Two Worlds, One Country: Recent Episodes
WEHC
Do you sometimes despair about how divided our nation has become? Are you struggling to understand how things got this way, and why? Would you like to join others in working towards solutions? If you said yes, join host Anthony Flaccavento for “Two Worlds, One Country: Understanding and Overcoming the Rural/Urban Divide”. He is joined by many of the leading doers and thinkers from across the country and they dive into the causes of the divide and explore how to overcome it.
Anthony is joined by Stephanie Muravchik to discuss her book, Trump’s Democrats, which examined three communities, one rural, one a small town and the other a small city, which had voted Democratic for at least four decades but went for Donald Trump in 2016. She explores the details of why Trump appealed to these long-time Dems.
In this interview with Reece Peck, the author of "Fox Populism: Branding Conservatism as Working Class", Two Worlds, One Country explores how and why Fox News has built such a strong and enduring loyalty among a major segment of the American public. Hint: There's much more to Fox than what most liberals believe!
Heidi Binko is Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Just Transition Fund, a funding and advocacy group dedicated to helping rural communities transition away from fossil fuels. She discusses alternatives for coal towns and centering local communities in environmental activism.
[1:14] Getting involved in clean energy
[8:02] What could a just transition look like?
[13:19] The Just Transition Fund
[19:07] What kind of funding has JTF done?
More from Heidi:
https://justtransitionfund.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-binko
@JustTransitionFund
Joe Fortier is the owner of two construction companies in the Radford, VA area specializing in green, energy-efficient housing initiatives. He talks getting his start in green construction and how we can build a more sustainable future.
[1:31] From stay-at-home dad to small business owner
[6:07] How we can build better buildings
[12:43] Energy-efficient and hurricane-resistant walls
[19:44] The economics of green construction
[24:48] Supporting small business
More from Joe:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-fortier-93207b10/
https://acmepanel.com/
https://taylor-hollow.com/energy-efficient-homes/
Dwayne McIntyre is the owner of Goshen Homestead, a 110 acre family farm, and a friend of Anthony’s. He talks his farmstead operation, sustainable agriculture practices, and his take on federal regulations for small farmers.
[1:45] Pennsylvania Amish roots
[9:22] How Goshen Homestead is rethinking agriculture
[16:06] Mobilizing local capital—crowdfunding local business
[22:35] How the federal government can support local farming
Goshen Homestead:
https://goshenhomestead.com/
@goshen_homestead
https://www.facebook.com/goshenhomestead
Brandon Dennison is the founder and CEO of Coalfield Development. He talks his 33/6/3 hour training model, creating sustainable businesses, and his vision for rebuilding the Appalachian economy.
[2:01] Growing up in West Virginia
[9:03] 33/6/3 model—building jobs for disadvantaged people
[15:20] Is it really true that people don’t want to work?
[19:43] Rural people don’t need handouts, they need investment
More from Brandon:
https://coalfield-development.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-dennison-5a026638/
Anthony tackles a solo episode about Rural Urban Bridge Initiative (RUBI)’s latest projects, in particular RUBI’s joint work with the Progressive Democrats of America on the recently released Rural New Deal guidelines.
[3:23] What is the Rural New Deal?
[6:53] Rural health care needs revamping
[11:52] Farming for a better future
[18:49] Restoring American manufacturing
RUBI Directory of Rural Organizations:
https://ruralurbanbridge.org/resources
Rural New Deal:
https://ruralurbanbridge.org/rural-new-deal
Progressive Democrats of America:
https://pdamerica.org/
Marjorie Kelly is an author and Senior Fellow at the Democracy Collaborative. She talks the structure of capitalism, how we can do better, and more, from her newest book Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today’s Crises.
[1:52] Why capitalism is so crazy
[6:22] No amount of wealth is ever enough
[11:30] What happens when workers own the companies?
[18:02] Can we really democratize the economy?
More about Marjorie:
https://marjoriekelly.org/
https://marjoriekelly.org/wealthsupremacy/ Buy the book!
https://www.facebook.com/MarjorieKellyPage
@marjorie_kelly
This is the third part in our three-part series on Community Works. Thomas Bates is an ex-federal prosecutor and the founder of Democrats Work, a precursor to Community Works. He discusses Democrats Work’s experiment with a service-based approach to politics and the path forward he sees for Democratic politics today.
[1:29] Getting his start in campaign politics
[4:36] How do bake sales win elections?
[10:35] Democrats Work: proving that service-based politics work
[20:11] Voters can be persuaded
[34:15] Does the Democratic party have a future in America?
More about Thomas:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/batesthomas/
https://cssp.org/team/thomas-bates/
Get involved with Community Works:
https://ruralurbanbridge.org/our-work/community-works
This is the second part in our three-part series on Community Works. Skip Halpern is an author, ex-lawyer, and chair of the Page County Democratic Committee. He talks why he moved to rural Virginia, his take on the rural-urban divide, and the work he’s doing with RUBI’s Community Works program.
[2:34] Skip’s background in financial law
[6:14] Why is Page County so red?
[11:01] Why Page County got involved with Community Works
[16:30] Giving scholarships, tutoring, partnering with civic organizations
[25:50] So is Community Works working?
More from Skip:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelhalpern1/
https://wellspringsofwork.com/
Get involved with Community Works:
https://ruralurbanbridge.org/our-work/community-works
This is the first part in our three-part series on Community Works. Meredith Dean is Executive Director of Community Works at RUBI as well as the founder of both Healthy Floyd and Appalachian Women of Action. Meredith talks her background in organizing, breaking down liberal stereotypes of rural people, and Community Works—which encourages Democrats to, as Anthony says, “shut up and do stuff.”
[1:56] Intro and work with Appalachian Women’s Alliance
[6:53] What is Community Works?
[12:56] When liberals rethink rural stereotypes
[15:42] Community Works examples from local Democratic parties
[26:54] Get involved in your own community!
More about Meredith:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithadean/
meredith@ruralurbanbridge.org to contact her!
More about Community Works:
https://ruralurbanbridge.org/our-work/community-works
Kimber Lanning is an entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Local First Arizona, an organization that supports local entrepreneurs and economies. She talks her background in arts entrepreneurship, the mission of Local First Arizona, and how small business can help rural economies.
[3:22] Developing Phoenix’s arts district
[8:11] Can entrepreneurship help the world?
[13:50] Local First Arizona develops local small business
[18:12] Supporting rural and Latino entrepreneurs
[25:38] Why are rural small businesses so important?
More from Kimber:
localfirstaz.com
@LocalFirstAZ
https://www.visitphoenix.com/greater-phoenix/phoenix/downtown-phoenix/roosevelt-row/
Dan Shea is a professor of Government at Colby College and the author of many books, most recently The Rural Voter: The Politics of Place and The Disuniting of America. Dan talks campaign consulting in upstate New York, the largest survey of rural voters ever done, and why conspiracy theorists aren’t as common as you might think.
[3:30] Starting out incampaign consulting
[8:40] Rural didn’t used to equal Republican
[12:52] How rural voters think about the places they live
[21:35] Rural rabble rousers are not as prevalent as you think
More from Dan:
https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-rural-voter/9780231211581
Buy the book!
https://www.colby.edu/people/people-directory/dan-shea/
Anthony and Stacy Mitchell (Co-Executive Director for the Institute for Local Self
Reliance) continue their discussion from part one. They dive into why the right
is now the party of small business, the exploits of super-duo Lina Khan and
Jonathan Kanter, and how big business robs autonomy and dignity from
democracies.
[1:42] Why
small businesses matter
[9:08] North
Dakota is the only state in the union that outlaws chain pharmacies
[14:01] The
left used to be about labor and small business
[20:52] What
have Biden’s anti-trust appointees done? Lots
[25:40]
Monopolization creates powerlessness in rural areas
More from
Stacy:
ilsr.org
@stacyfmitchell
https://stacymitchell.com/front-page/
to buy Big Box Swindle
Stacy Mitchell is Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and author of the
book Big Box Swindle, as well as articles for The Atlantic, New York Times, and more. Stacy
talks how Walmart and dollar chains took over, how Amazon dwarfs them all, and ILSR’s work
to stop monopoly power both locally and nationally.
[1:35] Growing up in the north vs. the south
[4:45] Big Box Window—writing about Walmart and big retail
[11:20] Dollar chains and food deserts
[14:30] Amazon’s dominance
[22:10] Institute for Local Self-Reliance—local organizing + big picture
More about Stacy:
ilsr.org
@stacyfmitchell
https://stacymitchell.com/front-page/ to buy Big Box Swindle
Luke Mayville is the founder and director of Reclaim Idaho, a grassroots organizing movement
with a history of spearheading successful ballot initiatives in Idaho. Luke talks growing up in an
evangelical small town, Reclaim Idaho’s grassroots organizing, and their current voting reform
project.
[1:53] Growing up evangelical, getting a PhD in philosophy
[9:58] How ballot initiatives support direct democracy
[16:01] Grassroots organizing for Medicaid expansion from the bottom up
[22:58] Reclaim Idaho’s Open Ballot Initiative for voting reform
More from Luke:
reclaimidaho.org to donate or get involved
@reclaimID
@lukemayville
Lark Corbeil is an experienced journalist and the founder of Public News Service, which reaches roughly 50 million people per week through news services in 37 states, as well as the non-profit Media in the Public Interest. Lark talks growing up in two different worlds, getting her start in journalism, and founding the biggest non-profit news service you’ve never heard of.
[2:04] Growing up between Idaho and California
[5:07] Getting into news business
[7:15] Moving into activism and the start of Public News Service
[13:00] What does PNS do?
[18:32] How Lark got rural, conservative stations to run PNS
[23:12] Stories that work: making the local global and vice versa
[25:25] How PNS has made a difference
More about Lark:
@PNS_News
www.publicnewsservice.org
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lark-corbeil-3347b54/
Matt is the Executive Director of Working America, an organizing and research arm of the AFL-CIO. Matt discusses his background in organizing, the multi-pronged strategy of Working America, how racism has impacted organizing and his own experience, and how and why they’ve been able to gain support from Working Class folks for progressive policies. This originally aired on WEHC 90.7 on May 25, 2023
Richard Moyer is a full-time organic farmer and part-time professor of biology at King University in Bristol, VA. In this episode, Anthony and Richard talk farming and its challenges, efforts to be more self-sufficient in our homes and communities, and what seems to work to help build trust and begin to overcome the divide. This originally aired on WEHC 90.7 on May 18, 2023.
Farah Stockman is an award-winning journalist, a member of the Editorial Board of the New York Times, and author of American Made: What Happens to People When Work Disappears.In this segment, Farah talks about the people she came to know and what she learned from them as she explored the closure of an Indiana ball bearing factory due to off-shoring, and how that impacted the hundreds of workers left behind. This originally aired on WEHC 90.7 on May 4, 2023.
In this two-part segment, former Maine State Senator Chloe Maxmin and her campaign manager and colleague, Canyon Woodward, discuss how Chloe was able to win two elections in rural districts of Maine, and how that experience laid the foundation for their new organization Dirt Road Organizing. The first segment focuses on their respective backgrounds in rural community organizing and how that led Chloe to run for office. The second segment considers their book, Dirt Road Revival, as well as details on the training and support offered by Dirt Road Organizing.
In this two-part segment, former Maine State Senator Chloe Maxmin and her campaign manager and colleague, Canyon Woodward, discuss how Chloe was able to win two elections in rural districts of Maine, and how that experience laid the foundation for their new organization Dirt Road Organizing. The first segment focuses on their respective backgrounds in rural community organizing and how that led Chloe to run for office. The second segment considers their book, Dirt Road Revival, as well as details on the training and support offered by Dirt Road Organizing.
Best selling author, Beth Macy, joins Two Worlds to discuss how being raised in poverty in a small Ohio town helped steer her into a journalism and writing career dedicated to lifting up the stories of folks who are struggling, whether due to offshoring of their jobs, the opioid epidemic or other issues
This week’s guest, Paul Kendrick, discusses his work with Rust Belt Rising, a Midwest-based organization focused on strengthening candidates in rust belt states and returning the Democratic Party to its working-class roots
Join Anthony Flaccavento as he speaks with Cynthia Wallace, a member of the Rural Urban Bridge, a former congressional candidate, daughter of a civil rights activist, she was born into politics in rural southeastern Georgia, where all of her grandparents were farmers. She has lived in Atlanta, Jacksonville and now Charlotte. She knows first hand the urban and rural life.
In this segment, second in a two part interview, Anthony continues his discussion with George Goehl, Founder of People's Action and a life-long organizer.
In this segment, part one of a two part interview, Anthony discusses community organizing with George Goehl, Founder of People's Action and a life-long organizer. George shares some of how he got into organizing and then describes some of the most effective means of communicating and breaking down barriers with people, often more conservative rural residents.
Author, activist and Rural Urban Bridge co-founder, Erica Etelson joins Anthony on Two Worlds to discuss how communication and messaging can either intensify or bridge our divides, including findings from her book, Beyond Contempt: How Liberals Can Communicate Across the Great Divide.
Anthony is joined on Two Worlds, One Country by RUBI co-founder, Cody Lonning, who grew up working farms in Washington state, and who teaches history and politics at Eastern Washington University. The program focuses on the recent report, "Can Democrats Succeed in Rural America?" which Cody and other RUBI members produced.
Joan Williams joins Anthony on Two Worlds, One Country to discuss her research and findings related to our country's challenges across class, gender, racial and economic divides, including her most recent efforts to understand and overcome the "diploma divide"
Anthony's first guest on Two Worlds, One Country is Dr. Kathy Cramer, one of the co-founders of the Rural Urban Bridge Initiative and author of The Politics of Resentment, a deep dive into the concerns, priorities and frustrations of rural people whom she came to know.
Anthony Flaccavento gives an overview of Two Worlds, One Country, and shares a little about himself with listeners.