In the Making

On the final episode of “In the Making,” host Baratunde Thurston joins PolicyLink President Ashleigh Gardere and CEO Michael McAfee to discuss becoming the founders of a democracy that works for all, at the 250th anniversary of our nation.  This episode brings the series full circle, moving from fixing what's broken to building what's next.  They explore the often erased history of Indigenous demo...

What if the most powerful tool for democracy has been in our hands all along? In Episode 8 of In the Making, host Baratunde Thurston joins PolicyLink President Ashleigh Gardere and CEO Michael McAfee to explore how the 13th and 14th Amendments are living tools for us to build a democracy for all—not just 150-year-old texts reserved for lawyers and judges.  Policies and programs alone can't create...

Baratunde Thurston reconvenes with PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee and President Ashleigh Gardere to talk about how to redesign the federal government so that it actually works for everyone.  The episode opens with an honest acknowledgment: the federal government is failing most people right now, and cynicism feels rational. But checking out only hands power to those who want to use government to en...

Baratunde Thurston and PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee and President Ashleigh Gardere return for “Governing for All, Where You Are,” exploring how local and state efforts can build governing power from the ground up. They discuss how small local efforts with tangible results, like a park cleanup, can grow into larger political power, and how local level work can facilitate accountability through pro...

When the federal government blocks progress, how can state and local communities advance a nation that serves all? Baratunde Thurston and PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee and President Ashleigh Gardere explore how states and local communities can and must be the center of transformative change on Episode 5 of "In the Making." They discuss why localities and states must serve as safe harbors when the...

What will it take for this country to work for its people, and for government to earn public trust? Baratunde Thurston and PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee and President Ashleigh Gardere explore how we rewrite the rules to serve all people on Episode 4 of “In the Making.”  They get into why even the best programs and policies can't create lasting change when the underlying design of our nation is wor...

Host Baratunde Thurston talks with PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee and President Ashleigh Gardere to explore why America's foundation was flawed from the start—and how we can build a new one that works for everybody.  They discuss why the nation's original design excluded many from "We the People," how across ideology, so many experience the system as rigged, and why we should raise the level of our...

Host Baratunde Thurston returns with PolicyLink CEO Michael McAfee and President Ashleigh Gardere to explore why we should be the founders of a redesigned nation for all. They discuss why we must own our power and birthright to do this work, how love and accountability must guide us, and the six essential founders’ capacities we must cultivate in ourselves and our institutions on this journey.

Amid political chaos, low trust in institutions and government, and the grief of this moment, host Baratunde Thurston, CEO Michael McAfee and President Ashleigh Gardere discuss why this moment calls for redesigning this nation—and how it's always been the people excluded from democracy who have brought it closer to its promise.