A Hidden Opportunity

Hello, I hope that the Spring is off to a great start for you and yours.  I just spoke at the Hudson Valley Ideas Fast this weekend and it was a lovely experience. 
 
There’s a lot of frustration with our political process right now, for good reason.  Congress, after months of delay, just passed an aid package.  But it’s important to take advantage of opportunities to improve our leadership when they do come up.  Andy Kim is one example – he’ll make a tremendous U.S. Senator from New Jersey as a true voice of the people. 

There’s another massive opportunity to install a high-quality U.S. Senator that most everyone is overlooking.  That is the race to replace Mitt Romney in Utah. 
 
Mitt Romney announced last year that he would not run for re-election, citing his advanced age and a desire to pass the torch to the next generation.  As you’d imagine, this set off a rush of candidates to replace him.  11 candidates have declared in the Republican primary.  Of these, the vast majority – 8 - have endorsed Donald Trump. 
 
The ninth?  John Curtis, a four-term member of Congress.  John is his own person.  “If they’re expecting me to be Mitt Romney, I’m going to disappoint them.  If they’re expecting me to be Mike Lee, I’m going to disappoint them.  I’m John Curtis, and I’m really happy with who that is and what I’ve been able to do and accomplish.”  Among those accomplishments, John founded the Conservative Climate Caucus for Republicans who believe that climate change is a problem and want to help address it.  John has his beliefs and is willing to stand up for them. 
 
“I thought long and hard about running for this office.  And I became convinced that it’s the best way I can serve.”  John and I had lunch together recently and he struck me as someone of character and leadership.  Despite his service in Washington, he seemed very circumspect in taking on this race.  Other members of Congress I’ve spoken to – even those who disagree with him on some fronts – rave about his ability to work together. 
 
The Republican primary in Utah is on June 25th.  Who would you rather have, a Romney-esque leader who believes in climate change and isn’t bending the knee to Trump or one of the eight candidates who has already endorsed Trump?  This is a rare opportunity because, in such a crowded field, someone like John could emerge from the primary and be on a glide path straight to the Senate. 
 
One frustration I have with Democrats is that they act like all Republicans are the same, sometimes while actually backing election deniers in primaries to increase their own chances in the general.  Here, the opportunity is to back a non-Maga Senator who can help provide a bulwark against the extremes of his own party.  That’s a big deal.  And the Democrats will be uncompetitive in this particular race in November.    
 
I’ve donated to John and I hope you will consider doing so as well.  Let your friends in Utah know about his race.  We have to take advantage of opportunities when they arise and leaders like John don’t come along every day.    
 
To see what Forward is up to in your area click here.  To better understand why our political process is so dysfunctional, pick up Forward: Notes on the Future of our Democracy.  And I just found out my TED Talk comes out on May 7th next week – pumped to share it with the world! 

Welcome to my TED Talk

Hello, I hope that your weekend was great. 

I spent the past week at TED gearing up for my talk and delivering it – the topic was America’s political system, what is going wrong, and how we can improve it. 

For those of you who don’t know much about TED, it’s a conference that convenes a host of thinkers in technology, science and culture.  The videos from people’s talks are widely circulated – it has 24 million subscribers on YouTube for example.  A realistic expectation of the number of people who will wind up seeing this talk is probably 1 to 3 million, with a possibility of it being significantly higher - some talks get up to 6 million+ views.  

I’ve spoken on America’s political system any number of times and feel very comfortable with the subject matter.  But having a tailored talk with slides on a tight time frame still required some thought and work.  The TED team asks that you rehearse and present to them multiple times in the run up to the conference.  The venue holds about 1,700 people, and there’s one ‘take.’  So you definitely feel some pressure.  Evelyn flew out to join me for the occasion – she’s never attended TED so it’s new to her. 

The night before reminded me a little bit of a night before a presidential debate, where it’s tough to get to sleep.  I woke up thinking, “Today’s the day!”  I was eager to hit the message.    

Backstage was restless.  Scott Galloway was up after me, so we shared some time together.  I heard my name called and bounded to the stage. 

I’m glad to say the talk went great.  The feedback was phenomenal.  I got a standing ovation.  People came up to me afterward to congratulate me.  I definitely opened some eyes and minds to a different approach to the problems that ail us.  One person said to me afterwards, “Thank you.  I feel like the future of civilization may rest on whether your efforts succeed.”  Others asked, “How can I help?”  It felt awesome to deliver on what I knew was a big opportunity to get the word out. 

TED releases the talks after the conference at a rate of one per day.  My best guess is that mine will probably go out sometime in May.  

Can a TED talk change the world?  Obviously that’s a tall order.  But I’m eager to find out and grateful to have had a chance.  I felt an energy that I’ve only felt on the best of days.  I can’t wait for you to see it.  Thank you for getting me here.  Let’s keep going. 

To see what Forward is doing around the country, click here.  I’ll be speaking at the Hudson Valley Ideas Fest with Stephen Dubner, Coleman Hughes, Rikki Schlott, Xochitl Gonzalez, Neil Parikh and more on April 27th in Rosendale, New York.  A TED talk might break out. 

A Declaration of Independents

Hello, I hope that you’re doing well.  I’m on the way to TED right now to speak about our political system and how it can be improved – it should be a great opportunity.  I expect the talk to be made public sometime in May.  

When I ran for office, I ran as a Democrat.  It seemed practical and, to some extent, natural.  But there were significant distortions that accompanied the primaries I participated in – there were certain interest groups and schools of thought that were highly overrepresented. 

One person who figured this out even before he ran for office is Greg Orman.  “The two parties have spent their time and treasure protecting Americans that we are for more different and divided than we actually are,” writes Greg in his book, “A Declaration of Independents.”  I interview Greg on the podcast this week. 

Greg started a successful business in Kansas and saw that many voters felt underrepresented.  He decided to run for the Senate in Kansas in 2014.  “I initially looked at running as a Democrat because I was heading against a Republican incumbent.  But I soon realized that there was dogma on both sides that I didn’t agree with.  I’ve never believed there were only two possible answers to any problem.  Many issues are more nuanced than that.”

Greg went around the state and just started talking to voters.  He got more and more support with his straightforward, commonsense approach.  “Why is it that it’s harder and harder for Americans to get ahead, but it’s also simultaneously more common for people to be using their time unproductively?  Something is going wrong here.”   Greg believed that the two-party system was a big reason why things were getting worse for Kansans, not better. 

Greg went up and up in the polls.  He even pulled ahead of the incumbent Senator, which shocked the establishment.  It got to the point where the national Republican Party sent John McCain and a parade of national figures to Kansas and spent $17 million to make sure they kept the seat.  They defined Greg as a Democratic puppet and attacked him in various ways.  He still wound up with 42.5% of the vote in the general election, a stunning level for an Independent candidate.  For context, Ross Perot got 19% in 1992. 

“I was running against the entire establishment, and the system came to Kansas and did its best to shut me down,” Greg said.  Today, he supports independent candidates and continues to make the case.  “I back those who are trying to create a new choice in American politics.  Almost half of Americans are Independents at this point, and we are being shut out as our future and that of our kids is increasingly jeopardized.” 

As you can imagine, Greg is one of the role models for independent candidates in the whole country, and I’m proud to say that he is supportive of our work at Forward.  In some ways, the enemy is ideology.  “True independence comes not through adherence to a rigid ideology but through putting our country ahead of a political party . . . independence from the party line, from the special interests that control both major political parties through campaign cash, and from extremists who control each party’s primary process – that’s what the country needs to move forward.” 

For “A Declaration of Independents” click here and my interview with Greg click here.   To see what Forward is doing for candidates around the country of any party, click here.  I’ll be speaking at the Hudson Valley Ideas Fest with Stephen Dubner, Coleman Hughes, Rikki Schlott, Xochitl Gonzalez, Neil Parikh and more on April 27th in Rosendale, New York.  If you’re in the area or know someone who is, maybe I’ll see you there! 

The Impact of Tech

A few years ago, some producers approached me about doing a TV show called “The Future of . . . with Andrew Yang.”  The theme was I would talk about the future of education one week, healthcare or transportation the next, etc.  I thought it could be an interesting way to get some points out and so was glad to explore the possibility.  Then, a few weeks later they came back with some mildly surprising data.  “So . . . we tested this out with a bunch of viewers, and it turns out that they like you, but they don’t like the future.  So we’ll try to think of something else.” 

Jonathan Haidt had a new book come out last week called “The Anxious Generation,” that makes a compelling case that social media has been behind the surge in anxiety and depression among young people, particularly girls.  He recommends curbing smartphone and social media use for minors and making schools phone-free. 

This past week on the Daily Show, Jon Stewart did an extended segment on AI coming to replace workers.  I received a number of messages saying, “He sounds just like your presidential campaign four years ago!” 

If you think about the future, there’s something of a veil of negativity.  I wrote in the War on Normal People that we will naturally trend toward either Mad Max or Star Trek in a future of either scarcity or abundance.  If you look at movies, TV and the news, it’s clear that most people think our future is more likely to be dystopian than the opposite. 

AI is going to change civilization on a scale that may be unprecedented.  This week on the podcast, I interview Jo Ling Kent, senior business and tech correspondent for CBS.  She said, “Right now it’s clear that the U.S. and China are developing their own AI domains with different data and algorithms in each.  It’s not direct competition so much as two different worlds.” 

In the Daily Show segment, Jon Stewart showed various legislators – generally of advanced age – evincing ignorance about how to approach AI.  Our lack of confidence in government is fueling the pessimism about the future that many of us feel. 

How do you feel about the future?  And what would it take to make you optimistic? 

When I ran for President I had what many felt was a utopian vision, starting with Universal Basic Income.  Most people back then thought it was impossible that our government could send checks to tens of millions of Americans.  Then we did a version of that in 2020 and halved child poverty in 2021 with an enhanced child tax credit.  The child tax credit fell prey to political dysfunction a year later, but demonstrated that we can meaningfully reduce poverty if our leaders have the will. 

Some experts project that AI will increase global GDP by 10% by 2032 – or as much as ~$10 trillion.  Where will that wealth go? 

What’s ironic is that we are succumbing to scarcity just at the moment when abundance – Star Trek – might actually be a possibility.  It turns out that if you don’t believe in government, it’s hard to imagine that the benefits of innovation will be broadly shared. 

Why don’t we believe that tech is going to help?  It’s because we don’t believe in our leaders.  We don’t believe in our capacity to mold our own future.  We may not believe in ourselves. 

Can that change?  That’s the core question on which everything depends.

For my interview with Jo Ling Kent click here.  To join Forward to reform our political system, click here.  For my book on the future we face, “The War on Normal People” click here.  It includes a positive vision that we could yet achieve.  

A Reflection

Hello, thank you for choosing to read this note.  The truth is that a lot of people – 200,000+ - receive this newsletter every week, and a shockingly high percentage of you actually click it and read it!  I’m grateful.  Your time is precious.   

I try to take this responsibility seriously by sending you something interesting and actionable – I like doing things.  If I can’t do anything about it, it’s less interesting to me. 

Of the 3 non-fiction books I’ve written, each was tied to doing something.  The first, “Smart People Should Build Things,” was the case I made for Venture for America, the non-profit I started in 2011 and ran for 6 years.  We operated in 15 cities primarily in the Midwest and the South.  VFA continues on to this day with a new CEO and has helped empower hundreds of young entrepreneurs and businesses. 

My second book, “The War On Normal People,” catalogued my deep concerns about the impact of technology and automation on the workforce and pushed for solutions and an evolution of the economy, including Universal Basic Income.  It doubled as the basis for my presidential campaign and became a major bestseller; several colleges adopted it into their curriculum and it was translated into at least 5 other languages.  I founded a lobbying organization, Humanity Forward, in 2020 that continues to push for some of the ideas in “The War On Normal People,” including antipoverty measures like an enhanced child tax credit. 

My third book, “Forward: Notes on the Future of Our Democracy,” was about the dysfunction of our political system and the media and the need for reform.  I launched the Forward Party in 2021 and it merged with two other pro-democracy organizations the following year.  I’m now Forward’s co-chair and we operate around the country backing ballot measures, voting reforms and positive aligned candidates.  My colleagues at Forward include Gov. Christie Todd Whitman, Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey and many others and just last week we launched statewide Treasurer and Attorney General candidates in Pennsylvania. 

I joke that each book I write tells me what I’m going to do for the next three to five years.  (I also co-wrote a novel, “The Last Election,” with Stephen Marche that is an exception to this rule, meant as part entertainment, part warning.)

This month I’m speaking at TED on the American political system and how to improve it.  I’m hopeful that this will result in another few hundred thousand people understanding better what is holding us back, and maybe – just maybe – a few of them will sign up to do something about it.  It could be with Forward, or Unite America or Fairvote (a Ranked Choice Voting non-profit I’m on the Board of).  I’m now convinced that our political system needs a revamp before we can meaningfully tackle any of our biggest long-term problems. 

I’m not unmindful of the immediate threat.  If you follow me, you know I think Trump would be a disaster in a second term.  I’ll be working to reduce the odds of Trump winning in different ways.  Initially, it was by trying to swap in a different Democratic nominee whom I thought would be a stronger foil for Trump.  Now, it will be by boosting the non-Trump turnout by backing sensible local candidates in key swing states like Pennsylvania via Forward. 

I’m also going to be supporting individual candidates whom I think will help us navigate this time – folks like John Avlon in NY, John Curtis in Utah and Dave Min in California.  In all of these cases, the alternative is a Trump loyalist or aspirant to that role. 

The overall mission is to help make good things happen and prevent bad things from happening. 

Another candidate I’ve been supporting is Andy Kim.  This past week, Tammy Murphy dropped out of the New Jersey Senate race, clearing the way for Andy to almost certainly be the next U.S. Senator from the Garden State.  This was an enormous win – Andy will be a phenomenal upgrade and replacement for the corrupt Bob Menendez, he of the gold bars and corruption indictments. 

Tammy was the establishment favorite as the Governor’s wife – the entire New Jersey Congressional delegation endorsed her as did many of the biggest County Chairs.  But Andy captured the imagination of the grassroots Democratic voters in NJ, winning most of the county convention mini-elections.  He fundraised competitively.  Tammy looked at the numbers and saw that she was going to have to go negative and cut a big personal check to the campaign to try and defeat Andy.  She – to her credit – decided not to go nuclear.  Andy now has a clear path, and will make a phenomenal U.S. Senator.  He’s as upright as it gets. 

I co-hosted an event for Andy and some of you donated and got the word out about him.  Were we the difference-makers?  It’s possible. 

Sometimes, the good guys win or something good happens because we do something about it. 

That’s why I write.  Thank you for keeping up with me through thick and thin.  Let’s do more in ’24.  And as long as you keep reading, I’ll keep writing. 

Click here to check out John Avlon, John Curtis, Dave Min or here to see the Forward chapter in your area.  You can also check out Humanity Forward and andrewyang.com for books, the newsletter and the podcast.      

John Avlon

Hello, I hope that your weekend was good.  

Have you ever had a friend tell you that they’re running for office?  I had that experience a few weeks ago – my friend John Avlon announced he is running for Congress in New York’s 1st district in Long Island. 

If John seems familiar to you, he’s a journalist and author who has been a CNN anchor for years.  He also was a guest on my podcast last year to talk about his latest book on Abraham Lincoln – he’s a massive history buff with a deep love of country. 

“I talk about the importance of the time that we’re in, that democracy is at stake, and I felt like I shouldn’t just be talking, I should do something about it,” John said when I interviewed him on the podcast this week.  “I thought that if I decided to run, I could make a seat competitive that otherwise wouldn’t be in play.” 

From the early returns, he’s right.  His announcement video has been watched 2.6 million times and he raised $400,000+ in his first week.  “The reaction has been even better than I’d imagined,” John says.  The local Democratic party helped enlist John in part because they thought he would inject some energy into the race. 

“My opponent is endorsing Trump in a district that is a lot more middle-of-the-road.  I’d like to provide a common sense alternative which is what most people seem to want.”  John is focused on affordability.  “When I talk to families, they are struggling to make ends meet.  I want to bring back the child tax credit so families feel like they have a bit of support.  I’ve got two young kids myself so I know how hard it can be.”  He also wants to help address climate change in an area that has a lot of shoreline. 

John is a longtime political reformer in favor of measures like Ranked Choice Voting.  “We are rewarding the wrong behavior.  I want to improve the incentives so that leaders feel like they can do the right thing without getting singled out or punished.  A lot of that is about getting beyond the toxic partisanship that is so dominant right now.”  John presented me an award at the Fairvote Gala last year and has been a friend to reform efforts for years.  He would make a phenomenal ally in Congress – I can imagine some very smart reform bills getting a lot more energy with John as a co-sponsor. 

I’m excited about John’s candidacy in large part because he’s genuine.  You know when you see someone on TV and then wonder if they’re actually that sincere and patriotic in real life?  Having known John for years, he’s the real thing.  He cares.  He’s stepping up to run because his country needs people like him to do just that.  It’s what you want to see.  Let’s help him win. 

For my interview of John click here.  To support his campaign click here.  To check out the Forward chapter in your area click here. 

Dean, Andy, John and Krist

As most of you know, I supported Dean Phillips in his presidential run that recently ended.  I was glad to support Dean – he is the kind of pragmatic, well-intended, bipartisan 55-year old leader that most Americans actually want. 

Dean got 20% of the primary vote in New Hampshire, and it would have been much higher if Independents had participated in the Democratic Primary.  That 20% was based on about 10 weeks of campaigning in the state and expenditures of about $6 million.  There were enough television commercials in New Hampshire where a majority of voters knew who he was.  

This was not the case in South Carolina or nationally.  In order to succeed, Dean would need to spend $10 – 12 million in the next contested state, Michigan, to build the same kind of name ID as quickly as possible.  Focus groups showed that Dean’s ceiling was quite high in Michigan; over 50% of focus group participants said they’d vote for him.  That money never came, and his support plummeted down to the low single-digits.  Dean dropped out after Super Tuesday and endorsed Joe Biden, a decision I agree with, as his campaign was past a point where it would have been good for the country.  And Dean’s interest has always been to do what he thought was right for the country. 

Now the focus turns to primaries around the country and of course the November presidential election.  There are candidates around the country that I’m excited about.  One is Andy Kim, who is running for U.S. Senator in New Jersey against the corrupt Bob Menendez and the first lady of the state, Tammy Murphy.  I’ve known Andy for years and he’s an earnest public servant who is as upright as it gets.  Watching the Democratic establishment close ranks against Andy – despite the fact that he’s a sitting member of Congress in excellent standing – has been educational. 

I’m also excited about John Avlon, who is running for Congress in Long Island.  John is a political reformer at heart who is stepping up to run because he thinks he can make New York’s 1st district competitive.  John is an author and journalist who is as patriotic as it gets.  He’ll be for reforms like Ranked Choice Voting and would be a prominent voice in Congress for transcending partisanship. 

On the Republican side, there are 9 candidates running for Senate in Utah to succeed Mitt Romney.  Only 1 of these 9 candidates has not endorsed Donald Trump:  Congressman John Curtis, who co-founded a group called Conservative Climate Caucus.  Yes, a Republican who believes in combating climate change and has rallied people to that cause.  I have the feeling I know which candidate Mitt will be voting for in this race.  I’ve met John and he’s a great guy running for the right reasons. 

This week on the podcast I interview Krist Novoselic, co-founder of the rockband Nirvana and chair of the Washington Forward Party.  Krist and Forward are backing positive local candidates around the country.  Krist used to be the chair of the local Democratic Party but became an enormous champion of independent politics years ago as the chair of Fairvote.  I was in high school when “Smells Like Teen Spirit” hit the airwaves, so it’s a lot of fun working with a bonafide rockstar like Krist to help make good things happen.  “We need something different in our politics, I’ve known that for years.” 

Indeed, I think that’s one of the joys of Forward – you can get behind any candidate of any party if you think they will help make good things possible. 

Dean Phillips was one such candidate.  If I had the chance to do it all over again, I’d be glad to.  

To everyone who leant Dean a hand or gave him a look, Thank you!  

Click here to check out Andy Kim, John Avlon, John Curtis and your local Forward chapter.  Let’s get behind good people who want to make good things happen in any party and build what the country needs.   

Don Sun

My friend Don Sun passed away last week from cancer.  It’s been a devastating blow.  He leaves behind two sons and countless friends he’s touched over the years. 

I first met Don in the early days of my presidential campaign.  I was pitching myself to a group of elderly Asian American community leaders as a fledgling presidential candidate in San Francisco.  I gave a speech about how our families came to this country for a better life, but now this country needs us to step up and do more it because it is falling prey to division.  We can help bring it back together.  They were fairly stoic so I wasn’t sure how it went. 

Afterwards, Don took me aside.  He said something that would change my life.  “I have dedicated my life to helping Asian American political leaders rise.  You are the real deal.  I have been waiting for you for years.  Helping you is the most impactful thing that I can do.  So I am going to drop everything else and dedicate myself to your campaign.”  I didn’t know quite how to respond, but simply nodded and said, “Thank you.” 

After that, Don became a constant presence in my life for the next four years.  At first my small team didn’t know how to receive this smiling 60-year old Asian man who just showed up in Iowa and New Hampshire.  But he quickly became beloved by all, as he would fold himself into the backseat of the rental vehicle for hours, seeming thrilled to be there no matter what the circumstances.  Many people thought that he was my father or uncle, which he took as a compliment.  He would help out with any task, no matter how small. 

As the campaign wound on, we would start having “Don events” – Don would organize the Asian American community wherever we went.  Months later, I was in a beautiful home in Southern California with a group of hundreds of supporters that Don had organized.  He did the same in Portland, Minnesota, Austin, Seattle and anyplace else that we went.  Our presidential campaign went on to raise $40 million from hundreds of thousands of Americans, many of whom had never been involved in politics before.  Don was behind a lot of that energy.  He would say, “Not just pictures, donate money!”  He was with me and Evelyn in Iowa and New Hampshire for months. 

After the campaign, Don organized youth camps for Asian American high school students to develop leadership skills. He started a PAC called “Asian Americans Forward” that supports political candidates at every level.  And he continued to connect me to communities around the country where I could lend a hand, in part because he felt that I needed to keep going.  “You should run for governor!”  We spoke regularly and saw each other often.  He would join my family for dinner in New York when he was in town.  Evelyn loved Don – he was part of our family. 

In late 2023, Don was mourning the loss of his longtime partner, but it seemed that he was bouncing back.  In January though I called him and he said that he’d been sick in bed.  He was having trouble keeping food down.  He said he was going to go to the hospital to get checked out.  I encouraged him to do so, and had a sinking feeling.  Don was always so energetic, and he sounded weak on the phone. 

After visiting the emergency room, he was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.  The cancer had spread to multiple organs throughout his body.  The doctors gave him 2 to 4 weeks to live. 

It was a shock to everyone.  Don had been hale and hearty just weeks earlier.  I jumped on a plane to visit him and then came back again days later. 3 weeks later he was gone. 

He said to me on his hospital bed as I clasped his hand, “Be the leader for all of America, not just Chinese Americans or Asian Americans.  You are our best hope to bring everyone together.” 

He also said, “I’m just an ordinary person.  The world will keep on going without me.  I’ve lived a good life.” 

He was wrong about the first part.  Don Sun was an extraordinary person who brought so much positive energy into the world.  He touched so many lives because he was selfless. 

You know the person who believes in you even more than you believe in yourself?  Don was that person for me.  I’ll miss him terribly. 

Rest in peace Don.  I love you.  I’ll miss you.  Keep smiling down on us.  We’ll do our best to make you proud.  

The American Exchange Project

What if every high school senior went across the country to another town and spent a week hosted by another family working, volunteering, and hanging out with 12 other high school seniors from around the US?

That’s what David McCullough III is finding out.  He’s the co-founder and CEO of the American Exchange Project, a non-profit that is trying to reconnect America, one 18-year old at a time.  They will host their 1,000th participant this summer across 34 different states.  Every trip is completely free for the student, from airfare to lodging to food and programming. 

David, whom I interview on the podcast this week, started AEP in 2019.   “So many people were concerned about polarization, but what were we doing about it?  I thought this was something concrete that Americans of every background could get behind.”  One of my policy goals in 2020 was a very similar “American Exchange Program,” and I’m thrilled that David and his team have brought such an important vision to life. 

David was 24 back in 2019.  “My parents were surprised when I moved back home to start a non-profit with a couple of guys they’d never heard of.”  Their early days were catalyzed by tragedy.  “One of my co-founders, who was in his seventies, developed Stage 4 pancreatic cancer.  He told all of his friends that the American Exchange Project would become his legacy.  He and his friends raised about $500,000 for our new little organization, which was enough for us to hire a team and get started.” 

So what has the impact been in participants?  “We’re seeing civic benefits where optimism about America’s future and faith in other Americans shoots up.  We’re also seeing mental health and social benefits; 90% of our participants say they made at least one more close friend.  One alum said she’d never gotten so many text messages when it was her birthday the next year from people outside her town.  30% of our participants had never been on a plane before.  This experience has completely changed their horizons.” 

It makes perfect sense.  When I was young I went to sleepaway camps with people from different towns.  When you spend all day with someone you can become friends pretty quickly.  If you are put in an intentional environment where you work together and make common cause, it’s easy to imagine intense, even lifelong bonds forming.  “We’ve seen persistent effects and relationships from the 1st alumni class over what is now several years.”  This genuinely is the way change happens. 

Now David has a big vision.  “Imagine if 1 million high school grads visited another part of the country and brought back a different understanding and new relationships with them every single year.  That’s what AEP is trying to make happen, and I want to make it happen by 2030.”  Given how much they’ve accomplished already, it’s hard to bet against David and his team.  A country where 18-year olds felt better about the country and its people would be a better, stronger one. 

For my interview of David click here.  To check out the American Exchange Project click here.  To see what Forward is doing in your area to bring people together, click here.  

Some fun news - I will be speaking at TED in April!  That should be a great way to get the word out about how to improve our politics.  I will also be speaking at the Hudson Valley Ideas Fest in April.

Soul Boom

Hello, I hope all is great with you. 

What is sacred to you?  That's what Rainn Wilson would like to know.  

This week on the podcast I interview Rainn, actor (Dwight in “The Office”) and author of several bestselling books, including his latest 'Soul Boom: Why We Need A Spiritual Revolution.'  

'Soul Boom' is extraordinarily ambitious and personal.  He shares his struggles with mental health and relationships as a young adult, which led him to pursue a better relationship with God.  He writes that spirituality serves two integral purposes: 

1. Make people happier and more fulfilled, which he calls the “Kung Fu: the Series” journey; and

2. Help our species overcome our myriad challenges and come together, which he calls the “Star Trek” journey. 

Rainn draws on writings from many different faiths and spiritual traditions – he is a voracious reader – to find universal truths that most of us would agree upon.  For example, it turns out that just about every faith believes in charity and caring for others. 

He notes the institutional degradation that many of us sense:  “As all the existing organizational systems around us break down, we need answers.  We need solutions.  We need hope.  Unity.  Love.  Compassion.” 

Rainn extensively critiques our profit-seeking economic system.  “From a spiritual perspective, we need to shift our view of true success away from the accumulation of wealth and toward nobility, selflessness and generosity.”  He quotes Captain Jean Luc Picard of Star Trek: the Next Generation: “People are no longer obsessed with the accumulation of things . . . we’ve eliminated hunger, want, the need for possessions.  We’ve grown out of our infancy.” 

He calls cynicism the opposite of joy, and observes that our society has become a conspiracy against joy in many ways.  He is very negative on political parties.  “Basically, I believe the toxicity of partisanship is one of the greatest threats to our way of life, the future of our nation, and perhaps the fate of the world.”  Instead, what Rainn wants to see is more universalism and unity born of spirituality.  He asks a very personal question:  “What is sacred to you?”   

Traveling this country for the past decade, I’ve met thousands of Americans of different religions and seen firsthand how faith plays an integral role in many communities.  I've also seen beleaguered churches that have had a hard time recovering from Covid.  

In the ‘War on Normal People’ I wrote that our future will come to resemble either the cultivated benevolence of ‘Star Trek’ or the pervasive conflict of ‘Mad Max.’  Which are we heading to? 

AI is coming fast, and it will make it harder and harder for most Americans to keep pace.  What’s required is a new economy that resembles our values – caring, creativity, kindness – as opposed to capital efficiency.  I’m yet pursuing a secular and political path to get us to head in that direction.  Rainn thinks we need a spiritual movement too.  He may be right.   

For my interview of Rainn Wilson, click here.  For his book “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution” click here.  To change the partisan dynamic that is tearing the country apart, check out the Forward chapter in your area.  And for my take on the challenges we face with AI, check out “The War on Normal People: The Truth About America’s Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income is Our Future” here.