In this episode, we are joined by Travis Misurell, founder of the he Future Is Now Coalition (FINC), for a wide-ranging and refreshingly concrete conversation about what it would actually take to fix a broken democratic system. Travis brings a rare combination of logistics thinking, technical fluency, and psychological insight to a problem most people treat as either abstract or hopeless. Rather than arguing left versus right, his work reframes politics as people-first versus power-first, and focuses on the structural failures that prevent real representation long before voters ever reach the ballot box.

We dive into why candidate selection is the true choke point of democracy, how money, party gatekeepers, and establishment media quietly narrow our choices, and why most political reform efforts fail to reach critical mass. Travis lays out a bold but pragmatic vision for “digital politics” and “digital democracy”: A shared civic infrastructure that connects citizens, independent journalists, grassroots candidates, and reform movements into a single, people-owned platform. Along the way, we talk about coordination versus fragmentation, awareness versus power, and why upgrading democracy may be less about ideology than about finally modernizing how we choose and hold leaders accountable.

This conversation isn’t about slogans or fantasies. It’s about mechanisms, sequencing, and the hard work of building something real—together.

For more about Travis and his work, please visit:

- https://futureis.org/

- https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureisnowcoalition/

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tmisurell/

In this episode, we are joined by Travis Misurell, founder of the he Future Is Now Coalition (FINC), for a wide-ranging and refreshingly concrete conversation about what it would actually take to fix a broken democratic system. Travis brings a rare combination of logistics thinking, technical fluency, and psychological insight to a problem most people treat as either abstract or hopeless. Rather than arguing left versus right, his work reframes politics as people-first versus power-first, and focuses on the structural failures that prevent real representation long before voters ever reach the ballot box.

We dive into why candidate selection is the true choke point of democracy, how money, party gatekeepers, and establishment media quietly narrow our choices, and why most political reform efforts fail to reach critical mass. Travis lays out a bold but pragmatic vision for “digital politics” and “digital democracy”: A shared civic infrastructure that connects citizens, independent journalists, grassroots candidates, and reform movements into a single, people-owned platform. Along the way, we talk about coordination versus fragmentation, awareness versus power, and why upgrading democracy may be less about ideology than about finally modernizing how we choose and hold leaders accountable.

This conversation isn’t about slogans or fantasies. It’s about mechanisms, sequencing, and the hard work of building something real—together.

For more about Travis and his work, please visit:

- https://futureis.org/

- https://www.linkedin.com/company/futureisnowcoalition/

- https://www.linkedin.com/in/tmisurell/

In this episode of The TRM Podcast, we sit down with Rashida Brown, a longtime Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and Democratic candidate for the Ward 1 seat on the DC City Council. With more than a decade of experience serving residents on the ground, Brown brings a rare combination of practical governance, deep community ties, and a systems-level understanding of how local power actually works.

Our conversation moves beyond campaign slogans and into the real mechanics of democracy in Washington, DC: how decisions get made, who gets heard, and why working-class and immigrant communities so often bear the costs of policies shaped by a small, organized minority. We discuss housing, public safety, the limits of siloed government agencies, the politics of “not-in-my-backyard” opposition, and the controversial stadium deal that redirected public money away from urgent social needs.

Throughout the episode, Brown lays out a vision of leadership rooted in people power rather than special interests, drawing on her background as a social worker, her experience navigating DC’s advisory commission system, and her belief that democracy only works when regular citizens are actively empowered to shape outcomes.

This is a candid, substantive conversation about what local government can be—and what it must become—if it is to truly serve the many rather than the few.

For more about Rashida Brown, please visit: https://rashidaforward1.com/

In this episode of The TRM Podcast, we sit down with Rashida Brown, a longtime Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and Democratic candidate for the Ward 1 seat on the DC City Council. With more than a decade of experience serving residents on the ground, Brown brings a rare combination of practical governance, deep community ties, and a systems-level understanding of how local power actually works.

Our conversation moves beyond campaign slogans and into the real mechanics of democracy in Washington, DC: how decisions get made, who gets heard, and why working-class and immigrant communities so often bear the costs of policies shaped by a small, organized minority. We discuss housing, public safety, the limits of siloed government agencies, the politics of “not-in-my-backyard” opposition, and the controversial stadium deal that redirected public money away from urgent social needs.

Throughout the episode, Brown lays out a vision of leadership rooted in people power rather than special interests, drawing on her background as a social worker, her experience navigating DC’s advisory commission system, and her belief that democracy only works when regular citizens are actively empowered to shape outcomes.

This is a candid, substantive conversation about what local government can be—and what it must become—if it is to truly serve the many rather than the few.

For more about Rashida Brown, please visit: https://rashidaforward1.com/

In this episode of The TRM Podcast, we speak with ⁠Mila Atmos,⁠ creator and host of ⁠Future Hindsight⁠, about what it really takes to revitalize American democracy from the ground up.

Drawing on eight years of interviewing civic leaders, reformers, and everyday doers, Mila explains why local and state engagement—not national spectacle—is where citizens have the most real-world power. She shares how she began her podcast in the aftermath of 2016, driven by a simple question: What can ordinary people do beyond voting?The conversation dives into:

1 - Why civic engagement works best locally—and why showing up to a city council meeting can have outsized impact.

2- The myth of a deeply divided America and how media incentives manufacture polarization despite broad public agreement on core issues.

3 - Lessons from 2016, 2020, and 2024, and why repeated “change elections” keep producing disappointment.

4 - How special interests and structural barriers—from the Electoral College to Senate malapportionment—sabotage majority rule.

5 - The crisis-as-opportunity moment we’re living through, and what it will take to channel it into genuine democratic renewal.

6 - The power of ordinary citizens solving tangible problems, from transit issues to food insecurity among seniors, and how real wins can spark broader political participation.

7 - New models for representation, including representatives who pledge to vote exactly as their constituents instruct—issue by issue.

Mila also shares the mission behind Future Hindsight: to give listeners the insight, energy, and confidence to act—to think differently about citizenship so they can act differently in their communities.

It’s a wide-ranging, hopeful, and deeply practical conversation between two people committed to rebuilding democracy not through theory, but through doing.

In this episode of The TRM Podcast, we speak with Mila Atmos, creator and host of Future Hindsight, about what it really takes to revitalize American democracy from the ground up.

Drawing on eight years of interviewing civic leaders, reformers, and everyday doers, Mila explains why local and state engagement—not national spectacle—is where citizens have the most real-world power. She shares how she began her podcast in the aftermath of 2016, driven by a simple question: What can ordinary people do beyond voting?The conversation dives into:

1 - Why civic engagement works best locally—and why showing up to a city council meeting can have outsized impact.

2- The myth of a deeply divided America and how media incentives manufacture polarization despite broad public agreement on core issues.

3 - Lessons from 2016, 2020, and 2024, and why repeated “change elections” keep producing disappointment.

4 - How special interests and structural barriers—from the Electoral College to Senate malapportionment—sabotage majority rule.

5 - The crisis-as-opportunity moment we’re living through, and what it will take to channel it into genuine democratic renewal.

6 - The power of ordinary citizens solving tangible problems, from transit issues to food insecurity among seniors, and how real wins can spark broader political participation.

7 - New models for representation, including representatives who pledge to vote exactly as their constituents instruct—issue by issue.

Mila also shares the mission behind Future Hindsight: to give listeners the insight, energy, and confidence to act—to think differently about citizenship so they can act differently in their communities.

It’s a wide-ranging, hopeful, and deeply practical conversation between two people committed to rebuilding democracy not through theory, but through doing.

In this episode of The TRM Podcast, we speak with Bowdoin College students Natalie Emerson and Larson Van Horn, creators of the ⁠Pine State Politics in Session⁠ podcast. What began as an academic project has become a powerful civic experiment in demystifying democracy. Emerson and Van Horn take us inside the process — petitions, ranked-choice voting, clean election funding — the often-invisible machinery that makes democracy work. Their mission is simple but profound: to replace cynicism with understanding by showing how the system actually functions, and how ordinary citizens can engage it with intelligence and purpose. From their experience gathering signatures on a Senate campaign to interviewing figures across the political spectrum, they remind us that democracy is not a spectator sport.

A grounded, hopeful conversation with two voices of the next generation who are learning — and teaching — what democratic participation really means.

In this episode of The TRM Podcast, we speak with Bowdoin College students Natalie Emerson and Larson Van Horn, creators of the Pine State Politics in Session podcast. What began as an academic project has become a powerful civic experiment in demystifying democracy. Emerson and Van Horn take us inside the process — petitions, ranked-choice voting, clean election funding — the often-invisible machinery that makes democracy work. Their mission is simple but profound: to replace cynicism with understanding by showing how the system actually functions, and how ordinary citizens can engage it with intelligence and purpose. From their experience gathering signatures on a Senate campaign to interviewing figures across the political spectrum, they remind us that democracy is not a spectator sport.

A grounded, hopeful conversation with two voices of the next generation who are learning — and teaching — what democratic participation really means.