It’s All Greek to Me! (with Astra Taylor)

It’s All Greek to Me! (with Astra Taylor)

Author: iHeartPodcasts April 1, 2021 Duration: 39:07

In Season One we asked ourselves, what does it mean “to citizen”? How do we show up and stand up for our community? Coming off the heels of January 6th, 2021, Baratunde starts Season Two by taking a step back with the question, “How can we citizen with so much division?”. In this episode, we speak with author and filmmaker Astra Taylor who takes us back to ancient Greece and reveals how our political and economic rights are deeply intertwined.

Guest: Astra Taylor - writer, organizer, and documentarian

Twitter: @astradisastra

Bio: Astra Taylor is a filmmaker, writer, and political organizer. She is the director of the philosophical documentary What Is Democracy?; the author of The People’s Platform: Taking Back Power and Culture in the Digital Age; and co-founder of Debt Collective.


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 Astra Taylor for joining us! Follow her at @astradisastra on Twitter. or find more of her work at hiddendriver.com


ACTIONS

PERSONALLY REFLECT 

Find a “We”

Are you a worker? A student? A freelancer? Reflect on the communities you are (or could be) a part of and organize with other community members to advocate for causes you all care about. Find strength in numbers!


BECOME INFORMED

Press the Subscribe/Follow button

We’re not being vain. This season we’ve got a lot of incredible guests and more ways for you to show up and citizen. So buckle up, and join us on this journey.


PUBLICLY PARTICIPATE

Join the Debt Collective

Are you in debt? Join Astra’s union for debtors, The Debt Collective, at debtcollective.org. Become a part of a movement of debtors who are wielding their collective economic power.


If you take any of these actions, share that with us - action@howtocitizen.com. Mention It’s All Greek to Me  in the subject line. And share about your citizening on social media using #howtocitizen. 

Visit the show's homepage - www.howtocitizen.com - to sign up for news about the show, to learn about upcoming guests, live tapings, and more for your citizen journey.

Also sign up for Baratunde's weekly Recommentunde Newsletter and follow him on Instagram or join his Patreon. You can even text him, like right now at 202-894-8844.


CREDITS

How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of iHeartRadio Podcasts and Dustlight Productions. Our Executive Producers are Baratunde Thurston, Elizabeth Stewart and Misha Euceph. Stephanie Cohn is our Senior Producer and Alie Kilts is our Producer. Kelly Prime is our Editor. Original Music by Andrew Eapen. Valentino Rivera is our Engineer. Sam Paulson is our Apprentice. This episode was produced and sound designed by Stephanie Cohn. Special thanks to Joelle Smith from iHeartRadio.

Special thanks to our citizen voices Marie Ture, Glenn Maida, Adan Ayala, and Jennifer Bohmbach.

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
Introducing: Season 2 of How To Citizen with Baratunde [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:13
How do we wield our collective power for the many, not just the few, in order to live together even with our differences?We feel the dangerous divisions within our democracy daily: the pandemic response, racial oppressio…
To Be Less Polarized, We Must Humanize (with Esther Perel) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:59
Baratunde ends Season One focused on the state of our relationships, a key pillar of how to citizen, and thus the health of our society after the most contentious election in modern history. In conversation with world-re…
Flexing Our Civil Resistance Muscle (with Jamila Raqib) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:08
Baratunde wrestles with how to handle rising political violence in the U.S. by learning from a leading steward of strategic nonviolent action. Jamila Raqib, executive director of the Albert Einstein Institution, shares l…
Making Our Returning Citizens Whole (with Desmond Meade) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:50
Baratunde learns to think about sacrifice and having skin in the game in terms of a ham, egg, and cheese sandwich analogy. Desmond Meade, founder of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC), reminds us that to err…
Making Our Presence Felt (with Angela Lang and Quentin Palfrey) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:05
Baratunde digs into the feeling of disconnect and neglect felt by the black community in Milwaukee during the 2016 election and learns from Angela Lang, Executive Director of Black Leaders Organizing Communities (BLOC MK…
Making Our Votes Count (with Sherrilyn Ifill) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:50
Baratunde speaks with Sherrilyn Ifill, the President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund about the very long history of voter suppression, why it still exists (hint: white supremacy and rac…
Making Our Voices Heard (with Maria Teresa Kumar) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:30
Baratunde speaks with Maria Teresa Kumar, President of Voto Latino, about the power in numbers of Latinx voters and the work of relationship-building for this moment. Maria shares stories of what effective government loo…
Building Bridges, Not Walls [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:08
Baratunde ignores the headlines about Chicago and heeds a listener’s advice to learn more about the southside from a local artist who is building bridges in her community and literally helping people find common ground.