Married to the Movement

In this final episode of Married to the Movement's first season, Rai & Shaun unpack how they fight: the most universal experience of being in a committed relationship. Rai & Shaun recorded this episode as a reflection on a fight they had in quarantine. While they talk about the strategies and tools that they've learned throughout their relationship, they also talk about the difficult fights when all the strategies and best practices fall away. Through their conversation, Rai & Shaun dismantle the idea that any couple is beyond fighting and establish that even public figures who are romanticized as #CoupleGoals have fights that can be messy and hard.

When Shaun travels and campaigns for any cause, campaign, or case that he's working for, it impacts Rai & their kids. Either they stay home and they miss him, or they tag along. This winter break, Rai & the kids joined Shaun as he campaigned for Bernie Sanders across the entire state. On a campaign trail with 5 kids, is almost unimaginable for most of us. While on Bernie's campaign trail, Rai recorded voice memos that showed what it's like to navigate 5 kids and a marriage. On today's episode, Rai & Shaun talk through those clips and talk through what it's like to be a family while doing serious and exhausting political work.

Rai & Shaun record a SPECIAL episode to acknowledge the changes in life amidst quarantine & covid-19. On today's episode, Rai & Shaun talk about the struggles they have been experiencing as parents, as employers, as husband and wife, and so much more. Unexpectedly though, they have more to laugh about than ever from fights about tik tok challenges to home haircuts.

Rai & Shaun recorded this episode just hours after they found out that Rodney Reed's execution had been stayed. They talk about their decision to involve their kids in that case, and also give a behind-the-scenes look into the organizing Shaun did to create the most signed petition EVER on behalf of someone on death row. Through their conversation, Rai & Shaun analyze America's legal system, discuss the moral implications of the death penalty, and so much more.

It's easy to think that someone else's relationship must be sexier and easier than your own. But that's just not how it works. Rai & Shaun are the first to say that there's nothing glamorous about their marriage. It is hard. And has taken A LOT of work. On today's episode, they talk about their "regular" marriage -- about what two decades of marriage has taught them about themselves and unconditional love.  They share three clear lessons that have guided them through the highs and lows of their 23-year-long relationship.

You know Shaun from his hundreds of thousands of tweets. But Rai's life has been private until now. Even though she has a public IG, photos and videos don't tell the whole story of who someone is. Today, Shaun, who is usually the one getting interviewed, steps into the seat of interviewer. Shaun and Rai talk about who she is, who she isn't, where she comes from, her gifts, her passions, and more.

Social justice work can be difficult and draining. The consequences of that work for Rai and their kids can be painful. BUT these two laugh all the time. Today they talk about joyful moments and the things that lift them up.

When the Black Lives Matter movement started in 2014, Shaun suddenly became @ShaunKing. And when his life became public, Rai & Shaun needed to make real and complicated decisions around what his activism would mean for their still very young family.

In December of 1996, Shaun met a girl in a small Baptist church in Kentucky. He was 17 and she was 15. They fell in love, got married, and lived happily ever after, right? Not exactly. In this episode Rai and Shaun tell the story of their beginnings--how they met, their first impressions of each other, and their first date. They also discuss what their teenaged expectations were of what their lives together would become. (Spoiler alert: it's not even close.)

Introducing Married to the Movement — the podcast by Rai and Shaun King that chronicles their life together in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement and the next election for the President of the United States. Sharing stories from their family, work, and activism, Rai and Shaun, who've been together since they were students in high school, shed light on both the joy and toll of serving during such difficult times.

Members of The North Star will get a first look at all episodes. The first episode launches to TNS Members on Wednesday 2/19 at midnight! Become a member at thenorthstar.com.