Recorded the day before Wisconsin's primary: Rebecca Cooke is running in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, the 19-county Western Wisconsin seat held by Derek Van Orden, and one of the most flippable House seats in America.

A dairy farm kid, longtime waitress, and small business owner, Rebecca outperformed both Kamala Harris and Tammy Baldwin here in 2024 — and this cycle she's endorsed by Senator Baldwin, one of the most successful vote-winners in modern Wisconsin history.

There's been a lot said about Rebecca online. Some of it fair, some of it not. Whatever you've picked up from the comments, this is a chance to hear her make her own case and decide for yourself from someone who knows her in real life.

We cover: what it means when the nearest labor & delivery unit is 40 minutes away, her Day One healthcare agenda if Democrats retake the House (extending insurance tax credits, a public option, Medicare covering vision, dental and hearing), why she wants a pause on data center construction, the union endorsements she earned the hard way, and how her opponent is using AI deepfake videos of her on the campaign trail.

Wisconsin, we vote tomorrow! Check your ballot and polling place at myvote.wi.gov.

Before there were campaign ads with his kids gently roasting him, Joel Brennan had one of the least flashy but most important jobs in Wisconsin: Secretary of the Department of Administration — basically the person who keeps the whole executive branch running. Think of the governor as the CEO and this role as the COO. He held it under Governor Evers, and two-thirds of his time on the job was during COVID.

Now he's running for governor in the August 11 Democratic primary, and I wanted to sit down and actually understand what he'd do with the job.

We get into how the state budget really works (and why it's a values statement, not just a spreadsheet), why our 33-year-old school funding formula keeps sending districts to referendum just to keep the lights on, his plan to make sure every kid in Wisconsin has health insurance, the OBGYN access crisis in rural counties, restoring reproductive rights and the 1849 ban, and what he learned about people from growing up as the 10th of 11 kids.

If you've ever wondered what a governor actually controls versus what the legislature does to better understand some of the promises you're hearing from candidates, this one's a really good primer.

Next up in my series sitting down with the folks who want to be Wisconsin's next governor, I’m getting to know democratic candidate and current Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. AKA Disco David (IYKYK) 

In a political moment where everyone's yelling, David Crowley is the guy who listens. When protesters showed up at an event he was at, he didn't get defensive or dig in. He walked toward the chaos and tried to understand it. That's rare in the world of politics right now. He’s not afraid of uncomfortable situations because everything in his life has prepared him for them. 

We get into his story, which is not your typical politician's resume. He grew up in Milwaukee with parents who battled substance and mental health struggles, never knowing if he'd come home to find the family's belongings on the curb from another eviction, or whether the lights would still be on. He learned early what he says shaped everything since: when systems fail, families feel it first. He went on to become a State Representative — fighting for housing, criminal justice reform, and reproductive freedom — and then the first African American elected Milwaukee County Executive. He's living proof that lived experience makes for better policy, because you can't fake understanding a problem you've actually survived.

If you're tired of politics-as-usual and curious what it looks like when a leader actually leads with empathy, this is your episode (and if you’re a Wisconsin voter, maybe your candidate, too.)

Want to learn more about David before you vote? You can read up on his "Badger Basics" plan, built around affordability, care, and opportunity, and find ways to get involved at his campaign site, crowleyforwi.com or follow his campaign on social media. 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crowleyforwi 

X: https://x.com/DavidCCrowley 

We’ve all been having the same conversations behind the scenes about the candidates running for Wisconsin governor — in one-on-one texts, in group chats, and off the record.

After spending the weekend at the WisDems convention in Madison, it felt like time to bring those conversations into the open.

This episode is a candid, thoughtful look at the candidates in the Wisconsin governor’s race, including Mandela Barnes, Francesca Hong, Sarah Rodriguez, Kelda Roys David Crowley, Joel Brennan, and Missy Hughes. We talk through the dynamics shaping the race, what we’re hearing on the ground, and the questions voters deserve real answers to.

Questions like:

• What does the straw poll tell us, if anything?
• Who should step aside?
• Who can actually win?

No talking points or spin, just an honest conversation from people who are deeply engaged in Wisconsin politics, but not necessarily party insiders. Because at a certain point, being polite stops being helpful. And if we’re going to get this right, we need to start saying the quiet parts out loud.

Kate Duffy, Motherhood for Good

Dan Shafer, The Recombobulation Area

Dr. Kristin Lyerly

Pat Kreitlow, Up North News

What does a state Supreme Court actually do, and why should a busy mom care? This week I sit down with Judge Lyndsey Brunette, a circuit court judge, former elected district attorney, and mom of five who's running for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2027.

Lyndsey grew up in rural Wisconsin and won her DA seat as a Democrat in a deeply conservative county — because people trusted her to be fair, no matter who walked into her courtroom. We talk about how she got here (spoiler: it wasn't the plan), what it's really like to sit with people on the worst day of their lives, and why she decided to run after watching the 2020 election through her kids' eyes.

We also break down, in plain English, why these races matter so much right now: the 1849 abortion ban the court took up, why a single seat can flip the whole balance of the court, the flood of out-of-state money in recent races, and why a 10-year term means the justices we pick today will still be deciding cases when our little kids are grown.

If you've ever felt like the courts are too confusing to follow, this one's for you. Lyndsey makes it make sense.

Show notes & links

Learn more about Judge Lyndsey Brunette and her campaign:

• Website: https://brunetteforwisconsin.com/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/brunetteforWI
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/brunetteforWI
• X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/brunetteforWI

Want to get involved? You can sign up, volunteer, or learn how to support the campaign right on her website.

Brought to you by Motherhood for Good — making the news make sense for moms and anyone newer to paying attention.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motherhoodforgood 

Substack: https://motherhoodforgood.substack.com/ 

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@motherhoodforgood 

Website: motherhoodforgood.com 

Episode Summary

Kate sits down with Angela Ferrell-Zabala, Executive Director of Moms Demand Action — one of the largest grassroots gun violence prevention organizations in the country — for a conversation that is equal parts inspiring and eye-opening. They talk about what really drives gun violence in America (hint: it's way bigger than school shootings), what regular moms can actually do about it, and why Angela still has hope.

What You'll Hear

Angela shares how growing up watching her mother and grandmother show up for their community planted the seeds for a lifetime of advocacy. She talks about what it felt like to become a mom of four and how that deepened her sense of urgency around keeping all kids safe, not just her own.

Then they get into the real stuff: the full picture of gun violence in America. Kate gets honest about her own learning curve: coming in mostly worried about school shootings, and realizing the issue is so much bigger. Angela walks through some stats that might surprise you (like the fact that Black Americans are 12 times more likely to die from gun violence than white Americans, and that guns are now the leading cause of death for children and young people in the U.S.).

They also talk about what's actually working, including wins in red states that never make the headlines, and what you can do right now, no matter how busy or overwhelmed you are.

Topics Covered

• How Moms Demand Action started at Shannon Watts' kitchen table after Sandy Hook and grew into a nationwide movement
• Why gun violence looks very different depending on where you live - and why all of it matters
• The difference between the gun lobby and actual gun owners (spoiler: a lot of gun owners support common-sense reforms)
• What the NRA's influence actually looks like today — and why it's not what it used to be
• The Be SMART program and why asking "is there a gun in your home, and is it locked up?" is as normal as asking about a pool fence
• Wins from 2025
• What's on the agenda for the 2026 midterms
• The Students Demand Action movement and why young people give Angela her biggest source of hope

Get Involved

Text READY to 64433 to join Moms Demand Action in your state.

About Angela Ferrell-Zabala

Angela Ferrell-Zabala is the Executive Director of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, part of the Everytown for Gun Safety network. A mother of four, she has spent her career working on reproductive health, immigrant rights, education, and economic justice — and brings that whole-person lens to the fight to end gun violence.

Surveillance isn’t just a conspiracy theory, it’s a centuries-old tactic of power, targeting marginalized communities and expanding into every corner of our lives. 

In this eye-opening episode, Amanda Merkwae, Advocacy Director at the ACLU of Wisconsin, reveals how government and corporate surveillance have intertwined, influencing everything from police policies to everyday privacy. Discover how historical tactics of control still echo today, from the secret tracking of civil rights leaders to modern facial recognition at your local grocery store.

You'll learn about the steady erosion of privacy rights as legislation like the Patriot Act paved the way for sweeping data collection, and how new technologies, from data brokers to AI-powered facial recognition, urn your everyday routines into open books. Amanda breaks down the alarming scope of surveillance at the local level, including Milwaukee’s recent push to regulate facial recognition tech, and why community activism often remains our strongest defense.

This episode unpacks critical questions: 

• Are you truly anonymous online? 
• Do supposedly innocuous apps secretly keep tabs on your every move? 
• How can ordinary citizens push back against the unseen forces surveilling us all? 

Whether you’re a parent concerned about your children’s digital safety or a civically-minded individual eager to protect your community, this conversation offers essential insights for reclaiming your privacy in a surveillance-saturated society.

Amanda Merkwae is an experienced civil rights lawyer and the Advocacy Director for the ACLU of Wisconsin. With deep expertise in surveillance policy and a passion for community organizing, she sheds light on a hidden system that impacts us all—often without our knowledge or consent.

What happens when a regular mom decides to step into power? In this episode, I sit down with Catelin Drey, founder of Moms for Iowa and newly sworn-in state senator, to talk about her advocacy journey, what she’s learning in her first legislative session, and why moms need a seat at the table.

Francesca Hong is running for governor of Wisconsin, and while some in the political establishment have written her off as a wild card, voters clearly haven’t. Since launching her campaign, she’s already inspired more than 1,400 volunteer sign-ups, packed rooms across the state, and built real momentum both online and in person.

Some have endearingly nicknamed her the “Mamdani of the Midwest,”  but in this conversation, Francesca explains why it's her service industry roots—and the lived experience that comes with them—that give her a clear-eyed understanding of what people actually need, and why the solutions she’s talking about aren’t actually radical at all.

This is a conversation about authenticity, power, and why the so-called underdog might be exactly the main character this moment calls for as we head into the 2026 Midterms.

Links:
Fran's Campaign Site: https://francescahong.com/
Reddit AMA:   / im_francesca_hong_candidate_for_gov_of_wi_ama 

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In this special episode, I’m joined by my sister-in-law, Morgan, to share the story of my nephew Jaxon—a joyful, thriving four-year-old who wouldn’t be here without Medicaid. At just one year old, Jaxon was diagnosed with a rare and serious condition that required intensive brain surgery and long-term therapy. The care he needed wasn’t optional, and it wasn’t affordable even with private insurance. Without Medicaid, he wouldn’t have survived. This episode is about what happens when policy gets personal, why the fight to protect programs like Medicaid is one we can’t afford to lose, and how it is a lifeline in rough seats for moms like Morgan, who hope to someday graduate from it, and go back to work full time. 

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