Did you know you can call your elected officials and share your thoughts on what matters to you? In this episode, I explain how to do that, why it matters, and how to stay informed on what your elected officials are up to.

To be connected to the offices of your federal elected officials, you can dial the congressional switchboard at 202-224-3121.

A couple of options of newsletters to sign up for to stay up to date on what Congress is doing: https://www.govtrack.us/; https://idueprocess.org/

I also mentioned that the Justice Reinvestment Coalition is hosting a training on May 23rd on how to provide public comment at public hearings. 1-4pm at the Cal Endowment in Oakland, CA. For more, check out the Justice Reinvestment Coalition on Instagram @jrcofac

I'm back with another book report and this one is all about family, love, activism, identity, politics, and American and Puerto Rican culture.

Other resources mentioned in the episode:

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein

Independent reporter Bianca Graulau @biancagraulau

Author and poet Elisabet Velasquez @elisabetvelasquezpoetry

It's an election year and the deluge of negative news can make it easy to feel disillusioned and want to check out. I offer some tips and tools to help you feel informed, engaged, and yes, even hopeful.

Tldr: pick a handful of journalists and/or a podcast or two to follow and one cause or campaign to support. And set a daily timer on your news apps! Quality over quantity is the key here.

Folks I mentioned as suggestions on who to follow on social media/subscribe to their newsletters/read their stuff:

• Oliver Willis (I have 3 one-month subscriptions to his newsletter to give away, so contact me if you're interested)
• Teri Kanefield
• Judd Legum
• Dan Rather
• Heather Cox Richardson
• Adam Serwer
• Keith Edwards
• Marc Elias
• Sherrilyn Ifill
• Elie Mystal
• Molly Jong-Fast
• Nikole Hannah-Jones
• Robert Reich
• Jay Kuo

The podcasts I mentioned:

• The Nation
• Boom Lawyered
• Small Doses with Amanda Seales