Anat Shenker-Osario is a leading researcher in progressive messaging and communications with her research and writing being featured in a myriad of publications including The Atlantic, Boston Globe, Salon, and The Guardian, among others. She is also the host of the new podcast Brave New Words, where she takes listeners behind the scenes of different campaigns and what goes into crafting a winning message. Tune in to hear Anat's advice for progressive organizers on how to communicate your message to the masses in the most effective way.

Cooper Reed got his start in political organizing as a young person (pre-teen!) volunteering on Obama’s 2008 campaign and has worked on a myriad of issue and candidate campaigns. Currently he is the Political and Organizing Director of the Maine Democratic party. He shares with us what it was like getting started as a young person, the impact that organizing has had on his life, the ups and downs of winning and losing and how we can make organizing more accessible to younger folks.

This week I am thrilled to have my friend and mentor Monna Wong on the show. Currently living in San Francisco with roots in New York, I met Monna when she was the Regional Field Director for marriage equality in Maine in 2012. Running the Portland field operation she grew the team to where by election day there were over 2,000 volunteers that walked through the Portland office alone in the final two weeks of the campaign. She shares with us some of her favorite moments, biggest struggles, and inspirations that keep her in the work. She hooked me into organizing and I continue to learn from Monna with virtually every interaction we have and this interview is no exception.

Chris O'Connor shares with us his 5 years of experience as a development director at Equality Maine, one of the largest LGBTQ advocacy organizations in the state. Chris came to Equality Maine with a boat load of experience organizing and working with teams, but had little to no fundraising experience. He shares with us how he learned the ropes, the highs and lows and how he has centered his development work around the community and values that his organization serves.

Sass shares a powerful story of how a direct action protesting trains transporting fracked oil through their small Maine town forever changed the direction of their life. Now as an organizer for Resources for Organizing Social Change (ROSC) they share the skills they have learned over the years. I should note that this is a skype call I had with Sass last winter so when they discuss different events the timing was much earlier in the year than when this is landing in your inbox.

Jeanie has worked on LGBTQ advocacy campaigns on both marriage and non-discrimination efforts. She shares with us some of her favorite memories and greatest challenges in the work. Currently she is off hiking the Pacific Crest Trail as part of her goal to be walking for a year, she'll be heading over to the Continental Divide Trail next.

Recording from the Netroots Nation conference in Philadelphia, this episode highlights some vendors and causes while also sharing some tips from fellow organizers. Netroots Nation is one of the largest gatherings of progressive organizers in the country.

Chris Perez is an urban farmer and food justice advocate. Their passion is supporting and building sustainable food systems in their communities. Chris comes from a background of organizing for LGBTQ rights and racial justice organizing and has applied that experience to their gardening and community building around food and working with youth. Chris shares with us how you can get started in growing your own food, and how to feed your spirit through maintaining hope for our future.

Soon to graduate as part of the NYU Law class of 2019, Molly was previously political campaign strategist for LGBTQ issues around the United States. She shares with us her experiences, and how to think strategically around movement building and how to take care of yourself along the way.

100 people die from gun violence every day in America. We have the highest rate of gun violence in the world. This month (June) is gun violence awareness month and this weekend beginning June 7th marks a nation wide weekend of action to bring about awareness of gun violence in america called "wear orange".

To help us better understand gun violence and its roots in our history, I hopped on the phone with special guest Thom Hartmann. Thom is a New York Times best selling author of 24 books in print and hosts his own progressive TV and radio show with an audience of over 6.5 million people. His latest book The Hidden History of Guns and the Second Amendment dives deep into our history and sets the record straight for the framer’s intent of the second amendment based on thorough research.

To learn more about Wear Orange, gun violence prevention, and Thom Hartmann, head on over to oceanoforganizing.com/episode10