This week Katie is crowdsourcing stories from listeners about their local political scenes and more - submit yours HERE! Other topics include the January 6th commission, abortion bans, and exciting bills moving through the Illinois legislature. 

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Big yikes! Liz Cheney won’t get on board with Trump’s Big Lie so Republicans voted her out of leadership. Is it possible to bring the conspiracy theorists in our lives back to reality before anyone is further radicalized? The key is seeking to understand their view and speaking with respect so it’s easier for them to change their minds in the future. Otherwise we’re heading towards more voter suppression and Tucker Carlson 2024. 

Katie and Morgan are back to talk about the future of democracy in American through the metaphor of a tropical boat ride, because we’re fun and breezy. 

Live in Illinois? Our legislative session ends May 31. Find your local elected officials and ask them to support SB 2190/HB 1797. Decades of research and experience show that forced parental involvement laws hurt young people and serve no valid purpose. Protect youth, repeal parental notice of abortion.

Accountability is good, but it’s not a substitute for policy changes. Could it be that training armed agents of the state to view certain communities as war zones and giving them military-grade equipment isn’t actually keeping us safe? For 16-year-old Ma’Khia Bryant and the hundreds of other Americans murdered by police in 2021 we’ll keep fighting to shift funding away from bloated police budgets towards evidence-based community services in order to make policing obsolete. Pass the Breathe Act.

On April 19, 1995 Army veteran Timothy McVeigh detonated two tons of explosives planted in a truck outside the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.  Radicalized by the tragic events at Ruby Ridge and Waco, McVeigh hoped to inspire Americans to rise up against what he saw as government tyranny in the form of income taxes, environmental restrictions, and gun control legislation. 

This week we’re covering current events and how they fit into the larger scheme of American history and democracy. Topics include DC Statehood, Matt Gaetz, the filibuster, Ulysses S Grant, FDR, LBJ, anti-trans bills, voter ID laws, Amazon’s anti-union push, Ryan Lochte, and the foster kitten. Because why not?

P.s. If you’re reading this you’d make a better Senator than Joe Manchin

This week we’re sharing an important conversation about vaccine hesitancy from the podcast Shelter in Place. COVID-19 cases are dropping as more people get vaccinated — so why isn't everyone pro-vaccine? These are questions about who we trust, where we get our information, how we make decisions — and what is our duty to society.

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I have a wacky idea - what if stopped electing religious extremists who are deeply threatened by girls who f*ck?

If Roe v. Wade falls (and it might!) it won’t end abortion, but it will turn some states into abortion havens and others into abortion wastelands. You can really choose your own dystopian adventure of conservative male power and control!