Here we are on social media, using good ol’ technology to get the scoop and be in the loop. A concept that touches the good, the bad, and the ugly, social media has many uses and capabilities. It houses interactions, patterns, and varied forms of linguistics. Each of these elements carries itself into the realm of politics and it’s one that we dove into with Dr. Desmond U. Patton, Associate Professor of Social Work at Columbia University. In our conversation, and latest episode, we peeled back s...
May 19, 2021•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast It seems like we’ve had a lot of people dubbed “thou who shall not be named” in the last few years, and honestly many for good reason. One such person, represents GA-14 in Congress and has pushed out conspiracy theories galore. Do you need another hint? Okay, she also recently challenged AOC to a debate. If you’ve connected the dots, welcome to the party and welcome to the episode where we interview one of her challengers -- Holly McCormack who is a Democrat running to take her seat. We had the ...
May 12, 2021•45 min•Transcript available on Metacast The conversation around immigration in the US is often met with controversial opinions, buzz words, and horrendous campaign slogans. However, it is also commonly misunderstood, as are the terms within this overarching umbrella. Cue, Layla Razavi, Deputy Executive Director at Freedom for Immigrants, who we were honored to speak with on this episode. Walking us through immigration 101, Layla provided us (and now you) a critical understanding of the concepts, constraints, and controversies around i...
May 05, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Beep beep coming through, we have an episode that you can absolutely not miss. Okay, we don’t recommend missing any of them, but like seriously this one is a 10/10 must-listen. We are beyond excited to share that this episode features a guest that had us starstruck from the moment we hopped onto record (no one fainted by some miracle). This guest of honor is none other than Kari Fulton, Frontline Policy Coordinator at Climate Justice Alliance. An award-winning environmental and climate justice a...
Apr 28, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mood board time. When you think of climate change, what is the visual that comes to mind? Is it oil refineries? Factory smog? Does it include agriculture? If it doesn’t include agriculture, your mood board is about to get an update after this episode. As part of our special series on climate, Jillian Semaan, Director of Food and Environment at Earthday.org joined us to discuss the deep impact that agriculture and its related practices have on the climate -- and our future. Through this discussio...
Apr 21, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast OH HEYY, it’s episode two of our climate-focused month and we could not be more excited about this episode. No, like seriously, we are screaming. We had the pleasure of interviewing, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson who wears so many hats in the climate realm that we’d have to build a closet just to store them all. To give you a glimpse at her role, she is an expert and strategist on how humans can address climate change. She is a New York Times best-selling author (Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan ...
Apr 14, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast April showers bring May flowers and we certainly hope this philosophy translates to climate change, which is why we’re covering the issue all month long. This episode, the first in the series, is set to equip you with the basics of climate change through the lens of Aaron Burgess, Director of Climate Policy at Tom Steyer PAC. An expert and policy maven in the field, Aaron’s work and insights offer a foundational knowledge on everything from defining climate change to understanding big-name polic...
Apr 07, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Military healthcare in the United States is more complicated than a love triangle on the Bachelor. It’s layered, it’s nuanced, and it takes a true expert in chaos and crisis to shed light on how healthcare and the military intersect. Cue, Vice Admiral (Ret.) Dr. Rocky Bono, MD, the first woman surgeon in the military to hold the rank of Vice Admiral, the first female three-star admiral in the medical field in the history of the U.S. Navy, as well as the first Asian-American woman promoted to Vic...
Mar 31, 2021•1 hr 7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Something that’s foreign to most -- foreign aid -- became a bit more familiar to us this week. And how exactly did that happen? Through our conversation with Clint Borgen, the founder of the Borgen Project of course! The founder of the campaign to address global poverty is well-versed in what foreign aid is, how it's distributed, and the many forms it can come in, and his knowledge surely shone in this conversation. Insights were also shared as it relates to the US’s role in foreign aid, as ...
Mar 24, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Is it us or do the names of bills and acts often sound like super-secret spy codes? Like legit should we go get a walky-talky and take it from there? Well, the case is no different for HR1, which is better known as the ‘For the People Act’ -- and, to make it super confusing, it’s also commonly referred to as the ‘voting rights act.’ With three names and a million and more details to digest, we brought on Nathalia Ramos to dissect and discuss what the bill entails. Through our conversation, Natha...
Mar 17, 2021•1 hr•Transcript available on Metacast When we say that this week’s guest is an absolute BOSS, it’s truly the understatement of the century. Like, literally. Our guest, State Representative Madinah Wilson-Anton (DE-D26) is a trailblazer in politics and has insights for days -- yes, somehow we condensed days into a digestible show that’s under two hours long. Speaking of insights, in this episode we discussed the issue of affordable housing and its many facets. Starting at its base, Representative Wilson-Anton helped us define the con...
Mar 10, 2021•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re millennials and we will absolutely come up with a slang word for anything and everything, including stimulus checks. Cue, the ‘stimi.’ Cute, right? Cuter if you actually received it, which Maddie has yet to. We’d tweet about it, but we thought it would be better to talk solutions with Greg Nasif, Press Secretary & Chief Spokesman with Humanity Forward. Sharing resources on what to do in cases like these, Greg provided needed insights. In addition, we got the 411 on the mission of Human...
Mar 03, 2021•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s 10pm, do you know what the SEC is? If you don’t, that’s a-okay because this week our guest, Delano Saporu, Founder of New Street Advisors walked us through the basics of Wall Street finance and connected the dots with us to politics (ahem, SEC). The regular CNBC and Fox Business contributor gave us the lay of the land and the vocab to not only get a better grasp on the intersectionality between politics and finance, but to help us (and you) get up to speed on the basics, like ‘what is the d...
Feb 24, 2021•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re super excited about this episode and not just because we have another Tom Steyer for Prez alumni tap. We’re excited for about five million reasons, but especially because in this episode we tackle two topics we have yet to touch. Yep, that’s right, we are scratching new surfaces this week. Helping us do so, our amazing guest, Abdul Henderson, who is both the former Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus, the former Director of International Affairs at the Department of Vetera...
Feb 17, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Transcript available on Metacast It’s Wednesday and you know what that means? An amazing episode with a very special guest - Brandon Upson, Founder of Amplify Action. We had the honor of chatting with this Tom Steyer campaign alum (he was the National Organizing Director) and civic engagement genius who shared with us the innovative techniques his organization is bringing to the South to get out the vote. We’ll give you one hint before we tell you to just hit play already - restaurants aren’t the only ones using QR codes these ...
Feb 10, 2021•41 min•Transcript available on Metacast First, let us apologize for opening this episode talking about hot dogs… BUT beep, beep absolute icon coming through! That’s right this episode we were honored to speak with Kat Calvin, Co-Founder & CEO of Project ID Action Fund (and Founder and Executive Director of Spread The Vote), who, through her incredible work, has been honored as a TIME Magazine 16 People and Groups Fighting for a More Equal America, a 2018 Fast Company 100 Most Creative People in Business, and has been a Business In...
Feb 03, 2021•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Sammy loves to call this change to the ‘voting machine’ the political version of the sorority rush. It’s called Ranked Choice Voting and when you hear how it works, she’s pretty sure you’ll agree (Maddie has rolled her eyes about ten times at this description, but is going along with it.) Either way, this episode dives into what it is and how it works with a candidate whose very race will be using Ranked Choice Voting. That candidate is Dianne Morales who is running for NYC Mayor. Providing the ...
Jan 27, 2021•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast Good morning sunshines, it’s INAUGURATION DAY! It’s been a journey, but here we are. Like literally, mama we made it. We’re amped to usher this day and new administration in, but we’re also amped about the elections that are still going on. Yep - that’s right, 2021 has elections too. At the top of the list is the special election for NYC Council District 15 (Bronx), for which Elisa Crespo is a candidate. We had the honor of chatting with Elisa about this special election, the concept as a whole,...
Jan 20, 2021•57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Before we dive into the pertinent topics of affordable housing and food security, we had to weigh in on the insane week we've had after the insurrection on our nation's capitol. We break down what happened on that grim day, call out Republican hypocrisy and petty B.S., and explain what has been happening since with the unprecedented calls for impeachment, expulsions, and the 25th amendment. But we digress because we love a good stupid question, and let us tell you our guest Emerita Torre...
Jan 13, 2021•59 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re here in 2021 and we’re here with one super amazing guest that we can’t wait for you all to meet. For our very first episode of the year, we ‘sat’ down (okay we recorded virtually, whatever) with Representative Brianna Titone, CO-HD27 who is not only a badass woman in politics but the first openly transgender state legislator elected in Colorado and the 4th elected in the United States. Accomplished, to say the least, Brianna educated us (and now you) on LGBTQA+ related policy as a whole in...
Jan 06, 2021•1 hr 3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Trigger warning! This 2020 recap will indeed be recapping 2020 and bringing us ALL the top headlines of this year... the good, the BAD, and the very UGLY. As scary as that sounds... we found it pretty mind-blowing to go over this movie of a year we just experienced (and say WE DID THAT) so join us on our last episode of the year! 2020 brought a lot of heartbreak but also brought you this lovely pod so come celebrate with us! We also talk about the biggest political lessons we all learned this ye...
Dec 30, 2020•56 min•Transcript available on Metacast Toodles to taboos, specifically the taboo that is having conversations with friends and family about politics. Often a touchy subject, and amongst those (heyy, the religion you’re in the mix too!), that lights a match to many a fire when it comes to conversations around the dinner table, politics has a reputation for sowing division. But what if it's just the way we’ve always approached these conversations? Could it be that we’ve been dipping into the wrong toolbox to operate these conversat...
Dec 23, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy birthday to you, haaaaaappy birthday to 100 years of suffrage! Get your party hats on and your earbuds in place, because we have quite the celebration for your ears on this fine Wednesday. In honor of 100 years of suffrage (translation: the passing of the 19th amendment affording women the right to vote), we brought on two very special guests - the hosts of She Votes! Podcast, award-winning ABC News journalist, Lynn Sherr and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Ellen Goodman - to walk us th...
Dec 16, 2020•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast We solve so many mysteries at Girl and the Gov, The Podcast that might start calling ourselves the Nancy Drew crew. This week we brought our eye for investigation and unveiling the mysteries at the very core of politics today, by exploring what a PAC (Political Action Committee) is. Not just a fun abbreviation, a PAC has some serious sway in politics today. Because let’s be real, it's about the money honey. So, we brought on an expert in the field, the Founder of Moms in Office, a PAC that s...
Dec 09, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast Let’s set the scene. You’re back in middle school and your friend Karen gets caught cheating on the social studies test (classic, Karen). What happens? The teacher, principal, and perhaps even Karen’s parents, hold Karen accountable for her actions and she is given an F on the test. Ouch. The process seems seamless though, right? An action associated with a result. That’s accountability. So how does this work in the political realm? Does it? And if it does work, how is accountability operated? W...
Dec 02, 2020•58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Every four years two words are uttered more than Kanye says “I love Kanye” on a daily basis. Those two words are ‘Electoral College.’ Okay, excuse us, two words doesn’t quite capture this correctly - this TERM is mentioned ad nauseam every four years. Regardless of the syntax, does anyone know what the Electoral College is? Bueller, Bueller. Yea didn’t think so, despite it having a leading role in Presidential elections. Cue, Emily Conrad, Author of 'The Faithless? The Untold Story of the El...
Nov 24, 2020•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast If there’s one word that describes this past election, it’s chaos. Seriously, it seems as though there’s a new avenue or news update to unpack just about every 30 seconds. What’s perhaps most frustrating about this -- outside of the amount of screen time our Iphones are mocking us for -- is that election firsts aren’t getting their moment in the spotlight. From the election of Cori Bush (MO) to Sarah McBride (DE), there’s much to celebrate and, dare we say unpack in a positive light? So, we did ...
Nov 18, 2020•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Oh, hey there? Are you noticing our post-election day glow? Are you ready for us to tell you about our skincare routines? We kid, but in our first solo (sans guest) episode, we take a moment to reflect and discuss the results of the Presidential election, the future of the Georgia Senate races, and even give a voice to the meme-maker of the week, Four Seasons Landscaping. Pop in your pods and take a listen to our hot takes and what we have planned for the next few episodes -- spoiler alert: supe...
Nov 11, 2020•39 min•Transcript available on Metacast Wait, wait, election day has come and gone? Yea, we can’t believe it either. But like they say, it’s not ‘til the fat lady sings and that’s certainly the case with this Presidential election. There are many MANY questions that we have related to what is happening with regards to the outcome and we had a chance to run them by a professional, Loyola Marymount University Professor and Associate Chair of Political Science and International Relations, Richard Fox. In this episode, the third in our sp...
Nov 05, 2020•49 min•Transcript available on Metacast We’re ONE day away from the election and we want to make sure YOU are ready to vote. Honestly, we live for it. Pop in your headphones and take a listen to the 1 step, 2 steps to voting tomorrow. We run through key questions like what you can wear to the polls, what forms of identification you might need, and more with the Deputy Press Secretary of NextGen America, Briana Megid. Naturally, we also dove into hot topics like the polls and what they mean for the election’s potential outcome and the ...
Nov 02, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
