How We Build This

May Boeve
  • 5.0 (35)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

How We Build This is a podcast how we can take action in a time of rising authoritarianism and shrinking rights. Hosted by longtime climate and movement leader, May Boeve, each episode finds May in conversation with with organizers, activists, and changemakers as they try to make sense of how movements are born, and how they grow, and what we can do right now.

  1. Christiana Figueres: The Paris Agreement Playbook. Mindset, Momentum, and Movement Strategy

    FEB 3

    Christiana Figueres: The Paris Agreement Playbook. Mindset, Momentum, and Movement Strategy

    In this special deep-dive, May Boeve sits down with Christiana Figueres to unpack one of the most important movement wins of our time: the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Starting in the shadow of the Copenhagen failure, Christiana walks through how she rebuilt a demoralized system, beginning with her own mindset, and then inviting everyone else into a shared, winnable vision! Along the way, she reveals the often invisible mechanics of progress: deep listening as a leadership practice, the power of “concentric circles” strategy, the Lioness network that helped women support each other and negotiate better, and why Paris had to be an incentivizing agreement rather than a punitive one.  How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve Producer: Phil Surkis Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project. Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod.  Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!

    53 min
  2. Miya Yoshitani & Danny Kennedy: A Power Couple’s Playbook for Climate Justice and Clean Energy

    JAN 20

    Miya Yoshitani & Danny Kennedy: A Power Couple’s Playbook for Climate Justice and Clean Energy

    May Boeve sits down with two longtime movement builders (who also happen to be married), Miya Yoshitani and Danny Kennedy. Miya, co–executive director of the Movement Innovation Collaborative (MIC), shares how MIC is strengthening California’s people-power infrastructure: investing in regional power-building centers, experimenting with new organizing models, and building durable capacity beyond elections and one-off mobilizations. Danny, a clean energy entrepreneur and advisor, argues that organizing “solutions power” (solar + storage) is inseparable from movement work. He breaks down why distributed energy can shift both economics and political power.  Plus, the origin story of this power couple (that actually builds power!). Finally, please stay until the end to hear a direct ask to support organizing in Minnesota as communities mobilize against ICE. A list of local groups to support can be found at : https://www.standwithminnesota.com Mark your calendars for a Minnesota statewide shutdown on January 23rd. No school, no work, no shopping. ICE OUT.    How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve Producer: Phil Surkis Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project. Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod.  Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!

    45 min
  3. Cristina Jiménez Moreta: Build the Big “We” in a Time of Authoritarianism

    JAN 6

    Cristina Jiménez Moreta: Build the Big “We” in a Time of Authoritarianism

    May Boeve talks with Cristina Jiménez Moreta, co-founder of United We Dream and author of Dreaming of Home, about what it means to build power when everything feels on the line. Cristina shares about the 2016 election-night moment that pushed her to write a book that turned out to be a letter of self-love, as well as a practical guide to organizing through fear. She also explores the vulnerable shift from being “the organizer” accountable to a community, to writing in her own voice. Plus: Cristina’s surprising “superpower”: planning a toddler birthday party that exhausts kids and delights parents! How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve Producer: Phil Surkis Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project. Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod.  Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!

    46 min
  4. Nisha Agarwal on Universal Policies: Making Services for Everyone

    12/23/2025

    Nisha Agarwal on Universal Policies: Making Services for Everyone

    May Boeve welcomes Nisha Agarwal,  The Executive Director of the Mental Hygiene Policy and Communications Office in the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in New York City, and a longtime movement lawyer-turned-policy leader. Agarwal shares about how transformative public policy gets built, and the behind-the-scenes story of IDNYC, the country's largest municipal identification program. She also opens up about surviving brain cancer and a stroke, alongside a clear-eyed critique of how race, class, and geography shape who gets to recover.  Plus Nisha’s “creation” hot tip: daydreaming! How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve Producer: Phil Surkis Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project. Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod.  Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!

    41 min
  5. George Goehl: Roll Like an Organizer

    12/09/2025

    George Goehl: Roll Like an Organizer

    Host May Boeve sits down with organizer George Goehl to chart the shift from doom scrolling to a fighting stance, and how everyday people build real power. George traces his lineage from Alinsky-inspired community organizing to launching new projects today. He breaks down practical fundamentals: listen for widely and deeply felt issues, cut winnable demands, and develop leaders at every step. A grounded, hopeful handbook for turning momentum into wins. How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve Producer: Phil Surkis Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project. Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod.  Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!

    44 min
  6. Alex T. Tom on California’s Power: Pods, Prop 50, and Parenting

    11/25/2025

    Alex T. Tom on California’s Power: Pods, Prop 50, and Parenting

    Host May Boeve talks with Alex T. Tom, the Executive Director for the Center for Empowered Politics and longtime leader in California. Tom shares about how Bay Area organizers prepared for ICE raids, and why prebuilt infrastructure, “pods,” and non-cooperation trainings, turned people power into concrete wins. Tom and Boeve discuss “movement utilities,” conflict mediation as capacity, and why understanding philanthropy and class is essential to durable organizing. Plus: parenting as political work, and what it means to “hug it out” as a dad while building a bigger tent.

    50 min
  7. Heather McGhee: Turning Wins into Power: A Post-Election Playbook

    11/07/2025

    Heather McGhee: Turning Wins into Power: A Post-Election Playbook

    Host May Boeve kicks off Season 2 of How We Build This with NY Times Bestselling Author and strategist,  Heather McGhee for a timely post-election debrief. Heather explains why authenticity plus clear, repeatable policy wins volunteers and votes. She also revisits her book,  The Sum of Us, to unpack “drained pool politics” and the real costs of zero-sum thinking. Together, May and Heather spotlight the organizing muscle behind big victories, from Working Families Party, to year round door-knocking.  How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve Producer: Phil Surkis Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project. Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod.  Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!

    51 min
  8. Images That Move Movements: Shadia Fayne Wood on Storytelling for Change

    09/23/2025

    Images That Move Movements: Shadia Fayne Wood on Storytelling for Change

    In this heartfelt episode of How We Build This, host May Boeve sits down with longtime organizer, photographer, and storyteller Shadia Fayne Wood. Together they trace Shadia’s path from youth climate activism to founding Survival Media Agency, a global network of movement storytellers capturing the tenacity and power of people fighting for climate justice. Shadia reflects on lessons from her grandmother, the importance of letting communities tell their own stories, and how love and generosity can sustain us in times of crisis.  How We Build This is created and hosted by May Boeve Producer: Phil Surkis Theme music: ‘Within’, composed by Ruthie Dineen, and performed by Negative Press Project. Instagram & Bluesky: @hwbtpod can find us on Instagram and Bluesky at HWBT Pod, and on Linked in and Substack at How We Build this Pod.  Thank YOU for taking the time to tune in and helping build the movement!

    44 min
See All (16)

5
out of 5
35 Ratings

About

How We Build This is a podcast how we can take action in a time of rising authoritarianism and shrinking rights. Hosted by longtime climate and movement leader, May Boeve, each episode finds May in conversation with with organizers, activists, and changemakers as they try to make sense of how movements are born, and how they grow, and what we can do right now.

Information

  • Creator
    May Boeve
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 How We Built This
  • Show Website
    How We Build This

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