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Megan Rapinoe here. The WNBA season is over, but on A Touch More, we're still playing games. We're checking out the tug of war between the players and the league as the CBA is about to expire, while five teams play a round of musical chairs to fill their empty head coaching slots. And we've got Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase on the show to talk about her epic first season with the Valkyries and what it's like to play and coach in Valhalla. Check out the latest episode of Touch More wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. What did new York City mayoral candidate Zoran Mamdani and Donald Trump have in common? More than you think. They're not trying to calibrate for the center, and they're not trying to reflect the party as it is. I'm Preet Bharara, and this week political journalist Asded Herndon joins me to discuss Mamdani's rise, how political reporting keeps pace with a shifting media landscape, and what truly motivates voters. The episode is out now. Search and follow Stay tuned with Preet wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Raging Moderates. I'm Scott Galloway.
B
And I'm Jessica Tarlov.
A
Today we're joined by Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock. Thank you for being here, Senator.
C
Great to be here with you.
A
So let's bust right into it, Senator. This week Trump once again joked about scrapping the Constitution so he could serve a third term. How should Democrats deal with this kind of talk? Do we call it out every time, ignore it, or is this exactly the type of distraction that he wants?
C
Well, what Mr. Trump has demonstrated from the day he came down that escalator into our lives over the last decade is that he's fundamentally an unserious person. But the office obviously is one that has huge consequences. And these are serious times. I think the Democrats have to stay focused on the people that we were sent here to serve. And so I focus on them every single day. I take seriously his autocratic, authoritarian designs on our country. And part of what they're trying to do, and I get that in your question, is that this notion of flooding the zone, they are literally trying to weaponize despair. And so every single day, several times a day, there's some new awfulness to respond to. I think you have to pick the ones you're gonna respond to. But above all, you've got a Senate of people, their everyday needs. Right now, there is a looming health crisis in this country. They've cut a trillion dollars out of Medicaid. We're gonna see the health premiums for 22 million Americans go up as a result of the game that they're playing right now, not extending these ACA tax credits. And meanwhile, folks this very weekend are poised not to receive their SNAP benefits. So the country's getting sicker, it's getting poorer, and we've got to make sure that we hold him accountable and let the people know that it's really in their hands even as we fight for their best interests.
A
So it's hard to argue with. Stay focused on the people. 20 million people losing healthcare, 40 million people losing their SNAP benefits. I think some of the frustration is trying to transition from these statements that are hard to argue with to operationalizing it. Or put another way, what does that mean, Senator? Like, what can Democrats such as yourself do to push back and actually affect change and stop what's going on?
C
Well, right now, we're using the tools that we have to fight on this healthcare crisis. I mean, you're right as you point out that the Republicans have the White House. They have the majority in the House, they have the majority in the Senate. And so part of the work that we have to do is remind the people of that, even as we're engaged right now in this healthcare. This is a Republican shutdown, and we have to make sure that the people understand that. I have voted seven times over the last few weeks to reopen the government and to extend healthcare. And I reject wholeheartedly this idea that it's one or the other that we open the government and then we allow the premiums of 22 million people, 22 million people to go up. This is their problem. They can fix it if they choose to come to the table. There's a reason why you're required to have 60 votes in the Senate. That assumes some kind of bipartisan negotiation. And what we're witnessing right now is a Republican Party that does absolutely nothing unless Donald Trump greenlights it. And so we gotta keep holding them accountable, hold their feet to the fire. And that I intend to continue to do over the next several days.
B
Jess, so you broke with the party a bit in voting to pay essential workers. Also Jon Ossoff, the other senator from Georgia, and John Fetterman. The Republicans seem very dug in, though, and not yet moving towards nuking the filibuster in order to reopen the government. If you were a betting man, how would you say this ends and when?
C
Well, I'm always going to place my bets with the people, and I don't know when and we win. But I'm not focused on the politicians. I think part of the reason why we are here, honestly, is that too often these issues get framed as a political problem. Who's up, who's down, who's winning? The Republicans or the Democrats? And meanwhile, you're seeing ordinary citizens become increasingly disconnected from the political conversation, disconnected from government, because they see a widening chasm between where they actually live, their struggles to have affordable housing. For example, in a moment in our country where young people can't buy a house, I think about, I grew up in public housing, but as a young person, I was able to buy a home. Young people are struggling with that right now. A livable wage healthcare. And they're seeing a broadening chasm between what Americans want and what their government leaders are actually able to deliver. And so I don't want to frame this whole healthcare fight about who's winning. Democrats, Republicans. The irony is there are more red districts and red states that are gonna see devastation as a result of the ways in which they are waging war against the healthcare of ordinary Americans. It's really the red districts in Georgia. I was down in Evans County a few weeks ago. This is a district where I don't have a lot of votes, to be honest. They voted for Donald Trump. I'm the senator from Georgia, but it's a red district. But their hospital is teetering. Because of previous cuts, they had to close their labor and delivery unit. Not only them, but the other three hospitals that are in the region. So here you are, a rural citizen, and out of the four hospitals that are in your region, not one of them has a labor and delivery unit. So even if you have insurance, you're in trouble. And now they may have to close their icu. These are red districts. I don't know why the Republicans are waging war against their own people, but I'm gonna stand up for those people in Evans county whether they voted for me or not.
B
Well, I'm glad to hear that. And that brings me to the second question I wanted to ask you, which is, as somebody who has to win tough races to stay in the Senate, you represent a red state. What do you think the Democratic Party is missing about how to win over swing voters and even some disenchanted Republicans.
C
You have to show up for people. Long before I came to the Senate, I've spent the bulk of my adult career as a pastor. I knew early on as a kid that that was my route, that ministry would be my path and my work in the Senate, not in the sense of creeds and orthodoxy, but values and love and commitment to people. My work in the Senate is an extension of that ministry. And so one of the things that I often talk about is the ministry of presence. You can't always solve people's problem on a dime. I think you got to keep working at it. There's no easy solution, as you point out, to the crisis that we found ourselves in right now. I think there is an easy solution. It's politics that makes it hard, but it's important to show up for people. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. There's something to the ministry of presence. I committed to the people of Georgia that I would walk with them even as I work for them. You can't serve the people unless you love the people. You can't really love the people unless you know the people. Can't know the people unless you walk with the people. And so I spend time all over Georgia. I won five times in a red state in less than three years because I didn't write off any districts. I went to those rural places and I talked to those farmers and I talked to those people in those communities who right now are seeing devastation because we've had more than a dozen hospitals to close in Georgia over the last several years with these severe cuts to snap. You know who that hurts disproportionately? People in rural districts, people in red districts, and not only the people who depend on snap, but it's a gut punch on those rural economies. You think about the small stores where they take snap, It's a real gut punch. And the question that I think we have to keep asking those voters is, who's looking out for you? Who's fighting for you? I think the question is important about why Democrats are struggling with certain voters, but the truth is, both parties are. And I think while the question is important, part of the reason why we're here is the obsession with the politics, the obsession with the party. I think a sure way to death for a party is to be obsessed with self preservation. I think voters, they can sniff that out when politicians are thinking about themselves rather than the people that they're sent there to serve. I think if we center the people, we provide, hopefully for them a path to thrive, a path to employment that gives them a livable wage, that they can have healthcare, retire in dignity. And I also think that you give the party a chance, but if you senator politicians, that is a sure path to death.
A
Senator, what do you make of candidates like Zoran Mamdani and Graham Platner? What do you think it says about the future of the Democratic Party?
C
Look, I think the ideological questions are important ones. We'll have honest conversations and debates about that. But what a candidate like Mondame has done, and I lived in New York as a seminary student for a decade long time ago, but I know a little bit about living in that city. He's speaking to the affordability crisis while talking heads are having arguments about ideology and and labels. He's put his finger right where people hurt. They can't afford to make their lives work. And I think that's the beginning of an important conversation.
A
Okay, let's take a quick break. Stay with us. Support for today's show comes from Factor. Fall always feels like a reset between back to school, busier routines and shorter days. Finding time to cook can be tough work. Luckily, there's Factor. Their chef prep dietitian approved meals make it easy to stay on track and enjoy something comforting and delicious no matter how hectic the season gets. Factor gives you the ability to add more variety to your meals. You can choose from a wider selection of weekly meal options including premium seafood choices such as salmon and shrimp at no extra cost. Factor also supports your wellness goals. You can enjoy even more GLP1 friendly meals and their new Mediterranean diet options are packed packed with protein and good for you fats. One of our team members signed up for Factor and is excited to try their green juices, salmon and high protein meals. You can eat smart with Factor. Get started@Factor Meals.com moderates 50 off and use code moderates50OFF to get 50% off your first box plus free breakfast for one year. That's code moderates50OFF@Factor Meals.com for 50% off your first box plus FREE breakfast for one year. Get delicious ready to eat meals delivered with Factor offer only valid for new Factor customers with code and qualifying auto renewing subscription purchase. If it seems like AI is touching just about every part of your life these days, you aren't imagining things. It's all up in your streaming services. It's all up in your job search, and now it's even in your doctor's office. It can perform exceptionally well, kind of almost in a superhuman way on these specific, very challenging, complex clinical cases. This week on Explain it to Me When AI meets medicine. And I think it can be potentially revolutionary and transformative for people if they use it in the right way and when it doesn't compute one in five, around 20% of Americans said that they had turned to a chatbot for advice that later turned out to be be incorrect. New Episodes Sundays Wherever you get your podcasts. Scott, we're hitting the road, bringing Pivot live to the people. Seven cities. Toronto, Boston, New York, DC, Chicago, San Francisco and la. Of course, you went to Oasis, you went to Beyonce, you saw the remake of wizard of Oz and the Spear. All those suck Compared to the Pivot tour. This is the biggest tour. Same people that are organizing our tour, that organized Taylor Swift's tour, they are much more excited about our tour. All right, that's enough, grandpa. It's going to be so good. And we're bringing our brand of whatever we do to the people.
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And we're excited to meet our fans.
A
We love our fans. For tickets, head to picture pivottour.com See you there. Welcome back on the pod. Here we talk a lot about the struggles of young men in our country. And we're curious, as a pastor, what role you think religion and the church and other religious institutions can play in helping to address the problem of struggling young men.
C
Well, you know, churches provide for us community. And we live in a country at a time where people are isolated in a world that is teeming with hyper connectivity. I mean, that's the irony, that people are isolated in a deeply connected world, virtually connected world. And churches and other communities of faith, temples, mosques, provide spaces for people to live out a sense of community and common cause. We try to do that every single day. In my church. I continue to serve as pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church. I return to my pulpit every Sunday. It's the spiritual home of Martin Luther King, Jr. And it's a place where we have an intergenerational conversation and congregation. And I think it's because young people see us engaged in issues that they're concerned about. I've been working on a whole range of issues for a number of years. Long before I came to the Senate, I was focused on this issue of mass incarceration. The issue with men in general in our country is a major problem. But black men have been literally siphoned out of our communities over the last 40 years or so through Republican and Democratic administrations. We've seen politicians, particularly in eras gone by, we're seeing this now, politicians sort of elevating themselves and their career by engaging in the politics of fear and division and notions of criminality and connecting that to dangerousness in black men. And as a result of that, we're literally seeing black men siphoned out of their communities. And the impact of that in places where I have served, in Atlanta, in Baltimore, in Harlem, has been devastating on those communities. And so the question is, who's going to speak to that? Who's going to give people a path to hope? I do a lot of work on workforce development because I think jobs, I think work gives people a sense of dignity, a sense of pride, a sense of purpose. I had a father who was a Pentecostal preacher, small church I grew up in. But he was also a small businessman who literally fed his family by picking up old junk cars that he loaded on the back of a rig, the mechanisms of which he constructed himself. I don't know how my dad did it without a degree in physics or engineering. He'd literally draw it on the paper. And I watched him load these cars on the back of a truck, pick up these old junk cars during the week. But on Sunday morning, he was a preacher and the man who picked up old junk cars, picked up broken people, and reminded them of their value. He had this sermon that he would preach to me every Sunday morning, and this guided my work in my life. Basically, every morning he would tell us, get up, get dressed, put your shoes on. Putting your shoes on was a sign of readiness and being prepared, and that has informed my life. It's given me a sense of purpose and passion, both for ministry and now the work that I continue to do. I think we got to find a way to awaken that. I think every kid has that light in their eye, and I love to see kids come alive when they find that thing that they really want to do. And so much of that is slipping away from us. I grew up in public housing, and here I am, a United States senator. I have a PhD. I'm the pastor of Dr. King's Church. The truth is, that kid who grew up and graduated high school in 1987 would have a harder time now doing what I did way back then. And that's what wakes me up every morning as a Senate. I want to give that kid a chance.
B
I love that. It's an incredible success story and a real tribute to America that this is possible, that you're sitting here in the United States Senate, especially from a state like Georgia. And I'm curious as to what you think are the policies or what you are personally championing that you think can get us closer to. To that goal of getting more kids who grew up like you or in worse conditions, you know, a chance to thrive and have, you know, happiness, a Good marriage, good job, all of it.
C
Yeah, absolutely. And again, it gives people a sense of dignity and purpose. You know, as I said to you, my dad had a fierce work ethic. He told me to get up, didn't care what day of the week it was. You had to get up one day. I asked him, get up. He said, get ready. I said, get ready to do what? He said, I don't know, I'll tell you later. You just make sure you're ready. Right. So that's the personal responsibility piece. Right. But then there's also the public policy side. And sadly, in politics we see people engage in these foolish arguments about left and right as a personal responsibilities of public policy is both. My dad had a fierce work ethic, but guess what? I'm the beneficiary of his teaching. But I'm also the beneficiary of Head Start, a good federal program which instilled and inspired in me a sense of learning as a kid, narrowing that word gap that we see between poor kids and middle class and affluent kids. I'm a product not only of Head Start, a good federal program. When I was in high school, I was a part of Upward Bound, another federal program which put a kid who was growing up in public housing on a college campus during the summer where I lived in the dorms and I went to Savannah State every Saturday, part of that same program. So I didn't have to ask myself if I belonged in college. Heck, I was already there because of a good federal program that creates dividends. For a time, my family needed snap. And then when I got ready to go to college, the tuition, room and board at Morehouse College, private school. But I was determined to go there. Why? Because that's where Martin Luther King Jr. Went. And he just captured my imagination as a kid. But the tuition, room and board was equal to my parents income. I couldn't go to Morehouse, but through Pell Grants and low interest student loans, at a time when it was difficult but it was doable, I was able to get through college. So I'm a product of good public policy and that informs my work every single day. It's what informs my work on workforce development. For example, a couple years ago, I was at the DeKalb Peachtree Airport and we were in the midst of working on the FAA reauthorization, which we do every five years in the aviation space. And I met a young man there. His name was Ezekiel. I'll never forget him. And this young man, in his 20s, maybe 30 or so, he had that light in his eye that you want to see in the eye of every young person. He had found that thing that he would do for free, except that you got to make a living. He wanted to be a pilot. And when I think about him, I think of Howard Thurman who said, ask not what the world needs, ask what makes you come alive. And go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who would come alive. Ezekiel wanted to be a pilot. But 10 years later, 10 years later, and having spent $100,000 of his own money, this kid who clearly was capable because he was training others, still had not become a pilot. We have made the path for that kid way too difficult. And so I got busy writing a piece of legislation called the Airways Bill, which seeks to ensure that kids, no matter what zip code they grow up in, have a path to an industry where we need pilots. Not only do we need pilots, we need aviation mechanics. I mean, there are a whole range of good paying.
B
We need a lot of stuff, we.
C
Need a lot of people, we need a lot of stuff, we need a lot of kids. And we made that path too hard for them. And so that's part of the work that I try to do every single day.
A
So just as we wrap up here, I think some of us are hoping that the Democratic Party reflects less indignance and more ideas. You know, a lot of us are outraged and upset about what's going on. And I want, you know, I hope at some point we move to big, bold ideas. So Senator Warnock, give us a big, bold idea. If you wanted to bring something to the Senate floor and thought this would be a tectonic shift or really be beneficial for Americans, what's one big idea you would like to see enacted in America?
C
Well, I agree with that. And I think part of it is people have convinced us that we suffer from a lack of resources. What we actually suffer from is a lack of moral imagination. And I think that there are a whole range of things that we need to do. But at the end of the day, what I want to do is build an America as I think about my own story, where a child's outcome is not based on their parents income. So one of the things that we could do right now is we could really lean in on the child tax credit. We did that in 2021, literally cut child poverty in our country in half. But because we couldn't extend it, it was only for six months, we went back and doubled poverty. And so I'm interested in the kinds of Things that give poor families a chance. I'd like to see us do some real investments in housing and in infrastructure in this country. Literally, invest in America. Put people back to work. Part of the reason why housing is unaffordable right now is we don't have nearly enough units. And so we need to invest a whole lot more. There's. I think we need to invest in getting young people to engage in public service, a public service program. I think work and purpose and a path gives people a sense of meaning. I think we've been at each other's throats, if you will, so much over the last few years. There are demagogues who want to keep us obsessed with the culture wars. And I'll tell you this. I guess what I'm saying to you as a pastor, sometimes a family comes into my life study, and they've been at each other's throats so long, they don't even remember what the argument was about. And sometimes what I tell them they ought to do is find something to do together, like go back to your house and work on the kitchen or paint the fence. Do something that gets you all focused on the house that you live in together. And here's why. I like infrastructure. I think in America, where we've been engaged in these culture wars, we. We've got to remind ourselves that at the end of the day, we all live in this house. And I'd like to see us do more of that work. I'd like to see us focus on both the possibilities and the perils of AI and really capture the imagination of young people and get them focused on the jobs of the new century.
B
That's exciting. And I look forward to seeing you hitting the links, maybe with Ted Cruz, and then co sponsoring a bill to make some of that magic happen. But thank you, Senator Warnock. It was such a pleasure to have you.
A
Thank you, Senator.
C
Thank you very much.
A
Should we do a debrief? Jess, what did you think?
B
I think that he is a potential VP Candidate for someone, and I think he's very impressive. I mean, show me a guy who can win Georgia, and I'll show you someone that I like. And on top of it, he's incredibly compelling. I didn't know his backstory. I mean, I knew that he had taken over Martin Luther King Jr. S church, so I knew that about him, but I didn't know about growing up in public housing. And I loved how he talked about the federal programs that got him to where he was going, and his dad saying, you know, get up, put on your shoes. I don't even know where we're going, but we're going somewhere. This is a guy who's been working since the beginning, and I thought that he embodied this kind of positive vision that we've been chasing. Like there was nothing about him that was talking down to anyone, which you wouldn't want in a pastor anyway. But if that is the main complaint about Democrats that were kind of, you know, bossy and judgmental and not salt of the earth, this guy completely blows all of that up.
A
Uh huh.
B
What'd you think?
A
So of all the people who you hear mentioned a lot as presidential candidates or potential nominees for the Democratic ticket, he's the one I know the least well, and I agree with you. I think it's super impressive. I think any Democrat who wins in a. It's kind of a purple slash red state is impressive and you have to keep your eye on them. It means they know how to win elections.
C
Right.
A
He's got great presence, really compelling backstory, which I think counts for a lot. My issue is a broader issue. The same issue I have with him, or the same reservations I have with him, I have with the Democratic Party as a whole. And that is, we're so long on the Democratic side with rhetorical flourish and we're so short on actual ideas, actual programs. And I don't know, maybe this is somewhat naive, but I think the person who wins the nomination is going to come up with a series of actual big ideas and programs. You know, Andrew Yang didn't have that rhetorical flourish, but he went much further than anyone thought. Because UVI is a specific program, right? The moment you start asking any questions about how to fund it, it falls apart. But people can understand it. And it's a big, bold program. And he was proposing it and I think people were compelled. I was just at this event where I saw two governors who were kind of leading or right at the top in terms of their party's ticket. And I feel like everyone wants to cosplay Obama and nobody wants to actually say, okay, yeah, we know young people can't afford a house, so what do you do such that they can afford a house? Is it tax credits the unleash the private sector and encourages builders to build 8 million new units? Is it manufactured homes not on site homes, buildings on site which are more expensive? Is it federal legislation to get rid of NIMBY laws like they've done in adopting best practices from Minneapolis and Austin? Like, I want to see actual fucking programs. I Don't.
B
Yeah. You know how the Republicans are always saying, like, you should be able to do your tax returns on a postcard. I feel like all of the contenders should have a postcard with their agenda on it.
A
Love that.
B
And it should fit. Right? Like, this is my main economic policy, this is my main education policy, this is my healthcare policy. And it doesn't have to be the biggest picture idea. Right. But it has to be something that people can remember you by. So when they think Josh Shapiro, oh, he, you know, he's one on one AI tutoring for every kid. I'm just making this up. Or if it's Raphael Warnock, it's, you know, 8 million new housing units.
A
Whatever it is. Yeah, man.
B
Whatever. National service lower, which he definitely was talking about. But I think part of that comes from his background of being a pastor. Right. That he. He's used to talking that way. And he did have the legislation.
A
It's not just him, though. It's everybody.
B
No, I was. Will you agree about this? I'm just saying, I think probably when you get down to, like, the dollars and cents of it, you know, you talked about the policy that he had for the kid who wanted to become a pilot but couldn't get there. But I think you're completely right because they are. Republicans are just lapping us in the bumper sticker wars. Right. Like everything that they stand for, we know what it is and it fits nicely on, you know, like, one side of your car.
A
I love that.
B
And we, you know, we talk too much, which is perhaps a podcasting problem. But I was really excited to have him. He's someone that I've just admired and winning those elections, him and Jon Ossoff. And I feel like Ossoff gets a lot more of the press, you know, and he's really hit on so well this argument about how it's us versus them, and he's going after, you know, corporations and the billionaires and talking about the oligarchy. I mean, he has similar messaging, actually, to Bernie and aoc, See, but in a moderate guy who represents Georgia. And I feel like Warnock doesn't get as much of the shine, but is very much worth our attention.
A
Yeah, I find it really. I was supposed to go address a Democratic Senate caucus.
B
Oh, yeah. Is that not happening anymore?
A
Well, no, because the shutdown. Oh, because the shutdown, it's been canceled. I've had this whole deck, and I was all excited to get in front of these 47 individuals. One of the reasons Project 2025 was so effective is they actually wrote it down. Eisenhower said, the wrong decision is bad. No decision is worse. I feel as if the Democrats have no plan and it's such a huge opportunity and frustrating. They haven't done it so far. Project 2026 or Project 2028, what series of programs are you proposing for the American people and how are you going to pay for them? And instead, everyone says, we asked Leader Jeffries this when we interviewed him at the 92nd Street Y. They say, well, there will definitely be a time to talk about entitlements and reform and the deficit. But no one, you know, when does tomorrow become today? And the takeaway I get from Project 2025 is these people are really fucking scary. But guess what? A lot of it's being implemented because they actually took the time to write it down. And for people who are of like minds, they now have a playbook. I think it's a frightening playbook. But at least they have a plan and they're executing against that plan. And the Democrats right now, as far as I can tell, they're the party of just, we are gonna show how terrible Trump is, and there's a lot to play from there. And it gets a lot of TikTok views, it gets a lot of Instagram likes, it probably gets a lot of donations. But at some point, we have to get off our heels and onto our toes and say, okay, well, what the fuck would you do, boss? That's what I would be asking the Democratic Party right now. Okay? We know young people are struggling. We know that housing's unaffordable. We know that healthcare is a disaster in the U.S. we know that the deficit is a huge problem. Okay? Now what you've convinced us. Now what you've convinced us that the current administration is not good for America, that they're hurting the people most probably that put them into office, that they're attacking the very foundations of America, that. That there's a lot of opportunity in America given we continue to be the most innovative place on Earth. We continue to have, I think, a general populace that is high character, risk aggressive. Okay, now what?
B
Yeah.
A
What are you running on instead of what are you running against?
B
Well, this has been the problem. And the generic ballot has been shifting much more in Democrats favor, which I think is just a reflection of how bleak it is what the Trump administration is doing. And they've accomplished over 50% of Project 2025 in record time. But a lot of people, especially young people, have soured on the right, but haven't necessarily been taking a shine then to the left. And you don't want to spend every cycle having to start from scratch. Right. And winning them back over and over again. You want to breed lifelong supporters of your political party. You want to create that kind of environment where they feel secure and that you're looking out for them on a long term basis, and that you will follow up and that you will know if they were able to buy that home or they got that job or they were able to get married and send their kids to a good school and get to Disney World. And we haven't landed that plane yet. Optimistic, but the plane is still circling.
A
There you go. The plane is circling. All right. We'll leave it there.
C
Thanks, Jesse.
Episode: Why Republicans Are BEATING US at the Bumper Sticker Wars (ft. Sen. Raphael Warnock)
Date: October 31, 2025
Host/Network: Vox Media Podcast Network
In this discussion-rich episode, Scott Galloway and Jessica Tarlov sit down with Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock to examine why Republicans consistently outmaneuver Democrats in "bumper sticker" messaging—offering concise, memorable policy ideas and slogans that resonate with voters. Against the backdrop of a government shutdown and looming healthcare and SNAP crises, the trio debates what Democrats are missing, what can be operationalized in policy, and how a centrist, pragmatic approach could win in red or swing states. Warnock shares substantive insights grounded in his lived experience as a pastor who grew up in public housing and is now fighting for policy change on the national stage.
[01:27 - 03:14]
“He’s fundamentally an unserious person. But the office obviously is one that has huge consequences… I take seriously his autocratic, authoritarian designs… They're literally trying to weaponize despair.” – Raphael Warnock [01:42]
“The country’s getting sicker, it’s getting poorer, and we’ve got to make sure that we hold him accountable and let the people know that it’s really in their hands even as we fight for their best interests.” – Raphael Warnock [02:51]
[03:14 - 05:26]
"This is a Republican shutdown... They can fix it if they choose to come to the table." – Raphael Warnock [04:09]
[05:26 - 08:09]
“I don't know why the Republicans are waging war against their own people, but I'm gonna stand up for those people in Evans County whether they voted for me or not.” – Raphael Warnock [07:30]
[08:09 - 11:00]
“People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.” – Raphael Warnock [09:02]
“A sure way to death for a party is to be obsessed with self-preservation.” [10:32]
[11:00 - 11:50]
“He's put his finger right where people hurt. They can't afford to make their lives work, and I think that's the beginning of an important conversation.” [11:23]
[14:41 - 19:31]
“People are isolated in a deeply connected world, virtually connected world. And churches and other communities of faith provide spaces for people to live out a sense of community..." [15:14]
“The man who picked up old junk cars... picked up broken people, and reminded them of their value. He had this sermon that he would preach to me every Sunday morning: get up, get dressed, put your shoes on. Putting your shoes on was a sign of readiness and being prepared, and that has informed my life.” – Raphael Warnock [16:53]
[19:31 - 23:10]
“I'm a product of good public policy and that informs my work every single day.” [21:13]
[23:10 - 26:13]
"We did that in 2021, literally cut child poverty in our country in half... I'd like to see us do some real investments in housing and in infrastructure in this country. Literally, invest in America. Put people back to work." [24:05]
"Sometimes a family comes into my life study, and they've been at each other's throats so long, they don't even remember what the argument was about... find something to do together... I think in America, where we've been engaged in these culture wars, we've got to remind ourselves that at the end of the day, we all live in this house." [25:08]
[26:30 - 35:03]
“If that is the main complaint about Democrats—that we're kind of, you know, bossy and judgmental and not salt of the earth—this guy completely blows all of that up.” – Jessica Tarlov [27:15]
“Republicans are just lapping us in the bumper sticker wars... everything that they stand for, we know what it is and it fits nicely on, you know, like, one side of your car.” – Jessica Tarlov [30:34]
This episode maintains a centrist, pragmatic tone, balancing earnest belief in political process (particularly from Warnock) with the frustration and impatience of “raging moderates” (Galloway and Tarlov). It’s conversational but urgent—mixing policy wonkery with personal narrative, and always circling back to the communication gap: why are Democrats losing the “bumper sticker wars” in a time of crisis?
Summary prepared for readers seeking a nuanced yet engaging overview of the episode’s central themes and most insightful exchanges.