Lala Wu is a Co-Founder and Executive Director of Sister District, an organization that works to elect Democrats to state legislatures. We discuss building progressive power at the state level, various opportunities in upcoming elections, and supporting candidates to win and serve effectively.

Amanda Litman is the co-founder and executive director of Run for Something, an organization that helps young progressives run in down ballot races. We discuss how they go about their mission, why local and state offices are so important, and how you can get involved in our democracy.

Brette McSweeney is the President of Eleanor’s Legacy, a group dedicated to electing pro-choice Democratic women to office in New York State. We discuss the critical impact of local and state elections on our daily lives, and the value of electing more women to represent us.

Glynda Carr is CEO and co-Founder of Higher Heights for America, a PAC dedicated to electing progressive Black women. We discuss the necessity of being engaged beyond election day, the political power of Black women voters, and the value of normalizing their presence in higher public office.

Amanda Hunter is the Executive Director of the Barbara Lee Family Foundation, an organization that promotes women in politics and contemporary art. We discuss what it takes for a woman to get elected and why it’s been such an uphill battle to reach the highest executive office.

Kelly Dittmar is the Director of Research at the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University. She explains why diversity among women serving in public office enhances our democracy, and how we can support more women to run and win elections.

Mark L. Levine is a lawyer and co-editor of The Trial of the Chicago 7: The Official Transcript. We discuss how the edited transcripts were published, the parallels of social injustice and use of political protests in the late 1960s with today, and the necessity for all of us to be engaged.

Dr. Carl L. Hart is a psychologist, professor, and author of Drug Use for Grown-Ups: Chasing Liberty in the Land of Fear. We unpack our deepest misconceptions around drug use, reveal prohibition as an utter policy failure, and make a case for legalization and regulation.

Alec Karakatsanis is a lawyer, founder and executive director of Civil Rights Corps, and author of Usual Cruelty: The Complicity of Lawyers in the Criminal Injustice System. We discuss how the punishment bureaucracy works and how we can re-think our legal system.

Jennifer Taub is a lawyer, advocate, and author of Big Dirty Money: The Shocking Injustice and Unseen Cost of White Collar Crime. We discuss who gets a pass for committing such crimes, what the actual consequences are to our society, and how to hold the perpetrators accountable.

Martha Nussbaum is a renowned philosopher, professor, and author of Citadels of Pride: Sexual Abuse, Accountability, and Reconciliation. We discuss the objectification of women, progress in holding perpetrators and the system accountable, and a radical form of justice.

Erin Hatton is a sociology professor and author of Coerced: Work Under Threat of Punishment. We discuss status coercion at non-traditional workplaces like university labs and sports teams, ideological reframing about work, and extending the rights and benefits of labor laws across the board.

Mark Rank is a poverty expert, professor, and author of Poorly Understood: What America Gets Wrong About Poverty. We discuss the true causes and systemic nature of poverty, and poverty reduction as being both moral and smart public policy.

Séverine Autesserre is an award-winning peacebuilder and author of The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World. We learn the crucial importance of bottom-up peacebuilding, the current dominance of the top-down approach, and the ideal model that effectively relies on both.

Colin Jerolmack is an environmental sociologist and author of Up to Heaven and Down to Hell: Fracking, Freedom, and Community in an American Town. We discuss the public-private paradox and the tragedy of the commons, as well as the undemocratic aspects of American property rights.

Andy Norman is a philosopher, professor, and author of Mental Immunity: Infectious Ideas, Mind-Parasites, and the Search for a Better Way to Think. We learn how to strengthen our reasoning, change minds, and engage with big ideas.

Sarah Kendzior is a journalist, authoritarianism expert, and author of Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America. We look at the decades-long rise of the former president and the various reasons why we are not immune to the threat of authoritarianism.

Kurt Andersen is a writer and author of Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History. We learn how conservatives successfully moved our society culturally, economically, and politically to the right; and why continuous civic engagement and investment in Americans can restore basic fairness.

Laura Joyce Davis is the host and founder of the Shelter in Place podcast. She and Mila discuss what they’ve learned from podcasting during the COVID pandemic and why aiming to be good neighbors is an important step to realizing the full potential of our society.

Adam Cohen is the author of Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court's Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America. We discuss how a myriad of Supreme Court rulings have advanced conservatism, made elections less fair, and punished the poor.