Liberally Social

Cesar is a 26-year-old middle school teacher, Army veteran, immigrant, soccer coach, and community advocate. He wants everyone to sit at his circle-shaped table, and brings his lived experiences as an undocumented immigrant to his campaign. Fun facts - His cats need child-locks! And he has over 10,000 followers on Tik Tok (this is not a typo!). His policy corners: ACPS and School Board partnership...

Charles is a West End-resident and progressive from the Bronx who founded Safe Space NOVA for LGBTQ+ youth, who chaired the Alexandria AIDS/HIV Commission, and has an MBA focused on Human Capital.   Fun fact - Charles’ favorite mode of transportation is Metro!  Sad fact - his dog passed away a little over a year ago, who was a star of the Scottish Walk Parade. His policy corners: Affordability - d...

Tim is a humble Navy Reservist, attorney, and pharmacist keen to serve his community (he’s already president of the Del Ray Citizens Association and chair of the Alx Economic Opportunities Commission) and full of hope for a systems change approach to Alexandria’s future.  Fun facts - his dogs are named after hawaiian islands (Maui and Kona), and his substack is named “deep dive” like wholesome a N...

Sandy Marks is an ACPS mom and democratic communications professional who can finally voice her progressive policy positions now that she has stepped down from her back-to-back terms as Alexandria Democratic Committee Chair! (We really missed the opportunity for a Little Mermaid joke here).  A sweet factoid - her 13 year old son was the one who first encouraged Sandy to run for this seat! Her cat?...

Special education librarian and union leader Greg Darrall was a pleasure to have on the pod! Not only because he knows how to groom a dog, but also because Marta finally found herself a candidate who appreciates luxe restaurant bathroom decor! You know we kid—there's plenty of substance, too, on this, our last episode in the HDs Firehouse Primary season of LibSoc! Vote in the Democratic Party...

We are not shocked at all to hear former School Board member Eileen Cassidy Rivera is focused on education in her big run for Delegate in HD5! But pearl-clutches beware: there is a tiiiiiny bit of bra talk in this episode! You can handle it. This ep's opener is dedicated to the 10 people on planet earth who might find it more accessible than it is unhinged—thank you for validating our commitment t...

Councilman Kirk McPike, first inductee to the LibSoc Third Timer's Club (is there a jacket for this?), is running for Delegate—and by runnin', we mean HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS 'cause we're gettin' through A LOT in this 30mins! And by hats, we mean your ceremonial Punxsutawney top hats, 'cause it feels like Groundhog's Day up in here! Vote in the Democratic Party volunteer-run five-day firehouse primary...

Newcomer (to us) and criminal defense attorney Chris Leibig (pronounced LYE-big) makes the case for EVEN MOAR criminal legal reform in Virginia! Hear Chris's take on equity, and the "colossal systemic unfairness" in the system that he's out to fix. Whooooobuddy, this LibSoc jury finds in favor! Vote in the Democratic Party volunteer-run five-day firehouse primary on Tuesday, January 20th from 8:30...

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! FIIIIIIRRREEEEHHHOOOOUUUSSEEEE! We saw your bat signal, and we're swooping in with a Very Special Episode: Firehouse Explainer! We've got a hot one, here in ALX—a five day firehouse primary to fill a State Senate seat in SD39, since Adam Ebbin's up in smoke...get it? (listen and you will!) But wait—JUST FIVE DAYS until the primary?! What the?! And why?! How does it work? What...

LUCKY EP #13 MIGHT BE OUR LAST! Here's your chance to hear from Steven Peterson, former real estate developer and father of SEVEN—and that's before all the furry babies! It's a family affair, as Martha (wife) and Chase (step-son) get in on the action a little, and Sandy tries not to bungle Anh's EQFAAPC—you know, the rapid-fire questions! [If you want One. More. Episode. to complet...

ARE YOU READY TO GET MAYORAL?! OF COURSE YOU ARE! Alyia Gaskins is up first! We've had two mayoral eps in the can since April, but we've been holdin' 'em back, hoping to complete the trifecta for you! But it's gettin' late in the cycle, so we're giving the people what they want—just in time to get smart before Election Day! Listen up, and tell all your friends! The Quin...

In the LAST CITY COUNCIL EP OF 2024, Jacinta—Miss Greene if you're nasty—reveals shocking information about her unabashed pizza preferences. She repays our acceptance by not leaving the chat as we...have a little fun...with ACPS's little rebranding experiment a few months ago! LISTEN UP, Social Butterflies! You're almost done! ACPS's Maritime Christmas Police Badge Visit Alexandria's Minimalist Pe...

In this ep, Anh does her best to make this our first NSFW interview—and by that we mean that it's probably fiiiiine for younger listeners in that they'll learn how to pronounce 'clitoris' correctly. Poor Night Mayor! He's deep in the comments of the washingtondc subreddit, BUT WHAT NON-CONSPIRACY THEORY ISN'T? Restaraunts should put bathroom pics on their websites! The World’s Greatest Cheese Pizz...

Y'all, in this episode Jimmy Lewis and the LibSoc team pop a can of ice cold, bubbly facts having to do with code we identify by number, salacious gossip about aluminum can production, and other nerdy, super hot, but totally SFW topics. You won't want to miss this one! Nerdiest nerd fact: 76% of aluminum ever manufactured is still in use today Canned wine is cool. Best Pizza in ALX is Benn...

In this episode, we are pretty sure Canek opens a beer with a club of some kind, it turns out he's running against Joe Biden, City Council loses count of our birthday cupcakes, and it's inexplicably time to start the Census all over again—OR ARE WE HAVING AN ANXIETY DREAM?! Are any of us getting enough sleep? Only one way to find out: listen to the most chill episode ever! Having a bottle...

Prayin' man Kevin Harris forgives our dog poop opening, but has no room for pets (who don't even pay rent) himself, gets the BFF question right, tells us about a great youth training program, aaaand gives us an excuse to put a Simpson's monorail gif in the show notes! We barely even talked basketball—this must be serious! Listen! It counts as local if it's from Preeti's 7-Eleve...

Listen in as we chat with Metro engineer, SB member, and double Alexandrian, Abdel Elnoubi and (from afar) his—are you ready?—BUNNY! The important thing for you to know about this episode is that Diane may have some feelings about Abdel's choice of pizza joint—WHO CAN KNOW?! Shirley Temples are coming back! Sometimes with *ginger ale*! Catch up on House of Cards Lost Dog Pizza Small little whi...

This episode has it all: detailed pizza descriptors, middle school "lingo" that'll make your kid pretend they don't know you on the street, JewBu philosophy, and a lottttt of nerd talk. Give Charlotte-branded Charlotte Scherer a listen now! Middle school boy translator, @mr_phlindsay_sped Monterey's Pizza Sing along with Charlotte!: Walk of Life by Dire Straits King Street Ca...

Anti-arena candidate Jonathan Huskey's comin' in HOTTT! Listen as this changiest change agent gives a Diane-approved pizza answer, demonstrates empathy for opponent Jesse O'Connell's hair, shows great flexibility toward root vegetables, and shows off his Labor chops! You're gonna wanna listen to Ep 0: Arena Explainer with WaPo's Teo Armus to get ready for this one! Where is...

Fan of the show, Kirk McPike, validates our existence, solidifies his sci-fi chops with a Dune deep cut, and is the first one to make clear to us that our bathroom question is...weird. FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAM! Last season, on Liberally Social... Frank Pepe's ! Robinson's Landing has a public bathroom on the waterfront, but that's not exactly what Marta's looking for. Asteroid hits wa...

Climate! Equity! Budget! Change! Smartypants guest Jesse O'Connell joins us with his smartypants Zoom background and gives smartypants answers we like on erudite topics such as pizza and vacation reads! (FYI: this is where The Bathroom Question starts to go off the rails, folks. Listen as Jesse tells us "it's a great question" out of pity and concern.) Jesse's hair looks like...

Welcome to the first full episode of Liberally Social! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll hear us flex our rusty interviewing joints and Sarah Bagley patiently answer such hard-hitting questions as, "Who's your best friend?" PRESS PLAY, FELLOW NERDS! Hi, Diane! Anchovies! Call Your Mother's bathroom Bachelor recaps online Adopt a Buster! Sarah on an e-bike! I Wish I was...

Before we jump into this Season 3 with FOURTEEN local candidate interviews, let's take a minute, take a breath, and talk about the arena with a neutral party—a journalist, who brings the facts, can give us a gut check, and level set so we’re all on the same page as we start the season!

FOURTEEN CANDIDATES! SEVEN SEATS! Find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting real. Welcome to the Real World—wait, no. Welcome to Liberally Social: your political infotainment, wrapped in a pod party, wrapped in nerd fun, recorded from the best city in the world, Alexandria, VA!

A Special Election! In January! In School Board District A! In this ep, we learn a) what makes Gina Baum tick, b) how to get booted from the GWMS Facebook group, and c) that she's willing to go the extra mile for good takeout! This boards and commissions vet has a ton to tell you about her campaign—so join us! Gina's website is here Send her some moolah here (via Donorbox?) This is your ch...