Champions of the Lost Causes Champions of the Lost Causes

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to City Leadership executive director John Carroll at his Crosstown Concourse office. The two explore how the nonprofit helps recruit, catalyze and develop leaders at every level to help Memphis grow and thrive.

Guest host/producer J.D. Reager interviews Champions of the Lost Causes founder Marvin Stockwell at the Memphis Listening Lab. They discuss last summer's podcast road trip, what's next for the show, the Mid-South Coliseum, and more.

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Libby Crimmings, president of Atlas Community Studios, at her office in Des Moines, Iowa. The pandemic showed everyone just how portable some types of work can be, and that was an advantage to small to midsize cities looking to attract and retain creative professionals who can do their job from anywhere. Marvin and Libby talk about how adaptive reuse of old buildings is helping renovate downtowns and neighborhoods across the United States, and how Libby’s work is helping communities adapt to meet evolving quality-of-life expectations.

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Joe Vital and Dean Dovolis of the East Phillips Neighborhood Institute at Dean's office in Minneapolis. With the help of many, Joe and Dean have championed the cause of the East Phillips Depot, a building that people in the surrounding neighborhood want repurposed as an urban farm and commercial center, but that the City of Minneapolis wants to demolish, despite the environmental dangers to people living nearby. Decades-old disinvestment, redlining, environmental racism, a hostile and indifferent mayoral administration, marches in the streets, lawsuits, occupations, and forced removal by police have all been part of this eight-year fight. Marvin, Joe and Dean talk about all that, but also about how the tide has recently turned in favor of the activists.

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Keith Hammonds and Charlie Denison, owner and editor of the Boulder Monitor, at their office in Boulder, MT. Championing the cause of a free press has always come with its challenges, but journalism is in the midst of a paradigm shift away from printed newspapers to digital distribution, and toward new funding models, among which there is still no clear standard. Marvin talks to Keith and Charlie about the challenges of informing a public that has many other options for receiving information, and about the unique role journalism must continue to play alongside owned media and social media.

Host Marvin Stockwell talks to Mark Lakeman at his office in Portland. Mark is the founder of the City Repair movement, which has changed countless neighborhoods in Portland, OR and spread to other U.S. cities and other countries. People need civic gathering spots, but when American cities were designed, the plazas and piazzas were left out. Marvin and Mark talk about why social bonds between neighbors have suffered as a result, how that maps over to larger societal problems, and the steps Mark and others have taken to change that, one neighborhood at a time.

*We apologize for the poor audio quality of this interview.*