Ep.29 / Daniel Sqaudron & Melissa Walker, The States Project
Building a Grass Roots Movement From The States Up:
National politics gets all the glamour, but state legislatures hold all the power. In this episode of Professional Jealousy, host Natasha Jakubowski breaks down the mechanics of movement-building with Daniel Squadron, former NY State Senator and author of The Fourth Branch, and Melissa Walker, a former young adult author turned activist. Together, they pull back the curtain on The States Project, an organization that inverted traditional top-down political structures into a hyper-effective grassroots engine.
Discover how they use the "Giving Circle" model to turn fundraising from an intimidating chore into a simple, community-driven math problem, and how narrative-first communication can explain complex political infrastructure to spark real, systemic change.
Key Themes
The Power Asymmetry - State legislative races cost a fraction of national campaigns but dictate foundational policies like voting rights, judicial fallouts, and district lines.
The Giving Circle Model - Transforming high-anxiety political giving into a community-centric, decentralized experience akin to a local book club.
Storytelling Over Jargon - Moving away from dry policy briefs toward simple, relatable narratives that offer agency rather than existential dread.
Daniel had two fun answers for who he was professionally jealous of: Bruce Springsteen and Jon Krakauer (author of Into the Wild), as they spend their lives doing things that seems like an incredible amount of fun. But the more serious answer was Paul Weyrich, the late conservative activist. Even though Weyrich's right-wing political views were completely opposite to his own, Daniel deeply admired his ability to build generational infrastructure. Melissa was professionally jealous of Stacey Abrams because of her rare ability to balance high-stakes movement building with creative output as she is an inspiring political activist and organizer, as well as a writer of thrillers and romance books.
Timestamps
00:07 – Introduction: Natasha introduces Daniel Squadron and Melissa Walker.
01:20 – The Elevator Pitch: Why the right wing was winning the state-level ecosystem.
03:26 – From YA Novels to Political Action: Melissa's realization of the state-level power gap.
05:25 – The 4-Step Playbook: How The States Project strategically targets and supports races.
07:16 – Proof of Concept: Changing the margins in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
09:42 – Demystifying Fundraising: The mechanics of Giving Circles and "One K at a Time".
11:34 – The Drivers of Dread: Reclaiming personal agency over kitchen-table issues.
15:11 – The Political Text Trap: Escaping the national observer mindset.
18:12 – Gamifying Giving: Equal votes, community building, and fighting campaign spam.
22:48 – Inverting the System: Branding and organizational advice for national movements.
26:18 – Ownership & Identity: Catchphrases that drive decentralized brand loyalty.
31:42 – Finding the "Why": Dropping out of college, operating bars, and working for Chuck Schumer.
34:22 – The Superpower of Simplification: Translating complex realities into delightful insights.
44:47 – Quick Fire: Best/worst career advice and overcoming the fear of rocking the boat.
47:35 – Professional Jealousy: Stacey Abrams, John Krakauer, and building lasting institutions.
Check out https: https://statesproject.org/
Find Daniel Sqaudron’s new book The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union:
https://statesproject.org/fourthbranch/
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