Tuesday Tip: 6 Podcasts to Keep You Sane During the Trump Era

6 Progressive Podcasts to Keep You Sane During the Trump Era

“May you live in interesting times,” goes the old curse. We are certainly doing that. There are billion-dollar corporations getting tax cuts, then announcing mass layoffs. There are weather events across the country verging on the apocalyptic. There are world leaders willing to risk war by means of a tweet. I don’t know about you but I’m hoping for more uneventful times—and the sooner the better. 

Until then, there are many interesting (in the best sense of the word!) podcasts that help us make sense of this odd era we live in. In fact, at least a thousand political podcasts—most progressive podcasts have launched since the 2016 election.

Here are six of our favorites.

1. Daily Kos Radio

Daily Kos, if you don’t already know, is one of the premier progressive websites—a news organization, community and activist hub with over 10 million unique visitors every month. Daily Kos Radio is its voice. Episodes cover news of the day and progressive politics with insight, dry wit, and sardonic humor from host David Waldman (contributing editor at Daily Kos) and a cast of friends and other experts. Their podcast is engaging and approachable, as they explore topics with the enthusiasm and affability of pals sharing a chat over coffee at the local cafe. Find it here.

2. Democracy Now!

You may be familiar with Democracy Now!, the excellent independent TV and radio news program hosted by journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez. This is that daily program in podcast form. It features global news headlines, in-depth interviews and long-form investigative reports free of advertising and government funding. Goodman and Gonzalez frequently discuss corporate and government abuses of power and often focus on ordinary people working to make change in these extraordinary times. The podcasts feature video for watching on-screen. Find it here.

3. Intercepted

“Could very well be the best political podcast available at the moment,” says Salon.com. Hosted by Jeremy Scahill—investigative reporter, war correspondent, and founding editor of pioneering “adversarial journalism” site the Intercept—the Intercepted podcast focuses each week on a particular news story. Lately, of course, it has zeroed in on Donald Trump and his rolling disaster but the show also features interviews with artists, thinkers, and newsmakers who challenge prevailing preconceptions. Episodes are ad-free and run an hour or more. Find it here.

4. Majority Report with Sam Seder

Seder is a comedian, writer, film director and actor who once appeared in Sex and the City, among other TV shows and movies. His podcast provides informed, thoughtful political analysis with a healthy dose of scathing humor and features insightful interviews with guests ranging from politicians to musicians. Daily 40-minute episodes are free but if you pay a small monthly membership, you get access to the “fun half,” an extra hour of content that includes more comedy, as well as banter with listeners on topics like, “Can social movements change policy or must we engage in bourgeois electoralism?” Find it here.

5. Pod Save America

It’s been called the new Daily Show and the best podcast for surviving the Trump era. It’s definitely the breakout hit of this genre. Four former aides to President Obama—Jon Favreau, Dan Pfeiffer, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor—are joined by politicians, activists, journalists, and comedians for irreverent, entertaining, “no bullshit” conversations about politics. Notable guests have included Hillary Clinton, Elizabeth Warren, and Barack Obama, who did his last interview as president with Pod Save America. Episodes are twice weekly and run 40-80 minutes. Find it here.

6. Politically Re-Active

Sometimes you just have to laugh. Hosts W. Kamau Bell and Hari Kondabolu can help. Bell is a standup comedian and host of the CNN docu-series United Shades of America. Kondabolu is “one of the most exciting political comics in standup today,” says the New York Times. Together, they discuss living in the age of Trump—how to be active in the resistance and smile in the face of our national dumpster fire. The wide-ranging show has in the past hosted guests from Neil deGrasse Tyson to Jake Tapper. Weekly episodes run about an hour. Find it here.

Those are our six podcasts for riding out the Trump era, long may it not live. If you’re listening to others, let us know! We’re always on the lookout for informative and entertaining political podcasts.

Tuesday Tip: How to Make a Fiery, Furious, and Fabulous Protest sign for the Women’s March

How to make a fiery, furious, and fabulous protest sign for the Women’s March

Last year’s worldwide Women’s March was a powerful event. In the U.S. alone, more than 4 million people turned out peacefully in over 600 cities for what may have been the largest day of demonstrations in American history.

The 2018 Women’s March is coming January 20-21 to a city or town near you. Ready to make your own protest sign and join the march? Hey hey, ho ho! Let’s go.

Choose the best board

The backbone of a great sign is a good sign board.

Petroleum-based sign boards are very popular these days, but we’re not fans of these materials and do not recommend using them because of detrimental effects on the environment.

A great option is recycled, thick cardboard with recycled poster board attached to it. You should be able to find these at your local arts and crafts store.

Carry the day

Speak loudly but don’t carry a stick. The traditional wooden sign stick is now banned in some cities, so think about other options. A good one is a hollow cardboard tube, of the sort left over from holiday wrapping paper. Another choice is the easel back—those cardboard attachments you stick behind a picture to stand it up on a table. Get two and put them on either side of your sign.

Best, though, is probably a piece of string. Poke two holes in the top of your sign and use the string to hang it around your neck. Consider a shirt with a collar to avoid abrading your nape. Or make a sandwich-board sign and carry it on your shoulders.

Keep it simple

Many marchers opt for multicolored letters on a brilliantly hued background. They apply glitter and 3D additions. Sometimes these signs succeed but often they don’t. In a lively protest of hundreds or thousands, instant impact is key, so it’s optimal to design a sign that’s understandable at a glance.

Text-based signs in simple colors work well. White letters on black or black on white or orange on blue—any two contrasting colors are good. If you spell out your message in a rainbow of letters on, say, a red background, realize that the orange letters may not be legible.

Keep your message brief and your letters large. Before you ink them in, sketch them out in pencil. Use a ruler to keep them straight and evenly spaced. Take a step back to make sure your sign is readable from a distance. You might consider stick-on letters to make a neat sign quickly.

When a picture really is worth a thousand words

But let’s face it, signs with images can be memorable and a lot of fun to create. We all have that sign that stays on our minds long after the march is over. So if you want to work with images, follow the basic recipe for a successful logo: simple, impactful, and relevant.

• Simple – a simple image is one a person can recognize as soon as they see it. Detailed artwork doesn’t work for a protest sign. Keep it simple!
• Impactful – an impactful sign grabs attention and leaves an impression. Pick the one image that leaves the greatest impact. 
• Relevant – your sign should have meaning that relates to the main point you’re making. Try to make one strong point with your sign. Edit any words that do not absolutely have to be there, or any images that detract from your main point.

If your protest sign art follows those three guides, you’ll likely create a powerful sign.  

See you at the march!

All that’s left is to decide what to say on your sign. That’s up to you. We remember the fiery, furious, and funny protest signs carried by marchers to tell Donald Trump that women (and other people) won’t take his hateful agenda lying down. Signs like “You can’t comb over misogyny,” “Takes one to grab one,” and “If I make my uterus a corporation, will you stop regulating it?”

Whatever you say, what’s most important is to say it. Show up and speak out against Trump at the Women’s Marches on January 20-21. We will, and we hope to see you there.

We’d love to post pics of the signs you create. Please share them with us!

Tuesday Tip: 10 Tips to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

10 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

By now, just about everyone agrees that carbon pollution poses a serious threat to our planet. Even our science-bashing conman in chief is building seawalls around Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Ireland to protect the place against climate change.

At this point, we must accept the grim reality that some level of global warming is inevitable. But by taking action now as individuals, we can still avoid the worst effects. According to a recent study in the journal ”Environmental Research Letters,” the four steps that most substantially shrink a person’s carbon footprint are: eating a plant-based diet, living without a car, avoiding air travel and having a smaller family.

Americans emit 16.1 tons of carbon per person per year, according to the World Bank. This is less than in the 1970s when that number was around 22.5 tons, but it’s still far above the 2050 goal set by the Paris Climate Accords, which is 2.1 tons of carbon per person per year.

We’d better get started. Here are 10 steps you can take to reduce your carbon footprint.

Go car-free. Short of having one less child (which cuts the climate change impact by 120 tons of CO2 emissions per year, if you include carbon that the child’s children would emit), living without a car is the biggest step you can take. According to the EPA, the typical passenger vehicle emits around 4.7 metric tons of CO2 each year.

Inflate your tires. If you do drive, make sure your tires are properly inflated. This can cut your carbon emissions by up to 700 pounds a year.

Take a staycation. One round-trip flight from New York to Europe or New York to San Francisco creates a warming effect equivalent to an average year’s worth of driving.

But don’t worry about being cooped up too long. There’s hope that changes in both aircraft design and fuel source are on the horizon.

Eat less meat. People who eat more than 3.5 ounces of meat per day – a serving about the size of a deck of cards – generate 15.8 pounds of CO2 each day, vegetarians just 8.4 pounds and vegans only 6.4 pounds.

Try going vegetarian or vegan one or two days a week. And when you do eat meat, choose poultry, which is less greenhouse-gas intensive than beef or pork.

Recycle. You likely recycle to some extent already, but you may not know what an impact it can have. If you recycle half your household waste, you can save 2,400 pounds of CO2 annually.

Adjust your thermostat. Move your thermostat up 2 degrees in the summer and down 2 degrees in the winter. You’ll reduce your carbon emissions by 1 ton per year.

Wash in cold water. Almost 90 percent of the energy used by a washing machine goes to heat the water. Switching to cold water for your wash cycle will cut your carbon dioxide emissions by around 1,600 pounds a year. While old laundry soaps worked well only with hot water, new soaps are formulated for cold water and perform as well as or better than traditional detergents.

Dry on a clothesline. Drying one load of laundry in a machine puts 0.1 metric tons of CO2 into the air, so line-drying your clothes makes a real difference over time. Another plus: Your clothes will last longer because they won’t get roughed up in the dryer.

Buy an Energy Star fridge. Refrigerators 15 years or older use twice as much energy as a new Energy Star fridges. Replace your old fridge with an Energy Star model, and you can cut your carbon footprint by 8,200 pounds, and save as much as $260 in the first five years.

Tune up your water heater. There are two ways you can make your water heater more efficient. One, wrap it in an insulating blanket. It costs only about $25 at your local home center, and it will cut your carbon emissions by up to 1,000 pounds annually. Two, turn down the thermostat from 140 degrees (the standard factory setting) to 120 degrees. Each 10-degree reduction reduces your carbon emissions by 600 pounds (electric) or 440 pounds (gas) a year.

There you have it: 10 tips to reduce your carbon footprint.

What are some methods you’ve tried? We’d love to hear what’s worked for you.