The Announcement: We Are Citizens, Not Consumers

In this second follow-up episode of The Announcement, I explore a crucial counterbalance to the billionaire-driven change narrative: the power of citizenship and grassroots movements in reshaping our collective future. I'm joined by Jon Alexander, co-founder of the New Citizen Project and co-author of the increasingly influential book Citizens - a work that offers a compelling, necessary vision about who we are and how we might move forward together. This exchange builds directly on themes discussed in my original three-part Announcement series. While those conversations examined top-down change models driven by government, business and the philanthropic sector, Jon presents a fundamentally different vision: one where citizenship, not consumerism, takes the leading role in driving societal transformation. In the months since my original series aired, we've witnessed the increasing tension between communities, grassroots movements and wealthy power brokers playing out across global politics. As we all navigate these complex dynamics, Jon's perspective - that ‘to change the future, we must change the story’ - couldn't be more timely. In this conversation, you'll gain insights into: Jon’s view of the three dominant post-war stories - the consumer story, the subject story, and the citizen story. Why citizenship represents a more historically accurate and hopeful vision of human potential than the consumerist tale we’re currently shackled to. How grassroots movements can effectively counterbalance billionaire and corporate power. What a collaborative, empathetic vision of society might actually look like in practice. Once you've had a chance to listen, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how Jon's citizenship framework might complement or challenge the perspectives presented in previous episodes. For bonus and behind-the-scenes material, click here . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit

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The Announcement: We Are Citizens, Not Consumers is an episode from Looking Sideways Action Sports Podcast by Matt Barr.

This episode is 68:14 long.

This episode was published on Apr 7, 2025.

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