The Dream Proxy Podcast Take Over!
Jan 29, 2026
Deborah Gould, a political theorist and former ACT UP activist and author, brings sharp expertise on emotion in activism. They discuss how anger powered ACT UP, grief surfacing after years of rage, emotional cultures that sustained movements, and the need to collectivize mourning to preserve activist energy.
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From Grad Student To Street Organizer
- Deborah Gould dropped out of grad school to join ACT UP after finding its meetings more educational than classes.
- She then devoted years to street activism, winning tangible policy changes before returning to academia.
Research Uncovered Buried Grief
- Researching ACT UP later made Deborah unexpectedly grieve, revealing suppressed emotions from activism years.
- Studying the movement surfaced feelings that the movement's emotional culture had sidelined.
Anger As Antidote To Despair
- ACT UP cultivated anger as an antidote to despair and a driver for direct action and organizing.
- That emotional orientation made grief and despair largely unavailable inside the movement.
