The Suburban Women Problem

Today’s episode is all about money! What is the debt ceiling? Why does it matter? Why is poverty such an issue in America? And what can we do about it? Amanda, our resident economist, explains the debt ceiling, the deal that was just reached, how we're underinvesting in our communities, and why women know more about the economy than they think they do. We’re joined by Shereen Boyer, a mom in Ohio who’s worked in finance for ov...

This week, we’re celebrating libraries! Not only do librarians help kids (and adults) find the books they need, libraries are a vital “third space” in our communities. They provide resources and information, they promote inclusivity, and they’re a place where we can spend time with one another. Our hosts are joined by Carrie Wardzinski, a librarian and mom in Pennsylvania, who shares why she was drawn to the profession and what we ...

This week, we did something we’ve never done before: we recorded a live episode in front of our listeners! It was so fun to celebrate our 100th episode with Heather Cox Richardson, some special Troublemakers, women from Red Wine & Blue, and most importantly… all of you!

Our lovely hosts - Rachel Vindman, Jasmine Clark, and Amanda Weinstein - shared some reflections about imposter syndrome, all the conversations we’ve h...

We’re not gonna sugarcoat it - this week, we’re mad. We’re mad that every episode, there’s a new mass shooting to discuss, like some horrible version of Groundhog Day. We’re mad that politicians, even Democratic ones, don’t seem to be taking any action to fix it. We’re mad that a few extremist parents have been controlling the narrative and taking away books, lessons, and conversations from mainstream moms… like the ones who host t...

“America is a melting pot” gets said a lot. But that implies that we’re all melting down our differences and becoming the same thing. Instead, we might think of America as a salad: many different cultures, all existing together in the same bowl. Our diversity is our strength, and that’s what we’re celebrating today.

Our Troublemaker of the day is Erika Marquardt, a high school student in Ohio who helped plan her school’s d...

We all want to do our part to change the world, and little changes add up. But sometimes we get inspired to pivot and make a big change… and that’s what today’s episode is all about!

After a dive into the news (seriously, how is there so much breaking news every week?), Amanda, Jasmine, and Rachel are joined by Jill Jonassen. Jill creates videos and hosts Twitter Lives for Red Wine & Blue, but she didn’t always work i...

April is Earth Month, which makes this the perfect time to talk about the environment and climate change. Justice and democracy are so important, and we can’t stop talking about them, but at the end of the day, we all need a planet to live on if we want that justice and democracy to thrive. So this week, Rachel and Jasmine are joined by guest host Malynda Hale to discuss the news, climate change, and why talking to our friends – an...

Today, we're talking about hunger and school lunch. Right wing extremists want to distract us, but what’s more damaging to a kid’s health and education... the gender of one of their friends, or going hungry?  Free school lunches are so important to make sure that students are fed, healthy, and ready to learn. Feeding kids shouldn't be a partisan issue - in fact, as Jasmine says, it should be a no-brainer.

So this...

Today Jo Carducci is filling in for Rachel Vindman. In this episode, Jo, Jasmine, and Amanda chat about how right-wing extremists are trying to distract us and exhaust us. Whether it’s refusing to focus on anything but the trans identity of the recent school shooter in Nashville, or pretending that a children’s book about Rosa Parks is “pushing Critical Race Theory on kids,” we can’t let our focus waver from the things that really ...

Last week, a House Judiciary Committee held a hearing called “Free Speech: The Biden Administration’s Chilling of Parents’ Fundamental Rights,” with conservative speakers from Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education. But where were the moms who support diversity? And what about the students themselves? Where were their voices? With yet another tragic school shooting this week, we have to ask ourselves… when will we listen ...

We’ve been talking a lot lately about all the dangerous bills and bans that extremists have been pushing. And like we always say, one of the best ways we can fight these things is by having honest conversations. Our friends or family or neighbors might be on the fence about some of these issues, and by talking to them, we just might change some hearts and minds.

We’re joined by Crystal Lett, a mom in Ohio who’s gone on an ...

This year alone, over 400 bills have been introduced to block transgender people from receiving basic healthcare, education, and the right to publicly exist. These bills not only harm individual trans people, they’re also an attack on our freedom and our democracy. Just like with reproductive rights, it all comes down to extremist politicians inserting themselves into a conversation that should be between a person and their doctor....

On today's episode, we're celebrating Women's History Month! Of course we celebrate women every single week on the pod, but this week, we wanted to take a closer look at the political power of moms. We’re joined by North Carolina organizer Tonya Martin, who’s filling in for Jasmine this week while she’s hard at work in the Georgia legislature.

We’re joined by Kate Duffy, a mom in Wisconsin who started a gro...

One Trump-appointed judge in Texas is likely about to ban an abortion pill used by millions of Americans. And the ban won’t just affect women in Texas… it’ll affect all of us across the country, even in blue states. The ruling was expected to be released as early as Friday the 24th, so we wanted to make sure we talked today about this case and why it’s so important. This isn’t the first attack on our reproductive freedoms, and it w...

We’ve been talking about right-wing extremists' push for “parents’ rights” all year and there are so many ways that manifests: banning books, banning sex ed classes, banning rainbow flags in the classroom... and another thing they don’t want our kids learning about is race. This week we’re discussing equity in education, and in particular what school boards can do about it.

The hosts are joined by Maya Guy, who was el...

Note: This episode was recorded before the news broke about Monday’s shooting at Michigan State University. But despite that, we talk extensively about gun violence in this episode, because any conversation about mental health, particularly the mental health of young people, necessarily includes discussing gun violence. 

The news has felt even harder than usual lately, between the earthquake in Turkey, the train disaster ...

Jess McIntosh is filling in for Amanda Weinstein this week as we do another deep dive on Gen Z. This week, we’re focusing on an issue that has unfortunately galvanized and inspired so many Gen Z activists: gun violence. As young people have watched adults fail to take action on gun violence prevention, they’ve stepped up and led the way themselves. They’re not held back by decorum or politeness; they’re taking action without asking...

Suburban women are an important voting block and we made a big difference in last year’s midterms. But we’re not alone: Gen Z also played a key role in the midterms, changing the narrative that “young people don’t vote.” We’re so happy to band together with Gen Z to defeat right-wing extremism. So that’s what we’re talking about this week: young people. The hosts even share what they were like when they were young!

We&apos...

We’re not afraid to tackle any topic on this podcast, and this week that topic is drag. It’s a new year, but right-wing extremists keep reading from the same old playbook, trying to find boogeymen to scare us… especially suburban women. Armed right-wing extremists have been showing up to protest drag storytime events, which seems far more traumatizing for a child than a princess reading them a book could ever be. So much for the pa...