Words To Win By
Words To Win By* takes listeners on a journey around the globe with renowned communications researcher and campaign advisor Anat Shenker-Osorio as she unpacks real-world narrative shifts that led to real-world victories. *Formerly called Brave New Words
Episodes
In 2012, the Fight for $15 and a Union launched, catalyzing a mass movement of low wage working people that helped raise wages across the country and plant the seed for today's resurgence of the power of working people in union. In this episode, hear how the Fight for $15 and a Union got folks across the country to walk out despite the precarity of their jobs and clapped back at the standard divide and distract tactics of the oppos...
Voters consistently rank the economy as their top issue. And despite the fact that Democratic administrations routinely deliver far better economic outcomes, voters credit Republicans with better handling of the economy over Democrats. In this episode, we delve into what it means to manage the economy well, what’s behind voters’ distrust of Democrats on economic matters, and research-backed solutions to reframe this debate on our t...
In 2022, Brazilians faced a match-up between far-right incumbent, Jair Bolsonaro, aka ‘Trump of the Tropics’, and progressive Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. In the end, Lula triumphed by a fraction of a percent. That hard fought victory was thanks in no small part to youth voters and the campaign that increased their participation by 47%. Listen in on how organizers unleashed the power of BTS fandom, democracy trainings, celebrity endo...
Costa Rica is an international icon in all things environmental, and mitigating climate change is no exception. But when Rodrigo Chaves Robles assumed the presidency in 2022, he put this policy into peril. Savvy strategists and campaigners have flexed the power of Costa Rican identity and dedication to conservation to get businesses, activists and policymakers to work together to keep Costa Rica “libre de perforación” or free of pe...
In 2022, Ireland granted legal status to undocumented immigrants who had been in the country for at least four years. This landmark achievement was ten years of fearless undocumented leadership and constant campaigning in the making. Thanks to the courageous coming out of undocumented leaders, supported and sustained by Migrant Right Centre Ireland, the Justice for Undocumented Campaign rewrote the rules and led the government to g...
In the 2022 Midterms, Americans defied polling, pundits and precedent to stave off the predicted Republican “Red Wave” takeover. Despite significant challenges, Democrats were able to hold the Senate, minimize House losses, and flip or retain key battleground state legislatures and governorships. In this episode, we delve into why conventional wisdom about politics doesn’t just miss the mark, but actively impedes what we must do to...
We’re back again with Season 3 of Words to Win By. We head to Brazil where young people sealed the deal to oust Bolsonaro and bring Lula back to power, unpack how Democrats won across battlegrounds in the 2022 US Midterm, consider what comes in Costa Rica’s fight to ban fossil fuel extraction and trace how undocumented immigrants in Ireland won legal status. And we offer a two-part episode on messaging about the economy - unveiling...
Starting in 2019, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocates began an ambitious two year effort to flip the script on sovereignty, self-determination and justice for First Nations. Now, after comprehensive communications training and robust messaging research, campaigners are making new gains on land rights and tackling damage to the climate.
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In 2020, Georgia selected a Democrat for president for the first time since 1992. But the organizers who made this happen, having registered 800,000 new voters, had an arguably more daunting task ahead: winning two Senate runoff elections two months later. With unwavering commitment to Black, Latino and Asian American communities, organizers deployed best practices in voter mobilization across mediums to win both races and flip the...
A las 4 de la mañana del 30 de diciembre del 2020, mientras las multitudes estaban reunidas al frente del Congreso esperando el voto final, Argentina legalizó el aborto. Se hicieron realidad las expectativas y se validó el trabajo arduo de las organizadoras y abogadas, políticos y proveedores de atención médica, líderes feministas veteranas y activistas adolescentes recientemente comprometidas.
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At 4 a.m. on December 30th 2020, as crowds gathered in front of Congress awaiting the final vote, Argentina legalized abortion. This realized the hopes and validated the hard work of organizers and lawyers, politicians and medical providers, veteran feminist leaders and newly engaged teenage activists.
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As we witness today’s rightwing attacks on our public schools, we consider what the 2018 educator strikes can teach us about formulating an effective response. This movement to secure better healthcare, classroom funding, and more equitable pay ignited in states you might not expect: West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Arizona. And from there, it took off and delivered wins across the nation.
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In 2020, a steadfast crew of veteran organizers and activists propelled José Horacio Rodríguez from obscurity to win a seat in Congress with the most votes of any candidate from his constituency in the Dominican Republic. Battling entrenched parties in a corrupt system of pay-to-play politics, José Horacio’s campaign unleashed the power of the positive under the banner ‘Buena Política,’ Good Politics.
En el 2020, un grupo tenaz de organizadores y activistas veteranos propulsaron a José Horacio Rodríguez desde la oscuridad hasta ganar un escaño en el Congreso, con más votos que ningún otro candidato de su circunscripción en el distrito central en la República Dominicana. Combatiendo partidos arraigados en un sistema corrupto de recibir pago para jugar a la política, la campaña de José Horacio desencadenó el poder de lo positivo b...
While many Americans looked on in disbelief as Donald Trump refused to accept the outcome of the 2020 election, others had been reckoning with this scenario for months. Lawyers battled frivolous suits, advocates recruited poll workers, and organizers thwarted efforts to toss out ballots.A far less visible effort was also underway: armed with nightly empirical testing, messaging experts and artists provided narrative guidance and vi...
In 2016, fresh off dual victories in a referendum criminalizing immigrants and a parliamentary election that brought them nearly 30% of seats, the far-right Swiss People’s Party seemed destined to pass a second enforcement initiative to strip Swiss residents with foreign passports of any due process rights. With opposition parties and major human rights groups leery of taking on a campaign they considered a lost cause, the newly fo...
In 2020, all eyes were on Wisconsin, a state that paved Trump’s way to the White House when he won there in 2016 by just 0.77% of the vote. This time around, organizers and strategists both from within the Democratic Party and the grassroots, bested the right-wing playbook with persuasive and mobilizing messages that ensured Biden his victory with an even closer margin of 0.63%.
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On season 2 of Words to Win By, we're going from Switzerland to Arizona and from the Dominican Republic to West Virginia to unpack some of the fiercest fights - and biggest come-from-behind victories - for progressives. For each of these stories, we examine the words, tactics and strategies needed to take on entrenched parties and defy expectations to win. Season 2 premieres November 9th.
In the U.S., the battle over drug prices is heating up to confront corporate greed and pay-to-play politics. We examine how audacious organizing and morally-centered messaging proved victorious decades ago and holds promise for building a movement to liberate us from living at pharma’s mercy.
In 2017, despite voter attitudes indicating the conservative National Party would retain control of the government, Jacinda Ardern became Prime Minister of New Zealand. We look at how she and the Labour Party defied certain campaigning conventions to deliver an unexpected win that made her the world’s youngest woman head of state.
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