In 2011, a handful of skeptical New Yorkers answer a call to Occupy Wall Street. What they find feels less like a protest and more like a glimpse of a different world—one where people openly share stories of debt, hardship, and frustration. They start to build an anti-capitalist village in a tiny Manhattan park — under the watchful eyes of police.

Want to dive deeper? Listen to these episodes of Future Hindsight:

For a conversation on activism with a co-founder of Occupy Wall Street, tune in to this episode with Micah White: 

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/micah-white 

For a recap of how American capitalism evolved into what it is today, listen to this episode with Kurt Andersen: 

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/americas-evil-geniuses-kurt-andersen

On solidarity and mutual aid, listen to this conversation with Manuel Pastor:

https://www.futurehindsight.com/episodes/episode/solidarity-and-mutuality-manuel-pastor

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Credits:

Host / Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer / Writer: Maria Luisa Tucker

Audio Producer: Zack Travis

Additional production help: Mia Warren, Erika Gjada, Megan Detrie, Lizzie Jacobs, and Ilya Magazanin

Archival research: Marisa Holmes

Archival material courtesy of: Occupy Wall Street Media Working Group.

Original music: Rude Mechanical Orchestra and Puge Ruhe

Special thanks to T.J. Raphael, Lauren Passell, Arielle Nissenblatt, and Kate Blumenfeld for being our first listeners and sounding boards, and to Tom Koenig for his support.

Distributed by PRX 

Occupy Wall Street is the story of the improbable becoming possible.

In 2008, millions of people were devastated by an economic crash caused by Wall Street greed, but it wasn’t until 2011 that there was a mass response from the Left. A call to protest went out, and thousands of people responded. They raged against a system that was rigged against them and tried to create their own anti-capitalist village in a small Manhattan park. The movement quickly spread across the country, inspiring hundreds of occupations and a new generation of activists.

OCCUPY! AN UNFINISHED UPRISING, told through the voices of activists who camped out in Zuccotti Park for almost two months, gets inside the drama of a movement that grew rapidly, felt both transcendent and chaotic, and then violently flamed out. Although the mainstream media labeled it a failed movement, Occupy changed the national conversation about capitalism, popularized the language of the 99%, and inspired a generation of activists. 

As we approach Occupy’s 15th anniversary this September, Occupy offers a reminder that collective action can reshape what seems possible. 

Tune in for the six-part series, coming July 9th.

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Credits:

Host/Executive Producer: Mila Atmos

Producer/Writer: Maria Luisa Tucker

Audio Producer: Zack Travis

Additional production help: Mia Warren, Erika Gjada, Megan Detrie, Lizzie Jacobs, and Ilya Magazanin

Archival research: Marisa Holmes

Archival material courtesy of: Occupy Wall Street Media Working Group.

Original music: Rude Mechanical Orchestra and Puge Ruhe

Special thanks to T.J. Raphael, Lauren Passell, Arielle Nissenblatt, and Kate Blumenfeld for being our first listeners and sounding boards, and to Tom Koenig for his support.

Distributed by PRX 

We discuss the intersection of policymaking on economics and democracy, the harm of intense concentration of wealth, and the need for building durable civil society.

Alex's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1. Join an organization in your community

2. Be in community with other people

Alex Hertel-Fernandez is a labor policy scholar and the Herbert H. Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He's also the author of State Capture: How Conservative Activists, Big Businesses, and Wealthy Donors Reshaped the American States — and the Nation.

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Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Alex Hertel-Fernandez

Executive Producer: Zack Travis

Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the enthusiasm for civic engagement by right-wing women, which translates to power and victory at the ballot box.

Katie's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Research and know the issues on your ballot

2) Vote in local elections

Katie Gaddini is a sociologist, visiting scholar at Stanford University, and the author of Esther's Army: The Christian Women Who Power the American Right.

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Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Katie Gaddini

Executive Producer: Zack Travis

Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the overlooked and insidious complications from gerontocracy in American democracy.

Sam's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Think of democracy as a political form for transient human beings

2) Evangelize one of these ideas: age quotas, tax code reform, or campaign finance reform

Samuel Moyn is the Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, the cohost of the Digging a Hole podcast, and the author of Gerontocracy in America: How the Old Are Hoarding Power and Wealth – and What to Do About It.

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Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Samuel Moyn

Executive Producer: Zack Travis

Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the balance of influence between activists and the majority in local politics and how we can reinvigorate democracy at the local level.

Brian's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Identify the problem you want to fix in your community

2) Develop an innovative solution and advocate for it

Brian Adams is professor of political science at San Diego State University and the author of Activism, Majority Rule, and Local Democracy: Rethinking Public Influence.

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Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Brian Adams

Executive Producer: Zack Travis

Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the case for SWAMP audits, how we can truly build a multiracial democracy, and why we're going to have to fight for it.

Steve's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Find your Minimum Viable Community and engage

2) Do a SWAMP audit!

Steve Phillips is the founder of Democracy in Color, a political media organization dedicated to race, politics, and the multicultural progressive New American Majority. His new book is Are White Men Smarter Than Everybody Else?: Playing Offense in the Fight for Racial Justice in America.

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Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Steve Phillips

Executive Producer: Zack Travis

Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the hidden power inside the U.S. Constitution, what it was designed to protect against, and how it can fortify American democracy today.

Melissa's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Commit to voting and follow through

2) Make your demands clear to your elected representatives

Melissa Murray is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, co-host of the Strict Scrutiny podcast, and a legal analyst for MSNBC. Her new book is The US Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader.

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Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Melissa Murray

Executive Producer: Zack Travis

Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss how each of us is a node of possibility for change in the climate crisis, taking us from overwhelm to participation.

Katharine's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Keep telling the truth.

2) Join with others in the climate movement.

Dr. Katharine Wilkinson is the host of the podcast A Matter of Degrees and the author of Climate Wayfinding: Healing Ourselves and the Planet We Call Home.

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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

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Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Katharine Wilkinson

Executive Producer: Zack Travis

Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the myriad of ways to fix Congress, ranging from campaign finance reform and age limits to town hall meetings and stopping violence against members of Congress.

Maya's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Engage with your member of Congress!

2) Share what matters for you and demand your member to take action

Maya Kornberg is senior research fellow at NYU Law's Brennan Center for Justice and author of Stuck: How Money, Media, and Violence Prevent Change in Congress.

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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

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Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Maya Kornberg

Executive Producer: Zack Travis

Executive Editor: Mila Atmos

We discuss the radical idea that dissidence belongs to all of us. Living with truth is the starting point to being a citizen changemaker and to taking impactful civic action.

Gal's civic action toolkit recommendations are:

1) Be in person

2) Be deliberate about how you operate online

Gal Beckerman is a staff writer for The Atlantic and the author of How to Be a Dissident.

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Sponsor:

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Early episodes for Patreon supporters:

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Credits:

Host: Mila Atmos

Guests: Gal Beckerman

Executive Producer: Zack Travis

Executive Editor: Mila Atmos