josh klemons on why we need to start earlier

Happy Friday, July 10th! Everyone, say happy birthday to my dad! 🎈

I’M ALSO LOOKING FOR MORE PEOPLE TO DO MINI INTERVIEWS like the one below :) Tips, thoughts, concerns, good jokes, bad jokes, tea, etc?

And finally, if you enjoy this newsletter and want to share it with your network (and/or your chronically online friends), or buy me a matcha, that would be so appreciated 🙏

Today, we have some texts from Josh Klemons, who heads Reverbal Communications and Hello Merge Tag amongst many things (we also used to write the #FYP newsletter together back in 2024!). Enjoy :)

LR: The 2026 primary results thus far have already offered a pretty rich set of lessons about which candidates, messages, and platforms are resonating… and which aren't. What are the top three things you are taking away from all this?

JK: Three things I keep coming back to:

LR: What is something that you wish Democrats – or progressives, more broadly – talked about a lot more?

JK: Conservatives invest in their movement on a generational scale. They build infrastructure, they fund media, they think long term. Meanwhile, we're waiting until six weeks before Election Day to turn on our Facebook ads. Then we wonder why we lose.

We need to start earlier. In everything. Not just campaigns — in building the kind of presence and familiarity that makes our candidates and our ideas feel like the obvious choice before the fight even starts. That's the whole premise of the Bedrock Approach, and I think it applies to the progressive movement as much as it does to individual campaigns.

LR: What is the best piece of digital political content – paid or organic – that you've seen this cycle?

JK: Pretty much everything Kat Abughazaleh did throughout her race was exceptional — she understood instinctively the power of content to connect with her audience.

Abdul El-Sayed giving directions to the Senate was adorable.

Liz Warren's graphics breaking down Senate testimony hit hard every single time — clear, shareable, and always on message.

LR: You offer a ton of free resources to digital staffers. On the production side, do you prefer doing a podcast or writing a newsletter more? And why?

JK: I love writing. It's how I got my start in this field, and there's something about putting ideas down on the page that never gets old.

But podcast. No question.

Finding guests, prepping good questions, editing, launching — it's a lot of work. But I get to sit down with some of the smartest people in this space (people like you!) and ask them every question I've been burning to ask. There's nothing else like it.

My podcast is called Hello Merge Tag: where social media and politics intersect. It has genuinely made me better at what I do, and I'm grateful every time I get to hit record. If folks want to check it out, they can find the pod at HelloMergeTag.com.

LR: If you could snap your fingers and create your dream social media platform right now, what would it look like and how would it work?

JK: Twitter pre-Musk?
But honestly, I had a vision years ago for a social platform built specifically for the left — a space where progressive organizers, candidates, advocates, and everyday people could connect, share, and build without fighting for attention against rage bait and bad faith actors. I had a whole road map and everything. But I’m not the guy who’s gonna build it, and I was busy working campaigns. So it never went anywhere.

Interestingly, in a lot of ways, Substack built what I had sketched out. A subscription-based, creator-forward platform where ideas actually have room to breathe. Sadly, they've decided to monetize some pretty awful people, so it's not quite perfect. But it has potential if any cool billionaires want to buy it, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

In May, McGonigle signed up to attend an event in Bangor, Maine, where Vance was scheduled to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to fight healthcare fraud. Keith Sonderling, the acting labor secretary, also attended the event. Court documents state that after registering and waiting in line outside the Bangor airport, McGonigle was identified by name by armed Secret Service officers, denied entry to the event, and told: “We know where you stand.” (The Guardian, 7/8)

President Donald Trump fired all three remaining members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, abruptly disabling the only federal agency devoted solely to election administration at a moment when Trump has sought to reshape federal voting rules. (VoteBeat, 6/9)

The U.S. has imposed trade embargoes on countries before, including on Cuba and North Korea, but it requires a declaration of a national emergency and evidence that the country facing the embargo poses an “unusual or extraordinary threat” to U.S. interests. If challenged in court, it would be hard for the administration to demonstrate that Spain, a NATO treaty ally, represents such a threat. (POLITICO, 7/8)

Hunt has since resigned as executive director of the advocacy organization Gen-Z for Change and started Reckoning Action, a political organization with the goal of ending misogyny in places of power. Fodor is an adviser to the group, as are some of Swalwell’s accusers. Hunt said the group’s goals are to change sexual harassment laws and raise enough money to build a robust network of legal aid and other support services for victims. (SF Standard, 7/7)

A shocking amount of the content that users encounter on popular social media websites is likely AI generated, according to data from a company that detects AI writing. As much as 41 percent of longform written content seen by users on LinkedIn is likely to be fully AI-generated and roughly a third of longer posts on X are AI-generated; roughly one-in-ten longer Reddit and Substack posts are AI, according to the data. (404 Media, 7/9)

The $1.5tn social media platform has been advancing a new hardware line of smart glasses that would continuously record audio while taking photos every few seconds, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. A user could then use AI to help query what they saw or heard, or recall their day. (FT, 7/8 – free version)

Now, every image seems to require an entire slideshow to complement it. One scroll through my feed, and roughly 3 out of 4 posts are carousels. If you want to share a ’fit pic, it apparently needs to coincide with a quirky storefront, a dish at the hottest new restaurant, a blurry cocktail, a screenshot of a funny text, and at least one meme that proves you’re plugged into pop culture. Photo dumps are meant to look random — the visual representation of being carefree. Ironically, though, they’ve become the most labor-intensive way to post. (Bustle, 7/8)

A recent survey conducted by a marketing research firm in New York reveals that today's movie audiences, particularly younger viewers, prefer shorter films. According to the Talker Research survey, adults on average favor movies that are about 88 minutes long. The survey results show a variance in preferences based on age groups. Gen Z viewers, for instance, prefer films to be around 82 minutes, while Baby Boomers are comfortable with movies lasting up to 93 minutes. (iHeartRadio, 7/9)

To bolster engagement, executives at the company have recently discussed adding live channels that would continuously stream certain programs, or shows and films from a certain genre, according to people familiar with the matter. The company has also explored bundling other subscription-based streaming services, including NBCUniversal’s Peacock, into its offering. (WSJ gift link, 7/9)

Today the company is the undisputed global market leader, shipping four billion containers of highly perishable fruit across 60 countries each year. (The company developed its signature hinged, ventilated plastic clamshell in the 1990s.) According to Circana, a market research firm, Driscoll’s is now the second-highest-earning brand in American supermarkets, behind only Coca-Cola. (NYT gift link, 7/7)

The annual ranking assesses 173 cities worldwide across stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure to identify those offering the highest quality of life. Vienna, Melbourne, Sydney and Zurich rounded out this year's top five, reflecting both Europe's enduring dominance and Australia's continued strong showing. (BBC, 7/7)

The hot-or-nots going into this weekend:

HOT:

NOT

That’s all for now – I’ll see you next week!