The Great Battlefield

A great political battle is being fought right now for the soul of our country. Listen to this podcast into the real concerns of your fellow citizens, and know you can make a difference.

ABOUT

The Great Battlefield

In this podcast Nathaniel Pearlman has talked to hundreds of leaders in the fight to improve and protect our democracy. Their actions include organizing and advocating and campaigning and figuring out how to do that better; starting and running progressive organizations; working for campaigns and for the Democratic party; thinking and writing and researching and analyzing what is going on in the attacks on our democracy; working to improve our democracy and how the government treats us, whether from partisan or nonpartisan angle; building political technology for progressives and others working on civic participation.

Featured Guests

Where To Start

Building a New Software and Data Hub for Organizing with Evan Burfield of Helm

Evan Burfield joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career as an entrepreneur, investor and author. And his work co-founding Helm, where with co-founder Emma Bloomberg, he has 90 people working to provide pro-democracy organizers and education and other advocates and activists with data, tools and software.

Strategist and Organization Builder Anna Galland of MoveOn

Anna Galland joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career in politics, her 7 years as Co-Executive Director at MoveOn and transitioning out of that role to Chair of the Board and other projects.

Power, Justice and Leadership with Arisha Hatch of Color of Change

Arisha Hatch joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career and her role at Color of Change, the largest online justice organization working to create a more human and less hostile world for black people in America.

Meet The Hosts

Nathaniel Pearlman

Democracy Entrepreneur

Nathaniel has been hosting the Great Battlefield Podcast since 2017. He speaks with political leaders, thinkers, entrepreneurs, activists and technologists, and others who are working on protecting and improving our democracy. Prior to that, he has a long history in progressive politics. In 1997, he founded NGP Software, Inc. (now known as NGP VAN, and part of Bonterra) the leading technology provider to the Democratic Party, its campaigns, and to progressive organizations. He served as chief technology officer to Hillary Clinton's 2008 Presidential campaign. He also founded Graphicacy, a firm that helps mission-based organizations tell complex stories in visual form and its product arm, Timeplots. Nathaniel holds a B.A. in Computer Science from Yale College. He is a failed graduate student, having finished the coursework and exams but never writing a dissertation for the Doctoral Program in Political Science at M.I.T.

Where To Listen

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FEATURED BLOG ARTICLES

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October 14, 2024
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Revitalizing civic education through experiential learning

Faced with an increasing number of young Americans who are losing faith in U.S. democracy, a Democracy Journal article advocates for an innovative way to approach one of the pillars of a democratic society — civic education.

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September 30, 2024
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5
min read

Introducing our Fall 2024 Podcast Fellowship Cohort

We welcome five students from around the country who are all about storytelling, civic engagement, and, most importantly, creating their own podcasts! These Gen Z leaders are ready to get to work!

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September 30, 2024
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5
min read

Tracking confidence in democracy this election season

The States United Democracy Center, recipients of the McCourtney Institute for Democracy's Brown Democracy Medal, recently surveyed nearly 8,000 Americans to gauge their attitudes about elections, voting and political violence.

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September 30, 2024
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5
min read

Issue One's Democracy Fix tackles 'toxic information ecosystem,' lies surrounding 2024 election

We're excited to welcome the newest addition to The Democracy Group: Democracy Fix — a new podcast by Issue One that highlights how organizations and individuals across the country are working to fix our political system.

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August 19, 2024
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5
min read

Youth-led journalism drives election coverage, tackles social issues

We caught up with On Our Minds: Election 2024 student reporters and special correspondents Maggie LeBeau, Simran Gupta, Grace Go and Carlos Guo.

Jessie Nguyen
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August 5, 2024
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5
min read

Navigating campus unrest: Strategies for civility with Constructive Dialogue Institute

We caught up with Constructive Dialogue Institute UX Researcher and co-author of the "Maintaining Campus Community During the 2024 Election" guidebook Mary Aviles.

Jessie Nguyen
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June 27, 2024
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5
min read

The Democracy Group’s 2024 summer reading list

Grab a drink and find a cozy spot because we’re bringing you a list of books you should read this summer!

Jessie Nguyen
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July 8, 2024
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min read

Celebrate Juneteenth with episodes on racial justice, political activism through Black history

Juneteenth signifies the end of a painful chapter of American history and reaffirms the nation’s commitment to racial justice and equality.

Jessie Nguyen
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May 7, 2024
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5
min read

Democracy Good News: The Role of Business in Democracy

The third episode of our Democracy’s Good News series takes us to New York City where we talk with American venture capitalist and author Patrick McGinnis.

Jessie Nguyen
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May 7, 2024
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5
min read

Spy-themed video game tackles misinformation

A video game is helping Gen Z combat misinformation. Plus, we welcome a new show to The Democracy Group!

Jessie Nguyen
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May 7, 2024
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5
min read

Meet our spring 2024 podcast fellows

Join us in extending the warmest welcome to the newest cohort of fellows from The Democracy Group Podcast Fellowship!

Jessie Nguyen
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May 7, 2024
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6
min read

PBS podcast shines a light on Gen Z's biggest issues

Teen podcast builds empathy, bridges generational divides

Jessie Nguyen
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May 7, 2024
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5
min read

📢 New Podcasts Alert: Episodes from our 2023 Podcast Fellows

A new year means new episodes!

Jessie Nguyen
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May 7, 2024
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5
min read

Celebrate with some of our best episodes from The Democracy Group!

Welcome to the Best of 2023!

Jessie Nguyen
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May 7, 2024
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5
min read

What a female president means for Mexico

In what many deem a patriarchal country, two women are on track to make history as they are both presidential nominees in Mexico’s leading parties. Polls showed the two female candidates are currently front runners and the most likely to be elected presidents in the general election on June 2, 2024.

Jessie Nguyen
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May 7, 2024
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5
min read

Meet the Common Ground Committee

Community manager Megan Goldstein caught up with Bruce Bond and Erik Olsen, co-founders of the Common Ground Committee

Megan Goldstein
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May 7, 2024
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5
min read

The future of AI and democracy

AI is rapidly evolving and has the potential to transform many aspects of our lives, including democracy.

Megan Goldstein
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May 7, 2024
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5
min read

Join us for National Week of Conversation!

National Week of Conversation (NWoC) will take place April 17-23. The event was created to solve one of the biggest problems facing Americans - toxic polarization.

Megan Goldstein
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