Pantsuit Politics

In today's new episode, Sarah and Beth discuss the rapid decline of drinking in the US and what that means for our relationships, our economy, and our politics.

Topics Discussed

• The Decline of Drinking in the US

• Outside of Politics: How do I ask my neighbor to stop smoking?

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Health insurance premiums are skyrocketing this year. Understanding why pulls in a multitude of topics: aging populations, expensive new drugs and treatments, rising costs across sectors, the consolidated profit layers baked into our system, and more. Sarah and Beth untangle why and how we got here, what's actually driving costs, and why the solution is not as simple as wishing for a universal healthcare fix. Plus: why everyone seems so angry about everything. 

Topics Discussed

• No Dumb Questions About Health Insurance

• Why Premiums Are Skyrocketing

• Insurance as Financial Security vs. Healthcare Solution

• Outside of Politics: Customer Service and Community

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and Beth discuss the priorities of the Trump Administration in the face of the longest government shutdown in history, the negotiations between eight Democratic senators and Republicans to reopen the government, and the ways the shutdown is impacting air travel as the holidays approach.

Topics Discussed

• The Trump Administration’s Shutdown Priorities: Coins, Renovations, Pardons, and Cutting SNAP Benefits

• The Senate Plan to Reopen the Government

• The Generational Impact of the Air Traffic Controller Strike

• Outside of Politics: Getting Ready for the Holidays

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're joined by Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan to talk about this week's election results, her work in Michigan, our current political moment, and her beloved Detroit Lions.

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Note: This week, we’re sharing the spicy bonus episode with all our subscribers - free and paid. If you’re a free subscriber, we hope you enjoy this preview. These are the types of robust, free-flowing conversations we’re sharing every Thursday for paid subscribers. We hope you’ll consider joining us as a paid subscriber so you can enjoy all our premium content, access the comments and community, and support our small business.

On this week’s spicy bonus episode, Sarah and Beth discuss the encouraging election results from around the country. They discuss Nancy Pelosi’s announced retirement and how this administration is leaving so many missed opportunities on the table. This could have been a time of real change, but, instead, they are just breaking things.

Speaking of breaking things, the political right is facing a real breakdown within its ranks. There’s a real divide happening.

All this, plus the desire to do real work and be connected with each other, and the difference between virtue and moralizing. It’s all here in one of our characteristically wide-ranging episodes.

*This episode is explicit.

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rep. Sarah McBride, who represents the entire state of Delaware, joins us to talk about her experience in Congress, the stakes of the shutdown, working with her colleagues across the aisle, and her connection to Taylor Swift. It's a fabulous conversation you won't want to miss. 

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, we're talking about the spookiest thing we can think of: the economy. The stock market is up in 2025, but the gains are concentrated in a handful of companies, primarily driven by speculation about what AI will be. Sarah and Beth discuss what the AI economy means for regular people, our jobs, and our future.

Topics Discussed

• The AI Economy
• Crypto Speculation
• Outside of Politics: Steven King and Louise Penny

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today, Sarah and Beth are joined by Lacy Boling of the Paducah Cooperative Ministry, who shares how government cuts are impacting Food Banks across the US, their ability to meet their community needs, and how we can help.

Topics Discussed

• How federal assistance has slowed to a trickle
• What could happen to families when SNAP benefits run out
• What happens to food pantries when need skyrockets
• What all of us can do that actually helps

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The East Wing of the White House being torn down during a government shutdown might be the most egregious physical manifestation of America’s problems right now. Corruption abounds, Congress is adrift, and our international impact is murky at best. Plus, healthcare costs are skyrocketing for millions of Americans. 

Sarah and Beth break it all down together. They discuss the destruction of the East Wing, the government shutdown, ICE in Chicago, the Gaza ceasefire, the strikes on Venezuelan boats, the healthcare costs, and more.

Topics Discussed

• Corruption at the White House

• Government Shutdown and Congress Adrift

• Donald Trump’s International Legacy and Actions

• Healthcare Cost Increases

• Outside of Politics: Our Switzerland Trip

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more. If you're not already subscribed, you can use this link to ensure you're getting our show notes, weekly newsletter, and more. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Should SNAP benefits cover soda and candy? Six states get federal approval to exclude them, and Sarah and Beth debate whether this is smart public health policy or government overreach—wrestling with the tension between the "nutrition" and "assistance" parts of the program's mission.

Should tax dollars subsidize products that make people less healthy? Sarah and Beth explore the "common sense politics" of restricting junk food purchases, Sarah's personal experience using SNAP cards during COVID, and whether the Biden administration should have approved state waivers as experiments instead of blocking them.

Is the soda industry the real villain? Sarah calls soda "poison" and predicts it will be viewed like cigarettes in decades to come, while Beth argues the government should regulate the industry upstream rather than police individual purchases downstream.

Plus: Bedtime routines, sleep struggles, and why Beth can sleep through anything while Sarah wakes up at the slightest sound.

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats and more.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices