How To Not Lose Your Sh!t

Romance novels are already political, but one that features two campaign staffers and ends with a call for its readers to run for office is *definitely* political. This week, we were joined by Kate Stayman-London, the author of a new book called See You Next Tuesday. She's worked for many campaigns herself, including as lead digital writer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, so she knows the ins and outs of the political world. She also knows about hope. After watching Clinton lose in 2016, and then Harris in 2024, it would be easy to become cynical and jaded. But in politics and in romance, hope is crucial. It keeps us open to new love (whether it's a date or a candidate!) and the possibility that things can get better for ourselves and our communities. Both women candidates and romance novels are too often dismissed by the establishment -- in no small part because they take women out of the passenger seat and into a position to lead the way. So let's keep putting women in the driver's seat! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

On June 13th in Philadelphia, Red Wine & Blue founder Katie Paris did something she'd never done before: give a TED talk. Three months later, her speech on breaking the old D.C. rules about politics is finally available for everyone to watch! Today on the podcast, Katie was joined by her TED coach, Kelly Stoetzel, along with Stacy Kunkel, our Deputy Program Director in PA who was on the ground at TED Democracy. They chatted about imposter syndrome, what it was like being around so many people who are passionate about democracy, and how we can mentally prepare ourselves for the hard work of the midterms. You can watch Katie's TED talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/katie_paris_campaigns_spend_millions_to_influence_voters_this_works_better Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Today we're getting back to our local organizing roots with Karen West, the leader of a Red Wine & Blue Network group in Pennsylvania. She recently held a talent show and raised $2000 for a local charity that helps immigrants and refugees -- which for an organization of their size, means more than their year's operating budget! It would be inspiring enough to see Karen organize a creative event to benefit immigrants in her community, but there's another layer: she was going through a really difficult time in her personal life as her husband was in hospice. Karen cared so much about this fundraiser, it took her sister and an RWB organizer to convince her to postpone the event. And when her group finally held the talent show, of course, it was a rousing success. Let's keep making sure to take care of ourselves and the other "givers" in our lives! We CAN do this work without burning out. On this episode, we also shared good local news about voting rights in Ohio, a judge siding with students over their schools being renamed after Confederate generals, and bipartisan victories over Flock surveillance cameras. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Attacks on voting rights got you down? Tired of feeling like you can’t make a difference on a federal level? Have you considered focusing on… sex ed??? Wait, hear us out! We talked to Jaclyn Friedman and Jenny Steadman from EducateUS this week and it turns out that comprehensive sex education has the power to change everything about our culture and our politics. There’s a reason that authoritarian governments crack down on sex ed. It’s not just about sex — in fact, in the younger grades, it’s... Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

This week, we were joined by Tory Gavito, the president and co-founder of Way To Win — they’re an organization that focuses on multi-racial collaboration to win elections. In fact, this episode itself was a microcosm of how we can win: a Black woman, a Latina woman, and a white woman all chatting together about how we save democracy. Tory talked to us about how we can turn this country around, even in places like Texas where it seems impossible. She also shared how community and creativity ar... Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy