How To Citizen with Baratunde reimagines the word “citizen” as a verb and reminds us how to wield our collective power. So many of us want to do more in response to the problems we hear about constantly, but where and how to participate can leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless. Voting, while critically important, simply isn’t enough. It takes more to make this experiment in self-governance work! Listen in to learn new perspectives and practices from people working to improve society for the many. Join writer, activist, and comedian Baratunde Thurston on a journey beyond politics as usual that will leave us all more hopeful, connected, and moved to act.
How To Citizen with Baratunde
Claim This Podcastby iHeartPodcasts
3.8(2,213 reviews)
71 episodes
Updated Inactive
Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇺🇸
48
Podcast Authority
BetaFairBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality65
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement75
Podcast Overview
How To Citizen with Baratunde reimagines the word “citizen” as a verb and reminds us how to wield our collective power. So many of us want to do more in response to the problems we hear about constantly, but where and how to participate can leave us feeling overwhelmed and helpless. Voting, while critically important, simply isn’t enough. It takes more to make this experiment in self-governance work! Listen in to learn new perspectives and practices from people working to improve society for the many. Join writer, activist, and comedian Baratunde Thurston on a journey beyond politics as usual that will leave us all more hopeful, connected, and moved to act.
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
8/20/2020
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48
Podcast Authority
BetaFairBased on show quality, social media presence, reviews, charts, and more
Quality65
Social0
YouTube0
Engagement75
8
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excellent
Episode Length
6 minutes
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Recent Episodes
June 12, 2026
We're Gonna Need Some Builders — Live in London with Jon Alexander
<p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>Keep practicing democracy. The verb, not the noun.</p> <p>CHAPTERS</p> <p>00:00:00 "We're gonna need some builders" (cold open)<br>00:02:11 Welcome to How To Save Democracy<br>00:02:45 How this London night came together<br>00:03:40 Citizen as a verb, and the shift from head to heart<br>00:05:40 Latent love: citizen, not consumer<br>00:07:25 Story as the most powerful technology we have<br>00:09:45 Consumer democracy and the only restaurant in town<br>00:10:59 Why the vote still matters<br>00:12:06 Head, heart, and gut<br>00:16:24 Co-authors of this world: nature, each other, machines<br>00:20:29 The four pillars, one at a time<br>00:21:00 Pillar 1 - Invest in relationships (including with yourself)<br>00:29:45 Pillar 2 - Understand power (and your attention)<br>00:33:35 Pillar 3 - Commit to the collective (Bahrain and Broadband Bruce)<br>00:44:10 Pillar 4 - Show up and participate<br>00:44:25 Questions from the room<br>00:46:42 Belonging, authoritarianism, and the case for builders<br>00:49:38 Burnout, rupture, and repair<br>00:52:35 Doomsday Preppers: two ways to survive<br>00:54:10 How might we live together, period<br>00:56:35 Citizens, not just consumers</p> <p>LINKS</p> <p>How To Save Democracy with Omezzine Khelifa & Jon Alexander: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-to-save-democracy/id1823945285</p> <p>American Indigenous Democracy: A Call for Interdependence — the book from Haudenosaunee elders and wisdom keepers: https://americanindigenousdemocracy.com</p> <p>Jon Alexander / CITIZENS: https://jonalexander.net</p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>
June 4, 2026
Sacred Lessons in Masculinity, AI, and Democracy (with Mike de la Rocha)
Masculinity, AI, and Democracy with Baratunde Thurston & Mike de la Rocha
November 26, 2025
When the Military Is in the Streets w Gen. Stan McChrystal
<p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>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.</p> <p>For more from Baratunde, see <a href="https://newsletter.baratunde.com">his substack newsletter</a>. </p><p>See <a href="https://omnystudio.com/listener">omnystudio.com/listener</a> for privacy information.</p>
71 total episodes available
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