In this episode, Stephen Donnelly and former Obama speechwriter Terry Szuplat have a wide-ranging discussion on everything from Obama’s journey in public speaking, to Trump’s latest inaugural address, to Rev. Mariann Budde’s controversial sermon, and the influence of AI in speechwriting. And of course, they chat about Terry’s new book, S ay It Well: Find Your Voice, Speak Your Mind, Inspire Any Audience . In Say it Well , Terry opens up about his own struggles with public speaking, and lays out ...
Jan 31, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Ep 279•Transcript available on Metacast “Kennett was … ripping the heart out of country areas.” 25 years ago in Victoria, Jeff Kennett’s Liberal Party was up for re-election. Holding a large majority of seats, they were expected to win the election and entrench another generation of conservative rule in Victoria. But, in the background, the Steve Bracks-led Labor Party was building momentum in unlikely places. What resulted was a political upheaval that surprised everyone - even, until the final stretch, Steve Bracks. In this week’s e...
Jan 23, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep 278•Transcript available on Metacast “We love what we do, but love is not paying the rent for us right now.” Senator Jess Walsh joins Stephen Donnelly to chat about the Big Steps Campaign, which recently resulted in a historic 15% pay rise for Early Childhood Education and Care Workers across Australia. Senator Walsh covers the strengths and challenges of organising across multiple employers in a typically undervalued and feminised industry. They also discuss how Walsh overcame her fears and got her first taste of organising with c...
Jan 16, 2025•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Socially Democratic’s Pop Culture Correspondent Tess Farrell for our annual pop culture wrap up for 2024. 2024 was a big year for horror, but there were still some political dramas available on streaming including Alex Garland’s Civil War , The Diplomat on Amazon Prime, and the controversial Trump biopic, The Apprentice . Tess and Stephen give their reviews for their favourite shows/movies of 2024, and share their summer ...
Jan 02, 2025•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Democratic consultant Katie Parsons for our annual International Politics Year in Review. From the slew of elections across the world, including those in the UK, US, and across Europe, to the big moments in political activism and unrest, like the recent events in South Korea, Katie joins the show to help unpack the year of elections. We hope you have a Merry Christmas, a safe holiday season, and a great new year. The pres...
Dec 19, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Labor Campaign Director and federal MP, David Feeney. It’s our final Feeney Files for the year - A Very Feeney Christmas Special. David chats about the recent Syrian uprising, which saw the end of the 50+ year reign of the Assad regime, and will have ripple effects across the middle east and throughout global geopolitics. Then we wrap up our favourite moments in auspol this year, and muse on what’s to come in 2025....
Dec 12, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Josh Burns and Anika Wells. To kick off the festive month of December, we are resuming our tradition, with Josh and Anika returning to the show to unpack the year that was #auspol. From ending Stage 3 Tax Cuts and the ongoing cost of living crisis, the various incidents in parliament, Australia’s success at the Olympics, and Trump’s impact on Aussie politics, the pair cover a lot of ground before wrapping up with their ex...
Dec 05, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Labor Campaign Director and federal MP, David Feeney. It is a belated episode so there is a lot to catch up on! From the US presidential and Queensland state elections, gossip from both federal and Victorian state politics, the Melbourne Mayoral race, to the rumours of a February Federal Election, it’s a jam packed episode of the Feeney Files. Got a question for David? Join patreon and get them in before our Xmas s...
Nov 28, 2024•1 hr 16 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Managing Director at Bassline Strategy, David Kitching. David is back, calling in from Dublin to give us the state of the race in Ireland before voters in the Irish Republic head to the polls next Friday. He also discussed why Sinn Féin’s vote has collapsed in the published polls, how immigration and the cost of living are shaping the debate and can Ivana Bacik and Labour increase their representation in the Oireachteas. ...
Nov 21, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Democratic consultant Katie Parsons and co-founder of Run For Something Ross Morales Rocketto. Kate and Ross for our final installment of our 2024 Presidential Election series, unpacking the disappointing results from Nov 5th. What went wrong? What went right? And where do progressives go from here? Join the Socially Democratic Patreon to listen to get early access to new episodes: https://tinyurl.com/45bc4wub The present...
Nov 09, 2024•1 hr 18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Democratic consultant Katie Parsons and co-founder of Run For Something Ross Morales Rocketto. With less than a week until E-Day, Katie and Ross return to unpack all the latest news in the race for the White House including Trump’s Nazi Rally at Madison Square Garden and WaPo’s first non-endorsement in decades. Kate and Ross also give us the inside baseball on how the swing states are shaping up and share their final refl...
Oct 31, 2024•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Queensland Treasurer, Jackie Trad, and former QLD Labor Campaign Director, Evan Moorhead. Jackie and Evan are back for the finale in our Queensland Election series for 2024, unpacking the disappointing results from Saturday night, discussing the fault lines between metro and regional Queensland, criteria to vanquish the Greens, federal implications, and where to now for QLD Labor. Join the Socially Democratic Patre...
Oct 30, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Democratic consultant Katie Parsons and co-founder of Run For Something Ross Morales Rocketto. Kate and Ross are back to unpack that week that was in the US election campaign. With only 2 weeks till polls close, , they’ll cover Trump’s brief stunt at Maccas, VP Harris’s appearance on Fox News, and the tight polling numbers that’s got some of us biting our fingernails. Plus we do a deep dive on the battleground states of M...
Oct 24, 2024•2 hr 31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined once again by former Queensland Treasurer, Jackie Trad, and former QLD Labor Campaign Director, Evan Moorhead. With four days (as of recording) to go until E-day in Queensland, our panel covers the latest polling, the first cracks in the LNP campaign and its impact on voters, and seat analysis of battleground electorates regions of Cairns, the Gold Coast and Logan, plus our Tory with a Typewriter award. Wanna make a differen...
Oct 22, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Queensland Treasurer, Jackie Trad, and former QLD Labor Campaign Director, Evan Moorhead. Jackie and Evan are back for week two and, with less than ten days left in the election, there was a lot to talk about. From the latest “exit polling” results and Labor’s campaign launch, our panel will share their insights on how the Queensland election is shaping up. Wanna make a difference this election? Find out how here: ...
Oct 17, 2024•1 hr 9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Democratic campaign consultant Katie Parsons and co-founder of Run For Something Ross Morales Rocketto. For the next four weeks Ross and Katie will be joining us to unpack the week that was in the race for the White House. Starting in week one where they break down the Harris vs Trump campaign narratives, strategies, closer look at battleground states of Pennsylvania and Georgia, and the latest news and polls. Join the So...
Oct 17, 2024•2 hr 34 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Queensland Treasurer, Jackie Trad, and former QLD Labor Campaign Director, Evan Moorhead. They join Stephen for our first of four weekly recap episodes analysing the October Queensland state election campaign. Jackie and Evan lend their campaign expertise on everything QLDpol and discuss the diversity of the Queensland political landscape, current polling, how Labor will frame up the LNP’s Crisafulli, and the key i...
Oct 10, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former speechwriter to Julia Gillard, Michael Cooney. Michael joins the show to give us a preview of the ACT Election, where Chief Minister Andrew Barr will attempt to win a seventh term for Labor. He’ll break down the seats Labor needs to win to secure victory, the issues shaping the race, and the factors that make ACT’s election unique to the rest of the country. Join the Socially Democratic Patreon: https://tinyurl.com...
Oct 03, 2024•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Labor Campaign Director and federal MP, David Feeney. Stephen and David chat about the latest round of federal polling, speculate when the next federal election will be called, the federal government’s omission of LGBTQ+ questions from the census and more about this month’s #auspol news. Plus they answer questions from our patreon community about the social media ban, the influence of independent candidates, and ot...
Sep 26, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Co-founder and Co-Executive Director for Run For Something, Ross Morales Rocketto. Stephen joins Ross in Washington D.C to chat about the US Election, including the second presidential debate (this time against Donald Trump and Kamala Harris), Taylor Swift’s endorsement, and Run For Something’s White Dudes for Harris campaign. Join the Socially Democratic Patreon: https://tinyurl.com/45bc4wub The presenting sponsor of the...
Sep 13, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by constitutional lawyer and writer, Shireen Morris. Shireen joins the show to discuss her latest book, “Broken Heart: A True History of the Voice Referendum”, which unpacks the build up to the Voice to Parliament referendum, and shares the key moments where and when it was lost, and what lessons future reformers could learn from its failure. Get your copy of Broken Heart from BlackInc Press here. Join the Socially Democrati...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Labor Campaign Director and federal MP, David Feeney. It’s the end of another month and that means it’s time for Feeney’s hour of power where Stephen and Feeney break down the #auspol news for the month. It was a big month for politics. We had an election in the NT, the Democratic National Committee came and went with huge success, there were massive union marches across Australia, and more. David also answers a pa...
Aug 29, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by managing partner at Mandala, Amit Singh. Amit joins the show to give us the rundown on where Australia’s economy is at including the mixed messages we’re getting from data, the contradictory stances from our Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and RBA governor, Michelle Bullock, and what we need to be thinking about when looking at the future of our economy. Join the Socially Democratic Patreon: https://tinyurl.com/45bc4wub The pres...
Aug 22, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Ryan Neve - former Deputy Chief of Staff to NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner.. Ryan joins us to share his campaign insights into the upcoming Northern Territory election on Saturday August 24. He discusses the strengths and weaknesses of the two leaders for Labor and the Country Liberal Party, the issues dominating this election, the path to victory, and of course our regular analysis of the seats to watch on election nig...
Aug 15, 2024•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by NYC-based strategic communications and political consultant, Sara Valenzuela. Sara calls in from Texas to give us the rundown on all the developments in the US Presidential Election including Kamala Harris’ VP pick, Minnesota’s Tim Walz, her surge in the polls, and why Republicans are “weird”. Join the Socially Democratic Patreon: https://tinyurl.com/45bc4wub The presenting sponsor of the Socially Democratic podcast is Du...
Aug 09, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Labor Campaign Director and federal MP, David Feeney. In part two, we return home to unpack all the developments in Australian politics including the defection of Fatima Payman from Labor to the cross bench, as well as the most recent tussles between Labor and the Greens, the state of the Albanese government and the CFMEU. Join the Socially Democratic Patreon: https://tinyurl.com/45bc4wub The presenting sponsor of ...
Aug 01, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by former Labor Campaign Director and federal MP, David Feeney. July was a HUGE month for politics, leaving David and Stephen with a tonne of stuff to unpack. So much so, they’ve had to split this month’s edition into two parts. In part one, David and Stephen will cover the results from the UK election, where the Labour Party secured a victory over the Tories for the first time in 14 years, the surprising outcomes from the F...
Jul 30, 2024•2 hr 39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Djaran Murray-Jackson, lead engagement officer for First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, for the final installment of Socially Democratic’s LCN series. A proud Dja Dja Wurrung Man, representing the clan’s Aboriginal Corporation on the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, Djaran shares his organising journey as part of the movement to negotiate an historic Treaty with the Victorian State Government. The LCN Series is a speci...
Jul 25, 2024•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Mariali Cardenas, of Via Educacion for this installment of Socially Democratic’s LCN Series. Mariali joins us from Monterrey in Mexico to share her insights into strategy and re-strategising for Via Educacion’s School reopening campaign. The LCN Series is a special collaboration between the Socially Democratic podcast and Leading Change Network. Leading Change Network is a global community of organizing practice and learn...
Jul 18, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dunn Street founder and Community Organiser Stephen Donnelly was joined by Sreejani from the Haiyya organisation for the second installment of Socially Democratic’s LCN Series. Sreejani calls in from Mumbai, India, to share her insights into crafting Public Narrative and Relationship Building, drawing from her experience leading Haiyya’s successful Health Over Stigma campaign. The LCN Series is a special collaboration between the Socially Democratic podcast and Leading Change Network. Leading Ch...
Jul 11, 2024•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast 
