Tom Taft comes from a family with a 200 year history of dedicated public service. Tom wanted to add to that and his own legacy with a run for Congress as a Democrat in PA-01 but had to end his campaign after failing to gather the required number of signatures. Nevertheless, he joins me today to talk about politics in Bucks County’s first congressional district and the race for the Democratic nomination in May for a chance to unseat Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick.

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ALSO LISTEN TO:

• What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us?
• Could Progressive Congressional Candidate Lucia Simonelli Shock PA-01 With a Victory in the May Democratic Primary?

Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music.

Follow us on BlueSky:

• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
• @cmychalejko.bsky.social

Barbara Simmons serves as executive director of The Peace Center, an educational peace and justice non-profit organization in Bucks County. After retiring from the role in 2019 (after 30 years in the position), she came out of retirement in October 2025 to once again lead the organization after it was announced it was planning on closing—something she couldn’t let happen. Barbara spoke with me today to talk about International Women’s Day, what’s new at The Peace Center, and the organizing work around making Bucks County a more just, inclusive, and compassionate community.

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READ:

• Transcript: Barbara Simmons on International Women’s Day and Organizing for Peace in Bucks County
• Bucks County’s Peace Center Isn’t Going Anywhere
• On International Day of Peace, Let’s Pledge to Make Peace a Bigger Part of Our Lives
• Why I Commemorate the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Raising Our Children as Future Leaders in an Era of Book Banning and Attacks on ‘Critical Race Theory’

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• The Radical History of International Women’s Day and the Feminist Movement, with Liza Featherstone
• Radical Independent Media, Feminist Struggles, and International Women’s Day: A View from Latin America, with Dawn Paley
• Peace Activism from Bucks County to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with Barbara Simmons
• Sylvia Pankhurst – Suffragette Socialist and Scourge of Empire, with Dr. Kate Connelly
• The 365 Foundation’s Natalie Venezia on Promoting Women’s Empowerment Through Art, Advocacy, and Community Service
• After Misogyny: How the Law Fails Women and What to Do about It, with Julie C. Suk

Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music.

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• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
• @cmychalejko.bsky.social

An anti-fascist, dystopian YA novel published last week, We Were the Cuckoos Bees, was inspired in large part by Central Bucks School District during a time when Moms for Liberty and right-wing Christian extremists captured the school board in the early part of this decade. This is a story the Bucks County Beacon has reported on in great detail. Today I speak with local author Rich Shifman, who writes YA stories under the pen name, R.B. Shifman, about his new book which he dedicated to local Bucks County residents who helped flip the school board in late 2023 to bring sanity, common sense and compassion back to the school district.

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READ:

• Meet Three of the Neighbors Who United to Defend Public Education in Central Bucks School District
• Moms for Liberty CEO and Co-Founder Tina Descovich Verbally Attacks the Bucks County Beacon at Harrisburg-Area Event
• We Must Continue to Defend the Freedom to Read in Central Bucks School District
• It Takes A Village: Expelling Right-Wing Extremism From Bucks County School Districts

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• Unmasking Moms for Liberty’s Extremism, with Olivia Little and Diana Leygerman
• Raising a Transgender Child in an Increasingly Transphobic Country and School District, with Brett Freeman
• Fighting for Students’ and Teachers’ Rights in Central Bucks School District, with ACLU’s Witold Walczak
• The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart
• Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider on Their New Book ‘The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual’
• The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials

Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music.

Follow us on BlueSky:

• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
• @cmychalejko.bsky.social

Arts and Culture journalism and criticism is thriving in Philly thanks in part to the Broad Street Review - which just received a citation from the Philadelphia City Council in honor of its 20 year anniversary. Two of the people responsible for this publication’s success join me today. Alaina Johns has been editor-in-chief of Broad Street Review since 2018. She is a Philadelphia-based journalist and cultural critic covering our region since 2007. Associate Editor Kyle Hiller is born and raised in West Philadelphia. He practices Restorative Yoga, is a hobbyist DJ, and is the author of the 2016 novel The Recital. They talk about their work and the critical role of arts journalism in today's society.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• Reading George Orwell in Trump’s America, With Laura Beers
• The Normalization of Book Banning in the United States, With PEN America’s Sabrina Baêta
• Solidarity Journalism Can Help the Mainstream Media Restore Public Trust and Strengthen Democracy, with Dr. Anita Varma

Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music.

Follow us on BlueSky:

• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
• @cmychalejko.bsky.social

Tracy Hunt is a husband, father, hardworking attorney, a Business Law Professor at DelVal University, and a Democratic candidate for Congress in PA-01. He joins The Signal to talk about why he recently left the Republican Party, his views on a wide range of policies, and why he believes he can bring pragmatic and effective representation to Washington at a time when it is sorely lacking.

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READ:

• Tracy Hunt: Democracy Is for All of Us, Not Just the Party Insiders

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us?
• Could Progressive Congressional Candidate Lucia Simonelli Shock PA-01 With a Victory in the May Democratic Primary?
• Rob Strickler Wants to Challenge the Status Quo in His Run for Congress in PA-01

Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music.

Follow us on BlueSky:

• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
• @cmychalejko.bsky.social

Lucia Simonelli is an Italian-American whose upbringing instilled a great appreciation for public services such as public education, public transportation, public parks, and more. Born in Landsdale, she has lived, travelled and worked around the globe, before settling down in Quakertown. Politically, she has worked to make change both inside and outside of government, from serving as a scientific advisor in the United States Senate, working on energy and climate policy, to organizing with the Upper Bucks United Indivisible Chapter. Now, she is running in the Democratic congressional primary in May for a chance to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. Could Lucia be PA-01’s AOC?

I’ll be speaking to each of the candidates on this podcast to give listeners a chance to get to know them better.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart

READ:

• Political ‘Outsider’ Rob Strickler Announces Congressional Run in PA-01

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us?

Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music.

Follow us on BlueSky:

• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
• @cmychalejko.bsky.social

On this episode of the signal I welcome Rob Strickler. Rob is a political outsider who is running in the Democratic Party congressional primary in May for a chance to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. We discuss his blue-collar upbringing in Levittown, his political awakening, and why he thinks he is the best person to represent Pennsylvania’s first congressional district.

I’ll be speaking to each of the candidates on this podcast to give listeners a chance to get to know them better.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart

READ:

• Political ‘Outsider’ Rob Strickler Announces Congressional Run in PA-01

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us?

Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music.

Follow us on BlueSky:

• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
• @cmychalejko.bsky.social

Back in December I read an article Laura Beers published in The Conversation where she compared White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s press conference on the so-called truth about the good news of the state of the economy under President Trump’s stewardship to the repeated pronouncements of the Ministry of Plenty in George Orwell’s ‘1984.’ This led me to pick up and read her book Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century. Beers is a professor of British history at American University whose writing has appeared in the New Republic, Washington Post, CNN, among other publications. She joined me today to speak about her book and the enduring value of Orwell's insights for modern society, especially under this new Trump Regime.

Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart

READ:

• Karoline Leavitt’s White House briefing doublethink is straight out of Orwell’s ‘1984’
• Philadelphia Sues Over Trump Administration’s Removal of Slavery Exhibit at Independence National Historical Park
• Pittsburgh Professors Say Research Was Weaponized in Trump’s Higher Education Fight
• AI Is the Next Frontier for Far-Right Extremists to Spread Propaganda, Incite Violence, and Recruit New Followers
• Always Watching: How ICE’s Plan to Monitor Social Media 24/7 Threatens Privacy and Civic Participation

ALSO LISTEN TO:

• The Normalization of Book Banning in the United States, With PEN America’s Sabrina Baêta
• The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials

Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music.

Follow us on BlueSky:

• @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social
• @cmychalejko.bsky.social
• @rcpress.bsky.social