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Get on democracy’s Love Train

Love Train feat. Jason Mraz, Chad Smith, Yo-Yo Ma | Turnaround Arts | Playing For Change (Click on Picture for Video)

It has been more than two months since The (New) Fulcrum was launched. At that time, we told you we would use the power of the arts to remind us of our shared heritages and traditions, which contribute to the health of our democracy.

Since then, we’ve presented music, poetry, theater and even comedy content as a bridge to the latest news and analysis of politics and policy that we publish daily. Our goal is to be a new civic and political voice to build greater social cohesion, civic engagement and problem-solving.


We thank you for your overwhelming support of this effort.

During this holiday season, a time of hope and celebration, what better way to bring in the new year than with a performance by Turnaround Arts, a national program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. They work in schools across the nation to use the power of the arts to improve our schools and connect communities.

The ability of Turnaround Arts to transform elementary and middle schools through arts education is clear. The initial three-year evaluation of the Turnaround Arts pilot schools, released in 2015 found, “significant improvement in academic achievement, reduction in disciplinary referrals and increases in attendance, among other findings. In addition, the study found that Turnaround Arts schools outperformed comparable schools in their city or state that received federal funds for school improvement (“SIG schools”).

The arts can indeed play a powerful role in turning our divided nation around. Please celebrate with us with this performance of “Love Train” featuring Jason Mraz, Chad Smith, Yo-Yo Ma, Jackson Browne and many more.

Get on board the Love Train with us as we strive to realize the dream of our nation's motto: “e pluribus unum.” Out of many, we are one.

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Interfaith Music Aims to Reclaim January 6 for Unity

Elena “La Fulana” Lacayo

Interfaith Music Aims to Reclaim January 6 for Unity

Music has played a significant role in uniting people of different faiths in the United States. From the Civil Rights era to the years following 9/11, Americans have used music to bridge religious divides and affirm their shared humanity. Interfaith music extends beyond worship and remains a lasting way for Americans to remember their common bonds. St. Augustine expressed the power of music in faith when he said “When I sing, I pray twice.”

In this spirit, The Fulcrum highlights stories during the holiday season that reflect universal themes. Messages of love, kindness, hope, and generosity resonate across cultures and traditions, reminding us that shared values are stronger than our divisions.

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The Tucson baseball team playing against the Águilas de Mexicali in the border city of Mexicali. Photo courtesy of the Tucson baseball team

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NOGALES, SONORA, MEXICO — What was meant to be a historic first for America’s pastime — a Mexican Pacific League baseball franchise anchored north of the border — has become a bureaucratic curveball.

The newly relocated Tucson, Arizona, baseball team — formerly the Mayos de Navojoa from Sonora, Mexico — has yet to fulfill a long-held dream shared by fans on both sides of the border: bringing professional Mexican winter baseball to U.S. soil.

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Bob Dylan | Xavier Badosa | Flickr

From Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar: How Protest Music Still Shapes America in 2025

Pop music has always been more than entertainment. Reflects society’s struggles, dreams, and contradictions.

Across the last fifty years, artists from Bob Dylan to Kendrick Lamar have given voice to war and peace, protest and resilience, identity and equality, economic struggle and hope. Their lyrics, written for a moment in time, echo with startling relevance in 2025.

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Don’t Be a Working Class Hero — Just Imagine!

John Lennon’s “Imagine” comforts, but his forgotten songs like “Working Class Hero” and “Gimme Some Truth” confront power — and that’s why they’ve been buried.

Getty Images, New York Times Co.

Don’t Be a Working Class Hero — Just Imagine!

Everyone knows John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

It floats through Times Square on New Year’s Eve, plays during Olympic ceremonies, and fills the air at corporate galas meant to celebrate “unity.” Its melody is tender, its message is simple, and its premise is seductive: If only we could imagine a world without possessions, borders, or religion, we would live in peace.

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