Climate! Equity! Budget! Change! Smartypants guest Jesse O'Connell joins us with his smartypants Zoom background and gives smartypants answers we like on erudite topics such as pizza and vacation reads!

(FYI: this is where The Bathroom Question starts to go off the rails, folks. Listen as Jesse tells us "it's a great question" out of pity and concern.)

Welcome to the first full episode of Liberally Social! You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll hear us flex our rusty interviewing joints and Sarah Bagley patiently answer such hard-hitting questions as, "Who's your best friend?" PRESS PLAY, FELLOW NERDS!

Before we jump into this Season 3 with FOURTEEN local candidate interviews, let's take a minute, take a breath, and talk about the arena with a neutral party—a journalist, who brings the facts, can give us a gut check, and level set so we’re all on the same page as we start the season!

FOURTEEN CANDIDATES! SEVEN SEATS! Find out what happens when people stop being polite, and start getting real. Welcome to the Real World—wait, no. Welcome to Liberally Social: your political infotainment, wrapped in a pod party, wrapped in nerd fun, recorded from the best city in the world, Alexandria, VA!

A Special Election! In January! In School Board District A!

In this ep, we learn a) what makes Gina Baum tick, b) how to get booted from the GWMS Facebook group, and c) that she's willing to go the extra mile for good takeout! This boards and commissions vet has a ton to tell you about her campaign—so join us!

Gina's website is here

Send her some moolah here (via Donorbox?)

This is your chance to become one of a handful of people who even know about this race, let alone will vote in it! So listen up, and tell your friends!

A Special Election! In January! In School Board District A!

We're talking to Tim Beaty, aka "Mr. Tim from School," about his experience subbing in ACPS, sharing some big love for Quinta Brunson and another special teacher, and getting schooled on collective bargaining for teachers by a real live Teamster—partially in Spanish!

Tim's website is here

Throw him a donation here (via ActBlue)

This is your chance to become one of a handful of people who even know about this race, let alone will vote in it! So listen up, and tell your friends!

If you’re shoppin’ for a candidate who has superior Betta fish-naming skillz, then getta load of what Bridget Shea Westfall, candidate for School Board in District B, is sellin’! We cover binge-worthy TV, what the heck is up with OpenACPS, and the weirdness of running for office as a federal employee—with our bubbles in fancy crystal because we’re klassy. Well, at least Bridget is! Join us!

Are you lookin' for a megaboost of positive energy to get your day goin'? THEN PRESS PLAY! Retiring Principal PreeAnn Johnson, School Board candidate in District B, has it in spades. And is it just us, or does her description of her childhood self sound suspiciously like Blind Melon Bumblebee Girl? Pop those AirPods in and hear PreeAnn's vision for the whole child, practical solutions to our schools' challenges, and why all this talk of Critical Race Theory is making her head implode! Your faithful hosts couldn't hold back their...uproarious...reaction! 

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"That was the most succinct answer we've ever had and we don't know what to do now." Dr. Ashley Simpson Baird, candidate for School Board in District B, shocks and amazes us with her ability to articulate a full, clear thought—with an ending—in English AND Spanish! Teach us the secret to organizing our brains like this, Doc! You'll want to eavesdrop on this convo about deep, critical thinking, getting back to the basics of teaching our kids, and...Michelle Pfeiffer? Yes! Michelle Pfeiffer! By the end, maybe you'll be roaming Beverley Hills, lookin' for an ASB yard sign!