We all know elections are important, from president to city council and school board. But have you ever heard anyone talk about running for office as self-care?

We hadn’t either — until today! This week on the pod, we were joined by two inspirational women: Jill Barkley Roy and Kate Barr. Jill is the Director of Emerge Action Fund, an organization that trains women to run for office. And Kate has been fighting against gerrymandering in North Carolina for years and now, she’s actually running for office as a Republican as a genius way to beat those unfair maps.

Not only did both Jill and Kate share what they’ve been doing to help women (including themselves) run for office, but they both said that the work they do is what helps them not lose their shit on a daily basis. 

Jill even said that after training 25 women to run for office at a recent Emerge bootcamp, she was so excited that she couldn’t sleep. That sounds a lot better than lying awake because of nightmares about ICE!

Kate, meanwhile, shared this wisdom that she first heard from a Tibetan monk about not spreading ourselves too thin. We should find our torch — the issue we care about most — and carry it in the direction we feel is right and true for as we're able. It's what she and Jill have both been doing for years.

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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Last night, Red Wine & Blue held an emergency community meeting to support Springfield, Ohio against an impending ICE surge. 

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from ending protections for Haitians in Springield, but the fight is far from over. The Department of Homeland Security says they are taking the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. 15,000 Haitians in Springfield could lose their status in a matter of weeks and ICE could surge.

We stood up for Springfield, Ohio, when JD Vance and Donald Trump lied about Haitians who live and work there during the 2024 campaign, and we're doing it again now. In this virtual event, we heard from local residents and legal experts, raised funds for local groups providing direct support to Haitian families in Springfield, and thousands took action, no matter where they're from.

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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Americans are at a breaking point. But that breaking point looks wildly different depending on who you ask.

For many of us who have been protesting and organizing against the Trump Administration since 2016, we’re at an emotional breaking point. How much suffering, how many innocent lives have to be lost, before this country turns back toward democracy?

For some who supported Trump (or at least didn’t care one way or the other), it’s a moral breaking point. Confronted with clear video evidence in Alex Pretti and Renee Good’s murders, seeds of doubt are growing in former MAGA faithfuls. Women in particular, regardless of political party, do not support ICE’s brutality.

And some lifelong activists, especially Black women, are at a breaking point too. After years of not being listened to, it’s hard to graciously welcome the “Johnny-come-lately”s whose minds were only changed when a white man was murdered.

That frustration is so understandable. But we can’t afford to turn people away — no matter how early or late they’ve joined the fight. That’s not to say that there shouldn’t be accountability! But as our pod guest Malynda Hale said to a woman who had posted on Threads that she was leaving MAGA, “Welcome, good for you, let’s get to work cause you have a lot to help fix.”

This week’s conversation between Malynda and LaFonda explores that tension between accountability and welcoming people to the cause. Malynda is also the Executive Director of The New Evangelicals, an organization that’s redefining what it means to be an evangelical Christian in America. Her chat with LaFonda goes deep on so many of these topics and more — we hope it helps you not lose your shit!

Speaking of redefining Christianity, we're holding a virtual event about Christian Nationalism on Thursday, January 29 at 7:30pm ET. You can learn more and RSVP here.

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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

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On the one-year anniversary of Trump’s inauguration, we are exhausted and anxious. That’s why we’re turning to our favorite historian Heather Cox Richardson to help us reflect on the year and how we can and must continue to stand strong together. 

This conversation is not just about naming what’s gone wrong; it is also about recognizing what’s beginning to shift. Heather shared why the tide may be turning as cracks form in the MAGA movement and more people are rejecting extremism in favor of humanity. Let’s start the new year talking about how we will continue to bring positive change and the power we have when we stand together. 

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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

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This week on the pod, we interviewed two moms in Chicago who were arrested last year for protesting outside of an ICE facility. Nikki and Sarah said that they wanted to draw attention to what’s happening in this country by using their privilege as white suburban moms — moms not so different from Renee Good in Minneapolis.

Not everyone has to go out and get arrested to stand up for immigrants in their community. There are so many ways to get involved, from helping your school with a food drive to going to a local meeting to simply having a conversation with the people in your life.

But before we can take meaningful action, we have to feel all the feelings. Especially after Renee’s tragic murder. So cry, hug a loved one, or scream in your car. And then it’s time to do something about it

Nikki and Sarah's story was already inspiring — suburban moms who were stepping up to defend their neighbors and risk their own safety — but with last week’s news, our conversation with them was more important than ever. We hope you get as much out of it as we did.

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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

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Last night, Red Wine & Blue held a virtual event we called Moms for Good where our community got together to process and grieve for Renee Good, who was killed in Minneapolis last week by a member of ICE. 

We talked about how it’s okay to feel all the feelings – sadness, fear, anger, overwhelm – but we also talked about how fear is being used to silence us. As moms, neighbors, and friends, we have to stay in the fight. 

Tomorrow on the pod, we’ll be joined by two suburban moms in Chicago who were arrested for protesting ICE last year. Nikki and Sarah were among our guests at last night’s event and you’ll get to hear their story in more detail tomorrow.

If you want to take any of the actions mentioned in this event, here are the links:

• Take action and find resources and organizational links here: https://go.redwine.blue/MomsforGood/Resources 
• Contact your member of Congress to hold ICE accountable: https://go.redwine.blue/mfg-callcongress 
• Sign up for a Social Bank: https://go.redwine.blue/mfg-socbank 
• Find your local TroubleNation group or Start One: https://go.redwine.blue/mfg-tn 

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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

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Red Wine & Blue is back from the holidays and ready to tackle 2026! So it feels right that we were joined for our first pod of the new year by two of our favorite RWB colleagues, Rebecca and Janice.

All last year, Rebecca did the hard work of tracking Project 2025 as Trump put it into place, one dangerous policy at a time. So of course we had to ask what her strategy has been to do this depressing research every day without losing her shit! She told us that the antidote has been seeing the amazing work that RWB and women across the country did in their local communities all year long.

So to hear more about that on-the-ground work, we also chatted with our North Carolina Program Director, Janice Robinson. Janice and her team have been training women to run for office, protecting kids from ICE at their local schools, and so much more.

The year 2025 may be over, but Project 2025 isn’t going anywhere. The Trump administration plans to continue and expand their authoritarian work in 2026. And although that feels daunting, we know how to counter it: by working in our local communities and talking to our friends, family, and neighbors.

As Rebecca put it, Project 2025 was “an enormous horrible group project” that included the work of hundreds of conservative authors. But we have our own group project to protect our communities and our country—and there’s no telling what millions of passionate women can accomplish when we work together.

2026 is going to be a big year. Let’s go!

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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

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Last week, Red Wine & Blue held our last live virtual event of the year. First, Katie Paris shared some of the wins we saw in 2025 elections and how we're approaching 2026.

Then we're joined by our favorite political strategist and event guest, Jess McIntosh, to share some tips and tricks for navigating holiday parties. What should you do if a MAGA relative corners you and insists on a debate? What actually moves the needle, and what's a waste of your energy?

Thanks so much for joining us this year - we'll see you in 2026!

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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

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Back in 2020, members of the violent group The Proud Boys jumped a fence and defaced the Black Lives Matter sign at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church. They filmed themselves destroying the sign while chanting racial epithets.

Metropolitan AME wasn’t the only Black church in D.C. to be attacked that night, but their response to the violence was unique. They sued the Proud Boys for damages, and when the group failed to pay, the church won the rights to their trademark. Now, they’re selling merch using the PB logo to raise money for their Community Justice Fund.

It’s an amazing story, but it’s only the backdrop to our conversation this week with Reverend Lamar. Katie and LaFonda’s conversation with him spanned so many topics, from the importance of storytelling to the power of love to how to have conversations with our family members at the holiday table. They discussed how the far-right has tried to co-opt Christianity but progressive pastors like Rev. Lamar are still fighting for justice and love — you know, actual Christian values.

Rev. Lamar has a book coming out next year called Ancestors: Those Who Bless Us, Curse Us, and Hold Us. He’s more directly connected to the past than most—Metropolitan AME is the oldest continuously Black-owned property in D.C and held the funerals of Frederick Douglass and Rosa Parks—but we’re all shaped by our ancestors. In recognizing our ancestors, we recognize the stories we tell about ourselves.

This conversation is a great way to get in the Christmas spirit, but even if you don’t celebrate, his humanity and leadership are inspiring. We hope you enjoy it.

And if you'd like to join us for our virtual "Pre-Gaming 2026" event, you can learn more and RSVP here.

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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

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We were so lucky this week to be joined by Prentis Hemphill: a therapist, teacher, political organizer, and bestselling author of What It Takes to Heal. 

So often we hear women say that things feel deeply wrong right now and they want to do something about it. But how do we engage without losing ourselves? It can feel like pain is the only way to make change, like we can only heal the world if we’re willing to be exhausted and broken ourselves along the way.

Prentis offers a different perspective. What if we can actually heal our systems while healing ourselves? What if it’s not about checking off items on a to-do list? They suggest that if we can be more present, listen with curiosity to ourselves and our neighbors, it doesn’t just make us feel more centered. It’s actually more effective organizing.

You can try out a centering practice with their video here or by checking out their work at prentishemphill.com. And if you’re interested in attending our upcoming virtual event When the World’s on Fire: Caring for Ourselves and Our Kids, you can learn more and RSVP here.

For a transcript of this episode, please email [email protected].

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

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