Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda

Lucian K. Truscott IV, journalist, author, and screenwriter, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to shine a light on the challenges of writing about and reporting on current events, political voices, and cultural trends. Lucian started working for the Village Voice while still a cadet at West Point in the 1960s and comes from a long line of military leaders and political figures. He is currently covering politics on his Substack newsletter, Lucian Truscott. Note that this interview was recorded a few days before the US dropped bombs on Iran. Deepak and Lucian talk about: Life Magazine His concern about hasty and ill-advised military and political decisions #TheDemLabs #LucianKTruscott #MilitaryAction #PoliticalReporting #AttacksonIran LucianTruscott.substack.com TheDemLabs.org

Nicole Cushman joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to talk about Charley. This private, secure abortion focused AI chatbot was created in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The goal of this project is to provide personalized, accurate, up-to-date information about abortion services while protecting the privacy of those looking for resources. Deepak and Nicole talk about: Abortion access in America Databases powering Charley to track changes in clinic locations and state-level abortion policies The power of combining healthcare experts, lawyers, and technology to provide a source for trustworthy information How Charley the chatbot has been designed to be embedded in websites that reach the target audience for this information Privacy and security measures that include not collecting any personally identifiable information and deleting chat logs #TheDemLabs #AI #Chatbots #AbortionServices #ChatwithCharley #INeedanA #AbortionPill #AbortionCare #AbortionbyMail ChatwithCharley.org INeedanA.org NicoleCushman.com TheDemLabs.org

Catherine Roland, Legislative Affairs Director at the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to explore the current budget reconciliation process in the US Congress. Regardless of the method, Catherine emphasizes that the voice of constituents can make a difference in the outcome and influence budget decisions. Deepak and Catherine talk about: #ProgressiveCaucusCenter #CongressionalBudget #BudgetReconciliation #Advocacy #CongressionalBudgetOffice ProgressiveCaucusCenter.org TheDemLabs.org

Gwenn Fulton from the Addition Project joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to explore how storytelling is a powerful way to translate personal experiences into public dialogue, building shared understanding and action around common challenges. Stories of the working class are particularly needed so that their concerns and aspirations are told in their own voices. Deepak and Gwenn talk about: Effective storytelling balances facts with emotional expression to allow listeners to see themselves as part of the story How storytelling can drive grassroots organizing and mobilizationWhy narratives need to identify the heroes as well as the villains.How the Republicans are weaponizing storytelling to advance divisive narratives and how the Democrats are responding #AdditionProject #TheDemLabs #Storytelling #WorkingClass #SocialChange #Organizing #SocialJustice #ClassinAmerica AdditionProject.org TheDemLabs.org

Anna Chu, Executive Director of We the Action, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the critical role lawyers play in defending the rule of law and supporting nonprofits during these challenging times. The We the Action platform connects lawyers with organizations addressing the challenges both sides face in finding specific expertise and meaningful opportunities. Deepak and Anna talk about #WetheAction #TheDemLabs #Lawyers #Nonprofits #ProBonoLegalServices WeTheAction.org TheDemLabs.org

Jennifer Appel, filmmaker, teacher, and activist, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the American Dream and the need to provide a more complete and accurate portrayal of the American experience. Jennifer uses storytelling, music, and visuals to give voice to diverse perspectives, including those of Indigenous people and veterans, to rally the country and heal the divisions in American society. She reminds us of the Hopi Indian quote, "The one who tells the story rules the world." Deepak and Jennifer talk about What kind of change is needed in this increasingly materialistic society #SomewhereIRead​ #JenAppelCreates #TraitorFilm #TraitorMovie #TraitorAStoryOfPatriots #IndieFilm #Patriotism #Democracy #Democrats #GOP #Republicans #MusicInFilm #BruceSpringsteen #TheBoss #SpringsteenSongs #BornToRun #SpringsteenNation #MusicHeals #HealingTheNation #TruthOverTyranny #MikeAppelLegacy SomewhereIRead.com TheDemLabs.org

Shasti Conrad is the Chair of the Washington State Democratic Party and Associate Chair of the Democratic National Committee. Her involvement in political organizing and activism taught her that campaigns must focus on economic messages to build coalitions that cut across partisan lines. This year, before the 2026 mid-terms, there is an opportunity to engage diverse constituents in person and online to test new messaging and strategies for reaching consensus and winning races. We talk about: #ShastiConrad #WADEMS #Voters #Persuasion #Protests #ProtestingTrump #Townhalls #DemocraticParty #Democrats WADems.org

Zach Adams, Senior Specialist in Client Partnerships for Politics and Public Affairs at VDX.tv, discusses the evolving landscape of political campaigns and the importance of ongoing engagement with voters beyond election day. Candidates and campaigns often fail to maintain relationships with voters, except for requests for contributions. Data analytics is one path to effectively target messages to engage and motivate the base and attract new supporters. We talk about: #VDXTV #PoliticalAdvertising #PoliticalCampaigns #DigitalVoterOutreach #PoliticalEvangelists #VoterEngagement VDX.tv

Michael D. Cohen is the CEO of the Cohen Research Group, a political public affairs and corporate research firm, and the author of Modern Political Campaigns: How Professionalism, Technology, and Speed Have Revolutionized Elections. He has written a new chapter for this well-received book that focuses on the power of AI and opportunities to apply it in political campaigns. Michael emphasizes the need to balance the use of AI with maintaining the authenticity and voice of the candidate. We talk about: #CohenResearchGroup #PoliticalCampaigns #BookTok #Elections #AIinPoliticalCampaigns #AI #PoliticalConsultants #Voters CohenResearchGroup.com ModernPoliticalCampaigns.com

Robert Maxwell, Founder of ClinConnect, focuses on improving access to information about clinical trials and simplifying the path patients, doctors, and caregivers need to go through to find potentially life-saving trials. This clinical trial data is drawn directly from the clinicaltrials.gov database. The ClinConnect solution is updated more accurately and provides a user-friendly interface to explore possible trials, aid in applying to participate in a trial, and support participation. The community of people concerned about science-based healthcare and the need for access to clinical trials is growing, and a voter cohort that cuts across traditional party lines. We talk about: #ClinConnect #ClinicalTrials #Healthcare #PublicPolicy ClinConnect.io

Robert Maxwell, Founder of ClinConnect, focuses on improving access to information about clinical trials and simplifying the path patients, doctors, and caregivers need to go through to find potentially life-saving trials. This clinical trial data is drawn directly from the clinicaltrials.gov database. The ClinConnect solution is updated more accurately and provides a user-friendly interface to explore possible trials, aid in applying to participate in a trial, and support participation. The community of people concerned about science-based healthcare and the need for access to clinical trials is growing, and a voter cohort that cuts across traditional party lines. We talk about: #ClinConnect #ClinicalTrials #Healthcare #PublicPolicy ClinConnect.io

Mark Positano is the Head of Political at StackAdapt, a programmatic digital advertising buying platform. With a focus on advertising outside the "walled gardens" like Facebook and Google, StackAdapt uses AI and data analytics to optimize ad buying and targeting for political campaigns across a wide range of media properties and streaming platforms. We talked about: #StackAdapt #PoliticalAdvertising #DigitalAdvertising #PoliticalMarketing #Midterms2026 #VoterTargeting #CTVAdvertising #AdMeasurement #ProgrammaticAdvertising StackAdapt.com

Desiree Matel-Anderson, Founder and Chief Wrangler of the Field Innovation Team joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss emergency preparation in an age of natural and man-made disasters, climate uncertainty, and overwhelmed government resources. The key is to be prepared with a plan to respond with a critical thinking mindset to avoid emotional reactions and panic. Deepak and Desiree talk about Need for innovative, flexible problem-solving in emergency situations Importance of local community involvement and preparedness for emergencies Emergencies within emergencies Solving problems in real-time Technology and emergency preparation and response #FieldInnovationTeam #TheDemLabs #EmergencyPrep #DisasterResponse FieldInnovationTeam.org TheDemLabs.org

Ben Katz, Chief Architect of ISPolitical, is concerned about the inadequate data and systems security measures political and advocacy organizations, political campaigns, and government organizations have in place. The first step is to audit current security practices and all the people who have access to the organization's databases, financial systems, and web administration. We talk about: #ISPolitical #Cybersecurity #Data #DataSecurity ISPolitical.com

Scott Goodstein is the Founder and CEO of Catalyst Campaigns and a digital pioneer. The results from the 2024 election indicate that the ground game needs a fresh review of how volunteers can be better deployed and how to find trusted messengers for a political campaign. The traditional ward and precinct system built relationships with voters over time. What's the new face of field operations? We talk about: #CatalystCampaigns #GroundGame #FieldOperations #Fundraising #PoliticalTexts #Voters #VoterOutreach CatalystCampaigns.com Myth of the Ground Game We've lost control of political text messaging

John Hoffman, principal of Advocate for Access, has 20+ years of experience working with big pharma companies to promote advocating for patients and driving the move to provide access to drugs and therapies to a broader audience. Public/private health policy trends highlight the need to raise awareness about the science of medicine and the inequities in access to life-saving drugs and effective treatments for chronic conditions. We talk about: #AdvocateForAccess #HealthcareEquity #HealthcareInequity #HealthcareAdvocates #PharmaceuticalCompanies #PatientAdvocacy #SocialInfluencers AdvocateForAccess.org

Ryan Davis, the Co-Founder and COO of PeopleFirst, shares insights and analysis about the activities of influencers and content creators in the campaign leading up to the 2024 election. While celebrity influencers have large followings, the voices of local people sharing authentic content about all kinds of interests broke through the noise to reach key segments of voters. We talk about: Political vs. Non-Political https://people1st.substack.com/p/meeting-in-the-middle-political-vs RFK/Trump used creators to break through https://disinfoagainstdemocrats.substack.com/p/how-trump-used-rfk-jr-to-harness Recent Webinar on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se2RsJ0Izio&t=1s Sign up for Webinar Invites https://people1st.substack.com/ #PeopleFirst #ContentCreators #Influencers #Election2024 #GenZ #Voters PeopleFirst.cc

Andrew Einhorn, the Co-Founder and CEO of LevelFields, is an expert on fintech and AI. He highlights how political uncertainty and tight elections create market volatility and can impact voting behavior. Using their event intelligence platform, LevelFields connects the dots using AI to spot trends and predict future behavior. We talk about: #LevelFields #FintechAI #AI #FiscalPolicy #VoterBehavior #Voting #StockMarket #StockMarketBehavior #WealthManagement levelfields.ai

Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, experimented with an AI engine that can digest, summarize, and verbalize dense content like the Harris Walz Plan to lower costs and create an opportunity economy. The result is this 10-minute podcast, a conversation between a male and female voice highlighting the plan's key issues. The first part of this podcast is the real Deepak and me talking about: @TheDemLabs #AI #HarrisEconomicPlan Kamala Harris Economy Policy Plan TheDemLabs.org

Daryl Cagle of Cagle Cartoons Syndicate has a keen eye for detail and brings a strong sense of humor to the world of editorial and political cartoons. He is also the host of the video podcast Caglecast, available on YouTube, where he talks with the cartoonists. Political humor is an increasingly challenging topic, and Daryl confirms that there is not much that Democrats and Republicans agree about, including what is funny. We talk about: What catches the political cartoonist's attention to drive home a pointThe right way and wrong way to characterize Donald TrumpThe challenge of drawing Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and JD VanceThe role of cats and dogs in expressing political humor #CagleCartoons #PoliticalCartoons #EditorialCartoons #PoliticalHumor CagleCartoons.com YouTube.com/CagleCartoons