Beyond Voting

After Trump’s new executive orders dismantle federal DEI programs, corporations like Target follow suit, shuttering racial equity initiatives and cutting ties with Black-owned businesses. Communities respond with boycotts—but do they still work in an economy dominated by giants like Amazon and Google?

Host Emily Williams speaks with:

Democracy in the U.S. is under siege. From ICE raids and mass deportations, to Elon Musk’s

“Department of Government Efficiency” dismantling federal protections, to attacks on education and the press—our institutions are unraveling at unprecedented speed.

In this episode, host Emily Williams sits down with award-winning journalist Karen Attiah (former Global Opinions Editor at The Washington Post) to unpack how we got here and what it will take to resist. Karen shares lessons from her “Resistance Summer School,” explores the dangers of authoritarianism cloaked in efficiency, and argues that radical empathy and education are essential tools for survival—and for building the democracy we deserve.

This is a sobering, urgent conversation about power, accountability, and what it will take to save ourselves.

Share this episode with a friend—because democracy is more than just voting.

In Season 2, we’re taking a closer look at the state of American democracy as it shifts under President Trump’s second term. We dig into what’s changing, who’s paying attention, and how people are fighting back.

This season features conversations with incredible journalists, organizers, and community leaders, including:

• Karen Attiah (Washington Post) on how a more organized administration is testing the rules of democracy.
• Jenni Monet (Indigenous affairs and climate reporter) on the Arctic as both a political and environmental warning for the rest of the world.
• Maurice Mitchell (Working Families Party) on how communities are building power through listening, organizing, and collective action.
• A look at the efficacy of boycotts in 2025—what’s working, what isn’t, and how collective resistance is evolving.
• Experts unpacking how AI and technology are reshaping privacy, energy, and governance in real time.

Throughout the season, you’ll also hear visions for a future rooted in care, radical imagination, and everyday people taking action to protect democracy- grounded in working-class solidarity and Indigenous leadership.

Because despite the present, it’s not too late to write our future.

Beyond Voting Season 2 launches October 2025. Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts.

Do not despair, we have the power to organize, build supportive communities, and challenge harmful policies.

In our special post election edition episode on Beyond Voting. We’re joined by two special guests, Madiba Dennie and Dr. Melina Abdullah. We did a legal lightning round with Madiba Dennie, Deputy Editor of BallsandStrikes.org, to explore how we got here and understand the legal challenges and issues that had such a profound effect on our elections across the country. We also spoke with 2024 VP Candidate, Dr. Melina Abdullah about her experience on the campaign trail with the Justice for All Party, we get her take on the outcome of the election, and learn what activists can do to further resist the deterioration of our rights.  

Have you lost your voice?

On the sixth episode of Beyond Voting, we dive deep with Charlene Carruthers, community organizer, writer, filmmaker, and Black Studies PhD candidate. Charlene is the founding national director of BYP 100, a Chicago -based social justice organization led by Black youth activists. Her work spans more than 20 years of community organizing across racial, gender,and economic justice movements. She is also the author of the 2018 bestselling book, Unapologetic: a Black, queer, and feminist mandate for radical movements. It provides a vision and a framework for young activists to build power, create a more radical and intersectional movement, and grow into the next generation of leaders and visionaries.

We spoke with Charlene today to help us understand what challenges activists face as part of today’s liberation struggles, how we find and build community, how we care for ourselves and others doing the work, and most importantly, how liberation is a global movement that is  interconnected with the struggles of oppressed peoples around the world.