Pod Save the Youth

In this episode, David and Delnaz speak with Arielle and Zamaan from the organization Design It For Us to explore ways of involving young people in policy discussions aimed at improving internet safety. Topics include the potential ban of TikTok in the United States and the recently passed Take It Down Act.

In this episode, David and Delnaz speak with Noah Widmann, one of the youngest candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives running as a Democrat to flip Florida’s 7th Congressional District. The panel discusses Widmann’s campaign, the recent high-profile special elections in Florida, voter perspectives on key issues leading up to the 2026 midterm elections, and strategies Democrats can use to flip Republican-held districts.You can learn more about the Widmann campaign here: https://www.noahforflorida.com/

In this episode, David sits down with Jack Dozier, the Deputy Director of the Yale Youth Poll, to discuss how the poll’s youth-centered approach to developing questions and its methodology for gauging political opinion led to a higher level of accuracy in predicting the results of the 2024 presidential election. This success surpassed that of other firms that measured the support of young voters last year.

In the first episode of Pod Save the Youth sense President Trump’s inauguration, David and Delnaz speak with two immigrant rights advocates about pushing back against mass-deportations in the face of unified Republican government at the national level in the US.

For the first episode of 2025, the team at Pod Save the Youth are turning their eyes to Canadian politics in the wake of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation. In this episode, Canadian political experts Leo Xu and Matt Chilliak join the podcast to give their thoughts on the Prime Minister’s resignation, the upcoming Canadian election, and how the state of US-Canada Relations will evolve with new leaders in both the United States and Canada.

It’s the last episode of 2024 and Pod Save the Youth is ending the year on a hopeful note. In this week’s conversation, David and Delnaz sit down with former organizer with the Industrial Areas Foundation and Tufts University Visiting Fellow at the Tisch College of Civic Life, Cameron Conner. The three discuss the role of community organizers in work for political change and various success stories of direct organizing efforts in working-class communities.

In this episode, David and Markus break down the results from the 2024 elections and discuss their implications for the next four years! David and Markus talk through some of the early demographic data, talk through the campaign strategy of the Harris and Trump campaigns, and try to gauge how terrified we all should be about RFK Jr. running HHS.

We made it! The 2024 election is here. On today’s show, David sits down with the person who first got him interested in politics: David’s grandfather, author and political scientist, Edward Lorenz. David and Ed give an update on the state of the race and Kamala Harris's campaign, react to Donald Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, and discuss how demographic shifts will impact the presidential race.

In this episode, David and Delnaz sit down to discuss the state of the presidential race with one week until election day. David and Delnaz speak about the strategies of the Harris and Trump campaigns in the final week, as well as the state of some of the swing House and Senate races, the growing gender divide in the American electorate, and how to best interpret the major polls in this moment and gauge the voting plans of young swing voters.

In this week's episode, David sat down with senior advisor to the Harris-Walz campaign and former White House Director of Legislative Policy, Louisa Terrell, to discuss the Biden-Harris record, VP Harris's debate responses, and what it could mean for the legislative agenda and success of a possible Harris-Walz administration.

This week, David and Markus sit down to discuss their experience at the Democratic National Convention. David and Markus share their thoughts on the speaker lineup, the presence of content creators on stage, the Harris-Walz campaign’s message coming out of convention week, and the controversy surrounding the decision not to let Palestinian-American Georgia State Representative, Ruwa Romman to  deliver a speech to the convention on the topic of the war in Gaza.  The youth-centered organization, Men4Choice had a large presence at the DNCC. Every day, their team is working to turn out the youth vote and galvanize support among men to win elections up and down the ballot this year for pro-choice candidates and ballot initiatives in critical races across the country. You can support their work with the link below!

In this episode, Sohali Vaddula joins David for a discussion about Kamala Harris’s decision to select Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. David and Sohali discuss Harris’s selection process, Tim Walz’s political record and personal story, the response from young people, and the state of the 2024 presidential race with Walz on the Democratic ticket.  Sohali Vaddula serves as the Director of Communications for the College Democrats of America. To support the critical work of the College Democrats to organize, register, and turn out youth to vote in the 2024 elections, follow the link below.  Donate to the College Democrats of America: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/cda2023web

In this episode, David and Markus discuss President Biden’s recent decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race and endorse Kamala Harris to be the Democrat’s new nominee. David and Markus also talk through the start of Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, her strategy to appeal to young people, and her possible options for a running mate.

In this episode, Vice President of the College Democrats of America, Sunjay Muralitharan, joins David and Meera for an honest conversation about the state of the 2024 presidential race after the first debate. The group discusses Biden and Trump’s answers to debate questions about abortion rights, immigration, the war in Gaza, and Trump’s criminal trials. The three also give their thoughts on the recent calls from some Democrats for Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.  To support the critical work of the College Democrats of America to organize, register, and turn out youth to vote in the 2024 elections, follow the link below. Donate to the College Democrats of America: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/cda2023web

In this episode, David and Delnaz speak with NENPA Award-Winning Journalist, Ella Niederhelman about the importance of supporting local news outlets and providing Gen-Z representation in the media in order to expand the reach of unbiased and reliable news. The group also discusses the implications of using social media as a source for news and the best ways to identify misinformation and clickbait.  Learn more about the ways to identify and reduce the prevalence of misinformation from https://dykwyk.wordpress.com/.  Currently the US loses an average of two local papers every week and by 2025, the US will likely have just a third of the local papers that were operating in 2005 according to PBS Newshour. Support unbiased independent local journalism at the Ipswich Local News and Report for America with the links below.  Ipswich Local News: https://thelocalnews.news/donate/  Report for America: https://www.reportforamerica.org/?campaign=551612

At a moment where youth are indicating record low levels of trust in elected officials and high profile institutions, David and Meera speak with Massachusetts State Auditor, Diana DiZoglio, about her work to restore public trust in government by holding elected leaders accountable. The conversation focuses on the Trump conviction, institutional corruption in the Massachusetts state government, and Auditor DiZoglio’s campaign to audit the Massachusetts state legislature.

Activist and educator Sophia DeLoretto-Chudy joins David and Delnaz for discussion about the latest presidential polls that show warning signs for Democrats with young voters and voters of color. The discussion focuses on polling analysis, the strategies of the Trump and Biden campaigns, and advice for Democratic campaigns, organizers, and volunteers on the best messages for encouraging skeptical young people to vote against MAGA extremists this year.

In this episode of Pod Save the Youth, David discusses the ongoing fight to end America’s gun violence epidemic with GenZCrusade Founder, Emma Shultz. This episode is being posted two years after the Uvalde school shooting in 2022, which sparked a wave of young people to organize for the passage of stricter gun safety laws in the US. The discussion focuses on the ongoing fight for accountability for the Uvalde families, the impact of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the implications of American gun violence on the world stage, and possible avenues for future gun reform.

In this week's episode of Pod Save the Youth, David and Delnaz speak with Jessie Cai about the movement to lower the voting age from 18 to 16. The panelists evaluate a number of arguments for and against lowering the voting age and discuss the implications of making such a change to the American political system.

In this episode of Pod Save the Youth, David and Markus speak with Immigration Attorney, Kojo Asamoa-Caesar, about the state of the American immigration system and the humanitarian crisis at the US-Mexico border. This episode includes discussion of the coot-causes of immigration to the US, the role of immigration advocacy organizations, relevant immigration policy reforms, and the political implications of immigration to the 2024 elections.