Great Ships with Taylor Culliver

What does it mean to meet the moment when you’re outnumbered? In this episode of Great Ships, Taylor sits down with South Carolina State Representative Heather Bauer — the only Democrat to flip a State House seat in 2022 — for a candid conversation about opposition politics, persistence, and the long game of building power in a supermajority state. Heather reflects on her journey from a working-cl...

What does it take to win elections and rebuild durable political power in a state where Democrats have been locked out for decades? In this episode of Great Ships , Taylor Culliver sits down with Democratic strategist and organizer Brady Quirk-Garvan for a wide-ranging conversation about momentum, discipline, and what it will take for Democrats to compete and win again in South Carolina. Brady bri...

What does it actually take to change policy — and keep showing up when the wins are slow? In this episode of Great Ships , I sit down with Phil Ford, founding partner of the Ford & Ford Group and one of South Carolina’s most respected voices as a lobbyist inside the State House, to take stock of where we are — and where we’re headed. As we close out 2025, Phil helps us make sense of what laws...

What does it actually take to run — and win — a local race? In the very first episode of Great Ships , I sit down with Tina Belge , newly elected Greenville City Council member, and Breanna Spaulding , campaign strategist and political consultant, to pull back the curtain on how local power is built from the ground up. We talk candidly about what it means to run a real race , why being on the ball...

Welcome to Great Ships with Taylor Culliver. I’m Taylor, and this is the trailer for my new podcast. I created this show because South Carolina is full of people navigating the currents of politics, power, and possibility with courage and hope — reminding us that we all have a role to play in shaping our future through the relationships we build, the choices we make, and the actions we take. Each...