In this episode, Arena’s co-founder and Managing Partner, Ravi Gupta gives his thoughts on recent events from around the country. He then interviews Stacey Shells, a long-time Arena community member and educator. Stacey shares her experiences facing down discrimination and her thoughts on where this protest movement should go.…

Majora Carter is a visionary civic activist and entrepreneur from the South Bronx. She’s won recognition far and wide, including a MacArthur 'genius' Grant, a Peabody Award, and a Ted Talk with over 2.6 million views. In this episode, we talk about how to truly empower local communities to be self sufficient — and why the government and non-profits…

Yale Law School professor Daniel Markovits joins us to discuss The Meritocracy Trap, his book about an under-appreciated driver of inequality in this country -- and how the 1% includes more people than we commonly acknowledge.

In April, Arena hosted a conversation about how to campaign in the era of COVID-19. The conversation featured Hillary Clinton, Addisu Demissie (former campaign manager of Booker 2020 and Newsom for CA), and Swati Mylavarapu (Arena and Incite.org co-founder). We’ve shared the audio from this conversation.…

In this podcast, we hear from two political leaders at the center of the fight against COVID-19 and who are both widely acknowledged to be two of the most likely successors to Bill de Blasio as Mayor. First up is Scott Stringer, who is NYC’s Comptroller -- which is an office that serves both as the chief financial officer of the city and the city’s…

Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, is one of the leading progressive voices in the country today. Fresh off an historic electoral victory (historic for the obstacles candidates and voters faced), he joins us to talk about what Wisconsin's election can teach us about what’s to come in November.…

At our latest Arena Summit in September, Anand Giridharadas and Michael Tubbs joined us for a conversation about the ethics of philanthropy.Anand Giridharadas is a writer and author of a new book, “Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World.” In the book, Anand talks about some of the trappings of philanthropy, and how it might be a …

Sarah Ullman is the co-founder of Vote Vote at a Time, a super PAC that created almost 200 videos about candidates for the 2018 midterm elections.Sarah and her team only work with progressive candidates who are strong on gun control. Sarah has done game-chasing work this election cycle, and was recently profiled in the New York Times.We had a great…

Amber is the Founding Director of the Community Justice Reform Coalition, aka CJRC. She has spent the last 17 years working in progressive, grassroots advocacy and electoral campaigns.We talk about the state of gun violence in America, how we can address the problem holistically, and the structural barriers our society faces as a result of deep-sea…

Meg Ansara has had an incredible career in politics and social justice. She’s also the CEO of 270 Strategies.Most recently, she served as Hillary Clinton’s Battleground States Director.Meg talks about how serving as a forest firefighter taught her lessons about teamwork, how Paul Wellstone deepened her commitment to grassroots organizing, and what …

Zellnor Myrie is running for New York State Senate in District 20.If you caught our last pod with Alessandra Biaggi, you’re already familiar with New York’s strange State Senate.For seven years, a group of turncoat politicians have run as Democrats, been elected as Democrats, and immediately caucused with Republicans in the New York State Senate. T…

Welcome to a special crossover edition of our pod with Nathan Rubin of Millennial Politics.We’re joined by Alessandra Biaggi, a candidate for New York State Senate and a longtime member of our community.Alessandra is challenging the leader of breakaway Democrats known as the IDC, who sold out their district for personal gain and ceded control to Re…

Welcome to a special episode of The Arena Talks produced in collaboration with The Great Battlefield podcast.You’ll hear from The Great Battlefield host Nathaniel Pearlman and The Arena Co-Founder Kate Catherall.Nathaniel founded Resistance Dashboard after the 2016 Presidential election. Nathaniel has a long history of connecting progressive politi…

DeJuana Thompson is a Partner at Think Rubix and the creator of Woke Vote — a movement for equity and justice that is empowering communities of color to fight mass incarceration, voter suppression, and urban gun violence.DeJuana talks about how her community organizing experience shapes her work, her strategy for winning elections in 2018, and how …

Lucas St. Clair is running for Congress in Maine’s 2nd District.Lucas is one of the most genuine, real candidates around. Watch this video to see what we mean.We talk about the twists and turns in his life that led him to this moment, why he’s running for Congress, and what bold leadership in today’s world means to him.Lucas’ primary election is th…

January Contreras is an Arena Fellow running for Attorney General in Arizona.As a Deputy County Attorney, Assistant Attorney General, founder of a non-profit, and mother to two children, January has always been driven to protect others.We talk with January about growing up in Arizona and how it shaped her point of view, why she feels called to serv…

Liuba Grechen Shirley is an Arena Fellow running for Congress in New York’s 2nd District. That district includes parts of Suffolk and Nassau counties on Long Island.While running for office, Liuba has also led the charge to change campaign finance law so candidates can use campaign funds to pay for childcare. Last week, the FEC ruled 4-0 in favor o…

Karl is running to be the next governor of Tennessee.Karl is the former two-term Mayor of Nashville, serving during the great recession and historic 2010 flood. Before that, he was elected and served as the city’s public defender for nearly a decade.We talk about how both crises shaped his pragmatic leadership and vision for Tennessee’s future. We …

Mike Johnston is running to be the next Governor of Colorado.Mike is a former educator. He taught in the Mississippi Delta, and went on to lead three different schools. He later moved home to Colorado and won a seat in the State Senate, where he pushed for many policy reforms - but is most well known as a leader in education policy.We talk with Mik…

Two weeks ago, Lauren won the Democratic Primary for Congress in the Illinois 14th District.In an upset victory, Lauren beat six other candidates - all men - with 57% of the vote.We met Lauren at the first Arena Summit in December 2016. She walked through the doors and said she was thinking about running for office. And that’s where she met her eve…

Jesse Colvin is running for Congress in Maryland’s 1st District.We spoke with Jesse right after Conor Lamb’s stunning victory. Jesse’s race is even tougher than the Lamb race - at least on paper.Jesse is a former US Army Intelligence Officer. He completed four combat deployments in Afghanistan, as well as a year in the South Korea DMZ.He’s also a p…

Michael Simon is a pioneer in the field of data and analytics and Arena Co-Founder and Board Member.Michael Simon is a pioneer in the field of data and analytics and an Arena Co-Founder and Board Member.He traces the origins of data and analytics in modern political campaigns to the present day controversy about Facebook and Cambridge Analytica.Mic…

This is one of our favorite episodes.Desmond Meade is the Founder and President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition.More importantly, he is somebody who has been directly impacted by voting rights restrictions. He spent years addicted to drugs and served time in prison. As a result, he is one of the million plus US citizens living in Florid…

Rashida Tlaib and Ian Conyers are both running for Congress in a special election for Michigan’s 13th District. Both are active members of The Arena community — having served as hosts for our Detroit Summit last June.They are running for a seat that was previously held by John Conyers, who recently announced that he will step down.We will first hea…

A few weeks ago, Dan Pfeiffer implored listeners of Pod Save America to do more to counter GOP messaging on the Trump tax bill. That call came as the New York Times and others reported on increased popularity for the legislation amidst a massive Koch-funded effort.In response to these trends, we’ve been in search of members of our community working…

Why are Republicans in charge of the State Senate in New York — one of the bluest states in the country? Why are New York’s voting law so antiquated? Why is progressive legislation often dead on arrival in Albany?The answers to these questions lead back to a small group of Democrats in the New York State Senate that call themselves the Independent …

Welcome to another special edition of The Arena Talks.We recorded this episode on February 18th - two days after Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed conspiracy and fraud charges against 13 Russian nationals and three organizations.We welcome back Anthony Vitarelli to help make sense of the charges. Anthony is a former Federal Prosecutor for the US…

Celinda Lake is one of the leading pollsters and political researchers in the country.Over the last few months, we worked with Celinda and her team at Lake Research Partners to study civic and political engagement among millennials in the post 2016 climate.The research validated a few things we expected - but it also revealed a few surprises.…

In this episode, we talk about: (1:00) How and why Graig first decided to run for office; (3:30) A day in the life of a state legislator; (6:20) Why power matters; (7:10) The harm caused by gerrymandering in North Carolina; (9:30) Key elections in North Carolina in 2018; (11:30) The “surgical precision" of gerrymandering in North Carolina; (13:25) …

Gina is a first generation American and the daughter of a single mom. She served as an Air Force Officer in Iraq, and went on to work in national security in many levels of the government during the Obama administration and the transition to the Trump administration.Gina talks about serving in the military, why she’s running, and some of the challe…

Stacey has an amazing story. She was President of her class at Spelman and graduated from Yale Law School as a Truman Scholar. She’s also the daughter of two ministers.We talk about a wide range of topics - including growing up in the South, getting involved in politics, and overcoming obstacles along the way.Unfortunately, the audio in this episod…

We welcome a special guest, Anthony Vitarelli, to talk about those charges. He’s a former attorney for the US Department of Justice and former Senior Advisor to the US Secretary of the Treasury. He began his legal career clerking for Supreme Court Justices David Souter and Stephen Breyer.

Our conversation starts with the upcoming election in Alabama, where John lives and is helping support Doug Jones. We go all the way back to Joe Biden’s race in 1987. And we talk about what it will take for Democrats to win back the South.

We talk about everything from forest fire prevention to reaching across the aisle to appeal to voters from different parties.Jessica is part of our inaugural class of Arena Fellows. She’s someone we truly believe in, and think she represents the next generation of leaders in our country.

Michael talks about his rise through adversity in Stockton, his first campaign to unseat an incumbent City Council Member, and then his next campaign to unseat another incumbent to become one of the youngest Mayors in America.

Brian talks about his decision to run for office when he was only 25 years old, how his father called attention to the notorious and racist Tuskegee syphilis experiments, his new bill to allow consumers to choose to buy-in to Medicaid, and the latest Republican effort to repeal Obamacare.

We first met Kevin at the Arena Summit in Nashville in December 2016, a few weeks after the Presidential election. Kevin was one of the first people there to raise his hand to commit to enter the arena and run for office.And now it’s real. Kevin’s election is only a few weeks away on November 7th. Kevin is running to fight back against the opaque p…

Jeremy has a fascinating story. He grew up in small town Missouri in a trailer park. He talks about his journey from that trailer park to some of the most influential rooms in politics.

Debbie and Will came to The Arena Summit in Detroit in June. They were connected through friends in The Arena Community, and as a result, decided to merge their organizations and amplify their impact.Their organizations — Herd on the Hill and Stamps Licked — match you with people who live in Washington, DC who can make personal, face-to-face contac…

Addisu is an old friend. When I was just started in politics, he taught me to:1. Clear your desk by the end of the day.2. Make sure everything you need in the morning is prepared the night before.3. Show up one hour earlier than you think you need to.We talk about this advice, his experiences, the 2020 field, and much more.…

You've probably heard that the DNC and John Podesta got their email accounts hacked during the 2016 election. And we can probably agree that securing accounts like our email is important. The problem is that too many people agree its important, but don't do anything about it.

We share stories from the early days of the first Obama presidential campaign, Obama’s progression as a candidate during the ‘08 primary, Shomik’s job running “call time” with Obama, and the journey that has brought us to this new political time.

Rita entered the political arena after the November election. She watched $20m get spent on a California race with two progressive democrats running against each other. She was inspired to launch sister district to match resources with races where they'll have a greater impact.We talk about how Sister District works, why it's focused on state races…

Ross is a Principal at Smoot Tewes Group. He was previously a management consultant at Deloitte’s innovation center, where he worked with the White House to develop policy solutions to support the growth of social enterprise and impact investing.Ross got his political start working with Julian Castro in 2005 and Bill Richardson in 2007.His new orga…

In this episode, Adbul and I discuss the parallels between science and politics (6:14); how he found himself running the health department of the city of Detroit (14:21); the balance of privilege and work ethic that he sees through the lens of being the child of an immigrant (18:13); the call to responsibility for American millennials that has grow…

Haley talks about growing up in Michigan and her journey from Michigan to the Obama Administration, where she served as Chief of Staff to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry. Then, she talks about her decision to jump in the Arena as a candidate for office.

In this episode, we’ll hear from Jimmy about how he got started as an activist, how the Town Hall Project crashed Google Docs, and how you can get involved — even if you’re a first-timer.

As the founder of Let America Vote, Jason is fighting for voting rights across the country. He was previously the Missouri Secretary of State and a candidate for the US Senate. He is joined by Jocelyn Benson, who was a previously a candidate for Michigan Secretary of State and is currently the CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality.…

Brittany discusses the privilege of the activist, that those who are most in need of support are burdened by the necessity of working to put food on the table or cannot voice their truth for fear of political or religious persecution (“privilege is not hyperbole; it is a reality”) (2:03); her upbringing in an activist household where “justice was t…

While Brian acknowledges the clear and present threats posed by both immediate shifts in the climate and the naivety of the denial of the current administration (3:03), he poses three core reasons for optimism: “the economics are on our side” – the economy has seen sustained growth while carbon emissions have seen a sustained decline, and alternati…