The absurdity of the annual fake budget crisis, the bad news that is Matt Gaetz, midterm election narratives, Nyquil chicken, and Loge still insists this is a dog walk podcast.

The timing of Biden's address on democracy, CNN needs to stop chasing shiny objects and start defending democracy, and the comms challenge of protecting the civil service from political patronage. Plus Loge gets Karpf to agree to watch a show about soccer.

Comms lessons from the student loan relief win, and ideas for how Democrats should message student loans and the 2022 mid-term elections. Loge ideas for sayings that should be on coffee mugs and Karpf continues to mock Musk.

Comms lessons from the Inflation Reduction Act and what activists should do next, and the hot mess and comms challenges of the Trump investigation(s). Plus Loge worries about five foot bats and warns about Donald Trump shaped MDMA and Dave Karpf is troublingly hopeful.

Karpf praises Sen. Manchin and is troublingly optimistic, why the Forward party as a third party is a dumb idea, the Republican fundraising platform WinRed continues to be terrible and what comms professionals can learn from all of it. Plus Karpf wears a meta Mountain Goats t-shirt, Loge praises the English women's national soccer team and warns about holes ocean floor.

What is the strategic communications value of attention-getting stunts? How can communications professionals build on actions like disrupting Supreme Court Justices eating dinner and activists gluing themselves to paintings? Plus Karpf still has opinions about Elon Musk and Loge is aghast Karpf has never seen the Rockford Files.

Ultra-conservative elites in Congress and the Supreme Court are ignoring the will of the people and threatening democracy. Advocates should remind state, local and national leaders that the right to privacy and children's safety matter more than what Tucker Carlson says. Plus self-repairing robot fish with lasers.

"Do you hear me/do you care?" - Missing persons. In this episode we talk guns, the January 6th Commission, the Supreme Court weakening the administrative state, and plug the legendary new wave band Missing Person's "Words" video.

In the first episode of season two, Karpf and Loge talk about what it would take to pass meaningful, or any, gun control legislation. Plus it's good news the White House is paying its interns, but the rest of the news is bad and Paris Hilton wants to be Queen of the Metaverse.

Links to support for Karpf and Loge’s arguments (and links to other miscellany) are below.

Guns

Karpf’s Substack piece on the gun debate.

Loge’s Medium piece on the gun debate.

The N.R.A.s Lobbyist Behind Florida’s Pro-Gun Policies from The New Yorker.

Polling can be misleading and a critique of that position.

A Republican Congressman in New York who supported assault weapon ban is being chased out of Congress (NYT).

A thoughtful “yes/and” take by Isaac Saul.

Not Guns

The White House is paying interns — this is a big deal.

DeSantis vs the Special Olympics. Having successfully raised taxes on Florida homeowners by beating a pretend mouse, the Florida governor bravely put kids’ health at risk by tackling the Special Olympics.

Christian Pulisic on US fans and here ($80 tickets didn’t help). His comments pale in comparison to French officials and UEFA after the Champions League final.

The House January 6 Commission hearings are starting(Just Security).

Paris Hilton wants to be the queen of the metaverse.

In the final episode of the first season, Karpf and Loge look back at some of season one's topics, talk about what advocates can learn from Facebook's DC efforts, and point out democracy is on the ballot in Pennsylvania.

Footnotes – Links to some what we referenced in the podcast, and to other readings listeners might find interesting.

New York Times remembrance of Donald Ross, public interest advocate and co-founder of M+R Strategic Services.

More Common Sense, Less Ideology: Modern Communications Lessons from the Critical Race Theory Debates – Nat Kendall-Taylor, CEO of Frameworks, on smart messaging.

Alvaro Bedoya confirmed at the Federal Trade Commission.

Facebook as a case study in strategic communication and policy advocacy, via The Washington Post.

An insurrectionist could be the next governor of Pennsylvania, from The New Yorker: