January 6, 2025 marked two grim occasions: the four year anniversary of Donald Trump inciting his followers to take over the U.S. Capitol and the present-day Congress certifying Trump’s 2.0’s presidential election victory.

This week, Katelyn, Christine, and special guest Meredith Shiner compare and contrast their experiences as congressional reporters on Capitol Hill. Meredith, a communications consultant and journalist, is the preeminent critic of the insurrection that aired live and what she calls the “polite coup”—the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential victory. Biden and the Democrats abdication of their responsibility to any timely or enduring accountability and the mainstream media’s passivity, exacerbated by consolidation under their billionaire owners, are recurring topics. But the discussion does not get mired in cynicism. This episode’s energy is what we all must hold on to heading into next week’s second Trump inauguration, and whatever comes after.

Links:

• Follow Meredith Shiner on Bluesky
  


• Meredith Shiner for The New Republic: The Capitol Riot Killed “Both Sides” Journalism
  


• Katelyn Burns for Rewire News Group: Lawmakers Who Survived Sexual Assault Demand Halt to Kavanaugh Hearings
  


• Follow HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery—a great Washingtion reporter—on Bluesky
  


• Alexander Mallin for ABC News: Where the Jan. 6 Capitol attack investigation stands, by the numbers: DOJ
  


• Chris Canipe and Jason Lange for Reuters: The Republicans who voted to overturn the election
  


• Ben Jacobs for The Guardian: 'This needs to stop': Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs' statement to court
  


• Claire Wang for NBC News: Behind the viral photo of Rep. Andy Kim cleaning up at midnight after riots
  


• Hyunsu Yim and Ju-min Park for Reuters: South Korean investigators question arrested President Yoon in insurrection probe
  

Greg Owen for LGBTQ Nation: Trans & wildly popular “Oprah of China” suddenly blackballed by Chinese government

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