We found the Anti-DOGE in Chicago

We found the Anti-DOGE in Chicago

Author: iHeartPodcasts April 18, 2025 Duration: 6:37
How To Citizen with Baratunde
SocietySociety & CultureCultureNewsTechnology

Today, we head to Chicago, where a civic gathering called Chi Hack Night is bringing technologists, designers, policy nerds, and everyday residents together to build a better city.

Access to visuals for this story are here:

https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/we-found-the-anti-doge-in-chicago 

and that conversation on Life With Machines with Deb Roy is here

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-with-machines/id1766829040?i=1000703577941 

mRelief, a woman-led initiative that’s made it easier for people to access food benefits. Since 2018, it’s helped unlock $2 BILLION (yes, with a B) in SNAP support for people across the country.

In a time of DOGE and digital distrust, it’s tempting to think all tech can do is tear things down. But this is what happens when we invite everyone—not just the billionaires—into the process of shaping solutions.

This is what citizening looks like:

  • 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 People-powered innovation

  • 🏙️ Tech rooted in place

  • 💡 Making tools with communities, not just for them

     

💬 Seen something like this in your community, an org that asks first?

Visit https://stories.howtocitizen.com, join our list, and let us know you have a story to share. These stories are everywhere — and we need them more than ever.

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

Official website RSS
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.

«1234567»