Civic Science

Bridge Makers: Becoming a Citizen Futurist answers an echoing call for a beginner’s guide to foresight. Drawing from her decades of experience in high-tech, April Reagan presents an array of historical information, tools, and research to guide listeners through an educational journey. Bridge Makers is designed as an easy listen that aims to spark an interest in every citizen to find agency in their anticipation of the future. This is done by painting the past, present, and future with optimism, while still encouraging all to maintain a sense of urgency to act.

Die Erzeugung von Angst ist äußerst hilfreich, um Herrschaft zu etablieren und zu stabilisieren. Das ist spätestens seit Machiavelli bekannt. Doch wer von Angst überwältigt wird, kann nicht frei sein. Politische Angst unterhöhlt Rechtsstaat und Demokratie. In der "Coronakrise" ist dies durch den repressiven, Angst erzeugenden staatlichen Zugriff auf Individuen und Gesellschaft vielen Menschen bewusst geworden. Ulrich Teusch zeigt, wie wir die Methoden der Angsterzeugung erkennen, uns schützen und wehren können.

If people, communities, or even nations lose their memory, they lose their character. That is why cultures throughout the world work at maintaining their identity and passing traditions along to future generations. But what if a nation purposely decides it no longer wants to remember its history? What if a country imposes amnesia on itself? Helen Krieble argues persuasively that this is precisely what has happened to America. It has lost the memory of its own founding principles, and the sacrifices made over the past 250 years to preserve them.

The idea that the three branches of US government are equal in power is taught in classrooms, proclaimed by politicians, and referenced in the media. But, as David Siemers shows, that idea is a myth, neither intended by the Founders nor true in practice. Siemers explains how adherence to this myth normalizes a politics of gridlock, in which the action of any branch can be checked by the reaction of any other. The Founders, however, envisioned a separation of functions rather than a separation of powers. Siemers argues that this view needs to replace our current view.

Still the Promised Land is the fascinating and deeply personal story of how an impoverished immigrant made his way to the new world, remade his life, and ultimately, became the chief financial officer of Washington, DC, playing a key role in transforming the nation's capital from a near-bankrupt municipality into a financially healthy major American city.

Extinction Rebellion (XR, for short) is an emergency response. Politics as usual, governments, as usual, have let down the peoples of the world in an extreme way: We are on course for eco-driven societal collapse, and we are extinguishing other species very rapidly. We could even end up making ourselves extinct. XR suggests that when your government is driving you and your family over a cliff, it is no longer a legitimate government. Rebellion against it is permitted - indeed, it is required. But XR is insistent that such rebellion must be nonviolent.

Equal parts information and inspiration, After You Vote: A Woman's Guide to Making an Impact, from Town Hall to Capitol Hill is both a primer and call-to-action for women of all ages who want to exercise their voices and engage more fully in civic life. It's the ultimate guide to political engagement, filled with practical (and proven) tactics to make your voice heard and have an influence on the issues you care about most - whatever those may be.

Power Shift charts the rise of Latino political power and its impact, from the breakthrough election of the first Mexican American to the Los Angeles City Council in 1949 to today’s leadership of California and its heavyweight role in polarized America. This inspiring story recounts the origins and development of 10 LA-based Latina and Latino leaders who transformed politics and government, forging a progressive political tradition in the process.

Based on interviews of military veterans by the authors, this book explains why so many of our American military heroes - those willing to put their lives on the line to protect the United States - now question if our nation is still the country they fought for.

The "boiling frog" is a metaphor for a society that has been lulled to sleep while perilous forces and corrupt leaders have endangered the world. We stand at an unprecedented crossroads in human history, where the choices and actions we take regarding climate change, income inequality, and technological innovations can either save or sink us as a species.

In a memoir both personal and public, Ken Reiman, a diplomat with dual nationality, tells the story of his heritage from a Japanese mother and American father, and his lifelong desire to serve the United States as a member of the U.S. Foreign Service in Japan. Reiman traces his education in Arizona, childhood summers in Japan, and his grandmothers’ love as driving forces behind his unwavering commitment to be a bridge between the U.S. and Japan. At 24, Reiman entered the world of diplomacy serving the U.S. with distinction in Asia, Africa, and South America.

Exploring the full sweep of federalism from the founding to today, Kettl focuses on pivotal moments when power has shifted between state and national governments - from the violent rebalancing of the Civil War, when the nation almost split in two, to the era of civil rights a century later, when there was apparent agreement that inequality was a threat to liberty and the federal government should set policies for states to enact. Despite this consensus, inequality between states has only deepened since that moment.

Saving Free Speech…from Itself sets the tone for the fractious discussion of how the First Amendment should be interpreted in today’s society and how the free speech aspect of it should not be weaponized by individuals and groups whose agenda includes causing harm to innocent people. In an era of political correctness, race-baiting, terrorist incitement, the "Danish" cartoons, the shouting down of speakers, and, of course, "fake news", liberals and conservatives are up in arms both about speech and its excesses, and what the First Amendment means. Speech has been weaponized.

Anything that alienates and divides us leaves us weak and exposed to disaster. Simple human compassion is more essential to our national resilience and strength than most of us recognize. Shallow values won’t suffice as the foundation of our social and cultural infrastructure. With anecdotes and unexpected stories about growing up during the '60s and '70s in Los Angeles and from her work in disaster recovery, Diane Burden Cox illustrates the importance of our relationships with each other to our national resilience.

Many of us are facing unprecedented attacks on our democracy, our privacy, and our hard-won civil rights. If you're Black in the US, this is not new. As Colorlines editors Akiba Solomon and Kenrya Rankin show, Black Americans subvert and resist life-threatening forces as a matter of course. In this audiobook, leading organizers, artists, journalists, comedians, and filmmakers offer wisdom on how they fight white supremacy. It's a must-listen for anyone new to resistance work, and for the next generation of leaders building a better future.

Whether the issues are protest, labor, patriotism, or class division, it is clear that professional sports are no longer simply fun and games. Rather, the industry is a hotbed of fractures and inequities that reflect and even drive some of the most divisive issues in our country. The nine provocative and deeply personal essays in Full Dissidence confront the dangerous narratives that are shaping the current dialogue in sports and mainstream culture.

There's a critical debate taking place over one of our most treasured rights: free speech. We argue about whether it's at risk, whether college students fear it, whether neo-Nazis deserve it, and whether the government is adequately upholding it. But as P. E. Moskowitz provocatively shows in The Case Against Free Speech, the term has been defined and redefined to suit those in power, and in recent years, it has been captured by the Right to push their agenda. What's more, our investment in the First Amendment obscures an uncomfortable truth

Helping the Good Do Better pulls back the curtain on the corridors of power in Washington to reveal how social change really happens. This book offers lessons from the trenches on how some of this generation's most defining social issues - AIDS, disabilities, global poverty, cancer, human trafficking, national service, early childhood education, and social entrepreneurship - engendered landmark federal policies. Each chapter tells the story of how a particular issue was shaped by the movements and legislation at the center of public debate.

America is at a crossroads. We are alienated from civic engagement, and our democracy is in doubt. Yet there is a new energy in the air. Young people are again taking up the role they've often held: as leaders of change, demanding a better future, wielding their votes to uphold democracy and lead the country forward. Enter Generation Citizen, an organization dedicated to empowering youth through revitalizing civics education across America.

Respected conservative journalist and commentator Timothy P. Carney continues the conversation begun with Hillbilly Elegy and the classic Bowling Alone in this hard-hitting analysis that identifies the true factor behind the decline of the American dream: It is not purely the result of economics as the left claims, but the collapse of the institutions that made us successful, including marriage, church, and civic life.