Halls of Power

While Vice President Kamala Harris was wrapping up the Democratic nomination, I spoke to a group about how we should forecast this election, given that the uncertainty and unprecedentedness of the 2024 race was already testing the limits of models built on historical data. Here’s a recording of that presentation, which you can also view here . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss...

Running for office is difficult, but it’s even harder when you don’t have the support of a party apparatus behind you, or even someone else who can serve as the treasurer of your campaign. On this episode, we’re talking to someone doing just that. Gene Kininmonth runs a rowing program in High Point, North Carolina, and threw his hat into the ring on the day before the candidate deadline. We talk a...

One of the themes of this show is that the Schoolhouse Rock version of a bill becoming a law is no longer an accurate depiction of reality (if an anthropomorphic piece of paper ever was). So what is the real version? In this epsiode, I talk with Liz Powell of G2G Consulting , which specializes in helping businesses and nonprofits access government sources of funding. She’s working inside Capitol H...

I doubt that this episode will ever be matched in terms of the sheer diversity of experiences we discuss. I’m joined by a former colleague, Justin Vela of the ESG consultancy GEOSTREAMS, to talk about his career. As you’ll hear, he started freelancing on a major diplomatic incident, later snuck across the Turkish-Syrian border, became uneasy at the geopolitical aims of his employer, and eventually...

We all know that School House Rock’s version of how a bill becomes a law is no longer the whole truth. Now, policies often pass because they’re tacked on to a must-pass piece of legislation, a budget, or a reconciliation bill. So what does that mean for staffers? How do they do their jobs effectively if they now need to work a different process than what they learned in elementary school? For that...

What does it mean to represent a community on a day-to-day basis? Do you walk around the streets asking people their opinions? Or spend all your time in the local NextDoor group looking for what’s going on? It can be hard to know how to fully represent an areas while working in elected office, or for an elected official, especially as other time pressures, commitments, and projects require your at...

🏛 Halls of Power is brought to you by Legislata , an informational platform for politics. Keep up with bills, share press releases, keep your team aligned, and even get through your inbox quicker. Sign up for free at app.legislata.com . Jobs in politics are inherently difficult. How to do that when you also might lose your job because of a red/blue wave? And what does it mean to have a career wher...

🏛 Halls of Power is brought to you by Legislata , an informational platform for politics. Keep up with bills, share press releases, keep your team aligned, and even get through your inbox quicker. Sign up for free at app.legislata.com . Welcome to the first episode of of Halls of Power , a podcast and newsletter from Legislata that explores what working in the political ecosystem is actually like...