Cara Zelaya Podcasts

In this episode of The Brief, first aired on June 7, 2022, we are joined by the executive director of Guns Down America and author of the book Guns Down: How to Defeat the NRA and Build a Safer Future with Fewer Guns, Igor Volsky. He joins Markos to discuss Uvalde, Texas, and what Democrats and Biden are and are not doing to solve our country’s gun…

In this episode of The Brief, first aired on June 8, 2021, we speak with Vivian Topping, director of advocacy and civic engagement at the Equality Federation, and Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights about the record-setting pieces of legislation the GOP has put forward to try and hurt transgender Americans.…

In this episode of The Brief, first aired on Feb. 15, 2022, we speak with University of California-Berkeley law professor Ian Haney López, a bona fide real-world Critical Race Theorist. Not the fake ones that conservatives are hyperventilating wherever Black people might reside, like in school and public libraries.…

In this episode of The Brief, first aired on May 17, 2022, Washington state Sen. Emily Randall, who has been knocking on doors in her tough swing district in the Kitsap Peninsula and Matt Hildreth, executive director of RuralOrganizing.org talk about being on the ground talking with voters in rural areas and urban areas before, during, and after th…

In this episode of The Brief, first aired on May 31, 2022, Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation, joins Markos to talk about his New York Times best selling book, Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution. After decades, the Republican Party finally achieved the Supreme Court they wanted—a radical conservative court, v…

In this episode of The Brief, first aired on June 16, 2022, Daily Kos’ Brandi Buchman breaks down everything going on with the Jan. 6 committee. She has been doggedly following the Jan. 6 committee as well as the ongoing prosecutions of both the rioters and conspirators who tried to overthrow our government after Donald Trump lost the presidential …

It took 14 years, but public opinion turned so viciously against Prohibition that a Constitutional Amendment was passed to make sure rural Christianists could no longer attempt such an outrage. And this was booze, not a core freedom to keep medical decisions private between patients and their doctors. Kerry Eleveld and I will discuss this thermonuc…

Joe Sudbay returns to geek out with Kerry Eleveld and Cara Zelaya on the Democratic Party must do, what they are doing, and what they aren’t doing. We covered student debt, the Jan. 6 committee hearings, and the history of presidents making big moves to match the big times they were living in.By Cara Zelaya

Daily Kos’ Brandi Buchman has been doggedly following the Jan. 6 committee as well as the ongoing prosecutions of both the rioters and conspirators who tried to overthrow our government after Donald Trump lost the presidential election to Joe Biden. She has been interviewing congressional leaders, law enforcement, and others since January 6, 2021. …

Igor Volsky is the executive director of Guns Down America and author of the book Guns Down: How to Defeat the NRA and Build a Safer Future with Fewer Guns. He joins Markos to discuss Uvalde, Texas, and what Democrats and Biden are and are not doing to solve our country’s gun safety issues.By Cara Zelaya

Elie Mystal, justice correspondent for The Nation, joins Markos to talk about his New York Times best selling book, Allow Me To Retort: A Black Guy’s Guide to the Constitution. After decades, the Republican Party finally achieved the Supreme Court they wanted—a radical conservative court, vastly out of step with the American public, that is destroy…

It’s well-known mantra that the party in the White House always struggles in midterm elections, as lofty expectations give way to the grinding ineffectiveness of the American legislative process, suppressing majority support, while the out-party is energized with desires of revenge. Indeed, the out-party typically gains over 30 House seats in the f…

Today’s guests are Washington state Sen. Emily Randall, who has been knocking on doors in her tough swing district in the Kitsap Peninsula and Matt Hildreth, executive director of RuralOrganizing.org. Both have been on the ground talking with voters in rural areas and urban areas before, during, and after the leaked Supreme Court decision on Roe v.…

We speak with Christina Reynolds, VP of Communications at EMILY's List. EMILY’s List, along with NARAL and Planned Parenthood have announced intentions to spend at least $150 million to center abortion rights in this November’s elections.By Cara Zelaya

Christine Pelosi has been a Democratic Party strategist for decades. She joins Markos and Kerry the day after Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s first draft decision obliterating decades of settled law protecting Americans’ reproductive rights to discuss what Democrats can do now and in the weeks and months ahead.…

Democrats need to go on the offensive. Today's guest, Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, can prove that because that is what the Democratic Party of Wisconsin did a couple of weeks ago in local elections and they won big time. You can also read Wikler’s report about it on Daily Kos.…

Jennifer Fernandez Ancona from Way to Win, is our guest on this week’s Daily Kos’ The Brief. Unlike many messaging “gurus” Jennifer has data to back up what Democrats can say to help defuse Republican culture war attacks, and what the chances are of Democrats adopting this—or any—unified message.By Cara Zelaya

Our guest is Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters, and the nation’s foremost expert on the pernicious effects Fox News has on our democracy. Carusone breaks down the evolution of the Fox News’ message since they’ve given up the pretense of having a “news” department. He also provides some ways you can make Fox News accountable in their pocke…

Last I checked, not a single midterm general election ballot had been cast. But one would never know it based on all the doomsday scenarios being floated for Democrats. Joe Sudbay, a frequent guest host for SiriusXM Progress and a political consultant who works with progressive groups on issues like immigration, LGBTQ rights joins Kerry for a conve…

After a couple of weeks away, Kerry comes triumphantly back to the podcast to talk with Markos about what she has missed. The two also discuss how recent world events seem to have reminded many Americans why they got rid of the other guy in the first place.By Cara Zelaya

If you’ve been appreciating our Ukraine coverage here at Daily Kos, here’s a chance to hear both me and Mark Sumner discuss that coverage. Daily Kos has been offering up some of the best war coverage in the biz, and this will be a chance to hear us expand on some of that coverage.By Cara Zelaya

Daily Kos’ Political Director David Nir, host of The Downballot podcast, joins Markos this week. Along with Senate Majority PAC’s J.B. Poersch, we’re going to take a close look at the 2022 Senate map. Can Democrats hold the majority? Can we expand it, despite the tough political climate? And with so many Republicans like Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson …

Today we have the triumphant return of Meteor Blades, aka, Tim Lange! He and Daily Kos’ Mark Sumner will join me to talk about how our oil addiction has fueled repressive regimes around the world and what we can do to wean ourselves for a cleaner, healthier world—one in which we’re not directly funding horrid repression and giving cause for more wa…

This week’s The Brief should be the best discussion about the war in Ukraine you’ll find anywhere. We have two incredible guests—Jon Soltz, chairman of VoteVets, former tank commander in Kosovo, and logistics officer in Iraq. You can guess where that discussion will go. We also have Brandon Friedman, former spokesperson and advisor to Julian Castro…

Markos talks about whether or not Vladimir Putin has made a This week we are excited to have Ross Morales Rocketto. He is co-founder of Run for Something. Run for Something is critical progressive infrastructure and one of the premier organizations to emerge from the Resistance, urging young people to run for office. 2022 is the most important elec…

Today we speak with University of California-Berkeley law professor Ian Haney López, a bona fide real-world Critical Race Theorist. Not the fake ones that conservatives are hyperventilating wherever Black people might reside, like in school and public libraries.By Cara Zelaya

President Joe Biden ran on, among other things, student debt forgiveness. It still hasn’t happened. The politics of student debt relief are more complicated than it seems on the surface. One poll pegged support at 62%, but the politics of resentment work well on this issue. Many people have already paid their loans off, so they feel jilted. Of cour…

Joining us today we have Paul Glaze, the strategic campaign manager for NGP and its affiliate, New Georgia Project Action Fund (NGP AF). NGP is largely responsible for giving us the Senate in 2020. What are they doing this year to keep Warnock in the Senate, and get Abrams into the governorship?By Cara Zelaya

Our guest today is Sarah Longwell, publisher of the conservative never-Trump publication, The Bulwark, and host of The Focus Group with Sarah Longwell podcast. Sarah gives her insights into the current state of the Republican Party, what she sees in terms of the GOP's ability to recapture Congress in November, and what she would advise the Democrat…

Joe Trippi has worked for high-profile campaigns like Jerry Brown’s in California, Howard Dean’s for President, and Doug Jones’ for Senate. Joe has a great podcast, where he’s been sharing his long-earned political wisdom. He has argued that despite historical headwinds and Joe Biden’s low approval ratings, Democrats actually have several reasons t…

Today’s guest is Daily Kos writer Dave Neiwert, the nation’s premier expert on right-wing militants and extremists. We’ll be talking about the January 6th insurrection and the wave of prosecutions that have taken place in its wake.By Cara Zelaya

This episode original aired July 21, 2021. Democrats have long considered the rural vote as completely unchangeable. Are we wrong about that? Are rural values aligned with those of the Democratic Party? How can we change our messaging to appeal to rural voters without losing our progressive ideals? J.D. Scholten and John Ray join us in conversation…

This episode originally aired December 8, 2021. Happy Holidays! As we all prepare for the holidays, today, we’re going to talk to Monica Guzman, journalist and author of the upcoming book I Never Thought of it That Way, now available for pre-order. There are clear challenges reconciling our partisanship with Guzman's desire to “be curious” when tal…

When we first checked in with Demand Justice executive director Brian Fallon, back in March, he it made clear that “[i]f we go to the trouble of getting rid of the filibuster to pass H.R. 1 … but then we forget to do anything about the structural problem of the judiciary that has been utterly ‘Trumpified’ over the years, then these judges will just…

Today, we’re going to talk to Monica Guzman, journalist and author of the upcoming book I Never Thought of it That Way, now available for pre-order. There are clear challenges reconciling our partisanship with Guzman's desire to “be curious” when talking to our political foes, but the advice is wise and applies far beyond politics to business and o…

We at Daily Kos were prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic from the very start thanks to comprehensive and relentless coverage by Mark Sumner. He wrote his first story on the emerging pandemic on Jan. 23, 2020, and has since written 382 additional stories, including a recent update on the omicron variant. Today, Mark joins me and Cara Zelaya to talk a…

This episode first aired on August 25, 2021. On this week’s episode of The Brief, hosts Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld unpacked the current state of COVID-19, voting rights, and electoral politics in Texas with special guest Julián Castro—as well as whether Castro himself is preparing for a run against Gov. Greg Abbott next year. Castro, a Demo…

Arizona will be a critical battleground on every possible level. We are still waiting on new maps in Arizona, but we are guaranteed competitive House seats and should have a chance at picking up the state legislature. Our guest Montserrat Arredondo of One Arizona, which worked with partner organizations to register over 250,000 new voters in the 20…

Today, we take a look at last week’s electoral wreckage and what it means for next year’s 2022 midterm elections. Joining us are Drew Linzer, who runs Civiqs, our data and research arm, and David Nir, who runs Daily Kos Elections. We’ll look at the results, the data, and the current polling, and explore whether Democrats have any chance of holding …

Virginia isn’t the only state with key races on the ballot, but it’s the one everyone is watching. How Virginia goes today, goes the nation next year! Or does it? Join us as we discuss Tuesday’s elections with Virginia elections expert Carolyn Fiddler, and we examine our chances of prevailing, as well as what the results (good or bad) mean for the …

Today we’re talking to two of our in-house experts: Joan McCarter will join us to give us an update on Democratic efforts to … get anything out of the Senate, where Sens. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Joe Manchin of West Virginia remain intractable, insufferable a-holes. The delays and chaos have helped drive President Joe Biden’s numbers below 40%…

Markos and Kerry are joined by Jamie Perrapato, Executive Director of Turn PA Blue, an organization dedicated to flipping the Pennsylvania state legislature by training and mobilizing grassroots groups and volunteers to support candidates in Southeastern PA and beyond.By Cara Zelaya

North Carolina is a purple state, but one that leans red. Today, on The Brief, we talk to Marcus Bass, Deputy Director for the North Carolina Black Alliance. Also joining is La’Meshia Whittington a campaign director from North Carolina Black Alliance. This organization advocates for North Carolinas historically black institutions of faith, educatio…

Arizona and Georgia’s big 2020 flips have gotten a ton of attention, and they were undoubtedly dramatic. But they weren’t the only states to flip based on dramatic Democratic gains. Today, we will talk to Art Reyes of We The People Michigan about their work to organize their community on the ground. He will be joined by one of his grassroots organi…

Virginia is one of a handful of states with statewide elections this off-year. We are exactly five weeks from Election Day, with Republicans hoping to flip what has been an increasingly reliable blue state in recent years. Joining us to talk about this critical election on our podcast, Daily Kos The Brief, are two on-the-ground experts. Gwen Mills …

Is California a bellwether for the epic incoming 2022 cycle, or is it its own blue bubble, with its own dynamics divorced from the rest of purple America? To discuss this topic, today’s guest on The Brief is Nick Rathod. He is the founder of the State Innovation Exchange, a progressive answer to ALEC—the right-wing group that writes model conservat…

Markos and Kerry talk with Jodi Hicks, CEO and President of Planned Parenthood California to talk about the awful Texas law, how it may have helped Democrats during the California recall election, and her experiences on the ground with voters facing a radicalized Supreme Court and Republican Party.By Cara Zelaya

September promises to be exhaustingly jam-packed. What can Democrats actually accomplish in a Senate where their margin of error is zero? Meanwhile, Texas has just passed the nation’s most restrictive anti-abortion law, and the Supreme Court allowed it to be enforced while the law works its way up the court system. For the second half of the show, …

At 20 years, it was America’s longest war. So what now Republicans are trying to take advantage of Biden’s slide in the polls to stop what’s left of his legislative agenda. They’ll try to make an issue of it in the 2022 and 2024 elections. Will it work? Today’s guest is Jon Soltz. Soltz did two tours of duty in Iraq and is the chairman of VoteVets—…

This week we talk to former Democratic presidential candidate, mayor of San Antonio, and Obama-era secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Julián Castro. Castro has recently been pounding Gov. Abbott's lack of leadership on the pandemic among other failures such as the "big freeze" of February 2021. We'll unpack the current state of COVID-19, v…