Nora & I finally went there: democracy or dystopia, which needs fewer bunkers? This week’s In The Meanwhile w/ Douglas Rushkoff dives into billionaire escape plans plus how we fix it: cap the “more,” rebuild local, practice mutual aid.

"We can speak against political violence without somehow twisting ourselves around to defend others who spoke for it..." Great interview with Jeff Shartlet on @democracynow.org

Beyond grateful to @guyoron.net @veganpattyy.bsky.social and the Real Change team!

This week on In The Meanwhile, Nora & I talk w/ Renée Hopkins of @WAGunResponsib about the grim “normal” of gun violence, and the rare good news: WA has passed real safety laws saving lives while DC stalls on “thoughts & prayers.”

This was a fun one! And for those who missed the @townhallseattle.bsky.social event for my book Crowded Out, you can now hear the best parts via this week’s podcast episode!

Grateful to Real Change for honoring Florangela Davila & me with the 2025 Editorial Excellence Award for our work at the South Seattle Emerald. Thanks to all who’ve sustained the Emerald. This honor is yours too! www.realchangenews.org/news/2025/09...

This week on In The Meanwhile, Nora & I trace America’s collapsing systems + the oddball origin of our pod (zines, awkward poetry, a Town Hall that exposed GoFundMe as our “healthcare system”). open.spotify.com/episode/21tz...

Nora + I talk w/ Dr. Daudi Abe about America’s booming biz: ignorance. From slavery rebranded as “involuntary relocation” to PragerU in classrooms, we unpack how power weaponizes confusion. Funny. Terrifying. Necessary.

This week on In The Meanwhile, Nora and I talk with Dan McQuillan, author of Resisting AI, about how artificial intelligence isn’t “changing the game” — it’s stacking the deck. He explains why we must reject the lie that AI domination is inevitable.

Sharp context from @lukethomas.bsky.social on Trump’s move to send in the National Guard and federalize DC police, an escalation with deep political and historical implications.

On this week’s In The Meanwhile, Nora and I talk with Katie Wilson: mayoral frontrunner, public comment assassin, and Seattle’s worst nightmare if your politics come with a side of bottomless mimosas. Listen with the link or wherever you get your podcasts!

We made it through another week of The Horrors! To celebrate, we've got a special surprise: none other than Francesca Fiorentini @franifio.bsky.social on this week's episode. She's helping us laugh at fascists, call out billionaires, and teach toddlers to curse 🤩 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

Beacon Hill’s beloved Homer reopens today. Beyond the celebration, it’s a reminder of what’s possible when bosses choose partnership over exploitation, and when labor is met not with disregard, but with dignity.

Crossed off a bucket list item in interviewing the Jordan/Lebron of political comedy, Francesca Fiorentini! She shared her secrets on how to laugh at fascists, call out billionaires, and still potty‑train a toddler, all in the same week!

I got to talk with @inthemeanwhile.bsky.social — a new podcast from the fantastic @mhgreen3000.bsky.social and @kenworthy.bsky.social — about why how we talk about health care is literally a life and death matter.... podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

The Oklahoma Schools Superintendent, a religious extremist, is in hot water after having porn on a screen during a meeting. I know 'separation of church and state' was never gonna happen with this guy, but I guess I assumed we'd at least get 'separation of school meetings and Pornhub.'

So grateful to have @matthewcort.land join us on In the Meanwhile this week to talk about the current moment and what it means for Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, etc. They remind us that there are still so many reasons to fight and stand up for each other. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

If your deductible is currently higher than your will to live, this one’s for you!

Between Musk & the Trump administration, Media Matters has been squeezed to the brink. In settlement discussions, lawyers for X demanded the organization hand over all its cash and shut down — all because MM reported ads appeared on X next to antisemitic content. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/u...

"Every major US city has a private foundation supporting police, with more than 250 nationwide. The foundations have been used to pay for surveillance technologies in cities like Baltimore and Los Angeles without being subject to public scrutiny, according to the report."

One of my absolute favorite conversations, with one of my absolute favorite people. Much appreciation to Gabriel Teodros for coming on the pod!

Friday has arrived with a banger of an episode! This week, Nora and Marcus talk to MC, educator, and organizer Gabriel Teodros about grief, art, & love in a burning world. It’s a convo on joy as resistance & solidarity you can dance to. Come for the rhythm, stay for the revolution.

This was a necessary and really enlightening conversation. Huge thanks to @karamdana.bsky.social for joining us!

This week on In the Meanwhile, Nora and I talk with Palestinian American scholar Karam Dana, whose new book doesn’t just explain Gaza: it calls out the lies, silence, and the people erased along the way. It’s personal, political, and somehow still hopeful.

Right-wing pundits are calling the new Superman movie a ‘beta cuck fest.’ That’s how you know it’s doing something right. Check out my full review of it.

"Conservative media has spent so much energy trying to convince people that Superman, of all characters, is anti-American that they've accidentally revealed their own vision of America: one where kindness is weakness, where immigrants are threats, where helping others is “woke ideology.”"

If cops kept us safe, America would be the safest country on Earth. So, why isn’t it? Journalist Schuyler Mitchell pulls back the curtain on how policing often reproduces the very violence it claims to stop.

On our latest episode, Nora and I chop it up with Schuyler Mitchell about broken reforms, police budget bloat, and why your neighbor with a first aid kit most likely has a better safety plan than the state.

This week on In the Meanwhile, Nora and I talk to journalist Schuyler Mitchell about how “defund the police” somehow turned into “let’s give them drones and matching riot fits.” Spoiler: both parties helped. Listen at this link or wherever you pod: open.spotify.com/episode/5qLI...

My mama!

Loved this conversation with @kenworthy.bsky.social and @mhgreen3000.bsky.social about relationships, autonomy, isolation, resistance, masculinity, and so much more.

Ultimately, this week's episode is a heartfelt discussion about how we show up and care in a time of rampant polycrisis and dehumanization. As an added bonus, @mhgreen3000.bsky.social and @kenworthy.bsky.social awkwardly try to impersonate Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e...

What if the most radical thing we can do right now is love each other better? On this episode of In the Meanwhile, we sit down with Dean Spade to talk mutual aid, messy love, and why your romantic partner shouldn’t be your entire disaster plan. open.spotify.com/episode/1SuV...

Tired of hot takes & “good vibes only” optimism? Same. Nora Kenworthy & I just launched In The Meanwhile—a podcast for folks trying to make sense of this mess and still believe in joy, community, & showing the hell up. Real talk, cautious hope, a few laughs! Listen wherever you get your podcast!

Welcome to Ep 1 of In the Meanwhile! @mhgreen3000.bsky.social and @kenworthy.bsky.social talk about what it means to live through this messy era: where the old world is collapsing, the new one isn’t here yet, and the group chat is full of dread 😅 youtu.be/fnP9dFbpy1I?....

Lately, every day feels like an emotional buffet: a little hope, a lot of dread, and a side of “is this late-stage capitalism or just my anxiety acting up again?” So I sat down with the brilliant Lindsey T.H. Jackson for this month’s Unlearning Book Club to talk through it all! Watch here:

HAPPENING NOW: Hundreds of protesters chant “Free our Mayor!” outside the DHS building in Newark, NJ where Mayor Ras Baraka is being held (Video: @spydermonkeywatch.bsky.social)

Forget Netflix. If you crave drama, you just had to tune into the Seattle City Council’s Governance, Accountability, and Economic Development meeting on Thursday.

We gave him billions in subsidies. In return, Musk crushed unions, exploited workers, and turned our climate hopes into weapons against democracy. Musk's trajectory isn't just about a billionaire's public implosion—it’s about the lie of green capitalism. Check out my latest piece.

It was a deep honor to share space with Angela Poe Russell, Amity Addrisi, and Lindsey T.H. Jackson for a conversation on media literacy and the urgent need for critical thinking in these disorienting times. Check out our full conversation here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_v0...

Seems like as good a time as any to share this again. I gave this speech back in 2017, in a moment filled with uncertainty and fear. It’s about the courage we’re called to, the community we need, and the determination it takes to keep moving forward.

Washington loves to pride itself on being a sanctuary state. But what kind of sanctuary lets ICE tear apart families in Bellingham and disappear workers into for-profit detention centers? Symbolic gestures aren’t protection. They’re performance. My latest: www.thestranger.com/news/2025/04...

Wishing Val Kilmer a blessed journey to the land of beautiful souls.

I've gotta get his vitamin regimen.

Why does walking through Walgreens feel like walking through a late-stage capitalism-themed escape room?

It's always a blast on Casual Friday but teaming up with the amazing Jane C. Wu made it even better! Thank you for the great conversation!

There is a helpful resource for the “don’t wanna accidentally fund fascism” crowd: PublicSquare, a self-proclaimed “anti-woke” marketplace, is basically a Yelp for MAGA business owners. They made a handy map so you can search by location. Let Meg van Huygen tell you all about it!

Can’t wait to chat about "Unlearning Media Illiteracy" (AKA the code red-level need to rediscover critical thinking) for the Unlearning podcast. We’ll attempt a mass deprogramming from the nonstop firehose of nonsense on the internet. Check it out April 9th!

We desperately need DEI in the White House.