasser knocking on doors or a member of Congress building coalitions on the House floor, persuasion is a fundamental part of politics. In recent years, deepening polarization has led to a renewed focus on voter turnout, but Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, argues that persuasion needs to be a bigger part of progressive strategy. Fresh off a tour on this topic with Anand Giridharadas, author of The Persuaders, Maurice stopped by How to Save a Country to talk to Felicia and Michael about how progressives can better engage with those outside their politics—or outside politics altogether. Maurice has been organizing for racial, social, and economic justice for decades, and played a pivotal role in organizing the first Movement for Black Lives conference in 2015. Now, he's helping to make the Working Families Party a political home for a progressive and multiracial working-class movement. “We're trying to organize people to counterbalance the influence of organized capital,” he tells Felicia and Michael. Maurice offers insights on how to engage with someone who fundamentally disagrees with you, and compares persuasion strategies between the right and the left. He discusses how progressive organizations can focus on the most important battles, by expanding on his essay that shook the progressive movement last fall: “Building Resilient Organizations.” Finally, he argues that progressives need to adopt a more active role: “It's helpful that we have ideas that work, but we need to persuade others that our ideas are their ideas.” Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

When Naureen Hyat and Humza Hussain joined forces with Nadeem Hussain, the founder behind the world's second-largest branchless banking solution, they decided to pivot their B2B microfinance business towards the consumer, giving rise to Tez, the first FinTech in Pakistan to get a digital lending licence. They made mistakes quickly and learned from them, creating a scalable and digital lending model with risk at or below the levels of the OpEx heavy manual models of old."Our first cohort was probably the best part of the learning journey for us, because we actually got over 50% defaults on that first cohort... And then the credit scoring engine started taking shape. And we started bringing defaults down from 50 to 40, 40 to 30, 30 to 20, 20 to 15. Then the tougher bit came because it was not only about the credit scoring, it had to be about the experience of the consumer, how is the product structured, from the first interaction of the consumer with the company till after he or she has been paid, everything matters... the latest cohort actually closed at under three percent default. This was uncollateralized cash lending to the masses, so yeah, it was quite an interesting experience and we learned a lot from it."Tez, now ZoodPay Pakistan, is at https://www.zoodpay.com/pakistan (or visit the group page if your interest are more global)ZoodPay is on LinkedIn, too, where you can also follow Naureen, with 50,000+ others that are learning from her journey (https://www.linkedin.com/in/naureen-hyat/) If you're interested in the broader fintech ecosystem in Pakistan, check out the Pakistan Fintech Network at https://pfn.org.pk/The early growth of Tez was supported by, among others, Accion Venture Lab and Omidyar Network who have both got indirect links to this show, via episode 42 with Jayshree Venkatesan (a primer on microlending) and episode 68 with Elena Botella (a lesson in responsible lending)You can learn more about me on my LinkedIn page, my action-adventure novels are on Amazon, some versions even for free, and my work with ConfirmU and our gamified psychometric scores is at https://confirmu.com/ and on episode 24 of this very show https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/episodes/episode-24If you would like to participate in the show, reach out to me at https://www.howtolendmoneytostrangers.show/contact-usRegards, BrendanOh, and if you're in need of more banking podcasts, you can find related content at https://blog.feedspot.com/banking_podcasts/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

0:08 — Tony Cross, is long-time radio journalist in France, currently a lecturer at Université Sorbonne Nouvelle. 0:20 — Jake Werner, Research Fellow at the Quincy Institute, looking at great power conflict between the US and China. 0:33 — Edward Ongweso Jr. is a journalist based in New York City. He's a reporter-in-residence at the Omidyar Network and co-host of This Machine Kills, a podcast about technology. The post Strikes against pension reform in France; US, UK, Australia ink a weapons deal; Plus, Venture Capital breakdown over Silicon Valley Bank collapse appeared first on KPFA.

In our last bonus episode before the launch of season 2, we bring you an unaired clip from a previous episode with economic historian Brad DeLong. Felicia, Michael, and Brad discuss a point from Brad's book, Slouching Towards Utopia, about whether neoliberalism persisted as long as it did because of the perception that it won the Cold War for the US. They also discuss the tension between domestic and international economics, particularly in relation to the Inflation Reduction Act, and what listeners can look forward to in season 2 of How to Save a Country. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Crypto has dominated headlines lately—and none of them have been good, to say the least.  FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried is facing fraud charges. Another lending platform, Celsius, went bankrupt. The value of Bitcoin has fallen by half, with other digital coins tumbling along behind it.  Amid this crypto winter, we're revisiting the case for regulation in the crypto markets with this previously unaired clip from our fall conversation with Sen. Elizabeth Warren.  Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

To kick off a new year and a new congressional term, we're bringing you a previously unaired clip from our conversation with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, now minority leader in the House.  Leader Jeffries gives his take on divisions within the Democratic Party and its wide spectrum of beliefs. “We're noisy,” he says, but we “get something over the finish line.”  But first, Michael and Felicia discuss the Republican struggle to elect a House speaker, and talk about the long-term implications of that party's apparent inability to get the basics of governing done. Spoiler alert: It isn't likely to be pretty. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is known as the plan-wielding policy wonk of the progressive movement. But underlying those plans is a simple idea: We are the government. “Government is the vehicle for letting us do together what none of us can do alone,” Sen. Warren tells Felicia and Michael. “We all contribute and it expands opportunity for all of us, and I feel like that's what's really been missing as we've become a post–New Deal nation.” In this episode, Sen. Warren discusses how we can recapture that all-for-one ethos and build a stronger country: by investing in people and recognizing that democracy and freedom are inextricable. Naturally, there's plenty of policy to discuss as well. Sen. Warren talks with Felicia and Michael about the big wins of the last two years—from the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act to student debt cancellation—and how they shaped the midterms. “Good policy is good politics. When you do things that people want and care about and that touch their lives, that's both.” And later, Sen. Warren explains how her “personnel is policy” philosophy is reflected in antitrust and why abortion is a kitchen-table issue. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our first bonus episode, we're bringing you a never-before-heard clip from our conversation with labor scholar Dorian Warren. Dorian talks through the sometimes strangely compatible relationship between inequality and democracy. We want to hear your thoughts on this episode! Tweet @FeliciaWongRI and @mtomasky to let them know what you think. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren is known as the plan-wielding policy wonk of the progressive movement. But underlying those plans is a simple idea: We are the government. “Government is the vehicle for letting us do together what none of us can do alone,” Sen. Warren tells Felicia and Michael. “We all contribute and it expands opportunity for all of us, and I feel like that's what's really been missing as we've become a post–New Deal nation.” In this episode, Sen. Warren discusses how we can recapture that all-for-one ethos and build a stronger country: by investing in people and recognizing that democracy and freedom are inextricable. Naturally, there's plenty of policy to discuss as well. Sen. Warren talks with Felicia and Michael about the big wins of the last two years—from the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act to student debt cancellation—and how they shaped the midterms.  “Good policy is good politics. When you do things that people want and care about and that touch their lives, that's both.”  And later, Sen. Warren explains how her “personnel is policy” philosophy is reflected in antitrust and why abortion is a kitchen-table issue. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Fun fact: The US economy's rebound from the COVID recession has been five times faster than its recovery after the Great Recession. You read that right. And to explain why that is—and how workers have benefited—we've got two people who've had front-row seats in the Obama and Biden administrations. Joelle Gamble is the current chief economist at the US Department of Labor; Heidi Shierholz (now the president of the Economic Policy Institute) was its chief economist between 2014 and 2017. Together, they talk with Felicia and Michael about how the shifts in economic policy thinking over the last decade helped produce today's record-breaking recovery. “The economy is not like the freaking weather, right? Like it really is a policy choice,” Heidi says. “The difference in the speed of the recovery really, really underscores just how unbelievably important fiscal policy is, like Keynesian stimulus, to generating a strong recovery.” Joelle and Heidi discuss how to measure a recovery, why this inflation moment is a corporate profit story, and how to shift people's view of the government's role—by “doing things that help people and doing them well,” Joelle says. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Brad DeLong knows a thing or two about the US economy. As one of the world's leading macroeconomists, a former Treasury Department deputy assistant secretary, and author of the new book Slouching Towards Utopia: An Economic History of the Twentieth Century, Brad is an expert on both the history and theory of neoliberalism.  And he's as surprised as anyone that it came to power so completely, and that it's lasted this long. “In my heart of hearts, I still cannot believe that the New Deal order collapsed as rapidly as it did in the 1970s,” Brad says.  In this episode, Brad and hosts Felicia Wong and Michael Tomasky dig into what came next, and Michael comes out of host mode to talk about his book The Middle Out: The Rise of Progressive Economics and a Return to Shared Prosperity—which incidentally released on the same day as Brad's. Together, they discuss what neoliberalism is (always a matter of debate), when and how it became the dominant way of thinking about the economy, and why it's finally on the way out. Maybe. Brad also talks to Michael and Felicia about the ways in which he says his generation failed, and what the next generation must do to meet the new challenges of the 21st century, from the climate crisis to wealth inequality.  Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

The morning after Election Day, Michael and Felicia look at how progressive ideas—particularly economic ideas—fared throughout the country. They discuss why we might be in a new era of midterms, what the media got wrong about election narratives, what political ads can tell us about economic policy, and whether elected officials can connect the dots between rhetoric and reality. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Few have done more to change the climate paradigm than Rhiana Gunn-Wright. As an architect of the Green New Deal, Rhiana was instrumental in expanding the limits of climate policy, and telling a story far larger—and more inspiring—than curbing carbon emissions by taxing them.  The Green New Deal's vision: affirmative investment in green industries, decarbonization as an engine of economic growth, and racial equity and job creation at the center of the national project. “They wanted a World War II style economic mobilization that would cut emissions in 10 years, create millions of jobs, and…reduce the racial wealth gap. And so my job was basically to figure out how you could do that,” Rhiana tells Felicia and Michael. Now director of climate policy at the Roosevelt Institute, Rhiana sees the legacy of that vision in today's politics. Environmental justice is now an essential part of the narrative; and industrial policy, which she has championed for years, is becoming mainstream. “Back in 2019 when I was doing all these interviews, not a day went by where people didn't ask me, ‘Well, why should equity be part of this? Why should racial justice be part of discussions about climate or decarbonization?'” Rhiana recalls. “And now you can't actually have a conversation about climate without mentioning equity and justice and environmental justice.” Rhiana also talks with Felicia and Michael about why she thinks the Inflation Reduction Act is a mixed bag, why industrial policy must include transforming our approach to child care and elder care, and how to change people's understanding of where wealth comes from by telling a story of public investment and inclusion. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is a rising star in the Democratic Party and the likely front-runner to be the next House leader. He's also quite the policy wonk, as Felicia and Michael learn in this episode. What drives the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and what's his vision for the next generation of leadership? Rep. Jeffries, who grew up in a union family in Crown Heights, traces his political journey back to the 1992 Rodney King trial. “There was a shock at the injustice of an acquittal. And I remember saying to myself that…[I want] to fight for the principles of equal protection under the law, liberty, and justice for all in the purest possible way.” Three decades later—on the heels of what he calls “one of the most productive legislative sessions in the history of the country”—Rep. Jeffries discusses what implementation of clean energy investments will require, why solving the affordable housing crisis is one of his top priorities, and how progressives can better communicate their accomplishments and goals. “We're going to have to do a better job moving forward, of recognizing that there's a distinction between governing and messaging,” he says. “You govern in fine print. You message, you persuade, you communicate in headlines.” Rep. Jeffries also talks about the historic role of the Congressional Black Caucus, and what being middle-class actually means in today's economy. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Deepak Bhargava has a big idea: America should live up to the best parts of our national identity and become the most welcoming country on Earth for immigrants and refugees. His Statue of Liberty Plan proposes a target of welcoming 75 million people over the course of the next decade. To do that, and counter broader authoritarian appeals, we need a new narrative rooted in progressive values. Deepak is a CUNY distinguished lecturer in Urban Studies, a Roosevelt senior fellow, and former President and Executive Director of Center for Community Change, and his ideas come at a crucial moment. In the coming years, an existing trend will accelerate: The people who contributed the least to the climate crisis will bear the worst of its effects. According to the World Bank, there will be 143 million climate migrants from Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia by 2050. Given the scope of our country's historic contributions to the climate crisis, this presents an urgent question: As Deepak asks, “If you burned your neighbor's house down and they came to your door, knocking, asking for refuge, what's your responsibility?” Deepak, Michael, and Felicia discuss the moral imperatives behind a progressive vision for immigration and what kind of civil society movement would be necessary to see it through. Deepak also talks about his vision and strategy for the broader progressive movement: Returning to the fundamentals of organizing. Listening seriously to what people want and need. And telling a good story that makes sense. “There are millions and millions of people in this country who would participate in its renewal, who would participate in this fight if they are asked,” he says. “We can win this.” Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

"Fairness in pricing often starts with the idea of competition - if there's healthy competition, that will bring the price down. But, in the United States, if you look from the 1990s to the 2020s, credit card profits have steadily risen, and real interest rates have steadily risen and at the same time, default rates have fallen and it's just less expensive, in some ways to run a credit card company than it used to be - so I think that's the first clue that the pricing isn't fair".In this episode of HTLMTS, I speak to Elena Botella, a fellow CapitalOne alum who, when she realised how incentives in the modern could become misaligned in the modern lending model, decided to do something about it, something rather inspiring to a wandering soul like me - she took herself on a road trip around America to hear the human story of consumer debt."In the credit card industry, you see the transaction, you see what some this credit enables, but you don't always see the harm side of it... I heard from consumers who had followed a similar pattern, and came to feel that credit cards had done them more harm than good".Delinquent: Inside the American Debt Machine launched this week (11 October 2022) and is now widely available in all bookstores, but the folks over at https://bookshop.org/books/delinquent-inside-america-s-debt-machine/9780520380356 probably appreciate your business more than the bigger names we might gravitate to first (I'm not pointing fingers, I have my own Amazon links down below

Last term, the Supreme Court's conservative majority showed that it was unafraid of flexing its muscle when it voted to overturn Roe v. Wade—a landmark ruling that had been in place for nearly half a century. Now that the Supreme Court has begun a new term, how can progressives prepare for a conservative majority that's highly skeptical of government power? Yale Law professor Amy Kapczynski has unique insight into what the Supreme Court could do this term, and what it means for the current and future state of our democracy. Amy, a former AIDS activist, is faculty co-director of Yale's Law and Political Economy (LPE) Project, which seeks to explain how the law shapes our economy, and what that means for our ability to solve urgent social problems.  “It's going to be very hard to do,” she tells Felicia and Michael, “to tackle changes that are existential for the United States, like climate change, without addressing the actual persons and the majority on this court.” Amy, who has clerked at the Supreme Court for Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Stephen Breyer, discusses the future of the court and its expected voting record, legal originalism's impact on modern justices, and why progressives need to move from a defensive position to a positive vision if they want to protect the Constitution and democracy's commitment to equality, racial justice, and reproductive freedom.  Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

In the mid-1950s, nearly 3 in 10 employed workers belonged to a union. Now that figure is down to about 10 percent—or just 6 percent in the private sector alone. But labor organizing and pro-worker policymaking are on the rise. At more than 200 Starbucks outlets, an Amazon warehouse, and even an Apple store, workers are banding together to ask for higher wages, better benefits, and more control over their schedules and workplace conditions. Dorian Warren has been a leader in those efforts. Dorian is a labor scholar and organizer, and the co-president of Community Change, a national organization that builds the power of low-income people—especially low-income people of color. “This is actually an exciting time for the labor movement,” he tells Felicia and Michael. “There is something really going on across the spectrum in terms of one's class background, racial and gender background.” Dorian talks about the diversity of those pushing for unionization in modern America, the importance of federal leadership when it comes to labor rights, and what's really at stake: “No labor movement means no strong democracy. No labor movement means no middle class.” Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Heather Cox Richardson's wildly popular Substack newsletter, Letters from an American, achieves what historical studies do at their best: shed light on the politics of the moment by telling parallel stories from the past. As often as the word "unprecedented" comes up in modern political discussions, the comparisons it conjures are usually limited to living memory—which historians know to look beyond. The newsletter is drawn from Richardson's work as a professor of 19th century American history at Boston College. She's also the author of six books including, most recently, To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party. In this conversation, Richardson talks with Michael and Felicia about today's polarization, the last time antidemocratic forces threatened to take hold of Congress, and the origins of the American public's susceptibility to conspiracy theories. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Fresh off a legislative winning streak, the Biden administration is having a moment right now. But those unprecedented investments in driving clean energy innovation and rebuilding supply chains are poised to reshape the American economy for the next decade and beyond. Brian Deese, Director of the National Economic Council, had a lot to do with that. Brian joins the podcast to talk about the uniting principle behind the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act: "competent, effective government focused on investing in the United States, building in the United States, building capacity that's going to connect to people's lives.” But first, co-hosts Felicia Wong and Michael Tomasky discuss their mission for the podcast's first season: challenging neoliberalism's prescription for small government, trickle-down tax cuts, and an unquestioning faith in markets—and offering an alternative vision for an economy and democracy that work for all of us. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders. You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.