How to Win Elections in the Attention Economy

Galaxy Brain

The Atlantic

Technology

4.5 • 1.2K Ratings

🗓️ 5 June 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How do you build a winning campaign for the era of AI? In the aftermath of the 2024 race, Democrats have been struggling to adapt to the new logic of the attention economy. On this episode of “Galaxy Brain,” Rob Flaherty, deputy campaign manager for Kamala Harris’s campaign, joins Charlie Warzel to talk about what went wrong and how Democrats need to embrace a new theory of attention. They discuss AI’s collision course with electoral politics ahead of the midterms and how to identify candidates who can use the internet to their advantage. Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Join me, Grant Hill, for a deeper look at what it means to be a thought leader today.
0:05.1	Watch the Drive to Lead, a new series from Range Rover and Atlantic Rethink at theatlantic.com
0:11.2	slash drive to lead.
0:16.0	Attention all passengers.
0:18.3	The Uber ride for Mark and Jamal's romantic weekend will depart in four minutes
0:23.0	from Platform 6. Your ride comes with a rolling countryside sunset view and a table seat,
0:29.3	ideal for playing footsie beneath. Thank you for booking your tickets on Uber.
0:36.3	Trains on Uber. Trains on Uber.
0:46.3	Digital content is how people consume the brand of your campaign.
0:50.7	And I think people in politics traditionally, establishment politics, missed that all the time.
0:59.8	I'm Charlie Warzel, and this is Galaxy Brain, a show where today we're going to talk about how to win elections in the attention economy.
1:02.3	In the aftermath of the 2024 election during their online victory lap, right-wing
1:07.2	influencers started repeating the same phrase.
1:10.1	You are the media.
1:11.8	Quote, the legacy media is dead.
1:13.4	Hollywood is done.
1:14.7	Truth-telling is in.
1:16.2	No more complaining about the media.
1:18.4	That's what the right-wing activist James O'Keefe posted shortly after the election.
1:22.0	A lot of this was just gloating.
1:23.8	But behind it is the truth that the media dynamics of the 2024 race were just different.
1:29.3	Influencers and podcasts played this outsized role in directing the conversation, arguably more than traditional media did.
	...

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