Start Me Up with Kimberley A. Johnson

Jody and I do our thing--a mix of politics and fun conversation. We discussed all the good news for Democrats as well as her mom, Carol Burnett, on the last few shows of the Better Call Saul series. I adore Jody and so do listeners! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

My mother Ann Werner's latest book, The Augurs, is the second in a series of dystopian thrillers. Book one, The Melt, was released in 2020 and it's about a deadly virus that wipes out most of the earth's population leaving the few that remain to start over and build anew.  We discuss Ann's book and then we talk politics and why there's good reason to believe Dems will expand th...

Joe Dempsey is an average American who can take complicated news stories and break them down into easy-to-understand sound bites. Joe breaks down one of his fascinating threads about an agreement made by Dems and the GOP in the early 1980s about election intimidation. That agreement expired in 2017 and we will see how it plays out in 2022. We also discussed David Hogg's messaging as well as th...

Simon Rosenberg was the lead strategist for the DCCC when Democrats flipped the House in 2018. He is the founder of New Democrat Network (NDN.org) and the New Policy Institute, a liberal think tank and advocacy group based in Washington DC. We discussed the many reasons Democrats have to be optimistic about the November midterms. Simon breaks it down with polling as well as facts and sources to ba...

ELGIN CHARLES, known the world over as the “Emperor of Hair”, has been the proprietor of his upscale beauty salon in the heart of Beverly Hills for more than 25 years. The San Antonio, TX native can best be described as a scholar and creative genius; due in part to rearing from both his father, a biochemist, and his mother, an award-winning blues singer. We talked about his fascinating life, the h...

Keri Blakinger is an investigative journalist and her memoir Corrections In Ink is a fascinating look at her life as a figure skate, addict, inmate, and journalist. She covers criminal justice and injustice for The Marshall Project. She's the organization's first formerly incarcerated reporter. We talked about her must-read book and some of the things she covered while reporting on the US...

I'm back from vacation and ready to start talking shoo with my writer friend Sarah Wood! Topics: We talk about the Garland/DoJ announcement that there will be no indictments this election season; there's lots of speculation about Gavin Newsome: Buttigieg is growing on Sarah; fun stuff like what we do to stay sane and more! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-O...

Marcus Flowers is a Democrat running to defeat Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia’s 14th District. Flowers has spent his entire career defending the United States. First – he served as an active duty member of the US Army, followed by more than 20 years as a contractor or official for the State Department and Department of Defense. Read more about him HERE. Topics: Marcus described the energy...

Today's show was recorded before the impromptu 1/6 hearing. Steph and I wonder what the hearing will focus on and then we talk about how Roe and SCOTUS are shaping the energy before the November midterms. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

D. Earl Stephens is the author of "Toxic Tales: A Caustic Collection of Donald J. Trump's Very Important Letters."  He's the former managing editor of Stars & Stripes, a Navy vet, and a prolific writer. Topics: We discuss the impact of all the SCOTUS decisions, the 1/6 committee, and the right-wing campaign of terror. Earl offers up a reason to be hopeful along with some soberi...

Chris Hahn is a progressive pundit and the host of the Aggressive Progressive.  He also hosts a syndicated radio show and works as a  political consultant and attorney based in New York. He has made numerous national television appearances on a variety of political, pop culture and public policy topics. Topics: Chris predicts what will happen in the November midterms; what hurt Democrats in 2020;...

Cliff Schecter is back! Topics: Cliff shares his takeaways from the 1/6 public hearings thus far; Boebert's going through some things, what will it take for Dems to win in November, and Cliff's brilliant advice to Dem leaders! All that and more! Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

USA Today opinion columnist and former Justice Department prosecutor Michael J. Stern is back! Topis: the 1/6 hearings, Michael reminds us of his column where he speculates Garland might not be able to find an impartial jury; the Dem romanticization of Never-Trumpers; rising crime & homelessness in California is on the ballot, and then just a little about RHBH and the violent Dorit break-in. A...

Actress Kiersten Warren has worked in film and television. Films include Bicentennial Man, Independence Day, and Divine Secrets of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and she's appeared in TV shows such as DesperateHousewises and Saved By The Bell. Topics: We caught up, had fun and talked about what it's like for women in the entertainment industry these days; her daughter is following in her parents&#3...

Sarah Wood is back again! We discussed gun violence and what we can expect from lawmakers moving forward. We then switched gears to talk about teen sex: what we learned when we were young and how some parents fear that sex education will convince their kids to engage too early. We also discussed sexual fluidity. Follow Sarah Wood on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahwoodwriter Follow VoteVets on T...

Steph and I are best friends. Today we talked about whatever came up. Some fun, some politics. It's always fun with Steph. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Mariah Craven is the co-host of the How We Win podcast, along with Steve Pierson. Mariah is a campaign communications consultant who has worked with Kamala Harris, Alex Padilla, Karen Bass, Wendy Davis, and other candidates for office. She's also the former Executive Director of Sea Change, an organization that mobilized thousands of donors and volunteers to help flip the House in 2018.  Maria...

Kirk is back! First, we talked about his career and how "liberal" Hollywood isn't always so liberal. WE had some fun talking about the "biz" and then we talked politics: The unhinged GOP continues to get crazier; Kirk's thoughts on the new Democratic outreach to Latinos and how Roe will affect the midterms. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-O...

Cheri is back and we had a lot to talk about! Topics: Steve Schmidt's unhinged breakdown on Twitter; why you should never give money to the Lincoln Project; will striking down Roe backfire on Republicans; Cheri shares why she feels Garland has done damage and she shares what she thinks may happen. A good conversation. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https...

Christopher Bouzy is a serial entrepreneur, software engineer, and political maven and he’s the founder and CEO of Bot Sentinel. It’s a free platform developed to detect and track trollbots and untrustworthy Twitter accounts. Topics: Christopher predicted Musk won't buy Twitter; why Elon Musk should never own Twitter; what striking down Roe will mean for the coming election and Christopher&#39...

Rachel Bitecofer joined me again to talk about how Democrats can use the firehose of news and GOP fascism to win this November. Topics: How the Roe decision can mean a D win; what Dem leaders are getting right with messaging and where they need to improve; how voters can use messaging to control a narrative, and Rachel explained that Democratic voters must show up in big numbers or the GOP will se...

Julie and I went to high school together but didn't know each other. In recent years, we connected through social media and there are more than a few interesting details. After we reminisced about high school years in a southern California beach town, we dug in and talked about current events: Steve Schmidt's no-fucksTwitter confessions; how striking down Roe could mean a Dem victory (don&...

Topics: GOP likely leaked the Roe story as a distraction from abortion bans and MAGA insurrectionists; GOP released a new embarrassing sex tape of Madison Cawthorn--using that as a distraction, too; we need to hear from pro-choice men, and the importance of framing the abortion conversation. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Steph Walton and I are raged up, fired up and ready to FIGHT! They are overturning Roe v Wade and we're not going to assume defeat. Sure, we talked about Putin possibly dying of cancer and the fact that Elon is a danger to legit free speech, but our main focus was how to channel our rage for the 2022 midterms. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redci...

Comedian John Fugelsang hosts the acclaimed "Tell Me Everything" series on SiriusXM Progress.  He's debated David Duke on Bill Maher, been murdered on CSI, been picketed by Westboro Baptist Church & once interviewed 2 Beatles on different continents in the same week. We talked about John and his impressive career and then we focused on what's going on in the world: Covid; justi...