Radical Optimism

Views on climate change have evolved over the past decade, and so have ours! The heat dome in the Pacific Northwest this week has prompted a national discussion yet again on climate change. We talk about important ways to frame solutions to our environmental problems and some history around the debate, as well as a discussion of how Christians should think about environmental policy.

Companies like Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Alphabet increasingly are intersecting every part of our lives. Is this making our lives better? Who should be responsible for ensuring they are used wisely? Rachel and Taylor talk about tech’s role in our lives.

This week Congress passed a bill creating a new federal holiday— Juneteenth National Independence Day. Historically, June 19 marks the day in 1865 when the last people known to be enslaved received the news that they were finally set free. Rachel and Taylor talk about this history and why it’s important, as well as their own journeys learning about racial injustice.

Two years ago Rachel woke up paralyzed and two years later we have learned a lot about the disability community and living with a disability. We share about our time in the hospital, our struggles, and discovering that disability is just a different, not worse, life.

Everyone loves to hate the bigs— Big Business and Big Tech, that is. Concerns about corporate fat cats abound, and many politicians from both parties want to use antitrust like it’s the 1910s. Taylor and Rachel share why they think this is a big bad idea.

Taylor and Rachel drove out (separately) to DC 10 years ago and have been here ever since. They share what they’ve learned in the last decade, what’s surprised them, and whether the stereotypes about the city are true.

As if we didn’t need another crisis, the East Coast is experiencing gas shortages due to a cyber attack on the Colonial pipeline. We explain what happened, why energy security is important, and muse about what this could mean.

President Biden shared his plans for American families and decreasing poverty in his speech to Congress last week marking his first 100 days. He laid out 1.8 trillion dollars of new government programs, paid for by taxing the rich. But will it actually help people?

Last week, the police officer who murdered George Floyd was found guilty on all three counts brought against him. This case has sparked a national conversation about police reform and racism. Taylor and Rachel share their thoughts and a Christian view of justice.

The term Values Voter has lost its meaning. Rachel has a new op-ed out redefining what “values” should be, rooted in the universal truth that every human being is born with intrinsic value and inherent rights.