383. Ron Wyden with Liz Berry: It Takes Chutzpah
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Release Date: 03/14/2025
385. Lessons from Ending Apartheid: How to Resolve Deep Conflict
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Around the world and throughout history, bitter political adversaries have put aside their differences and worked together to create peace. In a conversation moderated by Jillian Youngblood, Executive Director of Civic Genius, hear two extraordinary leaders tell how they helped transform South Africa into a multiracial democracy, and what their experiences can teach us. Roelf Meyer is renowned for his pivotal role as the South African government’s chief representative in the negotiations to end Apartheid. Mohammed Bhabha was on the African National Congress team at the Convention for a...
info_outline
384. Yoni Appelbaum: Priced out of the American Dream
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Seattle home prices are notoriously sky-high, making this city a difficult place to afford and move to. How did Seattle and other U.S. cities become that way? Or, as historian and journalist Yoni Appelbaum puts it, how did the U.S. cease to be the land of opportunity? Pulling from his book, Stuck, Appelbaum explores how housing affects the very fabric of our society. For 200 years, people in the U.S. moved to new places for economic and social opportunity. But, Appelbaum argues that not only is this American Dream becoming more inaccessible, it hasn’t been available to many for a long...
info_outline
383. Ron Wyden with Liz Berry: It Takes Chutzpah
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
“If you want to make change, you’ve got to make noise.” A call to action in the political sense conveys boldness and focus. It’s about drawing attention and speaking loudly about one’s convictions, with a sense of urgency and persistence. To longtime outspoken advocate and US Senator Ron Wyden, that’s what you’d call chutzpah – and his upcoming book sets out to inspire that same quality of action-driven audacity in Americans of all ages. It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change acts as a reflection of Wyden’s decades of public service and as a...
info_outline
382. Chris Hayes with Luke Burbank: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
You’ve probably been there: doomscrolling or otherwise distracted by devices. Many of us have lost focus before as our addictive phones consume our time or interfere with social situations. People bump into one another on the street, look down at their phones at restaurants, or check their mobile devices while spending time with the kids as continuous pings sound off in their pockets and purses. New York Times bestselling author, political commentator, and MSNBC news anchor Chris Hayes posits that these phenomena are part of a larger issue of attention capitalism, and show how...
info_outline
381. Queering Talks: In Between
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Step into the in-between. This segment dives into the rich, transformative power of liminal spaces—those borders and boundaries where identities and experiences defy tidy categories. Our speakers will share deeply personal stories of hybridity, multiplicity, and fluidity, offering insights from lives lived beyond the binary. These talks challenge conventional thinking and celebrate the voices of those who have always thrived in the margins. Don’t miss this bold exploration of the spaces where possibility begins. About Queering Talks From the beginning, Town Hall has been a space for...
info_outline
380. Jesse Hagopian with Dr. Ayva Thomas and Wayne Au: Teach Truth — Unbanning Books in Public Schools
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Did you know that the Seattle Public Library offers any U.S. resident, ages 13-26, a free “Books Unbanned Card,” which allows you to check out any e-books or e-audiobooks from the Library’s digital collection, no matter where you live? This is just one example of how people are resisting new restrictions on information and education across the country. In his new book, Teach Truth, Seattle educator and author Jesse Hagopian discusses these restrictions and offers advice on how to defend antiracist education. Hagopian outlines how numerous states and school districts in recent...
info_outline
379. Juan Williams with Enrique Cerna: The Rise of America’s Second Civil Rights Movement
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
After the U.S. elected Barack Obama its first Black president in 2008, some assumed that this signaled a post-racial America. However, subsequent and serious incidents suggested this was not the case, inciting what some came to know as a second civil rights movement. Political correspondent, journalist, and historian Juan Williams explores this phenomenon in his latest release New Prize for These Eyes: The Rise of America’s Second Civil Rights Movement. Who are the heroes of this movement? Where is it headed? What distinguishes it from its predecessor? Williams aims to answer...
info_outline
378. Mariana Chilton with Agueda Pacheco Flores: Rethinking What We Know About Hunger in America
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
In America today, reports show that food insecurity is a pressing issue for over 35 million people. With rising grocery prices, inflation, and the lasting impacts of the pandemic—understanding the complexities of hunger has never been more imperative. Mariana Chilton explores this issue in the book, The Painful Truth about Hunger in America: Why We Must Unlearn Everything We Think We Know—and Start Again with some new insights and perspectives. Mariana Chilton is an author, professor, and founder of the Drexel University — Center for Hunger-Free Communities. In The...
info_outline
377. Casey Michel with Katy Pearce: A Danger to Democracy
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
If there is one thing on our collective minds these days, it is the issue of politics. But for all the interest it piques, much of it remains a mystery to the American public. Bestselling author and journalist Casey Michel, who tackled the problem of financial corruption in his first book American Kleptocracy, sheds light on an issue that may be unknown to those outside the Capitol. In Michel’s new book , he details how one group has worked as foot soldiers for authoritarian, repressive regimes. In the process, they’ve not only established dictatorships and spread...
info_outline
376. Paul Pierson with Megan Ming Francis: Partisan Nation
Town Hall Seattle Civics Series
Professor of Political Science Paul Pierson, discusses his new book Partisan Nation. Co-authored with Eric Schickler, this book explores the roots of America’s democratic crisis, highlighting how the mismatch between the Constitution and today’s nationalized, partisan politics has destabilized American democracy. Pierson offers a fresh perspective on contemporary polarization, explaining how it has evolved from past eras and become self-perpetuating. Pierson and Schickler’s work dives into the changing dynamics of state parties, interest groups, and media since the 1960s,...
info_outline
“If you want to make change, you’ve got to make noise.”
A call to action in the political sense conveys boldness and focus. It’s about drawing attention and speaking loudly about one’s convictions, with a sense of urgency and persistence. To longtime outspoken advocate and US Senator Ron Wyden, that’s what you’d call chutzpah – and his upcoming book sets out to inspire that same quality of action-driven audacity in Americans of all ages.
It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change acts as a reflection of Wyden’s decades of public service and as a motivational manifesto to push people forward. Noted throughout his career in government for championing civil rights, sensible ideas, and strategic alliances that strive to get pressing bills passed, Wyden understands the importance of strong, loud community and charting new pathways. In It Takes Chutzpah, Wyden explores the long history of the Yiddish word chutzpah, the many interpretations of it across Jewish culture, and how he sees the trait as a tool to reclaim idealism and enact positive change.
Wyden compels individuals and groups alike to look at the objectives before them with this boldness in mind, as well as conviction in their values. Wyden touches on the importance of free speech, healthcare, reproductive rights, a clean environment, and regulating the impacts of Big Tech throughout his political tenure. He explores how campaigning for the preservation of those values has been bolstered over the years– and even offers “Ron’s 12 Rules of Chutzpah” as a guide to defying convention and achieving progress. It Takes Chutzpah stresses that unapologetic volume and the nerve to keep fighting can prove crucial in accomplishing goals, creating allies, and moving brazenly forward together.
Ron Wyden is an American politician and longtime advocate in the areas of civil rights, internet freedom, healthcare, and more. He currently serves as the senior United States senator from Oregon and Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance. He has previously held positions in the U.S. House of Representatives and as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
State Representative Liz Berry represents Washington’s 36th Legislative District, located in the shadow of Seattle’s Space Needle. She is a passionate advocate for ending gun violence, combating plastic pollution, and standing up for working families and consumers against powerful special interests. A lifelong champion for women in leadership and reproductive justice, Rep. Berry served as president of the National Women’s Political Caucus of Washington and as a board member for Pro-Choice Washington. She is the former Legislative Director to U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords. Rep. Berry lives with her husband and two young children in Queen Anne.
