Michelle DePass is the current chair of the Portland school board who is currently focused on the unenviable task of re-opening public schools during the onset of the delta variant. It’s an incredibly tough job given that she has to weigh our constantly changing scientific understanding of delta against the varying opinions of thousands of concerned parents. In the episode, we talk through the thoughtful approach she and the board are taking to ensure our students and teachers are healthy. We also touch on lighter topics, such as the artistic path that led her to public office, the roller discos that are getting her through the pandemic, a playlist of her go-to jams and how we can get high school students dancing again.

Megan Andricos, also known as DJ Sappho, is a queer event producer and musical artist based out of Portland, Oregon. She’s a founding member of Rhythm Nation and has been a huge inspiration for me. She’s inspired me musically through our studio collaborations and from her blowing my mind many times listening to her DJ. But deeper than that, Megan has shown me through leading by example how to throw inclusive and welcoming events and how to do community engagement through music. We discussed this leading by example theme during this member spotlight episode of Rhythm Nation. We also discussed representation in electronic music, Megan’s journey growing up as a queer woman in South Texas, her new record label Koritsi Komma Records and how our own missteps in the past inspire us to give back to the community. For a playlist and more information, check out https://www.rhythmnation.us/podcast/26

Deena Barnwell is a DJ and stalwart purveyor of great music in the ever-changing Portland music scene. She worked at local community radio station KBOO 90.7 as the station’s Urban Music Director from 1998-2018. On the show, we talk about what brought her to hip hop, what's she's learned as a woman working in the music industry and the collective moments through music that have the power to transform. At the end of the show, we go through a playlist of top-shelf hip hop jams that inspired her. Find Deena's work at: https://soundcloud.com/thesoundbox https://www.mixcloud.com/deenab1/ https://www.instagram.com/soundboxpdx/ Playlist and more info at https://www.rhythmnation.us/podcast/25

Eric Ward (@BulldogShadow) is the Executive Director of the Western States Center, a social change organization that works to strengthen inclusive democracy. He’s also a former member of the band Sublime and has firsthand experience with racism and violence in the 1980’s LA punk scene. On the show, we talk about how songwriting is a form of “courageous conversation”, which Eric firmly believes is how we move forward as a society. We end by going through a playlist of Eric’s favorite “courageous conversation” songs that got him through the pandemic. For a playlist of Eric's music and links to his work, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/24

Sara Kenigsberg was the supervising producer on both the Biden-Harris campaign and the Bernie Sanders campaign for president. Before that she helped start up a video team at MoveOn in June 2016 and was an early producer at both NowThis and HuffPost. She continues to work as a producer and digital strategist for a number of media and advocacy groups. On the show, we talk about the craft of political storytelling and the healing power of stories and self-care. For a playlist of Sara's music, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/23

On Earth Day 2021, Rhythm Nation held a Green New Deal Party with a panel of climate experts and musical performances from @maarquii, @cay-horiuchi and Cee White (in that order) This is a recording of the entire event that was livestreamed from Holocene. The Green New Deal is both a specific piece of legislation, but also a framework for dealing with climate change through bold and equitable investment. It was introduced. by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in 2019 and re-introduced in a bill last month that calls for a decade-long mobilization to achieve a zero emissions economy, create good paying jobs, and invest in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods. It’s the first proposal to seriously confront climate change at the scale necessary to address it and it’s popular with the vast majority of voters. Perhaps most significantly, though, it's having a clear and beneficial influence on nearly every other Democrat-backed climate policy that's not called the Green New Deal. While the Biden administration does not endorse an explicit “Green New Deal”, per se, the stated goals of his administration would achieve many parts of a Green New Deal. The Biden Sanders Unity Task force, which included representative Ocasio-Cortez and Sunrise Movement co-founder Varshini Prakash, increased the ambition of the Biden Administration’s climate goals to achieve 100% clean energy by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2050. Pieces of a Green New Deal with these goals in mind are already making their way through congress in the form of the Biden infrastructure package and a number of other proposals. Just like the original New Deal, which was not one piece of policy but a collection of policies, a Green New Deal will be a number of pieces of legislation on a state level but also a local level. Unlike the original New Deal, which made no substantive effort to rebuild in an equitable manner and explicitly left Black people out of key pieces of legislation like the GI Bill, a Green New Deal must tackle equity head on. In this moment, there’s an appetite for bold change on climate justice and racial justice unlike anything we’ve seen in our lifetimes. You can be a part of that change. To show you how, listen to the event and hear from a panel of local and national Green New Deal leaders about the path forward. For more information, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/22

Eli Goldstein is one half of the DJ and production duo @soulclap, which has built an international reputation for their dance music over the past 20 years. Throughout his music career, Eli has played key roles on music activism projects, including DJs for Climate Action and more recently “Rave the Vote”. On the show, Eli and I talk about how his experience as a DJ, producer and record label owner brought him to activism. For links to Eli's music and events as well as a playlist of his jams, visit https://petermarks.us/podcast/21

The 20th episode of Rhythm Nation drops today! This 60 minute party mix weaves together the best jams selected by my podcast guests so far along with jams that have been getting me through these strange last 12 months. Rhythm Nation has been a really gratifying project for me during these strange last six months. I’m so thankful for all the guests and other folks who have taken time to be involved in it. To the next 20 episodes! Tracklist: Sam Cooke - A Change Is Gonna Come (Episode 12 - Nina Turner) Meshell Ndegeocello - Hot Night (Episode 2 - Anne Marks) Skull Snaps - It's A New Day (Episode 4 - Mia Fermindoza) Lauryn Hill - Doo Wop Jay Prince - LINK UP Mura Masa, Octavian - Move Me (Episode 5 - Shabd Singh) Nas - If I Ruled the World (Episode 14 - Shasti Conrad) D.N.A. Feat. Suzanne Vega - Tom's Diner The Freedom Riders - I'm On My Way (Episode 13 - Josh MacPhee) Reptaliens - Listening The Notorious B.I.G. - Notorious Thugs (Episode 15 - Teffanie Hale) Om Unit - Transformation The Internet - Girl (Episode 6 - Misty Rebik) Om Unit - Testimony Alicia Keys - We Gotta Pray (Episode 3 - Skipper Osborne) Amber Mark - Lose My Cool Change - Lets Go Together Fantasia - Lose to Win (Episode 12 - Nina Turner) Jex Opolis - Subsystem Bullion - Yawn Killer Mike - The Time Is Now Gil Scott-Heron - B Movie (Episode 1 - Bill Brewster) Toots & the Maytals - Revolution (Episode 16 - Tyler Evans)

On February 20th, Rhythm Nation hosted a “Medicare for All Rave” at Holocene featuring a panel of Medicare for All leaders from across the state to discuss the current strategy to make Oregon the first state to implement a single-payer system. Following that was live musical performances streamed from Holocene, including one from @theoryhazitofficial included in this podcast. Over 500 people joined the livestream and took collective action. Even if you missed it, you can learn and join the fight at https://www.oregonaction.net/healthcare-for-all

On January 20th, we celebrated the end of the Trump era, the end of the majority leader McConnell era and the passing of Oregon's landmark ballot measures by chatting with the leaders who made them happen. We talked about the importance of staying involved and how to do so, then celebrated with a dance party live streamed from Holocene. It was a truly special event that included a cameo from @berniesanders official and felt like the closest thing to an actual party in nearly a year. Expect more live events like this, starting next month! Panelists: Anthony Johnson, Devon Downeysmith, Sam Chapman, John Bethencourt DJs: @chantidarling, @sappho-presents-chingo, @lincolnup, Deena B's cut for copyright reasons. Sorry, had to have been there! More info at http://petermarks.us/podcast/18