Kudzu Vine

Dr. Anthony Chergosky will join us to discuss Wisconsin politics and more. Dr. Chergosky teaches courses on American government and research methods. He a political analyst and has been quoted in local, statewide, national, and international news media outlets. His research focuses on American political institutions (especially Congress), elections, political communication, and the scholarship of teaching and learning.

David Nir will join us to discuss the rebranding of Daily Kos Elections to The Down Ballot: https://www.the-downballot.com/

Alice Driver is a writer from the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. Driver was born in rural Arkansas in a house built by her potter father and her weaver mother. She attended Berea College in rural Kentucky, founded in 1855 to educate freed slaves and students with limited economic resources. Berea College charges no tuition, and thanks to its mission, she was able to take the years of financial risk needed to become a writer. Writing is how she seeks justice and equality in a world that is far from that. She is currently designing a workshop on gender-based violence for journalists in El Salvador via the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. She has a Ph.D.(2011) and MA (2008) in Hispanic Studies from the University of Kentucky, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) in Mexico City. She studied Spanish and Portuguese at Middlebury College Language Schools.

Bill Schneider is a former political analyst for CNN, Los Angeles Times, National Journal, The Hill and The Messenger; professor emeritus at George Mason University; taught at Brandeis University, Boston College and UCLA.

Melissa Deckman is the CEO of PRRI and a political scientist who studies the impact of gender, religion, and age on public opinion and political behavior.

Deckman is the author of Tea Party Women (NYU Press: 2016), which examined the role of women in conservative politics. Her first book, School Board Battles: The Christian Right in Local Politics (Georgetown University Press: 2004) won the American Political Science Association’s Hu Morken Award for best book on religion and politics. Columbia University Press will publish her latest book, The Politics of Gen Z: How the Youngest Voters Will Shape Our Democracy this September.

Prior to joining PRRI, Deckman served as the Louis L. Goldstein Professor of Public Affairs and Chair of the Political Science Department at Washington College, where she taught courses on American politics and research methods. Dedicated to promoting leadership opportunities for young women, she was the co-founder of Training Ms. President, a Maryland-based, non-partisan program that encouraged young women to consider running for political office. She is proud to have conducted research for IGNITE, a leading non-profit organization that builds political ambition in young women across the country.

Deckman received her Ph.D. in Political Science from American University. A first-generation college student, she received her bachelor’s degree in political science from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, where she graduated class valedictorian.

Rachel Bitecofer will join us to discuss Project 2025 and the 2024 election

Lakshya Jain & Harrison Lavelle of Split Ticket will join us to discuss their piece A Generational Cliff: https://split-ticket.org/2023/05/08/a-generational-cliff/

Bruce's slide decks can accessed here: https://mehlmanconsulting.com/infographics/

Mehlman is a highly sought-after keynote speaker on policy and political trends, regularly headlining business conferences and strategic planning sessions. His quarterly infographic analyses are consistently picked-up by national media and eagerly consumed by tens of thousands of readers around the world. 

Bruce previously served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy under President George W. Bush. He also worked as a senior leadership aide in the House of Representatives, general counsel to a national political party committee and policy counsel to Cisco Systems.

Bruce is widely-regarded as an expert in running coalitions, quarterbacking issue campaigns and managing C-suite associations, bringing innovative approaches and determined execution to achieve impactful outcomes. An Adjunct Professor and Board Member of The Washington Campus, Bruce frequently lectures MBA candidates on “effective business-government relations.” 

Bruce received a BA degree from Princeton University and a JD from the University of Virginia Law School where he served on the Virginia Law Review.

Daily Kos contributer Steve Singiser will join us to discuss the upcoimg open US Senate race in California and more.

Yale University student Milan Singh will join us to discuss the political issues of the day.