“The community is critical” (With Mary Rickles, Director for Communications and Politics for Netroots Nation)

06/21/23 • 31 min

So you’re hoping to meet other activists, learn about their work, and figure out how you can join forces or support each other’s work? Netroots Nation 2023, the largest annual conference for progressives in America, is almost here! We spoke to longtime program communications director Mary Rickles Conley about the value of building a progressive community, how she got involved with Netroots, how their speakers and panelists are selected, and what attendees can gain from attending, both in person and online. This year’s conference, which will take place in mid-July, will feature appearances from some of this year’s most exciting and impactful progressive champions and elected officials, not to mention bring together thousands of activists to meet, mingle, strategize, and support progressive action. Episode Links: Netroots Nation 2023: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: [email protected]. Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.

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“In the progressive community, we tend to dislike the idea of selling ideas.” (With David Fenton, author of The Activist’s Media Handbook)

So you’re hoping to propel a cause into the public eye in a way that’s thoughtful and effective? What do you do? For David Fenton, the longtime progressive PR guru who began his activist work in the late 1960s alongside figures like Abbie Hoffman and Yoko Ono, the answer has been to stick to some simple rules: straightforward and understandable messaging, repetition, effective storytelling, and the other principles that he lays out in his book, The Activist's Media Handbook. We spoke about his activist origin story and how he’s paying forward his decades of experience, as well as how he’s continuing to put the PR rules he writes about into practice to fight climate change. Episode Links: David Fenton: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Buy The Activist’s Media Handbook Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: [email protected]. Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.

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undefined - “Journalism is supposed to be about speaking truth to power” (With Fiona Lowenstein, journalist and editor of The Long COVID Survival Guide)

“Journalism is supposed to be about speaking truth to power” (With Fiona Lowenstein, journalist and editor of The Long COVID Survival Guide)

So you’re a journalist interested in using your skills to amplify new narratives and voices and promote a more just, more equitable world? This wide-ranging, incredibly thoughtful conversation with journalist and Long COVID activist Fiona Lowenstein is all about the power of storytelling, using journalism for good, the importance of accessibility, and how to use privilege and access constructively in one’s activist work. Fiona talks about how their skills as a communicator have helped them not just write about their own experiences, but pass the mic to the voices we might not otherwise hear from, and reflect on about how activism has changed in the COVID era, as well as what we can all do to make sure our work and life in general is accessible to all. Episode Links: Fiona Lowenstein: Website | Twitter | Instagram The Long COVID Survival Guide: Publisher | Bookshop | Amazon | Barnes & Noble Long COVID Justice / JD David’s Organization Follow Lila on Twitter Follow Kelly on Twitter Follow the podcast on Twitter at @WhatCanIDoPod To contact us with questions or guest suggestions, email us at: [email protected]. Please rate and review and tell your friends! Credits: To the best of our knowledge, all audio used by What Can I Do is in the public domain or is used with permission. Our theme song is Good Deeds by Serj Anto, and we hold a license for use of the song through PremiumBeat. Original artwork is by Matthew Weflen and used with express permission.