Breaking The Meta

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, host Mike Winson sits down with Andrew Rice, a scientist turned congressional candidate running in Connecticut’s 3rd District. Andrew explains why he decided to challenge a long-time incumbent, what issues voters in the district are talking about, and why he believes the Democratic Party needs a stronger working-class agenda. The conversation covers major issu...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, host Mike Winson sits down with Kiana Bierria-Anderson, a progressive candidate running for Congress in New York’s 4th District. We discuss the affordability crisis on Long Island, immigration policy, accountability in government, and why a new generation of leaders is stepping up to run for office. Kiana shares her background in organizing, union leadership,...

Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District has been the poorest district in the poorest state in America for over 30 years. In this episode of Breaking the Meta, Michael Winson sits down with Evan Turnage, an antitrust lawyer and former Senate staffer for Elizabeth Warren and Chuck Schumer, who is now running for Congress. They discuss corporate power, rising grocery prices, healthcare access, Medic...

A grassroots U.S. Senate candidate is challenging the political establishment in Oklahoma. In this episode of Breaking the Meta, we sit down with Jasmine Thomas, a nurse, military spouse, and community advocate running for the U.S. Senate with a PAC-free, people-powered campaign. Jasmine talks about why she’s running, the reality of healthcare and education in Oklahoma, and what she believes real...

Ohio politics is heating up ahead of the 2026 midterms, and District 56 could be one of the most important races in the state. In this episode of Breaking the Meta, we sit down with Laalithya Acharya, a 22-year-old biomedical engineer running for the Ohio State House in Southwest Ohio, to discuss public education, school vouchers, affordability, ICE enforcement, healthcare, and breaking the Republ...

Julian Beaudion is running for U.S. Senate in South Dakota, and his campaign is built around a simple idea: people come before politics. In this interview on Breaking the Meta, Julian Beaudion shares his background in law enforcement, entrepreneurship, and public service, and explains why he’s challenging Senator Mike Rounds. We discuss why so many South Dakotans feel forgotten, how town halls and...

Erin Petrey, Democratic candidate for Congress in Kentucky’s 6th District, joins Breaking the Meta to talk affordability, healthcare access, campaign finance reform, and America’s place in the world. From growing up on a Kentucky farm to working in foreign policy and renewable infrastructure, Petrey explains why she’s running and how she plans to restore accountability in Washington. In this full...

Georgia governor candidate Ruwa Romman joins Breaking the Meta for a deep conversation about affordability, housing, healthcare, and why she introduced a statewide data center moratorium. If you care about the future of Georgia politics, this is a conversation you need to hear. We talk about rising housing costs, corporate landlords, minimum wage, Medicaid expansion, rural hospital closures, ICE d...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, Mike Winson sits down with Presbyterian pastor Emily Knoth to talk about faith, justice, LGBTQ inclusion, and the role of the church in today’s political and social climate. From being the first queer pastor ordained in her Kansas presbytery to helping people find affirming churches, Emily shares what it means to live out Christianity through compassion, humil...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, we sit down with Dylan Blaha, a pro-peace veteran and former cancer research scientist running for Congress in Illinois’s 13th District. We discuss why he’s challenging establishment politics, the impact of money in politics, universal healthcare, immigration realities, foreign policy, and how working-class communities are being left behind. Blaha shares insig...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, Mike Winson sits down with Ashley Bell, a physician associate, educator, and congressional candidate running for North Carolina’s 10th District. Bell shares her journey from healthcare and education into politics and explains why the overturning of Roe v. Wade and growing threats to healthcare access pushed her to run for Congress. The conversation explores th...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, Mike Winson sits down with Illinois 5th District congressional candidate Matt Conroy to discuss why he’s running, what voters are telling him, and the real issues shaping the 2026 election. From healthcare costs and housing affordability to childcare expenses and political accountability, Conroy outlines the economic pressures facing working families and why h...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, Mike Winson sits down with New Hampshire U.S. Senate candidate Karishma Manzur to discuss healthcare reform, the housing crisis, minimum wage, campaign finance, foreign policy, and the future of the Democratic Party. From Medicare for All and affordable housing to accountability in government and grassroots political engagement, this conversation explores the...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, Meg Tomasic joins the conversation to explore what unity, resistance, and community look like in a deeply divided America. From a viral snow day moment in Washington, DC to the larger questions of burnout, social media pressure, and political polarization, the discussion examines whether joy can be a form of resistance and why people shouldn’t feel guilty for...

Virginia’s 1st District congressional candidate Tim Cywinski joins Breaking the Meta to discuss healthcare costs, corporate money in politics, democracy reform, tax policy, and the future of American foreign policy. In this in-depth interview, we break down campaign finance reform, “Democracy Dollars,” ethics standards in Congress, insider trading, housing affordability, Wall Street ownership of h...

Texas 33rd District candidate Zeeshan Hafeez joins Mike Winson on Breaking the Meta to discuss immigration reform, ICE, progressive politics in Texas, Gaza, campaign finance, and the future of the Democratic Party. In this in-depth interview, we break down Texas gerrymandering, low voter turnout, affordability, Social Security, minimum wage, foreign policy, and what accountability in Congress shou...

Kate Barr is running for U.S. House in North Carolina’s 14th District in the Republican primary with policies that challenge the political status quo. In this interview, we discuss gerrymandering, voter accountability, Tim Moore’s stock trades, disaster relief delays in Lake Lure and Chimney Rock, cost of living in NC, and why Barr believes the primary is the real election in non-competitive distr...

Cole Carter is running for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 3rd District, covering most of Philadelphia, and his campaign centers on poverty, crime prevention through opportunity, a federal jobs guarantee, Medicare for All, youth investment, and government accountability. In this interview, we discuss Philadelphia’s affordability crisis, food insecurity, gun violence, healthcare cuts, stock trading bans...

ICE detained a woman during her green card interview in San Diego. In this exclusive interview, Mila Araya shares what happened when ICE agents arrested her at USCIS, transported her in shackles, and held her for nearly a week in detention despite having no criminal record. We break down the green card process, immigration detention conditions, bond hearings, ICE administrative warrants, and what...

Progressive candidate Anthony Bridges joins Breaking the Meta to explain why he’s running for Congress in Texas’s 32nd District. In this in-depth political interview, Anthony talks about Texas redistricting, money in politics, state violence, immigration, the affordability crisis, healthcare, housing, and why grassroots movements must challenge establishment power. He breaks down how big donors, c...

Army veteran and Special Forces soldier Kyle Gauck joins Breaking the Meta to talk about why he’s running for Congress in Connecticut’s 2nd District. In this in-depth political interview, Kyle discusses January 6th, democracy, accountability, money in politics, term limits, the affordability crisis, and why working families are being crushed by the cost of living. He explains how his military serv...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, I sit down with Air Force veteran Jeff Pixley, who is running for Congress in Oklahoma’s 4th District. Jeff shares his journey from growing up in a military family, to flying F-16s, to working around Air Force One, and ultimately to the moment that pushed him to retire early and step into politics. We talk about what Oklahoma voters are really saying on the gr...

In this episode of Breaking The Meta, Mike Winson sits down with Callie Barr, Democratic candidate for Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, which covers the entire Upper Peninsula and the northern third of the Lower Peninsula. Callie shares her journey from military spouse to nonprofit advocate to University of Michigan law graduate, and now congressional candidate. She talks openly about her hu...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, Mike Winson sits down with Kevin Ryan, a Marine Corps veteran, public school teacher, and union member who is running for U.S. Senate in Illinois. Kevin is running a radically different kind of campaign. Instead of dialing for dollars, he bought a school bus and has traveled to all 102 counties in Illinois, talking directly with voters across the political spe...

In this episode of Breaking the Meta, we sit down with  @AnabelforCongress  a progressive candidate running for Congress in Illinois’ 7th District, for a deep, honest conversation about working-class politics, immigration, housing, foreign policy, and what real accountability in government should look like. Anabel is a lifelong Chicagoan who grew up on the Southwest Side in a working-class immigra...