Monthly Briefings

RUBI hosts monthly briefings on topics related to rural-urban polarization and rural politics that feature thought leaders in politics, media, communications, and academia.

Become a subscriber to get invitations to our monthly briefings, held the first Wednesday of every month at 4pm ET.

Can’t make it or want to view past briefings? Check out our full archive here.

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  • Leaving MAGA and Connecting Across the Divide: A Conversation with Rich Logis

    Leaving MAGA and Connecting Across the Divide: A Conversation with Rich Logis

    Rich brings a deeply personal perspective to this briefing. For years, he was a committed MAGA activist. But beginning in 2022, a series of events shook his convictions. Today, his work focuses on helping others who are questioning where they stand, and on teaching how to reach people across political divides without writing them off.

  • June Briefing: The National Infrastructure Bank (NIB)

    June Briefing: The National Infrastructure Bank (NIB)

    Join Alphecca Muttardy and Don Siefkes, as they describe efforts to create the National Infrastructure Bank (NIB), a $5 trillion public bank modeled on the New Deal era National Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The NIB will require no new federal spending or taxes and will invest $500 billion per year into infrastructure only. NIB is focused on covering rural infrastructure needs and is projected to create 20 million new high-paying jobs

  • New Study: Local Engagement Changes Hearts and Minds with Anthony Flaccavento and Meredith Dean

    New Study: Local Engagement Changes Hearts and Minds with Anthony Flaccavento and Meredith Dean

    Rural Democrats and liberals face at least three big challenges: a bad brand, opportunities for community engagement seem limited or intimidating and local Democratic Committees struggle, particularly to bring in new folks and young people.

    Our new study analyzes the impact of our Community Works program as the solution to overcome these problems.

  • RUBI April Briefing - Can the Money Agenda Help Un-rig the System for the Working Class?

    RUBI April Briefing - Can the Money Agenda Help Un-rig the System for the Working Class?

    Erica Payne, Founder and President of Patriotic Millionaires, joins us to discuss The MONEY Agenda — a four-part policy package aimed at restructuring the tax code and wage floor to work for working people, not just the wealthy.

  • Locked Out and Left Behind with Daniel Laurison

    Locked Out and Left Behind with Daniel Laurison

    In this timely conversation, we explore new research on what’s often called “voter apathy” and uncover a different story: many people who don’t vote aren’t disengaged from their communities, they’re disengaged from a political system they experience as distant, unresponsive, and built for someone else.

  • Working Class Voices on the Ballot with Nathan Sage, Melissa Bird, and Paul Nolley

    Working Class Voices on the Ballot with Nathan Sage, Melissa Bird, and Paul Nolley

    What does it mean to run for office from a working-class background in rural America? This panel featured candidates who are challenging assumptions about who gets to lead and whose voices matter.

    Panelist include: Nathan Sage (IA), Melissa Bird (OR), and Paul Nolley (IL)

  • How Citizens' Assemblies Tap Collective Wisdom to Solve Local Problems

    How Citizens' Assemblies Tap Collective Wisdom to Solve Local Problems

    Citizens' Assemblies bring together residents across lines of party and ideology to create home-grown, bottom-up solutions.

    Join RUBI and Alejandro Salazar Executive Director of Unify Montrose in a discussion on collective problem-solving and how to put the "d" back in democracy.

  • Making Citizens United Irrelevant Through a Corporate Power Reset

    Making Citizens United Irrelevant Through a Corporate Power Reset

    This briefing presents a bold new strategy for states to use their long-standing authority to define the corporations they charter to no longer grant political-spending powers to their corporations, effectively making Citizens United irrelevant.

  • Barbara Kingsolver Briefing

    Barbara Kingsolver Briefing

    Barbara Kingsolver joined RUBI’s Anthony Flaccavento for a conversation about Appalachia, the challenges working people face every day, and her most recent book, Demon Copperhead. Barbara also discussed the concrete work she is doing to fight the drug epidemic in the region, and how those efforts have been joined by people across the ideological spectrum.