Digests from the roots of change agency

🌱 May the Force Be with Your Organizing

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Fri, 08 May 2026 16:00:22 GMT

Star Wars Storytelling for Community Organizing

🌱 May Day a Movement for the Masses

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:00:35 GMT

Join This Friday's Day of Action for Workers Rights & Liberation

📚 Gone Fishin' | On Hiatus to Forage for Resources

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:00:41 GMT

👷🏽‍♀️ Transformation in Progress: Resources, Road Trippin, & Rooted Media

🌱 Orbán's Hungary: A Playbook for MAGA

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:00:39 GMT

Hey y'all, welcome back! 👋🏼

Hungarians go to the polls this Sunday with a chance to topple their corrupt autocratic leader, Victor Orbán, just as leadership in the U.S.

🌱 Orbán's Hungary: A Playbook for MAGA

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 16:00:39 GMT

Hey y'all, welcome back! 👋🏼

Hungarians go to the polls this Sunday with a chance to topple their corrupt autocratic leader, Victor Orbán, just as leadership in the U.S.

📚 Securing Inboxes from Government Surveillance

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 22:30:38 GMT

Welcome Back! 👋🏼

With government surveillance on activists growing, it's never more important to secure your communications. Sadly, it's also not as easy as the tech geeks wish it were. Today, we share a quick guide to evaluate secure mail alternatives for your future-forward vision. Read on for more...

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The Tech News not fit to print in mainstream media!

🗞️ Mastodon Is Getting Easier to Join (Tech Crunch)
🗞️ Healthy Tech Adoption Principles: Avoiding Big Tech Ethos (DOI.org)
🗞️ AI Mandates Is Cognitive Surrender for the Public (The Product Picnic)
🗞️ Local Communities Are Ditching FLOC Cameras (BoltsMag)

More #RootedNews

Connect On & Off Big Tech

Mastodon • BlueSky • PeerTube • YouTube • Instagram • TikTok

🧰 Free Digital Planning Templates

Our full library of templates and guides is meant to deepen strategy and connection within your communications, tech, & organizing. Sign-in with your email to get full access to our Resource Hub.

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Securing Inboxes from Government Surveillance

As we share regularly in this newsletter, Google and Microsoft are compromised and actively collecting all of our intimate details about us and our organizations. While it's never more important to secure your communications, it's also not as easy as the tech geeks wish it were.

De-Googling can be overwhelming, confusing, and technical. To help get you and your organization started on evaluating communications alternatives, I've crafted a quick guide from the many less tech savvy & liberatory organizers working to create healthy tech.

🌺 Deep Dive | for Flowering Members

🌱 I'm Sick of the Patriarchy

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 16:00:50 GMT

Movement Leader Recap | March Recap & Resources

🎙️ From Human Doings to Human Beings Radical Love at Middle Church

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:30:34 GMT

Hey y'all, 👋🏽

Our latest podcast is out to keep us rooted! Listen to 🎙️ From Human Doings to Human Beings Radical Love at Middle Church. Listen on y

🌱 “In the Name of Christ, Shoot!“

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 19:00:31 GMT

Hey y'all, welcome back! 👋🏼

As Easter Sunday approaches and we are reminded of Jesus as an anti-elite radical, the Christian Nationalists ramp up their attacks on the U.S. Military to reshape war for oil and wealth as a war of religion. Read on for more...

Welcoming Our New Owner! Palantir Technologies Inc.

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 14:30:27 GMT

Hey y’all, 👋🏼
I am so excited to announce that we have new leadership! After the 2024 election, the roots of change agency hit a rough financial patch and have struggled to find funding since. We scoured the progressive landscape for donors to help u

🎙️ Texas-Sized Stories: Christian Nationalism & the Republican Party

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:30:21 GMT

Hey y'all, 👋🏽
Pete Hegseth is reshaping the military in the image of Christian Nationalism, just in time for Palm Sunday! To address their hatred head-on, we stop at the 1st Christian Church in Marfa, TX to talk about Republicans, Christianity, and the rise of christian nationalism. Listen on Hey y'all, welcome back! 👋🏼
We close our March series on modern masculinity with a reflection on how our world creates little elite boy kings, how the toxicity is spread, and what's needed to solve, as I call it in this week's podcast, "the manly men problems." Plus, resources for No Kings and beyond! Read on for more...

Watch Cowboys & Queers! From the Private Podcast

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 01:00:33 GMT
the roots of change podcast | Seedling Private Podcast

📚 🌱 Let's Grow Together! Yeah Yeah Yeah!

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:00:41 GMT
Rooted Communications | Communal, Future-Forward Strategies

🎙️ Cowboys & Queers | Modern Masculinity through Texas Storytelling

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 17:08:54 GMT

Hey y'all, 👋🏽
Elon Musk and the billionaire's think they're cowboys in their own Western epic, but I know a thing or two about cowboys! 🤠 Cowboys, they ain't! Today, we stop in Marfa, TX to talk about toxic masculinity, the manosphere, and billionaire's need to control through gender. Listen on Hey y'all, welcome back! 👋🏼
Women's History Month 2026 has been one of reckonings. The mask of patriarchy, as flimsy as it was, is being ripped off across our society, from our "so-called leaders," and inside our movements. For many people who were raised to be women, these revelations are nothing new. Read on for more...

📚 Agile Strategy | Pivoting & Decision Making in Chaos

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 23:00:09 GMT

Welcome Back! 👋🏼
It's the final week of Mercury Retrograde so naturally, I lost all of this week's newsletter. So instead, I recorded a video to discuss agile strategy in a world that's constantly changing. When world news can change your organizing on a dime. We discuss how to stay agile and strategic, while finding flow. Read on for more...
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The Tech News not fit to print in mainstream media!
🎬 Proton Privacy & the Police State Explained (Liberation Toolbox)
🗞️ The Future is Federated: Openness, Transparency, & Reach (Elena Rossini)
🗞️ Building a Community Privacy Plan (Electronic Frontiers Foundation)
🧰 Stop AI Surveillance Pipeline (Power Switch Action)
More #RootedNews
Connect On & Off Big Tech
Mastodon • BlueSky • PeerTube • YouTube • Instagram • TikTok

All In One Resource Hub
We’re always evolving our tech stack to make our media and resources more accessible for you and the organizers who need them most.
We now have previews of our hottest resources on our Resource Page and Zine Library Page!
Plus, find all of our resource links including our Seedling & Flowering Members on the same page! Now members don’t have to go to their member pages to find your extra resources! Just make sure you're signed-in to see your member or subscriber benefits. A simple email sign-in unlocks your resources!
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The Surfboard Strategy for Uncertain Times
What a week! I spilled my coffee on the top shelf of the fridge helplessly watching it drip onto my produce & snacks. That's Mercury Retrograde for you!
Whether you believe in astrology or not, there are always those times where everything just a little bit harder. You make more mistakes. Your communication is off. People are missing you. It happens! That's why finding flow in your strategy is key to staying effective in the global haunted horror ride that we find ourselves on.
Instead of re-writing a whole article, I decided to record a video on how to pivot when things go awry! Watch the preview below or Flowering Members can scroll down for the full reflection plus related resources from our Resource Hub.
🌺 Deep Dive | for Flowering Members

🎙️ The Interconnected Roots of Disability Justice & Housing Rights with Janiah Miller

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:48 GMT

Hey y'all, 👋🏽
Our latest podcast is out to keep us rooted! Listen to 🎙️ The Interconnected Roots of Disability Justice & Housing Rights with Janiah Miller. Listen on your favorite podcast app, Hey y'all, welcome back! 👋🏼
We interrupt this month's conversation on patriarchy to bring you a real-world example of patriarchy stripping our collective power. In Big Tech's backyard, elites are stripping the power of independent commissions that protect the public‘s voice in local government, especially communities that are systemi

📚 Your Data is as Good as the Humans Analyzing It

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Wed, 11 Mar 2026 19:00:12 GMT

Welcome Back! 👋🏼
Since the rise of digital, it's been all about that data! Today, I share my love of analytics and how we can humanize how we understand data and measurement to more deeply reach our goals and connect with audiences. Read on for more...
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The Tech News not fit to print in mainstream media!
🗞️ Age Verification to Silence the Internet (Tuta Mail)
🗞️ AWS Vibe Coding Harms the Infrastructure of the Internet (Ars Technica)
🎟️ Tonight! San Franciscans Democracy is at Risk. Learn more Tonight at 6pm
More #RootedNews
Connect On & Off Big Tech
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Today's deep dive is all about data and humanizing our analytics. Try our resources to get you started! If you're a Flowering Member, browse our full Resource Library for a variety of guides, worksheets, templates, and video trainings!
📈 Analytics Report Templates & Presentations (the roots of change agency)
📚 Workshops & Trainings Library (the roots of change agency)
🎬 Digging into the Data 💸 | How Non-Profits Can Use Democratic Data for Audience Research (the roots of change agency)
📠 Digital Communications Templates (the roots of change agency)
📓 *new* Defining Your Voter Universe Guide & Worksheet for Candidates (the roots of change agency)
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Resource Hub • Signal Channel • Podcast • Free Templates
Our hyper-connected digital world has helped transform marketing and communications. But like most things, the benefits of digital come with moderation.
Data is a prime example.
It’s mind-boggling to quantify the amount of data that is now being passed through the internet on a daily basis or even by milliseconds. From 2010 to 2020, the amount of data generated worldwide increased by 5,000%. It’s grown so high that we’re now measuring it based on zettabytes.
It’s hard for our brains to even understand the sheer volume of that much data.
🌺 Deep Dive | for Flowering Members

🎙️ [Re-Air] U.S.-Israel | Context of War in the Middle East

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:30:29 GMT

Hey y'all, 👋🏽
Our latest podcast is out to keep us rooted! Listen to 🎙️ [Re-Air] U.S.-Israel | The Global Context of War in the Middle East. Listen on your favorite podcast app, YouT

🌱 I'm Sick of the Patriarchy?

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 18:30:02 GMT

Hey y'all, welcome back! 👋🏼
I'm sick of the patriarchy. The fascists in the U.S. and Israel decided to go to war this week to distract from the crumbling economy, growing resistance movement, and global interconnected pedophile ring that Mr. Trump is at the center of. In honor of Women's History Month, we ask...are men okay? Read on

📚 Knowing the News | Media Consumption for Your Organizing

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Wed, 04 Mar 2026 21:00:22 GMT

Welcome Back! 👋🏼
I think it’s safe to say that the news sucks. Living through history is a wild experience when we are being bombarded by messages, ads, and news (both the real & fake kind). So today we reflect on managing our media intake so we can be effective in our work and organizing without losing our minds. Read on for more...
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The Tech News not fit to print in mainstream media!
🗞️ Online Advertising a Gateway to Spying On You (404 Media)
🗞️ Online Advertising a Gateway to Spying On You (404 Media)
🗞️Substack Working with Palantir in Age Verification (the roots of change agency)
🗞️OpenAI’s Deal with the Devil (Oakland Privacy)
More #RootedNews
Connect On & Off Big Tech
Mastodon • BlueSky • PeerTube • YouTube • Instagram • TikTok

Wrangling Your Social Strategy
Big Tech social media is making it harder for people who care to have their voices heard. But the Catch-22 is that many of our people are on Big Tech social and it’s still a place to reach lots of people at once. Try our planning & calendar spreadsheet to keep track of your social without it taking over your life.
Make a copy of our 2026 Social Media Strategy & Calendar Template to stay sane & strategic while posting. In my ad agency days, I was the template (non-gendered) queen 🫅 for every team and agency I worked for. This is my strategic gift back to organizations who care. We can use strategic fundamentals from corporate advertising while still leaning into creativity & connection.
Browse Resources
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Resource Hub • Signal Channel • Podcast • Free Templates
Media Consumption | Staying Alert without Drowning
Each week, the Trump regime and global fascistic forces lay waste to the global order that has stood since World War II. It’s too much and yet it is reality. They can’t do that but they did and they will keep doing it.
🎙️ Avoiding the MAGA Narrative Trap & Staying Safe While Protesting
On Friday, I hoped on YouTube Live to address MAGA’s narratives surrounding recent events in California. We need to shift the narrative and know what traps we are falling into.
the roots of change agencySam Chavez (she/they/he)
Our media and news chaos is not going to die down any soon. While it can take a number on our mental health, staying in the know for activist, organizers, and social change communicators is crucial for the work. Today we have tips and tricks to set boundaries and find what works for you.
🌺 Deep Dive | for Flowering Members

🎙️ Don't MAHA Me! Rooting into Health & Affordably in U.S.

Sam Chavez (she/they/he) — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 20:00:02 GMT

Hey y'all, 👋🏽
Who's hungry? As RFK Jr. and the MAHA movement continue to obsess with perfection, health, and ideal bodies, we turn to a more rooted approach to health. Watch today's episode on PeerTube or