Digital Politics with Karen Jagoda

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

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

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

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

Andrea Miller, Center for Common Ground, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to highlight the strategy behind the effort to get out the vote in the Virginia special election, where voters will decide on a proposal to redraw the state's congressional district maps. Deepak and Andrea talk about: Potential impact of the proposed Virginia congressional map Tactics to reach the 675,000 Black voters in Virginia Importance of postcards to effectively reach older, poorer, and rural voters who may not have reliable access to the internet Building trust and demonstrating that civic engagement can lead to tangible changes @CTR4CMNGround #VASpecialElection #GOTV @TheDemLabs #Redistricting CenterforCommonGround.org TheDemLabs.org

Patrice, a political commentator, joins Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, to talk about the need to write anonymously to be able to maintain his freedom of expression without jeopardizing his corporate career or putting his family at risk. His aims to show that modern political tactics are not new but part of a well-established historical pattern with predictable results. The use of first-person narratives and fictional characters is proving effective in attracting a growing international audience to his Substack Open Letters by Mersault. Deepak and Patrice talk about: The need for independent writers to counter disinformation The long history of the demonization of opponents Using humor, satire, and an entertaining approach to make sharp political critiques more effective Educating readers to fight disinformation #TheDemLabs #PoliticalWriting #Substack #AnonymousJournalism #PoliticalAnalysis #Democracy #GlobalReaders #HistoricalContext #PoliticalCommentary #DigitalActivism #IndependentMedia #PoliticalEducation #ResistanceWriting Open Letters by Mersault on Substack TheDemLabs.org

Deepak Puri, CEO of The Democracy Labs, shines a light on how free and low-cost apps can simplify political intrigue and complex social issues and be used to educate and motivate. Visualization tools for relationship mapping, accountability mapping, and crowdsourcing increase civic engagement, hold elected officials accountable, and counter disinformation and conspiracy theories. Deepak and I talk about: Relationship mapping tools such as Kumu.io which are effective for exposing hidden financial and personal connections between individuals and organizations Accountability maps from Esri that serve to directly connect decisions of elected officials to tangible consequences and outcomes in their districts Crowdsourcing apps like Padlet which is a way to engage individuals in real-time information gathering and mobilization allowing for rapid response and collective documentation of events #TheDemLabs #PoliticalAccountability #DataVisualization #CivicEngagement #PoliticalTransparency #SocialJustice #VotingRights #CitizenJournalism #PoliticalData #CommunityOrganizing #Kumuio #Esri #Padlet TheDemLabs.org