In this episode - one week before the federal election - we talk to Kos Samaras. Samaras had a long career as a Labor strategist - particularly in running campaigns for the Victorian party - before founding the political consultancy firm RedBridge in 2020. He's one of the big thinkers in Australian politics, who grew up in a blue collar Labor family, and is now sometimes critical of Labor for what he sees as the neglect of its heartland voters. Samaras is one of many voices featured in this week's cover story - Battle for the battlers - about the challenges facing social democratic parties around the world (including Australia), written by the host of our conversation today, Good Weekend senior writer Gay Alcorn.