How To Not Lose Your Sh!t

It’s June, which means it’s Pride Month! Whether we’re standing up for birth control, libraries, diversity and inclusion, or trans rights, it’s all the same fight against extremism. Right-wing leaders like Ron DeSantis might try banning rainbow lights on bridges this month by calling it “Freedom Summer,” but what’s more free than a beautiful rainbow?Last week, all but 2 Republican Senators blocked a bill that would protect access to birth control, despite Republicans continuing to insist that they support access. Some, like JD Vance, were too cowardly to even vote - but their silence spoke just as loudly as a No vote. Access to birth control helps prevent abortions, but it’s clear they don’t actually care about that. It’s just about control.Then we’re joined by Vanessa Joy, a trans woman in Ohio who was disqualified from running for the Ohio House of Representatives for not putting her former name on her petition. Vanessa explains why she wanted to run for office in the first place and the “gotcha” law that prevented her candidacy. But she’s not letting this stop her - she’s still a passionate advocate, hosting a podcast called Transcending Humanity and serving as Co-Executive Director of Ohio Equal Rights.Finally, Amanda and Jasmine raise a glass to self-care and great questions from kids in this week's Toast to Joy.If you want to support the LGBTQ community with us this summer, our Pride collection is now available. We have shirts, stickers, buttons, and a new mug perfect for proud moms, members of the LGBTQ community, and anyone who wants to support Pride.And don’t forget to sign up for our Substack newsletter! It’s free and we’d love to hear from you in the comments.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

Whether we’re talking about the devastating consequences of abortion bans or the legitimacy of Trump’s criminal trial, there are too many people in this country who can’t seem to handle the truth. Stories like that of Ryan and Jess Hamilton, who couldn’t get medical care in Texas after a miscarriage, might be difficult to read but that doesn’t make them false. We can only solve problems by facing them head-on, so here on The Suburban Women Problem we want to loudly proclaim that yes, we CAN handle the truth!Gun violence is another issue where we must first confront difficult realities before we can make real change. So this week we’re joined by Sefanie Feldman and Greg Jackson from the new White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. Greg and Stefanie share some wins that they’ve already been able to accomplish and what got them interested in working on this work personally. We also get to hear what it’s like to work with Vice President Harris!Finally, Rachel and Jasmine raise a glass to summer in this week's Toast to Joy.The Senate vote on the Right to Contraception Act is set for Wednesday 6/5. If you want to learn more about the bill, who voted for it (and who didn’t!), and what we can do now, please join us on Tuesday June 11th for an emergency Troublemaker Turnout. You can learn more and RSVP here.And don’t forget to sign up for our Substack newsletter! It’s free and we’d love to hear from you in the comments.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

When we hear news like Nikki Haley changing her tune and endorsing Trump, there’s no denying that politics can feel icky. But we have the power to make our voices heard - not just at the ballot box, but by reaching out to our representatives between elections too. This week, Amanda and Rachel sat down with NPR reporter Sarah McCammon to learn more about her new book The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church. It may be hard to understand how the evangelical church came to support someone like Trump, but Sarah walked us through the connections between evangelicalism and right-wing politics as well as her own journey with the church.Finally, Amanda, Rachel and Jasmine raise a glass to naps, kids growing up, and not waiting until everything is “perfect” in this week's Toast to Joy.On June 5th, the Senate will vote on whether to protect birth control, so it's important that we call our senators and tell them to vote yes to protect our rights. Even if you think your senator is a definite “yes” (or a definite “no”), we need to flood the Senate with calls so they know how much we care about this issue. If you click here, you can be connected to your senators and urge them to do the right thing.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

Mother’s Day may have been last week, but we’re celebrating moms all throughout May in what we call our “month of moms.” And unlike NFL kicker Harrison Butker said at his recent commencement speech, we know women deserve options: to work, to not work, to have kids, to not have kids, and most of all to make those choices for ourselves. No politician – and certainly no football player – should tell American women when, how, or if we want to become moms.But there’s no denying that moms have a special kind of superpower, and this week we’re joined by three moms who prove that every day. Ronna, Diane, and Mandy are all organizers with Red Wine & Blue, and each has been inspired by her kids to go out and change the world. Diane tells us about her publishing company Taylor Made, which she started when she found it difficult to find children’s books with Black characters; Mandy explains how saying “yes” to one school meeting led to years of involvement in her local school system; and Ronna shares how both her transgender child and the son she lost in infancy have inspired her to meaningful activism. As Mandy says, when extremists attack our children, they find out quickly that they’ve messed with the wrong moms!Finally, Amanda, Rachel and Jasmine raise a glass to summer fun, kids growing up, and new challenges in this week's Toast to Joy.If you want to celebrate the Month of Moms, Red Wine & Blue has you covered! You can check out our brand-new shirts, mugs, totes, and stickers, and there are still a few Toast to Joy champagne flutes available too.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

This week, our hosts share stories about how they celebrated Mother's Day. But Republican Katie Britt had another idea about how we can celebrate Mother's Day - with a "mommy database" for the government to track who is pregnant. We'd rather have affordable childcare, universal pre-K, healthcare, or really anything other than giving extremists our reproductive data.Then we're joined by Benjamin Herold, the author of Disillusioned: Five Families and the Unraveling of America's Suburbs. Benjamin shares with us how his hometown of Penn Hills PA inspired him to write a book about how the suburbs are changing. He examines five suburban families throughout the country, including one in Jasmine's home of Gwinnett County, so we have so much to talk about! Rachel says Disillusioned is in her top 5 books of 2024 and we think you'll love it too.Finally, Rachel, Amanda, and Jasmine raise a glass to voting and thoughtful kids on Mother's Day.If you want to make a local impact on your community and connect with badass women in your area who can get stuff done, then Red Wine & Blue's program TroubleNation is exactly what you're looking for! We give you the tools, trainings, and techniques you need to lead the charge in your local community.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

This week we're excited to be joined by the one and only Jen Psaki! Jen isn’t just a former White House Press Secretary, she’s also the host of Inside With Jen Psaki and the author of a new book called Say More: Lessons from Work, the White House, and the World. Jen sat down with Rachel and Jasmine last month to talk about what it was like to work in the White House under Presidents Obama and Biden, how suburban women will affect this year's election, and how there simply aren't two sides to democracy. She also shares the best advice she's ever gotten and her favorite character on The West Wing!Whether we're talking about the fall of Roe, Trump's authoritarian comments in TIME Magazine, or Republicans in Congress voting against cancer research so they don't give Biden a "win," we have to remember the stakes of this year's election. Things may feel difficult and divisive right now, but there's one crucial thing that unites us: democracy. If you’re looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift for your mom (or any awesome woman in your life), Red Wine & Blue has you covered! You can check out our brand-new shirts, mugs, totes, and stickers, and there are still a few Toast to Joy champagne flutes available too. Or you can donate to the Arizona Freedom Trust in honor of a mom in your life.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

Amanda’s back this week and we’re so happy to have the gang all back together again. We’re less happy about the news… from Republican governor Kristi Noem killing her family’s puppy to the Supreme Court debating whether hospitals are obligated to save pregnant women’s lives, it’s been a rough week. But it’s not all doom and gloom, because after that, Jasmine shares an inspirational conversation with Jotaka Eaddy. Jotaka is the founder of the movement Win With Black Women, an intergenerational group of Black women leaders. She’s also one of the few Black women to be in a C-suite role in Silicon Valley. Jotaka and Jasmine chat about imposter syndrome and why it’s important not to count ourselves out of opportunities, as well as the importance of having Black women leaders in every industry. And bonus, Jotaka passes along some wisdom from her friend Oprah!Finally, Amanda, Rachel and Jasmine raise a glass to our beloved family dogs, Akron Ohio, and voting in every election in this week's Toast to Joy.If you’re looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift for your mom (or any awesome woman in your life), Red Wine & Blue has you covered! You can check out our brand-new shirts, mugs, totes, and stickers, and there are still a few Toast to Joy champagne flutes available too. Or you can donate to the Arizona Freedom Trust in honor of a mom in your life.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

This week, we’re talking about repro. Again. Because somehow politicians and pundits still don’t understand that it’s not just about abortion – although abortion rights are critical. It’s also about birth control, IVF, and all of the other potentially life-saving procedures that are on the chopping block this year. Some of us may have been surprised when Roe v Wade was overturned but we refuse to be surprised again. We can’t stop talking to everyone we know about it in this pivotal election year.Then we’re joined by Asha Dahya, a storyteller, TEDx speaker, and producer of a new documentary about later abortion called Someone You Know. Asha shares what she learned about later abortions while working on the film, including the outsized effect that Catholic hospitals have on the availability of reproductive care in this country. As a former conservative evangelical, Asha has been on a journey and she's a great example of the power of personal stories to change minds.Finally, Rachel and Jasmine raise a glass to the Ukraine aid bill passing and to being chosen as a Biden delegate in this week's Toast to Joy.If you want to learn more about Project 2025 and what you can do, we encourage you to check out our explainer page here.And don’t forget to sign up for our Substack newsletter! It’s free and we’d love to hear from you in the comments.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

*Content warning: pregnancy loss*The Suburban Women Problem is back! We've missed catching up about the news and sharing our conversations with amazing guests, so we're so excited to be back with you for Season 5.This week, Red Wine & Blue Founder Katie Paris is filling in for Amanda Weinstein. Katie, Jasmine and Rachel chat about all the news from the past 6 weeks, including some truly disheartening abortion bans in Arizona and Florida, and what Red Wine & Blue is doing to help. It's all about having those personal conversations with your friends, family, neighbors, and yes, hairdressers too.Then Rachel sits down for a deep and heartfelt conversation with Amanda Zurawski. Amanda nearly died when her home state of Texas didn't allow her to get the reproductive healthcare she needed, and now she's the lead plaintiff in a court case against the state of Texas.Finally, Katie, Rachel, and Jasmine raise a glass to campaign volunteers, team sports, and the new Pitbull/Dolly Parton collab in this week's Toast to Joy.Have you heard about Project 2025? It’s the far-right extremists’ vision for America that Donald Trump will implement if he wins a second presidential term. If you want to learn more about Project 2025 so you can spread the word, we invite you to join a virtual event on Thursday, April 18th hosted by the African American Policy Forum. You can learn more and RSVP here.For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

Last month, Heather Cox Richardson appeared live at the City Club of Cleveland to speak about her new book, Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. With her was Katie Paris, the founder of Red Wine & Blue. As Heather reminds us, the past doesn't repeat itself; it rhymes. To understand today's political landscape, we must understand how we got here. This fascinating live chat between Heather and Katie explores the state of our democracy, how we got here, and what we do next.The Suburban Women Problem will be back with regular episodes starting on Wednesday, April 17!For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA