How To Citizen with Baratunde

Recorded live at The Conduit in London in September 2024, Baratunde and Elizabeth Stewart sit down with their friend and longtime collaborator Jon Alexander, author of CITIZENS and co-host of the podcast How To Save Democracy, for a conversation about citizen as a verb: the radical, hopeful idea that democracy isn't something we have, it's something we do. They get into the story we inherited about independence, the older and truer story about interdependence, the four pillars of citizening, and why a moment when so much feels like it's collapsing is exactly the moment to start building. The timing is no accident. On Saturday, June 13, 2026 Jon takes the TED Democracy stage in Philadelphia at the birthplace of American independence, during America's 250th, to make the case for interdependence. A British man crossing the Atlantic to tell us the move is getting back together. Keep practicing democracy. The verb, not the noun. CHAPTERS 00:00:00 "We're gonna need some builders" (cold open) 00:02:11 Welcome to How To Save Democracy 00:02:45 How this London night came together 00:03:40 Citizen as a verb, and the shift from head to heart 00:05:40 Latent love: citizen, not consumer 00:07:25 Story as the most powerful technology we have 00:09:45 Consumer democracy and the only restaurant in town 00:10:59 Why the vote still matters 00:12:06 Head, heart, and gut 00:16:24 Co-authors of this world: nature, each other, machines 00:20:29 The four pillars, one at a time 00:21:00 Pillar 1 - Invest in relationships (including with yourself) 00:29:45 Pillar 2 - Understand power (and your attention) 00:33:35 Pillar 3 - Commit to the collective (Bahrain and Broadband Bruce) 00:44:10 Pillar 4 - Show up and participate 00:44:25 Questions from the room 00:46:42 Belonging, authoritarianism, and the case for builders 00:49:38 Burnout, rupture, and repair 00:52:35 Doomsday Preppers: two ways to survive 00:54:10 How might we live together, period 00:56:35 Citizens, not just consumers LINKS How To Save Democracy with Omezzine Khelifa & Jon Alexander: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-save-democracy/id1823945285 American Indigenous Democracy: A Call for Interdependence — the book from Haudenosaunee elders and wisdom keepers: https://americanindigenousdemocracy.com Jon Alexander / CITIZENS: https://jonalexander.net See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Masculinity, AI, and Democracy with Baratunde Thurston & Mike de la Rocha

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.