New findings challenge the political adage that youthful idealism gives way to conservative pragmatism with age.
Democracy
Here’s How to Respond to Crime, Not React to It
For years, the state of California has struggled with overcrowded jails and prisons. From the three-strikes law to life sentences without parole, California is “one of the epicenters of mass
Progress 2025: Protecting Voting Rights and Democracy
Instead of Project 2025's white supremacist vision for voting rights, Progress 2025 envisions universal early voting, a national federal holiday and more.
Trump’s Fake Electors Eye 2024 Election Theft
A new report by Insurrection Exposed prepares voters on what to expect from Trump’s next effort to steal an election.
A Progress 2025 Vision for Immigration
Instead of Project 2025’s harsh anti-immigrant policies, here’s what a progressive, human-centered vision for immigrant rights looks like.
What Do Young Voters Want From Kamala Harris?
Gen Z voters are cautiously optimistic about the vice president. But they want her to end the Gaza genocide.
Can U.S. Voters End the Gaza Genocide?
Votes are power, and many protestors are declaring that without an arms embargo on Israel, no candidate will get their vote.
Misogyny Didn’t Need a Mic During the Trump–Harris Debate
Despite muted microphones during the first debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, each candidate's face spoke volumes.
A Progress 2025 Vision for Health Care
Instead of gutting Medicare and Medicaid, as Project 2025 envisions, here's what a holistic, collective approach to health care would look like.
Progress 2025: A Vision for LGBTQ Rights
The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 has promised a dystopian vision for LGBTQ rights. Its ideas are consistent with authoritarian, Christian nationalist, and white supremacist objectives. It aims to criminalize the existence
Democrats Embrace the Power of Nontoxic Masculinity
To show their support of a future Madame President, Gov. Tim Walz and others in the party are publicly relinquishing male power and privilege.
How Zionism Wove Itself Into U.S. Politics
In the wake of AIPAC’s ouster of two pro-Palestine congressional Democrats, a Jewish American digs into the reality of Zionist influence in American politics.
In Defense of the “Weird”
It's hypocritical for each party to claim to speak on behalf of the forgotten and marginalized while mockingly calling the other side “weird.” It’s also deeply regressive.
Voters Behind Bars
Incarcerated Americans aren’t allowed to vote. Those with felonies also face barriers. Here’s what that means for democracy.
Disrupting the DNC for Palestine
Breaking the DNC blackout on Gaza, Codepink's Jodie Evans joined other activists working to keep Palestinians on the Democratic Party’s radar.
What’s Next for Bangladesh’s Student-Led Revolution?
A Bangladesh-born labor explores the South Asian nation’s prospects to transition to a stable democracy now that the dust has settled from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster.
What Is Progress 2025?
In response to Project 2025’s regressive political agenda, YES! has launched this hub for the big ideas—and grassroots methods—that offer solutions for democracy.
The Quiet Success of the Israel Divestment Movement
The United States has historically provided hundreds of billions of dollars in foreign aid to Israel. The flow of taxpayer funds to Israel’s military has only increased since Israeli forces
Nurturing Seeds of Freedom in Palestine
Surrounded by a 26-foot-high separation wall, barbed wire, and a watchtower, a group of young Palestinians prepares a 3.5-acre piece of land for the growing season in spring. The noise
What Is (and Is Not) Political Violence?
Violence against communities of color has always been political, but American elites have avoided that framing, says NDN Collective’s Janene Yazzie.
Youth Take J.D. Vance to Task on Climate
Community organizers with the Sunrise Movement explain why they protested outside the GOP Vice Presidential hopeful’s office.
The Complexity of Harris’ Historic Candidacy
Women of color want demographic and political representation, just as wealthy white men have had for generations.
Why Protest Works—Even When It’s Unpopular
High-profile, disruptive protests can lead to increased polarization—but often still yield increased public support for the protest’s goals, even if the tactics are criticized.
What Kamala Harris’ Candidacy Means
The Vice President becomes the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in a game-changing political moment.
Courage By Any Other Name
In times of trouble, cowards choose the easiest path. It is only the courageous—and almost always those who are most marginalized—who dare to say and do the hard, but right, thing.
Inspiration in Your Inbox
Sign up to receive email updates from YES!
Help Fund Powerful Stories to Light the Way Forward
Donate to YES! today.