Democracy in Color with Steve Phillips

Philadelphia-based journalist Ernest Owens joins Steve and Sharline to share how things are shaping up in one of Democrats’ most critical states leading up to Election Day.

The media can’t seem to stop talking about Black men. So, we decided to do something radical: let two Black men discuss Black men.

Steve and Sharline share one—or maybe more than one—thing they’re hopeful for, worried about, and watching for in the “tea leaves” as Election Day draws closer. 

Between Kamala Harris’ sharp debate performance and the increased hateful rhetoric from the right, Democrats are poised to win in states Obama captured.

Steve and Sharline recap VP Harris and Coach Walz’s first sit-down media interview, held last week with CNN, as well as the DNC which took place earlier in August.

Back in 2020, we had current congressional candidate (and recent pod guest) Lateefah Simon on the show to talk about President Biden’s historic announcement in choosing Kamala Harris as his VP as well as Kamala’s long record of being a champion for others. 

Following Tuesday’s announcement from VP Kamala Harris that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz would be joining the campaign as her running mate, Steve and Sharline get together for an “emergency” podcast episode to discuss their thoughts and reactions.

Lawyer and PolicyLink Founder-in-Residence Angela Glover Blackwell discusses her new podcast project “Reimagining Democracy for a Good Life,” a six-part series that illustrates the potential of our democracy, using L.A. as an example of what is possible when people come together to create change. 

Happy Pride! Emmy and Peabody award-winning journalist Imara Jones shares the origins of her multimedia company TransLash Media and the role of storytelling and narrative in preserving the humanity of trans people.

In collaboration with the Bay Area Book Festival, we’re broadcasting the powerful conversation between Steve, Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell, and former co-executive director of the Highlander Center, Ash-lee Woodard Henderson about Steve’s book How We Win the Civil War. 

Introducing our funniest guest yet: Solo performance artist, comedian, and actress Kristina Wong joins the podcast to talk about her path to theater (including her brief stint as an elected Koreatown, LA official), and how her creation of the “Auntie Sewing Squad” helped her and many others survive the pandemic.

Arizona legend-in-the-making Raquel Téran talks about her bid for Congress and her decades-long work to help turn the state into a shining example of what progressive organizing (and winning) looks like.

Care in Action’s Hillary Holley shares how the organization is mobilizing domestic workers, most of whom are women of color and immigrants, and pushing Democrats to embrace a Care Agenda in Congress.