The Great Battlefield

Leena Barakat and Rajasvini Bhansali join The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about their funding group's The Women Donors Network and Solidaire, and coming together to lead a new funder coalition called Block and Build, where they're taking on authoritarianism.

Liz Purdy joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career in New Hampshire politics, working on campaigns for Kamala Harris, Hillary Clinton, Jeanne Shaheen and starting Reconciliation Media Lab, where she's working to build progressive media infrastructure.

Mike Vlacich joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career as a Political Operative in New Hampshire, including Senior Advisor for Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Executive Director for the New Hampshire Democratic Party and now Principal at Cornerstone Government Affairs.

Julie Scelfo joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career as a reporter, media ecologist and founding Mothers Against Media Addiction, where they're fighting to prevent the poisoning of our kids with cell phones and addictive media platforms.

Liz Walters, CEO of TargetSmart and former Ohio Democratic leader, brings campaign-to-tech perspective. She discusses voter data systems, how campaigns use voter files and analytics, TargetSmart’s ad platform and product choices, and modernizing infrastructure for fast, ethical data. Short takes on Ohio politics, team building, and integrating tools for progressive organizers.

Qasim Rashid, a human rights lawyer, immigrant from Pakistan, author and radio host, discusses progressive content and movement work. He talks about founding Just Win to fund values-aligned creators. Conversation covers law, campaigns, confronting Christian nationalism and anti-Muslim bigotry, secular governance, economic justice, and balancing moral conviction with content strategy.

Roger Berkowitz, professor and founder of the Hannah Arendt Center, brings Arendtian thought to contemporary politics. He traces his academic path, explains why law and philosophy pair well, and recounts founding the Arendt Center. Conversations explore Trump’s movement politics and how citizens might rebuild democracy through local participation and deliberative institutions.

Raghu Devaguptapu, a Democratic media consultant and managing partner at TKO Political with decades of campaign experience. He talks about how ADHD and upbringing shaped his persuasion skills. He recounts shifts from committee work to founding a media firm, modernizing content and in-house buying, and tactical debates over media, messaging, and party infrastructure.

Matthew D. Taylor, a scholar of Christian nationalism and evangelical movements at Georgetown, discusses independent charismatic Christianity and its rapid, media-savvy growth. He maps how charismatic spiritual warfare, worship brands, and prophetic networks intersect with political mobilization. The conversation covers connections to Trump-aligned movements, threats to democratic norms, and strategies for theological resistance.

Josef Lentsch, Austrian political entrepreneur and founder/CEO of the Political Tech Summit, co-founder of NEOS. He recounts starting a new party in Austria and applying startup methods to politics. He explains building a European marketplace connecting tech, parties, and campaign pros. He warns tech can both defend and threaten democracy and outlines plans to scale summits, awards, and a transnational careers hub.