http://meetthebloggers.org

Roberto Lovato explains how he became a blogger.

http://meetthebloggers.org

Baratunde explains what he does and how he came to blog for Jack & Jill Politics.

Brave New Foundation hosted a reception in honor of Cristina Lara, the first winner of the Brave Nation Young Activist award. Cristina was selected out of 350 other young activists as this year's recipient and received her award at the reception. In addition, Brave New Foundation president, Robert Greenwald was featured in conversation with activist and author Tom Hayden. It was incredible to celebrate the beginning of a young activist's career while hearing words of wisdom from those who have been entrenched in social movements since the 1960s.

See the full video at bravenation.com

We helped spread the word about hard-hitting documentaries like Outfoxed, Wal-Mart, and Iraq for Sale.  Brave New Films, then started making its own short videos like The REAL McCain and our FOX Attacks series, and you saw the chance to reach even more people by spreading them all over the web.  Well, with a great deal of excitement (and just a wee bit of nervousness!), we bring you the next way for you to get involved. 

Presenting our newest weekly series: Meet the Bloggers.  

"Print married with film. Film and print married with the internet. Internet married with text, audio and video. Text, audio and video married with ACTION.  You don't need a user's manual to get the beauty of all this integration."
- The Agitator review of This Brave Nation.

What an amazing trip this has been!  After months and months of hard work, This Brave Nation wraps with its thrilling fifth episode: Tom Hayden in conversation with Naomi Klein.  Hayden is, of course, the legendary activist who was a member of the Chicago 7 and who also spent 18 years in the California Legislature.  Klein is the author of two best-selling books, the anti-globalization manifesto No Logo, and the recent hit, The Shock Doctrine.

Together, they cover everything from the tumult of the 1960's to protests in Seattle to what it means to be a true witness of the events around you.  Spirited and lively, Hayden and Klein have one of the most compelling conversations of this series, one you won't want to miss.

Watch the full episode.

If you've missed one episode of This Brave Nation, you've missed too many!  For a $15 donation to This Brave Nation, you'll receive 2 DVDs of the first five episodes.  Remember that the most important part of this series is the ability to share it with everyone you know, including a local school or library!  We've already started shipping DVDs of This Brave Nation, so now is the time to get yours. 

And don't forget to vote in our Brave Nation Young Activist Award contest. We've narrowed the list of incredible nominees down to just five contestants for you to choose from. On July 13th, when we bring you LIVE the final episode of This Brave Nation featuring 2 very special guests, we will announce the winner of the award.

Vote today and decide who the next Tom Hayden or Naomi Klein could be.

Author, journalist and syndicated columnist Naomi Klein talks to journalist and activist Tom Haydn about the event that lead her to activism in this powerful segment from This Brave Nation

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead 

The upcoming episode of This Brave Nation featuring Pete Seeger and Majora Carter epitomizes that sentiment. Pete Seeger has played an active role in every social movement in modern history, from early union battles to Civil Rights to the anti-war movement. At 89, Pete is not only a reminder of our nation's history of turbulence and triumph, he is also an inspiration for our vibrant future.

Perhaps that's what gave him an instant connection with Majora Carter. The Executive Director and Founder of Sustainable South Bronx, Majora has worked tirelessly to reshape the neighborhood of her youth by encouraging sustainability, alternative transportation, and a national green-collar job agenda. These two committed individuals are definitely taking action to change our world, and their conversation is not to be missed.

And speaking of taking action, it's time to PARTY! July 13th we will bring you LIVE the final episode of This Brave Nation, featuring 2 very special guests. How can we share this with all of you live? House parties, that's how. Sign up now to host a house party featuring the This Brave Nation episode of your choice, followed by a LIVE episode of This Brave Nation.

In the meantime, don't forget to make a donation today to This Brave Nation — 2 DVDs of the first five episodes for just $15. We're going to start shipping these DVDs tomorrow, June 23, so get 'em while they're hot!

Lastly, we've extended our contest deadline for The Brave Nation Young Activist Award to June 27. That gives you an extra week to nominate your local unsung hero!

• Julia Dann worked as a community development organizer in rural Costa Rica.
• At 27, Kyle Serrette became a lead organizer for AFSCME's United Nurses Associations of California.
• In 1999 as a high school student, Charity Ryerson she was responsible for persuading the Indianapolis City-County Council to adopt a resolution condemning China's occupation of Tibet and the treatment of the Tibetan people.

What young activist do you know that's making the world a better place? Let us know — soon!

Who's buzzing about This Brave Nation?

Permit me a personal moment. Like you, I often wonder why I do what I do. And because I've done it for so long, I sometimes wonder whether it all was worth it. Well, make no mistake. It was and is. Especially when the reasons are so graphically and emotionally recorded on film. Let me explain. Last night I watched — online — the second episode in a remarkable series co-produced by The Nation magazine and Brave New Foundation. ...Print married with film. Film and print married with the internet. Internet married with text, audio and video. Text, audio and video married with ACTION. You don't need a user's manual to get the beauty of all this integration.

It truly is one of the best things you guys have ever done -- the discussions are amazing. Truly. And, quite frankly, a whole lot of folks need some inspiration to get up off their asses right now.

- Christy at Firedoglake (via email)

James Baldwin. Kurt Vonnegut. Pete Seeger. 

These are my heroes.  Three men who came from radically different backgrounds and yet all helped influence and change the world through their words.  I never had the opportunity to meet Baldwin.  I saw Vonnegut once on a street in New York City and was too starstruck to say anything (I redeemed myself years later by writing him a letter inviting him to be on my radio show.  He couldn’t do it, but he did write back!)  Pete though (everyone calls him Pete), I've had the incredible honor of meeting on more than one occasion.  

I first met him at his home in Beacon, NY.  I was producing a radio special for Pacifica Radio Archives with Tim Robbins interviewing Pete about activism and folk music.  It was extraordinary and seemed a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  Never would I have imagined I would be so fortunate as to meet the man again, but when This Brave Nation was first conceived, Pete was one of the first people we agreed on having in the series. 

We're in our third thrilling week of This Brave Nation, a documentary series that brings progressive activists and thinkers together in one place—your computer screen! This week, we've paired ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero with 17-year-old peace activist Ava Lowery for an inspiring discussion about civil liberties, new media, the anti-war movement, and the Bush administration.

At 17, Ava gives voice to what this series is all about—young emerging activists. She's fiercely opposed the war since she was 14 years old, and we're looking for more young people like her for The Brave Nation Young Activist Award. If you know someone in your community that is putting themselves on the line and speaking out for a cause, let us know by nominating them today. You have until June 22 to nominate a young activist for The Brave Nation Young Activist Award.

You can also help inspire a new generation of progressive activists by helping us get this series into schools and libraries across the country. A donation of $15 gets you two DVDs of the first 5 episodes—one for you and one to donate to a school or library of your choice! Imagine if everyone had the opportunity to learn about these progressive icons.

The feedback for this groundbreaking series has been overwhelming. Don't miss your chance to be part of This Brave Nation:

"As an aging progressive who majored in film, I salute you for your new series and thank you for the thoughtful, eloquent way you present the possibility for change. Bless you." PC – via email

"I highly recommend that you take a few minutes and watch these as they are released. I think these conversations will bring you both hope and challenge." -Docudharma

When I was 7 years old, I wanted to be a ballerina and a chef when I grew up.  I was fiercely passionate about it.  I never took a single dance class and I couldn’t make anything more than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but these two things in my mind seemed like the ideal combination.  Exquisite beauty married with amazing food. What could be better than that?  I would wear gorgeous costumes and flit around on stage and everyone would clap and applaud and bring me roses.  Afterward I would bring all my friends back to my large and well-decorated New York apartment and serve them all an amazing meal of …well I never really knew what, but it would be something that took lots of time and dozens of knives and mixers and came out of the oven smelling like heaven.
 
I don’t remember the exact circumstances of the day, or the hour or even who said it.  But I do remember how I felt after behind being told that being a ballerina / chef wasn’t a reasonable expectation.  "Ballet dancing is very competitive, it takes a lot of time and hard work, you can’t spend so much time with your friends, you have to have just the right body type, you can work your whole life and never be good enough.  And to be a chef!  You have to travel to Europe and learn from the masters and taste all the foods you want to cook and how can such a picky eater be a good chef?"  And there, it was done.  I resolved by 12 to be a child psychologist.  (I like to believe not by coincidence.) After all…
 
Fear is a very powerful tool.
 
That’s a phrase of which teenaged activist Ava Lowery has grasped the full meaning.  She recognized something disingenuous was afoot in our government and set out to be a voice of change, courage, justice and peace.  While many others and I sat watching bombs exploding over Baghdad on March 20, 2003 with tears in our eyes, Ava was creating videos and speaking out against an illegal war.
 
This Sunday, Ava, now a 17-year-old young woman, sits down with ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero for a spirited, heartening conversation about peace, civil liberties, fear, the Bush Administration, and new media.  Anthony brings wisdom and experience of his years fighting for justice with the oldest and largest civil liberties organization and Ava brings continued hope for the next generation of activism.  She embodies what This Brave Nation is all about. 
 
It’s an episode not to be missed!