American Fever Dream

Alise and Milly react to two pieces of news today ahead of Thanksgiving. They start off with the announcement that Target will no longer be open on Thanksgiving Day, after their CEO finally realized that workers would rather be at home with their families. They also discuss the resignations of a couple of Fox News correspondents over Tucker Carlson’s latest series on the insurrection, controversia...

Sami and Amanda sit down with Rep. Adam Schiff for a therapeutic conversation about processing the Trump years in light of the congressman’s new book. Schiff shares the surreal experience of being the focus of Trump’s bullying, from getting recognized in the streets and during a literal insurrection to how his family had fun with Trump’s host of nicknames. Finally, he shares some choice words for...

Milly, Alise, and Amanda react to yesterday’s House censure of Rep. Paul Gosar and how it reflects the degradation of the national government. They pivot that into a broader conversation about why men in power repeatedly fail to acknowledge the consequences of their speech -- from Dave Chappelle’s transphobic special to Paul Gosar threatening AOC to Donald Trump’s incitement of the insurrection, a...

Sami, Kaitlin, and Amanda react to two headlines related to the far-right and reflect on the judge’s insane behavior at the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. Then they pivot to this week’s flood of negative news articles about Vice President Kamala Harris and her working relationship with the White House. We discuss: Is this criticism fair? Is it still sexist? Who is responsible for the vice president’s suc...

Amanda, Alise, and Bryan start the show with some huge retirement news out of the Senate, and what it means for 2022. Then they share updates from redistricting processes around the country that suggest Republicans have already flipped the House of Representatives. They unpack what can be done before imagining an alternate reality when we’ve already lost but have nothing to lose. Cancelled debt an...

Alise, Sami, and Amanda start by reacting to Beto O’Rourke’s announcement that he’ll run for governor. Then they discuss how female icons of the 2000s went from tabloid punching bags to feminist heroes. From Taylor Swift owning her music to Britney Spears owning her life and Jessica Simpson owning her name, they unpack an intense week of headlines that restored justice to women previously scorned...

Milly, Amanda, and Sami discuss the reaction to NFL player Aaron Rodgers and comparisons to how the league treated Colin Kaepernick. Is this a false equivalence that unnecessarily causes division, or an important contrast to highlight? They react to similar questions posed by the Kyle Rittenhouse trial, and consider how social justice activists can better frame our message for new audiences. Learn...

Alise, Kaitlin, and Amanda break down some significant updates from the investigation into January 6 and what Trump’s been up to this year. They also react to members of Congress receiving death threats because of… each other. Finally, they give the “University of Austin” the very short segment it deserves. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Milly, Amanda, and Alise start with a healthy appetizer naming their favorite parts of the freshly passed infrastructure bill. Then they get into the main course, a delicious roast of Josh Hawley’s misguided attacks of feminism, liberal politics, and critical race theory. Is he angling for a 2024 male grievance platform? They unpack his intentions and where he might have success before naming thre...

Amanda and Sami react to details from the tragedy at Astroworld. Then, they discuss updates from two high-profile trials related to racial justice: the men who killed Ahmaud Arbery as well as Kyle Rittenhouse, the teen who killed protesters in Kenosha last year. They explain odd events involving each set of juries and consider the likelihood of charges against Arbery’s killers. Finally, they discu...

Sami, Amanda, and Kaitlin are back with additional thoughts on the fallout from the 2021 off year elections and share some very simple action steps for the Democratic party. They spend more time unpacking white women’s swing to Republicans and get frank about how much we can actually influence this group. Finally, they react to a hilarious headline about Facebook and discuss how its metaverse will...

Milly, Alise, and Amanda debrief on Tuesday’s election results, including Democrats’ defeat in Virginia. They explain how Glenn Youngkin got white women to vote for him and what lessons we can and can’t learn from Virginia’s internal culture wars. What does an infrastructure bill in Congress have to do with parents mad about Toni Morrison? They discuss how Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress shoul...

Alise, Bryan, and Amanda discuss their voting plans and races to watch today. Then they react to the surprising number of cops and firefighters who did (and didn’t) get vaccinated. Finally, they break down yesterday’s spirited Supreme Court hearing on the Texas abortion ban and explain why Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh are mad about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...

Amanda Litman is back with Sami and Amanda to break down the elections you need to watch this week, from coroners (who can literally decide who died of COVID) to 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates. They explain what Tuesday’s results can and can’t tell us about Democrats’ 2022 chances, what actually matters and what’s meaningless, and warn against creating a defeatist self-fulfilling pro...

Milly, Sami, and Amanda react to the reality that paid family leave likely isn’t happening. How did this historic opportunity fall through Congress’s fingers? Plus, reacting to the short-lived billionaire tax. Then they do some spooky segments including who they would put a light (non-lethal) hex on this Halloween season and which historical figure they’d let haunt them for life. Learn more about...

Alise, Amanda, and Kaitlin analyze this week’s Facebook doc drop, summarizing the new takeaways from the biggest bombshells and how the developments might seriously jeopardize Facebook’s plans for world domination. They call out how new findings highlight Facebook’s hypocrisy and its particularly deadly apathy abroad. Finally, Amanda explains why Facebook is Erica Jayne and the algorithm is Tom Gi...

Amanda and Alise chat with the host of Betches’ new podcast Money Please, Berna Anat. She shares why the advice to stop buying lattes ignores the structural barriers to financial success for most women and minorities, and how she balances giving financial advice with recognizing that some factors are out of people’s control. She explains how she’s worked to redefine typical benchmarks of financial...

Today, Sami hosts labor, criminal law and civil rights practitioner Lee Adler to talk all about the labor market and the recent uptick in union strikes and activity. To kick things off, Lee starts with some background to unions and the labor movement across the years. He also covers how unions can use their leverage to change the power dynamic that has put corporations on top and how we attempt to...

Milly and Amanda break down the most shocking statistics related to Latina Equal Pay day, and why Latinas are the most poorly paid women in America. Milly details her own family and personal experience with pay discrimination and how the pay gap also impacts small businesses in Latine areas. Then they pivot to Netflix’s apology tour after permitting the dehumanization of trans people, and consider...

Alise, Kaitlin, and Amanda share a shocking update on the Zebras on the run in Maryland. Then they break down what you should know about the House’s investigation into the Capitol attacks and attempts to hold Trump allies in contempt. They connect this to other Democratic efforts in Congress and debate whether voting rights ought to get more attention. Is Joe Manchin getting closer to supporting t...

Alise, Bryan, and Amanda start by detailing a weekend of NFL football in London. Then they react to Tucker Carlson’s homophobic and misogynistic comments about Pete Buttigieg taking maternity leave. They explain how the comments play into hateful stereotypes about same-sex couples while reinforcing the idea that men are not primary caretakers. They explain why Carlson’s comments -- while unusually...

Milly, Sami, and Amanda discuss how the increased activity around striking and labor rights has intersected with the white-collar “Great Resignation.” Why are workers across the country finally saying “no thanks” to the late stage capitalist hellscapes that have dominated our lives? How did the pandemic put a spotlight on these inequities? They also check in on the latest bullshit from Joe Manchin...

Alise, Sami, and Amanda break down the upcoming governor’s election in Virginia and push back against calling it a “referendum” on Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress. How can we more constructively frame Biden’s challenging few months without being so dramatic? Then, Betches Podcast Director Sean Kilby is back to discuss “Squid Game,” the dark Korean series that’s become a global phenomenon. Why...

Senator Tammy Duckworth joins us to discuss a topic hugely personal to many of our listeners: miscarriage and pregnancy loss. Sen. Duckworth describes the Support Through Loss Act, which would provide paid leave to those experiencing pregnancy loss, a failed adoption, or unsuccessful fertility treatments. She shares how her own experience with pregnancy loss makes the bill personal and why men nee...

Milly, Alise, and Amanda are joined by Betches Podcast Director Sean Kilby to react to NFL head coach Jon Gruden resigning over racist, homophobic, and misogynistic emails. They detail the weekend of revelations that ultimately led to his resignation and why the specific makeup of the NFL -- 70% of players are Black -- makes them so problematic. They react to allegations of “cancel culture” and co...