Girl and The Gov, The Podcast

If you’ve tuned into any of the interviews your beloved co-hosts [hi, that’s us] have done, you’ll know that when we’ve been asked what our favorite episode that we’ve done is, we say our interview with Kat Calvin. One of our first interviews ever was with Kat and she blew our minds by painting the picture of America’s ID crisis – how without an ID, you can’t get a job, housing, access shelters an...

According to our friends at Remake , garment workers experience the second-highest rates of wage theft of any group of workers, with some earning as little as $2.68 an hour. How, with a federal minimum wage, is that possible? Good ol’ loopholes and worker exploitation, with factories able to use the piece rate system . The system of pay doesn’t pay by the hour but instead per garment sewn. The soo...

When we first scheduled our interview with Hawai’i State Representative Kapela early this summer we planned on talking about how climate change is affecting Hawaii and what that looks like for the islands. We were also going to talk about bringing a state level Green New Deal to the table. Then, tragedy struck – one interlaced with climate, tourism, and more. And this turning point expanded the de...

If you’ve been curious about what it’s like to run a political campaign, this episode is going to be your holy grail. Save it, send it, listen to it time and time again because it’s a walk-through of how to get into campaign management with the former campaign manager for Colorado Governor Polis, Sarah Andrews. She gives us the full lens on what it was like, how she got there, and what anyone need...

What is disability justice and how is it achieved? And, what’s the difference between disability justice and disability rights? Wait – and another Q, what about the ADA? What does that do? And what policies and legislation do we need to build upon the ADA legacy? These questions are just a few of the many asked and answered by our guest Mia Ives-Rublee who serves as the Director of the Disability...

You’re going to walk away with a new vocab word coined by the one and only Fraidy Reiss, Founder/Executive Director at Unchained At Last by the end of this episode. And you’re going to use it to describe vile behavior and vile people. We’d tell you what it is here, but that would ruin the fun wouldn’t it? But we will tell you how this vocab word came to be and that is through the incredible work F...

This summer’s SCOTUS decision on affirmative action yielded an array of reactions across the sociopolitical spectrum. And, it also yielded many questions. Some focused more on what affirmative action is or perhaps at this stage, was. Other q’s were pointed at whether affirmative action worked and who it helped if it did. And more questions were aired on what will happen next and who this decision...

It’s the summer of the strike, and this week’s episode features an interview with an expert that explains how we got here. Michelle Eisen, of Starbucks Workers United joined us for a convo on strikes and fighting corporate power at large, but also to talk about the Starbucks workers movement. From the chain of events that catalyzed it to the union busting they’re facing, and the tactics they’ve em...

Rikers hasn’t just forged its reputation from the likes of Law & Order, but for the continual humanitarian crisis that’s ongoing across the island to this day. The crisis has led to a campaign for a federal receivership with a long term plan to close Rikers by 2027. But will that happen? And then what happens next? And also, how did this crisis begin? Oh, and where has NY’s current mayor, Mayo...

 If you’re a long time listener of the Girl and the Gov, The Podcast, you’ve without a doubt heard us reference our friend Zak. But who is he? What does he do? Well this episode is his big reveal [minus the people at our last NY event, sorwz for the spoiler]. He’s been working to connect young philanthropists with young future political leaders at his PAC, The Next 50. To date, over 80% of the PAC...

Only 25% of US workers have access to paid family leave through an employer. To flip it, 75% of US workers don’t have access to paid family leave through an employer, meaning the majority of people do not have access. Important to add here is the word paid, which is a part of our conversation which defines the differences between terms like maternity leave versus paid leave. Said conversation is w...

This week’s interview features a conversation with the one, the only, the amazing Executive Director of Latino Victory , Sindy Benavides . Our conversation looks at the work Latino Victory has done to increase Latino representation throughout elected offices across the country – from the strategies to the goals ahead in 2024. Naturally, the current status quo is discussed, and where the many areas...

AP News noted that this year’s legislative sesh in Nebraska was most akin to reality TV. And there’s quite a few reasons for that, including marathon filibusters and bad bills that progressive state senators pledged they would stand [quite literally] against. It’s that fight, which involved Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt at its core, that we needed to know more about – cue this episode which in...

This week’s interview is with West Virginia Delegate Kayla Young , and is the pod’s very first deep dive into WV politics. If you’ve been confused by Manchin the Menace, this eppy will help to clear it up. If you’re curious about how Jim Justice is not being served justice and is running for Senate while running his companies into the ground from the governor’s office, then yep – this episode is f...

This week’s interview is with Devon Murphy-Anderson , the co-founder of Mi Vecino , an on-the-ground voter engagement and registration org in Florida that we’re in awe of. The conversation focuses on two immigration related laws passed into existence by DeSantis [if you want to see what we really refer to him as, follow us on Instagram ], the horrendous intentions of the bills, and the heinous imp...

Drum roll plz, we bring you a much requested ‘just us’ episode that really gets off to the races right away with a game of FMK politics edition. One of the rounds includes Mike Lindell the pillow guy, and the other round includes George Santos – yea, it’s brutal. You’ll have to tune in to hear who else ended up in the mix and you’ll have to DM us your own choices – the gals gotta know. We also pla...

This episode is focused on a number of gun violence prevention and reduction facets and is done in an explainer-style courtesy of our amazing guest, Kris Brown, President of Brady. Through the organization and beyond, Kris has been working to reduce gun violence – a topic that has a number of addressable avenues. It’s these avenues – from safe storage and its impact on suicide rates to background...

Without fail every major election year leads to a night in November where we’re all glued to a TV watching Steve Kornacki talk about what’s happening in Maricopa County. But what happens between those elections? What does the organizing look like on the ground? And, is the state red, blue, or purple? And how are activists getting folks not just out to vote but out taking action across the state? A...

ICYMI, on Tuesday’s we release our top stories of the week episode. The news-focused episode is dedicated to covering a few (not all) of the top political stories we have our eyes on. This week’s round up of events include: Some people get funnier with age, Dark Brandon included: https://bit.ly/42h1eee [AP News] Congress aims to tackle tech behemoths with potential new rules: https://bit.ly/3VJlaD...

You may have heard of Tinx’s rich mom starter pack, but this is better – it's a working in DC starter pack. It’s basically a how-to on how to get your foot in the door in the world of DC political careers. Covering the networking do’s, the devil in the details of applying for jobs, and even the ups and downs of trying to find accommodations in the nation’s capital, this episode gets into it al...

ICYMI, on Tuesday’s we release our top stories of the week episode. The news-focused episode is dedicated to covering a few (not all) of the top political stories we have our eyes on. This week’s round up of events include: Debt Limit Debate Debacle Continues: https://bit.ly/3LNAEDw [Punchbowl] Senator Cardin’s retirement and where that leaves the Dems: https://bit.ly/42jTjwu [AP] DeSantis is a Di...

What would it be like to be at brunch with a crew of tea-loving political friends? It would be something like this episode, which features an interview with The Tent Podcast Hosts, Daniella Gibbs Léger and Colin Seeberger. This episode covers a lot of ground and certainly keeps commentary on today’s current political events top of mind. To that point, the conversation goes in on how communicating...

ICYMI, on Tuesday’s we release our top stories of the week episode. The news-focused episode is dedicated to covering a few (not all) of the top political stories we have our eyes on. This week’s round up of events include: Media Mayhem: Toodles Tucker [Carlson]: https://bit.ly/3NbgioV [AP News] Droppin’ Don Like It’s Hot: https://bit.ly/3V3VBgE [AP News] SCOTUS Takes on a social media case with a...

The Missouri legislature has kept itself in the headlines more than Scandoval has recently, and that’s saying something. Unfortunately, the reasons are just as shady – from defunding public education, threats to library funding, bills on banning gender affirming care, and so much more. This episode we get into it with Missouri State Representative Deb Lavender, who paints the picture of Missouri p...

ICYMI, on Tuesday’s we release our top stories of the week episode. The news-focused episode is dedicated to covering a few (not all) of the top political stories we have our eyes on. This week’s round up of events include: Election Watch ‘24: Baldwin: https://politi.co/3GNOlQ4 [Politico] Santos: https://on.msnbc.com/3KIoRVC [MSNBC] White man charged with shooting 16-year old Black teen who rang t...