Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips

Deepak Bhargava, president of the Movement Action Fund, discusses the reality of the moment we’re facing and what it’s going to take to win back our democratic freedoms. He shares what history, both at home and abroad, can teach us about defending ourselves against fascism and authoritarianism and he explains why the “Sue, Protest, Vote” framework is not robust enough anymore. Deepak shares lesson...

New York Times bestselling author and scholar Dr. Anna Malaika Tubbs discusses her new book Erased: What American Patriarchy Has Hidden From Us and why she set out to write a book that makes plain one of the organizing principles and primary barriers to progress in the U.S. Against the backdrop of what’s happening in L.A. right now, Anna’s book offers insight into whose values and ways of life Tru...

Director of Mission Telecom Giving Ashindi Maxton shares why she’s viewing this otherwise harrowing political climate as a moment of opportunity.  Ashindi discusses the role of philanthropy in social justice movements, including its strengths and limitations and how she’s helping to transform the sector into one that is more social justice oriented, innovative, and capable of stepping up to the ch...

Way to Win Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Jenifer Fernandez Ancona shares the organization’s research findings about where Democrats went wrong in 2024 and what it’s going to take to win in 2026 and beyond. She explains what the data really shows about last year’s election and how her organization’s qualitative focus groups reveal a fundamental error in Democrats’ understanding of where the...

Michigan’s first Black lieutenant governor Garlin Gilchrist discusses his race for governor in 2026 and lessons learned as the state’s second-in-command in the middle of the extraordinary crisis that was the COVID-19 pandemic.  He shares his wins in office, including advancing criminal justice reform and expanding broadband access, as well as what he believes went wrong in the 2024 election. Gilch...

Thea Lee, economist and former deputy undersecretary for international labor affairs at the Department of Labor, provides insight to Trump’s economic madness and the global chaos unleashed.  Thea offers us a 101 on tariffs and their role in economic policy. She explains why Trump’s trade policy lacks credibility in its purported goal of supporting workers and manufacturers. She also lays out the c...

House Representative and Chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) Greg Casar (TX) breaks down the evolving role of the CPC in this current Trump era and shares what the Democratic Party needs to do to regain trust and power among voters.   He discusses the future of the party and emphasizes the need to build a multiracial working-class coalition that is not afraid to pick big fights....

Aria Florant, co-founder and CEO of Liberation Ventures (LV), joins the podcast to share how her organization is driving the movement for reparations forward, even in the face of the current administration’s full-scale assault against equity and justice.  She breaks down the four pillars of a comprehensive reparations program and shares LV’s bold mission to make reparations “common sense and commo...

ACLU Legal Director Cecillia Wang explains the strategy behind Trump’s barrage of executive orders to reverse decades of progress and unleash the power of the federal government against anyone who is not a straight, white man.  She describes his overall goal of creating “in-groups” vs. “out-groups” of people by attacking the structural reforms of Reconstruction, scapegoating immigrants, and target...

Former co-executive director of the Highlander Center Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson shares why this moment is ripe for transformative social change towards justice and progress.  Ash-Lee discusses the role and impact of Highlander, including its legacy of identifying and supporting movement leaders from the Civil Rights era to the Black Lives Matter movement. She also shares why she remains excited at...

Tram Nguyen co-executive director of New Virginia Majority, returns to the show to help break down why Virginia remains at the forefront of what progressive change can look like and what can happen when we transform a state. She discusses how she decided on her vote to help elect the new head of the DNC and shares her experiences as an Asian American growing up in Virginia, the former capital of t...

The beginning—and the end—of the Trump era is here. National Director Maurice Mitchell returns to the show for a three-peat to discuss how the Working Families Party (WFP) is approaching these next four years under Trump and why they’ve dubbed the next ten years as the “Working Families’ Decade.” Maurice lays out a compelling vision for the future of American politics and explains why he and the W...

Happy New Year! To kick off 2025, Steve and Sharline look ahead to 2025 and dig into key areas of focus as we enter a new Trump administration.  They discuss three dominant yet fundamentally incorrect mainstream narratives about the 2024 election. In addition, they survey the current race for the next DNC chair, including the lack of diverse candidates. They also highlight the slate of key members...

For our final episode of the year, Manuel Pastor, University of Southern California professor of sociology and American studies and ethnicity, joins Steve and Sharline to discuss lessons learned from this year’s presidential election including how to understand Latino political identity and the role of narrative and messaging in building broad coalitions.    Manuel touches on the dangerous rise of...

Let’s pause for a moment and remember that we need to take care of ourselves.  Leadership coach, transformative justice practitioner, and somatics coach Viveka Chen (she/they) discusses the intersection of personal healing and collective liberation. Viveka shares insights from their work helping activists, organizers, and community leaders build resilience and foster connection in the face of syst...

Steve and Sharline reflect on the results of the 2024 election and where we go from here as a nation. They share how they’re processing their feelings and discuss top takeaways of this election cycle including the impact of sexism, how to understand the exit polls, and changing voter dynamics across the country.  They also lift up lessons learned and future strategies centered around state and loc...

Philadelphia-based journalist Ernest Owens joins Steve and Sharline to share how things are shaping up in one of Democrats’ most critical states leading up to Election Day. Ernest describes the current energy in the state and the nuanced levels of engagement he’s witnessing compared to previous elections. He shares what’s top of mind for Black voters in Philly including his take on the media’s han...

The media can’t seem to stop talking about Black men. So, we decided to do something radical: let two Black men discuss Black men. Washington Post opinion columnist Perry Bacon Jr. returns to the show to share his thoughts on where VP Harris’ race stands, how he’s thinking about Black voters, and the evolving media landscape in this election.   REFERENCES:  Perry Bacon Jr - Washington Post , @Perr...

Right now, we find ourselves at an urgent intersection with several timelines and possibilities intertwined. We’ve declared that “We’re not going back”, that to “Make America Great Again” is to reverse decades of hard-fought progress. But what does a true and sustainable path forward actually look like? And who is leading the way?   In the third and final part of The Path Forward, we hear from two...

Steve and Sharline share one…or maybe more than one thing they’re hopeful for, worried about, and watching for in the tea leaves as Election Day draws closer.  In the second half of the show, Steve’s niece and her friend Julia join him on “Exit Polls” to share their thoughts on Kamala Harris’ candidacy and offer some insight into how Gen Z’ers are processing this election cycle.

The summer of 2024 will no doubt go down in history as one of the most tumultuous, transformative, and monumental summers before an election. Following Biden’s historic decision to step down from the race, Vice President Kamala Harris’ rise to the top of the Democratic ticket shifted the national sentiment into high gear and generated Obama-level excitement among constituents. In Part 2 of The Pat...

Between Kamala Harris’ sharp debate performance and the increased hateful rhetoric from the right, Democrats are poised to win in states Obama captured. Steve and Sharline discuss the latest reported assassination attempt against Trump and the broader issue of increased political violence and gun violence in the U.S. from school shootings to death threats against election workers in Georgia.  They...

On November 5, millions of voters will make their way to the polling booths to answer some of the most pivotal questions defining American politics today: What kind of country do we want to be? And do we want to move our country forward towards progress or backward towards harm and repression? In Part 1 of The Path Forward, we explore the key components of the modern-day “Confederate Battle Plan”...

Steve and Sharline recap VP Harris and Coach Walz’s first sit-down media interview, held last week with CNN, as well as the DNC which took place earlier in August. They discuss the upcoming presidential debate on September 10 and what Kamala Harris needs to do to win. They also briefly touch on how Democrats can gain a government trifecta in 2025. 

Back in 2020, we had current congressional candidate (and recent pod guest) Lateefah Simon on the show to talk about President Biden’s historic announcement in choosing Kamala Harris as his VP as well as Kamala’s long record of being a champion for others.  -- From 2020: Few people know Kamala Harris like we in the Bay Area do. We discuss Joe Biden’s selection of the former San Francisco district...