Somebody Should Do Something | Individual Action vs. Systemic Change

Bridging the Gap and Finding Agency in a Complex World What can one person actually do about problems as vast as climate change, racism, or inequality? For most of us, the honest answer feels like: not much. That sense of powerlessness is exactly what philosophers Michael Brownstein and Alex Madva set out to dismantle. In this episode, Tom talks with the co-authors of Somebody Should Do Something (written with Daniel Kelly) about the trap of either/or thinking, the false choice between fixing ourselves and fixing the system. The truth, they argue, is both/and. Our personal choices and our collective structures are woven together, and the most powerful thing any of us can do is act in ways that draw others in. Along the way: why the personal carbon footprint was a fossil-fuel PR invention, how the “Crying Indian” ad shifted blame from industry to individuals, what the NRA and the temperance movement understood about identity, and the startling fact that most Americans badly underestimate how many of their neighbors want climate action. It’s a conversation about social influence, honest hope, and the roles each of us already plays. If you’ve ever thought somebody should do something, this one is for you. It turns out that somebody is us. Links & Resources Somebody Should Do Something: How Anyone Can Help Create Social Change (MIT Press, 2025), by Michael Brownstein, Alex Madva, and Daniel Kelly, mitpress.mit.edu/9780262049788/somebody-should-do-something Michael Brownstein, John Jay College and the CUNY Graduate Center Alex Madva, Cal Poly Pomona, California Center for Ethics and Policy Daniel Kelly, Purdue University Mary Annaïse Heglar, “I Work in the Environmental Movement. I Don’t Care if You Recycle,” Vox (2019) Pluralist Ignorance Ian Haney Lopez Related Earthbound episodes: Dana Fisher on the polycrisis; Bill McKibben; Travis Rieder on Catastrophe Ethics Earthbound: earthboundpodcast.com · Global Warming Is Real: globalwarmingisreal.com