In the Hands of the People: Resource Roundup
Inspiration, guidance, and practical support to craft authentic, inclusive American stories and use the US@250 moment to help move our nation closer to its promise.
Reclaiming Control Together: Building Narrative Power Against Authoritarian Populism
A new framing science brief from Topos Partnership looks at how powerlessness, disconnection, and distrust can fuel authoritarian appeals — and, crucially, how advocates can respond with narratives that foster agency, solidarity, and engagement.
A New Toolkit for Putting Families at the Heart of Economic Narrative
On April 28th, we gathered for the launch of the new narrative toolkit: Narrative Power for Kids and Families: Rewriting the Story of the Economy.
In the Hands of the People: Social Tools
Our new social media toolkit offers ready-to-use posts, visuals, and messaging guidance to help communicators tell a more honest, inclusive, people-powered American story as the country approaches its 250th anniversary.
Community Conversation: Communicating Truth Through the Noise (December 2025)
On December 11th, we convened a timely conversation on how to communicate truth in an era of mistrust and misinformation. Topos Partnership shared key insights from the new framing science brief, Communicating Truth Through the Noise, followed by climate strategist Carina Barnett-Loro, who grounded these ideas in the real-world challenges of climate justice work. Read […]
In the Hands of the People: A Narrative Guide
Explore our free US@250 Narrative Guide, created with Topos Partnership, for the full narrative framework and the research behind it.
Framed: A Series
FRAMED is a series designed to highlight framing choices in the real world and to think through the consequences of those choices together. Through brief, focused discussions of recent articles, speeches, stories, ads, etc., we hope to spark conversation and learn from each other.
Community Conversation: Uplifting a Community Story of the Benefits of Unions (May 2025)
In our May 2025 Community Conversation, we shared exciting new research from Topos that focuses both on community support for unionization efforts AND on how the current momentum behind these efforts can spark a broader community conversation about a people-first economy. The research reveals a powerful opportunity: communities already hold values and beliefs that support […]
Community Conversation: America @250 – Shaping a Story of Belonging (March 2025)
On March 19, 2025, the Think Big Narrative Learning Community gathered for a timely conversation on how to shape inclusive, forward-looking narratives about what it means to be American. With the nation’s 250th anniversary approaching in 2026, participants explored both the risks of exclusionary patriotism and the opportunity to redefine national identity in a way […]
Community Conversation: Beyond Blame: The Role of Villainy (February 2025)
On February 27, members of the Think Big Narrative Learning Community came together for a rich discussion on the role of villains and villainy in persuasive storytelling. Co-hosted with Topos Partnership, the session explored what social science research reveals about when and how to include villains in narrative — and why simply naming bad actors […]
Met Group: Housing as Well-Being
Written by guest author Jennifer Messenger from the Metropolitan Group, this article explores how framing economic conversations through the lens of well-being can drive meaningful impact.
Community Conversation: Helping Audiences Envision a Positive Future (even when it’s hard) (October 2024)
Think Big teamed up with experts at the Topos Partnership to dig into what the social science research can tell us about how we can help our audiences break out of the doom loop. On October 24th, we discussed the research findings and talked through what this research means for our own work across issue […]
Case Study: Developing Emerging Opinion Leaders in Maine
A key challenge to advancing a progressive worldview is the lack of representation of everyday people, particularly those impacted by racial, economic, and gender injustices, as recognized opinion leaders. The Maine People’s Resource Center (MPRC), in partnership with the Maine Beacon—a news website and podcast—has been working to address this gap by elevating underrepresented voices and cultivating opinion leadership among everyday Mainers.
Case Study: Empowering Voices for Change in Alabama
For too long, the narrative in Alabama has disempowered everyday people, but Think Big Alabama – a 2024 advocacy and narrative training program – aimed to change that. This four-part program, a collaboration between Alabama Arise and Alabama Values, equipped community members with the tools to drive change by addressing critical issues that matter most to them – like poverty, healthcare, and transportation.
Community Conversation: Exploring the Power and Potential of Well-Being Narratives (May 2024)
Well-being frameworks – approaches that set individual and community well-being as the definition of progress – are gaining traction (albeit slowly) in other countries. What can we learn from these efforts and from the research and message testing around advancing well-being narratives? How could aligning with these narratives advance many of our priority issues? These […]
Belonging in and to America: A Short Video Series
Over the last year, we traveled from coast to coast, from city to small town, to talk with people about American identity and take an honest look at the stories we tell about ourselves, who we are, and what we value.
This short video series features some of these voices and is based on the Topos/Bridge Project jointly-released report: Belonging in and To America.
Think Big Community Coffee Chat: Join us on May 16th!
Exploring the Power and Potential of Well-Being Narratives May 16, 2024 10-11am PST I 1-2pm EST Register Today What if shared narratives about progress and what matters most were about “well-being of all people” instead of “economic growth and consumption?” How would that shape our attitudes and actions — from the individual to community to […]
Think Big Conversation: Shifting the Story of “Hard Work”
On February 27th, the Narrative Learning Community met to explore the fraught concept of hard work in the American narrative and to discuss promising paths forward. We shared lessons learned from our deep research across the South and Southern Midwest through the Topos/EARN-led Southern Mindshift Project and heard from partner advocates and organizers about their on-the-ground experiences. Check out […]
Webinar: Beyond Bootstraps and Hustle (February 2024)
In February 2024, the Narrative Learning Community hosted a conversation on the fraught role of “hard work” in American culture. It’s an idea that is about much more than work. It’s a cultural value central to the story many Americans tell about themselves and about others. Problematically, it can trigger harmful mindsets about deservingness and, […]