People of Agency

Season 1 told the 250-year history of the U.S. Postal Service, but we weren't really talking about mail. We were talking about how ordinary people build public institutions, and how power tries to take them back. Season 2 is about journalism. The free press and the postal service grew up together. In 1792, the Post Office Act subsidized newspaper delivery at rates way below cost. Not because it was profitable. Because democracy requires informed citizens. That subsidy created an explosion of diverse media: abolitionist papers, labor papers, Black newspapers, immigrant language papers, alt-weeklies, news that served communities, not shareholders. What We'll Cover: How news distribution was treated as democracy infrastructure for 200 years The shift to the 24-hour news cycle and clickbait economics Corporate consolidation and the death of local journalism How we're told there's "no business model" for news, when we had one for two centuries The pattern: defund public infrastructure, let it fail, claim it's obsolete, privatize what's left We subsidized news distribution as public infrastructure. Then we stopped, called it "letting the free market work," and now journalism serves shareholders instead of citizens. Just like Season 1 showed with the postal service, the history isn't just loss, it's also resistance. Muckrakers, underground papers during McCarthyism, the alternative press movement, community radio. Ordinary people fighting to keep news serving communities instead of profits. Season 2 will show how we built a free press, how it's been contested and controlled throughout history, and what it would take to make it serve democracy again. The fight over who controls information? That's never been more urgent than right now.   Season 2 coming: Spring of 2026

People of Agency Episode 14: Show Notes Episode 14: The Postal Service We Choose Explicit: No Summary August 2020. Three months before a presidential election, during a pandemic, postal workers watch perfectly working mail sorting machines being dismantled, some cut with blowtorches, some thrown in dumpsters. 711 machines removed in a few months (double normal rate), 10% of national sorting capacity gone. When union leaders ask why, management says they're "no longer needed" while mail volume surges.  Episode 14, the season finale, covers the last five years of postal crisis and resistance. Louis DeJoy becomes Postmaster General with zero postal experience, $1.2M in Trump donations, and $30-75M in XPO Logistics stock (a USPS contractor) the Board hired him without official candidate search. He bans overtime, machines get dismantled, mail slows dramatically. Federal judge rules in September 2020 that DeJoy's actions were "voter disenfranchisement." But postal workers delivered anyway: 99.89% of 2020 ballots within 7 days, 900 million COVID tests (average 1.2 days delivery), 91% public approval rating.  The organizing worked. Grand Alliance coordinated 80+ organizations, demonstrations at 300 post offices, and April 2022's Postal Service Reform Act eliminated the prefunding mandate with overwhelming bipartisan support. Then July 2025: the Post Office turns 250 while privatization forces circle. DeJoy resigns March 2025 after fighting off DOGE's merger attempts. David Steiner (former FedEx board member) becomes the 76th Postmaster General. Amazon contract expires October 2026 ($6B revenue loss), USPS launches reverse auction platform diversifying beyond one customer. Wells Fargo publishes actual privatization roadmap recommending 30-140% rate increases. DOGE, Koch network, Heritage Foundation all pushing dismantlement. But 102 million Americans would face higher prices under privatization, 16 Republicans cosponsored anti-privatization resolutions, rural senators defending universal service.  The lesson after 250 years: institutions serve whoever fights for them. The 2022 Reform Act proved organizing works. Public support exists (91% approval). The infrastructure exists (Grand Alliance, 500,000 union members, bipartisan rural defenders). The choice is whether we organize or surrender by default. Key takeaways to listen for [00:03:00] Act I - The DeJoy Era & COVID: Louis DeJoy appointed with zero postal experience, $1.2M Trump donations, $30-75M XPO stock (didn't divest until 2022), no official candidate search; 711 machines removed (double normal rate), overtime banned, mail leaves unloaded; 83 postal workers dead by Sept 2020, 18,000 out sick daily at peak, but 900M COVID tests delivered averaging 1.2 days, 91% approval rating (highest federal agency, bipartisan) [00:19:45] Act II - When the Post Office Shows Up: August 2020 warnings to 46 states about ballot deadlines, Trump openly linking USPS defunding to blocking mail voting, federal judge ruling DeJoy's actions were "voter disenfranchisement"; 99.89% of 2020 ballots delivered within 7 days (1.6 day average), 99% within 3 days in 2022 midterms, 94% on-time in North Carolina despite Hurricane Helene devastation; contrast with UPS suspending 1,000 Florida ZIP codes during Hurricane Ian while USPS legally required to serve everywhere [00:37:57] Act III - The Reform Act, Birthday, and Threats: April 2022 Reform Act eliminating prefunding mandate, wiping $57B accumulated debt, codifying 6-day delivery, passing with overwhelming bipartisan support from COVID organizing; July 2025 250th birthday while privatization threats circle; DeJoy resignation March 2025 after fighting DOGE merger attempts; David Steiner (FedEx board) as 76th Postmaster General; Amazon contract expiring Oct 2026 ($6B loss), reverse auction platform diversifying customers; Wells Fargo publishing privatization roadmap with 30-140% rate increases [00:51:50] Act IV - What We've Learned + How We Get

People of Agency Episode 13: Show Notes Episode 13: Insufficient Postage: How Other Countries Adapted While We Waited Explicit: No Summary December 30, 2025. A Danish postal worker delivers the last letter Denmark will ever send. After 401 years, postal service ends entirely. The 1,000 iconic red mailboxes get auctioned off, nostalgic Danes crash the website buying them as souvenirs. Starting January 1, 2026, mailing a letter costs $4.55 with no street mailboxes, only kiosks run by a private newspaper company. Denmark spent 25 years building e-Boks (mandatory digital mailbox system) before making this choice, but still left 271,000 digitally-exempt people behind.  Episode 13 reveals what happened globally while USPS fought for survival in the 2010s. The UK privatized Royal Mail in 2013, shares jumped 38% first day (taxpayers lost £750 million), service collapsed to 76.5% on-time delivery, stamp prices rose 183% (60p to £1.70), and 68% now want renationalization. Netherlands' PostNL fully privatized then begged for €68 million in subsidies (rejected).  Argentina privatized in 1997, went bankrupt in four years with $900 million debt, returned to profitable public ownership. Meanwhile, Switzerland stayed 100% public, diversified into logistics/banking/buses/digital services, ranks #1 in world for eight consecutive years with zero subsidies and 324 million franc profit. Germany privatized strategically (government kept 20.5% stake), bought DHL to become world's largest logistics company, built 42,000 electric vehicles in-house. France stayed 100% public, La Banque Postale serves 10.8 million including 3 million vulnerable households, 40,000 carriers do elder check-ins. Japan Post runs a $2.2 trillion bank serving nearly every adult.  But USPS? Section 102 made all of it illegal. Fiscal 2012 loss of $15.9 billion (87% from prefunding mandate), 88,000 jobs cut, two-tier wages for 120,000 workers, Board of Governors vacant for 5 years, Amazon partnership with questionable subsidies, but Informed Delivery got 50 million subscribers. Workers won the Staples fight, 3-year campaign with AFL-CIO boycott, 1.6 million teachers boycotting, international solidarity from 26 countries, forcing termination in 2017. The lesson: diversification, innovation, proper funding, and labor protections matter more than ownership structure. But USPS was legally prohibited from trying any of it. Key takeaways to listen for [00:05:18] Act I - When Privatization Goes Wrong: UK's Royal Mail privatized 2013 with 38% first-day share jump (£750M taxpayer loss), service dropping to 76.5% on-time with £37M in fines, stamp prices up 183% while 68% want renationalization; Netherlands' PostNL begging for €68M subsidies after privatization; New Zealand cutting urban delivery to 3 days/week while private DX Mail cherry-picks routes; Argentina's 1997 privatization going bankrupt in 4 years before profitable return to public ownership [00:18:05] Act II - When Public Ownership Works: Switzerland 100% public ranking #1 globally for 8 years with 324M franc profit, PostFinance holding 100B+ francs, PostBus carrying 183M passengers, ePost digital mailbox, SwissID with 3.4M users; Germany's strategic privatization keeping 20.5% government stake, acquiring DHL for 94.4B euro revenue, building 42,000 electric vehicles in-house; France's La Banque Postale serving 10.8M customers (3M vulnerable), 40,000 carriers doing elder check-ins; Japan Post's $2.2 trillion bank serving 115M adults [00:34:56] Act III - What America Was Doing (and Not Doing): Fiscal 2012 loss of $15.9B (87% from prefunding of $54.8B in losses 2007-2016), Patrick Donahoe cutting 88,000 jobs and 141 facilities while Congress blocks Saturday delivery elimination, Board of Governors vacant 2014-2019 (5 years without quorum), first-class mail dropping from 52% to 33% revenue while packages grow 170%, two-tier wage systems affecting 120,000 workers, Postal Pulse ranking 1st percentile with only 17% engage

(Content warning: Episode contains discussion of gun violence, workplace violence and toxic work environments) Summary Postmaster General William Henderson proposes giving every American a free government email address with the suffix ".us", with privacy protections like sealed mail, where the government can't read your correspondence without a warrant. Congress and customers reject it. Instead we got Gmail, where you're the product and corporations scan your messages to sell advertising.  Episode 12 reveals how the 1990s and 2000s became decades of systematic strangulation. Marvin Runyon arrived in 1992 with the nickname "Carvin' Marvin" (earned by laying off 7,000 TVA employees in one day) and eliminated 48,000 postal jobs through early retirement while overtime doubled to 140 million hours. The toxic management culture created the phrase "going postal" after workplace shootings between 1986-1999, but postal workers were actually three times LESS likely to be murdered at work (0.22 per 100,000) than the national average (0.77 per 100,000), the phrase stigmatized 800,000 workers for systemic failures. Automation eliminated 300,000 jobs while GAO reports showed savings were "taking longer and producing less than expected." Meanwhile, the Post Office tried repeatedly to innovate: Electronic Postmark (1996) doing blockchain-style digital authentication 13 years before Bitcoin, PosteCS (2000) doing secure document delivery 3 years before DocuSign, eBillPay (2000) before online payment became standard, and Henderson's partnership discussions with Jeff Bezos before UPS grabbed the deal. All canceled or blocked. Then came the 2006 Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act, creating the prefunding mandate we covered in Episode 7, but also Section 102: legally prohibiting the Post Office from offering "nonpostal services" that might compete with private firms. No email, no digital notarization, no postal banking.  The law passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition, locking the Post Office into physical mail delivery just as mail collapsed. FedEx spent $12 million lobbying in 2012 alone while the Post Office was legally prohibited from lobbying Congress. Corporate capture became law, and every digital service Americans need, email, banking, document authentication, stayed private and profitable while the Post Office was prevented from adapting. Key takeaways to listen for [00:00:00] Introduction [00:06:20] Act I - Carvin' Marvin: The Restructuring Pressure Cooker: How Marvin Runyon eliminated 48,000 jobs through early retirement and 23,000 management positions while overtime doubled from 69 million to 140 million hours, why the GAO found 49% of workers weren't treated with dignity and 52,000 grievances backlogged for up to 696 days, and how "running like a business" meant treating workers as costs to minimize [00:16:24] Act II - Going Postal: When Institutions Break People: The 1986-1999 workplace shootings (34 postal employees killed in 29 incidents) that created the phrase, why postal workers were actually 0.22 per 100,000 murdered at work versus 0.77 national average (three times SAFER), how toxic management culture with arbitrary discipline (suspended for saying "damn" to yourself) and collapsed grievance systems broke workers, and why 800,000 postal workers got stigmatized for systemic failures [00:31:14] Act III - Automation: Who Pays for Efficiency?: DBCS machines processing 40,000 letters/hour with 2 operators versus 30,000/hour with 17 operators, how 300,000 career jobs were eliminated (clerks down 45.9% from 1990-2010), why GAO found automation was "taking longer and producing less than expected" with $761 million in exceeded work hour costs, and how the no-layoff clause couldn't protect against jobs being automated out of existence [00:39:44] Act IV - The Digital Future They Tried to Build: Electronic Postmark (1996) doing blockchain-style authentication 13 years before Bitcoin, PosteCS (2000) secure docu

January 4, 1982. Postmaster General William Bolger sends the first official E-COM message, Electronic Computer-Originated Mail, a brilliant hybrid system where businesses transmit messages electronically to the Post Office, which prints and delivers them. The concept could have made the Post Office your internet provider. Instead, AT&T used the Postal Rate Commission to kill it. They forced the Post Office to use outside telecommunications companies (meaning AT&T profits), jacked the price from 15 cents to 26 cents (60% increase), and designed restrictions guaranteeing failure. E-COM lost $5.25 on every letter and hemorrhaged $40 million before shutting down in 1985. Fourteen years later, the guy who designed E-COM started his own company doing the exact same thing, UPS bought it for $100 million. Episode 11 reveals how the 1980s became a decade of corporate strangulation: INTELPOST failed even worse (under $60,000 revenue on $6 million investment), creating institutional trauma that scared postal leadership away from electronic services right when the internet emerged. Meanwhile, Postmaster General Bolger rolled out presorted mail discounts that spawned the modern junk mail industry, bulk mail jumped 41% in one year, creating a $135 billion direct mail industry by 1986 while stamp prices rose 67%. Reagan's Grace Commission pushed privatization with 2,478 recommendations, but postal workers and rural voters had enough political power to stop it. The Heritage Foundation's plan to contract out 7,000 rural routes died instantly from constituent backlash. Private carriers got to cream-skim profitable routes after 1979 regulatory changes while the Post Office kept universal service obligations. The Post Office survived the decade but emerged traumatized, dependent on junk mail, and unable to compete in electronic services, exactly what corporations wanted. Key takeaways to listen for [00:00:00] Introduction  [00:05:33] Act I - The Electronic Mail Service AT&T Had to Kill: How Gene Johnson designed E-COM to intercept electronic messaging before it bypassed physical mail, why AT&T complained about competing with "a government agency with its own police force," how the Postal Rate Commission forced 26-cent pricing and outside telecom use that destroyed the business model, and why UPS paid $100 million for Mail2000 doing the exact same thing [00:15:52] Act II - INTELPOST and the Trauma That Lasted Decades: The "fastest mail on earth" satellite fax service that required post office visits on both ends, how it transmitted under 12,000 pages in three years while FedEx's ZapMail lost $300 million on the same concept, and why institutional trauma from failures made leadership avoid electronic services when the internet emerged [00:24:38] Act III - How Junk Mail Became the Business Model: Bolger's presorted mail discounts making bulk mail jump 41% in 1981, how the $135 billion direct mail industry emerged while stamp prices rose 67% (15 cents to 25 cents), and why worksharing discounts often exceeded actual cost savings, meaning the Post Office subsidized corporate mailers [00:33:37] Act IV - The Privatization That Almost Happened: Reagan's Grace Commission with 2,478 recommendations claiming $298 billion in savings (CBO said actually $98 billion), how the Heritage Foundation's rural route contracting proposal died from immediate backlash, cream-skimming after 1979 Private Express Statute suspension, and why annual Congressional appropriation riders protected six-day delivery and rural service levels [00:49:51] Act V - What the 1980s Teach Us About Defending Public Institutions: How 800,000 postal workers in every congressional district plus rural voters created political power corporations couldn't overcome, why regulatory capture (AT&T controlling the Postal Rate Commission) defeated unions that could stop direct privatization, and the lesson that defense isn't the same as thriving, the Post Office survi