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PODCAST

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda is a non-partisan podcast featuring thought leaders and industry pioneers with insights about innovative approaches to political campaigns, voter engagement, mobilization, fundraising, persuasion, and GOTV. Topics include the power of mobile devices, leveraging social networks, message testing and targeting, cross-media advertising, grassroots organizing, and big data.

technology politics

All Episodes

22:09

How Southern Voters are Reshaping American Politics...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/04/21

Howard Franklin, CEO of Ohio River South, joins me to shine light on the evolving political, economic, and demographic landscape of the American South. The question is how these shifts have changed the electorate and created opportunities for a new wave of political candidates. The most effective ways to reach Southern voters still include traditional in-person engagement alongside digital outreach to reach urban, suburban, and rural communities. Howard and I talk about Outdated historical

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27:41

Civic Technologists Bringing Expertise and Organizing...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/04/16

Xena Ni, Co-Founder of the Trestle Collaborative joins Deepak Puri, Founder of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the world of civic technologists and the need to help progressive organizations and campaigns to use technology safely and effectively. She contrasts the resources and mandates of commercial tech with those of the political and non-profit sectors. The mission of Trestle is to provide resources and support to leverage technology, build a strong campaign infrastructure, and protect against

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23:08

Mobile-First Political Strategy Featuring 4K Video...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/04/14

Josh Justice, CEO of Peerly, focuses on the evolving role of text messaging in political campaigns, particularly the shift from mobile optimization to a mobile-first communication strategy. The dominance of texting and reliance on small screens have driven the shift from simple SMS to text messaging with full HD and 4K video, and campaigns are thinking about content and advertising in new ways. Using AI responsibly builds in efficiency and scalability to target and engage more voters. Josh and I

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20:34

Musician Turned Politician Leveraging Social Media...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/04/07

Adam Ditch Kurtz, a Democrat, is running for governor of Tennessee in a race with 4 candidates competing in the August Democratic primary. A career musician, Ditch is building a grassroots campaign informed by his live performance experience and long-term use of social media to communicate authentically and respond rapidly to voters. He outlines his strategies for reaching rural and working-class voters and engaging the established political machine. We talk about The current political climate and

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24:02

Electoral Organizing Guidebook for the Working Class...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/03/23

Tomas Garduno, organizer and activist, joins Deepak Puri, Founder of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the power of the working class and what tools are necessary to organize and mobilize this diverse cohort. After 25 years of political experience, Tomas has written the Fundamentals of Electoral Organizing to support this community and encourage more people to get involved. He points out that the electoral arena offers a unique opportunity for the working class to leverage its numerical strength

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21:42

Local News Sites Untapped Goldmine for Political Ad...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/03/11

Chris Nolan, Founder of Spot-On, points out that political consultants often overlook local news sites in favor of national sites with large audiences and programmatic advertising capabilities. Local news sites offer highly effective geographic targeting and audiences engaged in current events and their communities. With shifting loyalties to political parties and a move towards issue-based decisions, local news publishers have an opportunity to play a larger role in down-ballot races. We talk

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21:57

Handwritten Postcards Featuring Political Cartoons...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/03/05

Erin Miller, Founder of Cartoons for Democracy, joins Deepak Puri, Founder of The Democracy Labs, to discuss using postcards to enable people who can't canvass due to age, location, or time constraints to support campaigns. A political cartoon on one side of a postcard with a handwritten note is an eye-catching way to communicate a message quickly and humorously to a broad audience, and it is proving effective at getting attention from voters. Deepak and Erin talk about Why postcarding is a crucial

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21:24

Why Nonprofits Need to Make Complex Issues Part of a...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/03/04

Caroline Sanchez-Avakian, Strategic Communications Director at the Ballot Initiative Strategy Center, offers advice to nonprofits on effectively managing their communications and earned media strategies. The media environment continues to change, requiring nonprofits to tell authentic, clear, and concise stories about complex topics that fit into a larger narrative. We talk about: The need to move beyond episodic campaign-based thinking to building a comprehensive ongoing narrative Connecting

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25:25

Grassroots Group Mobilizing Black Voters for...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/02/26

Andrea Miller, Center for Common Ground, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to highlight the strategy behind the effort to get out the vote in the Virginia special election, where voters will decide on a proposal to redraw the state's congressional district maps. Deepak and Andrea talk about: Potential impact of the proposed Virginia congressional map Tactics to reach the 675,000 Black voters in Virginia Importance of postcards to effectively reach older, poorer, and rural voters who

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35:24

Project 2025 Blueprint Driving Military Action...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/02/17

Anne-christine d'Adesky, journalist and Founder of Resisting Project 2025, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the financial and ideological motivations behind the Trump administration's policy to seize Venezuela and Greenland for oil and rare earth minerals. Deepak and Anne-christine talk about: How Project 2025 is the instructional guide for autocratic takeovers Who benefits from actions against Venezuela and Greenland Moves to counter China's dominance over the supply chain

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22:39

The Fear Behind Our Lack of Empathy and Why We Turn...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/01/15

Pat LaMarche, broadcaster, journalist, advocate, and founder of the Homeless Remembrance Blanket project, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss poverty, hunger, and homelessness. Pat uses her journalism skills to address the root causes of mental health disorders, homelessness, and substance abuse, to inform and drive change in public policy. Deepak and Pat talk about: The source of her dedication to writing about poverty and homelessness The lack of empathy for the poor and the

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20:02

How Mobile Voting Could Drive Participation and...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2026/01/13

Bradley Tusk is a political strategist, venture capitalist, philanthropist, podcaster, and author with a mission to promote and implement mobile voting in US elections. He points out that the most effective way to combat low voter turnout is to make it easier for people to vote and find out information about candidates and ballot initiatives. The Tusk Foundation has developed an open-source mobile voting platform that addresses security, authentication, and auditability, and it is being rolled out

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17:45

Organizing for Living Wages in the Fight for...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2025/12/18

Saru Jayaraman, long-time activist and leader of One Fair Wage, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the historical origins of the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers in the US and the power of that community to drive higher wages. The movement has now expanded beyond tipped workers to a broader coalition fighting for a living wage for all. Saru emphasizes that any political platform that focuses on affordability must also include raising wages to be effective. Deepak and Saru

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20:54

How AI and Mobile Technology are Transforming...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2025/12/18

Javan Van Gronigen, Founder of Donately considers 2025 as a year of testing the water for peer-to-peer and crowdfunding for political and advocacy campaigns. AI is enabling organizations to create and deploy fundraising content more quickly and target specific audiences. Increasingly, digital tools are showing effectiveness for all donor levels, whether turning a small-dollar donor into a recurring one or engaging a major supporter. We talk about Digital outreach to mobile-first donors Common

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13:22

Why Sexual Abuse Victims Must Come Forward to Protect...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2025/12/11

John Fitch, The Fitch Law Firm, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the importance of victims reporting sexual abuse not only for their own justice but to break the cycle and prevent perpetrators from harming others. John warns that delayed reporting can lead to the loss of essential physical evidence, making the case harder to pursue. Deepak and John talk about: The staggering widespread prevalence of sexual abuse in small towns to big metropolitan cities Behavior of

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20:13

Network of Vetted Marketing Firms to Address Diverse...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2025/12/10

Behdad Jamshidi is the Founder of CJAM The Marketing Connector, which has vetted over 1,000 marketing agencies to identify those most qualified to deliver on their promises. The idea of a single agency handling all political and advocacy campaign needs is no longer realistic, as there are an increasing number of channels to reach voters and supporters. We talk about: The vast majority of agencies are execution focused while clients often expect high-level strategic thinking Red flags of agencies

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20:50

Combining Influencer Content with Paid Media Strategy...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2025/11/21

Nicole Dunger, Vice President of Growth, and Ryan Davis, CEO of People First, highlight the value of integrating influencer content into paid media strategies, a practice becoming more common in the political and advocacy space. The use of micro-influencers is key for state and local races, and the paid amplification can promote authentic voices to hard-to-reach voters. Campaigns are planning their influencer strategies earlier in the campaign cycle and effectively using creator content to inform

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22:39

Ground-Breaking 4K Video Texting Technology...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2025/11/19

Josh Justice, CEO of Peerly, highlights the new Video in Motion technology, an evolution of their previous HD video texting service. This next-generation tool allows for sending 4K high-resolution video to voters' phones via text message, bypassing the limitations of MMS protocols. This is a direct-to-voter messaging model that Josh argues is superior to traditional OTT and CTV advertising because it delivers a measurable interactive experience directly to voters. Josh and I talk about: The

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29:04

How a Critical Mass of Peaceful Protesters Can Fight...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2025/10/29

Anne-Christine, Founder of Resisting Project 2025,joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss strategies to counter the agenda of Project 2025, guiding the Trump administration. She details the growth and significance of the No Kings protests, explaining the goal of reaching 3.5% of the US population — a figure identified as a tipping point for effective nonviolent resistance. Deepak and Anne-Christine talk about: How the No Kings mobilization grew and who participated Lessons from

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20:52

Expanding Citizen Led Ballot Initiative Access with...

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda ·

2025/10/22

Maresa Strano, Director of the Political Reform Program at New America, discusses the role and mechanics of ballot initiatives in the 23 states that allow for citizen-led statewide initiatives. These Initiatives are a tool for direct democracy and are an effective mechanism for achieving political and good governance reform. Once established in a state's constitution, ballot initiative-driven legislation is difficult to restrict, and typically, changes are unpopular with voters. Current research

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153 results

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