Louisiana Lefty

On this episode, Louisiana author Sam Spitale joins host Lynda Woolard to talk about his brand new book, How to Win the War on Truth. This illustrated guide blends together politics, history, and psychology, as well as insights on the forces of power and media literacy, to create a roadmap for Americans to become better informed voters and better purveyors of truth. 

Buy How to Win the War on Truth through Quirk Books.

Follow Sam on social media:

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Watch the documentaries mentioned in the podcast:

Hot Coffee

The Brainwashing of My Dad

Find other books mentioned in the podcast:

Economix

How Civil Wars Start

Foxocracy

Suggested in How to Win the War on Truth, and recommended by Louisiana Lefty: The Harvard Implicit Bias Tests

Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks.

Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.

Chris Pourciau is a Criminal Justice Reform advocate and political operative who led efforts to pass Constitutional Amendment 2 in 2018 for the Unanimous Jury Coalition as Deputy Campaign Manager. On this episode, he talks to host Lynda Woolard, who joined his team in the final months of that campaign to manage their statewide field efforts. Continuing Louisiana Lefty’s study of UJC, Chris and Lynda dig deeper into every aspect of the campaign to illuminate what made it successful and further illustrate why it should be a model for Democratic candidates and causes of the Left in the Deep South.

While we’re releasing this episode on a day when the nation is heading to the polls for one of the biggest elections of our lifetimes, the podcast isn’t focusing on that, because our goal is to create evergreen content as a roadmap for long term progressive organizing. The big takeaway, once again, is that the work towards future victories is a year-round, multi-year effort. There are no shortcuts. There is no magic. But if you’re doing it right, within that work, you’ll find camaraderie, joy, and glimmers of progress.

Connect with Chris on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Connect with New Orleans Rising PAC on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Watch Let Me Find Out (VOTE! Yes on 2) Remix featuring 5th Ward Weebie, directed by BMike.

Watch Which Side Are You On (Yes on 2 version) by ani difranco.

Find more info on the constitutional amendment and the people who worked to get it passed:

The Unanimous Jury Coalition on Facebook

Yes on Amendment 2 on Facebook

Louisiana Lefty episode with J.P. Morrell on passing the Unanimous Juries amendment out of the legislature: S1:E13 Reform Without Fear with J.P. Morrell

Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks.

Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.

Madison Smither, a young advocate and Democrat from Louisiana who’s currently attending the Harvard Kennedy School with a focus on climate and new energy, joins host Lynda Woolard to share her experience at the inaugural Global Clean Energy Action Forum and her research on the Inflation Reduction Act’s provisions that address climate change.

Connect with Madison on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Check out Madison’s research on Light Pollution: safelightatnight.org

Learn more about the Global Clean Energy Action Forum: gceaf.org

Read the following for more about the provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act:

Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks.

Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.

Michael Hobbs, born and raised in the Deep South, is a Marine Veteran who served in the Iraq War and a political operative currently working to combat partisan and racial gerrymandering in Ohio. Between those two plot points in his life story, he’s been involved in Democratic campaigns in both Ohio and the great state of Louisiana as everything from field organizer to campaign manager. On this episode of Louisiana Lefty, he joins host Lynda Woolard to offer a fresh perspective on the Louisiana political landscape, to share lessons learned working outside the state, and to assert that the time is ripe to make Democratic investments in the American South.

Connect with Michael Hobbs on Facebook.

For more information on the national groups Michael has worked with, check out Tom Steyer’s youth voting organization Next Gen America and Eric Holder’s redistricting organization All On The Line.

Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks.

Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.

Angelle Bradford, activist and executive committee at-large member of Louisiana’s Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club, joins host Lynda Woolard to discuss her work on Climate Justice and Transit Equity. We address the intersectionality of this issue, particularly in our Gulf state, with the environment, wildlife, pollution, healthcare, workers' rights, economic justice, and quality of life.

Follow the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Connect with Angelle via email.

Follow the Sierra Club's national accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Sign up to volunteer with the Sierra Club on races for the midterm elections - and beyond - through their Mobilize page.

Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks.

Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.

Andy Berke, senior Biden administration official and U.S. special representative for broadband with a mission of internet access and equity, joins host Lynda Woolard to discuss his recent trip to Louisiana. While here, he attended the inaugural Louisiana Internet for All Summit where he announced big digital infrastructure investments for our state and spoke with Louisianans in rural as well as urban areas to find out what issues we’ve been experiencing with connectivity. Acknowledging that high speed internet is now a part of critical infrastructure, President Biden has made a pledge that every American - including every person in Louisiana - will have access to affordable, reliable high speed internet.

To stay in the loop on broadband equity efforts, follow the National Telecommunications and Information Administration on Twitter and Facebook, and follow Andy Berke on Twitter.

While many of the new investments in Louisiana’s infrastructure are just getting started, there is already an option to visit http://affordableconnectivity.gov to apply for the Affordable Connectivity Program, which helps provide more accessible and affordable internet service to lower income households.

Read more about efforts to close Louisiana's digital divide in the Alexandria Town Talk:

• Hundreds of millions headed toward expanding high-speed internet across Louisiana

• Broadband expansion in Louisiana has companies looking to recruit, train local workers

Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks.

Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.

Sara Tabatabaie, chief political officer and communications director for #VOTEPROCHOICE, joins host Lynda Woolard in a conversation about the importance of building a Pro-Choice Democratic bench at the local level and the work their organization is doing to elect Pro-Choice candidates up and down the ballot.

Sign up for Action Alerts and get your local Pro-Choice Voter Guide at voteprochoice.us.

Connect with #VOTEPROCHOICE on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

Read Lynda Woolard’s Bayou Brief piece on Abortion Rights and the 2022 Midterms here: A Fight Worth Having.

Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks.

Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.

Drew Prestridge, president at Prestridge Political, joins host Lynda Woolard to talk about creating fundraising plans for candidates, beginning a career as a finance director, and developing a range of skill sets to increase your value on political campaigns.

Connect with Drew on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks.

Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.

Welcome to Season 4 of Louisiana Lefty! Host Lynda Woolard highlights key themes from Season 3, and gives a preview of the next phase.

Please follow Louisiana Lefty on your favorite podcast platform and all our social media channels:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Check out all the great Louisiana organizers we've celebrated on Bayou Brief's Organizer of the Month Gallery.

If you've missed any episodes from our previous seasons, you can find them all in our Louisiana Lefty Archives.

Thanks to all our wonderful guests and contributors, with special acknowledgments to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as our Louisiana Lefty theme song.

Louisiana Lefty is on summer break, but we’re releasing mini-pods. This week, we’ve got clips from an advocacy event we did last week, based on a piece host Lynda Woolard wrote for the Bayou Brief in response to the overturn of Roe by the Supreme Court. We had Deon Haywood, Executive Director of Women with a Vision, speak about what's happening in the Reproductive Justice space in Louisiana. We had State Representative Mandie Landry address what's been going on with our legislature and in the courts. And our host spoke about ways Louisianans can contribute to Democratic wins in the midterms such that we can restore our federal protections for the people of our state, which have shielded us for years, and which we desperately need back.

Watch the full recording: What Comes Next? Advocacy Zoom

Read the article in the Bayou Brief: “A Fight Worth Having”

Find the 2022 Midterms cheat sheet here: bit.ly/BayouBrief2022Midterms

Connect with Women With A Vision: wwav-no.org

Connect with Representative Mandie Landry: mandielandry.com

Find more Louisiana Lefty content on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and at LouisianaLefty.Rocks.

Thanks to Ben Collinsworth for producing Louisiana Lefty, Jennifer Pack of Black Cat Studios for our Super-Lefty artwork, and Thousand Dollar Car for allowing us to use their swamp pop classic, Security Guard, as the Louisiana Lefty theme song.