Political Trade Secrets: Winning Campaigns | Elections | Politics
Political Trade Secrets goes behind the scenes of campaigns, elections, and media strategy to reveal how American politics really works. Join host Dustin Olson as he pulls back the curtain on campaign strategy, political messaging, and voter persuasion—offering insights used by top consultants from both sides of the aisle. Whether you’re a political professional, media strategist, or engaged citizen, you’ll get actionable takeaways on how power, strategy, and communication shape modern politics.
Episodes
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: 📊 PART TWO: Data-Driven Field Strategy: From the 2000 Florida Recount to the 2013 RNC Autopsy
Join host Dustin Olson and guest Chris McNulty—Fmr. RNC Political Director and National Sales Director at In Field Strategies—for part two of their conversation as they pull back the curtain on some of the most consequential behind-the-scenes moments in modern Republican campaign history.
From the chaos of the 2...
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Brand Politics—How Democrats Lost the Working Class & Why Latinos Are the New Soccer Moms
Join host Dustin Olson and Chuck Rocha—Democratic strategist, founder of Solidarity Strategies, former Labor organizer, and leading expert on Latino marketing—as they pull back the curtain on cutting-edge campaign messaging and advertising techniques.
From connecting with minority voters through true cultural com...
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: 📊 PART ONE: Data-Driven Field Strategy: The Mechanics of Winning Elections & The Role Parties Play
Join host Dustin Olson and Chris McNulty—Fmr. Political Director at the RNC and National Sales Director at In Field Strategies—as they pull back the curtain on how Republicans won back the US Senate in 2014, how Ohio transformed from purple to red, and what running campaigns is actually like.
From fiel...
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Controlling the Narrative: What Politics Can Learn From Trial Attorneys | Why would a Democrat say Trump understands commanding attention and shaping narratives better than other politicians?
Join Dustin Olson and Donte Mills—national trial attorney, Temple law professor, and Democrat analyst—as they pull back the curtain on how persuasion actually works in courtrooms, campaigns, and the media—and why co...
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: 👥 Winning with Field Operations: Plus Organizing Presidential Debates, National Conventions, & Ballot Access | How do you knock 2.4 million doors in 10 weeks?
Join Dustin Olson and Ryan Price—Veteran, GOP Strategist, and President of Echo Canyon Consulting—as they pull back the curtain on the real field-organizing mechanics of winning campaigns, from ground game to the biggest stages in politics.
The...
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Can Independents Break the Two-Party System? Join host Dustin Olson as he talks with Todd Achilles—Army veteran, former Idaho state legislator, and Independent U.S. Senate candidate—for a candid conversation on the growing Independent movement and what it might take to break the two-party gridlock in Washington.
From the incentives shaping the political system to the growing overlap between unlikely poli...
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: The Dem They Didn't Know What to Do With—What Really Happens
Inside Southern Democrat Party Politics? Join host Dustin Olson as he sits down with Dr. Aditi Bussells—former Columbia, SC City Council member, Democrat strategist, and healthcare policy expert—for a candid, behind-the-scenes look at the realities of running, governing, and surviving in today’s political system.
From navigating party pressure w...
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Politics in the Age of Algorithms, Tech, & Media Fragmentation—Join host Dustin Olson and Eric Wilson, executive director at the Center for Campaign Innovation, for how these forces are reshaping modern political campaigns. Drawing on years of campaign experience and new research into voter behavior, they unpack why the old campaign playbook needs a system update—and what campaigns must do to adapt.
...
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Raising Up Future Leaders of the Grand Opportunity Party — Join host Dustin Olson for a wide-ranging and candid conversation with New York GOP Committeewoman and Coalition Member of Black Americans for Trump, Scherie Murray!
From the realities of being a Republican candidate in a deep-blue state like NY, to cultivating the next generation of leaders for the GOP, and what the 2026 and 2028 elections might...
🗳 Political Trade Secrets: An exclusive Polling Club Strategy Session, designing our Study of America’s Political Strategists. What do the professionals who actually run campaigns think is coming in 2026 and 2028?
Join Dustin Olson and American Pulse partner Sean Bartley as we build a first-of-its-kind study of political strategists on both sides of the aisle.
This episode captures the real-time process of crafting a national survey...
Political Trade Secrets: Breaking the News: Clicks, Chaos & Censorship—How Business Media Really Works — Join host Dustin Olson for a wide-ranging and candid conversation with legendary business journalist Dennis Kneale, host of the What’s Bugging Me podcast and author of The Leadership Genius of Elon Musk.
A former anchor at CNBC and Fox Business Network, Kneale also held senior editor roles at The Wall Street Journal and Forbe...
Political Trade Secrets: Why Some Veterans Struggle After Leaving the Military—Join host Dustin Olson for a candid and deeply personal conversation with veteran, Purple Heart recipient, and founder at VetClaims.ai Lukas Simianer, as they unpack what really happens when service members leave the military, and why the systems designed to help them so often fail.
From combat injury and homelessness to navigating a six-year VA benefits ...
Political Trade Secrets: Legal Battles Shaping American Politics — Join host Dustin Olson as he sits down with top Republican Constitutional and election law attorney Chris Murray, founder of First & Fourteenth, for a wide-ranging and candid conversation on how the law, politics, and power collide in today’s America.
From immigration enforcement in Minneapolis to redistricting, election-day operations, and more, this episode pul...
🎙️ Political Trade Secrets: Join us for a special holiday episode w/ historic storyteller J. Mark Powell. What can Christmas & New Year's moments in American history teach us about media, persuasion, and strategy?
Stay tuned to find out—from Valley Forge to the modern age, these stories helped forge patriotism and national unity, still shaping how we think today.
📘 Powell’s new book Witness to War is out in February—pre-order n...
Political Trade Secrets: Join us as we explore the surprising history and politics of Thanksgiving—from the Pilgrims and the first feast in 1621, to Lincoln’s proclamation, and FDR's “Franksgiving” folly.
We discuss:
— What the first Thanksgiving was actually like, and how the menu has changed over time
— How presidents, wars, and politics shaped Thanksgiving into the national holiday we know today
— The backstory of Mark's new boo...
Political Trade Secrets: Join us as we break down the most interesting and important 2025 elections across the country: New York City, Virginia, New Jersey, and California—and why they matter for 2026 and beyond. PLUS, who’s winning the Shutdown in polling?
We unpack:
— Which races to watch next week & what they tell us about America’s political future
— How redistricting and political violence are reshaping the map
— Why Democrats...
Political Trade Secrets: Strategy, Polling & the Shutdown Showdown — Join host Dustin Olson for a revealing look at the forces driving Washington’s budget battle, PLUS who's winning the MEME War? PLUS a shake-up in the New York City Mayor's Race (we predicted here) and a look at Mamdani and Cuomo's new ads 😱. And we remember the victims of October 7th, look at how Public Opinion has evolved over two years.
We break down:
— Who’s...
Political Trade Secrets: Inside the Mind of Voters, Jurors, & Consumers —Join host Dustin Olson as he sits down with his favorite Democrat pollster, renowned Focus Group leader, & Courtroom Strategy expert, Carey Crantford for a revealing conversation on how to peel back the onion of public opinion.
We’ll dig into:
💡 The real secret to running world-class focus groups
💡 How top-tier survey research is used in high-stakes cou...
Political Trade Secrets: Crime & The City—Join host Dustin Olson as he analyzes the latest poll from American Pulse Research & Polling, this time focused on the NYC Mayoral Race and insights into voters’ concerns on Crime.
Tune in to find out how Mamdani, Cuomo, and other candidates are shaping up against each other, and how voters’ views on Crime, Cashless Bail, and Defund the Police impact their vote, among other things.
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Join host Dustin Olson for a special LIVE episode of Political Trade Secrets as we unveil exclusive insights from the latest American Pulse poll.
Discover what Americans really think about U.S. airstrikes to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, the prospects for a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, and whether voters connect the border crisis to tensions with Iran.
We’ll break down surprising bipartisan consensus, reveal the newest Trump ...
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