THRIVING IN TIMES OF STRUGGLE

Michael C. Patterson
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Society & Culture
  • Weekly Series

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. 

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  1. #1 - Year One: Building a Flourishing Democracy

    Episode 1

    #1 - Year One: Building a Flourishing Democracy

    Comments? Send me a text message. In a time of political, social, and ecological upheaval, personal well-being cannot be separated from the systems that surround us. The Flourishing in Times of Struggle series is an inquiry into how power, governance, and collective action influence our ability to live well—individually and together. This first episode introduces the core questions and direction of the series, setting the stage for thoughtful exploration rather than quick answers. Support the show If you want to support this work, click above, subscribe to the MINDRAMP  Podcast, or sign up for the free Flourish As You Age newsletter for reviews of current research, reflections, updates, and special extras from my book-in-progress

    8 min
  2. #2 - How Your Zip Code Influences Longevity and Well-Being

    Episode 2

    #2 - How Your Zip Code Influences Longevity and Well-Being

    Comments? Send me a text message. In this episode of Flourish As You Age, Michael C. Patterson explores the research of Jennifer Karas Montez, showing that life expectancy in the United States is increasingly determined by state-level public policies and systems of social support. Across states and even ZIP codes, differences in wages, healthcare access, education, environmental protections, and safety nets can add—or subtract—years of life. This episode examines how political choices translate into biological outcomes, why some policy environments support healthier aging than others, and what it means to think of democracy itself as a public-health intervention. Support the show If you want to support my work, click above, subscribe to the MINDRAMP  Podcast, or sign up for the free Flourish As You Age newsletter for reviews of current research, reflections, and updates.

    16 min

  3. Episode 3

    #3 Lessons from MLK's LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL

    Comments? Send me a text message. Written from a jail cell in 1963, Letter from Birmingham Jail remains one of the most rigorous moral arguments in American history. This episode explores what King meant by just and unjust laws, why civil disobedience must be disciplined and strategic, and how these ideas speak to our moment. Support the show If you want to support my work, click above, subscribe to the MINDRAMP  Podcast, or sign up for the free Flourish As You Age newsletter for reviews of current research, reflections, and updates.

    14 min
  4. #4 Beyond No: Building YES Coalitions for What Comes Next

    Episode 4

    #4 Beyond No: Building YES Coalitions for What Comes Next

    Comments? Send me a text message. In this episode of Flourish in Times of Struggle, Michael C. Patterson explores the difference between NO coalitions and YES coalitions—and why democratic renewal requires both. Drawing on contemporary activism and movement strategy, the episode examines how resistance to harmful policies must be paired with a shared vision of what comes next.  Saying no can stop injustice. Saying yes helps us imagine and build a more just, humane, and durable future. Support the show If you want to support my work, click above, subscribe to the MINDRAMP  Podcast, or sign up for the free Flourish As You Age newsletter for reviews of current research, reflections, and updates.

    13 min
  5. #5. Movement Ecology: The Work of Social Movements

    Episode 5

    #5. Movement Ecology: The Work of Social Movements

    Comments? Send me a text message. 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 movement. Rather than demanding that everyone do everything, Movement Ecology helps people find where they fit, how their contributions connect to others, and how sustained engagement—not episodic outrage—creates real power. If you’ve ever wondered how to stay involved without burning out, this episode offers a grounded, hopeful map forward. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY Personal transformationAlternativesThe inside GameStructure Based OrganizationsMass ProtestsSupport the show If you want to support my work, click above, subscribe to the MINDRAMP  Podcast, or sign up for the free Flourish As You Age newsletter for reviews of current research, reflections, and updates.

    20 min
  6. #6 Positive Freedom: Resistance Isn't Enough

    Episode 6

    #6 Positive Freedom: Resistance Isn't Enough

    Comments? Send me a text message. 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 introduces a distinction that cuts to the heart of our current political moment: the difference between Negative Freedom — freedom from oppression — and Positive Freedom — freedom to build systems that support human flourishing.  In today's America, millions are united in opposition to authoritarian rule. But what happens after the resistance succeeds? This episode argues that defeating Trump is necessary but insufficient — that true freedom requires not just restoring what we had, but constructing something better. And that building the broader Yes coalitions capable of that work requires us to confront the deepest assumptions we hold about democracy, human worth, and what a just society is actually for. Support the show If you want to support this work, click above, subscribe to the MINDRAMP  Podcast, or sign up for the free Flourish As You Age newsletter for reviews of current research, reflections, updates, and special extras from my book-in-progress

    14 min
  7. #7 When People Become Disposable.

    Episode 7

    #7 When People Become Disposable.

    Comments? Send me a text message. 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 powerful distinction between two German words for body: Leib and Körper. Leib is the living, breathing, irreplaceable human being. Körper is that same person reduced to an object, a statistic, a cost, a corpse. This episode explores how Körper logic became embedded in the systems that shape everyday life. From the invention of the arrow to the drone operator's console to the shareholder return calculation, the mechanism is the same: distance, abstraction, and the gradual erosion of our felt sense of other people's inherent worth. Our first act of resistance may be not political but perceptual. We must learn to recognize when we are objectifying people and choose, deliberately, to shift from a Körper to a Leib mindset. ### As mentioned in the podcast, you might be interested in two earlier podcasts that discussed how our mind struggles to balance two different ways of processing reality.  THE EMPRESS AND HER DEPUTY OUR MIND ARGUES WITH ITSELF.   Support the show If you want to support my work, click above, subscribe to the MINDRAMP  Podcast, or sign up for the free Flourish As You Age newsletter for reviews of current research, reflections, and updates.

    14 min
  8. #8 Boycotts as Tools of Resistance and Reconstruction

    Episode 8

    #8 Boycotts as Tools of Resistance and Reconstruction

    Comments? Send me a text message. 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 hundred years to ask what actually makes collective refusal work — and what each teaches us about the art of resistance. In ancient Athens, Aristophanes' Lysistrata understood that power flows from cooperation — and that withdrawing what the powerful need most, whether that is labor, money, or something more intimate, is the first principle of effective resistance. In County Mayo, Ireland, the tenant farmers who invented the word "boycott" took that principle further. They withdrew not just their labor but every form of social and economic cooperation from a cruel land agent — and discovered that total social ostracism, costing the British government ten thousand pounds to harvest crops worth five hundred, was more devastating than violence could ever have been. In Montgomery, Alabama, the lesson became organizational. The Black community's 381-day refusal to ride segregated buses succeeded not because of a single courageous act, but because of years of invisible preparation — networks built, leadership developed, infrastructure laid — long before anyone knew when it would be needed. Together these three examples reveal a consistent logic: identify what the powerful cannot do without, withdraw it collectively, and sustain that withdrawal through planning, organization, and strategic discipline. Authoritarian power depends on our cooperation — our labor, our money, our silence, our compliance. History suggests we have more power to withdraw that cooperation than we have yet chosen to use Support the show If you want to support my work, click above, subscribe to the MINDRAMP  Podcast, or sign up for the free Flourish As You Age newsletter for reviews of current research, reflections, and updates.

    20 min
See All Season 7 (15)

Ratings & Reviews

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About

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. 

Information

  • Creator
    Michael C. Patterson
  • Episodes
    222
  • Seasons
    7
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 THRIVING IN TIMES OF STRUGGLE
  • Show Website
    THRIVING IN TIMES OF STRUGGLE