Shows
Charting the Way ForwardWe Don't Do Off Years (feat. Dreama Caldwell and Britney Whaley)If you think "the groups" are why Democrats are losing, you need to hear this one. Two top organizers -- Dreama Caldwell from NC and Britney Whaley from GA -- join host Kerry Eleveld and Way to Win President Tory Gavito for reporting from the trenches of the fight to keep American democracy from sliding into darkness.
2025-09-0447 minCharting the Way ForwardBubble Dynamite đŤ§đ§¨ (feat. Joe Sudbay)Newly dubbed Friend of the Pod -- the DC based feisty activist and State of the States host Joe Sudbay -- joins host Kerry Eleveld and the Way to Win brass (Jenifer Fernandez Ancona and Tory Gavito) for a conversation about how the DC bubble has gotten somehow even more insulated from actual reality, and the work we're doing to break through this and start to shift what needs shifting.
2025-08-2855 minCharting the Way ForwardGetting it Together (feat. Aaron Parnas)Maddie Medved hosts for a deep dive with Gen Z's Walter Cronkite (Rolling Stone's analogy, not ours, but it works): journalist, lawyer, master creator, writer of the #1 of news substack on earth, and genuinely nice and down to earth guy Aaron Parnas.
2025-08-2131 minCharting the Way ForwardSigns of Cracks (feat. Caitlin Jury)Rising star ace researcher Caitlin Jury from Equis joins host Kerry Eleveld, President Tory Gavito and head of political Joe Hamill from Way to Win to discuss a fresh hot new Equis poll. Lots of rich data in this episode, including what may be early signs of significant shifts in Latinx support for Trump and MAGA.
2025-08-1451 minCharting the Way ForwardBetween Doom and Nirvana (feat. Philip Bump)Data impresario Philip Bump joins host Kerry Eleveld, chief strategist Jenifer Fernandez Ancona and media strategist Dan Ancona for a discussion that starts with his latest piece, a strong and insightful read on how the dismal state of Democratic party favorability does not mean imminent electoral doom.
2025-08-0757 minCharting the Way ForwardIt's Not Cool!Texas Republicans are rigging the midterms to escape accountability for the wildly unpopular agenda that Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans are enacting. Itâs decidedly ânot cool,â as 7th generation Texan and Way to Win President Tory Gavito and Latino expert Kristian Ramos tell host Kerry Eleveld. Join us for a fully fleshed out discussion of Texas politics as it relates to federal elections and Republicans' decades-long effort to rob voters of color of their electoral power.
2025-07-3149 minCharting the Way ForwardHow Things Fell Apart (feat. Celinda Lake)NEW POLL: genius pollster Celinda Lake joins host Kerry Eleveld and the Way to Win brass, President Tory Gavito and Chief Strategist Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, to go through the findings from a comprehensively thorough study of the group of voters that showed up for Biden but sat out 2024.
2025-07-1748 minCharting the Way ForwardMoving Toward the Sound of the GunsHost Kerry Eleveld returns for a strategy discussion about the disastrous immigration secret police funding in the Big Ugly MAGA Bill, with Way to Win chief Tory Gavito and media consultant Dan Ancona, who goes Full Kornacki on some of Way's immigration data. If you're curious what Way to Win strategy zoom calls are like, this episode is a peek inside our process.
2025-07-101h 04Charting the Way ForwardAwful, Awful, Awful (Update From the Hill)As of recording time on Wednesday July 2nd, the fate of the Big Ugly Ass Murder Budget Bill was hanging in the balance. Kristian Ramos and Jenifer Fernandez Ancona join pinch host Dan Ancona to discuss the meaning and ramifications of this comprehensively disastrous legislation.
2025-07-0330 minCharting the Way ForwardThe Pain and the Promise (feat. Terrance Woodbury)Zohranmania! Join First Official Friend of the Pod Terrance Woodbury for a show we recorded the day of the NYC Mayoral Primary. Terrance is joined by the Way to Win brain trust of host Kerry Eleveld, Jenifer Fernandez Ancona and Tory Gavito, who dig into how Black voters are thinking about the primary and everything else. Particularly given the results, you will not want to miss this one!
2025-06-2653 minCharting the Way ForwardUrgency and Agency (feat. Glennis Meagher)Maddie Medved takes the reins while Kerry is out, for a discussion of all things internet with social media guru Glennis Meagher and Way to Win Chief Strategist Jenifer Fernandez Ancona.
2025-06-1943 minCharting the Way ForwardSay Nothing and You Confirm Their Version of Events (feat. Molly Murphy)MAJOR POLL DROP! We worked with Impact Research on a poll that should put a stake through the heart of the conventional wisdom that immigration is a "bad issue for Dems" that they need to avoid "raising the salience of." Impact President Molly Murphy joins host Kerry Eleveld and Tory Gavito, Joe Hamill, and Jenifer Fernandez Ancona from the Way to Win team to discuss the clear strategic imperative for Dems of all stripes to go on the attack.
2025-06-1234 minCharting the Way ForwardVikings, Tequila Shots and the DNC (feat. Chuck Rocha)Democratic Ăźberconsultant Chuck Rocha has won a ton of elections and he has ANSWERS. He joins the all-star roundtable of host Kerry Eleveld, strategist Kristian Ramos and Way to Win head Tory Gavito for a discussion of how Dems can reach not just Latinos, but voters of all stripes and beliefs.
2025-06-0556 minCharting the Way ForwardMaybe We're Not Cooked?! (feat. Michael Frias)Fresh off the release of the kaleidoscopic and deep Catalist voter-file based analysis of the 2024, Catalist chief Michael Frias joins host Kerry Eleveld and strategists Joe Hamill and Kristian Ramos for a discussion that goes far beyond just the contents of the report.
2025-05-2947 minCharting the Way ForwardChecks and Imbalances (feat. Brian Derrick)Think your $25 donation doesnât move the needle? Think again. In this episode, host Kerry Eleveld and the big strategy panel of Tory Gavito, Jenifer Ancona and Maddie Medved sit down with Brian Derrick, founder of Oath, to unpack how small-dollar giving is quietly transforming political power when itâs done right, and what the potential is for the future.
2025-05-2257 minCharting the Way ForwardCharting a New Way Forward. No, really. (feat. Kyle Tharp)Host Kerry Eleveld and media analyst and strategist Dan Ancona talk to Kyle "Chaotic Era" Tharp about the release of TV Congress 2024, Way to Win's interactive tracking database of political TV ads.
2025-05-1558 minCharting the Way ForwardWe're a Bigger Tent (feat. Cornell Belcher)Veteran Democratic pollster Cornell Belcher joins us for a riveting discussion of how to reconstitute a winning Democratic coalition from the ground up, starting with men of color who voted for Biden in 2020 but then skipped 2024. It's a must listen, drawing from Belcher's deep expertise on how Democrats have won in the past and can do so again.
2025-05-0857 minCharting the Way ForwardBehold, The Mother of All Persuasion Windows OpenethJoin Kerry and Tory, Maddie and Dan from the Way to Win team for a roundtable discussion on this remarkable moment in history, the opportunity it presents, and what some of the barriers in the thinking of the DC establishment are to seizing it. The show nearly goes off the rails at the news about Little House on the Prairie being a right wing media op, but the crew bravely holds it together and soldiers through.
2025-05-0145 minCharting the Way ForwardAll Trees, No Forest (feat. Dan Pfeiffer)Dan "The Message Box" Pfeiffer joins Kerry and Jenifer for Part 2 of our Understanding the Missing Biden Voters series, including sound from our focus groups, their thoughts on the Harris and Trump campaigns, and the prospects for 2026 and beyond.
2025-04-2457 minCharting the Way ForwardUnderstanding the Missing Biden VotersWe have focus group sound! We worked with Lake Research to talk to four groups of battleground voters that voted for Biden in 2020 and then didn't vote in 2024. Join Kerry and Jenifer as they walk through our conversations with these voters, their background views on 2024, and their thoughts on the parties and Trump oligarchy and deportations. Coming next week: more from these voters, including how they felt about the 2024 campaigns and the prospects for engaging them in 2026 and beyond.
2025-04-1745 minCharting the Way ForwardThe Four Fs: Fight, Fascism, Freedom and F*ckAnother episode, another genius: this week we have on long time DC operative Joe Sudbay with insights from both DC and the incredible, accelerating momentum happening in the states. Host Kerry Eleveld, and Tory Gavito and Kristian Ramos round out the roundtable.
2025-04-101h 06Charting the Way ForwardThe Hunger for Strong and Meaningful Opposition (feat. Rep Greg Casar)Something, finally, seems to be shifting. Join the Charting gang - Kerry, Kristian, and Maddie - as they catch up with Rep Greg Casar of Texas to talk about his experience at the Bernie and AOC Fight Oligarchy Tour, and the recent raft of vastly improved and more emotionally resonant arguments coming from Dems.
2025-04-0353 minCharting the Way ForwardZero Sum Politics â ď¸ And the Future Of The Dem Coalition (featuring Terrance Woodbury from HIT Strategies)Continuing our series of having incredibly smart people on the show, join host Kerry Eleveld with a panel discussion featuring Terrance Woodbury of HIT Strategies, Tory Gavito, and Kristian Ramos for a deep discussion of Black voters and broader Democratic coalition dynamics post-2024.
2025-03-2746 minCharting the Way ForwardAbsurd! Not True! Feat. Anat Shenker-OsorioJoin host Kerry Eleveld and messaging and strategy guru Anat Shenker-Osorio for a rich and not very doomy conversation on the strategically critical and awesomely fun direct action scene, some hot sizzling fresh focus group results, and how the 2024 results are shaping tactical decisions of activists across the US trying to persuade DC Dems to save our democracy.
2025-03-201h 10Charting the Way ForwardTo Moderate Or Not To Moderate, That Is The QuestionWith Democratic enterprises of great pith and moment currents beginning to turn awry and lose the name of action, Kerry hosts, as Dan and Jenifer join for a reunion tour of their brief foray into streaming, The What's Possible Show. Conscience makes cowards of us all as they discuss recent research around the biggest single strategic question facing Democrats: is more moderation really what it's going to take to move the (roughly) 19M Biden voters that stayed home in 2024?
2025-03-1351 minCharting the Way ForwardMaking it Stick, feat. Creator/Strategist Annie Wu HenryWe gave Kristian and Kerry the unenviable task of trying make some kind of sense out of Trump's weird, awful joint address. After they pilot the ship relatively painlessly through those waves and reefs, Kerry interviews Annie with a hopeful and substantive look at how Dems are starting the utterly crucial work of finding their voices.Â
2025-03-0640 minCharting the Way ForwardRepublicans Take The First Bite of a Toxic đŠ SandwichJoin host Kerry Eleveld with updates on polling, Maddie Medved with reports from the social wildlands, Jenifer Fernandez Ancona's thoughts on media and strategy, and Kristian Ramos with reports from the Hill as Republicans prepare to pass a budget gutting critical programs for the sole purpose of handing somehow even larger piles of money over to guys like Elon Musk.
2025-02-2749 minCharting the Way ForwardThe Media Gap and the Mechanics of Vibes (feat. Will Stancil)This episode features something daring, groundbreaking and unheard of in American political podcasting: a discussion between two white guys. While the usual team is out on a strategy retreat, Dan Ancona pinch-hosts for Kerry in a discussion about the right wing media gap and what Dems need to better understand about how vibes are generated and transmitted, with sayer of obvious truths that somehow get misinterpreted as controversial, BlueSky and emerging TikTok star Will Stancil.
2025-02-2053 minCharting the Way ForwardEvolving A Stronger Resistance in 2025 (feat. Leah Greenberg of Indivisible)If you have a sense whatever the resistance did during Trump's first term didn't quite work out, you're not alone. Big changes and wild growth are happening already in this new reality, and Leah Greenberg from Indivisible is at the center of one of the organizations harnessing a massive influx of new energy. Join her and host Kerry Eleveld for a crucial and surprisingly hopeful big picture discussion of the efforts to preserve the republic.
2025-02-1347 minCharting the Way ForwardWill Caving to Trump Fix Democrats Massive Trust Issues?Join host Kerry Eleveld, Way to Win ED Tory Gavito, Latino Guru Kristian Ramos, and Research/Media/Strategy Dude Dan Ancona for a roundtable discussion on pathways out of the Democratic Party's massive trust deficit and catastrophically high unfavorables, starting with separating out what the right wing is saying about Dems vs. what is actually happening.
2025-02-0652 minCharting the Way ForwardThe New Generational Fight Against OligarchyJoin Kristian Ramos, Tory Gavito and Jenifer Fernandez Ancona for a discussion tying this week's news to big picture trends and context. Don't miss moments include Kristian's updates from his conversations on Capitol Hill, Jenifer's concise explanation of the challenge and urgency in front of us, and Tory's thoughts on how the tensions between immigration and moderate whites that have been a state issue in Texas long before they became a national challenge for Democrats.
2025-01-3049 minCharting the Way ForwardThe Missing 19 Million Biden Voters and The Pilgrimage Out of Flatland (feat. Mike Podhorzer)Kerry and Jenifer join a special guest, renowned Democratic strategist Mike Podhorzer, to discuss the controversy over his take on the 2024 election outcome.
2025-01-2341 minCharting the Way ForwardWe Love the Smell of Fresh Polling Data Early in the MorningJourney further into the heart of 2024 election darkness, and the longer term and economic roots of the challenges that Democrats need to either face or continue being dragged down by. A discussion of Way to Win's recent round of polling President Tory Gavito, Chief Strategy Officer Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, and host Kerry Eleveld.
2024-12-1342 minCharting the Way ForwardJoe Rogan, Barstool and Tradwives vs 100 Duck Sized AMPLIFY HorsesCharting the Way Forward Episode 4: Join host Kerry Eleveld, rising social media guru Maddie Medved, and extremely senior media strategist Dan Ancona for a discussion of the core challenges the Harris campaign failed to address, how and why those awful trans ads actually worked (it's not what you think!), and the incredible but under the radar creators and influencers campaign that Way to Win ran in 2024.
2024-11-2150 minCharting the Way ForwardWTAF Just Happened??A conversation about the 2024 election results with host Kerry Eleveld, Way to Win Head of Strategy Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, and Latino vote expert Kristian Ramos.
2024-11-1548 minCharting the Way ForwardWe Are Absolutely Using This MomentJoin Way to Win cofounders Tory Gavito and Jenifer Fernandez Ancona with host Kerry Eleveld for a discussion on a few key moments over this election cycle that led us to this one. If this episode doesn't motivate you to take action, nothing is going to.
2024-10-2935 minCharting the Way ForwardThe 2024 Closing ArgumentJoin Way to Win cofounder Jenifer Fernandez Ancona and host Kerry Eleveld for the inaugural episode of Charting The Way Forward, as they discuss the arguments that MVP Harris and Democrats down the ballot should be making in the closing weeks of the 2024 campaign.
2024-10-1836 min
The Gray Area with Sean IllingA GOP insider on why the party went TrumpSean Illing talks with former Republican strategist Tim Miller about his new book Why We Did It, which offers an inside look at Donald Trump's total capture of the Republican Party. Now a staff writer at The Bulwark, Miller shares detailed conversations he had with other party operators â who he criticizes as power- and fame-hungry enablers. He pulls back the curtain on a DC culture of identity and status, talks about the media's role in this transformation, and opens up honestly about the ways in which he and others like him are culpable.Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), In...
2022-10-0359 min
Daily Kos' The Brief74. Kerryâs back! The news continues to get better for Democrats come this NovemberKerry Eleveld makes her triumphant return from maternity leave! Markos and Kerry speak with prominent American political strategist and president of New Democrat Network Simon Rosenberg. Simon talks about what the data is saying and why the âred waveâ has turned into a ripple.
2022-09-1456 minDaily Kos' The Brief71. Privacy, mid-term elections, and the abortion thermonuclear political bombIt 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 thermonuclear political bomb, dropped months before a critical election that will determine whether we survive as a functioning democracy. Weâre already seeing generic congressional ballot polling shifting in the Democratsâ direction, and hints of renewed activation amongst our core base.Â
2022-06-291h 02
Daily Kos' The BriefPrivacy, mid-term elections, and the abortion thermonuclear political bombIt 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 thermonuclear political bomb, dropped months before a critical election that will determine whether we survive as a functioning democracy. Weâre already seeing generic congressional ballot polling shifting in the Democratsâ direction, and hints of renewed activation amongst our core base.Â
2022-06-291h 02Daily Kos' The Brief70. Hashing out 2022's post-Roe, post-insurrection midterm amid record inflationJoe Sudbay returns to geek out with Kerry Eleveld and Cara Zelaya on the Democratic Party must do, what they are doing, and what they arenât 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.
2022-06-221h 11
Daily Kos' The Brief66. Midterm elections are tough for the party in power, but 2022 is no ordinary yearItâs 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 first midterm of a new presidency. But anomalies exist. In 2002, George W. Bush and his Republicans rode the post-9/11 zeitgeist to congressional victories. Is 2022 more like 2002, or like any other normal midterm? Today, Kerry Eleveld and I will dig deep into the issue.Â
2022-05-251h 03
Daily Kos' The BriefRERUN: Breaking down all things Texas with special guest JuliĂĄn CastroThis episode first aired on August 25, 2021.On this weekâs 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 JuliĂĄn Castroâas well as whether Castro himself is preparing for a run against Gov. Greg Abbott next year.Castro, a Democrat from Texas, served as the mayor of San Antonio and was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama. He has offered critiques of the Texas governor's lack of leadership throughout the pandemic an...
2021-11-241h 00
Daily Kos' The Brief25. Arizona is ground zero for the GOPâs assault on democracy. Howâs 2022 looking?Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas and senior political writer Kerry Eleveld talk about everything from Arizona in 2022 to Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and what is going in her mind with Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07). It also Daily Kosâ The Briefâ 25th episode!
2021-06-3056 min
Daily Kos' The BriefThe student debt crisis is real. Biden has a chance to deal with it in 2021Besides the predatory nature of modern student loans and the extraordinary financial burden they have put on Americans over the past couple of decades, many economists believe that wiping away the almost $2 trillion debt would have profound benefits for the U.S. economy. On this weekâs episode of The Brief, co-hosts Cara Zelaya and Kerry Eleveld talk about Americaâs student debt crisis with activist Melissa Byrne and Mike Pierce, the policy director and managing counsel at the Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC).
2021-03-101h 02
Daily Kos' The BriefDaily Kos' The BriefWelcome to The Brief! A weekly show about politics. Here weâll discuss the issues that are driving the news as we fight for a more progressive America. Hosted by Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas and Senior Political writer Kerry Eleveld.  Trump may not be president, but Trumpism isnât defeated. So join us every Wednesday as we discuss the battles that lay ahead, and plot a course for a more just, kind, and progressive America.Â
2021-01-2701 min
New Books in LGBTQ+ StudiesKerry Eleveld, âDonât Tell Me to Wait: How the Fight for Gay Rights Changed America and Transformed Obamaâs Presidencyâ (Basic Books, 2015)Kerry Eleveld is the author of Donât Tell Me to Wait: How the Fight for Gay Rights Changed America and Transformed Obamaâs Presidency (Basic Books, 2015). Eleveld is a writer for DailyKos and a former reporter for The Advocate.We have all begun to write the histories of the Obama presidency, noting various accomplishments and failures. One of the most remarkable areas of accomplishment and change was the Presidentâs transformation on gay rights. From a campaign that stumbled on the issue to a much bolder stance on donât-ask-donât-tell, DOMA, and other policies, the Obama Whit...
2015-10-2231 min
New Books in Human RightsKerry Eleveld, âDonât Tell Me to Wait: How the Fight for Gay Rights Changed America and Transformed Obamaâs Presidencyâ (Basic Books, 2015)Kerry Eleveld is the author of Donât Tell Me to Wait: How the Fight for Gay Rights Changed America and Transformed Obamaâs Presidency (Basic Books, 2015). Eleveld is a writer for DailyKos and a former reporter for The Advocate.We have all begun to write the histories of the Obama presidency, noting various accomplishments and failures. One of the most remarkable areas of accomplishment and change was the Presidentâs transformation on gay rights. From a campaign that stumbled on the issue to a much bolder stance on donât-ask-donât-tell, DOMA, and other policies, the Obama Whit...
2015-10-2231 min