Hey Smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some of our top episodes from 2024. We can’t do this show without you and we still need your support. If you can, donate today to keep independent journalism going strong into 2025 and beyond. Give now to support “Make Me Smart.” Thank you so much for your generosity, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year.

If you’ve been feeling hopeless about the news, the election, the economy, the climate crisis and everything else that’s going on, today’s episode is for you. Emily Amick, lawyer and co-author of “Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives,” argues we can all become better participants in our democracy. And we don’t need to have a gazillion dollars to do it. On the show today, Amick explains why we should treat civic engagement as self-care, how to find your civic personality and ways to cultivate a news diet that doesn’t put you in a doom loop. Plus, the moment she realized our democracy was headed in the wrong direction.

Then, we’ll get into how voters in Utah fought to protect the power of citizen-led ballot initiatives and why shoppers hide purchases from their romantic partners. Plus, an anime cosplayer was wrong about what it would take to create her own costume.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Despite Recent Setbacks, There Is Still Hope For Democracy” from Forbes
• “In ‘Democracy in Retrograde,’ Emily Amick Talks About Political Engagement and Her Cancer Diagnosis” from Teen Vogue
• “What does Utah’s redistricting ruling do to voters’ ability to change laws?” from The Salt Lake Tribune
• “Utah Supreme Court: Lawmakers must heed voter-passed gerrymandering reforms “ from Axios Salt Lake City
• “Amazon’s Prime Day a ‘major’ cause of worker injuries, Senate probe finds” from CNBC
• “US Retail Sales Excluding Autos Rise by Most in Three Months” from Bloomberg
• “Gym Bags, Trunks, Back Doors: How Stealth Shoppers Hide Purchases” from The Wall Street Journal
• “Financial Infidelity Report 2023: Why People Hide Purchases From Partners” from Circuit
• “Inside a UPS warehouse that prioritizes super-fast shipping” from Marketplace

How are you getting involved in civic life? What helps you fend off feelings of hopelessness? Let us know at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.