Future Hindsight

Thursday, May 18th, 2023 Chris Wiggins and Matthew L. Jones are co-authors of How Data Happened: A History from the Age of Reason to the Age of Algorithms. Chris is an associate professor of applied mathematics at Columbia University and the New York Times's chief data scientist and Matt is a professor of history at Columbia. Together, they taught a course called "Data: Past, Present, and Future," and their book is an extension thereof. We discuss the history of how data is made; the relationship between data and truth; and the unstable three-player game between corporate, state, and people power. We are currently in an unstable and unpredictable three-player game between state power, corporate power, and people power. In fact, we have a lot of collective influence via the way we construct norms. Our constant human activity is the grist of the mill for machine learning. Corporations do not have all the power. Still, the mix between advertising and data has created a lot of the most pressing concerns in the world's algorithmically mediated reality. Follow Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrishwiggins Follow Matt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nescioquid Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Take the Democracy Group's Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Read the transcript here: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/people-power-and-ai-chris-wiggins-matt-jones Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Chris Wiggins & Matt Jones Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producer: Zack Travis

Thursday, May 11th, 2023 Judge Victoria Pratt was Chief Judge in Newark Municipal Court in New Jersey and the author of The Power of Dignity. She is currently the Executive Director of Odyssey Impact, an interfaith non-profit driving social change through innovative storytelling and media. We discuss procedural justice, municipal court reform, and increasing the public's trust in the justice system. Tough-on-crime laws are ineffective. Punishing people for wrongdoing does not change behavior. Judge Pratt asserts her authority when she understands the people who appear in court before her. People obey the law when they are treated with respect and dignity, because then they view the people who impose rules and laws as legitimate authorities. Engaging with the criminal justice system is punishment enough, whether you're innocent or not. Follow Judge Pratt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JudgeVPratt Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Take the Democracy Group's Listener Survey! https://www.democracygroup.org/survey Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Read the transcript here: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/dignity-and-justice-judge-victoria-pratt Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Judge Victoria Pratt Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Thursday, May 4th, 2023 Craig Aaron is the Co-CEO of Free Press and Free Press Action. We discuss the civic information bill in New Jersey and the promise of centering civic information in the media. A vibrant multiracial democracy requires civic information media, which delivers the information that helps us live better lives in our communities. Journalism or civic media are a public good, and the public needs to invest in media along those lines. In New Jersey, bipartisan legislative support led to the civic information bill and the founding of the Civic Information Consortium. The best thing all of us can do right now is to support our local media. Read it and engage it! Follow Craig on Twitter: https://twitter.com/notaaroncraig Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Read the transcript here: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/civic-information-media-craig-aaron Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Craig Aaron Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Thursday, April 27th, 2023 Jeff Sharlet is a journalist, best-selling author, and longtime observer and investigator of the Christian right. His latest book is The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War. We discuss America's democratic bankruptcy, the martyrdom of Ashli Babbit, and the rightward shift of the mainstream. The notion of civil war was a fringe idea, but in recent years it has become mainstream. It was just a question of time and for some, it was already happening. Fascism does not respond to logic but relies heavily on myths. Fascist movements need martyrs like Ashli Babbitt. Along those lines, the MAGA movement can be understood as an innocence cult, wishing for a return to a time that never was. Follow Jeff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JeffSharlet Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Read the transcript here: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/a-slow-civil-war-jeff-sharlet Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Jeff Sharlet Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Thursday, April 20th, 2023 Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward are the co-authors of Dirt Road Revival: How to Rebuild Rural Politics and Why our Future Depends on It. We discuss the importance of winning rural races in America. When Chloe ran for office in rural Maine, she knocked on over 20,000 doors and discovered that constituents feel a lack of representation in their daily lives. Democrats really stopped showing up and investing in strong organizing infrastructure in rural places, but it's possible to turn things around. There's a huge opportunity to organize in small towns and places that have been overlooked–and not at the expense of urban efforts. A key ingredient is to focus on what we have in common and connecting on those values levels. Follow Chloe on Twitter: https://twitter.com/chloemaxmin Follow Canyon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CanyonWoodward Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Read the transcript here: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/reclaiming-rural-power-chloe-maxmin-canyon-woodward Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Thursday, April 13th, 2023 Anat Shenker-Osorio is a renowned communications researcher and campaign advisor, the host of Words to Win By, and the Principal of ASO Communications. We discuss how to empower voters, the impact of repetition, and the importance of being clear on what you stand for. All candidates should repeatedly state what they stand for because repetition is an essential ingredient in making sure a message is heard. Negative messaging can often be counterproductive because when you're negating the other side, you are actually reinforcing their argument. What's more, by focusing on the opposition and not clearly stating your own position, you risk leaving your message unheard. It's impossible to have a message resonate if no one hears it. The most telling sign that a message is reaching the masses effectively is if the public acts on it. Follow Anat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/anatosaurus Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Anat Shenker-Osorio Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Thursday, April 6th, 2023 We're sharing an episode of Drilled, a true-crime podcast about climate change, hosted and reported by award-winning investigative journalist Amy Westervelt. Four years ago, the Drilled podcast asked a question that changed how people thought about climate stories: What if we stopped acting like the climate crisis was inevitable and instead treated it like it truly is… the crime of the century? Now, the original true crime podcast about climate change is back with a new season all about the opportunistic oil industry. The story is packed with high stakes court cases, intrepid journalists, and a whole lot of intrigue, set in the world's largest oil boom town. Listen to the new season of Drilled: https://link.chtbl.com/futurehindsightdrilled Follow Amy Westervelt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/amywestervelt Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com

Thursday, March 30th, 2023 Alana Sivin is the New York State Director of Criminal Justice Reform at FWD.us. We discuss the history of bail reform legislation, the subsequent roadblocks, and the truth behind the efficacy of this policy. Bail reform was passed to end a system of wealth-based detention of people who have not been convicted of a crime. Many of them are Black and brown. Verified public data shows that bail reform is not leading to a rise in re-arrest rates. It is also not contributing to a rise in crime. Alana says, "Bail reform has been an extremely successful policy that is not only good because it's the right thing to do for human beings, but it's also the right thing to do to create long-term public safety." Follow Alana on Twitter: https://twitter.com/_AlanaSivin Protect Bail Reform Phone to Action Tool: https://p2a.co/cjyxei9 Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Read the transcript here: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/bail-reforms-success-alana-sivin Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Alana Sivin Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Thursday, March 23rd, 2023 Joanna Schwartz is a professor of law at UCLA, where she teaches civil procedure and courses on police accountability. Her new book is Shielded: How the Police Became Untouchable. We discuss the multiple levels of protection for police offers and how local and state laws can break us out of the qualified immunity maze. There is a broad systemic problem with holding police accountable when they abuse their power or violate the law. The Supreme Court and state and local governments have created interlocking layers of shields for law enforcement officers. Qualified immunities have become so strong that officers are protected even if they have acted in bad faith, so long as they have not broken a law. Indemnification is also an important part of the shield, which results in officers virtually never paying. Police accountability can improve and we should all be invested in making it work better. Follow Joanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JCSchwartzProf Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Read the transcript here: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/holding-police-accountable-joanna-schwartz Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Joanna Schwartz Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham

Thursday, March 16th, 2023 Laphonza Butler is President of Emily's List, an organization that aims to help elect pro-choice democratic women to office. We're inspired by the organization's motto to "reject apathy and the status quo. Repeat daily." We discuss how women bring the challenges and dreams of their community to the policymaking table. Running for office is perhaps the ultimate form of civic participation. Bringing more women to policy making discussions is crucial, but it takes women to be asked at least seven times before they choose to run for office. In addition, we have to pay extra attention to women as voters. We need to ask and answer the question of whether women will elect women to office. Follow Laphonza on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LaphonzaB Follow Mila on Twitter: https://twitter.com/milaatmos Follow Future Hindsight on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehindsightpod/ Love Future Hindsight? Take our Listener Survey! http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=6tI0Zi1e78vq&ver=standard Sponsor Thanks to Shopify for supporting the show! Go to shopify.com/hopeful for a FREE fourteen-day trial and get full access to Shopify's entire suite of features. Start selling on Shopify today. Want to support the show and get it early? https://patreon.com/futurehindsight Check out the Future Hindsight website! www.futurehindsight.com Read the transcript here: https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/elect-women-laphonza-butler Credits: Host: Mila Atmos Guests: Laphonza Butler Executive Producer: Mila Atmos Producers: Zack Travis and Sara Burningham