This week, guest host Melissa Murray, host of Crooked Media’s Strict Scrutiny podcast is joined by Erin Ryan, co-host of Crooked Media’s Hysteria. They juxtapose the Obama Presidential Center opening with Trump’s UFC event celebrating his 80th birthday, and talk about the two very different visions of our country that those events (and their attendants) represent. They also touch on Trump’s dismal approval ratings, the biggest takeaways from primary battles in states like New York and Georgia, the positive vibes at the World Cup, and why the right just can’t move on from attacking pride month.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

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This episode originally aired in 2025. Christian nationalism is an extremist, anti-democratic ideology rooted in the belief that the United States should be a nation for Christians to the exclusion of all others. In modern times, the Trump administration and its Republican allies have wielded this ideology as a weapon to divide Americans and implement an agenda via plans like the infamous Project 2025 that eviscerates the rights of immigrants and the LGBTQ+ community, questions the rights of women to vote, restores a freedom to discriminate against others and targets reproductive rights. This week, in response to a listener question asking what Christian nationalism has to do with the central tenets of Christianity, Stacey shares her own experience as a progressive, democratic Christian, pulling back the curtain on a core truth: the malice and hatred preached by right-wing religious leaders who shape our politics has nothing to do with Jesus’s actual teachings. She’s joined by Bishop William Barber, president of Repairers of the Breach, co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, and professor at Yale Divinity School and Father Greg Boyle, Jesuit priest, founder of Homeboy Industries, and author. Together, they break down the threat Christian nationalism poses to democracy and show how faith, at its best, can be a powerful force for justice and progress. This inspiring conversation has so much to offer all our listeners, whether they come from a Christian background, some other faith background, or no faith at all.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

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What does disability rights and representation really look like? While the Trump administration continues to decimate access to healthcare and dismantle civil rights, disabled Americans are often among those most affected and most overlooked. More than 70 million adults in the United States live with a disability, navigating barriers that extend far beyond health care. This week, Stacey is joined by Marlene Sallo, Executive Director of the National Disability Rights Network, and disability rights advocate and motivational speaker Spencer West. They discuss the challenges facing the disability community, what many people get wrong about disability rights, and why building a more accessible and inclusive society is a social justice issue that impacts us all.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date

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Why are state governments more important than ever? While the Trump administration has been busy gutting and remaking the federal government, it’s critical to remember that the power in Washington was given to it by…the states. This week, Stacey is joined by Pennsylvania House Speaker Joanna McClinton and Daniel Squadron, cofounder of The States Project and author of The Fourth Branch. They talk about the biggest lessons from their own time as elected officials, the critical ways that state legislatures impact peoples’ lives, share stories of their biggest victories, and argue that the states can be a powerful tool  in the fight for Democracy.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

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AI development is barreling ahead with no guardrails,  leading Americans to feel anxious about what lies ahead. This week, Stacey tackles the big questions we need to ask ourselves about the technology with Katie Drummond, Global Editorial Director at Wired, and Timnit Gebru, founder and Executive Director at the Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR). They discuss the economic uncertainty created by AI, , the motivations driving tech leaders,  making sense of the flurry of information and opinions that are influencing the discourse on the issue, and whether we can imagine a more optimistic technologically-forward future.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

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This week, Stacey goes beyond the headlines about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Voting Rights Act and outlines why this step is so dangerous - not just for minority voters around the country - but for our democracy as a whole She’s joined by Lauren Groh-Wargo, CEO of Fair Fight, to discuss what people can still do at the local level and at the ballot box to save our elections and fight back against authoritarianism. Then, Stacey is joined by CNN host Abby Phillip, who talks about the importance of debate in our political culture and what current activists can learn from Jesse Jackson’s legacy of fighting for equality.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

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This week, Stacey opens the show by answering audience questions about the Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the Voting Rights Act, and what it means for our democracy. Then she’s joined by Jane Fonda, who explains why she’s revived the Committee for the First Amendment, a group originally supported by her father in the 1940’s. Stacey and Jane also talk about the Trump administration’s attacks against Jimmy Kimmel, why the Warner Bros. and Paramount merger is so dangerous, and what Jane has learned after decades of activism, including her actions during the Vietnam War.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

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What can international pro-democracy activists teach us about taking on authoritarianism here in the US? Stacey opens the show with reflections from the Salzburg Global Forum Democracy Resilience Conference featuring reformers from Bolivia, to Hungary, to Nepal. Then she’s joined by Representative Yassamin Ansari, a freshman from Arizona and the only Iranian-American in Congress. She tells Stacey about her opposition to Trump’s war with Iran, the horrific conditions she’s seen firsthand when visiting ICE detention centers, and how we demand a practical response to the competing harms coming out of Washington.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast, episode title, and episode date.

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Do you want the government spying on you, or do you want it to catch bad guys? This week, Stacey opens the show by pointing out the false binary Americans are being presented with as Congress debates renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Then she speaks to reporter Astead Herndon, host of “America, Actually” at Vox Media. They break down how to talk about and report on America without focusing exclusively on Trump, why both parties should consider non-systems candidates in 2028, and the big realignments among groups like voters of color and faith-based voters.

For a closed-captioned version of this episode, click here. For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected] and include the name of the podcast.

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This week Stacey opens the show with a response to Viktor Orban’s stunning loss in the Hungarian elections, and what we can learn from the defeat of an authoritarian in Europe. Then she speaks to Reshma Saujani, founder of Moms First, about childcare (or lack thereof) in the United States. Stacey and Reshma break down why affordability and childcare are intricately linked, the long term impacts on opportunities for women, and react to President Trump saying that the federal government “can’t do daycare” because they need to fund wars. 

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