Top 10 Communications Favorites 2017

Seasons greetings,

In 2017, I had the pleasure of supporting clients to advance: gender equity here and abroad, reproductive health, health, and disability rights.

I wanted to share some of my 2017 favorites—messaging guides, campaigns, essays, books, research, podcasts, etc. I spent a lot of time this year thinking about root causes and systems change. How did we get here? What kind of community do we want to live in? What does good look like? How do we bring people together around shared values? How do we shift narratives and culture? You’ll see this reflected in the favorites.

Warmest wishes for the New Year,
Trina

2017 Top 10: Communications Favorites

  1. Women’s March on Washington Guiding Vision and Definition of Principles - multiple authors, a powerful declaration of values and vision (not to mention the event itself)

  2. Our National Narratives Are Still Being Shaped by Lecherous, Powerful Men - Rebecca Traister, on what it means when abusers are in charge of our social and cultural stories about women

  3. Donald Trump and the Rise of Tribal Epistemology - David Roberts, on asymmetric media polarization, and its threat to healthy journalism and liberal democracy

  4. Abortion Onscreen in 2017 - UCSF, a reminder of the power of pop culture in shaping our attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs

  5. America is Burning - Vanessa Daniel, on the role of philanthropy in social change

  6. Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds - Elizabeth Kolbert, on the limitations of human reason

  7. Amazing Online Hoax Welcomes "Washington RedHawks" To The NFL - Native advocates, a brilliant use of social media for advocacy

  8. Messaging this Moment: A Handbook for Progressive Communicators - Center for Community Change, messaging do’s and don'ts for the current climate

  9. Brown Is the New White - Steve Phillips (ok 2016, but I read it this year), on the New American Majority of progressive people of color and progressive white people that already exists right now to organize, mobilize, and, most importantly, prioritize

  10. Alexandra Petri, McSweeney’s, The Onion, If It Happened There - satire, that beautiful, biting genre that lays bare the absurdity of the world around us and asks us to do better


2017 Top 5: Root causes/How we got here Favorites

  1. Seeing White - Scene on Radio, a 14-part documentary podcast series exploring whiteness in America from the very beginning

  2. Millennials Are Screwed - Michael Hobbes, on why millennials are facing the scariest financial future of any generation since the Great Depression

  3. The Nationalist’s Delusion - Adam Serwer, on the specific dissonance of Trump nationalism, the most recent manifestation of a contradiction as old as the United States

  4. Choice/Less: The Backstory - Rewire, a 4-part podcast miniseries on historical injustices in reproductive and sexual health care advancement

  5. Building an Integrated Progressive Agenda: The Post Election Crisis and Its Opportunities - Riane Eisler, an analysis of society through the lens of domination and partnership


There are so many more. What were your favorites?

Trina Stout