THRIVING IN TIMES OF STRUGGLE
What does it mean to flourish when the systems we depend on are under strain?
Flourish in Times of Struggle is a new podcast series for people who want to move beyond personal resilience and grapple with the deeper structures that shape our lives. In this opening episode, Michael C. Patterson introduces the series’ focus on systems, legitimacy, and collective action—and invites listeners to think together about how healthier, more democratic forms of governance might emerge.
Earlier Flourish As You Age podcasts focused more on personal change and development to promote brain health and mental management.
THRIVING IN TIMES OF STRUGGLE
Latest Episodes
#9. The Dehumanization Template
Dehumanization is one of the oldest tools of political control. And it follows a recognizable pattern.In this episode, I identify and name what I call the Political Dehumanization Template — a five-component framework for understanding h...
#8 Boycotts as Tools of Resistance and Reconstruction
What gives ordinary people power against those who hold it? One answer is as old as democracy itself: the deliberate, collective withdrawal of cooperation.The Power of Withdrawal draws on three examples spanning twenty-four hund...
#7 When People Become Disposable.
How do human beings come to accept dead children as collateral damage? How does an insurance company deny medical care to a sick child without moral crisis?In this episode, Michael C. Patterson draws on historian Timothy Snyder's powerfu...
#6 Positive Freedom: Resistance Isn't Enough
Drawing on historian Timothy Snyder's book On Freedom, this episode explores why resistance alone is never enough. Using the story of Mariia, an 85-year-old Ukrainian woman living in the aftermath of Russian occupation, Snyder introduc...
#5. Movement Ecology: The Work of Social Movements
What does it really take to resist authoritarianism and sustain democracy over time? This episode introduces Movement Ecology—a practical framework for understanding the different kinds of work that go into building a successful social...
