

Future Hindsight
Future Hindsight
A weekly show that takes big ideas about civic life and democracy and turns them into action items for you.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 8, 2022 • 45min
Ballot Initiatives For Direct Democracy: Chris Melody Fields Figueredo
Thursday, December 8th, 2022 Chris Melody Fields Figueredo is the Executive Director of the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, which seeks to strengthen democracy by building a national progressive strategy for ballot measures. We discuss ballot initiatives and how they put the issues directly into the hands of voters and out of the two-party system. It can really flip the script! Ballot measures are often higher vote-getters than candidates. They also transcend party lines. Medicaid expansion has been a huge example in the last several years of being incredibly popular in red, blue, and purple states, and ballot measures gave power and agency to citizens to make policy changes. There is a huge opportunity in the coming years, especially around climate change. Follow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fieldsy Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Sponsor Thanks to Shopify for supporting the show! Go to shopify.com/hopeful for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features. Start selling on Shopify today. Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Chris Melody Fields Figueredo Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Dec 1, 2022 • 55min
Organizing Powers Democracy: Cecile Richards
Thursday, December 1st, 2022 Cecile Richards is the co-chair of American Bridge, former president of Planned Parenthood, a co-founder of Supermajority, and author of the book Make Trouble. We make sense of the midterms, take away some gold nuggets for democracy, and are reminded that grassroots organizing is all about the long game. A way to suppress democracy is by telling people it doesn't matter whether we vote or not. With widespread predictions that Republicans would sweep the midterms, indicating a foregone conclusion to the election, voter turnout was relatively strong. The American people largely defeated candidates who did not believe in democracy and who were willing to do anything and say anything to get power. Follow Cecile on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CecileRichards Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Cecile Richards Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Nov 23, 2022 • 43min
The Appeal of Libertarianism: Andrew Koppelman
Thursday, November 23rd, 2022 Andrew Koppelman is the author of Burning Down the House: How Libertarian Philosophy Was Corrupted by Delusion and Greed. It’s a fascinating history of this idea and an excellent lens for understanding so much of American life and politics. The core idea of liberalism is that people ought to be able to live as they like and libertarianism appeals to that desire for freedom. The question is how do you deliver it? A robust free market has proven to do more for the poor than any centralized state control. However, there are some problems (like a pandemic) that can only be dealt with by organized collective action led by a strong state. Government facilitates freedom by making the country richer and giving individuals more wherewithal to conduct their lives. Markets alone don't give people what they deserve because what people deserve is a backward-looking question. Follow Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewkoppelman Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Sponsor Thanks to Shopify for supporting the show! Go to shopify.com/hopeful for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features. Start selling on Shopify today. Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Andrew Koppelman Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Nov 17, 2022 • 55min
The Truth About Disability Rights: Rebecca Cokley
Thursday, November 10th, 2022 Rebecca Cokley is a disability-rights advocate and the first U.S. Disability Rights Program Officer for the Ford Foundation. From 2009 to 2013, she served as an appointee in President Barack Obama’s White House. We discuss the lived experience of being disabled in America. It's an important conversation that truly exposes the inequities of our society. We don't live in a society that allows for equality for disabled people. In fact, if you're disabled, you're more likely to be poor. Also, most people see disability rights as extra. We have to fundamentally shift to an equity mindset and go back to address the historic inequities from the beginning. Follow Rebecca on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RebeccaCokley Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Rebecca Cokley Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Nov 10, 2022 • 50min
Police and Public Safety: Thaddeus Johnson
Thursday, November 10th, 2022 Thaddeus Johnson is a former police officer, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, and Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice & Criminology at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. This broad-ranging conversation discusses law enforcement and empowering communities and citizens so we can all be safer. Public safety falls under a much larger umbrella than just policing. Police officers need to be rewarded for community policing. There has been little accountability of police misconduct because of lack of transparency. Many communities have been let down systemically, so governments need to restore them systemically, too. Citizens need to arm themselves with information and be engaged in their communities. Follow Thaddeus on Twitter: https://twitter.com/docthadjohnson Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Sponsor Thanks to Shopify for supporting the show! Go to shopify.com/hopeful for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features. Start selling on Shopify today. Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Thaddeus Johnson Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Nov 3, 2022 • 36min
Indictment Is Accountability: Allison Gill
Thursday, November 3rd, 2022 Dr. Alison Gill is a veteran, former federal government executive, and Host of Mueller She Wrote and the Daily Beans Podcast. We discuss democracy, accountability and all the legal troubles the former president is facing, and the power of your vote. Your vote matters and can deliver accountability at the ballot box, which is why there are so many efforts to suppress it. Personal outreach and relational organizing are the most effective in turning out the vote. Democracy really is in peril and the rights of women have been and voting is one way that we have the power to protect it. When it comes to accountability for the former president, an indictment would be justice at work. Follow Allison on Twitter: https://twitter.com/allisongill Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Allison Gill Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Oct 27, 2022 • 45min
Flexing the Women’s Vote: Amanda Brown Lierman
Thursday, October 27th, 2022 Amanda Brown Lierman is the Executive Director at Supermajority and Supermajority Education Fund, which builds women’s political power through efforts to inform, train and organize women across age, race, and background. Women are 52% of the vote. Fundamentally, women believe that their lives should be safe, their bodies should be respected, their work should be valued, their families should be supported, and that the government should represent them. Relational organizing is surprisingly powerful. One simple conversation could be a game changer. Supermajority’s work is to bring more people along in this exercise of radical imagination for true representation of these values. A crucial step is to make sure that women are voting in November. Follow Amanda on Twitter: https://twitter.com/amandak_b Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Sponsor Thanks to Shopify for supporting the show! Go to shopify.com/hopeful for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features. Start selling on Shopify today. Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Amanda Brown Lierman Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Oct 20, 2022 • 42min
AI for Equality: Orly Lobel
Thursday, October 20th, 2022 Orly Lobel is the Warren Distinguished Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for Employment and Labor Law. Her latest book is The Equality Machine: Harnessing Digital Technology for a Brighter, More Inclusive Future. We discuss reframing our public discourse around technology in order to proactively use it as a tool for equality. Lobel urges us to think about what our goals, social norms, and values are in a democratic society. Because we’re racing forward with integrating technology into our lives, we need a more balanced debate about how privacy ought to be offset by other values. In addition to talking about AI technology gone wrong, we should consider the comparative advantage of AI over a human decision maker, who has a lot of biases. Follow Orly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/orlylobel Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Sponsor Thanks to Avast for supporting Future Hindsight! Go to Avast.com to learn more about Avast One now. Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Orly Lobel Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Oct 18, 2022 • 32min
The Difference Between The House & The Senate: Civics 101
Tuesday, October 18th, 2022 We're sharing an episode of Civics 101 from New Hampshire Public Radio. The House and the Senate have mostly the same powers: they both propose and vote on bills that may become law. So why does the House have 435 members, and the Senate have 100? Why does legislation have to pass through both sides, and what kinds of power do each have individually? And finally: what role do you, as a voter, play in ensuring that Congress, and your Congressional delegation, is working in your best interests? This episode features the opinions of former staffers from both chambers, Andrew Wilson and Justin LeBlanc, former member of the CA assembly, Cheryl Cook-Kallio, CNN political analyst, Bakari Sellers, and the inimitable political science professor from Farleigh Dickinson, Dan Cassino. Follow Civics 101 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/civics101pod Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com

Oct 13, 2022 • 43min
How the NRA Radicalized America: Ryan Busse
Thursday, October 13th, 2022 Ryan Busse is a former firearms executive, Senior Policy Advisor to Giffords, and author of Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry That Radicalized America. We discuss how guns are intricately interwoven through our democratic division and radicalization in our everyday lives and in our politics. The assault weapons ban helped codify societal norms. In the years after the legislation lapsed, the culture of hatred, division, fear, and conspiracy became widespread. In fact, this culture became useful to the NRA to drive political outcomes. Legislation that re-establishes norms of responsible behavior is critical to controlling radicalization. Busse argues that we can start with outlawing open-carry armed intimidation across the nation. Follow Ryan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryandbusse Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Sponsor Thanks to Shopify for supporting the show! Go to shopify.com/hopeful for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify’s entire suite of features. Start selling on Shopify today. Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Ryan Busse Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham