After a brief discussion of current events and what you can do (call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected to your Congressional representatives), I delve into a new series about the process of getting my book, Get Well: How the Pandemic and the Wellness Industry Make the Case for Prison Abolition, published. I’m learning as I go, and I thought it would be fun and a good accountability mechanism to share the steps with listeners.

2026 is not starting out quietly. Here are some thoughts on the US abducting Venezuela's president and his wife.

Back in 2023, I did an episode on Postcards to Voters, an organization that writes to registered Democratic voters to boost turnout and win elections. Now, I interview the founder of Postcards to Voters, Tony the Democrat, to catch us up on what Postcards to Voters is working on and how to get involved. Action is the antidote to despair and who couldn’t use a little hope right now?

To volunteer, email join@tonythedemocrat.org

Website: https://postcardstovoters.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TonyTheDemocrat.org/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/tovoters.bsky.social

In today's episode, I interview Joshua Barousse, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit news outlet San Jose Spotlight. We discuss the importance of local, independent journalism.

Looking for your local nonprofit newspaper? Check out the Institute for Nonprofit News to find yours.

I review the excellent, Oscar-nominated film Ainda Estou Aqui (I'm Still Here) about Brazil's military dictatorship and what it says about the current regime in the US.

Continuing on the theme of navigating modern times and the importance of our closest relationships, particularly friendship, I share a piece I wrote recently:Playing Capoeira in Beirut.

I did not buy this book to get through the current moment, but it is helping me get through the current moment. A beautiful story of how to live through dictatorship, particularly about the role of friendship. “The question, arguably the most important question of all, is how to escape the demands of unreasonable men.”

My Friends by Hisham Matar

*sorry if you can hear a faint noise in the background of the recording - I had my heater on!

We're a week away from the inauguration, and I keep thinking about my recent visit to the Equal Justice Initiative's Legacy Sites in Montgomery, Alabama. That visit made it all make sense.