Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda

Hosted by Karen jagoda

Technology News PoliticsInterviews guests

Website RSS feed

Episodes

100

Latest episode

Jun 2026

Language

About the show

Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda is a non-partisan podcast featuring thought leaders and industry pioneers with insights about innovative approaches to political campaigns, voter engagement, mobilization, fundraising, persuasion, and GOTV. Topics include the power of mobile devices, leveraging social networks, message testing and targeting, cross-media advertising, grassroots organizing, and big data.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

June 16, 2026Episode 2532 min

New Liability Approach to Pay for Gun Violence Without Limiting Gun Rights with Joseph Harrington

Joseph S. Harrington, CPU, an independent business researcher and writer specializing in property/casualty insurance, joins Deepak Puri, Founder of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the real costs of gun violence and who is most likely to use a gun for violence. Joseph explains that most gun deaths are suicides, and most shootings are intentional, which makes gun owners uninsurable. This leaves the victims of gun violence to shoulder the burden of a shooting. A focus on the gun sellers is a possible path to protect gun rights, better manage safety programs, and provide compensation to victims. Deepak and Joseph talk about Why traditional liability insurance is not a workable solution for gun violence How gun manufacturers and dealers are shielded from liability Costs of violence include medical care, rehabilitation, and societal costs Creating financial incentives for the gun industry to engage in gun safety and monitoring #TheDemLabs #StateTreasurers #PoliticalActivism #Democracy #Accountability #GunRights #GunControl #GunViolence #GunPolicy #CampaignStrategy #PublicSafety #RIFLAct #Liability TheDemocracyLabs.org

June 9, 2026Episode 2421 min

Gerrymandering in the Age of Real-Time Redistricting and the Impact on Voter Targeting with Andrew Tavani Aristotle

Andrew Tavani, EVP Data at Aristotle, discusses the unprecedented volatility of mid-census redistricting and how Aristotle can quickly update voter files with new district lines, enabling campaigns to target voters accurately. Changes to the Voting Rights Act have resulted in a lack of ethnic data in voter files, adding to the challenge of targeting specific voter demographics. The emerging role of AI in campaign analytics, trends in early voting, and court decisions on gerrymandered districts make the 2026 midterm election highly unpredictable. We talk about: Keeping voter files accurate in a time of rapid changes in district lines that are often challenged in court Impact of the Supreme Court's decision to strike down part of the Voting Rights Act giving states more autonomy not to include ethnicity data in voter files Using AI to provide predictive models of voters in specific districts How campaign strategies have evolved from moving to the center for general elections to a focus on mobilizing the base #Aristotle #PoliticalData #Redistricting #Gerrymandering #VoterFile #EarlyVoting #AIinPolitics #EthnicTargeting #CampaignStrategy #DigitalPolitics #AristotleData Aristotle.com

June 5, 2026Episode 2318 min

Using App-Based Primaries to Crowdsource Candidates to Counteract Gerrymandering with Tom Joseph America's Main Street Party

Tom Joseph is the Treasurer of America's Main Street Party and is intent on counteracting gerrymandering. Tom describes a new system for nominating political candidates through a multi-round, app-based contest that operates separately from the traditional public primary system. The goal is to produce more popular, centrist candidates by making them accountable to constituents rather than chosen by party leadership and wealthy donors. We talk about: Driving constituent endorsements based on a candidate's position on key issues Creating an election app where candidates compete over five rounds, advancing based on endorsements rather than financial contributions Designing a model that avoids traditional candidate ads and rallies during the nomination phase Need to leverage voters from minority populations in heavily gerrymandered districts to help select more moderate nominees #AmericasMainStreetParty #PoliticalTech #CampaignInnovation #Gerrymandering #DigitalOrganizing #PrimaryReform #CivicTech #Elections MainStreetParty.org

May 26, 2026Episode 2226 min

Fighting Gerrymandering and Voter Suppression of Southern Black Voters with Andrea Miller Center for Common Ground

Andrea Miller, Center for Common Ground, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the history and modern tactics of voter suppression and gerrymandering targeting southern Black voters in what has historically been called the Southern Black Belt. One strategy is to pack all Black voters into one district, and another is to crack the community into smaller pieces to diminish their influence. Andrea suggests that the Republican tactic of cracking Black districts could backfire by creating multiple competitive districts in 2026. Deepak and Andrea talk about: Current strength of southern Black voters Voter suppression tactics that disproportionately impact rural Black residents How gerrymandering has the potential to spread angry, motivated Black voters across several districts, making all of them competitive for Democrats Why State-level elections are the critical battleground for fighting gerrymandering #CTR4CMNGround #TheDemLabs #CenterForCommonGround #VoterSuppression #Gerrymandering #BlackBeltPower #StateLegislatures #DownBallot #GOTV #Redistricting #DemocracyStrategy #StatePower #SouthernStrategy #VotingRights #ElectoralStrategy #ProtectTheVote #TurnoutMatters #Election2026 CenterforCommonGround.org TheDemLabs.org

May 19, 2026Episode 2122 min

Following the Money Behind State Level Anti-ESG Campaigns with Lauren Windsor American Family Voices

Lauren Windsor, investigative journalist, partner in Democracy Partners, and the Executive Director of American Family Voices, joins Deepak Puri, Founder of The Democracy Labs, to discuss state treasurers, particularly GOP members of the State Financial Officers Foundation, who wield significant power to influence state policies on climate change, diversity, LGBTQ+ rights, and access to women's healthcare. State budgets are often intentionally complex to discourage public scrutiny and can involve hundreds of millions or billions of dollars in spending on politically motivated projects. The job of the investigative reporter is to shine a light on the coordination of efforts across states and reveal conflicts of interest and misuse of authority. A recent story by Lauren is about apparent pay-to-play in Alaska, suggesting former Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum helped Governor Mike Dunleavy advance LNG pipeline and hyperscale data center initiatives using taxpayer rainy-day funds. Deepak and Lauren talk about Exposing bad actors in the right-wing networks fighting against climate and diversity initiatives Efforts of state financial officers run by conservative governors to coordinate on policy and model bills Conflict of interest in Alaska of former Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum Why voters need to pay attention to who is running for state treasurer #LAWindsor #TheDemLabs #StateTreasurers #VoterSuppression #VoterEngagement #ProgressiveActivism #CivicEngagement #PoliticalActivism #DemocracyInAction #Election2026 #AlaskaPolitics #AdamCrum #Alaska #PublicFinance #ESG #AntiESG #ClimateRisk #GoodGovernance #Corruption #SFOF #LeonardLeo #LNG #Arctic #Democracy #Accountability AmericanFamilyVoices.org TheDemocracyLabs.org

May 14, 2026Episode 2023 min

Insuring Ballot Access and Overcoming Voter ID Barriers with Lauren Kunis VoterRiders

Lauren Kunis, President and CEO of VoterRiders, joins Deepak Puri, Founder of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the wave of new and stricter voter ID laws sweeping the country. She shares her personal story and how VoteRiders has played an increasingly crucial role in building a more informed and active electorate. Lauren points out that a significant number of Americans lack proper identification, and their mission is to provide free assistance to help citizens obtain the necessary documents to vote, which are also often required to access housing, banking, and employment. Deepak and Lauren talk about Voter suppression tactics to confuse and cheat Restrictive voter ID laws and the range of variations across states Helping voters get up-to-date government-issued photo IDs Why voting rights protect all other rights #VoteRiders #TheDemLabs #VoterID #VoterSuppression #VoterEngagement #GrassrootsActivism #BallotAccess #CampaignStrategy #ProgressiveActivism #CivicEngagement #GOTV #GetOutTheVote #PoliticalActivism #DemocracyInAction #VoterOutreach #DemocracyMatters #ElectionSecurity #ElectionIntegrity #Election2026 VoteRiders.org TheDemocracyLabs.org

May 5, 2026Episode 1921 min

Connecting with Disengaged Working-Class and Low-Income Voters with Daniel Laurison Swarthmore College

Daniel Laurison is a Professor of Sociology at Swarthmore College who focuses on class, social mobility, and racial inequality in US politics. He has recently released a report titled "The Political Disconnect: Working-Class and Low-Income People On What Politics Means to Them and How They Might be Mobilized." These citizens are not abstaining from voting because they are uninformed or apathetic. Rather, they think their vote does not matter and that politics is a game for wealthy elites. We talk about: Methodology of this qualitative study on political participation How voters perceive the connection between voting and tangible improvements in their lives Recommendations for politicians to engage in genuine two-way conversations with communities outside of election season Need to increase the number of working-class and low-income people in all aspects of politics, including working on campaigns, running for office, and local organizing #DanielLaurison #CampaignStrategy #PoliticalEngagement #WorkingClassVoters #LowIncomeVoters #Nonvoters #RelationalOrganizing #FieldStrategy #VoterContact #PoliticalInclusion #RepresentationMatters #ClassInPolitics #CivicEngagement #DigitalPolitics #CampaignProfessionals Strengthening Political Engagement Daniel Laurison

April 28, 2026Episode 1821 min

Using AI-Powered Text Messaging Platform to Scale Interactive Voter Engagement Tom Carroll Convos

Tom Carroll, Co-Founder and CEO of Convos, describes their AI-powered platform for political texting that facilitates, at scale, personalized, two-way conversations between campaigns and voters. This is a significant shift from traditional one-way broadcasting of political texts and ads and can lead to higher engagement and more meaningful actions. Creating a conversational text environment allows voters to ask questions and receive personalized responses, while also providing an opportunity to take the pulse of a targeted group of constituents. We talk about: Why actively ask voters to respond to text messages from a campaign Relevant metrics to determine the success of a text campaign Creating the AI knowledge base to provide accurate and controlled information to ensure message consistency Avoiding voter fatigue #Convos #Pubsent #DigitalPolitics #CampaignTech #VoterEngagement #AI #PoliticalCampaigns #TextMessaging #CampaignStrategy #ElectionTech #VoterOutreach #PoliticalInnovation #CampaignManagement #DigitalCampaigns #Fundraising Convos.ai

April 21, 2026Episode 1722 min

How Southern Voters are Reshaping American Politics with Howard Franklin Ohio River South

Howard Franklin, CEO of Ohio River South, joins me to shine light on the evolving political, economic, and demographic landscape of the American South. The question is how these shifts have changed the electorate and created opportunities for a new wave of political candidates. The most effective ways to reach Southern voters still include traditional in-person engagement alongside digital outreach to reach urban, suburban, and rural communities. Howard and I talk about Outdated historical perspectives about Southern voters Where Southern voters live and why people are moving to the region Strategies for reaching an increasingly diverse and younger population of voters The continued importance of retail politics and opportunities for authentic interactions with candidates #OhioRiverSouth #HowardFranklin #SouthernVoters #PoliticalStrategy #CampaignManagement #SouthernPolitics #VoterOutreach #ElectionStrategy #PoliticalConsulting #Demographics #DigitalPolitics #Election2026 OhioRiverSouth.com

April 16, 2026Episode 1627 min

Civic Technologists Bringing Expertise and Organizing Tools to Strengthen Elections and Political Campaigns with Xena Ni Trestle Collaborative

Xena Ni, Co-Founder of the Trestle Collaborative joins Deepak Puri, Founder of The Democracy Labs, to discuss the world of civic technologists and the need to help progressive organizations and campaigns to use technology safely and effectively. She contrasts the resources and mandates of commercial tech with those of the political and non-profit sectors. The mission of Trestle is to provide resources and support to leverage technology, build a strong campaign infrastructure, and protect against cyberattacks. Deepak and Xena talk about Motivation for entering civic tech from Silicon Valley success Using free and low-cost digital technology as an amplifier Overcoming the severe underfunding of technology by campaigns and advocacy groups Security and campaign tech #TrestleCollaborative #TheDemLabs #CivicTech #CampaignTechnology #VoterEngagement #GrassrootsActivism #ProgressiveActivism #CivicEngagement #GOTV #GetOutTheVote #PoliticalActivism #DemocracyInAction #VoterOutreach #DemocracyMatters #ElectionSecurity #ElectionIntegrity #ProgressivePolitics #CampaignManagement Trestle.us TheDemocracyLabs.org