The Great Battlefield

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THE GREAT BATTLEFIELD PODCAST - A PODCAST ABOUT THE PROGRESSIVE RESISTANCE A great political battle is being fought right now for the soul of our country.

Nathaniel G. Pearlman


    • Aug 12, 2026 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 56m AVG DURATION
    • 1,383 EPISODES

    4.8 from 103 ratings Listeners of The Great Battlefield that love the show mention: nathaniel, political, always, listen, great, like, love.


    Ivy Insights

    The Great Battlefield podcast is an absolute gem that I will never tire of listening to. From its breadth of topics and guests to the relaxed and conversational tone, this podcast stands out as a beacon of perfection in the world of political podcasts. Each episode has been illuminating, providing unique perspectives on our current political crisis and pushing the boundaries of who I would typically listen to. The host's easygoing approach brings out the best in his guests, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of a captivating dinner party where interesting and intelligent people discuss what they love. It truly feels like the world's most giant toolbox for change.

    One of the greatest strengths of The Great Battlefield podcast lies in its ability to bring in high-quality guests who provide genuine insights into the tactics being employed to win in 2020. Nathaniel does an amazing job at curating a diverse range of changemakers in the political arena, connecting their efforts into themes of resistance. As a listener, I have learned so much about political entrepreneurship and post-2016 strategies from different organizations. In particular, the interview with Jason Berlin from Field Team 6 was superbly informative and engaging.

    While it is challenging to find any faults with this podcast, one minor drawback might be that some listeners initially hesitate when confronted with the relaxed hosting style of Nathaniel. His vocal fry may give off a sense that he could nod off at any moment, but strangely enough, it becomes endearing over time. While episodes with a more upbeat tone are preferable, there is something uniquely captivating about Nathaniel's conversational approach that consistently draws out the best from his guests. However, this personal preference may not resonate with everyone.

    In conclusion, The Great Battlefield podcast is an exceptional platform for anyone seeking involvement with progressive politics. With its wide range of topics and insightful interviews, it serves as both a source of information and inspiration for change-makers in today's tumultuous political landscape. Nathaniel's ability to bring together a variety of changemakers and connect their efforts is commendable. If there is one thing I wish for, it is for Nathaniel to compile all the knowledge he has accumulated from these interviews into a central location. It would be fascinating to see a comprehensive collection of the wisdom shared on this podcast.



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    Latest episodes from The Great Battlefield

    Fighting the Corruption of our Federal Government with Jeff Hauser

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2026 55:23


    Jeff Hauser joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career and his role as Executive Director at the Revolving Door Project, where they work to hold the executive branch accountable through research and analysis.

    Improving our Election Processes with Kim Alexander

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 10, 2026 58:14


    Kim Alexander joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about implementing online access to campaign finance data and founding the California Voter Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to improve the voting process.

    Targeting Young Voters in Swing Districts with Ben Bilbrough

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 7, 2026 76:39


    Ben Bilbrough joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in entrepreneurship, founding Action Tank where they help nonprofits with tech and collaborating with Activate America where they're targeting young voters in swing districts for the midterms.

    Organizing in Rural Arizona with Pablo Correa of RAZE

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2026 47:36


    Pablo Correa joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career, organizing in rural areas and co-founding Rural Arizona Engagement where they're building power in rural Arizona.

    Understanding Conservatives with Morgan Ramsey-Elliot of ReD

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2026 51:42


    Morgan Ramsey-Elliot Joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career at ReD and the recent ethnographic study they conducted with SNF Agora about conservatives' relationship to democracy.

    Helping Democrats Win State Legislatures with Leslie Martes of Forward Majority

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 31, 2026 53:15


    Leslie Martes joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career and her role as CEO at Forward Majority, where they're working to help Democrats win state legislatures.

    Advocating for Fair Redistricting with Kate Barr

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2026 60:26


    Kate Barr joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career as a Behavioral Scientist, former candidate for the North Carolina State Legislature and founding The Can't Win Victory Fund, where she's working to make sure every office in her state is contested.

    Empowering Elders to Protect the Climate with Bill McKibben of Third Act

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2026 47:53


    Bill McKibben joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career as a writer, co-founding the climate group 350.org, and founding Third Act, a group organizing people over 60 to protect the climate and our democracy.

    Using Storytelling to Create Action with David Rochkind of Ground Media

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 24, 2026 51:54


    David Rochkind joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career as a Photojournalist and founding his agency Ground Media, where they use research backed storytelling to help mission driven organizations and their new tool StoryHeat that analyzes messaging through storytelling.

    Providing Data and Tech to Progressive Organizations with Samantha and Bella of TMC

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2026 48:24


    Samantha Conyers and Bella Wang join The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about The Movement Cooperative, a key progressive enterprise that works to provide independent organizations data and tech infrastructure.

    Funding the Defense of Our Democracy with Pamela Shifman of Democracy Alliance

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2026 51:09


    Pamela Shifman joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career and her role as President of Democracy Alliance, a network of philanthropists, labor unions and organizations that support progressive organizations working to build power.

    president defense funding democracy alliance
    Creating a Following and Educating Them on Politics with Erika Harrison

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2026 56:21


    Erika Harrison joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career as an attorney in employment law and creating Black Girls Who Brunch, a set of food and politics social media sites that educates her following.

    A New AI and Map-based Political Organizing Tool with Rich Kotchmar of Groundview

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2026 55:20


    Rich Kotchmar joins The Great Battlefield to talk about his political organizing firm, Kinetic 21 and building a new AI and map powered organizing tool called Groundview.

    The Internet, Politics and Entrepreneurship with Jonah Seiger

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 13, 2026 67:13


    Jonah Seiger joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career building communication agencies and now as an adviser, investor and founding partner at Fuse Strategy Group.

    Leading the Fight to Protect Healthcare with Brad Woodhouse

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 10, 2026 54:09


    Brad Woodhouse joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in politics and how Protect Our Care is working to protect the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid from repeal, cuts and sabotage.

    AI and Opposition Research with Matt and Dan of Civly

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2026 63:56


    Dan Barkhuff and Matt Hanauer join The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about their careers and building Civly, an AI platform for progressive candidates and organizations that provides opposition research, donor prospecting and polling.

    Fighting Corruption and Abuse of Power with Nick Van Zandt

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 6, 2026 53:42


    Nick Van Zandt joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career as a US Army Intelligence Officer and co-founding Unruled Masses, a nonprofit focused on fighting corruption while facilitating peaceful civic engagement.

    Small Donors in U.S. Politics with Ray La Raja

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 3, 2026 50:05


    Ray La Raja joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career as a Professor of Political Science at UMass Amherst and his book "Small Donors in U.S. Politics: Myth and Reality".

    Supporting Mission-Driven Entrepreneurs with Ian Fisk

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2026 59:34


    Ian Fisk joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career and his role at Mentor Capital Network, a nonprofit global network that helps early-stage for-profit mission-driven entrepreneurs.

    Running for Congress in Maryland after getting DOGEd with Alexis Goldstein

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 29, 2026 73:44


    Alexis Goldstein joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career in finance before joining the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and then getting ousted by DOGE and now running for Congress in Maryland.

    Supporting Organizations to Advance Progressive Policies with Vincent Jones

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2026 50:17


    Vincent Jones joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in politics and his role at Beyond Impact, where they support leaders and organizations to build power and advance policies that work to bring equity and justice.

    Opposing the Political Weaponization of the Federal Government with Cole Leiter

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2026 66:08


    Cole Leiter joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in politics, both in campaigns and in government and his role as ED at Americans Against Government Censorship, where they're helping to defend organizations against attacks by the Trump administration.

    Exposing Corrupt Government Officials with Michelle Kuppersmith

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 22, 2026 45:59


    Michelle Kuppersmith joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career working to expose corruption and her role at Campaign for Accountability, a nonprofit watchdog organization working to hold the powerful accountable.

    How Employees Purchased A Political Texting Service with Jesse and LaToia of Hustle

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2026 66:00


    Jesse Hassinger and LaToia Jones join The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about how the employees of Hustle (a peer to peer texting service), purchased the organization and where they see it going.

    The Unpredictable Life Cycles of Political Tech Companies with Jed Alpert

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2026 45:14


    Jed Alpert joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about founding Mobile Commons (one of the earliest political texting platforms), selling it and recently buying it back and how he plans to lead Mobile Commons in a new technical age.

    Facilitating Nonpartisan Civic and Community Engagement with Heather Nelson of Poll The Vote

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2026 52:13


    Heather Nelson joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career in business education and now building Poll The Vote, a nonpartisan platform connecting people to their elected officials.

    Whistleblower and State Senate Candidate Chuck Borges

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 12, 2026 73:57


    Chuck Borges joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in the military, data science, calling out the DOGE data breach at the Social Security Administration and running for State Senate in Maryland.

    Empowering Federal Workers to Uphold Their Oath and Defend the Public Good with Aisha Coffey

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 10, 2026 55:05


    Aisha Coffey joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about working at the FDA before it was attacked by the Trump administration and why she joined FWAD (Federal Workers Alliance for Democracy), a coalition that supports federal workers to uphold their oath by protecting the public good.

    Helping Campaigns Make Better Digital Media Buying Decisions with Nick Richardson

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2026 55:22


    Nick Richardson joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about running digital media programs at the DCCC and founding Context, a tool to make better decisions on social media spending and to identify trends online that impact a paid media budget.

    Expanding a Moderate Faction in the Democratic Party with Liam Kerr of Welcome

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2026 73:27


    Liam Kerr joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in social entrepreneurship and co-founding Welcome, where they're building a community of Democrats focused on winning majorities, reducing polarization and governing well.

    Running for Congress in Florida and Building His Own Tech to do it with Nic Zateslo

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2026 63:06


    Nic Zateslo returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about regulating AI and building tech for his campaign to run for Congress in Florida.

    Tools for Facilitating Mass Political Conversations with Tom Carroll

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2026 58:52


    Tom Carroll joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about co-founding Convos, where they're building an AI based texting tool that facilitates two way conversations between campaigns and causes and their supporters at mass scale.

    Tools for Advocacy and Constituent Service with Aubrey Cox Ottenstein

    Play Episode Listen Later May 29, 2026 52:59


    Aubrey Cox Ottenstein joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career, running Globally, a nonprofit focused on public service careers and co-founding Hilltop, where they're building an AI tool to enable constituents to deliver personalized messages directly to lawmakers.

    The Politics of Sex Education with Jaclyn Friedman

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2026 61:37


    Jaclyn Friedman joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career as an activist, advocate and organizer and founding EducateUS, a group that is working to transform sex education for good.

    Integrating Digital Strategy with Tech and Data with Craig Dorfman of Mandate Media

    Play Episode Listen Later May 25, 2026 54:03


    Craig Dorfman joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career as a teacher before getting into politics with Mandate Media and eventually purchasing the firm with a coworker. Mandate Media is a political consultancy for Democrats that specializes in digital strategy and email fundraising.

    Advocating for the Rights and Dignity of Immigrants with Greisa Martinez Rosas

    Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2026 48:13


    Greisa Martinez Rosas joins The Great Battlefield podcast to share her struggles with our immigration system and working her way up to Executive Director at United We Dream, a youth led immigration group with more than a million members.

    Political Analytics and Data Science with Dan Castleman of Clarity Campaign Labs

    Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2026 61:04


    Dan Castleman joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in politics and his role at Clarity Campaign Labs, a political data science firm that helps progressive campaigns and organizations through customized polling and analytics.

    Electing Democratic Lieutenant Governors with Kevin Holst of the DLGA

    Play Episode Listen Later May 18, 2026 65:51


    Kevin Holst joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in politics and his role at the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, where they recruit, support and elect Democratic Lieutenant Governors.

    Leading with Joy with Akaya Windwood

    Play Episode Listen Later May 15, 2026 68:17


    Akaya Windwood joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career, being President of Rockwood Leadership Institute for many years and her book "Leading with Joy: Practices for Uncertain Times".

    Running for Congress in Virginia with Tom Perriello

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2026 45:45


    Tom Perriello joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career and his run to represent Virginia again in the U.S. House.

    Restoring the Balance of Power in Our Democracy with Michael Lahanas-Calderón of Inequality Media

    Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2026 53:17


    Michael Lahanas-Calderón joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his role at Inequality Media, where their mission is to engage and inform the public about economic inequality and imbalance of power.

    The Political Data Marketplace with Paul Westcott of L2

    Play Episode Listen Later May 8, 2026 50:41


    Paul Westcott joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in media and his role at L2, a nonpartisan political and commercial data company.

    Crisis Engineering & Political Tech with Mikey Dickerson of Layer Aleph

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2026 57:49


    Mikey Dickerson returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his firm Layer Aleph, which helps enterprises through technical crises, and his new book "Crisis Engineering: Time-Tested Tools for Turning Chaos Into Clarity".

    Helping Progressive Organizations Grow with Emily Suttle-Braun

    Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2026 56:17


    Emily Suttle-Braun joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career and founding Doodle Mom Strategies which provides outsourced sales assistance to political tech companies and related enterprises.

    Transforming Nonprofits and Giving with AI with Nathan Chappell

    Play Episode Listen Later May 1, 2026 56:34


    Nathan Chappell joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career, how he's working to bring AI to nonprofits and founding Fundraising.AI, a think tank that promotes responsible and beneficial AI for Fundraising.

    Digital Persuasion, Mobilization, & Issue Advocacy with Megan and Patrick of Gambit Strategies

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2026 58:20


    Megan Clasen and Patrick McHugh join The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about founding Gambit Strategies, a digital media firm specializing in persuading and mobilizing voters by defining candidates, causes and issues.

    Using Proprietary Data to Identify Unregistered Progressive Voters with Alex Salerno of Civitech

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2026 51:04


    Alex Salerno joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career and her role at Civitech, where they use data to target and engage unregistered Democratic voters.

    Reviving Fusion Voting with Dan Cantor of the Center for Ballot Freedom

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 24, 2026 65:50


    Dan Cantor joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about his career in politics, co-founding The Working Families Party and his role at the Center for Ballot Freedom, where they advocate for fusion voting, which allows a candidate to appear on the ballot as a nominee of more than one party.

    A Vision for Better Democracy with Ash-Lee Henderson of Utopian Visions

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2026 103:11


    Ash-Lee Henderson joins The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about her career in activism, being the first black woman to serve as Co-Director at Highlander Education and Research Center (the storied movement school in Tennessee) and founding Utopian Visions, where they're building web tools and curricula for power building.

    Supporting Progressive Doctors and Scientists for Public Office with Shaughnessy Naughton of 314 Action

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 20, 2026 41:01


    Shaughnessy Naughton returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about how she's grown 314 Action, where they recruit, train and elect Democratic Doctors and Scientists to help defeat Trump's agenda.

    The Challenges of the Progressive Media Ecosystem with Tara McGowan of Courier

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 17, 2026 54:07


    Tara McGowan returns to The Great Battlefield podcast to talk about how she's grown Courier, her media and news company, and her new podcast "Gloves Off".

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