We Know how to Rebuild Our Democracy - final story

We Know how to Rebuild Our Democracy - final story

Author: iHeartPodcasts April 21, 2025 Duration: 8:08

There is a model for how we rebuild and heal after the human-made disaster being inflicted on the USA right now. Welcome to Dena Heals—a mutual aid marketplace and wellness center born in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena.

See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here:
https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/this-is-how-we-recover-from-disasters 

This is our final story (for now) in the Week Of Citizening. Join our mailing list and share the stories you’re seeing. stories.howtocitizen.com 

When the 💩 hits the fan, we are told people become selfish and look after themselves alone. Every disaster ever proves otherwise including after the most devastating fire to hit Los Angeles. Something extraordinary took root. Not fear. Not isolation. But care for each other.

Rebecca Solnit said it well: “When all the ordinary divides and patterns are shattered, people step up—not all, but the great preponderance—to become their brothers’ keepers. And that purposefulness and connectedness brings joy even amidst death, chaos, fear and loss.”

Rooted in Indigenous wisdom and the Black Panther 10-Point Program, Dena Heals is a blueprint for what happens when we lead with love, show up for each other, and practice power together.

They’ve supported 3,500+ people from over 500 families. This is what it looks like to citizen in the midst of disaster. Not with despair—but with collective action, healing, and hope.

We saved this story for last in our Week Of Citizening series because it reflects all the pillars of How to Citizen:

🌱 Show up & participate

⚡ Understand power

🤝 Commit to the collective

❤️ Invest in relationships (including nature)

This is how we rise. This is how we rebuild. This is how we citizen. Happy Earth Day

Sign up to share and discover more stories like this: https://stories.howtocitizen.com

Video Produced by: Revolve Impact

Week of Citizening Collaborators: Baratunde Thurston, Jon Alexander, Shira Abramowitz, Elizabeth Stewart

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
Can Tech Save the Literal World? (with Jamie Margolin) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:44
Baratunde connects with Gen-Z author and climate activist Jamie Margolin, to see how this next generation is using tech to save the planet. He was surprised more than once by this 19-year-old’s perspective. She is the fo…
Fast, Fair, Fun (with Digital Minister Audrey Tang) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:51
After a life of civic hacking outside the system through efforts like vTaiwan, Audrey Tang, now Digital Minister of Taiwan, speaks with Baratunde about how to use digital tools to include people in more direct, participa…
Circles in a World Made for Triangles (with Pia Mancini) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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 financia…
Move Slow and Fix Things (with Esra’a Al Shafei) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:19
Esra’a is a Bahrani human rights activist and founder of Majal, a multiplatform organization that amplifies underrepresented voices in the Middle East and North Africa. She works collaboratively with technologists and de…
Public Parks and Re-creation (with Eli Pariser) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:31
Right now we interact with the public more online than offline. But these digital spaces are not designed with our collective wellbeing in mind. Baratunde speaks with Eli Pariser, Co-founder of New_Public, about how we a…
A Podcast-Sized History of Tech (with Scott Galloway) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:11
Baratunde has been sounding the alarm about the perils of Big Tech for years. In this episode, he breaks down his journey in tech and talks with tech expert and sharp critic, Prof G, otherwise known as Scott Galloway, co…
Baratunde’s Tech Origins (with Belinda Yvonne Thurston) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:31
Technology and its promise of a better world is a part of Baratunde’s DNA. In this episode, Baratunde reminisces with his older sister, Belinda, about their upbringing in Washington DC in the 1980s. They discuss their mo…
Season 3: Using Tech to Citizen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:07
Season three of How To Citizen with Baratunde is all about tech. Launching October 28th, we’re bringing you the people using technology for more than revenue and user growth. They are using it to help us citizen.We don’t…
Comedians Who Read the Newspaper (with Hari Kondabolu) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:22
If we’ve learned anything in Season 2 of How To Citizen with Baratunde, it’s that it takes a village, and by that, I mean the entire global community. From leaders of nonprofits, to Wall Street entrepreneurs, we need eve…
Baratunde Reflects on Season Two [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:20
“It’s hard to citizen when you can’t pay the bills.” This season’s theme has revealed the economic causes of our deep division and has opened our eyes to how our democracy and economic well-being are incredibly interconn…