How To Citizen with Baratunde
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Baratunde returns to the How To Citizen feed with a conversation that sits right at the intersection of character, democracy, and what it means to citizen in this moment.
This episode features Baratunde in a live discussion with retired U.S. General Stanley McChrystal at the 2025 Masters of Scale Summit in San Francisco. The two dig into the responsibility of leaders in a time of democratic crisis, the historic norms around deploying the U.S. military inside American cities, and why character is not something we simply “have” but something we practice.
They talk about the pressures facing the country, the role of national service, and how AI is changing the speed and stakes of decision-making in military and civic life. Stan shares candid reflections from his own experiences, including moments when he fell short of the character he expected from himself, and what it takes to recover and stay aligned with one’s convictions.
This conversation originally aired on the Rapid Response podcast from the Masters of Scale network. Special thanks to their team for allowing it to run here.
Baratunde closes with reflections on the polycrisis we’re living through, the people who continue to speak up for what’s right, and the power we still have to shape the next chapter of this country.
For more from Baratunde, see his substack newsletter.
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This is our wrap of our Week of Citizening that I've been doing with Jon Alexander. We found 8 stories from across the U.S. — across sectors, communities, and divides — where people are coming together to make life better, together. See them all here.
See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here: https://linktr.ee/weekofcitizening
Join our mailing list and share the stories you’re seeing. stories.howtocitizen.com
The story is everywhere.
It’s happening in libraries, tech hubs, small towns, and fire-stricken neighborhoods.
It’s happening in real politics, real businesses, and real lives.
It’s what humans do — when given the chance.
🌎 We believe it’s time to tell a bigger, truer story about who we are.
💥 We’re just getting started — and we need you with us.
👉🏽 Sign up to get all 8 films + hear what’s next.
Let’s tell this story. Let’s be this story.
Video Produced by: Chilli.app and Summer Solstice
Week of Citizening Collaborators: Baratunde Thurston, Jon Alexander, Shira Abramowitz, Elizabeth Stewart
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
There is a model for how we rebuild and heal after the human-made disaster being inflicted on the USA right now. Welcome to Dena Heals—a mutual aid marketplace and wellness center born in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire in Altadena.
See the visuals for this story and all our Week of Citizening stories here:
https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/this-is-how-we-recover-from-disasters
This is our final story (for now) in the Week Of Citizening. Join our mailing list and share the stories you’re seeing. stories.howtocitizen.com
When the 💩 hits the fan, we are told people become selfish and look after themselves alone. Every disaster ever proves otherwise including after the most devastating fire to hit Los Angeles. Something extraordinary took root. Not fear. Not isolation. But care for each other.
Rebecca Solnit said it well: “When all the ordinary divides and patterns are shattered, people step up—not all, but the great preponderance—to become their brothers’ keepers. And that purposefulness and connectedness brings joy even amidst death, chaos, fear and loss.”
Rooted in Indigenous wisdom and the Black Panther 10-Point Program, Dena Heals is a blueprint for what happens when we lead with love, show up for each other, and practice power together.
They’ve supported 3,500+ people from over 500 families. This is what it looks like to citizen in the midst of disaster. Not with despair—but with collective action, healing, and hope.
We saved this story for last in our Week Of Citizening series because it reflects all the pillars of How to Citizen:
🌱 Show up & participate
⚡ Understand power
🤝 Commit to the collective
❤️ Invest in relationships (including nature)
This is how we rise. This is how we rebuild. This is how we citizen. Happy Earth Day
Sign up to share and discover more stories like this: https://stories.howtocitizen.com
Video Produced by: Revolve Impact
Week of Citizening Collaborators: Baratunde Thurston, Jon Alexander, Shira Abramowitz, Elizabeth Stewart
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We head to Eliot, Maine, where a multiracial, multidisciplinary group of artists have reimagined what a conference can be. At SeaCHANGE, creativity isn’t an afterthought—it’s the starting point. The gathering opens with movement and dance. It invites deep connection through shared meals, collaborative workshops, and artistic expression. And it creates space for belonging, especially for artists of color.
Full video viewing options for this story plus links to the Instagram and LinkedIn versions: https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/how-we-gather-is-how-we-citizen-7th
🧭 More stories and updates: https://stories.howtocitizen.com
🎙️ This story series is a collaborative effort by Shira Abramowitz, Jon Alexander, Elizabeth Stewart, and Baratunde Thurston. Video produced by Tess Novotnoy.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Today we bring you Story #6 in our Week of Citizening. We’ve already shown you how people are rethinking democracy through libraries, labor, and school boards. Now we’re headed to a place often overlooked but brimming with democratic possibility: West Virginia.
See the visuals and links to all these stories here: https://newsletter.baratunde.com/p/dont-wait-for-better-leaders-become
We’re told politics is about picking the lesser of evils. Ordering off a fixed menu. But what if we left the table… and headed for the kitchen? That’s what the folks behind West Virginia Can’t Wait are doing. And it’s a clear sign that democracy is evolving.
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They’ve passed legislation that’s rare even in liberal strongholds
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They don’t run candidates but communities
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They help hold elected officials accountable and offer ongoing support
This is what Jon Alexander calls the shift from Consumer Democracy to Citizen Democracy. Not just new processes like Citizens’ Assemblies or Participatory Budgeting (though we love those too) — but real people getting a grip on the systems we’ve got, starting from where we are.
“One of the things I’m most proud of in my career is helping to demystify politics. It’s just everyday work for everyday folks.”
— Rosemary Ketchum, West Virginia Can’t Wait
This isn’t happening in some liberal stronghold. This is Appalachia — a place many assume to be too red, too rigid, too far gone. But that’s just not the whole story. I’ve seen firsthand the level of commitment and creativity in Appalachia through my recent travels there for my PBS America Outdoors show. Trust me, these stories are happening in all sorts of underestimated places.
💬 Who else is opening politics to everyday people?
Sign up to share and discover more stories like this: https://stories.howtocitizen.com
Video Produced by: Tess Novotnoy
Week of Citizening Collaborators: Baratunde Thurston, Jon Alexander, Shira Abramowitz, Elizabeth Stewart
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.