Pete Davis

There's a different way.

News is a public good and so the market will undersupply it.

It should be subsidized and Americans can each decide which media institutions they want to support.
democracypolicy.network/agenda/stron...

Train Dreams reflections

Once heard Peter Levine say that there were four pillars of a city's civic life mid-century that most Americans had a connection with: Daily Newspaper, Labor Union, Political Party, Religious Congregation. All four are in crisis—and we need some form of each to be rejuvenated.

The congressional hearing is a dying art, and if we want to heal this country, we need to rejuvenate it. Congressional hearings are like tort law or the jury or the ballot—a foundational pillar of democracy. It's where the people's branch begins responding to public problems.

Bring in Mandelson, Hoffman, Musk, Thiel, Clinton, Dershowitz, Allen, Trump, Ruemmler, etc. and ask about what happened. This is basic responsive governance after a major national scandal—and should be a demand on Dems (and campaign promise by Dems!) if they win in 2026.

There is a very simple low-hanging fruit to start the process of accountability for the Epstein network (and rebuild national trust): Congressional hearings that subpoena all major players mentioned in the release to ask basic questions under oath.

WAYDATYCBDT? #2 | BEING A REGULAR with Jared Joiner Oakland, California's Jared Joiner on "Revival Rounds" and supporting local businesses while building civic culture

The second edition of WHAT ARE YOU DOING ALONE THAT YOU COULD BE DOING TOGETHER? just dropped: On the appropriately named Jared Joiner, who is supporting local businesses and building civic culture with REVIVAL ROUNDS —> join101.substack.com/p/waydatycbd...

Bugonia reflections

WAYDATYCBDT? #1 | WELCOMING with Tony Bacigalupo Norwalk, Connecticut's Tony Bacigalupo on "New in Town Meetups" and resurrecting the club directory

We just published the first edition of "What are you doing alone that you could be doing together?" — a series on civic creators by JOIN 101, the next phase of JOIN OR DIE's mission: join101.substack.com/p/waydatycbd...

#20. bell hooks (ft. Nadra Nittle) A lost prophet who mixed her Kentucky roots, Christian and Buddhist spirituality, and intersectional feminism to dismantle the systemic barriers we have built to hold back love

We just posted the 20th LOST PROPHETS— on bell hooks, who mixed her Kentucky roots, Christian and Buddhist spirituality, and intersectional feminism to dismantle the systemic barriers we have built to hold back love: www.lostprophets.org/p/20-bell-ho...

The Year That Was and Wasn’t We asked some of our favorite journalists, writers, and thinkers: What were the most important events of 2025, and what were the least?

“The campaign was powered by an embodied, local patriotism—of city pride and love of neighbor—rather than the imperial, saber-rattling faux ‘patriotism’ that has been misleading us for a quarter century.” ← @petedavis.bsky.social on 2025 themorningnews.org/2025-the-yea...

Nader already listed 22 offenses back in May, before more illegal military actions, abuses of the pardon power, and shady dealing in the months since: nader.org/2025/05/05/l...

Was asked by @themorningnews.org to share what I thought was the most important thing that happened in 2025, and offered the following reflections on the significance of @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social’s campaign:

#19. William H. Whyte (ft. Alexandra Whyte) A lost prophet whose thick observations of the social and physical structures we build and inhabit led to lasting insights — groupthink, Organization Men, urban sprawl, placemaking, and more

The latest LOST PROPHETS: WILLIAM H. WHYTE, a lost prophet whose thick observations of the social and physical structures we build and inhabit led to lasting insights — groupthink, Organization Men, urban sprawl, placemaking, and more: www.lostprophets.org/p/19-william...

The message: Trump (and the presidency as a whole) is the end point of elite criminal rot and must be cleaned up and out…as a means to make way for the actual work of delivering with and for the American people an actual agenda that serves their practical, popular interests.

(2) A super concrete materialist populist agenda — wages, benefits, vacation, childcare costs, medical costs, housing costs, corporate oppression, etc. — that directly helps people, while hammering at the contradictions between the GOP’s populist rhetoric and oligarchic results.

The best next move for Dems (and America) is a 2-front project: (1) Maximalist (and justified) impeachment for every one of Trump’s hundreds of impeachable offenses (literally, it should be 100+ counts) to reign in the imperial Presidency and re-establish Congressional authority.

The Menace of Prosperity Upends entrenched thinking about cities, demonstrating how urban economies are defined—or constrained—by the fiscal imagination of policymakers, activists, and residents.   Many local policymakers mak...

"If you want THE history book for the Zohran era, read
@dlondonwortel.bsky.social's great "The Menace of Prosperity "— a history of various economic alternatives experimented with in New York’s history." @petedavis.bsky.social.

Check it out here: press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/bo...

Promotional graphic for a dialogue titled “Broken Links: How Do Media Silos Undermine Social Solidarity?” on 10/21 at 7pm EDT at 125 E Street NW Capitol View Convening Space (9th Floor), Georgetown’s Capitol Campus & Online. Participants include Pete Davis (Writer and Civic Advocate), José Manuel De Urquidi (Juan Diego & Company), Christine Emba (American Enterprise Institute), Stephanie Slade (Reason Magazine), and moderated by Anna Gordon (Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life).

Tomorrow! Join us for “Broken Links: How Do Media Silos Undermine Social Solidarity?” on 10/21 at 7pm ET at GU's Capitol Campus (125 E Street NW Capitol View Convening Space, 9th floor) and online. RSVP: bit.ly/BrokenLinks_CST #BrokenLinksCST In person? Join the 6pm Happy Hour and 8pm Reception!

Promotional graphic for a dialogue titled “Broken Links: How Do Media Silos Undermine Social Solidarity?” on 10/21 at 7pm EDT at 125 E Street NW Capitol View Convening Space (9th Floor), Georgetown’s Capitol Campus & Online. Participants include Pete Davis (Writer and Civic Advocate), José Manuel de Urquidi (Juan Diego & Company), Christine Emba (American Enterprise Institute), Stephanie Slade (Reason Magazine), and moderated by Anna Gordon (Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life).

How can young people build a culture of solidarity through embracing communication? Join us for the Salt and Light Gathering “Broken Links: How Do Media Silos Undermine Social Solidarity?” on 10/21 at 7pm ET at Georgetown’s Capitol Campus online. RSVP: bit.ly/BrokenLinks_CST #BrokenLinksCST

#18. Daniel Berrigan (ft. Fr. John Dear) A lost prophet who worked to build "a solid wall of conscience" to "confront the death-makers"

Newest LOST PROPHETS out — on Fr. Daniel Berrigan, the "devout and dangerous" priest who took "blessed are the peacemakers" seriously: www.lostprophets.org/p/18-daniel-...

The major social media presence of the party should be the social media accounts of each local chapter — and the vast majority of their content should be information about the next opportunities to meet up in person with the chapter!

The US Is a Civic Desert. To Survive, the Democratic Party Needs to Transform Itself. The party should jettison its consultant class and move toward a local-membership model that would help to rejuvenate civic life across the country.

The best "digital team" for the Dems is a non-digital team embedded in every city, participating in local community life, serving neighbors while inviting them to co-create the party together—a local chapter! thenation.com/article/poli...

(Of course, you can care about specific issue positions for governing reasons or just because you think they're good for your side to take up — but I'm just pointing out that if you're making it your whole strategy for winning converts, it might be a misread of how this works.)

The same is true with issue positions—you can't just pluck one out of the other side's constellation of meaning and bring it into yours in the hopes of achieving the same success as the other side does with it. You need to cultivate your own constellation of meaning holistically.

A crown or a rose or a heart in one particular constellation of meaning might mean something different than it does in another. So you can't really analyze what people think about crowns, roses, or hearts independent of these particular wholes.

Much of political conversion is at the subconscious level (one might say "at the spiritual level") — the level which deals in particular wholes (like symbols and constellations of meaning) not modular parts (like specific issue positions).

this was a great episode!

#17. Daniel Wortel-London on Alternative Visions of Urban Prosperity A conversation about the folly of cities banking on billionaires.

17th LOST PROPHETS just dropped—Elias Crim and I talk with historian @dlondonwortel.bsky.social about his new book about alternative visions of urban prosperity. Cameo appearances from Lost Prophets Jane Jacobs, Paul Goodman, and others: www.lostprophets.org/p/17-daniel-...

Would love that!