SideBar: Optimism in Action Welcomes Madiba Denny and Lawrence Goldstone

November 2026 will direct the future of our American democracy. Did we see this coming in 2024?

MONTEREY, CA, UNITED STATES, September 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- SideBar: Optimism in Action podcast, a collaboration of KAZU 90.3 and Monterey College of Law, welcomes Mediba K. Dennie, author of The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back and Lawrence Goldstone, author of Imperfect Union: How Errors of Omission Threaten Constitutional Democracy.

This episode is a revisit of their November 2024 episode immediately following the re-election of Donald Trump. Many believe that November 2026 will direct the future of our American democracy. Did we see this coming in 2024? Dennie and Goldstone’s conversation is thought-full, insightful, and uncannily prescient.

Dennie is the Deputy Editor and Senior Contributor at the critical legal commentary outlet Balls and Strikes. In her previous role as a counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, she provided legal and policy analysis regarding a range of democracy issues including the census, the courts, and attempts to disempower communities of color. Her legal and political commentary has been featured in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and many other national publications.

Goldstone has written well over a dozen books of both fiction and non-fiction. His articles have been featured in the Atlantic, Salon, Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Miami Herald, Hartford Courant, New Republic, Tablet, Bloomberg, and Berkshire Eagle, among other regional and national publications.

Denny and Goldstone’s episode on SideBar: Optimism in Action goes live Tuesday, September 15, 2026 on www.kazu.org/sidebar.

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KAZU 90.3 radio and SideBarMedia are excited to collaborate to add SideBar: Optimism in Action podcast to KAZU’s digital programming on the station's website (www.kazu.org/sidebar).

KAZU is the NPR affiliate station for Monterey, Salinas, and Santa Cruz. The SideBar: Optimism in Action podcast - sponsored by Monterey College of Law, a long-standing nonprofit sponsor of KAZU 90.3 radio - has become the first non-newscast, locally produced podcast featured on the KAZU website and mobile application.

SideBar: Optimism in Action is hosted by former law dean Mitch Winick and produced by David Eakin, a local theater composer, media consultant, and podcast producer. “The podcast features nonprofit leaders, advocates, and community members who represent extraordinary work that is improving the humanitarian, public policy, and charitable needs of our local, national, and global communities. Our focus this season is on the amazing individuals who are pursuing positive change during challenging times,” explained Winick.

New episodes of SideBar: Optimism in Action are published on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at www.kazu.org/sidebar. To learn more about the podcast, read our blog, and to preview and listen to more than 90 previous episodes, go to SideBarMedia at www.sidebarmedia.org. To learn more about Madiba Denny, go to https://madibadennie.com and to learn more about Lawrence Goldstone, go to https://www.lawrencegoldstone.com.

Mitchel Winick
SideBar Media
+1 831-241-8999
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