​“Life under authoritarianism is actually, for the most part, weirdly normal. It’s often even, well, boring. . . it’s easy to think that if you just keep your head down and avoid making waves, you’ll be perfectly fine, thank you very much,” VOX Until you’re not fine. This is the year we celebrate the 250th birthday of our country, the world’s oldest democracy. But we need to ask ourselves, is this year one of American Authoritarianism or possibly, even American Fascism? Does my saying this sound extreme? Answer that question after you’ve listened to this podcast episode.

​(Recorded on 1/14/26 before the escalation of federalized forces and their continuing harm to US citizens in Minneapolis.) Right now, very scary things are going on in this country and in the MAGA petri dish that is the state of Tennessee. It’s entirely possible that by the conclusion of this month’s episode of Red State Blue Mom, and after learning way more than you ever wanted to know about the color “white,” you will not only be incredulous but in agreement with Mama B on where this country is headed.

This is a short holiday message with lots of bright hope for the future and in 2026, there is a way to "finally put this MAGA nightmare behind us."

In Part 2 (recorded 11/13/25) of a two-part podcast episode series, Mama B gives listeners her viewpoint on and the counterpoint to comments made by last month’s interview guest, a long-time family friend from Arizona who was at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2020. Having recently been on vacation in Poland, Mama B also wants listeners to be aware of a few similarities between the Nazi occupation of Poland in WWII and the Unites States of today.

In Part 1 of a two-part podcast series, Mama B sits down with a dear, long-time family friend to get his viewpoint on a few things they greatly disagree about and a few things they totally see eye to eye on. While Mama B is a blue leaning Independent, this friend went from being a Democrat for (Bill) Clinton in the 1990’s to telling Mama B he is now “more MAGA than most MAGA people.” By the way, he was at the January 6th Insurrection and in this podcast episode he will tell listeners why he was there and what he did and didn’t see, what he did and didn’t do. The constitution and the Electoral College are briefly mentioned and the enmeshed topics of the killing of Charlie Kirk and free speech are also discussed. You won’t want to miss listening to this episode!

(Recorded on 9/8/25 before MAGA political activist Charlie Kirk was killed.) Mama B is a big advocate of free speech rights and does not condone political violence of any kind.

Because of Mama B’s recent and unexpected medical event, this podcast episode is very short and concludes with a political endorsement of a candidate running in a special election for a vacated U.S. House seat in Tennessee, her daughter.

This month, Mama B. and her Production Manager and Sound Engineer, Landon Skeen, celebrate the fifth anniversary of Red State Blue Mom. Mama B. shares some background and anecdotes behind the podcast’s production. Then she heads straight into this month’s episode as listeners wind their way through the following topics: Comments from Mama B. about her summer reading of How Fascism Works, The Politics of Us and Them by Jason Stanley and how it ties into last month’s podcast episode. Find out why Mama B. blames both a former Vanity Fair Editor and a former Democratic President for Trump becoming President. She goes on to talk about The Godfather Presidency (an article in the July/August Vanity Fair) and gives a cliff notes version of the controversial first episode of this year’s South Park. Mama B. finishes her talking points by telling Red State Blue Mom fans about her first Joe Rogan podcast listening experience featuring Democratic Texas House Representative, James Talarico. The Rogan Experience podcast episode was recorded before the Texas Dems decamped to blue states to try to stop Texas Republicans from accomplishing the election rigging demanded by Trump. Believe it or not, one topic flows into another for an interesting and sometimes surprising listening experience. (Recorded on August 11, 2025.)

This month is the 100th anniversary of a historically seminal event that took place in Appalachian East Tennessee in 1925: The Scopes Monkey Trial. This event occurred before the advent of television and was the first time in history a newsworthy trial was broadcast nationwide over the radio. The “trial became a symbol of the larger social anxieties associated with the cultural changes and modernization that characterized the decade of the 1920’s in the United States.” Currently, our nation is dealing with the shock and anxieties associated with the cultural changes brought on by Trump and his MAGA acolytes, accompanied by the rise of homegrown fascism. Mama B. feels a straight line can be drawn from the Scopes Monkey trial, where the theory of evolution was pitted against fundamentalist evangelical Biblical teachings that have not changed one iota since 1925, to the brilliantly red MAGA controlled state Tennessee has become, through to the national level ecosystem of MAGA Republican politics where religion and money determine the “survival of the fittest” and who gets culled from the human herd.

In Tennessee, the city of Nashville is ground zero for ICE arrests, detentions, and deportations. Mama B. has a few stories to share regarding what her progressive state politician daughter (who represents Nashville), has experienced during this crazy, turbulent time. As protests against ICE operations are still ongoing all over the U.S., Mama B. shares some historical examples as she gives her opinion on what may lie ahead.

Many listeners may not be aware that, along with other red states like Texas, Tennessee has been a red state incubator for the Heritage Foundation’s plans for this country as most recently stated in their Project 2025 agenda. My state’s role as both an incubator and implementer of Project 2025 has been going on for almost a decade now but especially since Trump regained office this past January. I think I can safely say: “What often happens in the Tennessee legislature, does not stay in the state of Tennessee.”

In this podcast episode recorded at the end of April before the ICE traffic stops and arrests started in Nashville, I interviewed Tennessee House Rep for District #51 representing downtown Nashville and East Nashville, Aftyn Behn. As a member of the superminority in the state legislature, we discuss what she considers the highs and lows of this year’s Tennessee House session, what will be the end results of some of the laws enacted this session, along with a little bit about the budget our Governor signed too. Listeners will be able to find more details on all we discussed at AftynBehn.com and on her Substack. So grab a cup of coffee or a glass of sweet tea and settle in for what is sure to be an interesting listen. . . Mama B.