Nancy

On the last episode with Stacy Kramer of Blueprint/Swing Left,  we got a bird’s eye view of why we should support grassroots groups in swing states. This week, Nancy is following up with a “boots on the ground” perspective from Diana Robinson, civic engagement director at Make the Road Pennsylvania. Diana discusses her group’s support of working class Latinx communities year in and year out, and how that translates into votes for Democrats when elections roll around. Nancy and Diana also talk about what life is like in a deeply divided battleground state like Pennsylvania, how her group’s advocacy is…

This episode features Stacy Kramer who first came on the podcast two years ago as a newly activated Democratic fundraiser who was making fundraising more Democratic. But after the disappointing down ballot results for Democrats in 2020, she took a hard look at what had gone wrong and realized that giving large amounts of money directly to candidates and campaigns is not a winning strategy. Now she has changed activist gears and is a consultant at Blueprint, a division of the political action group Swing Left. At Blueprint, Stacy is dedicating her time to building up local grassroots civics groups…

This episode features Indian-American activist and racial justice leader Nisha Anand of Dream Corps. Once a radical grassroots activist arrested in Burma for passing out pro-democracy leaflets, Nisha’s expansive organizing experience and work with mentors like Van Jones solidified her belief in the power of working with unlikely partners to find real solutions. As Dream Corps’ CEO, Nisha leads a diverse group of people who are learning, like her, the value of unconventional relationships. Nisha and Nancy speak about how we can and must work with people across the divide to come up with lasting solutions to our biggest problems;…

On this episode, Nancy speaks with Claire Ullman and Sandy Radoff of the voter outreach group Students for Justice. In 2020, Claire was a professor trying to help her students whose summer jobs had gone up in smoke during the Covid lockdown. Sandy was an active volunteer with the Center for Common Ground. The two of them saw an untapped resource to help get out the vote of people of color in voter suppression states, and Students for Justice was born. Sandy, Claire and Nancy discuss repurposing skills from earlier careers to do good; the importance of giving students leadership…

And now for something completely different with this episode on plant based eating. This is the second in a two part environmental series on thinking globally and acting locally. In the last episode, Nancy spoke with Daniel Katz of the Rainforest Alliance about the global effect of rainforest destruction on climate change and that the main cause for this destruction is cattle raising. But it’s not just cattle in rainforests that are the problem. Worldwide, animal agriculture accounts for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. That’s more than the entire transportation sector combined, which clocks in at 13%. This all means…

This episode with Daniel Katz of the Rainforest Alliance is the first in a two part environmental series on thinking globally and acting locally. While you probably know that rainforests around the world are in danger, you may not know that rainforest destruction wreaks havoc on the climate and puts us all in danger. You also may not know that, here in the United States, we as consumers are culpable in aiding and abetting global rainforest destruction. Daniel and Nancy talk about the connection between rainforests and climate, why deforestation is taking place, and ways our personal choices can help…

This episode features a conversation with Andrea Miller, founding board member of the Center for Common Ground, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to turning out the vote of people of color in voter suppression states in the South. Nancy and Andrea talk about the most devious and extreme voter suppression tactics today; the tools and techniques to fight them; and the importance of teaching people how their government works. Andrea’s tireless work may ultimately make all the difference between red and blue in the coming elections, and you will learn how you can play a part in that too. For more…

On this episode, Nancy speaks with Alex Kramer of Knock for Democracy. Alex is an actor and writer who discovered he had a talent for political organizing after the 2016 election. What started in a living room with a few dozen friends had grown by 2020 to more than 5,000 volunteers who had knocked on countless doors and dialed literally millions of numbers all in the name of, yes, democracy. Alex and Nancy talk about how making the volunteer experience fun keeps people coming back for more; the power of community experience that feels joyous, connected and personal; and bringing…

Welcome to Season 3 of the New Faces of Democracy podcast! If politics and a polarizing pandemic has got you down, Season 3 of the podcast will help you by making your activism energizing and fulfilling, not angry and exhausting. We will introduce you to people engaged in vitally important work to make our country and planet a better place and give you ideas of ways to get involved. These conversations will help you find a path to sustainable, restorative activism that, like a great yoga class, takes a little work but feels really good. Please join Nancy for Season…

This episode features Professors Melody Barnes and Laurent Dubois, co-directors of the Democracy Initiative at the University of Virginia. This interdisciplinary initiative brings together a diverse range of scholars, government leaders, practitioners and students to study the urgent challenges facing democracy today and to advance its prospects for the future. Nancy, Melody and Laurent discuss the threats to democracy from both Melody’s public policy and government background and Laurent’s historical perspective; the inherent conflict within democracies between disempowered groups voting for change and entrenched interests that seek to restrict access to the ballot; and while we have a lot of…