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1 hour, 2 minutes

We know something about pressure. You can feel it in the church aisles, in the grocery line, in who gets stopped driving down Main after dark. But lately, that pressure isn’t just local — it’s national, creeping in through our screens, our newsfeeds, and the voices of men who look straight into a camera and tell America that power belongs to whoever claims God sent them.

That’s why Episode 27 of Three for the Founders is not just another conversation. It’s a warning flare shot clean into a darkening sky.

The hosts — Reynaldo Antonio Macias, Lybroan James, and Jon Augustine — don’t tiptoe around it. They walk straight into the storm: Steve Bannon calling Donald Trump “an instrument of the divine,” all while promising (or threatening?) a 2028 presidency and brushing past the 22nd Amendment like it’s a speed bump. That’s not politics. That’s an authoritarian sales pitch wrapped in scripture.

And too many folks are buying it.

But this episode doesn’t just talk about Bannon. It talks about the machine behind him — the algorithm, the “ether,” the long-game strategy that has been shaping American power for generations. Think tanks planning in centuries, not news cycles. Propaganda that looks suspiciously like the 1930s, except this time the posters come stamped with the U.S. Department of Labor. Whiteness dressed up as patriotism, again.

And while that machinery churns, somebody’s asking a real question:

Why are white protestors flooding “No Kings” rallies while so many Black folks are sitting this one out?

The hosts won’t sugarcoat:

Because Black people have already learned what happens when we get loud. Because the cost of protest isn’t the same for everyone. Because some of us have warned about voter suppression, policing, and backlash for decades — and we’re still waiting for the rest of America to catch up.

This episode also goes inward — into fear, dreams, kids, Blue Books, Sunday alarms — but not as a distraction. As a reminder: real people are carrying this moment. Real families are thinking about leaving the country. Real communities are asking what safety even means anymore.

And then comes the hardest question of all: What does it mean to be American right now?

Lybroan argues many of us were never allowed to be “Americans” in the first place — not in the way power defines it. Antonio pushes back. Jon names his own fears. They wrestle, respectfully, fiercely, the way democracy requires.

In a time when politicians bend scripture for power, when propaganda gets algorithmic, and when “strength” is sold as a substitute for truth, this conversation is not just relevant — it’s necessary.

Why this matters

Because what happens at the Supreme Court affects who gets housing.

Because what gets framed as “American” shapes which of our kids are treated as such.

Because authoritarian drift never starts with tanks in the streets — it starts with language, symbols, and the quiet rewriting of norms while the rest of us try to get through the week.

Three for the Founders calls it out with humor, with heart, and with the kind of clarity small communities need right now.

So here’s your chall

Thanks for joining us. Still got questions? Other things to say? Hit us up at Three for the Founders on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok and let us know. Til the next time...left on founders...we out!

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🎙️ NPR meets Charlamagne tha God — thoughtful, provocative, and deeply human. Welcome back to Three for the Founders — where classroom truths meet kitchen-table honesty. Today, we’re diving into part two of a conversation that every educator, parent, and student in America needs to hear: “Private Schools, Public Lies: Who Gets to Belong in Education?”

Our guests — Julie Clark, New York Times bestselling author, parent, and public school teacher — and Luivette Resto, internationally award-winning poet, parent, and independent school English teacher — join us to break down what it really looks like when teachers face inequity head-on.

This isn’t your usual PD talk. We’re unpacking:

• How systemic racism shapes classrooms long before students walk through the door,
• Why classism might be the hardest “ism” to teach through,
• And what “care as currency” means when resources and representation aren’t equal.

We’ll hear Julie recall the moment she first saw bias in the system — Black boys being disciplined differently — and how one mentor gave her the lens to fight back.
We’ll hear Luivette speak on bringing poetry to students who’ve never been told their stories belong in literature.
And we’ll talk about what it takes to teach privilege without shame — but with clarity, accountability, and purpose.

Because whether you’re in a public school in South L.A. or a private academy in Pasadena, one truth holds: kids know who’s for them, and who’s not.

🔍 For Listeners to Think About:

• What invisible systems shape how we view our students — and how do those assumptions play out in your classroom, your workplace, or your parenting?
• When have you been called in, not out — and what made that growth possible?
• Are we preparing the next generation to navigate privilege responsibly — or just to enjoy it quietly?

✅ Action Items:

1. Read Lisa Delpit’s Other People’s Children — the book that transformed Julie’s early teaching and might just transform yours.
2. Audit your bookshelf: Whose stories are missing? Add poets like Hanif Abdurraqib, Teresa Mei Chuc, or F. Douglas Brown.
3. Say every name right. Pronunciation is not a courtesy — it’s a declaration of respect.
4. Support diverse storytellers. Buy banned books. Shop indie. Visit bookshop.org if your local store isn’t an option.
5. Challenge your circle. Talk about race and class — especially if your instinct is to stay silent.

Because teaching is political — not partisan. And if we’re serious about justice in schools, we can’t just celebrate diversity; we have to confront disparity. So grab your coffee, open your mind, and lean in — this is Episode 25 of Three for the Founders: “Private Schools, Public Lies: Who Gets to Belong in Education?”

Thanks for joining us. Still got questions? Other things to say? Hit us up at Three for the Founders on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok and let us know. Til the next time...left on founders...we out!

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How do you raise and teach children to be kind and accountable in a world that often rewards neither? This week on Three for the Founders, hosts Reynaldo Antonio, Lybroan, and Jon get real about “gentle parenting,” classroom culture, and what education is actually for—with two powerhouse guests who’ve seen it all from both public and private school perspectives.

Julie Clark—veteran Santa Monica public school educator and New York Times bestselling author—joins Luivette Resto, award-winning poet, mother of three, and middle school English teacher, to unpack the myths and realities behind “gentle parenting.” Together, they ask what happens when empathy gets confused with permissiveness, how anxiety gets inherited, and why “The Talk” for Black and Brown families is still a life-and-death conversation.

From classroom discipline to language politics, from banned books to the economics of words, this episode pulls no punches. The conversation moves from the dinner table to the desk—exploring what happens when care, culture, and control collide.

You’ll hear the hosts and guests break down:

• The difference between consequences and punishments, and why anger doesn’t belong in either.
• How race and class shape what kind of “gentle” a parent or teacher can afford to be.
• Why critical thinking and creativity are often the first casualties of censorship.
• And what it really means to “be the adult” when the kids are watching everything.

Whether you’re a parent, teacher, or just someone rethinking what “raising good humans” means, Episode 25 will make you laugh, flinch, and maybe rethink that next parent–teacher email.

📚 Takeaways & Actions:

1. Read banned books—and talk about them with the next generation.
2. Support independent bookstores and classroom teachers bringing critical stories to life.
3. Teach failure as growth, not shame.
4. Model boundaries and respect—gently, but firmly.
5. Keep classrooms and conversations open to complexity, discomfort, and truth.

🎧 Three for the Founders: Where the book club meets the block, and every lesson plan has politics.

Thanks for joining us. Still got questions? Other things to say? Hit us up at Three for the Founders on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, or TikTok and let us know. Til the next time...left on founders...we out!