This week features a guest episode from Democracy Works, a podcast dedicated to answering the question “What Does it Mean to Live in a Democracy?”.  Each week, the podcast examines a different aspect of democratic life, like voting, criminal justice or the free press. Produced by The McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, Democracy Works showcases some of the finest academic minds studying these issues today. Like New Faces of Democracy, Democracy Works is focused on the role each of us can play in building and sustaining a healthy democracy. This episode features a fascinating discussion with Robert Lieberman, professor of political science at Johns Hopkins and co-author of the book,  “Four Threats: The Recurring Crises of American Democracy”. To learn more about Democracy Works, you can visit their website at democracyworkspodcast.com. 

This episode features a conversation with Marcia Greenberger, a true pioneer of women’s rights law through her work at the National Women’s Law Center in Washington DC. Marcia and Nancy speak about the early days of women’s rights law, the legacy of Ruth Bader Ginsberg and the path ahead for advancing women’s equality under the law. In the wake of Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death, Marcia tells us what tools we still have at our disposal to keep up the fight and gives us hope for the future. 

This week’s episode goes local with Gordon Herr, Chairman of the Democratic Committee in Southampton NY, and member of the Board of Elections in Suffolk County, Long Island. Gordon demystifies the voting process for us and will help put your mind at ease about voting during a pandemic in this most crucial of elections. Gordon tells us everything we need to know about absentee ballots, early voting and more. New Yorkers, this one’s for you, but there’s plenty for others too as Gordon and Nancy talk about standardizing the voting process at the federal level, why to get involved in your local democratic committee and how local government is where it’s at for fixing our democracy from the bottom up. 

This episode features a conversation with Jessica Alter and Krisserin Canary of Tech for Campaigns. After Trump’s Muslim ban in 2017, tech entrepreneur Jessica Alter couldn’t take it anymore and asked a few of her fellow tech workers if they were interested in volunteering their skills to help Democratic campaigns, and Tech for Campaigns was born. Tech for campaigns is now the permanent tech and digital arm for Democrats, offering access to best-in-class talent with their 15,000 volunteers focusing on state races. Jessica and Krisserin, a state director in charge of flipping the Texas State House, talk to Nancy about why they focus on state races, catching up with the Republicans who are 8-10 years ahead on tech and digital, and why no matter what happens on Election Day, they both know they will have left it all on the field.

This episode features a conversation with Ravi Gupta, an Obama alum, podcast host and founder of Arena, an organization that trains and supports the next generation of Democratic candidates and campaign staff. After working on Obama’s campaign and then administration, Ravi stepped away to start a network of schools in the south but jumped back into political action immediately after the 2016 election. At Arena, Ravi uses his political expertise to identify and support transformative new candidates outside of the traditional political establishment who reflect the diversity of our society. Then he does everything possible to help them win at the state, local and federal level.  Arena also trains campaign staff, creating a talent pipeline to run those campaigns. Ravi and Nancy talk about how to make politics more transparent and equitable, ways to reach out to those on the other side of the political spectrum and what we can still do now, in the 11th hour before Election Day, to make a difference. 

Arena: https://arena.run

Majority 54 podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/majority-54/id1309354521

Dress Rehearsal documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSSlxVMyKkk

On this week’s episode, Nancy speaks with Katie Paris, founder of of Red Wine & Blue. Red Wine &Blue is an Ohio-based group that’s harnessing the political power of suburban women to save democracy while having a good time. Politics, fun and festive cocktails usually don’t go together but Red Wine & Blue is lightening up the conversation for women who don’t consider themselves political but also don’t want Trump to define them, thank you very much. Katie and Nancy talk about how the path to victory runs through suburbia, the power of personal networks and the joy we find in our communities. Finally, Katie lets us know how we can join in on the fun. 

On this episode, Nancy speaks with Vernetta Alston, a state legislator in North Carolina. In 2017, Vernetta pivoted from a career as a criminal defense attorney to run for public office on the Durham city council. She was then appointed to fill an empty seat in the North Carolina General Assembly last spring and now she is in the enviable position of being an unopposed incumbent in her race. Vernetta and Nancy talk about the state of the state in North Carolina, home of the Bathroom Bill and extreme partisan gerrymandering, and Vernetta explains what’s at stake if Republicans keep their majority in the legislature and what is possible if Democrats win. Vernetta also talks about life in the state capitol with the Republicans in power, having to deal with politics rather than policy, and how state legislatures affect people’s daily lives. Finally, Vernetta tells us why we all need to care about what happens in North Carolina in this election, no matter where we live.

Today’s podcast features a conversation with Max Rose, founder of Sheriffs for Trusting Communities. Imagine a law enforcement officer with vast power and authority, little accountability and no meaningful term limits. That’s called a sheriff. It’s an elected position, but many of us do not look far enough down the ballot or even know enough to cast a vote. Nationwide, sheriffs make 2 million arrests every year, they control our jails and they have immense power in the civil arena as well when it comes to things like evictions, gun permits and civil asset forfeitures. Max and Nancy talk about the role sheriffs play in mass incarceration and deportation, the ties of some to the white supremacy movement, and what needs to be done to reform the office. Sheriffs for Trusting Communities works with local organizers to help educate people on what sheriffs do, elect new sheriffs that reflect the visions of their communities and then hold them accountable. Finally, Max provides the questions to ask of our own sheriffs to make sure they are reflecting our values.

On this episode, Nancy speaks with Desiree Tims, a young congressional candidate in Ohio’s 10th district. There are a lot of firsts when it comes to Desiree. This is her first time running for office, she is the first member of her family to graduate from a four year college, and if elected, she would be the first African American AND the first woman to represent this district. The southwest corner of Ohio in many ways presents a microcosm of the issues plaguing our country -- with skilled but unemployed or underemployed former steel workers, a crumbling infrastructure and residents still grieving from a mass shooting last year. Desiree talks about how she will address pressing issues in the district like income inequality and gun violence, why she entered politics and her advice for women thinking of running for office. They say that as goes Ohio’s 10th, so goes Ohio and as goes Ohio, so goes the nation, so this race matters to all of us, wherever we live. Between Desiree’s vision for change and her infectious laugh, this episode will surely make you smile and leave you hopeful about our future. To learn more about Desiree, go to her website and don’t miss the viral video she made with her cousin, rap artist YelloPain.

This episode of the podcast features Part 2 of the Flipping Florida Series with Dr. Fergie Reid, Jr. Dr. Reid talks about the strategy for flipping the state and its 29 electoral college votes blue, based on the work spearheaded by him and his father in Virginia, helping to flip that state in 2019. He explains the simple and intuitive concept, which is to register more voters and run candidates in every race, and why this strategy has been historically underutilized by Democrats. We talk about how Florida is ripe for the picking, with its many races in red districts uncontested by Democrats, and how Texas, Georgia and North Carolina are not far behind. And he speaks about the civil rights work of his father, Dr. Fergie Reid Sr. who ultimately became the first African American member of the Virginia state legislature since Reconstruction. To hear the first podcast in this series on flipping Florida, listen to How to Flip Florida Blue with 140 Florida Blue Project. To learn more about the work of Dr. Reid, Sr., go to 90for90.org or click here to donate to Florida Democrats in these forgotten but important races.