The Art of Association

Self-Assessment of an Aspiring "New Trustee"

Using Aaron Renn’s Standards for Public Intellectuals to Evaluate My Own Work.

Aug 18 • Daniel Stid

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July 2026

The Next Frontier for Democracy

What happens when democracy advocates stop working country by country and begin learning together across borders? A conversation with Yordanos Eyoel…

Jul 22 • Daniel Stid

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Government Reform Needs a Field

I spent twenty years helping build a field without realizing that's what I was doing. This one, we're building on purpose.

Jul 8 • Anne Healy

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June 2026

Hahrie Han on What Moves People to Act Together

Why the most powerful civic work transforms participants as well as communities (350 words / 2-minute read).

Jun 24 • Daniel Stid

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The Associations That Sustain Us

Why Too Many Working Class Men Have Nobody to Call (1,480 words / 6-minute read)

Jun 10 • Sam Pressler and Connective Tissue

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May 2026

Leadership for a New Civic Future

Ash Hanson and Liz Joyner on rebuilding civic life from the ground up. (675 words / 2.5-minute read)

May 27 • Daniel Stid

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The Strange Death of the Liberal Patriot

Why donor-driven polarization is weakening democratic politics (915 words / 3.5-minute read).

May 13 • Daniel Stid

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April 2026

Heather Gerken is Flipping the Script at the Ford Foundation

What Ford’s new president is trying to do—and why it matters beyond Ford (870 words / 3.5-minute read)

Apr 22 • Daniel Stid

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We've Seen Worse—And Better

What American history teaches about hope, agency, and democratic renewal (770 Words / 3-minute read)

Apr 8 • Daniel Stid

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March 2026

Practicing Pluralism—A Conversation with Brian Hooks of Stand Together

Coalition-building, civic confidence, and the long game of pluralism in a disputatious republic (784 words / 3-minute read).

Mar 25 • Daniel Stid

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Rebalancing Democracy’s Leadership Pipeline

Why funders should invest less in moralistic advocates and more in leaders who organize communities and govern in the public interest (2,620 words …

Mar 16 • Daniel Stid

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February 2026

What Civic Renewal Actually Looks Like

A conversation with Charlie Brown of the Trust for Civic Life (225 Words / 1-minute read).

Feb 25 • Daniel Stid

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