Wonks and War Rooms

Elizabeth Dubois
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Wonks and War Rooms

Where political communication theory meets on the ground strategy. Host, Professor Elizabeth Dubois, picks a political communication theory, explains it to a practitioner, and then they have a chat about whether or not it makes sense at all out in the world of politics and communications. She chats with political staffers, journalists, comms experts, lobbyists, activists and other political actors. Elizabeth quizzes them on pol comm theory and they tell her how ridiculous (or super helpful) that theory actually is.

  1. NOV 13

    Newsletters in a High-Choice Media Environment with Nick Taylor-Vaisey

    In this episode, Elizabeth talks to Nick Taylor-Vaisey, a journalist for Politico who works on the Ottawa Playbook, a free daily morning newsletter decoding Canadian politics. Nick and Elizabeth discuss the role of newsletters in curating information in a high-choice media environment and the way journalism has adapted to becoming digital. They discuss newsletters as a form of political information sharing and how this type of media can facilitate a direct relationship between author and read...

    32 min

  2. NOV 6

    Foreign Interference at the Nomination Level with Conner Coles

    In this episode, Elizabeth is joined by Conner Coles, a former lobbyist with experience working in and around politics, including during the political party candidate nomination process. Conner walks us through the issue of foreign interference in nomination races , how a lack of federal oversight in these contests exacerbates the problem, and the impact this can have on our democratic systems. Conner and Elizabeth dive into examples of foreign interference through news and government reports...

    32 min

  3. OCT 30

    Astroturfing with Patrícia Campos Mello

    In this episode, Elizabeth interviews Brazilian journalist and columnist Patrícia Campos Mello, who first exposed the illegal use of WhatsApp mass messaging in Brazil's 2018 presidential elections. Together, they examine how politically motivated groups orchestrate fake grassroots movements—known as astroturfing—to manipulate public opinion and influence media coverage. Patrícia shares Brazilian examples to highlight the evolution of these tactics, from mass messaging operations to highly coo...

    29 min

  4. OCT 23

    Theory of Planned Behaviour with Melanie Paradis

    In this episode, Elizabeth Dubois chats with Melanie Paradis, President of Texture Communications, to dissect the theory of planned behaviour and its application in political communication. With Melanie’s extensive background in political strategy and public relations, and her roles on high-profile political campaigns, this discussion explores how psychological principles underpin effective political messaging and voter engagement strategies.Additional Resources: Elizabeth relies on The ...

    33 min

  5. OCT 17

    Elections and Our Digital Media Ecosystem

    Wonks and War Rooms is kicking off season 7 with all things elections! With 73 elections worldwide, 2024 is being called a “global elections supercycle”. Elizabeth introduces the headlining topics listeners can get excited to learn about this season, including the theory of planned behaviour, astroturfing, foreign interference at the nomination level, and election laws. Elizabeth also talks about the land acknowledgement you hear at the end of each WWR episode, she explains how Wonks an...

    5 min

  6. APR 10

    Season 6 Episode 10: AI and Democracy with Seher Shafiq

    This week Elizabeth talks with Seher Shafiq, a program manager at the Mozilla Foundation and expert in civic engagement, particularly in the context of elections and engaging marginalized people in the vote. They discuss how AI is impacting Canadian elections, civic engagement, and democracy. They look at helpful and not so helpful uses of AI tools in elections and chat about ways these tools could be used to increase voter engagement. Seher concludes the episode with suggestions for how we c...

    34 min

  7. APR 3

    Counter-speech as Content Moderation with Kesa White

    In this episode Elizabeth discusses the idea of counter-speech as content moderation with far right extremist researcher, Kesa White. Kesa describes her work on “dog-whistling,” talks about how counter speech can be helpful but doesn’t solve the problem of hate speech online, and explains some of the challenges tech companies face with content moderation. Drawing on her own experience with hate-speech she emphasizes how important it is for us to keep being “in the know” about social media and...

    35 min

  8. MAR 27

    Collective vs Connective Action with Michael Redhead Champagne

    This week Elizabeth talks with Michael Redhead Champagne, a community organizer in Winnipeg working to dismantle harmful systems and build better ones through Indigenous practices and knowledge. They discuss collective and connective action logics, and the importance of creating networks of people to promote and sustain change. Michael talks about building a spider web or network to help advance change, highlighting how essential fostering social connections is for pushing for political chang...

    40 min
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Trailers

About

Where political communication theory meets on the ground strategy. Host, Professor Elizabeth Dubois, picks a political communication theory, explains it to a practitioner, and then they have a chat about whether or not it makes sense at all out in the world of politics and communications. She chats with political staffers, journalists, comms experts, lobbyists, activists and other political actors. Elizabeth quizzes them on pol comm theory and they tell her how ridiculous (or super helpful) that theory actually is.

Information

  • Creator
    Elizabeth Dubois
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2024
  • Episodes
    69
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2024 Wonks and War Rooms
  • Show Website
    Wonks and War Rooms

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