How To Not Lose Your Sh!t

On September 27th, in a high school auditorium near Cleveland, Heather Cox Richardson spoke to a group of nearly 1,000 Red Wine & Blue members. She and Katie Paris talked about the midterms, what's at stake, and what gives Heather hope.

This wasn’t your typical political event. It was a room full of real conversations, real connections, and people ready to make a difference in their communities. Red Wine & Blue has three more in-person HCR events coming up in the next few weeks, and we'll share them all here on the How To Not Lose Your Sh!t podcast.

After you listen, make sure you’re ready for Election Day: check your voter registration, make your voting plan, and help your friends and family make theirs too. You can take our pledge here!

Climate journalist Emily Atkin is a pessimist. Or maybe she's a realist. Or maybe she's actually hopeful? One thing's for certain: she's not going to stop calling out tech and oil company billionaires or the politicians who are in their pocket.

This week, Katie and LaFonda had a fascinating conversation with Emily about the environment and whether you need to be an optimist to work for change. Emily started her Substack, Heated, back in 2019 -- almost the exact same time that Katie started Red Wine & Blue -- and while the climate is such an important issue on its own, it can also stand in for almost any issue we care about.

There's no shortage of causes that feel hopeless right now, from preserving our democracy and fighting corruption to women's rights to racial equality. If we waited to know for certain that our efforts would pay off, no one would ever take any action at all. Not to mention, the people in power want us to feel hopeless. There's nothing they want more than for us to all throw up our hands and stay home instead of standing up for what we believe in.

And that's exactly why we have to keep fighting. As Emily said, "the future is still being decided and I'm not gonna surrender my part in deciding it." We couldn't agree more.

This week, Red Wine & Blue founder Katie Paris and our Director of Distributed Organizing Missy McGinnes joined Allison Gill on The Daily Beans to talk about the midterms, friend-to-friend organizing, and how you can join or start your own RWB Network group.

It was such a great conversation that we wanted to share it here! You can expect more bonus episodes as we get closer to election day.

Romance novels are already political, but one that features two campaign staffers and ends with a call for its readers to run for office is *definitely* political. This week, we were joined by Kate Stayman-London, the author of a new book called See You Next Tuesday. She's worked for many campaigns herself, including as lead digital writer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, so she knows the ins and outs of the political world.

She also knows about hope. After watching Clinton lose in 2016, and then Harris in 2024, it would be easy to become cynical and jaded. But in politics and in romance, hope is crucial. It keeps us open to new love (whether it's a date or a candidate!) and the possibility that things can get better for ourselves and our communities.

Both women candidates and romance novels are too often dismissed by the establishment -- in no small part because they take women out of the passenger seat and into a position to lead the way. So let's keep putting women in the driver's seat!

On June 13th in Philadelphia, Red Wine & Blue founder Katie Paris did something she'd never done before: give a TED talk. Three months later, her speech on breaking the old D.C. rules about politics is finally available for everyone to watch!

Today on the podcast, Katie was joined by her TED coach, Kelly Stoetzel, along with Stacy Kunkel, our Deputy Program Director in PA who was on the ground at TED Democracy. They chatted about imposter syndrome, what it was like being around so many people who are passionate about democracy, and how we can mentally prepare ourselves for the hard work of the midterms.

You can watch Katie's TED talk here: https://www.ted.com/talks/katie_paris_campaigns_spend_millions_to_influence_voters_this_works_better

Are you worried about voting rights going into this year's midterm elections? We are too.

But just being worried doesn't fix the problem. In fact, if we let it make us lose our sh!t, that worry can keep us from taking real action to protect our rights.

Luckily, Stacey Abrams is *the* expert on all things voting. She joined us a few weeks ago for a virtual event where she helped us understand how extremists are trying to take away our right to vote and what we can do to stop it. She shared that there are three important questions to ask: Can you register and stay on the rolls? Can you cast a ballot? And does that ballot get counted?

Each of these three questions comes with its own challenges and solutions, but -- crucially -- they help us take action. As Stacey said, "we see villains coming together, and we think the villains have won. But we have power too. And when you believe that we have the ability to be the heroes in our own stories, to be the hero for someone else, then we are not as daunted by the villains."

Today we're getting back to our local organizing roots with Karen West, the leader of a Red Wine & Blue Network group in Pennsylvania. She recently held a talent show and raised $2000 for a local charity that helps immigrants and refugees -- which for an organization of their size, means more than their year's operating budget!

It would be inspiring enough to see Karen organize a creative event to benefit immigrants in her community, but there's another layer: she was going through a really difficult time in her personal life as her husband was in hospice. Karen cared so much about this fundraiser, it took her sister and an RWB organizer to convince her to postpone the event. And when her group finally held the talent show, of course, it was a rousing success. Let's keep making sure to take care of ourselves and the other "givers" in our lives! We CAN do this work without burning out.

On this episode, we also shared good local news about voting rights in Ohio, a judge siding with students over their schools being renamed after Confederate generals, and bipartisan victories over Flock surveillance cameras.

To reach us directly, email us at [email protected]. You can learn more at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media:

Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA

Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA

YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

Red Wine & Blue is all about taking the "ick" out of politics. We believe that the best way to improve this country is to build community and listen to our neighbors rather than out-of-touch politicians or influencers who just want to make us mad.

Our guest this week, Bennett Rea (aka Cookin' With Congress), is doing something a little different. We couldn't stop laughing about how he's putting the "ick" *back* into politics.

But not in the way you think! He's not platforming billionaires or feeding the outrage machine. Instead, he's cooking.

On Cookin' With Congress, Bennett makes historical recipes from presidents, first ladies, and Congresspeople. And many of these recipes are inarguably... icky. We're talking mayo and jello salad, possum, and more liquor than you can imagine. His goal is to show how these powerful figures, from Andrew Jackson to RFK Jr., are really just people at the end of the day. Weird people with strange tastes, maybe, but people all the same. They're not untouchable. And actually, maybe a lot of them shouldn't have had that much power in the first place.

Katie and LaFonda had such a fun chat with Bennett. But it wasn't all laughs -- we also discovered how a show that isn't technically partisan can actually be very political.

We also started a new segment this week with the Good News You Might've Missed! Americans across the country have been winning against MAGA in school board races, cancelled Flock contracts, and so many places that aren't making headlines. Positive political news, laughter, and community are all helping us not lose our sh!t.

To reach us directly, email us at [email protected]. You can learn more at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media:

Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA

Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA

YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

This week, we were lucky enough to sit down with Sara Wiles: a mom, entrepreneur, political activist, and content creator. Whether it's reaching millions of people on Instagram or door-knocking for a local candidate, Sara is using her time and energy for good.

In an age where "influencers" are often (rightfully) dismissed as shallow or opportunistic, Sara is doing the real work and making a serious difference. She shared how the personal messages she receives give her the hope to keep going, how she approaches political disagreements with a MAGA family member, and how she spurs her followers into taking tangible political action.

More than anything, we came away from this conversation in awe of the power of women. Our country is in a tight spot right now, but we know women can figure this out -- women like Sara, her team, her local candidates, and the generations who have fought for our freedom.

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Red Wine & Blue is a sisterhood of diverse communities working to change the world together. We help you make meaningful connections, organize in your community, and become more effective than you ever imagined. You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! 

Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA

Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA

YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

We're continuing the theme of women in the South fighting for democracy this week, and Red Wine & Blue Network leader Carrie Dix is such an inspiration. She lives in Georgia, surrounded by Republican voters, but she's connecting hundreds of other women with political actions that matter... and, just as importantly, with one another.

It's hard feeling isolated with no one who shares your values, but as we discuss in this episode, you're never alone. If you feel like a blue dot in a sea of red, we guarantee that there are other people in your community who feel the same as you. For Carrie, it's even more important to have that fellowship because her own husband is a three-time Trump voter. We so admire Carrie's grit and determination to lead this Network group despite all of the forces she's up against.

We're also joined this week by Sarah Goodman, our RWB Network South organizer, filling in for LaFonda Cousin. Sarah recently went on an organizing road trip through Georgia where she met dozens of organizers like Carrie. We've got a little over 80 days until the midterms now, and it's local groups like Carrie's that are going to carry us over the finish line.

You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media! 

Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA

Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA

YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA