Democracy Does: The Civic Power Playbook

Hidden in Plain Sight: Tanya Paperny on Club Madre, DC’s Overlooked Histories, and Why Saving Stories Matters
Host Robin Hamilton introduces the Democracy Does: Civic Power Playbook series “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Story of Odessa Madre,” focused on history, identity, and preserving erased voices, and interviews Tanya Paperny, Washington City Paper columnist behind “On Places,” which uncovers overlooked DC sites.

This week, we’re welcoming back a familiar voice. Professor Andrew Flachs was kind enough to join us last season, and we’re delighted to have him back again to help us make sense of another issue hitting nearly everyone’s wallet.
On this episode of Democracy Does: The Civic Power Playbook, the Purdue University professor and expert in agriculture and environmental anthropology unpacks what’s really driving higher food prices—and why the answer goes far beyond the grocery store.

Season 3 of Democracy Does: The Civic Power Playbook is coming back.
We've been working behind the scenes putting together new episodes, and honestly, this season might be the one I'm most excited about. Because the truth is, the things that shape our daily lives — they don't always show up as headlines. Sometimes they show up in your grocery receipt. In your rent. In the decisions being made in rooms you're not in, about things that affect you directly.
So this season, we're digging into it. Food prices. Housing prices. The policies that make the news — and the ones that don't, but probably should. We're going to break it all down and connect the dots between the policy and your actual life.

As we head into a short hiatus, host Robin takes a moment to say thank you — and to look back at some of the season's most powerful conversations on Democracy Does: The Civic Power Playbook.
We revisit the hidden economics of family caregiving with public health expert Dr. Maggie Ornstein, who breaks down how unpaid caregivers contribute billions in labor each year — $40 billion annually in New York State alone — even as Medicaid cuts threaten the fragile systems families depend on.
We also revisit our conversation with Professor Terri Friedline of the University of Michigan on the fight over the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and what a rollback of consumer protections — including a proposed cap on credit card interest rates — could mean for your wallet.
And we look back at our discussion with Greta Bedekovics of the Center for American Progress on the proposed SAVE Act, and how new voter registration requirements could create real barriers for millions of Americans.
Caregiving. Consumer protection. Voting rights. Three conversations, one throughline: power, and who's asked to carry the weight when it shifts.
While we're on hiatus, we're building new episodes to keep you informed — and we want your input. Visit Democracy Does to tell us what you want to hear next.
Democracy works when we all participate.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a futuristic concept—it's becoming part of how we work, learn, and even manage our health. But as with any powerful technology, the question isn't whether AI exists. It's whether we use it wisely.
On this week's episode of Democracy Does, I spoke with Emmy Hernandez, co-founder of the System and Soul AI Institute, whose remarkable story demonstrates both AI's promise and the importance of human judgment. After a life-threatening medical crisis left her with debilitating symptoms and no clear diagnosis, Hernandez used AI to organize years of medical records, identify patterns, and prepare better questions for her physicians. The technology didn't replace her doctors—it helped her become a stronger advocate for her own care.

One of the core messages of Democracy Does is that every voice matters. Whether you're participating in your community, engaging with elected officials, or making decisions that affect your family, your willingness to speak up has power. As I discovered in my recent conversation with board-certified oncologist Dr. Tiffany Trosso-Sandoval, that lesson may be just as important in the doctor's office as it is in our democracy.
Drawing on more than 25 years of caring for women with cancer, Dr. Trosso-Sandoval says too many patients—especially women—have been conditioned to be "good patients": agreeable, accommodating, and hesitant to question authority. But that instinct can come at a tremendous cost. Instead, she urges patients to become the CEO of their own healthcare by asking questions, understanding their diagnosis, and actively participating in treatment decisions.

For many Americans, homeownership can feel increasingly out of reach. Rising prices, higher interest rates, and economic uncertainty have left many wondering whether the American Dream is still attainable. But according to HUD-certified housing advocate Sylvia Alvarez, the answer is yes—with the right guidance.
As founder and executive director of the Housing and Education Alliance, Alvarez has spent decades helping families become successful homeowners. Drawing from her own experience helping her immigrant parents purchase their first home, she believes homeownership remains one of the strongest pathways to stability, community investment, and generational wealth.

Professor Shannon Lane joined Democracy Does: The Civic Power Playbook for an essential conversation about why voting rights, policy, and civic participation directly impact our everyday lives. As Director of the Nancy A. Humphries Institute for Political Social Work at the University of Connecticut, Lane explained how social workers often see firsthand how policy decisions affect healthcare, education, housing, and access to resources.
Despite growing frustration and voter fatigue, Lane emphasized that civic engagement still matters — and that small actions can create meaningful change.

What if the biggest civil rights issue today isn’t just freedom of speech—but the ability to afford to live?
In my recent conversation with civil rights attorney Ehsan Zaffar, we explored a powerful idea: our current system of rights was designed for a very different America. At the founding, protections like free speech and religious liberty were essential against government overreach. But today, many of our daily struggles—healthcare costs, housing, food insecurity—aren’t fully addressed by those same frameworks.
Ehsan argues that while these traditional rights still matter, they don’t meet the most urgent needs people face right now. After all, what good is free speech if you can’t afford life-saving medication? Or housing? Or food?
We also discussed how much of our public discourse now happens on private platforms, where constitutional protections don’t apply in the same way—raising new questions about what freedom really looks like in a modern, digital society.

What does it take to move from feeling powerless to becoming an agent of change? In my recent conversation with Sam Daley-Harris, the answer starts with one simple but profound idea: your story matters.
Sam’s journey—from a percussionist in the Miami Philharmonic to founding RESULTS and Civic Courage—was shaped by what Marshall Ganz calls the “story of self.” It’s the thread that connects your life experiences to your purpose. For Sam, pivotal moments pushed him to ask: Why am I here? That question led to a lifetime of fighting poverty and empowering everyday people to use their voices.
At the heart of his work is transformational advocacy—going beyond signing petitions to building relationships with decision-makers and, just as importantly, transforming how you see yourself.