Circles in a World Made for Triangles (with Pia Mancini)

Circles in a World Made for Triangles (with Pia Mancini)

Author: iHeartPodcasts November 11, 2021 Duration: 41:44

Baratunde learns more about experiments in digital democracy. He speaks with Pia Mancini, cofounder of Open Collective, a platform empowering collectives and mutual aid groups with new transparent, decentralized financial tools that make local grassroots efforts more feasible than ever. It is a powerful example of how the use of technology can change the power dynamics and help people citizen together where they live and across the globe. 


Guest: Pia Mancini

Bio: Democracy activist, open source sustainer, co-founder & CEO at Open Collective and Chair of DemocracyEarth Foundation. 

Online: Open Collective website; Pia’s website; on Twitter @piamancini and @opencollect


Show Notes + Links

Go to howtocitizen.com to sign up for show news, AND (coming soon!) to start your How to Citizen Practice.

Please show your support for the show in the form of a review and rating. It makes a huge difference with the algorithmic overlords!

We are grateful to Pia for joining us! Follow her @piamancini on Twitter, or find more of her work at Opencollective.org.


ACTIONS

PERSONALLY REFLECT 

Cultivate Optimism

Take a moment to reflect on when you feel most positive, most optimistic in your week? What are you doing, who are you around, what media/info sources are you consuming? Work on adding more of these elements to your weekly routines. The world needs more clear-eyed optimists for us to reach our collective potential. It’s hard to citizen when you’re only cynical.

 

BECOME INFORMED

Who in your life needs Open Collective

Take a moment to wrap your mind around this NEW community infrastructure that is truly revolutionizing the way local initiatives and groups work together around the world. We bet you know of a local project or informal group that could benefit from it! Take the time to learn more https://opencollective.com/. Also check out Pia’s TED talk, How To Upgrade Democracy for the Internet Era, for more about her beliefs and journey. 

 

PUBLICLY PARTICIPATE

Join in with other locals 

Support open-source and move away from private mega-malls like Facebook by adopting the Signal app, an open source, end-to-end encrypted, not-for-profit messaging platform. And if you use open source to build the product that is making you money, give back to open source, because open source is not free. It was paid for by someone else's time. So make sure you give back to the developers.

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Finding your place in a world that often feels broken can be disorienting. How To Citizen with Baratunde, from iHeartPodcasts, tackles that confusion head-on by treating "citizen" not as a static label but as a series of actions we can all learn. This podcast moves beyond the headlines and the outrage to explore the tangible, often surprising ways we can participate in shaping our communities and systems. Each episode is a deep dive into the mechanics of collective power, featuring conversations that span society, culture, technology, and news. You'll hear from people who are actively redefining what it means to belong and contribute, offering practical insights that replace helplessness with agency. The discussions remind us that while voting is crucial, a functioning democracy requires much more from all of us. This isn't about abstract theory; it's about the real-world application of citizenship. Tune in for a thought-provoking and actionable guide to wielding your influence, discovering how to move from being overwhelmed to being effectively engaged. The entire premise of this podcast is built on the idea that we can learn to citizen better, together.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 69

How To Citizen with Baratunde
Podcast Episodes
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Duration: 5:42
It's been almost two years, and I (Baratunde) am back with an experimental drop because democracy is something we DO, not something we HAVE (or don't), and this moment calls for that reminder. So... I’m teaming up with m…
BONUS: Baratunde On Peril and Promise of AI [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:17
Welcome to a special bonus episode of How To Citizen. We are sharing Baratunde's appearance on the What Could Go Right? podcast, created by The Progress Network. Baratunde discusses technology, and specifically generativ…
Citizening at The Source (Sam Rader) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:50
So much of the conversation around democracy focuses on the external: from elections and policy to protests and organizing. While getting active is important...what could happen if we ALSO turn inwards? When we shift our…
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There’s no shortage of volunteer opportunities or organizations offering them. But how often are the communities meant to benefit from all of this volunteer work determining what help is truly needed, and which issues ar…
A How to Citizen Huddle (Coach Steve Kerr & Friends) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:28
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Fewer Debates, More Dunk Tanks (Priya Parker) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:04
How we gather matters. A lot. And what is a nation but a big ol’ gathering of gatherings? Baratunde talks with Priya Parker, facilitator and author of The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why it Matters, about how we ca…
To End Conflict, We Must Transform It (Tim Phillips) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:00
The intensifying political division and violence in our country is concerning — but it’s not unique. And few know that better than Tim Phillips. For 30 years, his organization Beyond Conflict has been bringing people fro…
Justice Begins with Imagination (Ruha Benjamin) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:21
According to Ruha Benjamin, we’re living inside someone else’s imagination. An imagination that limits our ability to build a more just, liberated world. So, how do we take back our agency and begin to seed something dif…
A New Shape for the Economy (Kate Raworth) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:47
It’s no secret that our economy only works for a select few. But what would our economy look like if we prioritized people and the planet, instead of profit? Economist Kate Raworth says it might look like a doughnut and…
DAO-mocracy (Alex Zhang) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:25:00
Imagine if the members of your group chat shared more than memes but also shared a bank account, or if the early users of a social media app helped decide how that app grew, made money, and moderated content. How does th…