Achieve Great Things

In the midst of an affordable housing crisis and growing income inequality, The San Francisco Foundation asked local communities how to promote equity in the region. In Episode 2, we sit down with Gail Fuller to learn what they heard. The answers might surprise you. Read more about our conversation and access other great insights by visiting our Aspirational blog: https://medium.com/aspirational/t...

In Episode 1 of our third season, Doug Hattaway talks to Ali Noorani, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, about his conversations with Americans in 26 communities focusing on immigration and American identity. Read more about the podcast at our Aspirational blog: https://medium.com/aspirational/armchair-conversations-on-immigration-and-american-identity-ec436ce3342a

In Episode 8, Joe Goldman of Democracy Funds talks about challenges facing American democracy, from election hacking to declining trust in journalism and propaganda campaigns driven by artificial intelligence — and shares practical steps we can take to address them. Read more about the podcast at our Aspirational blog: https://medium.com/aspirational/checking-the-vital-signs-of-our-democracy-65f78...

In Episode 7, LIFT CEO and Co-Founder Kirsten Lodal talks about using the power of aspirational thinking and communication to modernize the way America fights poverty. To read more, visit our Aspirational blog at: https://medium.com/aspirational/fighting-poverty-with-an-aspirational-message-9d16dd52bb0b

In Episode 6, we speak with journalist Ryan Bell about how to get past prevailing narratives and produce work that stands the test of time. To read more, visit our Aspirational blog at: https://medium.com/aspirational/how-to-get-your-audiences-the-real-story-c908d5900627

In Episode 5, HuffPost Executive Editor Hillary Frey explains how her the publication's Listen to America Tour revealed what's really on Americans' minds — without the political filter. For more details, visit our aspirational blog at

In Episode 4, Del. David Reid (D-VA) explains the key to winning his seat in the Virginia House of Delegates last November: listening. Will Democrats in 2018 follow his lead? For more details, visit our aspirational blog at https://medium.com/aspirational/understand-that-it-really-is-about-them-c6d7103d3b41

Episode 3 features a conversation with Joshua Ulibarri, chief pollster for the Democratic Caucus in the Virginia House of Delegates, about historic Democratic victories in 2017. For more details, visit our Aspirational Blog at https://medium.com/aspirational/a-new-day-in-the-old-dominion-700a10237457

In Episode Two, we check in with Lanae Erickson Hatalsky about Third Way’s post-2016 “listening tour” to hear what they found. For more details on this episode, visit our Aspirational blog at: https://medium.com/aspirational/no-one-in-d-c-cares-what-i-think-4b34dc692944

Season Two of Achieve Great Things kicks off by recapping the key insights that progressive communicators need to take to heart in 2018. For more details on this episode, visit our Aspirational blog at: https://medium.com/aspirational/its-a-new-year-and-the-stakes-couldn-t-be-higher-26a9ec3ed47f

In the final episode of Season One, Chad Nelsen of the Surfrider Foundation gives advice for turning people’s passions into activism.

In Episode 22, Clarence B. Jones, speechwriter to Martin Luther King, Jr., talks about America’s need for moral courage.

Episode 21, Jill Schwartz and Alex MacLennan, World Wildlife Fund by Hattaway Communciations

Episode 20, Sean Gibbons, Communications Network by Hattaway Communciations

Episode 19, Macon Phillips, CARE by Hattaway Communications

Season 1, Episode 18: Veronica Selzler, Hattaway Communications by Hattaway Communications

Ever since September 11, many Sikh Americans have been falsely associated with terrorism. And in 2017, fear-based messages seem to be gaining traction more easily than ever. The presence of fear in our politics has very real consequences — but it’s also an opportunity for education, and for more Americans to become part of the solution. In Episode 17, Mark Reading-Smith, Senior Director of Communi...

In Episode 16 of Achieve Great Things, Sara-Jayne Terp talks money in politics, disinformation, and why local engagement is key to progress. Data scientist Sara-Jayne Terp says that polarization, money in politics, and widespread disinformation have made elections in the United States resemble “money-driven dictatorial campaigns” abroad. Meanwhile, advances in data science and advertising increasi...

In 2017, political narratives have taken hold that aren’t based in reality. Can great fiction like Wonder Woman, Star Trek and Harry Potter show us how to change them? Jo Miles and Amanda Kloer, the founders of FutureShift, believe that they can. Science fiction writers like Octavia Butler are masters at imagining alternate worlds. Similarly, changemakers in the real world need coherent vision to...

This week on Achieve Great Things, RJ and Kate sit down with Emily Norman, Vice President of Analytics at the Global Strategy Group, to get some answers. She discusses “switch voters” who vote differently than they respond to polls, and the need to continually challenge best practices after both successes and failures. She also cautions against taking losses personally and lashing out at the voter...

On this week’s episode, RJ sits down with Lanae Erickson Hatalsky, Vice President of Social Policy and Politics at Third Way, a Washington, D.C. think tank. She talks about how the conversation in Washington doesn’t mirror people’s concerns for their everyday lives, and why Democrats can’t afford to talk to Trump voters like they’re Steve Bannon. People can receive very different messages from the...

This week, RJ sits down with Claire Humphreys, Kristen Ablamsky and Rachel Renock, the founders of Starthatching—a marketplace that connects freelancers to nonprofits that need their expertise. These three women, who share a background in advertising, discuss how insights from advertising can help nonprofits boil down complicated issues into ideas people can relate to—and how their new venture can...

This week we continue our conversation with Brad Jenkins, executive producer at Funny or Die DC. In part 2 of the interview, we discuss what makes comedy effective at breaking through ideological echo chambers and how digital storytelling can help Democrats leverage grassroots energy into electoral success. In a disruptive political atmosphere, communications professionals can’t afford to tinker a...

This week we sit down with Brad Jenkins, Obama White House alum and current executive producer of Funny or Die DC. Our self-described “least reputable podcast guest" discusses how President Obama’s appearance on “Between Two Ferns” changed the game for Healthcare.gov, and how Democrats need to make serious investments in digital content creation. If they don’t, they’ll fail to build support for go...

This week, RJ sits down with three of his colleagues at Hattaway Communications—Kate Pazoles, Steve Pierce, and Eric Zimmerman—to discuss opportunities and challenges for progressive communicators in the Trump era. They touch on the dangers of constantly responding to President Trump’s bizarre comments, the importance of keeping your communications powder dry for when it really matters, and the un...