The PoliticsGirl Podcast

The Wisconsin Supreme Court election on April 4th is THE most important election of 2023. This election will decide everything from if abortion is outlawed in the state, to if the gerrymander that has turned Wisconsin into a one party state is allowed to stand, to whether this ultimate swing state is allowed to send electors to Washington who didn’t win the popular vote, potentially swinging the 2024 Presidential Election to Republicans even if the Democrats win. Democracy itself is literally on the line with this election, not just in Wisconsin but for the entire nation. To get you fired up and passionate about this game changing moment in time, I’m talking to Ben Wikler, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin who not only knows everything about Wisconsin politics, but he knows how to win even when it seems the game is rigged against him. If you want to live in a country with a functioning democracy, there is nothing more important for you to be paying attention to right now that this one special election. Guest social:https://wisdems.org/ActBlue for the Election:wisdems.org/donatewisdems.org/volunteerTwitter: @WisDems@benwiklerMastodon: mastodon.cloud/@benwiklerPost: post.news/benwiklerPlease RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward! All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirlThank you to today’s sponsors!www.lomi.com/politicsgirl Code: PoliticsGirl

Today we are joined by National Climate Advisor, Ali Zaidi, who leads the White House Climate Policy Office to talk about all the positive climate initiatives we can look forward to thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act. This legislation isn’t one step forward, it’s a giant leap into the future, and not just good for the planet, but good for our pocketbooks. For too long people have believed that the choice comes down to the planet OR the economy, but that’s not the case. Helping the environment, securing our future on this planet, can also be an absolute boon to our country's financial health, and it sets America once again on the path to be a world leader in innovation and opportunity. As we discover in this conversation, the story of the climate doesn’t have to be one of doom & gloom, but can really be one of possibility & hope. As Ali says, “This isn’t theoretical. The IRA matters IRL.” It’s not just policy. It’s our future. Guest social:White House: https://www.whitehouse.gov/Twitter: @alizaidi46Please RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward!All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirlThank you to today’s sponsors!www.athleticgreens.com/politicsgirl

Today we are joined by American political journalist and author, David Corn. David is the Washington DC bureau chief for Mother Jones Magazine, a major cable news commentator, analyst for MSNBC, and best-selling author of a slew of books about American politics including the one we’ll be discussing today “American Psychosis: A Historical Investigation of How the Republican Party Went Crazy”. According to David’s research, the insanity currently going on with the GOP is not so much a departure from the norms, as a logical conclusion of an established pattern. Since the 1950’s, the Republicans have knowingly encouraged and exploited extremism, bigotry, and paranoia to retain or gain power. As one review put it, “American Psychosis is a sobering look at the ideological destruction, born of cynicism and opportunism, of a once principled party.”Guest social:David Corn Books: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=david+corn+books&i=audible&crid=1K6H03Z77Z53C&sprefix=david+corn+book%2Caudible%2C145&ref=nb_sb_noss_2Our Land Newsletter: https://www.motherjones.com/topics/our-land/Twitter: @DavidCornDCPlease RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward! All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl Thank you to today’s sponsors!www.littlespoon.com Promo Code: PoliticsGirl

We are joined today by Dahlia Lithwick, the brilliant award winning journalist who’s been writing about the Supreme Court for over 20 years, to get her take on where this increasingly compromised court is taking us and what we can do if we don’t want to go. Author of “Lady Justice: Women, the Law and the Battle to Save America” Lithwick reminds us that for every big name hero we hope will save us, there are 100 unnamed people working behind the scenes making a difference, and we can be one of them. It’s tempting to see everything through the lens of politics in America, but we also have to look at it through the lens of the law, of organization and of inspiration. The Supreme Court clearly needs reform, our electoral system needs reimagining, our voting rights require protection, and everyone should choosing something to focus on to make it happen. Guest social:Lady Justice: https://www.amazon.com/Lady-Justice-Women-Battle-America/dp/0525561382Slate: https://slate.com/author/dahlia-lithwickTwitter: @DahlialithwickPlease RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward! All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl Thank you to today’s sponsors!www.greenchef.com/politicsgirl60 Promo Code: PoliticsGirl60

Author of “White Evangelical Racism: The Politics of Morality in America” Professor Anthea Butler is one of the foremost experts on Christian nationalism. We discuss how evangelical racism, propelled by the benefits of whiteness, is attempting to take over our government and our country. That Christianity is being systematically weaponized in a quest for power and control, and that Christian nationalism, the kind we see in places like Hungary, with its top down control and “traditional values”, is not only on the rise in America but already in positions of the highest power. This conversation is a reminder for all of us, who believe in a true multi-cultural, pluralistic democracy with freedom and justice for ALL, that we must insist on the separation of church and state and recognize that without our efforts, we will end up losing a war we didn’t even know we were in.Guest social:White Evangelical Racism Book: https://bookshop.org/p/books/white-evangelical-racism-the-politics-of-morality-in-america-anthea-butler/15267034?ean=9781469661179Twitter: @AntheaButlerPlease RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward! All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl Thank you to today’s sponsors!www.lomi.com/politicsgirl Promo Code: PoliticsGirlwww.littlespoon.com Promo Code: PoliticsGirl

It’s hard not to be cynical about American politics and the American experiment with all that’s going on, but the truth of the matter is we have tremendous leadership right now. The country is doing extremely well. Legislation that became law over the past two years is set to become tangible reality in the next two. Yes, we are looking at an increasingly undemocratic Republican Party who can’t even compromise with itself long enough to get their speaker elected, but we’re also looking at competent, fresh new leadership to counter them, along with new factories, new jobs, new infrastructure. We’re looking at lower drug prices and major corporations paying taxes for the first time. We’re going to have universal broadband for all our citizens, gun legislation and climate protections. Yes, it’ll be an uphill battle to fight back these authoritarian extremists, especially since they now have power, but that’s just hard, not impossible, and with the right leadership and the right attitude, I think we got this. Guest social:Website: https://www.whitehouse.gov/Twitter: @PressSecPlease RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward! All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl Thank you to today’s sponsors!www.athleticgreens.com/PoliticsGirlwww.thrivecausemetics.com/politicsgirl

This is our last episode before the break, and I can’t imagine closing out the year without a dedicated conversation about democracy, so today’s pod is a Candid Conversation with democracy’s super lawyer Marc Elias. Marc is an American Democratic Party elections lawyer who served as general counsel for the Hillary Clinton and John Kerry presidential campaigns, and is the founder of the Elias Law Group who oversaw the state by state response to the 60+ Trump campaign lawsuits contesting the 2020 presidential election, where he won all but one minor case, which was later overturned in his favor. It is Marc and the Elias Group who, as the Republicans and their allies turn their attention to using litigation as a weapon against democracy, have been at the front line fighting back. This is a wonderful and inspiring episode with a wonderful and inspiring man. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Holidays! See you in the New Year!Guest social:Websites: https://www.elias.law/https://www.democracydocket.com/New Podcast: Defending DemocracyAvailable anywhere you get your pods https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/goodbye-2022-hello-2023/id1660317917?i=1000590439797Twitter: @marceelias@DemocracyDocketPlease RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward! All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl Thank you to today’s sponsors!www.athleticgreens.com/PoliticsGirlwww.Bombas.com/PoliticsGirl Promo code: PoliticsGirlwww.TryMiracle.com/politicsgirlIf You Laugh, I’m Starting this Book Overhttps://www.amazon.com/Laugh-Starting-This-Book-Over/dp/0316424889/ref=sr_1_1?crid=9J1Y4G0IGRWD&keywords=if+you+laugh+i'm+starting+this+book+over&qid=1671472287&sprefix=If+you+lau,aps,260&sr=8-1

As we go into the holiday season, join me and the amazing Dr. Allison Gill, founder and CEO of MSW Media as we discuss where we are in America right now, so we’re able to go into our seasonal gatherings armed with the facts. Allison is the host of the, now infamous, Mueller She Wrote podcast, which broke down the minutia of the Mueller investigation and ended up getting her fired from her job at the Department of Veteran Affairs because the truth made President Trump mad. She’s the co-host of Cleanup on Aisle 45, where she and Andrew Torrez report on the Justice Department & Intelligence Agencies as they rebuild after the damage caused by the Trump Administration. She’s the host of the Daily Beans, the amazing daily news podcast, and her newest show Jack just launched, where she and former Deputy Director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe, document the actions of the new special council Jack Smith and his ongoing DOJ investigations into Trump’s many crimes. Allison is one of those people who knows everything about everything, and I thought she was the perfect person to give us all a little perspective and insight as we come to the end of the year. Guest social:Website: https://mswmedia.com/Podcast: The Daily Beanshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily-beans/id1473747182Clean Up on Aisle 45https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily-beans/id1473747182Jackhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jack/id1317481380Mueller She Wrote: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily-beans/id1473747182Twitter: @MuellerSheWrote@allisongill@dailybeanspodPlease RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward! All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl Thank you to today’s sponsors!www.athleticgreens.com/PoliticsGirlwww.nutrafol.com Promo code: PoliticsGirlwww.thrivecausemetics.com/politicsgirlwww.uncommongoods.com/politicsgirl

Join me and brilliant Georgetown history professor, author of Democracy Americana and host of the ’Is This Democracy’ podcast as we discuss where democracy is in America post the 2022 midterms. The Declaration of Independence might talk about a country where all men are created equal, but if we’re honest with ourselves, that’s not what everyone wants. History tells us there are those, an entire party in fact, who’d prefer to have a certain group in charge and know they don’t need the majority to achieve it. They simply need to convince enough people in the center that their worldview is better than what the left is offering and we could find ourselves in permanent minority rule. The truth of the matter is, our country is incredibly divided, and it’s up to us, every single one of us, to decide which way we want to go. There’s no middle ground left, no more excuses to be made, people must choose. Guest social:Website: https://gufaculty360.georgetown.edu/s/contact/0033600001q9V3MAAU/thomas-zimmerPodcast: Is This Democracyhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/is-this-democracy/id1652741954Substack: Democracy Americanahttps://thomaszimmer.substack.com/Twitter: @tzimmer_historyPlease RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward!All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl Thank you to today’s sponsors!www.thrivecausemetics.com/politicsgirlwww.bombas.com/politicsgirl Code: PoliticsGirlwww.lomi.com/politicsgirlwww.uncommongoods.com/politicsgirl

Join brilliant political analyst, expert, and author David Rothkopf as we discuss his new book, American Resistance: The Inside Story of How the Deep State Saved the Nation, about how a host of government officials worked together to keep our dangerous, unhinged, ill prepared president, and his enablers, from doing irreparable damage to the US, our allies, and the planet as a whole. There are a lot of unsung heroes of the Trump presidency and many of them are faceless bureaucrats, military, even some civilians, who did everything they could to help preserve democracy during the greatest constitutional crisis the country has faced since the civil war. And now…apparently we’re thinking of doing it all again? What are we thinking?! Let’s find out! Guest social: The Rothkopf Group: https://trgmedia.com Deep State Radio:https://pod.link/1245002955Twitter: @djrothkopfAmazon for books:https://www.amazon.com/David-J.-Rothkopf/e/B001H6O2A0%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_sharePlease RATE and SUBSCRIBE so we can grow the show, open the dialogue, and inspire change moving forward!All show links here!: https://linktr.ee/politicsgirl Don’t forget to send questions via email, video or audio for the ASK PG Episode to: ask@politicsgirl.com Thank you to today’s sponsors!www.athleticgreens.com/politicsgirl