A Beginner’s Guide to Tech Policy (Part 1)
What to read, what to listen to, and who to follow.
In 2019 I left my engineering position at Cards Against Humanity for a tech policy fellowship in Congress. I ended up working within Speaker Pelosi’s office as a TechCongress 2020 Congressional Innovation Fellow, guiding tech policy legislation in the House, negotiating COVID Relief bills, and informing the Speaker on all things tech. Since leaving the Speaker’s office, I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can share the knowledge I’ve accumulated with the beginners in the tech policy space. Many outside of the tech policy community have asked me how to get involved, how to learn more, or how to successfully effect change. My hope is to share all that I’ve learned about tech policy and Congress to those who seek to influence it for good.
These blog posts are for anyone who is interested in tech policy, but doesn’t know how to get started. Part 1 (this post) will tell you what you should read, podcasts to check out, and who to follow on Twitter. Part 2 (coming soon) will talk about the different ways to join the tech policy world, and will answer questions about law school, fellowships, and more. Part 3 (coming soon) will talk through how to communicate with and influence Congress. These will be living documents to give guidance to those who seek to enter into this world- again, my hope is to provide all of the resources you need to get started.
First, let’s talk about Twitter.
Twitter is where much of the tech policy discourse happens. It’s also where Congress gets instant information on a day-to-day basis. Following the right people in tech policy will keep you informed on the happenings of the policy world and expose you to some of the same information also seen by Congress.
I’ve started a few Tech Policy Twitter Lists:
- Tech Policy — This list is a general hodgepodge of tech policy folks — reporters, publications, lawyers, researchers, tech-interested members of Congress, etc.
- Tech Policy Reporters — A list of tech policy reporters with prominent publications such as Politico, NYT, WaPo, Protocol, Axios, etc.
- Congress + Tech Policy — Members of Congress and Committees working specifically in tech policy.
- Tech Policy Publications — A list of publications or organizations that cover tech policy.
Second, Podcasts.
This three hour long podcast with Tom Kalil (ex-Deputy Director for Policy at the OSTP under Obama) helped me think a lot about how to be effective within the federal government.
Some podcasts to regularly listen to include:
- The Vergecast — Posted weekly. Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn talk through tech news (with some episodes on hardware)
- Recode Daily
- Source Code — By Protocol
- Pivot — Kara Swisher and NYU Professor Scott Galloway candidly talk about tech, politics and business.
Daily podcasts that help keep up with government (not always covering tech, but a good start to your day):
- The Daily — By The New York Times
- POLITICO Playbook Daily Briefing
Third, Newsletters.
Newsletters are the fastest way to capture the most important daily tech policy news. I usually check these every morning at minimum. A few of my favorites include:
- POLITICO Morning Tech — The most important newsletter of the bunch as it is read by the majority of tech staffers every day at 10am.
- POLITICO Huddle
- Platformer by Casey Newton
- Benton Headlines — Compiles lists of prominent news articles related to telecom and tech- a great daily source of information, especially for broadband.
- The Technology 202 by The Washington Post
- Axios Login
- CyberScoop
- 202 from POPVOX — Things happening on the hill and in DC
Other notable things to check out:
- TechCongress posts tech policy events each week
- The first book I ever read about Congress was Henry Waxman’s The Waxman Report- this taught me a ton about how it all really works on the inside.
- Though this Tech Policy Proposal Tracking tool will be out of date rather quickly (it’s only for 2020), this is a fast way to learn about Members who have written tech policy legislation within the 116th Congress (from 2019 — early 2021).
Again, these lists are here to help you dip your toe into different tech policy areas and to keep you informed about conversations happening in Congress. There may very well be a Part 4 that breaks down who to read per particular topic area, but for now, this is where we’ll start.
This is a living document. Twitter lists will also be updated regularly. If you have questions or any other contributions to these lists, please email vhoued@gmail.com.
Victoria Houed is currently building a tech policy team called Plaintext Group at Schmidt Futures. She was a TechCongress 2020 Congressional Innovation Fellow, serving with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The opinions within this and future posts do not reflect the opinions of Schmidt Futures or Speaker Pelosi.
