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White Books and Curriculum Damage Black Children

White Books and Curriculum Damage Black Children

USA, Washington D.C., Supreme Court building and blurred American flag against blue sky.

The Supreme Court Has a Legitimacy Problem—But Washington’s Monopoly on Power Is the Real Crisis

Listen Up, Trump Supporters!

Listen Up, Trump Supporters!

AI Bubble Warning: Big Tech’s $3 Trillion Gamble Could Mirror 2008 Crash

AI Bubble Warning: Big Tech’s $3 Trillion Gamble Could Mirror 2008 Crash

​Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Marjorie Taylor Greene Resigns: The Primary Problem Exposes America’s Broken Election System

Podcast: Vital Signs of Democracy

Podcast: Vital Signs of Democracy
Debilyn Molineaux
By Debilyn MolineauxFeb 09, 2023
Debilyn Molineaux

Debilyn Molineaux is the catalyst of JEDIfutures.org , a global initiative that helps people imagine and create just, equitable, dignified, and inclusive futures. She is best known for her pioneering work in civic innovation, having co-founded Bridge Alliance, Living Room Conversations, and National Week of Conversation. She formerly acted as co-publisher for The Fulcrum. Across these efforts, Debilyn has brought together unlikely allies to co-create solutions for democracy, governance, and social transformation.

Her work lives at the intersection of strategy, systems change, and spirit. A long-time practitioner of personal and collective growth, she brings a deep commitment to the inner dimensions of change that are often overlooked but essential to transformation. Debilyn speaks of the “interstitial spaces” — the connective tissue between people, institutions, and movements — where new possibilities take root.

She also hosts the podcast Terrified Nation, which helps audiences move from fear and despair into courage and action. Her voice is sought by impact investors, changemakers, and visionary leaders who want to align resources, imagination, and human growth toward a thriving future for all.

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Every story we hear on the news, online or in a meme about government and our fellow citizens will become the future we create. That's what Vital Signs of Democracy is -- a quick score to let us assess how we in the USA are weakening or strengthening our collective story about our democratic republic. Are we telling stories that support autocracy? Or democracy? Our podcast is an overview of the latest competing narratives for the future of our nation. We will explore how the latest news impacts the score. We'll end each episode with stories we've found that tell a better story for us to consider.

In this extended, inaugural episode, we outline what Vital Signs of Democracy is, and examine how the news, in aggregate, tells us a story about the future of our democratic republic, or democracy for short. Included in this episode is an overview of the two primary "Make America Great" stories that are competing for our attention. One is the MAGA story or returning to a nostalgic past. The other story to make America great is to advance to a multicultural, pluralistic society. Each of these stories demonize the people who prefer the other story. We include commentary about corporate media, social media, the issues used to divide us to profit (for media) or to motivate voters issue by issues. Listen to this episode and find a new way to think about the news.

Listen here.

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Democracy

Want to Influence Government? Start With Your Story

Let's End Felony Disenfranchisement. Virginia May Lead the Way
Electoral Reforms

Let's End Felony Disenfranchisement. Virginia May Lead the Way

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Media & Technology

America’s Unnamed Crisis

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Why Is the American Economy Designed to Punish the People Who Build It?

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Federal Funding Cuts Are Only One Problem Facing America’s Colleges and Universities
Getty Images, tc397

Federal Funding Cuts Are Only One Problem Facing America’s Colleges and Universities

Higher education is under stress. The highest-profile threat has been the Trump administration’s efforts to cut funding to several universities, including Harvard, Columbia and Northwestern.

Research universities heavily depend on federal money to conduct research and carry out other areas of work. For example, after tuition, federal money allocated for research made up 40% of the total revenue for two major research universities – Johns Hopkins University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology – in the 2022-23 academic year.

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Workshops, Street Promotions and Alleged Covert Operations: Russian Propaganda in Latin America

Workshops, Street Promotions and Alleged Covert Operations: Russian Propaganda in Latin America

Amid political unrest ahead of Mexico’s 2024 presidential election —between late 2023 and early 2024—, Russian state media outlet Russia Today (RT) launched a street-level promotional campaign in Mexico City. Posters appeared in Metro and Metrobús stations, encouraging commuters to scan a QR code to watch the channel’s newscasts.

The host of RT’s program Ahí les va also mocked accusations that the channel spreads propaganda on his YouTube show.Photos from the Telegram account “¡Ahí les va!”

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An illustration of an AI chatbot and an iphone.

AI is transforming how people seek help, share stories, and connect online. This article examines what’s at stake for social media and the future of human connection.

Getty Images, Malorny

What Happens to Online Discussion Forums When AI Is First Place People Turn?

No doubt social media and online discussion forums have played an integral role in most everyone’s daily digital lives. Today, more than 70% of the U.S. adults use social media, and over 5 billion people worldwide participate in online social platforms.

Discussion forums alone attract enormous engagement. Reddit has over 110 million daily active users, and an estimated 300 million use Q&A forums like Quora per month, and 100 million per month use StackExchange. People seek advice, learn from others’ experiences, share questions, or connect around interests and identities.

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A Lasting Solution to the Gerrymandering War
A view of the capitol building from across the street
Photo by Joel Volz on Unsplash

A Lasting Solution to the Gerrymandering War

Perhaps the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee knew what was coming. As an early proponent of a federal bill banning mid-decade gerrymandering, she now appears to have been ahead of her time. Indeed, today, no fewer than seven bills in Congress bear her legacy of concern for fair representation in redistricting. That’s more than any other time in modern congressional history.

The story of the current gerrymandering war flows through her home state of Texas. The legal fight over congressional maps after the 2010 census was complicated; the U.S. Supreme Court struck down several sets of maps as racial gerrymanders.

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