Many of us are aware that we are facing a breakdown of democracy and are not so clear what to do about it. * ATD Converation Series are patical guides for how to use your personal network and university network * Today's Conversation * Guardrails: What Can University Communities Do When
Reserve My Free Seat! July 22, 1:00–2:30pm ET: Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on FAFO, democracy defense, and useful action Get the zoom details here A university community can be more than a place for discussion. It can be a network of people with legal skill, public
Reserve your free seat here Thursday, September 3 noon to 1:30pm ET Andrew Behar of As You Sow on strategy, leverage, and university communities Get the zoom details here and reserve your seat! Andrew Behar has spent years working to move powerful institutions without controlling them. As CEO of
Reserve your free seat here August 6, 1–3pm ET: Josh Tulkin on discovering resources you didn’t know you had Get the zoom details here and reserve your seat! A university community can look powerful from the outside. But the real power is often hidden. It may not be
Excerpt: Some democracy work happens in public rallies. Liza Goitein’s work happens in the machinery room of constitutional government—where emergency powers, secrecy, and presidential authority can become dangerous before most people notice. Some democracy work happens in the streets. Some happens in courtrooms. And some happens in the
Excerpt: Indivisible is a decentralized grassroots organization and network. No Kings is a broader protest movement and action frame. They are closely connected—but they are not the same thing. If you follow pro-democracy activism in the United States, you have probably heard two phrases: * The Indivisible movement * The
Excerpt: What kind of message might help someone inside government refuse an unlawful order at the critical moment? “Visiting Day” uses story, emotion, and legal clarity to make one idea unforgettable: a president cannot pardon state crimes. What does it take to influence a decision that has not happened yet?
Excerpt: Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is not just fighting over policy. He is making a deeper rule-of-law argument: federal power must remain lawful power, and local officials have a duty to act when constitutional limits are crossed. Would you like your prosecutor to join this initiative? There
Excerpt: Protest is not just symbolic. Research on nonviolent civil resistance suggests that broad, disciplined, geographically dispersed movements can shift power in ways many people never considered. Most Americans are taught that power lives in elections, courts, legislatures, and presidents. Erica Chenoweth’s research asks us to look somewhere else
Excerpt: The Fight Against Federal Overreach coalition launched in January 2026. Its members say federal agents are not above state criminal law. In Minnesota, that theory is now being tested. A national coalition of local prosecutors called Fight Against Federal Overreach, or FAFO, launched on January 28, 2026, after controversial
Excerpt: A University of Wisconsin legal report examines whether states can prosecute federal officials who break the law. As tensions between federal authority and local accountability rise, the question is no longer theoretical. When federal power is exercised unlawfully, who—if anyone—can hold it accountable? That question is no