Novel Ideas

As we look toward 2026 and beyond, one thing is crystal clear: organic social can’t be an afterthought anymore. On this episode of Novel Ideas , I talk with digital strategist and creator Gabriella Zutrau about what it actually takes to build the kind of always-on social infrastructure our movements need. We get into: * How Gabbi turned a viral moment with Zohran Mamdani’s campaign into 144,000 au...

This week on Novel Ideas , we talk with Alex Wall, Chief Strategy Officer at Resonate—a new media organization that’s mapping the real-time narrative landscape to help progressives break through. In this episode, we break down: * The disconnect between where voters actually get information and where campaigns still invest * Why our strategies haven’t caught up to how narrative influence really wor...

We're still spending political paid media budgets like it’s 2012 —pouring political ad dollars into platforms that no longer reflect how voters actually consume content. In this episode, Rachel sat down with MacKenzie Pino , Director of Politics and Advocacy at MiQ, a global programmatic media partner. She's one of the most plugged-in minds in political media today - we talked about: * What “TV” e...

On this episode of Novel Ideas , Rachel sat down with Ashwath Narayanan , Founder & CEO of Social Currant , to talk about what it really takes to build enduring, people-powered media. Ashwath launched Social Currant while still in college. Today, he’s helping some of the biggest organizations in our space connect with creators who have trust, voice, and reach. We covered a lot , including: * Why d...

We’re joined by Cayana Mackey-Nance, VP of Brand & Social for State at Courier, for a timely, grounded, and future-focused conversation on scaling digital organizing, building movements in underfunded states, and rethinking the role of social media. One of the biggest takeaways from this episode? Social media is not just a broadcast tool—it’s an organizing tool. And we’re still underusing it. This...

In this episode, Nina and I talk about something that’s been gnawing at both of us: we are not going to win the future with the playbooks of the past. And yet, too often, Democratic strategy still treats digital media like an afterthought, communications like a soft skill, and innovation like a risk we can’t afford to take. But this episode isn’t just critique. It’s a roadmap. We talk about: * Why...

On this episode of Novel Ideas , we sat down with two of the sharpest minds building the future of democratic media— Stuart Perelmuter and Josh Cook from Good Influence . We talked about: * The massive infrastructure gap between the right and the left in supporting creators * What Democrats must do now to sustain authentic, independent media voices * Why investing in creators isn't about “pay to p...

In our debut episode, host Rachel Campbell sits down with digital media powerhouse Ryanne Brown – Chief Digital Communications Officer at Priorities USA. Ryanne breaks down how digital strategy in Democratic politics needs a major reboot: * Why we over-rely on voter file targeting. * Smarter ways to meet voters where they actually are online. * And why asking ONE junior staffer to do SIX different...