

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

Jan 25, 2024 • 43min
Make A.I. Work for Democracy: Marietje Schaake
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

Jan 18, 2024 • 43min
Montana is a Bulwark: Ryan Busse
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

Jan 11, 2024 • 32min
A Better Way to Vote: Deb Otis
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

Jan 4, 2024 • 37min
State Races Matter: Lala Wu
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

Dec 28, 2023 • 40min
Why Dissent is a Part of Democracy: Democracy-ish
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

Dec 21, 2023 • 40min
Building the Public Square: Rich Harwood
Rich Harwood is the president and founder of The Harwood Institute, who just launched a campaign to reclaim the public square from the most divisive voices and build it into a place that can make hope real for all. The public square is a noisy and messy place where society disagrees, argues, and also finds solutions. It’s through working out expectations, engaging in the work to be on the right path forward, and holding ourselves accountable to our goals that we engender hope. Acknowledging what has already been accomplished, no matter how small, both to yourself and others, makes the work visible to the community. Paying attention to the civic culture of communities is key to success. Follow The Harwood Institute on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HarwoodInst 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/building-the-public-square-rich-harwood Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Richard Harwood Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Dec 14, 2023 • 37min
Black Grief/White Grievance: Juliet Hooker
Juliet Hooker is the author of Black Grief/White Grievance: The Politics of Loss and the Royce Family Professor of Teaching Excellence in Political Science at Brown University. We talk about how racism has narrowed the political imagination of both black and white citizens. In American politics and democracy, neither side is supposed to win all the time. Losing is a fundamental part of democracy, and does not make the losers victims. In a multiracial democracy, having a president or any other elected representative who is not white should not be a big deal. Democratic cultures need to be inclusive, and the nuts and bolts work of “repairing” democracy should be equally distributed among the body politic. Follow Juliet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/creoleprof 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/black-grief/white-grievance-juliet-hooker Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Dr. Juliet Hooker Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Dec 7, 2023 • 44min
Housing is a Moral Issue: Shaun Donovan
Shaun Donovan is the CEO & President of Enterprise Community Partners. We discuss how the deeply entrenched housing crisis has become worse in recent years and the multiple strategies to make home and community places of pride, power, and belonging. Housing is a basic need that is fundamental to democratic participation. The lack of housing is preventing communities around the country from attracting workers and studies show slowing GDP growth due to housing affordability. People across the US are increasingly recognizing that housing isn't just a moral issue or an issue of justice for low-income people. It's a larger challenge for our society. Follow Enterprise Community Partners on Twitter: https://twitter.com/enterprisenow 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/housing-is-a-moral-issue-shaun-donovan Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Shaun Donovan Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Nov 30, 2023 • 42min
Building a Black Future: Christopher Paul Harris
Christopher Paul Harris is Assistant Professor of Global & International Studies at the University of California, Irvine, and the author of To Build A Black Future: The Radical Politics of Joy, Pain, and Care. We discuss why addressing our society’s hard-wired prejudices must be a substantial part of our endeavors toward a truly multicultural democracy. Central to building a Black future is reframing and recreating institutions from the perspective of those who have been historically marginalized. The core of the Black movement is a response to Black pain and anti-Black violence. Despite all the violence, Black Joy is evidence that Black communities are thriving and serve as a prefigurative politics of what’s possible on the other side of pain. Care is recognizing that Black people and other marginalized communities carry trauma and need healing. Follow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/black_poethics 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/building-a-black-future-christopher-paul-harris Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Christopher Paul Harris Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Nov 21, 2023 • 39min
Have the Conversation: Neal Rickner
Just in time for Thanksgiving, Neal Rickner joins us to talk about the American Values Coalition, a growing community of Americans who are empowered to lead with truth, reject extremism and misinformation, and defend democracy. Get some pointers to dialogue across political divides and across the table. First, have the courage to have the conversation. As much as hiding in the kitchen sounds preferable, we’re going to engage on the issues one relationship at a time. Begin the conversation with a thoughtful question, and then sit back and really listen. Since we rely on the news to understand what’s happening in the world, our news choices frame our reality. In fact, media source is among the top indicators of political choice. Consult multiple news sources and bring more truth to the conversation. Follow American Values Coalition on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ourvaluesngo 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/have-the-conversation-neal-rickner Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Neal Rickner Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis