Seth David Radwell, author of American Schism: How the Two Enlightenments Hold the Secret to Healing Our Nation, which won the International Book Award for Best General Nonfiction in 2023, characterizes the forces driving the schisms in our society. With a view of the past and an analysis of what supports a healthy democracy, part of the solution, he contends, is the election system needs structural reform. There is a need for more competitive races and open primaries, focusing on issues, not just the candidates trying to be the most extreme in the primaries. We talk about: Role social m ..read more

Jess Ellis, Senior Specialist, Client Partnerships, Politics at VDX.tv, illuminates the CTV and OLV landscape for political and advocacy advertising. With the increasing shift to streaming and the use of apps to download and watch videos, targeted advertising opportunities are diverse and effective for reaching specific segments of voters. The length of the ads is also shrinking as voter attention spans shorten, requiring more imaginative use of words and images. We talk about: Applying advertising strategies used in the commercial sector to political outreach and persuasion Push for CTV pre ..read more

Bryan Miller, President of Neptune Ops, discusses how browser companies are changing their policies regarding the use of cookies to locate specific individuals and the need for new campaign strategies to find and persuade voters online. In the post-cookie world, political consultants must consider new identifiers based on other data, surgical contextual targeting, and geo-fencing. We talk about: What replaces cookies to identify and target specific voters or groups Voting propensity, voter turnout, and when people decide how they are going to vote Finding persuadable voters How voters ar ..read more

Patrice O'Neil, Founder of Not In Out Town, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss gathering communities together to support conversations that drive understanding about fighting hate and racism. Patrice reports that screening their film Repairing the World in local gatherings has become a catalyst for people to share their stories about being harmed by hate and actions that can taken to fight racist attacks. NIOT has become a story center for communities who want to stand up together and learn from each other. Deepak and Patrice talk about: Inspiring people to take on hate ..read more

Joe Fuld, Founder of The Campaign Workshop, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to consider how the role of political and advocacy campaign managers has changed over the last 20 years. The constants are the ongoing challenges for a campaign to refine the message, have the candidate or advocate's voice heard by the target audience, and find the pressure points to make the most short-term and long-term impact. Joe also emphasizes the need to keep innovating to build robust campaign strategies.  Deepak and Joe talk about: Driving civic engagement Power mapping Need for training to ..read more

Andra Watkins, The New York Times best-selling author and speaker, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the threat of Christian Nationalists to the future of our democracy. Indoctrinated as a child in Christian Nationalism, Andra understands the language of the calls to action in Project 2025 and warns about the potential impact on families and communities in her Substack: How Project 2025 Will Ruin YOUR Life.  Deepak and Andra talk about: How Christian Nationalists are different from other Christians  The true meaning of the words Christian Nationalists use ..read more

Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, shares his reaction and insights from participating in the recent commemoration of Bloody Sunday and his walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. As an activist, Deepak appreciates the importance of learning from history and the need to continue the fight for civil rights. We talk about: What motivated people to attend the 59th gathering to remember the beatings of the civil rights marchers and pass on lessons to the next generation Voter suppression Overcoming voter apathy Why it is essential to visit the actual places where history is m ..read more

Jim Margolis, Partner at GMMB, was a Senior Advisor to Barack Obama in both of his campaigns for the White House. Jim is one of the stars of the recent documentary The Bigger Hammer: Race for the White House A Look at the 2008 Obama-McCain Race for President. Taking on the challenge of introducing Barack Obama meant having a strategic plan to define a different kind of leader, telling his unique, authentic candidate story, and finding common interests with all voters. It was also the first presidential campaign to use the new social media tools to connect with voters. Jim emphasizes that the c ..read more

Fred Davis, CEO of Strategic Perception Inc., is a well-known Republican communications expert and one of the stars of the recent documentary The Bigger Hammer: Race for the White House A Look at the 2008 Obama-McCain Race for President.  As the Chief Creative Officer of McCain's presidential campaign, Fred had the challenge of running against the Barack Obama team and the plot twist of the addition of Sarah Palin to the McCain ticket. While Fred agrees social media, digital ads, and the internet are helpful for fundraising and organizing, he is not convinced those are strong tools for br ..read more

Keith Gaby is the Director of The Bigger Hammer: Race for the White House a Look at the 2008 Obama-McCain Race for President and communications expert. This behind-the-scenes documentary is a time capsule of presidential campaigns before the proliferation of social media and mobile devices. The film presents a balanced picture of the strategies and tactics of the advisors to Obama and McCain and how they handled challenges and opportunities. We talk about: The motivation for the creation of this film Crisis management style of each campaign Crafting the candidate's message and image What the ..read more