When Marc J. Dunkelman sat down with Rohit Chopra, people were expecting a fight, but what they got was entirely different. Read more on our Substack: statesforum.substack.com/p/my-cage-ma...

When Marc J. Dunkelman and Rohit Chopra sat down together at The States Forum launch, it was a panel set up for a fight: Two camps of the left going for the jugular. But the fight people might have wanted didn’t end up being the conversation.

In our current climate, it feels like there's no way to fix Citizens United without a constitutional amendment or a new Supreme Court. But what if states already have the answer, and they've just forgotten that they have it?

Data centers need the grid. The grid needs investment. And there’s a deal to be struck to ensure local communities can benefit. But not enough people are paying attention. More from @janeaflegal.bsky.social and @searchlightinst.bsky.social on our Substack: statesforum.substack.com/p/states-can...

While DC stalls, states are stepping up. We hosted a policy accelerator in Ohio this week called “Making States Healthy Again” that brought together activists, lawmakers, doctors, & MAHA supporters to help solve America’s health crisis.

The Iran war is already hitting Americans where it always does first: the pump. But there's one energy cost we can actually control, if states just cut the red tape.

The checks and balances we were taught to trust? They’re not holding. Courts get overruled. Congress is standing down. The Supreme Court is concentrating its own power. @sarahrknight.bsky.social But how can states fix it? Let us explain: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Robots are, to put it frankly, just better at some things than humans, and can do many things humans cannot.  Read Matt Lackey's Latest for The States Forum, Democracy After The Algorithm, at the link in bio

“You are what you eat, what you eat is information, and if you eat bad information you do crazy stuff that’s anti-social.” Read Matt Lackey's Latest for The States Forum, Democracy After The Algorithm, at the link in bio

Is a pro-social media environment even possible in the future? That’s what Matt Lackey tackles in this week’s Substack, Democracy After The Algorithm

Great piece from States Forum Network member @robertgo.bsky.social on how governors and mayors need to get serious about delivering excellent public services. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/o...

Opinion | Mamdani Will Need to Change How He Governs

nytimes.com

What if the thing that saves American democracy. . .isn't Washington?

You’ll see 3 things on your power bill: • Supply – making electricity • Transmission – big lines • Distribution – neighborhood wires For years T&D drove costs. Now? Supply costs are rising because we’re not building power fast enough. States can fix this. statesforum.substack.com/p/the-year-o...

Grid reliability. Utility bills that work for consumers, not investors. Bad Bunny's half time show sent a message about power: all Americans deserve to be able to keep the lights on. thehill.com/blogs/in-the...

If your immigration message fits on a yard sign, you’re losing. Nuance creates consensus. Slogans create backlash. New polling on immigration in this week’s Substack: statesforum.substack.com/p/americans-...

Americans’ Views on Immigration Aren’t at Odds—They’re Complex. And Adult.

Slogans create backlash. Nuance builds consensus.

statesforum.substack.com

AI is already in classrooms. Now we need to decide: whose rules, whose safeguards. States are starting to write the playbook. www.multistate.us/insider/2026...

January is long, dark, and freezing—but the ideas in our January Book aren’t. States have real power to take on the cost-of-living squeeze and defend our rights. We’re ending this month with ideas built for this moment. Read below. www.statesforum.org/january-book/

Former National Security Advisor @AmbassadorRice on authoritarianism, federal power, and the erosion of democratic guardrails. Read an excerpt from her full interview in next month’s edition of The States Forum Journal in this week's Substack: open.substack.com/pub/statesfo...

The Virginia state legislature is back — and the early agenda is a clear statement of priorities: civil rights, mental health care, and cost-of-living relief. Not culture wars - governing. wjla.com/news/local/v...

A look at bill proposals in the Virginia state legislature

7News is taking a closer look at some of the legislation Democrats in Virginia are focused on off the bat.That includes House Bill 863, which as it stands right

wjla.com

Alex Brennan of @futurewise.bsky.social & @cityjane.bsky.social talk about the American housing nightmare and how states can step in to define best practice regulation that increases supply and brings down costs.  www.statesforum.org/january-book...

Abundant Housing Options Near Opportunity - The States Forum

Download this chapter The idea Across the United States, from big cities to growing suburbs to college, beach, and mountain towns, families and workers are struggling to find and keep homes they can a...

statesforum.org

Colleges play a vital role in our democracy, and preserving freedom of expression on campus is essential to our future.  Dr. Sigal Ben-Porath discusses how states can help protect our students and faculties’ voices.  www.statesforum.org/january-book...

Protecting Free Expression and Free Inquiry on Campuses - The States Forum

Download this chapter The idea A robust culture of free expression and free inquiry is a central component of democracy, and key to continued development of science, technology, and humanistic ideas f...

statesforum.org

“All we say to America is, ‘Be true to what you said on paper.’” – Martin Luther King, Jr. Teaching U.S. history requires being clear-eyed about our challenges & how we've worked to overcome them. More on what civic education *should* look like: statesforum.substack.com/p/being-true...

Being True to America

Towards a Healthy Civic Education

statesforum.substack.com

Citizen-led ballot initiatives can be a key way to institute the change we want to see at the state level.  Read more in @newamerica.org about how everyone can join the governing process.  www.newamerica.org/political-re...

Expanding Citizen-Led Policymaking in the 21st Century

This report explores opportunities and strategies for expanding ballot initiative access to more states.

newamerica.org

More from our January book! @robertgo.bsky.social discusses how we hire the right people to do the people’s work. Delivering on democracy requires getting the best talent into government - efficiently. www.statesforum.org/january-book...

Fixing Government Hiring - The States Forum

Download this chapter The idea If democracy is going to deliver for its citizens, government needs the right people doing the people’s work. Strong staff matter—in the classroom1 or on the beat,2 in c...

statesforum.org

In this week’s Substack, Marissa Gillett talks investor-owned utilities, why (and how) rates are skyrocketing, and how YOU can get involved in fixing this cost of living crisis.  statesforum.substack.com/p/is-the-sky...

Is the Sky Blue?

A call to public action for utility rate case intervention

statesforum.substack.com

In this piece, Danielle Allen argues that President Trump’s recently coined ‘Donroe Doctrine’ is a dagger aimed at the heart of American democracy. statesforum.substack.com/p/on-the-don...

On the Donroe Doctrine

And Its Domestic Implications

statesforum.substack.com

From the January Book: Paul Monteiro writes about service and helps us deeply engage in civic life, and how states like Maryland, California, and New York are instituting programs to support young people in strengthening their communities.  www.statesforum.org/january-book...

The Service Year - The States Forum

Download this chapter The idea Service has been a defining American characteristic that has long provided a path of opportunity. For more than 30 years, AmeriCorps has formally engaged more than 1.4 m...

statesforum.org

As the cost of living continues to increase, January Book contributor @choprausa.bsky.social is looking to the states & the powerful—& often overlooked—tools they have to drive down the costs families face. And, the benefits come much sooner than you’d think. www.statesforum.org/january-book...

De-Gouging the Economy - The States Forum

Download the full paper The idea Since the pandemic, families are angry about the increasing costs of everyday essentials and monthly bills. Given the lack of meaningful rationale for rising prices, m...

statesforum.org

It’s simple: cheap and abundant electricity is good!  In our January Book, @janeaflegal.bsky.social discusses the growing need for energy, the policy challenges thwarting new supply, and how we move towards more cheap AND clean energy.  www.statesforum.org/january-book...

Cheap and Abundant Electricity Is Good - The States Forum

Download the full paper The idea Energy is the lifeblood of the modern economy. Electricity powers homes, factories, and our digital world, allowing us to enjoy comfortable lives in a competitive coun...

statesforum.org