Just published our seventh JOIN 101 episode of What Are You Doing Alone That You Could Be Doing Together? — this week's is on grieving together, with the Sad Dads Club's Rob Reider: join101.substack.com/p/waydatycbd...

My favorite Ella Baker quote: “I must leave now for one of those small church night meetings which are usually more exhausting than the immediate returns seem to warrant, but it’s a part of the spade work, so let it be.”

Latest LOST PROPHETS episode is up! A Fourth of July week reflection on America and its Founding[s], with help from James Baldwin, Hannah Arendt, Dorothy Day, Christopher Lasch, Garry Wills, Kermit Roosevelt III, and the late great Fred Dewey. Check it out at: www.lostprophets.org/p/22-fourth-...

Reflections on the need to reforest civic life in America (Shared as part of the U.S. Bahá’í Office of Public Affairs' Congressional panel on "Realizing the Promise of America at 250: Social Trust, Hope, and the Public Good") Learn more about the civic reforestation we need at: WatchJoinOrDie.com

🚂 Don't mess with the trains 🚂 On the latest episode of “FESTIVAL with Pete Davis”: Randonautica co-founder Joshua Lengfelder explains the story behind the strangest and most profound app in the app store.

What time is it in the dominant system? A clip from the latest episode of "FESTIVAL with Pete Davis"—in which The Two Loops Model's Deborah Frieze explains why making a failing system more efficient isn't going to help...and therefore why we need trailblazers to start cultivating new systems.

On the latest episode of FESTIVAL: Deborah Frieze joins me to explain "The Two Loops Model" — the chart that changed everything I thought about changing the world. Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube — search “FESTIVAL with Pete Davis" petedavis.substack.com/p/festival-1...

The first episode of FESTIVAL is live, kicking off with an exploration of the chart that changed everything I think about changing the world—plus, the strangest and most profound app in the app store: petedavis.substack.com/p/festival-1...

Dorothy Day on the Bicentennial

Launching next week: FESTIVAL, the greatest little show in town. Subscribe on Youtube, Spotify, most podcast players, or by email at: FESTIVALpod.org

My review of Jesse Eisenberg's 2024 film "A Real Pain"

You've seen JOIN OR DIE, you've joined a club, but you're still left wondering: How can my city turn around its civic decline? The latest JOIN 101 post is for you: join101.substack.com/p/a-10-step-...

The latest LOST PROPHETS just posted — and it's one of the big ones! We've got three hours on the great THOMAS MERTON, the lost prophet of contemplation: www.lostprophets.org/p/21-thomas-...

Our latest JOIN 101 video, featuring the great Hahrie Han speaking to the way our routine civic activities in local community organizations are the building blocks of a strong democracy -->

JOIN OR DIE shoutout on Las Culturistas today — 10 days left to watch the film on Netflix, but no expiration date to join a club in real life! 🙏🏼🎳🙏🏼

Our latest JOIN 101 story is up — What Are You Doing Alone That You Could Be Doing Together? #6, about how Kellen Klein organizes the local leaders of Sisters, Oregon through a monthly exchange of updates, needs, offers, dreams, and gratitude: open.substack.com/pub/join101/...

High schoolers need to learn interpersonal finance too: how to collectively bargain with employers and landlords, how to sue in court when corporations rip you off, how cooperative purchasing saves you money, how local civic culture serves local economic development, etc.

We just posted the latest "What Are You Doing Alone That You Could Be Doing Together?" — our JOIN 101 series on people who asked themselves this question and answered it with a new community-building innovation: join101.substack.com/p/waydatycbd...

@petedavis.bsky.social calls this "co-creation of our shared world," and argues that it only works when enough people see each other's dreams as their own. Watch our full conversation: thebeaconproject.substack.com/p/seeing-eac...

Reflections on Sentimental Value

We just posted the latest "What Are You Doing Alone That You Could Be Doing Together?" — our JOIN 101 series on people who asked themselves this question and answered it with a new community-building innovation.

Our first listener-submitted reflection for the Lost Prophets community just published, on Ivan Illich and the tension of institutional engagement: www.lostprophets.org/p/deschoolin...

Reflections on F1

At JOIN 101, we just posted the third edition of WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALONE THAT YOU COULD BE DOING TOGETHER?: join101.substack.com/p/waydatycbd...

There's a different way. News is a public good and so the market will undersupply it. It should be subsidized and Americans can each decide which media institutions they want to support. democracypolicy.network/agenda/stron...

Train Dreams reflections

Once heard Peter Levine say that there were four pillars of a city's civic life mid-century that most Americans had a connection with: Daily Newspaper, Labor Union, Political Party, Religious Congregation. All four are in crisis—and we need some form of each to be rejuvenated.

There is a very simple low-hanging fruit to start the process of accountability for the Epstein network (and rebuild national trust): Congressional hearings that subpoena all major players mentioned in the release to ask basic questions under oath.

The second edition of WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALONE THAT YOU COULD BE DOING TOGETHER? just dropped: On the appropriately named Jared Joiner, who is supporting local businesses and building civic culture with REVIVAL ROUNDS —> join101.substack.com/p/waydatycbd...

Bugonia reflections

We just published the first edition of "What are you doing alone that you could be doing together?" — a series on civic creators by JOIN 101, the next phase of JOIN OR DIE's mission: join101.substack.com/p/waydatycbd...

We just posted the 20th LOST PROPHETS— on bell hooks, who mixed her Kentucky roots, Christian and Buddhist spirituality, and intersectional feminism to dismantle the systemic barriers we have built to hold back love: www.lostprophets.org/p/20-bell-ho...

“The campaign was powered by an embodied, local patriotism—of city pride and love of neighbor—rather than the imperial, saber-rattling faux ‘patriotism’ that has been misleading us for a quarter century.” ← @petedavis.bsky.social on 2025 themorningnews.org/2025-the-yea...

Was asked by @themorningnews.org to share what I thought was the most important thing that happened in 2025, and offered the following reflections on the significance of @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social’s campaign:

The latest LOST PROPHETS: WILLIAM H. WHYTE, a lost prophet whose thick observations of the social and physical structures we build and inhabit led to lasting insights — groupthink, Organization Men, urban sprawl, placemaking, and more: www.lostprophets.org/p/19-william...

The best next move for Dems (and America) is a 2-front project: (1) Maximalist (and justified) impeachment for every one of Trump’s hundreds of impeachable offenses (literally, it should be 100+ counts) to reign in the imperial Presidency and re-establish Congressional authority.

"If you want THE history book for the Zohran era, read @dlondonwortel.bsky.social's great "The Menace of Prosperity "— a history of various economic alternatives experimented with in New York’s history." @petedavis.bsky.social. Check it out here: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

Tomorrow! Join us for “Broken Links: How Do Media Silos Undermine Social Solidarity?” on 10/21 at 7pm ET at GU's Capitol Campus (125 E Street NW Capitol View Convening Space, 9th floor) and online. RSVP: bit.ly/BrokenLinks_CST #BrokenLinksCST In person? Join the 6pm Happy Hour and 8pm Reception!

How can young people build a culture of solidarity through embracing communication? Join us for the Salt and Light Gathering “Broken Links: How Do Media Silos Undermine Social Solidarity?” on 10/21 at 7pm ET at Georgetown’s Capitol Campus online. RSVP: bit.ly/BrokenLinks_CST #BrokenLinksCST

Newest LOST PROPHETS out — on Fr. Daniel Berrigan, the "devout and dangerous" priest who took "blessed are the peacemakers" seriously: www.lostprophets.org/p/18-daniel-...

The best "digital team" for the Dems is a non-digital team embedded in every city, participating in local community life, serving neighbors while inviting them to co-create the party together—a local chapter! thenation.com/article/poli...

Much of political conversion is at the subconscious level (one might say "at the spiritual level") — the level which deals in particular wholes (like symbols and constellations of meaning) not modular parts (like specific issue positions).

this was a great episode!

17th LOST PROPHETS just dropped—Elias Crim and I talk with historian @dlondonwortel.bsky.social about his new book about alternative visions of urban prosperity. Cameo appearances from Lost Prophets Jane Jacobs, Paul Goodman, and others: www.lostprophets.org/p/17-daniel-...

Want to learn more about how states can enable and empower the creation of municipally-owned, mixed-income housing developments? Check out DPN's kit on Social Housing at: democracypolicy.network/SocialHousing

On Pope Francis and the God of surprises: petedavis.substack.com/p/on-francis

Storefront county Republican community headquarters that I saw in Texas recently. Dems should build a meeting hall in every county in America. There are ~3,000 counties in America — a $3 billion fund could build them all. Much better long-term use of party funds than more ads.

You don’t rebuild a majority by having the best reactions to power. Even the cleverest reply reinforces the deeper message: They act, we just react. You can only rebuild by taking action yourself: having a vision, advancing that vision with courage…and forcing them to react.

If you enjoy a good documentary, I watched "Join or Die" on Netflix after I filed the draft above. It's a great watch, and it explains the arc of Robert Putnam's research on community before and after "Bowling Alone." www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKgQ...

Highly recommend watching the documentary Join or Die www.joinordiefilm.com. Helped me understand how we got to where we are now. Maybe it's not too late.