CommonS Sense Episode 5: Little Experiments Everywhere
Dec 10, 2025
Astra Taylor, a writer and activist focused on democracy, discusses expanding the concept of commons, tackling issues in education and media. Maggie Helwig, a poet and social justice advocate, shares her experiences with mutual-care encampments, emphasizing community resilience. Carolyn Lesjack, an English professor, connects commons to political and land rights, highlighting Indigenous perspectives. Lastly, Imra Zeman explores collaborative scholarship in energy transitions, advocating for democratizing access to energy as a shared resource.
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Democracy As Everyday Commons
- Democracy extends beyond elections into classrooms, media, and everyday institutions as a mode of self-governance.
- Astra Taylor argues treating education and public media as commons strengthens democratic life.
Build Infrastructure For Changemaking
- Build infrastructure so ordinary people can make change by learning organizing tools and associational culture.
- Astra Taylor urges renewing public education and rebuilding community organizing to enable collective action.
Walking The English Commons
- Astra Taylor recounts walking English public footpaths that remain open across private fields as living remnants of common rights.
- She links those preserved paths to historical struggles to protect commons from enclosure.