Sam Wang is the Director of the Electoral Innovation Lab and a professor of neuroscience at Princeton University. We discuss how we can better understand the current state of district maps across the US, and how they can be made more fair and representative of their constituents.   Gerrymandering is not only unfair but also anti-democratic. It favors one party over another, effectively shutting out the possibility of accurate representation in a legislative body. The current electoral system forces voters into opposite camps and then rewards them for doing so. For example, primary elections reward a partisan loyalist who is unlikely to represent the views of the majority of voters. But, local and state elections are a hope for the future because voters are less polarized. Follow Sam on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/SamWangPhD    Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Sponsor:  Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   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    Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey   Want to support the show and get it early?  https://patreon.com/futurehindsight    Check out the Future Hindsight website!  www.futurehindsight.com   Read the transcript here:   https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/make-your-vote-pack-a-punch-sam-wang      Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Sam Wang Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Jess Piper is the Executive Director of Blue Missouri and the host of the Dirt Road Democrats podcast. We discuss the reality of living in rural Missouri, the state of education, and the dearth of Democratic candidates across the state.   Rural candidates have little to no support from the state party, but Republicans enjoy the support of local churches. One-third of Missouri is rural, but there is not a single elected Democrat representing these areas. Uncontested races are bad for democracy and without Democrats in the race, there is no contest of ideas. In Missouri, for example, multiple school districts only have four days of school, but there have not been elected Democrats who are willing to push back and properly fund these public schools.  Follow Jess on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/piper4missouri    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    Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey   Want to support the show and get it early?  https://patreon.com/futurehindsight    Check out the Future Hindsight website!  www.futurehindsight.com   Read the transcript here:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/rural-democrat-jess-piper     Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Jess Piper Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Guest Ken Harbaugh discusses the radicalization of veterans in extremist groups, the impact of the big lie on American politics, and the need to safeguard democracy against authoritarian threats. He explores the recruitment of veterans by extremist groups and emphasizes the importance of rejecting extremism to move the country forward.

Cynthia Richie Terrell is the founder and executive director of RepresentWomen. We discuss institutional reforms that can reduce the barriers for women to run, win, and govern.   There are approximately 520,000 elected office holders in the U.S., but incumbency is the biggest barrier to electing more women. Term limits make more seats open to competition. In addition, ranked choice voting eliminates vote splitting if there is more than one woman on the ballot. In NYC, for example, the combination of term limits and ranked choice voting has resulted in a city council where 61% of the seats are held by women. Policy solutions that address the structural barriers do work. Follow Cynthia on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/CynthiaRTerrell    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    Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey   Want to support the show and get it early?  https://patreon.com/futurehindsight    Check out the Future Hindsight website!  www.futurehindsight.com   Read the transcript here:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/leveling-the-playing-field-for-women-cynthia-richie-terrell      Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Cynthia Richie Terrell Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Anat Shenker-Osorio is the host of the Words to Win By podcast and the Principal of ASO Communications. We discuss the winning messages for 2024 and the importance for pro-democracy voters to turn out on Election Day.   2024 is yet another do-or-die election for American democracy, and thus the first and most important message to Americans is to vote. We need to marshal a sense of defiance to participate because if we don’t decide for ourselves, someone else will decide for us. This election is a contest between freedom and fascism. What’s at stake is whether the US is going to continue to be a place where citizens have the freedom to cast their votes and have them counted. Follow Anat on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/anatosaurus    Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Sponsor: Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.   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    Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey   Want to support the show and get it early?  https://patreon.com/futurehindsight    Check out the Future Hindsight website!  www.futurehindsight.com   Read the transcript here:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/identify-as-a-voter-anat-shenker-osorio      Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Anat Shenker-Osorio Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Marietje Schaake is International Policy Director at Stanford University Cyber Policy Center, International Policy Fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and also serves on the UN’s A.I. Advisory Body. We take a deep dive into how the digital revolution can still fulfill its promise of a democratic revolution. In other words: make A.I. work for democracy.   Over the past 20 years, power became more and more concentrated in the hands of big tech companies, while both Democratic and Republican administrations have chosen to trust market forces, rather than intervening to put on some guardrails. Unsurprisingly, public interest issues are under-addressed. Voluntary commitments by tech companies are often not powerful or enforceable enough to change behavior. But in the last year, more governments and multilateral institutions are recognizing that there are risks with the use of AI. For example, the EU AI Act was just passed to mitigate the risks from the use of AI applications.  Follow Marietje on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/MarietjeSchaake    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    Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey   Want to support the show and get it early?  https://patreon.com/futurehindsight    Check out the Future Hindsight website!  www.futurehindsight.com   Read the transcript here:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/make-ai-work-for-democracy-marietje-schaake     Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Marietje Schaake Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Ryan Busse is a Democratic candidate for governor of Montana and the author of Gunfight: My Battle Against the Industry That Radicalized America. We discuss how Montana is a bulwark against anti-democratic forces and how Ryan cuts through the politi-speak on the campaign trail.    It's important for Democrats to identify with the basic democratic freedom values of the vast majority of people, whether that’s fair taxes on homeowners or reproductive freedom. Ryan argues that a vibrant democracy depends on both small d democratic values being represented and big D Democratic victories at the ballot box. The stakes are high to elect a pro-democracy governor in Montana. Montana is a bulwark in a sea of red state legislatures. Ryan says, “North Dakota and South Dakota used to have two Democratic senators and Democratic governors. Now there's not a single statewide elected Democrat in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, and there's only one left in Montana, Jon Tester.”  Follow Ryan on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/ryandbusse    Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Sponsor Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial at shopify.com/hopeful.    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    Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey   Want to support the show and get it early?  https://patreon.com/futurehindsight    Check out the Future Hindsight website!  www.futurehindsight.com   Read the transcript here:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/montana-is-a-bulwark-ryan-busse      Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Ryan Busse Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Deb Otis is the Director of Research & Policy at FairVote, a nonpartisan organization that researches and advances voting reforms that make democracy more functional and representative for every American. We discuss the benefits of ranked choice voting and the likelihood that it will become more popular after the 2024 presidential election.   Ranked choice voting addresses a variety of problems in “vote one” elections, such as vote splitting among similar candidates; ranking candidates in order of preference; proportional outcomes in multi winner races; more broad based support for the eventual winner; and more successful general election candidates if ranked choice voting is used in the primary. Maine is a state where ranked choice voting will be used in the presidential election. The Fair Representation Act is a bill that would implement ranked choice voting for members of Congress and also make redistricting more proportional and representative for voters.   Follow Deb on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/DebTheOtis    Follow FairVote on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fairvote    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    Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey   Want to support the show and get it early?  https://patreon.com/futurehindsight    Check out the Future Hindsight website!  www.futurehindsight.com   Read the transcript here:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/a-better-way-to-vote-deb-otis      Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Deb Otis Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Lala Wu is the co-founder and executive director of Sister District, an organization that works to build enduring progressive power in state legislatures. We discuss how state races will continue to be important during the presidential election cycle and why the battle for redistricting will be center stage.   State legislatures are where a lot of impactful policy is made, such as abortion laws. They’re also critical because in most states, state legislatures control redistricting. Building progressive power is about winning elections, passing legislation, and then telling the story about legislative successes so that voters want to keep you in power and continue the work.  Lala Wu on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/_lala_wu_    Follow Mila on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/milaatmos    Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/   Sponsor Thanks to Shopify for supporting Future Hindsight! Sign up for a $1/month trial period at shopify.com/hopeful.   Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey!  http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard    Take the Democracy Group’s Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey   Want to support the show and get it early?  https://patreon.com/futurehindsight    Check out the Future Hindsight website!  www.futurehindsight.com   Read the transcript here:  https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/state-races-matter-lala-wu      Credits:  Host: Mila Atmos  Guests: Lala Wu Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Over the last several years our politics has been pushed from a place of collaboration to bold faced loyalty tests. In his latest book: Differ We Must: How Lincoln Succeeded in a Divided America, our guest, author and NPR Morning Edition co-host, Steve Inskeep, discusses with Waj and Danielle why dissent necessary and is as American as apple pie!  Listen to Democracy-ish:  https://www.dcpofficial.com/democracy-ish    Follow Danielle on X:  https://twitter.com/DeeTwoCents    Follow Waj on X:  https://twitter.com/WajahatAli    Check out the Future Hindsight website!  www.futurehindsight.com     Credits:  Hosts: Danielle Moodie & Wajahat Ali  Guests: Steve Inskeep Executive Producer: Adell Coleman  Senior Producer: Quinton Hill  Distributor: DCP Entertainment