Beyond Voting Kicks Off New Chapter on SxSW Stage!

Beyond Voting is more than a podcast. It's always been a call to action. As a newly independent endeavor, we are aiming to build upon our success in Season 1 and 2 to reach more Gen Z listeners, provide civic and voter educational resources to teachers and communities, and create more timely episodes of the podcast. We need your support to make this new chapter a success!

This is Phase 1. Your support today funds our launchpad. Season 3--and everything after it--gets built on the foundation we create together. Phase 2--the full production of Season 3--follows. When you controbute today, you're becoming a founding investor in an independent platform that has already proven that it can reach the people our democracy needs most.

Our Story:

Beyond Voting was created to explore how all Americans can collectively reimagine and rebuild our democracy beyond the ballot box. Each episode features in-depth conversations with thought leaders, activists, and educators who discuss the state of our institutions and systems of oppression, offering actionable strategies to advance human rights, gender equality, and social justice.

The content of the first season of Beyond Voting resonated broadly, winning a Webby People's Choice Award, a Signal Award for Best Host, and an Anthem Award for Community Outreach. Our work has also been recognized by Peabody. We reached 1.75 million listeners and learned that over 50% of our listeners are people under the age of 30 who are otherwise disillusioned with electoral politics. So far in Season 2, we have doubled our listenership and hope to continue to expand our reach once we are able to release the remaining episodes. We are humbly honored to have received the recognition of prestigious award granting bodies and the trust of Gen Z listeners whose votes and political views and actions are critical to this country's future.

Despite our early success, like so many truly great social justice, DEI and democracy initiatives, Beyond Voting has not been immune to the effects of the broader political and economic realities currently shaping our lives. Those realities have changed how this show is funded, produced and sustained. These realities caused a temporary pause of our work, however in that time, we were also able to see ways in which we can build upon our success to date and reach more Gen Z listeners, Educators and everyday people who care about the conditions we're living under and want to do their part to keep democracy alive.

In the next chapter of Beyond Voting, we envision collaborating with educators, building a robust social media presence, and continuing to produce podcast content that invites listeners to join a critical conversation about how we can all contribute to a more just and democratic society. We're fortunate to have a huge opportunity to kickstart this next chapter as presenters at SxSW in March 2026. In order to make this happen, we'll need your support.

Our Why:

Nearly 40% of young adults aged 18 to 24 get their news from influencers on social media, according to a 2025 Pew Research study. While civic education is at an all time low, we are also living in a world increasingly filled with misinformation and polarizing rhetoric. Social media news and political content is dominated by right-leaning perspectives. Right-leaning influencers host 9 out 10 of the most popular podcasts and shows, according to data from Media Matters.

Beyond Voting provides a platform for real people doing real work to change their communities, discussing the most pressing issues facing our country. Our approach to media is informed, well-researched and presented through a social justice lens. We meet Gen Z where they are on social media, and provide content that encourages their leadership and action beyond the ballot box.

Presenting on the stage of SxSW will allow us to reach 10's of thousands of educators, having a multiplier effect for our content and impact. This will jumpstart our goal of collaborating with educators across the country and reaching Gen Z with critical civic and voter education.

Our Ask:

To sustain and expand operations, Beyond Voting is raising $15,000 for general operating funds to:

1. Programming highlighting the importance of Student and Educator advocacy on AI in the classroom at SxSW, creating a multiplier effect and reaching several hundred thousand educators.

2. Establishing a robust social media presence to meet Gen Z where they are on social media and foster critical content about news and politics as it unfolds; and foster meaningful dialogue about how we all can do our part to contribute to a more just and democratic society.

3. Sustain impact and expand reach by completing season 2 episodes.

About Beyond Voting

Beyond Voting with Emily Williams examines the state of our country’s institutions, ongoing systems of oppression, and how we, the people, can take critical action in pursuit of true equity and justice. Beyond Voting is available on all major podcast platforms. Join in this critical conversation as we explore how we can all contribute to a more just and equitable society.

Listen here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beyond-voting/id1513423967

Our Team:

Emily Williams, Host and Creator

Emily Williams (she/her) is a Webby, Signal and Anthem Award-winning podcast host and Former Executive Director of the Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership. A gender studies scholar and global advocate for social justice, Emily has worked with communities in more than 20 countries and co-founded the Social Justice Initiative at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her work includes contributing to a global treaty adopted by the United Nations and decades of leadership in advancing equity, gender justice, and human rights in the US and beyond.

Philos Future Media

Executive produced by Keisha ‘TK’ Dutes (Good Words with Kirk Franklin, Buzzfeed’s Thirst Aid Kit), Beyond Voting explores the evolving efficacy of boycotts in 2025, how AI and technology are reshaping privacy, energy, and governance in real time, and visions for a future rooted in care, radical imagination, and Indigenous leadership. Beyond Voting is for listeners across the spectrum of democracy, left, right, and center.

Please note that we are in the process of securing a fiscal sponsor. If you have any questions, please contact us at beyondvotingpodcast@gmail.com

Fund Beyond Voting's Next Chapter!