Join us for Salon de Résistance on January 29th at Black Iris for a conversation about the national crisis with three of Virginia’s Congressional candidates.
Welcome back to Salon de Résistance. We’ve not had a slow start to 2026. There’s been no grace period, no easing into the year. The pace of events has been intense, the stakes are real, and our ability to stay focused is being overwhelmed by ICE raids and murders, invasions of foreign countries, provocations against our allies, a runaway affordability crisis, targeting of political enemies, and media capitulation to billionaire interests, all under the cover of an authoritarian project.
It’s happening in real-time, but it’s also clarifying. The choices being made right now are going to shape the next generation of life in Virginia and America. And with Governor Spanberger’s bold new agenda, we’re about to be at the center of whatever comes next.
That’s why for our first salon of 2026, we’ve invited three congressional candidates to talk through the news cycle. What they’re seeing in their communities, what they’re hearing from their constituents, and what the next-generation of congressional leaders should do to protect an America that many of us no longer recognize.
This will be a raw and unfiltered conversation, focusing on the flashpoints they’ve identified and what these events mean for Virginia as we move in the direction of midterms: for policy, community safety, civil rights, and how we hold power accountable when democracy is increasingly under threat from the authoritarian project.
We’ll also talk through how to stay oriented as the information space gets flooded with misinformation, disinformation, bots, and monetized trolls—and how to navigate a legacy media ecosystem that’s drifted away from the public trust, toward state narratives and the economic interests of the billionaires who own them.
We need to talk about it
Salon de Résistance is honored to host three of Virginia’s rising policy voices to help us make sense of what’s happening in Virginia and America: Salaam Bhatti, a public-interest lawyer at the Virginia Poverty Law Center running in the 1st District; Adam Dunigan, a former Marine and CIA case officer running in the 8th; and Lisa Vedernikova Khanna, a former chief of staff at The New York Times and the Democratic National Committee, and a recent candidate in the 1st District.
Together, we’ll tackle the national crisis and the most pressing political issues of 2026 to see how informed citizens can better understand the challenges facing us as we go to the polls in November.
Our guests
Salaam Bhatti is a public interest lawyer and candidate for Congress in Virginia’s 1st District. A child of immigrants, he grew up relying on programs like WIC and free school meals. He spent nearly a decade at the Virginia Poverty Law Center, where he helped expand SNAP access for more than 25,000 families, secure free school meals for tens of thousands of children, increase cash assistance, and push the repeal of unjust laws. He also helped develop a SNAP screening tool that has since assisted millions of families nationwide in accessing more than $100 million in benefits.
Lisa Vedernikova Khanna recently ran for Congress in VA-01, because she believes the American Dream is worth fighting for. The daughter of a single mother who fled Soviet Russia in search of freedom, Lisa grew up watching her mom work tirelessly through years of uncertainty as an undocumented immigrant. In just one generation, Lisa worked her way out of poverty, proving that access to opportunity, hard work, and a strong community can change the course of a life. She has served as a Chief of Staff to The New York Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger, the Democratic National Committee, and Instacart. She now lives in Chesterfield, Virginia, with her husband, Harry, where she serves on the local Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) board and previously led the Metro Richmond Area Young Democrats as President.
Adam Dunigan is a former Marine and CIA case officer running in Virginia’s 8th Congressional District. Raised in a military family in California, he enlisted in the Marines at 18 and spent 17 years in government service, including a combat deployment to Afghanistan, before moving to Virginia to work in foreign policy and national security. He’s now running on his 8 for 8 agenda, centered on building affordability, restoring accountability, and defending democracy—arguing there’s never been a more critical need for change in congressional leadership to ensure what’s happening now, can never happen again.
Your Host
Landon Shroder, is the co-publisher and editor-at-large of RVA Magazine; he is also a foreign policy professional, journalist, and filmmaker whose career has spanned more than twenty years across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe in the energy, defense, and security sectors. A former producer and journalist for VICE, he has also written extensively on conflict, culture, and politics for outlets including Fair Observer, War on the Rocks, World Policy Journal, Chatham House, and of course, RVA Magazine.
THE SALON
Salon de Résistance unfolds in three movements: a convergence to begin, a conversation to spark, and a reflection to carry the ideas forward.
6:00pm: Convergence
Drinks and shared conversation, set to vinyl flips.
7:00–8:30pm: Conversation
A live interview then opening into questions and exchange with the room.
8:30pm: Reflection
Space to connect with our guests, develop perspectives, and imagine what comes next.
PAST SALON DE RESISTANCE
- SALON DE RÉSISTANCE | THE SHAPE OF MUSIC TO COME
- RECAP | SALON DE RÉSISTANCE: CAN MUSIC SURVIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE?
- SALON DE RÉSISTANCE | BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRACY
- SALON DE RÉSISTANCE | THE DEATH OF SCIENCE IN AMERICA?
- SALON DE RÉSISTANCE | A LIVE INTERVIEW SERIES FROM RVA MAG
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