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Left In The Attic

Left In The Attic

By: Left In The Attic
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Left in the Attic is a Colorado born podcast where two friends, Ana and Deep, discuss politics, power, community, and big life transitions while filming in an actual attic in Denver. Expect local and national headline debriefs, organizing stories, the chaos of life transitions (Ana in a career pivot & dating in Denver, Deep having a newborn), and guests who are doing the work in communities.

If you are politically heartbroken but still hungry for hope, this podcast is for you.

Meet Your Hosts
Ana Mitchell, Ph.D., is a former CDC scientist who was swept up in federal cuts and is now reinventing herself as a civic coach and creator. After a decade reducing disparities in health and education, she’s building Civically Fit to make civic engagement accessible, authentic, and sustainable. A proud Latina and Colorado native, Ana is focused on helping people build community and power through everyday civic action. According to Deep, Ana has a dating life that could probably be its own podcast segment.

Deep Singh Badhesha is an attorney, political strategist, and government affairs professional with over a decade of experience shaping political campaigns and policy in Colorado. A former public school math teacher, Colorado Supreme Court clerk, and senior policy analyst, he now works across campaigns, ballot initiatives, and legislative fights. He’s South Asian, a new dad, and a longtime organizer who believes community—not saviors—will rebuild the Left. He also has way too many hot takes on everything stemming from food and sports to politics.

Links:
Website: www.LeftInTheAttic.com
Instagram: @leftintheatticpod
TikTok: @left.in.the.attic
Email: LeftInTheAtticPod@gmail.com
Voicemail: (303) 416-2846

Left In The Attic Political Science Politics & Government
Episodes
  • LITA 21: Western Colorado Held Ransom: Alex Kelloff on CD-3, Public Lands, Healthcare and Affordability.

    LITA 21: Western Colorado Held Ransom: Alex Kelloff on CD-3, Public Lands, Healthcare and Affordability.
    Jun 23 2026

    Ana and Deep head "west and south" to break down Colorado's 3rd Congressional District, the largest and most overlooked race on the June 30 ballot. They're joined by Democratic candidate Alex Kelloff, whose family roots in the district go back 130 years. The episode walks through CD-3's wild political saga and what Kelloff is actually hearing at the doors after 13 months of grassroots campaigning. They name the Tina Peters water hostage deal, FEMA's no-show in Meeker, rural hospital closures from the Big Ugly Bill, data centers straining Western Slope water, the 5-1 Garfield County vote against an ICE detention facility, and the Hope Scheppelman bribe that proves Trump will invent fake government jobs to bend a primary his way. Ballots due 7pm June 30. (This episode was taped on June 5th)

    Alex Kelloff’s website: https://alexkelloff.com/

    Colorado Where to Vote: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/VIP.html

    Timeline:

    • Monday, June 8 - Last day for voters to change party affiliation; ballots mailed out and 24-hour drop boxes open

    • Monday, June 15 - Voter Service and Polling Centers open

    • Monday, June 22 - Last day to mail your ballot back and ensure it arrives on time; last day to request a replacement ballot be mailed to you

    • Tuesday, June 30 - Election Day; ballots must be in possession of the Clerk & Recorder by 7 p.m.

    00:00 Western Colorado Held Ransom

    00:23 Road Trip Playlists And Big Head Todd

    01:35 Campaign Life On The Road

    02:38 Rentell Sponsor Read

    03:26 Meet Alex Kelloff

    04:16 130 Years In The District

    06:39 The CD-3 Saga: Boebert, Frisch, And Hurd

    12:17 53,000 Square Miles And 51% Unaffiliated

    14:28 What Voters Are Saying At The Doors

    16:31 Project 2025 Comes For Public Lands

    18:06 The Tina Peters Water Hostage Deal

    19:32 The Polis Commutation Question

    20:43 Punishing Colorado From Washington

    21:02 Meeker Burned. FEMA Never Came.

    21:47 Gas Prices And The Iran War

    23:01 Colorado Water Law, Explained

    25:31 Data Centers Are A Water Problem

    27:03 Rural Hospitals After The Big Ugly Bill

    29:14 The Case For Universal Healthcare

    30:48 Tariffs, Iran, And What Congress Can Fix Now

    33:58 The 5-1 Garfield County Vote

    35:43 Immigrant Communities And The Latino Vote

    37:23 13 Months In, A Last-Minute Opponent

    40:13 The Hope Scheppelman Bribe

    43:04 Vote By June 30

    45:22 Outro And Subscribe

    Meet Your Hosts

    Ana Mitchell, Ph.D., is a former CDC scientist who was swept up in federal cuts and is now reinventing herself as a civic coach and creator. After a decade reducing disparities in health and education, she’s building Civically Fit (see civicallyfit.org) to make civic engagement accessible, authentic, and sustainable. A proud Latina and Colorado native, Ana is focused on helping people build community and power through everyday civic action.

    Deep Singh Badhesha is an attorney, political strategist, and government affairs professional with over a decade of experience shaping political campaigns and policy in Colorado. A former public school math teacher, Colorado Supreme Court clerk, and senior policy analyst, he now works across campaigns, ballot initiatives, and legislative fights. He’s South Asian, a new dad, and a longtime organizer who believes community—not saviors—will rebuild the Left. He also has way too many hot takes on everything stemming from food and sports to politics.

    Links:

    Website: www.LeftInTheAttic.com

    Instagram: @leftintheatticpod

    TikTok: @left.in.the.attic

    Email: LeftInTheAtticPod@gmail.com

    Voicemail: (303) 416-2846
    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
  • LITA 20: Melat Kiros Returns! June 30th Primary Updates & the new wave of politics

    LITA 20: Melat Kiros Returns! June 30th Primary Updates & the new wave of politics
    Jun 15 2026
    Ana and Deep are joined for the first time by a repeat guest: Melat Kiros, the 29-year-old progressive organizer running against 30-year incumbent Diana DeGette in Colorado's 1st Congressional District. The conversation comes 18 days before the June 30 primary, which in safe-blue Denver is functionally the general election. Melat lays out the issues hitting hardest at the doors (ICE, data centers and privacy, anti-corruption), explains how her grassroots campaign moved from "no chance" to neck-and-neck in the betting markets, and walks through the Montana Plan, a ballot measure that could end corporate personhood and crack Citizens United open at the state level. Ana and Deep also cover the basics every Colorado voter needs to know before June 30: unaffiliated voters get both ballots but can only return one, and same-day registration is allowed. The episode ends with a hard call to action: vote, tell five friends, and get out canvassing.NOTE: This episode was taped in early June before the events of the Hasan Piker rally so that’s why it’s not mentioned. Denver Where to Vote: https://www.denvergov.org/Maps/map/electionservicesColorado Where to Vote: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/VIP.htmlTimeline:Monday, June 8 - Last day for voters to change party affiliation; ballots mailed out and 24-hour drop boxes openMonday, June 15 - Voter Service and Polling Centers openMonday, June 22 - Last day to mail your ballot back and ensure it arrives on time; last day to request a replacement ballot be mailed to youTuesday, June 30 - Election Day; ballots must be in possession of the Clerk & Recorder by 7 p.m.Phil Weiser & Javier Mabrey on bringing the Montana Plan to Colorado to overturn Citizen’s United: https://www.denverpost.com/2025/12/10/citizens-united-colorado-solution-big-money-out-politics00:00 Medicare For All Or Bust00:34 21 Days To The Primary01:19 Rentell Sponsor Read02:24 Welcome Back, Melat03:45 Colorado Voting 10106:10 Turnout And Same-Day Registration07:46 Taking On The DeGette Machine10:18 Lessons From An Underestimated Campaign13:52 What Voters Bring Up At The Doors16:16 Citizens United, Explained21:03 The Montana Plan22:56 Ending Corporate Personhood23:33 The National Progressive Wave24:58 Justice Democrats And The Strategy27:06 Why Denver Has To Lead28:28 Bipartisanship Is Strangled By Money31:11 The Doorstep Wake-Up Call33:39 Progressive Policy Is The Pragmatic Choice35:43 Bridging The Generational Divide40:26 Class War And The Stakes Ahead44:44 Vote. Tell Five Friends.45:32 Door-Knocking As Community Power47:23 Outro And Manifestation Meet Your HostsAna Mitchell, Ph.D., is a former CDC scientist who was swept up in federal cuts and is now reinventing herself as a civic coach and creator. After a decade reducing disparities in health and education, she’s building Civically Fit (see civicallyfit.org) to make civic engagement accessible, authentic, and sustainable. A proud Latina and Colorado native, Ana is focused on helping people build community and power through everyday civic action. Deep Singh Badhesha is an attorney, political strategist, and government affairs professional with over a decade of experience shaping political campaigns and policy in Colorado. A former public school math teacher, Colorado Supreme Court clerk, and senior policy analyst, he now works across campaigns, ballot initiatives, and legislative fights. He’s South Asian, a new dad, and a longtime organizer who believes community—not saviors—will rebuild the Left. He also has way too many hot takes on everything stemming from food and sports to politics. Links:Website: www.LeftInTheAttic.comInstagram: @leftintheatticpodTikTok: @left.in.the.atticEmail: LeftInTheAtticPod@gmail.comVoicemail: (303) 416-2846
    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
  • LITA 19: Organizing Against ICE in Colorado with Tim Hernandez

    LITA 19: Organizing Against ICE in Colorado with Tim Hernandez
    May 21 2026

    Deep and Ana welcome former state representative, Chicano Studies professor, and longtime Chicano organizer Tim Hernandez into the attic for one of LITA's most direct conversations yet about working class politics, immigrant rights, and what actually keeps people safe when ICE shows up. Tim walks through his political awakening, his vacancy committee election as the youngest Colorado state representative in 180 years, the October 7 confrontation that went viral, and the dark money campaign that took his seat. They go deep on Colorado's Rapid Response Network, why ICE is already here every day (not coming someday), how to become a confirmer, and the case Tim makes for abolishing both ICE and citizenship itself. They break down Advance Colorado's Initiative 95, the ballot measure that would force local agencies to hand people over to ICE and roll back twenty years of immigrant protections, and unpack the petition canvasser conversation Ana had outside the rec center that captured exactly how the right is selling this.

    Mentioned in this episode:

    Colorado Rapid Response Network (call 1-844-864-8341 to report ICE activity, register for confirmer trainings): https://coloradorapidresponsenetwork.com

    Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition (CIRC): https://coloradoimmigrant.org and https://www.instagram.com/co_immigrant/

    Casa de Paz: https://casadepazcolorado.org and https://www.instagram.com/casadepazco/

    COLOR Latina: https://www.colorlatina.org and https://www.instagram.com/color_latina/

    Melat Kiros for Congress (LITA 6): https://open.spotify.com/episode/6LKCEtMGQ9YtYzH6qQgU53?si=Z0YVhCuJQyWz061YdEAJEQ

    Melat Kiros on Hasan Piker Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCS63veWFHg

    00:24 Show Intro and Guest

    00:57 California Rally Recap

    01:58 Who Is Hasan Piker

    05:30 Digital Organizing Power

    06:15 Puerto Rico

    10:12 Rentell Sponsor Break

    11:15 Meet Tim Hernandez

    12:14 Tim Origin Story

    14:41 From DACA Protest to DC

    17:55 DPS Walkouts and Electoral Leap

    21:21 Ceasefire Fallout and Wins

    25:43 Dark Money Primary Defeat

    28:32 Life After the Legislature

    29:38 Politics Shaped by Struggle

    30:21 Why Representation Matters

    31:21 Democracy for Sale

    32:35 Identity vs Class Politics

    35:41 Organizer Not Activist

    36:10 ICE in Colorado Daily

    39:40 Rapid Response Hotline

    42:15 How Confirmers Work

    45:05 Organize Your Neighborhood

    45:55 Initiative 95 Threat

    49:41 Abolish ICE Argument

    54:34 Vote No and Spread Word

    57:40 Wrap Up and Outro

    Meet Your Hosts

    Ana Mitchell, Ph.D., is a former CDC scientist who was swept up in federal cuts and is now reinventing herself as a civic coach and creator. After a decade reducing disparities in health and education, she’s building Civically Fit (see civicallyfit.org) to make civic engagement accessible, authentic, and sustainable. A proud Latina and Colorado native, Ana is focused on helping people build community and power through everyday civic action.

    Deep Singh Badhesha is an attorney, political strategist, and government affairs professional with over a decade of experience shaping political campaigns and policy in Colorado. A former public school math teacher, Colorado Supreme Court clerk, and senior policy analyst, he now works across campaigns, ballot initiatives, and legislative fights. He’s South Asian, a new dad, and a longtime organizer who believes community—not saviors—will rebuild the Left. He also has way too many hot takes on everything stemming from food and sports to politics.

    Links:

    Website: www.LeftInTheAttic.com

    Instagram: @leftintheatticpod

    TikTok: @left.in.the.attic

    Email: LeftInTheAtticPod@gmail.com

    Voicemail: (303) 416-2846
    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
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