What do we do next?

About What do we do next?

Overwhelmed by the news? Same. So instead of doom-scrolling, every week I sit down with people actually doing something, and hand you one thing you can do next. No breaking news, just direction. Hosted by me, Molly Ruland, founder of Heartcast Media.

Publisher

Molly Ruland

Category

government · news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

12 May 2025

Latest episode

8 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

9 of 42 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   8 Aug 2026

   Leaving MAGA: One Betrayal Too Many with Rich Logis

   What Do We Do Next? podcast. Hosted by Molly Ruland, CEO and Founder, Heartcast Media. Guest: Rich Logis, Founder and Executive Director, Leaving MAGA. What does it take to walk away from a movement you helped build? Rich Logis spent seven years as an active MAGA pundit, activist, and campaign contributor. Then he looked hard at what he had helped create and decided to spend the next chapter of his life dismantling it. This episode is about the courage it takes to change your mind in public, and what happens when you do. Rich Logis is the founder and executive director of Leaving MAGA, an organization supporting people leaving the MAGA movement, people having doubts, and families of people still in it. He worked on Donald Trump's campaign, wrote for Fox News, The Federalist, RealClearPolitics, and WorldNetDaily. He published a public mea culpa on August 30, 2022, has appeared on CNN, and is the author of the memoir One Betrayal Too Many. Leaving MAGA is now in its third year, with a nationwide billboard campaign running in 20 states. Key Takeaways Rich Logis opened the interview with an unprompted, on-air apology to Molly before she asked him a single question. Rich Logis says the first crack in his MAGA identity came not from Trump but from Ron DeSantis platforming COVID anti-vaxxers during the Delta surge in summer 2021. Rich Logis says the Uvalde school shooting on May 24, 2022 was his final breaking point, and that leaving MAGA privately was not enough given how public his support had been. Rich Logis says that telling people they are wrong does not work, and recommends instead a practice he calls information bartering, an exchange of news sources designed to widen the information aperture rather than change minds directly. Rich Logis says that people in MAGA and people outside it share more common ground than MAGA media allows them to see, including shared hopes for economic opportunity, affordable housing, good schools, and a safe country. Rich Logis said, "When you leave MAGA, you become what I like to say, a born again human being. Leaving MAGA for me was good for my soul, psyche, and my mental health." Rich Logis said, "I was addicted to rage and fear. I was always angry at somebody or some group, always fearful of somebody or some group, and the media I consumed reinforced and affirmed those addictions." Timestamps 00:00 Introduction and Rich Logis background 01:16 Rich Logis opens with an unprompted on-air apology 02:08 What were the first cracks in the MAGA identity 03:03 Ron DeSantis and the Delta surge turning point 03:40 Diversifying news sources and a year of reckoning 05:06 The public mea culpa published August 30, 2022 06:21 How Leaving MAGA the organization was born 07:37 Why community is the engine of MAGA devotion 10:02 Molly on government failure and pandemic loneliness 12:18 Are we near a tipping point, is it speeding up 14:42 The multi-decade propaganda machine and addiction to rage 17:36 Information bartering and how to start the conversation 20:22 What leaving MAGA actually requires 22:29 Molly's father and finding common ground 23:07 Molly's account of being detained by ICE in Miami 26:35 How MAGA has torn families apart and what to do now 28:49 Why now is an opportune time to reach the disillusioned 31:18 Molly on obligation, love, and the limits of cutting people off 33:48 Taking the Michelle Obama approach and fighting cynicism 36:27 How to support the Leaving MAGA movement 40:31 Closing and call to action Connect with Rich Logis Website: https:/ /leavingmaga.org/ Facebook: https:/ /www.facebook.com/LeavingMAGA/ X: https:/ /x.com/LeavingMAGA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leavingmaga YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LeavingMAGA/playlists Threads: https://www.threads.net/@leavingmaga LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/leavingmaga TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@leavingmaga Podcast: https://rss.com/podcasts/leavingmaga/

2. 

   11 Jul 2026

   Turning Anxiety into Action with Gary Lucks

   A field manual for everyday changemakers who are done doom-scrolling and ready to move. There is a moment in every political crisis when worry stops being useful. Gary Lucks hit that moment in 2004, after John Kerry narrowly lost to George W. Bush, and instead of retreating, he started a group. That group helped flip seats. Then he did it again. And again. And now, with his book We Are the Power, he is handing the playbook to the rest of us on this episode of What Do We Do Next podcast. This episode is for anyone who feels the weight of the current moment and wants to turn anxiety into action that actually moves the needle. Not just protest. Not just posting. Real, strategic, skill-matched civic engagement from someone who has been doing it for 40 years. Gary Lucks is an environmental attorney with close to 500 compliance audits behind him, a law school textbook to his name, founder of one of the first Indivisible legacy chapters now 1,200 members strong, and author of You Are Not Alone and We Are the Power. He is a scientist, a teacher, a whitewater rafter, and a man who believes the cavalry is not coming, so we better become it ourselves. Key Takeaways Commit time first. Gary says most people spend four or more hours a week worrying. Take three of those hours and sign a written commitment to act. A contract creates emotional follow-through. Join a group. People in groups are healthier, happier, and more resilient. Indivisible has 2,500 plus chapters nationwide. Plug in your zip code at indivisible.org and find yours or start one with five people. Lean into your skill set. Lawyers can do legal vote protection. Teachers can motivate students to register voters. Tech people can support campaigns that desperately need media, branding, and digital help. Everyone has something to offer. Host a virtual Zoom fundraiser. Gary's Indivisible group raised $450,000 in three months during the pandemic using virtual parties for democracy. On average, hosts generate $10,000 in a single one-hour Zoom call. Far less effort than in-person events, far more impact. Spend time in purple states now. Knock on doors, make phone calls, take Election Day off. Gary spent four weekends in Nevada and Tucson in 2024. It is not glamorous, he says, but the alternative is not just unglamorous. It is dangerous. Gary said, "The way I navigate is I just have to turn anxiety into action. That is the only way I assuage my concern." Gary said, "I can't imagine waking up on November 4th thinking, I wish I had done a little bit more. And now we are in autocracy. We are close to it already, and it is not an exaggeration to say that." Timestamps 00:00 Gary Lucks introduction and 40 years of civic engagement. 01:40 The catalyst. From behind the scenes policy work to founding Progressive Action East Bay. 03:19 The Kerry loss, the Obama complacency lesson, and the birth of Resistance Action East Bay. 07:28 What people need to know right now and how to commit time to action. 09:50 The written commitment pledge and the menu of 80 vetted organizations in the book. 12:10 Why protesting alone is not enough and what to do beyond it. 13:20 Virtual Zoom fundraising parties. How one Indivisible group raised $450,000 in three months. 19:06 The 80 organizations in We Are the Power, organized by category and available nationwide. 23:14 Lean into your skill set. Musicians, lawyers, teachers, tech workers, all have a role. 26:34 Knocking on doors, swing state weekends, and legal vote protection. 29:12 Turning grief into resolve. Stages of grief, political therapy, and joining a group. 33:48 The Democratic Socialist question, big tent strategy, and why abandoning the party is perilous. 38:07 The States Project, 50-state strategy, and why investing in red states matters long term. 42:01 Rich Logis, Leaving MAGA, and reaching people who have been misled by disinformation. 45:21 Final call to action. Leave it all on the playing field. We are the power. Connect with Gary Lucks Book, We Are the Power: https://www.wearethepowerbook.com Indivisible chapter finder: https://indivisible.org Activate America: https://www.activateamerica.vote The States Project: https://statesproject.org Swing Left: https://swingleft.org

3. 

   4 Jul 2026

   Reading the Right: Inside Conservative Media with Howard Polskin

   What happens when a veteran journalist reads 15 right-wing headlines every single day so you don't have to. Most of us scroll past the other side. Howard Polskin scrolls straight into it, every morning, on purpose. He launched The Righting in September 2017, the world's only newsletter dedicated to analyzing right-wing media for mainstream and progressive audiences, and he has not stopped since. If you want to understand what the other side is actually reading, thinking, and feeling, this episode of What Do We Do Next is where you start. Turning anxiety into action means understanding the full picture, not just the half that confirms what you already believe. Howard's work is a masterclass in civic engagement: reading across the divide, calling balls and strikes on the data, and finding the kernel of truth buried under the noise. This is how to take action that matters, one newsletter at a time. Howard Polskin spent decades in communications at the highest levels of American media, including as Vice President of Corporate Communications at Sony Corporation of America, Executive Vice President of Communications and Events at MPA, the trade association for the magazine industry, and in communications for CNN. A Syracuse Newhouse graduate and board advisor, he has judged the Mirror Award since 2006. His monthly traffic reports on right-wing websites are cited by influential outlets and readers worldwide, including people high in government, media, and politics. He writes for MSN, Mediaite, and the Columbia Journalism Review, and appeared on Fast Politics with Molly Jong-Fast in April 2026. Key Takeaways Howard launched The Righting the morning after the 2016 election, driven by the question of what shaped people's opinions, and was pushed over the edge by Charlottesville in August 2017. The newsletter curates 15 right-wing headlines daily and can be read in two minutes, making civic engagement with the other side accessible without hours of podcast consumption. Howard calls balls and strikes on the data regardless of source: when his research showed Infowars growing exponentially, he reported it, and Alex Jones boasted about it in a tweet. Howard says he stopped trying to convince anyone on the right of his views years ago, preferring to ask, "Can we have a cup of coffee?" as a path to better understanding. Both Molly and Howard agree that the fractured media environment, where people seek only sources that affirm their existing views, is one of the most damaging forces in civic life today. Howard said, "I thought I was smart, I thought I was well informed, but I was missing half the picture that was being pushed out to the American public." Howard said, "The more information you have, the more points of view you have, the better off you are." Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to Howard Polskin and The Righting. 02:02 What moment pushed Howard to launch the newsletter. 03:55 Charlottesville and the September 2017 launch. 05:49 How his CNN and Nielsen research background shaped the project. 07:27 Right-wing readers and the Heritage Foundation friendship. 10:24 How Howard stomachs reading extremist content daily. 13:08 What the left gets wrong about the right. 15:41 Listening instead of talking over, and finding common ground. 16:31 Right-wing writers Howard respects as craftspeople. 22:23 Parallel universes and the collapse of universal truths. 26:41 What would happen if more people read The Righting. 29:57 Allyship, real conversations, and righting the ship. Connect with Howard Polskin Newsletter: https://therighting.com MSN: https://www.msn.com Mediaite: https://www.mediaite.com Columbia Journalism Review: https://www.cjr.org

Who has been a guest on What do we do next?

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Dr Margaret Cochran
• Frank A Spring
• Eva Posner
• Ian Taronji

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

8 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 13 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

13

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

Questions about What do we do next?