The Informed Citizen

The Informed Citizen is taking the stage on March 28th, and you're invited!This one-of-a-kind event will blend live performance with an interactive panel discussion as we explore together the root causes and possible solutions to the homelessness crisis. You will hear from people with lived experience, advocates delivering critical services, elected officials shaping policy, and professionals in treatment and law enforcement who see these issues every single day.Featured guests include:• Yasmin Trudeau, Senator• Paul Herrera, Pierce County Council Vice-Chair• Ginny Burton, O-UT (Lived Experience)• Art Dahlen, Battlefield Addiction (Treatment)• Mary Robnett, Pierce County Prosecutor• Patti Jackson, Tacoma Police Chief• Duke Paulson, Tacoma Rescue Mission (Adult Shelter)• Bryce Clark, Coffee Oasis (Youth Shelter) I will be your moderator and I can't wait to see you. Tickets are $10 in advance, or $15 at the door. Buy yours now at www.theinformedcitizen.com

Drawing on more than a decade in local and county government, Marty Campbell offers rare insight into how policy is actually made and a truth hiding in plain sight: While politics grows louder and more polarized, there is still far more common ground than we are led to believe. We just don’t talk about it.As media rewards outrage and division, Campbell argues that the real danger facing democracy is not disagreement. It is the disappearance of the shared civic space where reasonable people once met, learned, and governed together.🔍 Episode Highlights📰 The quiet collapse of trusted mediaCampbell explains how the loss of fair and impartial local journalism has stripped communities of a shared set of facts, leaving citizens divided not just by opinion but by reality itself.⚖️ Tribal politics and fractured identityFrom left to right and everywhere in between, American politics has splintered into factions that talk past one another. Campbell explores why this makes governing harder and trust rarer.🏛️ What government is meant to doIs government supposed to judge morality or make life work better for everyone? This episode explores a vision of governance focused on removing barriers, expanding opportunity, and treating people fairly.🧠 Equity, equality, and opportunityWhy treating everyone the same does not always lead to fairness and how thoughtful policy can level the field without erasing responsibility.🚌 Big ideas grounded in realityFrom free transit to childcare and education, Campbell does not reject ambitious ideas but insists they must be tested honestly, locally, and pragmatically.🗳️ Why debates feel emptyScripted talking points, avoided forums, and soundbite politics have replaced real dialogue. The result is voter frustration and growing disengagement.🏠 Raising informed citizensOne of the episode’s most hopeful moments centers on families voting together, modeling civic engagement, and teaching children that democracy begins at the kitchen table.🤝 The common ground nobody talks aboutRoads, safety, opportunity, dignity, fairness. These shared values still exist, but they do not drive clicks. This episode asks what happens when agreement becomes invisible.This episode offers something increasingly rare. Hope grounded in realism.Subscribe, share, and keep the conversation going, because democracy depends on the common ground we choose to stand on together.Listen & SubscribeSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-informed-citizenApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-citizen/id1738680188Watch the Full VideoYouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdscEVf-gjkiNh9YK-0yYiTZN7usLZ4CRConnect with UsWebsite: https://theinformedcitizen.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drphiliplindholm/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drphiliplindholmCreditsProduced by The Informed CitizenMusic: “This Party Bussin” by Sound and VisionThis podcast is for informational purposes only and not professional advice.

In this revealing episode of The Informed Citizen, host Dr. Philip Lindholm sits down with former Pierce County Executive & Prosecutor John Ladenburg to uncover the untold truth behind the Puyallup Land Claims Settlement, the messy politics of tribal-government relations, and why most elected officials still do not understand what a tribal government is.From forced treaties to billion-dollar negotiations, from shellfish rights to sovereign rule, this conversation cuts through myth and misunderstanding to reveal a story every resident of the Pacific Northwest should know.Episode Highlights• Why the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty sparked a war• The moment the Puyallup Tribe declared war on Tacoma• The Port of Tacoma land dispute and billions of dollars at stake• How tribal sovereignty actually works inside the United States• What local leaders misunderstand most about tribal nations• How the land settlement became a national model for cooperation• Why education is the key to stronger tribal–government partnerships Listen and subscribe to the podcast:• Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-informed-citizen• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-citizen/id1738680188Connect with us:• The Informed Citizen Website: https://theinformedcitizen.com/• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drphiliplindholm/• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drphiliplindholm • YouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdscEVf-gjkiNh9YK-0yYiTZN7usLZ4CR Credits:• Music: Sound and Vision, “This Party Bussin”This podcast is for informational purposes only and not professional advice.

In this powerful episode of The Informed Citizen, Dr. Philip Lindholm sits down with Pierce County Prosecutor Mary Robnett. Robnett is the county’s top legal officer and the first woman ever elected to the position. She gives a behind-the-scenes perspective on the state of justice in America today. From skyrocketing property crime and the fentanyl crisis, to juvenile violence and eroding public trust, Robnett opens up about the hardest questions facing prosecutors everywhere: Are we still a nation guided by the rule of law? Can justice survive in an age of division, doubt, and distrust?Robnett, who has spent more than three decades in the courtroom handling everything from homicides to human trafficking, shares an unfiltered look inside the criminal justice system where real decisions have life-or-death consequences. She talks about prosecuting in a time when some see law enforcement as heroes, others as oppressors, and nearly everyone feels that something in the system is broken. Her honesty cuts through politics and ideology to expose the real struggle: how to keep communities safe while upholding fairness, compassion, and the Constitution itself.Episode Highlights• What a county prosecutor really does and why it matters• How public trust in law enforcement and the courts eroded, and how to rebuild it• The truth about rising violent crime and the limits of reform• Why victims, business owners, and citizens are losing faith in justice — and how to change that• The hidden epidemic of human trafficking in Pierce County• Why juvenile gun violence keeps Mary Robnett up at night• The debate over diversion courts, addiction, and mental health reform• What laws Robnett believes must change to protect children from fentanyl exposure• How prosecutors walk the moral line between punishment and rehabilitation• What gives her hope for the future of justice in AmericaListen & SubscribeSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-informed-citizenApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-citizen/id1738680188Watch the Full VideoYouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdscEVf-gjkiNh9YK-0yYiTZN7usLZ4CRConnect with UsWebsite: https://theinformedcitizen.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drphiliplindholm/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drphiliplindholmCreditsProduced by The Informed CitizenMusic: “This Party Bussin” by Sound and VisionThis podcast is for informational purposes only and not professional advice.

Why are so many young Americans tuning out? Host Philip Lindholm sits down with Anders Ibsen, a real estate professional, community leader, and former Tacoma City Councilmember, to explore one of the most urgent crises in American democracy: the political disengagement of young people. From the collapse of civic institutions to the fading promise of the American Dream, Ibsen draws on his years in public service to explain how disillusionment, economic strain, and digital distraction are reshaping an entire generation’s relationship to democracy. Together, he and Philip examine how we can rekindle civic life and why the future depends on it.
Early Leadership and Civic DutyAt just 25, Anders Ibsen became one of the youngest elected officials in Pierce County. He shares how a college internship at the State Capitol inspired his belief that young voices can lead and why waiting on the sidelines is not an option.The
Generational Decline in Civic LifeCiting Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone, Ibsen explains how the erosion of social bonds from church membership to community clubs has left Americans bowling alone. Habits of engagement, he argues, are formed early, and without them, democracy weakens.
Relevance, Not RebellionEfforts such as Rock the Vote tried to make politics look exciting but missed the point. What young people crave is not entertainment but relevance. They need to see that government decisions actually improve their lives.
Broken Promises and the Betrayal of the American DreamFrom unaffordable housing to student debt, Ibsen argues that both young and older generations feel betrayed by a system that no longer delivers. The result is cynicism, survival mode living, and the erosion of civic trust.
The Social Media TrapSocial media, Ibsen warns, is even worse than alcohol or drugs for its dopamine-driven manipulation of youth. He calls for regulating it as a controlled vice and reinvesting the proceeds into public health and civic education.
Building Civic HabitsRe-engagement begins with institutions that listen. Ibsen describes Tacoma’s participatory budgeting program as a model for giving residents real voice and real results, calling it 'the stuff of rebuilding trust.'
Policy That Restores HopeAsked to name one national policy to re-energize young voters, Ibsen points to housing reform. Affordable housing, he says, is foundational because when people are in survival mode there is no bandwidth left for democracy.Reviving the American DreamDespite growing inequality, Ibsen insists that pragmatic, community-minded policymaking can make the dream of homeownership and civic stability real again if we listen, compromise, and act with empathy.
Listen and Subscribe:Spotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/the-informed-citizen
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-informed-citizen/id1738680188
Connect with Us:Website: https://theinformedcitizen.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drphiliplindholm/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drphiliplindholmYouTube Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdscEVf-gjkiNh9YK-0yYiTZN7usLZ4CR