A Couple Thinks Podcast

It’s been a heavy start to the year. Between the destabilization of Venezuela and the murder of Renee Nicole Goode in Minneapolis, the cruelty and chaos of this moment feels sharper, more frightening, and more relentless than many of us expected. In this week’s episode, we talk honestly about that weight—about the despair, anger, and helplessness that can creep in when it feels like we’re watching...

Happy New Year. In our first episode of the year, we decided to do something a little different: we zoomed out and asked the question, “ What’s our political action plan for the whole year?” Because let’s be honest: this moment isn’t about one phone call, one protest, or one election. It’s about endurance. It’s about showing up consistently, in ways that are sustainable, meaningful, and aligned wi...

This episode is not safe for work—or for young ears—because sometimes polite language just doesn’t cut it. In this week’s episode of A Couple Thinks , we unpack an essay , posted in August, by John Pavlovitz , that caught our attention: the idea of a F* ck It List! It’s a rethinking of the classic bucket list for a moment when waiting for things to “settle down” no longer makes sense. The core ide...

We’ve been producing this podcast for a year now, and we wanted to take a moment to reflect back on our first episode that we recorded on Sunday, December 8, 2024. It was released on January 7 of this year, 2025. The episode was titled “Keeping Your Peace”, and we were reminding listeners – and each other – how important it was to not let the news overwhelm us, and that a calm and organized mind i...

Woo woo! 🎉 This week marks Episode 50 of A Couple Thinks —50 straight Tuesdays in your ears. For our “golden episode,” we wanted to share 50 good things from 2025… and while we didn’t quite get to 50, we do have a clear reminder that momentum is real , people are showing up , and good news exists—even when the headlines try to convince you otherwise . We decided to group our bright spots into a f...

Last week brought one of those quietly important election nights that doesn’t change who controls Congress, but does change how we read the map. In this week’s episode of A Couple Thinks , we dig into the Tennessee Congressional District 7 special election and why we’re calling it “when a loss is a win.” 👉 Listen to this week’s episode! When a 21-point loss becomes a 9-point “win” In the 2024 ele...

As we approach the one-year mark of A Couple Thinks , this week’s episode is a reflective one. We recorded our very first conversation on December 8th last year, before we even knew exactly what this project would become, and now here we are, 48 episodes later, talking more honestly (and more calmly!) about Trump’s second administration than either of us ever managed to do during the first. In thi...

It’s Thanksgiving week, so we decided to dedicate this episode of A Couple Thinks to gratitude , the kind you hold onto while we’re living through Trump’s second term. We organized our gratitude into four buckets: politics, family, lifestyle, and community. (Yes, we categorized our gratitude. No surprise to those who know us!) Here are the highlights — and you can hear the full conversation in thi...

We recorded this episode on Wednesday, November 12th, just before the big tranche of Epstein documents were released. Our focus was on the end of the shutdown and the way that happened even if this week that seems long, long ago. We don’t usually do episodes that sit close to the political news cycle, but last week’s frustration with Chuck Schumer and Democratic leadership felt too big to ignore....

Last week’s off-year elections were fast, loud, and clear. Races were called early because the margins were that big. Democrats swept 13 of 13 statewide contests on the ballot, including Mikie Sherrill in New Jersey and Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, with double-digit wins in most of those races- thanks Taniel and Bolts for posting all the good info on Bluesky. If you’ve felt pummeled since 2024,...

On Tuesday night, we slipped into San Francisco for a quintessential “grown-up” date: dinner and a talk at the Commonwealth Club with former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance , who’s on tour for her new book, Giving Up Is Unforgivable . We’ve followed Joyce since her collaborations with Preet Bharara , and her Substack, Civil Discourse . Hearing her in person, what landed most was her steady insistence th...

We’ve been thinking a lot about mindsets — the frameworks that shape how we interpret the world, often without realizing it. Aaron started us off by talking about the “bootstrap” stories we grew up with — those tidy promises that hard work automatically leads to success. It’s an appealing mindset, but one that skips over systemic realities like generational wealth, redlining, and unequal access to...

We showed up. So did a whole lot of other people. Oakland’s No Kings Day ( Indivisible ) felt bigger than June: packed BART cars (yes, we were sardined, and yes, it was the good kind), sun-splashed streets, inflatable costumes everywhere, and that brassy mini-marching band that turned walking into dancing. Joyful and nonviolent. Loud and peaceful. (Here’s the link to watch the video highlighting l...

We recorded this pep talk on September 30—right before our road trip—so if the news has swerved since then, consider that even more reason to show up this Saturday, October 18 , for the second No Kings Day. June’s turnout was huge and electric; it reminded us that we’re part of something bigger, locally and nationally. Let’s build on that energy. Why we’re going back out The chaos and cruelty have...

It’s just 11 days until the next No Kings Day protests. We want to remind folks of how joyful these events can be as we revisit the episode we posted immediately after the June 2025 No Kings Day event. The events were joyful and safe, and we look forward to similar events on October 18th! Take a listen and don’t forget to register for your local No Kings Day event on Mobilize. US p.s. Did I jinx u...

This week we are talking about boycotts—when they work, when they don’t, and why the recent Disney boycott was so effective. We wanted to start with a moment of celebration: Jimmy Kimmel is back on ABC, and Sinclair and Nexstar have resumed airing his show. For once, a boycott delivered fast, visible results. We think that’s worth a little dance, a little cheer, and a reminder that wins—especially...

This week we’re talking about something that sits above our usual political lanes: free speech. We’ve seen this past week that many across the political spectrum do agree that the First Amendment is a guardrail we can’t afford to lose. The spark was the sudden suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live! after pressure campaigns, regulatory saber-rattling, and stations dropping the show. Disturbing, yes—and a...

This week was a heavy one. The murder of Charlie Kirk shook us, not because we shared his politics—we didn’t—but because we both believe that violence is never the answer. Taking a life is always wrong, and violence only breeds more violence. Lisa found herself struck by how quickly misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories spread. Even reputable outlets and political figures got key...

We’ll be in your ears with a fresh episode next week, but for this week, we're sharing an episode we recorded back in March. Wow, March seems so so long ago! The episode was originally titled “From Bystander to Upstander,” and we’ve added a short intro tying in some recent events. Here’s the link to the original accompanying Substack post. The original episode was also before we added the Joyful M...

This week, we circled back to a question that’s been woven through our show since the beginning: where should we spend our energy—activating people who agree with us but haven’t taken action yet, or engaging people on the “other side”? Lisa leans toward inviting the not-yet-active folks onto the boats in our River of Justice metaphor. Aaron, on the other hand, feels drawn to talking with people wh...

In our latest episode of A Couple Thinks , we revisit some of the themes we’ve explored before—resistance, action, and joy—but frame them through new inspiration. Lisa came across a TikTok from Elizabeth H , which opened with an introduction to a video of activist and author Glennon Doyle. Doyle starts with a parable: An anti-war activist stood outside the White House with a candle, night after ni...

This week we’re circling back to the topic of non-cooperation, which we have also called resistance or disruption. We recently finished watching all three training sessions provided by One Million Rising, an Indivisible project, and we’ve been hashing out the ideas and examples they offered. The good news? You can watch them too or listen to our podcast for the highlights! They’re available for fr...

First, a quick reminder that if you haven’t yet taken our survey- you still can! Here’s the link . Next up, we’ve been away for several days and decided to reprise an earlier episode for your listening pleasure. Take a listen to Echo Chambers and Empathy, for the first time or the second! You can also check our back catalog for any others that you missed. We weren’t yet doing Joyful Moments in thi...

We all do it—stick with something longer than we should simply because we've already poured time, money, or emotional energy into it. Whether it's a broken appliance, a job that drains us, or an ideology that no longer serves us, we’re wired to avoid the discomfort of "wasting" our past investment. This mental trap is known as the sunk cost fallacy, and in this episode, we take a closer look at ho...

Thirty weeks (give or take) of conversations, editing, topic wrangling, and joyfully debating what’s going on in the world, and in our heads. In this week’s episode, we take a breath and reflect: * What has surprised us about this podcasting adventure? * What’s been harder (or easier) than expected? * What keeps us going? * What have we learned about ourselves, about each other, and about podcasti...