Stacey Abrams

You and I met actually in the midst of the COVID pandemic and you invited me to be on a podcast, but it was such an important conversation because you're just a really fantastic communicator on really complicated issues. Was there an inciting incident for you that made you decide, I not only have to know what I know, I need other people to understand what I know?

You and I met actually in the midst of the COVID pandemic and you invited me to be on a podcast, but it was such an important conversation because you're just a really fantastic communicator on really complicated issues. Was there an inciting incident for you that made you decide, I not only have to know what I know, I need other people to understand what I know?

Which brings us to the doing section of this conversation. You have been such a thoughtful partner to powerful people. But as you pointed out, you've also been doing that work with local organizations, with town hall meetings, helping citizens understand their power. How do we as individuals push back and meet this moment?

Which brings us to the doing section of this conversation. You have been such a thoughtful partner to powerful people. But as you pointed out, you've also been doing that work with local organizations, with town hall meetings, helping citizens understand their power. How do we as individuals push back and meet this moment?

We know there has been a recent tragedy where vigilante justice seemed like a solution to someone. But we know that that's not the answer. So how do we think about what else we can do? We know we talk about voting, and for some that didn't seem to work this time. It does work. It just doesn't work all the time in the ways we want it to work.

We know there has been a recent tragedy where vigilante justice seemed like a solution to someone. But we know that that's not the answer. So how do we think about what else we can do? We know we talk about voting, and for some that didn't seem to work this time. It does work. It just doesn't work all the time in the ways we want it to work.

But how do we talk about starting at the local level, using public health as the point of entry? Give us our marching orders. What do we do?

But how do we talk about starting at the local level, using public health as the point of entry? Give us our marching orders. What do we do?

Dr. Celine Gounder, thank you so much for joining us here and informing us here at Assembly Required. At Assembly Required, we encourage the audience to be curious, solve problems, and do good through a segment we call Our Toolkit. Now, we're going to fight the allergy to science and information by being curious.

Dr. Celine Gounder, thank you so much for joining us here and informing us here at Assembly Required. At Assembly Required, we encourage the audience to be curious, solve problems, and do good through a segment we call Our Toolkit. Now, we're going to fight the allergy to science and information by being curious.

During my time in the Georgia State Legislature, I relied heavily on KFF News, and it's still my go-to. KFF News is an independent source with news and health policy research. So sign up for their newsletters at kff.org slash email. For regular listeners, you're going to notice that today I'm doing things a little differently.

During my time in the Georgia State Legislature, I relied heavily on KFF News, and it's still my go-to. KFF News is an independent source with news and health policy research. So sign up for their newsletters at kff.org slash email. For regular listeners, you're going to notice that today I'm doing things a little differently.

You see, we've gotten quite a few listener questions that have a running theme. First, Ed Bogue wrote an email titled, How to Be an Activist with Social Anxiety. He writes, since the election, I have felt energized to help defend human rights, but severe social anxiety has been a major barrier for me. Even when it's just low stakes, small talk, my throat gets so dry that I can barely speak.

You see, we've gotten quite a few listener questions that have a running theme. First, Ed Bogue wrote an email titled, How to Be an Activist with Social Anxiety. He writes, since the election, I have felt energized to help defend human rights, but severe social anxiety has been a major barrier for me. Even when it's just low stakes, small talk, my throat gets so dry that I can barely speak.

And years of customer service work hasn't helped me overcome this. How do I get involved and make a difference when so much of the work is about connecting people? Number two. Muyan Chen wrote about wanting to be politically engaged even though she just has a green card. I came to the U.S. from China more than 10 years ago and now work as a researcher in a national lab.

And years of customer service work hasn't helped me overcome this. How do I get involved and make a difference when so much of the work is about connecting people? Number two. Muyan Chen wrote about wanting to be politically engaged even though she just has a green card. I came to the U.S. from China more than 10 years ago and now work as a researcher in a national lab.

Being a foreign national with a green card now, it's been quite stressful to watch the events unfolding, but it seems difficult to do anything about it legally. I'm wondering if there are anything such as volunteer opportunities that I can contribute to. And number three, a caller whose name I didn't quite catch called in and left a voicemail responding to the Heather Cox Richardson episode.

Being a foreign national with a green card now, it's been quite stressful to watch the events unfolding, but it seems difficult to do anything about it legally. I'm wondering if there are anything such as volunteer opportunities that I can contribute to. And number three, a caller whose name I didn't quite catch called in and left a voicemail responding to the Heather Cox Richardson episode.

She writes, I've been getting myself and my small online community to call our representative every day and leave messages with them, as well as an email. Just kind of letting them know, you know, what we think and what we need from them. And so I'm just wondering, are there specific folks we could be calling and writing? I like the idea of a bunch of us doing this kind of small thing together.

She writes, I've been getting myself and my small online community to call our representative every day and leave messages with them, as well as an email. Just kind of letting them know, you know, what we think and what we need from them. And so I'm just wondering, are there specific folks we could be calling and writing? I like the idea of a bunch of us doing this kind of small thing together.