What if democracy involved fewer town halls, and more dance parties? What if our civic engagement also brought us snacks, new friends, and creative joy? This week, Nora and Marcus speak with Evan Weissman, founder of Denver's Warm Cookies of the Revolution, about his wonderfully unhinged experiment in making civic life actually enjoyable. Think Tax Day carnivals, lucha libre, Hot Wheels-powered participatory budgeting, and the radical proposition that regular people should have some actual power over the places where they live. It's a conversation about joy as political fuel, why being right isn't the same as winning, and what happens when building a better world starts feeling less like mandatory homework and more like somewhere you'd actually want to be.

Mentioned in the episode:

Arturo Béjar and Trials against Meta | Zuck's boat not responding to an SOS | USS Abraham Lincoln | Death of Jason Arday | Vigil for Jason Arday | Claudine Gay | Warm Cookies of the Revolution | Librarians hosting how to resist AI workshops | Furious (TV Series) |

Related Episodes:

Laura Marquez-Garrett | Sen. Chris Murphy

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Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare | Readying to Rise

Music: No Tears for a Wolf · Ahamefule J. Oluo · Okanomodé. Used with permission.

Logo by Nikki Barron.

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