Majority 54

Today, we’re talking to one of the biggest names in the tech entrepreneur world. He experienced a total political shift the night of the 2016 election, while he watched in horror, as most of us did. Unlike most of us, he set about creating a means for change to prevent this from ever happening again. Eric Ries inadvertently became very influential in the Resistance against Donald Trump’s policies (and many of you probably have used a tool he invented without even knowing it).  We’re going to discuss how the online landscape has changed the political and the person forever, and what we can do in the face of it. Eric's story is one in a million, and we hope you feel as inspired by the conversation as I was. Important links: @ericries startuplessonslearned.com  @Majority54 @JasonKander hellomajority54@gmail.com Produced by Brock Wilbur Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Majority 54. We’re talking to the 54% of American​s​ who did not vote for Donald Trump about where we go from here. Senator Yvanna Cancela is a millennial union leader who thought she was headed for a much different destination. She listened to her calling and became the political director of Culinary Local 226, Nevada’s largest union. Now, Cancela has led protests, lobbied state lawmakers and played a pivotal role in turning Nevada blue last November when most of the nation wound up red.  We’re going to discuss how unions are perceived in America, both positively and negatively, and what the future of organized labor looks like. Hope you enjoy! Important links: @YvannaCancela @Majority54 @JasonKander hellomajority54@gmail.com Produced by Brock Wilbur Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome the official start of season two of Majority 54. If you’re new to Majority 54, I’m Jason Kander, the president of Let America Vote: an organization dedicated to making sure that every American gets to vote by creating political consequences for anyone who wants to diminish the most basic American right. And we’re talking to the 54% of American who did not vote for Donald Trump about where we go from here. He's a District Attorney for Nueces County in Texas. He's a proponent of criminal justice reform. He's a self-proclaimed "Mexican biker lawyer covered in tattoos." He's a Dallas Cowboys fan. He's never prosecuted a single case. He's Mark Gonzalez, and he's our guest today. We're going to discuss how law enforcement impacts real people, how sweeping reform needs to come to America, and how District Attorneys can change enforcement on a local level.  We hope you enjoy listening to this interview as much as we enjoyed discussing Mark's colorful history and bright future. Important links: @Majority54 @JasonKander hellomajority54@gmail.com Produced by Brock Wilbur Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you’re new to Majority 54, I’m Jason Kander, the president of Let America Vote: an organization dedicated to making sure that every American gets to vote by creating political consequences for anyone who wants to diminish the most basic American right. And we're talking to the 54% of Americans who did not vote for Donald Trump about where we go from here. In the first episode of this second season, we talk to someone who has an incredible platform about how he uses it to do good. That man is someone that a couple of you may know: Mr. Lin-Manuel Miranda. The creator of In The Heights and Hamilton discusses making politics entertaining and engaging, as well as how to choose fundraising campaigns to maximum effect. Then, we ask when he's going to run for Secretary of Treasury, since he has more experience than the current Secretary of Treasury. This is just a killer interview and we hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed recording it. There are only a few days left to support the campaign Lin-Manuel is running, which benefits Let America Vote among other worthwhile organizations. The links for that campaign is prizeo.com/hamilton-dc Important links: @Lin_Manuel prizeo.com/hamilton-dc @Majority54  @JasonKander hellomajority54@gmail.com Produced by Brock Wilbur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Kander previews Season 2 of Majority 54... coming this Friday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re talking health care, taxes, and activism with Ady Barkan.  Like me, you probably first became aware of Ady when a video of him confronting Jeff Flake went viral.  But that wasn’t Ady’s first stab at activism – far from it in fact. A graduate of Columbia and of Yale Law, he could have done anything he wanted. He could have made a whole bunch of money right out of school, but instead, he started representing low-wage workers in New York City in pursuit of everything from paid sick days to the unionization of the car wash industry.  Today, Ady is a Director at the Center for Popular Democracy, where he runs Local Progress and the Fed Up campaign.  Eighteen months ago, at the age of 33, Ady and his wife Rachel welcomed a son, Carl, and shortly thereafter, Ady was diagnosed with ALS – a terminal illness that paralyzes its victims over time. In a very short period of time, he’s gone from being an active runner and hiker to being in a wheelchair, unable to pick up his son. It’s a cruel and inexplicably random affliction, and after talking to Ady, I found myself in awe of his resilience and thankful for the way he’s continued to dedicate his life to fighting for what’s right.  Important Links: @AdyBarkan http://populardemocracy.org/ @Majority54 @JasonKander hellomajority54@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we’re talking Voting Rights. In my mind, there is no issue of greater importance in the country right now – and that’s because it affects every other issue. As you may know, I’ve put a good chunk of time into this cause. I spent four years fighting voter suppression as Secretary of State in Missouri and I’ve spent the last year fighting it as the President of Let America Vote, an organization I founded. It’s a broad issue because there are a lot of different pieces to it, so in the second segment of today’s show I’ll go a little deeper than usual. I’ll get into the recent history of voter suppression, the tactics of vote suppressors, and how we fight back – as well as doing what we usually do in segment two: I’ll tell you how to talk about it with friends who don’t yet agree with you. So segment 2 will tackle the issue as a whole, but for today’s conversation with a guest, I wanted to zero in on an aspect of voter suppression I don’t think gets enough attention: disenfranchisement of formerly incarcerated individuals. Desmond Meade is the Founder and President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, but he’s also impacted directly by this issue, because he in years past he was addicted to drugs and spent some time in prison. He is one of the well over one million U.S. citizens living in Florida with very little hope of ever having their civil rights – including their voting rights – restored. He has a law degree, but he can’t sit for the bar. He’s active in his community and his wife ran for the state legislature, but he can’t vote. But Desmond isn’t discouraged. He’s fighting back and he’s inspiring a lot of people, including me.   Important Links: @DesmondMeade @FLRightsRestore FloridaRRC.org @LetAmericaVote LetAmericaVote.org LetAmericaVote.org/intern @JasonKander @Majority54 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember two years ago when we still talked about the college debt crisis? Remember when what to do about it was one of the defining topics of the Democratic primary for president? I’m nostalgic for those days, and I lament the fact that it barely qualifies as one of the most divisive issues anymore – solely because the people in power refuse to care about it.  I’m interested in reviving the conversation. After today’s interview, I’ll address the talking points you hear from the other side about this: this is about the extravagant lifestyles of studentsthis generation is too lazy and entitledpeople shouldn’t take out debt if they can’t afford to pay it back But before we do, I want to make sure we have a conversation to make the issue real. Curry Oglesby and I sat down in a Maryland diner to talk about the gauntlet she’s traveled thanks to college loans.  She entered Howard University on a full scholarship and – when it comes to setting herself up for a growing field – she chose one of the savviest majors she could.  A bad piece of advice from a student advisor and a snowstorm later, she was nearly underwater in debt.  Important Links: @Majority54 @JasonKander hellomajority54@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have an F rating from the NRA. They’ve spent millions against me. The leaders of the NRA hate me, but they loathe Shannon Watts. And I have a feeling you’re gonna love her.  We closed 2017 by talking to a life-long activist and imploring you to deepen your involvement, so it makes sense to open 2018 talking to someone who grabbed an oar a few years ago and hasn’t stopped rowing since. Shannon founded Moms Demand Action, one of the most effective groups working to reduce gun violence, the day after the tragedy at Sandy Hook. Today, Moms Demand Action has a chapter in every state and is effecting change at the local, state and national level. As you’ll learn, the work they do is inspiring, and so is a conversation with Shannon. Important Links https://momsdemandaction.org/ https://www.risetorun.org/ @shannonrwatts @Majority54 @JasonKander hellomajority54@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a special episode of Majority 54.  Usually this show focuses on a single divisive issue by talking to a single individual experiencing it in their everyday life.  But from the beginning, I wanted to conclude this year with a different kind of conversation – one specifically about activism. 2017 has been a year of progressive activism. It’s drawn people out of their homes in so many inspiring ways, and from the women’s march to the #MeToo movement, the resistance has been especially fueled by women, so it’s appropriate that this special episode is a conversation with my friend Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood. Cecile has been an activist her entire life – from protesting the Vietnam War as a seventh grader to organizing union workers across several states in her twenties to running one of the most important healthcare organizations in the country today.  We actually sat down to talk about the subject of women’s equality a couple months ago – before the #MeToo movement had even begun. The conversation about women’s equality really became – because I find Cecile so inspiring – one about a life of activism and what she sees for the future.  Listen to this episode to cap off 2017 and go inspired into 2018. At the end of the conversation, I'll share my thoughts about the state of the progressive movement in America and what your role and my role should be in 2018. Important Links: @CecileRichards @Majority54 @JasonKander hellomajority54@gmail.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices