A Soon-to-be Voter's Guide: Recent Episodes
Matt Tengtrakool
"A Soon-to-be Voter's Guide" analyzes pressing issues that all citizens should know before jumping headfirst into the sea of politics. | Awards: Roddenberry Foundation Fellowship Finalist, New York Times Student Podcast Honorable Mention | Partners: Harvard Making Caring Common Youth Advisory Board, National Voter Registration Day, Young Voter Movement
Black Lives Matter and police reform are at the cornerstone of modern social movements. In creating a future of equality and justice, Soon-to-be Voter's must harness their roles as innovators to save the future. Matt chats with DeRay Mckesson, activist, host of Pod Save the People, and founder of Campaign Zero, about the black lives matter and the future of policing in America.
Learn more about DeRay: https://deray.com/
Pod Save the People: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Y3colnIhnNfvBcK8O9y7p
Campaign Zero: https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
Young voters are statistically the least likely to cast a ballot. Yet, almost 75% of them report that they care about our nations politics. So how do we bridge the gap and increase voter participation come November? To learn more, I spoke to Dr. John Curiel from the MIT Election Lab. Listen in to hear his advice!
To learn more about the MIT Election Lab and Dr. Curiel's work visit: https://electionlab.mit.edu/about
To learn more about the Roddenberry Foundation and our work with #7MillionStrong visit: https://roddenberryfoundation.org/blog/awardee/matt-tengtrakool/
Register to vote today with National Voter Registration Day: https://nationalvoterregistrationday.org/register-to-vote/
In this episode, I talk to 2020 Democratic Presidential candidate and activist, Tom Steyer. We talk about the pressing issues which directly impact the young American population such as the Black Lives Matter movement, climate change, and inequality. Listen in to hear Tom's point of view and what he has been up to since his presidential run.
- You can learn more about him and his work here: https://www.tomsteyer.com
- You can also learn about his young voter mobilization organization NextGen America at: https://nextgenamerica.org
One in five eligible voters vote in state and local elections. One in ten young voters aged 18-30 turnout to cast a ballot. Local elections are the most direct and impactful way to see reform and changes in your community and neighborhoods. Why is it that our young voter turnout is so low? To learn more I spoke to Massachusetts 21st District Representative Ken Gordon about his job and his advice on how we can bolster communities to get out and carry out their duty to vote.
To learn more about Rep. Gordon, you can check out his website here: https://malegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/KIG1.
At the root of policy and leadership are political campaigns. Campaigning is a vital part of our democracy in order to build successful administrations and effective elected officials. It is also an easy way that young students can have a direct impact on policy, leadership, and representation. On this episode, I spoke to Mr. Doug Rubin, a senior political strategist who has advised on campaigns for Tom Steyer, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Congressman Joe Kennedy, and Governor Deval Patrick. He gave us advice on how to harness campaigns as a catalyst for student policy and how our generation has to get involved to shape the future. Listen to find out more! You can learn more about Mr. Rubin and his work here: http://northwindstrategies.com/our-team/doug-rubin/
Foreign policy can seem distant, however it is rooted in understanding the fundamental policy behind our nation's goals and the global community. Being an ambassador of ourselves and the ideals we believe in is the first step in becoming a young advocate and activist. In this episode, I spoke to a former US Ambassador to the African Union, Mr. Michael Battle to learn more about the US's role in foreign policy and his advice for young global changemakers. Listen to find out more!
You can learn more about Mr. Battle and his work here: https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/honorable-michael-battle
"How do we interpret attack ads?" "Are all ads fake?" "What makes a compelling advertisement?" In this episode, we tackle the topic of political advertising. In order to be able to interpret these ads as an audience, we need to speak to the source: the ad maker. I spoke to a world-renown political advertising expert, Mr. Mark Putnam, who has lead six presidential advertising campaigns along with being the lead advertising strategist for President Obama. Listen to find out more!
You can learn more about Mr. Mark Putnam and his firm here: http://www.putnampartners.net/staff-bio/mark-putnam.