A Couple Thinks Podcast

About A Couple Thinks Podcast

Think along with Lisa and Aaron, as we try to make sense of a messy world—with clarity, compassion, and a dash of humor. acouplethinks.substack.com (https://acouplethinks.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Lisa & Aaron try to make sense of a messy world

Category

news · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

5 Jan 2025

Latest episode

4 Aug 2026

Latest episodes

83 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   4 Aug 2026

   Less Podcasting; More Doing

   In this episode of A Couple Thinks, we have a little news of our own: we’re taking a break from our weekly podcast schedule for the next few months. After a lovely birthday getaway — complete with Bodega Bay, a Point Reyes cheese tasting, Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and, surprisingly, a birthday dinner at In-N-Out — we spent some time thinking about how we want to use our time between now and the November midterms. And we decided we want a little more of it available for doing. We may pop back into your podcast feed when there’s something we really want to talk about. But in the meantime, we’re freeing up our weekends for canvassing, conversations, voter outreach, and whatever other actions capture our attention for midterms impact. Here are a few of the things we’ll be doing and we hope you do a few as well! Find an action through Mobilize.Visit Mobilize.us (http://mobilize.us) to find volunteer opportunities, trainings and events happening virtually and near you. The League of Women Voters is holding its Unite and Rise National Day of Action for Voting Rights on August 8, and Indivisible has launched its Hands Off Our Vote (https://indivisible.org/campaigns/our-vote/) election protection effort. Make some calls.5Calls.org (http://5Calls.org) continues to make it easy to find timely issues, contact your representatives and even get a script for what to say. Write some postcards.Postcards to Voters (https://abby.postcardstovoters.org/) is gearing up for election season, including campaigns for down-ballot races like local school boards — a reminder that those local elections matter, too. Make your political donations count.Oath.vote (http://Oath.vote) helps identify competitive races where additional dollars may have an outsized impact. Shop small and local.Because civic engagement isn’t only about elections. Where we spend our money matters, too. Most importantly, pick something. As Aaron says in this episode, if each of us does just one thing to help before the midterms, that adds up to an enormous number of things. And We’ll Still Be Around This isn’t goodbye. You can find all of our previous episodes, transcripts, show notes, and resources right here on Substack. Subscribe for free, and you’ll get an email whenever we can’t resist sharing our two cents and drop a new episode. And if there’s a topic you think is worth breaking our hiatus for, email us at hello@acouplethinks.com (mailto:hello@acouplethinks.com). You can also take our listener survey at survey.acouplethinks.com. Mostly, though, thank you. Thank you for listening, sharing the podcast, sending us notes, supporting the Substack, and thinking through this messy world alongside us for the past year and a half. We’ll be back in your ears. Until then, we’ll be out there doing our part. We hope you’ll find your one thing, too. Get full access to A Couple Thinks at acouplethinks.substack.com/subscribe (https://acouplethinks.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   28 Jul 2026

   Ground Truth

   Most political campaigns wait until the last few months before Election Day to remind only their most likely supporters to vote for them. It’s an efficient strategy, but it also means millions of people never get a knock on the door or a meaningful conversation. In this week’s episode, we explore Ground Truth, a nationwide voter listening project from Swing Left that’s trying something different. Instead of persuading, volunteers begin by listening. After more than 10,000 conversations with voters, including many who traditional Democratic campaigns would have skipped, the project has uncovered some surprising insights. We do a deep dive on the report they realized with their findings from their efforts since their launch in January including: * Why traditional campaign canvassing often overlooks persuadable voters. * What volunteers learned from registered Republicans, independents, and infrequent voters. * Why concerns about character, civility, and authoritarianism matter just as much as the economy for many voters. * How campaigns can use real conversations—not assumptions—to improve both their outreach and their messaging. * Why volunteers describe these conversations as one of the most rewarding forms of political engagement they’ve experienced. One of the biggest takeaways for us is that people are more complicated than their voter registration suggests. A registered Republican may have voted for Obama, Biden, and Harris. Another may be deeply concerned about rising prices but open to supporting the right Democratic candidate. Those nuances never show up if no one takes the time to ask. The information collected can now be shared with campaigns, and they can now knock on more doors and be prepared with accurate messaging for their districts. Whether or not you’re interested in volunteering, we think there’s a broader lesson here. In an era where politics often feels like people talking past one another, genuine curiosity may be one of the most effective, and hopeful tools we have. Resources Mentioned * The Full Report (https://d1h4zokikhjm0v.cloudfront.net/content/2026_swingleft_groundTruth_report_q2.pdf) * Ground Truth (https://ourgroundtruth.org) (Swing Left) * Five Calls (https://5calls.org) * Oath.vote (https://oath.vote) * Mobilize (https://mobilize.us) to search for Swing Left volunteer events * A Couple Thinks survey (https://survey.acouplethinks.com) * Email us: hello@acouplethinks.com Listen for all of the above and our joyful moments too! As always, we’d love to hear what you think. Have you ever canvassed, volunteered, or had a political conversation that changed your perspective? Get full access to A Couple Thinks at acouplethinks.substack.com/subscribe (https://acouplethinks.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   21 Jul 2026

   We Got This

   From protest season to election season. We’re now just over 100 days from the midterm elections, and we’ve got work to do, but we believe if we do the work, ‘we got this!’ For months we’ve talked about calling elected officials, showing up at protests, building local community, and protecting democratic institutions. Those efforts still matter, but this is the moment when our focus begins to shift toward winning elections. This week we start our discussion with Donald Trump’s renewed attacks on election integrity, which aren’t really about relitigating 2020. They’re about laying the groundwork to cast doubt on any Democratic victories this November. Rather than getting pulled into that narrative, we explore why the best response is simple: win by margins that are too large to ignore. We also talk about why history gives us reasons for optimism. Midterm elections have often served as a correction to the party in power, and early indicators suggest that many competitive races are moving in Democrats’ favor. While nothing is guaranteed, there are genuine reasons to believe that engaged voters can make a meaningful difference. We also spend time separating actionable information from the endless stream of political speculation. Fear and worst-case scenarios may generate clicks, but they rarely help us decide what to do next. Instead, we focus on practical ways to get involved now—from organizations like Swing Left and Oath.vote to local volunteer opportunities that can help strengthen democracy in communities across the country. Finally, we remind ourselves why we started A Couple Thinks in the first place: not to amplify every alarming headline, but to help distinguish between noise and action. Democracy isn’t strengthened by doom-scrolling. It’s strengthened by ordinary people deciding to participate. As always, we close with our joyful moments of the week, including a handmade birthday card, reflections on creativity through The Artist’s Way, and a reminder from Rotary that lasting impact is built one act of service at a time. Resources mentioned in this episode * Swing Left (https://swingleft.org/) – Volunteer opportunities, letter writing, canvassing, and strategic races * Oath.vote (https://app.oath.vote/) – Data-driven recommendations for high-impact political donations * Democracy Is a Verb (https://www.facebook.com/democracyisaverb) ( Michelle LaBanca (https://substack.com/profile/155956116-michelle-labanca) ) – Commentary on civic engagement and election processes * A Couple Thinks Survey (http://survey.acouplethinks.com) and email (mailto:hello@acouplethinks.com) The next 100 days matter. We hope you’ll join us—not just by listening, but by taking one small action that helps move democracy forward. Get full access to A Couple Thinks at acouplethinks.substack.com/subscribe (https://acouplethinks.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

9 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

63

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

32

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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