How To Not Lose Your Sh!t

Gerrymandering is one of those things that makes people tune out of politics. It doesn’t just sound technical and complicated, it feels so far outside our control. But it’s important to understand because we all deserve to have our votes count. Gerrymandering is basically politicians picking their voters, instead of the other way around. And in Texas, Democratic reps like Ann Johnson are standing...

For nearly a century, the suburbs have been a cornerstone of the American Dream. But for almost as long, some people have criticized the suburbs for being too conformist, too dependent on cars, and to be blunt, too… white.  We know that the suburbs have been diversifying over the past few decades, and today “suburban woman” isn’t just code for “white woman” — no matter how much the media tries to...

The Supreme Court gets to make decisions that affect our most fundamental rights. When it ruled on Roe vs Wade in 1973 and then overturned that ruling in 2022, it determined our ability to access reproductive care. And in 2015, their ruling on Obergefell vs Hodges gave same-sex couples the right to marry the person they love. Just last year, they ruled that Trump has absolute immunity for “officia...

Conspiracy theories might be having a moment, but they’re as old as civilization itself.  In 64 AD, for example, the Great Fire of Rome sparked competing theories over who started the fire and why. And just like many of today’s conspiracy theories, it resulted in suffering and innocent deaths — Emperor Nero accused Christians of lighting the fire, which led to many being crucified or burned alive....

Since January, Americans have had serious concerns about Elon Musk’s DOGE (the “Department of Government Efficiency”) and the privacy of our personal data.  The government used to have careful guardrails in place to protect our information. Only certain people, after careful background checks, were given access. But DOGE was given unprecedented access to all of our data, across departments and age...

Climate change is a lot of things: big, scary, scientifically-accurate. And as we just saw in Texas, it’s not just a matter of principles or talking points. It’s causing tragedies in our own country and around the globe. In the face of such an overwhelming issue, it can be hard to know what we as individuals can do. Of course we can donate to environmental causes and vote for leaders who prioritiz...

This week is the 4th of July, which means we’re celebrating American independence. But what exactly is it that we’re celebrating? What’s so special about American democracy, and how does it work? And with everything going on in politics, should we be celebrating at all? In a word: yes . America was founded on the principles of liberty, justice, and freedom from the tyranny of kings. And those idea...

There’s a lot to be stressed about right now. We’re seeing the dissolution of our democratic norms and ideals before our very eyes. But extremists don’t want us thinking about democracy. They want us thinking about the 5 trans kids who wanted to play soccer this year. Just so far this year, over 900 anti-trans bills are under consideration across the country. The majority apply to kids, particular...

Thanks for listening to the Red Wine & Blue podcast. This week, instead of an episode of Okay But Why, we’re sharing a virtual event we recently held with a former Republican named Courtney. She used to be a Trump voter, but now she leads a TroubleNation group in Pennsylvania.  Courtney shared with us what changed her mind and how we can reach other MAGA voters. We always say that it’s never t...

The federal minimum wage right now is $7.25. For someone working full-time, that translates to $15,060 per year, just $20 over the national poverty line. The US minimum wage has been hotly debated since its beginning, so this week, we’re taking a closer look at its history, exactly who is making it, and dispelling some misinformation. In 2023, almost a million hourly workers in the United States m...

Kids today have a lot to worry about. Getting through adolescence was hard enough in generations past, but these days, kids have more anxieties than ever. And who can blame them? There were 83 school shootings in 2024 and gun violence is now the number one cause of death for kids. In 2023, 40% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and that increases to 53...

Few issues polarize this country like abortion. Most Americans believe these intensely personal decisions should be made by families and doctors, not politicians. But even those who call themselves “pro-life” usually believe some exceptions should be made — in the case of rape, when it’s a matter of saving the mother’s life, or when doctors determine the fetus has no chance of survival. But we’ve...

You may have seen headlines recently about extremists going after no-fault divorce. “Yeah, okay, I’ve seen those stories,” your friends might say, “but… why would they do that?” The answer, of course, is simple: it’s about controlling women. Critics of no-fault divorce, like JD Vance, claim that it’s bad for couples and especially bad for kids. But the data just doesn’t bear that out. The really i...

Donald Trump promised to be “tough” on immigration on the campaign trail, vowing to “launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history.” “Criminals,” he said. So why is ICE detaining children? And why do half of the adults held in ICE detention facilities have no criminal record? In New York, a mom and her three kids—including a third grader—were arrested by ICE and shipped o...

When James Baldwin went on the Dick Cavett Show in 1969, he was asked a very loaded question: why aren’t Black people more optimistic? Jim Crow laws had been outlawed, Black people were becoming mayors and successful businesspeople… so why was he still talking about race? Obviously racism didn’t “end” with the Civil War, or the Civil Rights Act, or Obama’s election. In fact, Donald Trump has spurr...

Last year, extreme weather cost us hundreds of American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. So… why is the Trump Administration defunding the Weather Service? The Weather Service is part of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. We need NOAA to help us predict storms and warn people when they need to evacuate. The data is used by airports to make sure planes can fly safe...

Right now, most of us are feeling stress and anxiety. On top of everything else in our lives, the political chaos seems too much to bear. A 2024 survey from the American Psychological Association found that over 70% of adults consider the country’s future a significant source of stress — and even though we’re only four months into 2025, if our group chats are any indication, we’re struggling now m...

This week, Red Wine & Blue held a virtual event with two inspiring women: Heather Cox Richardson and Representative Jasmine Crockett. More than 45,000 people joined us on Zoom and hundreds of thousands watched the livestream! Heather and Jasmine talked about so much — Project 2025, the power of local organizing, and what it’ll take for us to rebuild a healthy United States of America. If you m...

Social security is an American institution. After decades of working hard, we expect to retire with a well-earned safety net to help us with our monthly expenses.  Trump and Elon Musk claim that Social Security is rife with corruption and fraud. Musk told podcaster Joe Rogan that it’s “the biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.” But whenever unbiased, nonpartisan groups study the numbers, they find ver...

When Trump was running for office last year, he promised to “lower prices on day one.” So… why are eggs still so expensive? And why are other groceries still so expensive too? Sure, bird flu is one factor - but it’s actually having less of an impact than you’ve been told. A lot of other factors are at play too, from tariffs to corporate profits to immigration policies that target our agricultural...

With breaking news and shocking headlines still happening on a weekly basis, sometimes it's hard to believe that  the current war in Ukraine has been going on for more than three years. You may have heard a neighbor or family member asking… why should the United States be involved at all? With so many problems here at home, why should we care about a war on the other side of the world? Well,...

Public education is a cornerstone of our democracy. But Donald Trump and his new Secretary of Education Linda McMahon haven’t exactly made it a secret that they want to shut down the Department of Education. Phrases like “parental choice” and “school choice” might make this sound good for families, but in reality, it leaves far too many kids behind. Before we had a Department of Ed, students who w...

In this first episode of our limited series "Okay, But Why?", we're taking a deep dive into voting rights. We all want free and fair elections where everyone who’s legally able to vote can make their voice heard. But every time the experts study voter fraud, they find almost zero evidence that undocumented immigrants or anyone else is voting illegally. So then… why are there so many...

We knew it was coming, but it's still hard to believe that this is our last episode of The Suburban Women Problem. We have appreciated this community of listeners so much over the past 4 years, and we're so grateful to Jasmine, Rachel and Amanda for continuing to bring their whole selves to 5 seasons of great conversations. This week, RWB founder Katie Paris sends us off - but she's...

The week after last November's election, we knew there was only one person we wanted to talk to: Connie Schultz. We were still immersed in grief, anger, and even despair following Trump's win - and Connie was dealing with her husband Sherrod Brown losing his re-election to the Senate as well. But we loved her advice.... it's our job to make hope possible, not despair convincing. The...