Baratunde Thurston on the Potential of Our Civic Power

What does ‘doing our part' look like today? How can we each be evolved citizens and come together to push our country forward? These questions intrigue Baratunde Thurston. The author, comedian, and Emmy-nominated host is fascinated by how we can use our civic potential to form our shared future. 'The key is reminding ourselves we can do more than be born in a certain place, cast a vote, and follow the news,” he says. 'We have the power to shape our world.”What makes Thurston's civic drive compelling is that he's a realist about it. Citizenship is a heavy topic given these unsettled times. The word may even trigger us to think: Do my actions even make a difference? Thurston…whose resume includes advising the Obama White House, producing for The Daily Show, and writing the New York Times best-seller How to Be Black…says yes, and he puts a fun spin on it. In his new podcast, How to Citizen, he opens up conversations around how we can all be unifiers, and move our humanity forward. It isn't about politics, he says. It's about investing in ourselves and our relationships.'We've absorbed so much negativity in our media, so much undermining of democracy in our politics, that many of us want to scream,” says Thurston. 'This is for the screamers, to remind us that there's more to the story and more to our power than that.”