Welcome back to The Community Curiosity Collective! In a time of massive political and economic inequality, the ultimate question is: Can we use the Constitution—the foundational document of our democracy—to truly make our country a better place for average and poor Americans?

This week, we explore the revolutionary efforts to enact New Constitutional Amendments aimed at correcting glaring American issues. We dive into two major movements:

1. Political Equity: The push to Overturn Citizens United to limit political spending and the movement to Establish a Right to Vote for all citizens, ensuring a voice for low-income and marginalized communities.
2. Socio-Economic Rights: The bold campaign for an Economic Bill of Rights, inspired by FDR, which would constitutionally guarantee rights like adequate medical care, a decent home, and a good education.

We introduce our Word of the Week: Entrenchment, and in our segment, That's Actually an Upside!, we flip the biggest frustration on its head: Why the difficulty of amending the Constitution is actually its greatest strength, promoting stability and broad consensus.

Finally, we recognize Ralph Abele, the Unsung Hero who championed the environmental rights amendment in Pennsylvania, and hit our Reality Check to prove why the effort to amend the Constitution is a foundational change that fuels movements, not stops them. This episode is about using the ultimate tool to achieve the ultimate upside: a more equitable, just, and durable future.

Show Notes:

28th Amendment Proposed | Congress.gov

American Promise

Move to Amend

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly about The Electoral College | Monmouth University

Equal Rights Amendment

Ralph W. Abele | Charles River Watershed Association

Biden declares Equal Rights Amendment ‘law of the land’ in probably symbolic statement | PBS News

Welcome back to The Upsiders! You've heard the complaints: Gen Z is lazy, disloyal, and hops jobs every year. But what if those behaviors are actually smart, pragmatic responses to a difficult labor market—and are helping companies become more dynamic?

This week, we debunk the pervasive myths about Gen Z in the workforce. We turn conventional wisdom on its head, starting with our segment, "That's Actually an Upside!", where we argue that job-hopping is now a feature, not a bug, that helps Gen Z find the right fit and avoid burnout.

In this episode, we dive into the data showing that even though Gen Z has already worked at an average of 2.7 companies in 2.8 years, they are also the generation most consistently driven by long-term career goals.

We also define our Word of the Week: "Coffee Badging," and reveal why 70% of bosses caught their employees doing it, yet nearly 60% "didn't mind." Plus, we recognize Alexia Cambon from Gartner as our Unsung Hero of the Upside for helping companies finally understand their youngest workers.

Join us for a Reality Check as we rapidly fire through seven common Gen Z stereotypes and prove why the generation that grew up online is actually the most ambitious, efficient, and pragmatic workforce we've ever seen.

Show Notes:

Job Hopping Is a Feature Not a Bug For Gen Zers | Revelio Labs

Generational Differences in the Workplace [Infographic] | Purdue Global

Job-hopping Gen Z only stay in each job 1 year and 54% are regularly browsing for their next role—but a report says they’re not disloyal villains | Fortune

Employers, beware: Gen Z is the ‘pragmatic generation’ redefining success, seeing money as just a means to an end, landmark EY survey says | Fortune

What is coffee badging? – a deep dive | OWL Labs

How to Appeal to Generation Z Candidates | Gartner

Alexia Cambon: Organisations are struggling to connect employees to culture in a hybrid world, so how will they overcome this? | HR Review

Welcome back to The Upsiders! When the rain falls, our cities—mostly covered in concrete and asphalt—have one goal: to get the water away as fast as possible. But what if the very thing we see as a problem, the rainwater, is actually a valuable resource?

This week, we dive into the brilliant, global concept of Sponge Cities: an urban planning model that uses nature-based solutions to absorb, store, and slowly release rainwater. Instead of fighting floods with expensive concrete dams, we are learning to let cities act like a sponge.

We spotlight the visionary work of Chinese urban planner Professor Kongjian Yu, the architect of the movement, and explore the "Slow Water" philosophy—which argues that when water stalls on the land, the magic happens.

In this episode, we explore the multi-layered Upside of Sponge Cities:

• Dual-Action Resilience: How green infrastructure like permeable pavements, rain gardens, and green roofs prevents flooding during storms and provides essential cooling during extreme heat events.
• From Problem to Resource: How decentralized systems recharge groundwater and improve water quality, boosting drought resilience.
• The Global Snapshot: We look at how cities from New York to Shanghai are implementing this "low-tech toolbox" to manage water sustainably.

Join us to discover why the best and cheapest way to adapt to climate change in cities might be to simply let water be water.

Show Notes:

Youtube: Flood-Proof Cities Concept | Professor Kongjian Yu's

Youtube: What are sponge cities? | Business Standard

Making cities 'spongy' could help fight flooding — by steering the water underground | NPR

What Are ‘Sponge Cities’ and How Can They Prevent Floods? | Engineering For Change

Youtube: A solarpunk future by 2030 | Future Explored

Urbanism 101: What is a Sponge City? | The Urbanist

Youtube: How China is designing flood-resistant cities | Vox

Book Review: Helping Water Find Its Own Level | Undark

Global Sponge Cities Snapshot | Arup

Youtube: Global Sponge Cities Snapshot | Arup

Youtube: The Shocking Corruption Behind LA's Water Supply | The B1M