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Check My Ads

This episode features a conversation with Claire Atkin of the ad tech watchdog Check My Ads. Our online world has become incredibly complex, bringing with it myriad opportunities for bad actors to manipulate opinions, ideas and ultimately our political system. You may not know what ad tech is or why we need a watchdog, but the bottom line is that Claire and her colleagues at Check My Ads have ventured deep into the weeds to defund online platforms that promote hate and disinformation by taking away their revenue sources: ads. Claire and Nancy talk about the “donut of grifters” on…
Nancy
June 5, 2024
Podcast

Her Bold Move

Four years ago, Jordan Zaslow was busy with her life running an advertising and entertainment production company, but when things shut down during Covid in 2020, she found herself with time on her hands and lots of worries about the upcoming election. So she and her team decided to channel that anxiety into making pro bono campaign ads for female Democrats running for office, and Her Bold Move was born. Her Bold Move is now in their fourth election cycle and dedicated to electing more “pro-women” women who will influence policy on issues that matter to women, like reproductive rights…
Nancy
May 15, 2024
Podcast

A Republican Election Official for All Voters

On this episode, Nancy speaks with Philadelphia City Commissioner Seth Bluestein, a Republican whose office is in charge of election operations and voter registration in the Pennsylvania city. Nancy and Seth talk about why, despite enduring threats and harassment in 2020 from members of his own party, Seth remains committed to his mission of ensuring free, secure and transparent elections for all voters. They also discuss the importance of bipartisanship, what it means to be a principled Republican today, and why Seth has recently become affiliated with the Forward Party. This conversation will leave you feeling reassured about the prospects…
Nancy
April 16, 2024
Podcast

Update on the States

On this episode, Nancy welcomes back Melissa Walker of the States Project (formerly Future Now). Melissa appeared on the first episode of this podcast when, deep in Covid lockdown, she schooled us on why we should be focusing on winning state races versus focusing on big, expensive federal seats. Now Melissa is back to talk about why state elections matter now more than ever, how tiny margins can create huge policy and power shifts, and why this year’s elections in Virginia are of vital importance. Melissa doesn’t sugarcoat the fight that lies ahead, but she will give you the inspiration…
Nancy
September 6, 2023
Podcast

The Forward Party

This episode features a conversation with Lindsey Drath, CEO of the Forward Party, a newly formed political party that intends to bring power back to the majority of Americans and take it away from the fringes. Imagine a world in which the will of the plurality rules, where the 70-80% of Americans who support things like gun laws and abortion and climate action have their say, instead of being governed by extremists. With the support of political luminaries from both major parties, like Andrew Yang, Evan McMullin, David Jolly, and Christine Todd Whitman, the Forward Party promises to return power…
Nancy
May 18, 2023
Podcast

An Abortion Freedom Fighter in Mississippi

This episode features a conversation with abortion rights activist Michelle Colon of SHERo (Sisters Helping Every Woman Rise and Organize), an organization dedicated to reproductive justice for black and brown women in Mississippi. While there’s no sugarcoating the dire state of abortion rights in our country right now, this conversation will help you pick yourself up out of your puddle of tears and start to take action. Michelle and Nancy talk about how Mississippi, with its myriad abortion restrictions, is virtually already in a post-Roe universe and how it will only get harder. They also discuss the fraught history of…
Nancy
May 25, 2022
Podcast

Make the Road Pennsylvania

On the last episode with Stacy Kramer of Blueprint/Swing Left,  we got a bird’s eye view of why we should support grassroots groups in swing states. This week, Nancy is following up with a “boots on the ground” perspective from Diana Robinson, civic engagement director at Make the Road Pennsylvania. Diana discusses her group’s support of working class Latinx communities year in and year out, and how that translates into votes for Democrats when elections roll around. Nancy and Diana also talk about what life is like in a deeply divided battleground state like Pennsylvania, how her group’s advocacy is…
Nancy
May 11, 2022
Podcast

Why Grassroots Giving Will Save Democracy

This episode features Stacy Kramer who first came on the podcast two years ago as a newly activated Democratic fundraiser who was making fundraising more Democratic. But after the disappointing down ballot results for Democrats in 2020, she took a hard look at what had gone wrong and realized that giving large amounts of money directly to candidates and campaigns is not a winning strategy. Now she has changed activist gears and is a consultant at Blueprint, a division of the political action group Swing Left. At Blueprint, Stacy is dedicating her time to building up local grassroots civics groups…
Nancy
April 27, 2022
Podcast

Radical Common Ground

This episode features Indian-American activist and racial justice leader Nisha Anand of Dream Corps. Once a radical grassroots activist arrested in Burma for passing out pro-democracy leaflets, Nisha’s expansive organizing experience and work with mentors like Van Jones solidified her belief in the power of working with unlikely partners to find real solutions. As Dream Corps’ CEO, Nisha leads a diverse group of people who are learning, like her, the value of unconventional relationships. Nisha and Nancy speak about how we can and must work with people across the divide to come up with lasting solutions to our biggest problems;…
Nancy
April 13, 2022
Podcast

Students for Justice

On this episode, Nancy speaks with Claire Ullman and Sandy Radoff of the voter outreach group Students for Justice. In 2020, Claire was a professor trying to help her students whose summer jobs had gone up in smoke during the Covid lockdown. Sandy was an active volunteer with the Center for Common Ground. The two of them saw an untapped resource to help get out the vote of people of color in voter suppression states, and Students for Justice was born. Sandy, Claire and Nancy discuss repurposing skills from earlier careers to do good; the importance of giving students leadership…
Nancy
March 30, 2022