People, protest, and possibilities

Addressing the threat of nuclear weapons can feel like a big task, but history is full of examples of people coming together to create impactful change: the civil rights movement, women gaining the right to vote, and marriage equality. Mayor Barbara Lee and Professor Marshall Ganz join host Ryann Blackshere Vargas to reflect on their experiences in organizing and explain what makes movements successful.   **Guest bios:** Dr. Marshall Ganz is the Rita E. Hauser Senior Lecturer in Leadership, Organizing, and Civil Society at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. He is a professor and practitioner of grassroots movements, having organized for the American civil rights movement, the United Farm Workers, and President Barack Obama's campaign for the White House.   Barbara Lee has served as the mayor of Oakland, California, since 2025. Previously, she served as a U.S. representative from California from 1998 to 2025 and is widely known for her anti-war and nuclear abolition work. In 2001, after the September 11 attacks, she was notably the only member of Congress who voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force.   **Resources mentioned in this episode:** Professor Ganz's book People, Power, Change: Organizing for Democratic Renewal: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/people-power-change-9780197569009?cc=us&lang=en& From the Harvard Gazette, "How Marshall Ganz Found His Calling as Activist, Scholar, and Mentor": https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2023/09/how-marshall-ganz-found-his-calling-as-activist-scholar-mentor/ From Politico, "How Barbara Lee Became An Army of One": https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/07/30/how-barbara-lee-became-an-army-of-one-215434/ From Outrider, "Rep. Barbara Lee: on 40 years of Seeking Justice": https://outrider.org/nuclear-weapons/articles/rep-barbara-lee-40-years-seeking-justice