After Trump’s new executive orders dismantle federal DEI programs, corporations like Target follow suit, shuttering racial equity initiatives and cutting ties with Black-owned businesses. Communities respond with boycotts—but do they still work in an economy dominated by giants like Amazon and Google?

Host Emily Williams speaks with:

• Nikki Porcher, founder of Buy From a Black Woman, about redirecting dollars to strengthen community resilience.
• Earl Ofari Hutchinson, activist, political analyst, and author of The Myth of Black Capitalism, about the power and limits of boycotts, capitalism as a tool for liberation, and lessons from the Civil Rights Movement.

This episode digs into how organized economic resistance can still shake corporate power, the dangers of rolling back diversity initiatives, and why building intergenerational, cross-community solidarity is key to survival.

We’d love to hear from you! Rate & review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to help others find us.
And, join the conversation on IG @arcuscenter.

Follow our Guests:

Earl Ofari Hutchinson
http://www.thehutchinsonreport.net/
https://www.instagram.com/earlhutchinson

Nikki Porcher
https://www.buyfromablackwoman.org/

https://www.nikkiporcher.com/

https://www.instagram.com/nikkiporcher/

Democracy in the U.S. is under siege. From ICE raids and mass deportations, to Elon Musk’s

“Department of Government Efficiency” dismantling federal protections, to attacks on education and the press—our institutions are unraveling at unprecedented speed.

In this episode, host Emily Williams sits down with award-winning journalist Karen Attiah (former Global Opinions Editor at The Washington Post) to unpack how we got here and what it will take to resist. Karen shares lessons from her “Resistance Summer School,” explores the dangers of authoritarianism cloaked in efficiency, and argues that radical empathy and education are essential tools for survival—and for building the democracy we deserve.

This is a sobering, urgent conversation about power, accountability, and what it will take to save ourselves.

Share this episode with a friend—because democracy is more than just voting.

We’d love to hear from you! Rate & review the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to help others find us. And, join the conversation on IG @arcuscenter.

Follow Karen Attiah:
https://karenattiah.substack.com/
https://www.karenattiah.com/

https://bsky.app/profile/karenattiah.bsky.social

In Season 2, we’re taking a closer look at the state of American democracy as it shifts under President Trump’s second term. We dig into what’s changing, who’s paying attention, and how people are fighting back.

This season features conversations with incredible journalists, organizers, and community leaders, including:

• Karen Attiah (Washington Post) on how a more organized administration is testing the rules of democracy.
• Jenni Monet (Indigenous affairs and climate reporter) on the Arctic as both a political and environmental warning for the rest of the world.
• Maurice Mitchell (Working Families Party) on how communities are building power through listening, organizing, and collective action.
• A look at the efficacy of boycotts in 2025—what’s working, what isn’t, and how collective resistance is evolving.
• Experts unpacking how AI and technology are reshaping privacy, energy, and governance in real time.

Throughout the season, you’ll also hear visions for a future rooted in care, radical imagination, and everyday people taking action to protect democracy- grounded in working-class solidarity and Indigenous leadership.

Because despite the present, it’s not too late to write our future.

Beyond Voting Season 2 launches October 2025. Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts.

Follow us on IG @arcuscenter for more.