The Brown Girls Guide to Politics

This season, A'shanti is doing a deep dive into Project 2025. The 920 page document represents a vision for government unlike anything we've seen before. In this first episode, A'shanti speaks with Kimberly Atkins Stohr and Dr. Tammy Greer about the authors and vision of Project 2025, and why former President Donald Trump has been quick to distance himself from it. Plus: how its policy proposals would change the way the U.S. govern...

As part of a special season on Project 2025, A'shanti is zooming in on two key states -- Arizona and Florida -- which have served as a model and playbook for conservative education policies. Among these are school vouchers, book bans, and cuts to public school funding. A'shanti is joined by Maria Polletta, an education equity reporter with the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting, and Michi Ceard and Muah Dahn, organizers wit...

In the third episode of a special season on Project 2025, A'shanti is speaking with activists on the frontlines of abortion access and reproductive justice. Since the Dobbs Supreme Court decision, states across the country have adopted a range of limits on abortion and reproductive health care. A'shanti speaks with Regina Davis Moss, the President and CEO of In Our Own Voice; Mia Ives-Rublee, the Director of the Disability Justice ...

As we wrap up our season on Project 2025, A'shanti takes a global look at these policies. With Dr. Frances Colón, the Senior Director for International Climate Policy at the Center for American Progress, and Dr. Dorian Crosby, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Spelman College, A'shanti unpacks how Project 2025's proposals extend far beyond our borders, with implications for climate change, immigration, and a range of o...

In our final episode on third parties, we're doing a deep dive into the role of third party candidates in this year’s critical election. Rahna Epting, the executive director of MoveOn, joins A'shanti to discuss the slate of third party candidates, how they might impact the outcome of the election, and how "the switch" on the Democratic side could impact things. We're laying it all out in this episode, so you have the informat...

In our second conversation about third parties in the 2024 election, we take a look back at successful third-party candidates and the impact they had on our nation's politics. We discuss Ross Perot, Jill Stein, and what makes third parties so alluring with scholar Tammy Greer, a public policy expert from Georgia State University.

Thank you to our partners at Third Way for making this mini season of The Brown Girls Guide to Politics ...

To kick off a conversation about third parties, it’s crucial to get a sense of what voters on the ground are thinking. A swing state like Georgia makes for a particularly compelling case study. Georgia was crucial in President Biden’s victory and in securing the Democratic majority in the Senate — thanks in large part to efforts by voting engagement groups like the New Georgia Project. 

Moving into 2024, A&rsq...

Moving into the 2024 presidential election, voters across the board have been expressing dissatisfaction with the two major parties and an openness to third-party candidates. While a third-party candidate has never won, they have impacted the outcome of presidential elections for decades. This is the Brown Girls Guide to Third Parties. Join A'Shanti for conversations with experts, campaigners, and activists on the ground,...

The midterms were a turning point in the political season, all thanks to voters like you turning out to the polls. In today’s bonus episode, A’shanti sits down with Tamara Wilds Lawson, the Movement, Issue, and Charitable Organizations (MICO) Director at ActBlue. They discuss the midterms, grassroots momentum, and the issues that get people out to vote. 

Thanks to our sponsor ActBlue. 

The Brown Girls Guide to P...

It’s election day: the time to exercise our constitutional right to vote. While it should be simple to cast a ballot, it's often not. And that’s not by accident. The Black vote has never truly been protected, and many states are passing new legislation to actively suppress Black votes. In BGG’s Season 9 finale, A’shanti welcomes back previous guest LaTosha Brown, the co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fun...

Though many view it as an ugly relic of the past, violence against Black and brown folks is still a massive problem in the United States. A’shanti brings on Melanie Campbell, the president and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, to talk about the racial violence epidemic in our country. Much of Melanie’s work centers civil rights and social justice with a focus on building Black political power. ...

Not only is the classroom the gateway to education, it’s also the first place we learn about ourselves. Growing up, so many Black and brown kids learn not just about math and science, but about racism, microaggressions, and the world through the biases kids – and teachers – bring into the classroom. Lately, conservatives have been buzzing with complaints about the books children are being taught and critical race ...

Gun violence is a uniquely American problem that has only gotten worse in recent years. In 2020, there were nearly 50,000 gun related deaths in the United States. However, in June 2022, gun violence prevention advocates saw a victory when President Biden signed into law the first major piece of gun safety legislation that Congress has passed in nearly thirty years. A’shanti sits down to discuss the gun violence epidemic with ...

Immigrants are a huge part of what makes America…America. And in recent months, we’ve seen an increasing number of  immigrants arrive at our southern border, many of them fleeing violence and persecution to claim asylum in the United States. A’shanti speaks with immigration attorney Katherine Ventura of the Capital Area Immigrant Rights (CAIR) Coalition about the complexities of doing her job in a country th...

The economy impacts all of us, but economic issues disproportionately impact Black and brown women. In this episode, A’shanti speaks with organizer Hope Wollensack, who is the founding Executive Director of the Georgia Resilience and Opportunity (GRO) Fund, an organization that advances solutions to racial and economic injustice. In their conversation, A’shanti and Hope discuss universal basic income, break down the rac...

Youth climate activist Nalleli Cobo grew up in South Central Los Angeles across the street from a toxic oil drilling site. From a young age, she experienced headaches, nosebleeds, asthma, body spasms, and at age 19, she was diagnosed with cancer. Alongside her mother, she began attending meetings and going door-to-door to spread information about the dangers of oil extraction and in 2020, she successfully shut down the drilling sit...

The overturning of Roe v. Wade was one of the most sensational events of the year, though not for the better. In the season 9 premiere, A’shanti sits down with Oriaku Njoku, the new executive director for the National Network for Abortion Funds to talk about what’s next following the fall of this landmark decision. They delve into the reasons abortion is healthcare, the importance of Black women’s voices at the fo...

It’s been quite a year for voters. From the overturn of Roe v Wade, to spiking inflation rates, to ever-increasing violence against our communities, the decisions we make at the polls are as important as ever. The Brown Girls Guide to Politics Season 9 is here to steer listeners through the most pressing decisions this election season.

ActBlue’s online fundraising tools make it easy to support the candidates and causes y...

Well, here we are. We're on the other side of what we've been talking about for years. Roe v. Wade has been struck down, and for the first time in our lifetime, abortion is no longer protected.

In our first episode, Kate and Jamia talk to folks who've been living, and working, and surviving, in a state where abortion access has been under fire for years, even before Roe fell -- Kentucky. 

To learn more about the Kentucky Health ...