Red State Blue Mom

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.

(Recorded on Sunday, April 13, 2025.) CORRECTIONS: The University of Tennessee has been informed that 9 international student visas have been revoked, for a total of 15 in the entire state so far. As of this episode’s posting, an immigration judge has determined Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil can be deported but his case is on appeal. Mama B. has thoughts on and concerns over this month’s historic economic meltdown, the world’s view of the United States’ brand, the current assaults on First Amendment rights and Due Process, and citizens turning in other citizens to the government.

This episode was recorded on 3/10/25. . . before Trump said to Laura Ingraham on Fox News [3/19/25], “One of the nastiest countries to deal with is Canada.” What an appalling statement from one of the most shameless men, if not THE MOST shameless man, in the United States today. Considering history along with some current events, Mama B. wonders why Trump treats Russia and Putin with deference but makes this awful statement about Canada? This episode also discusses a few other men that deserve some shameless notoriety. All this being noted as Red State Blue Mom celebrates Women’s Herstory month and two caring and community-oriented women who have had a positive impact on both Tennessee and the world through their influence on human decency and human rights.

Though Trump’s first month of his second term as President has been as chaotic, destructive, and nerve jangling as many of us thought it would be, there have also been a few very unexpected surprises. Mama B. talks about these unexpected surprises, the historical context of what’s going on in our country right now, and what else may be planned by MAGA world in the very near future. Many of you may have found Red State Blue Mom on a recent Feedspot ranking of the 50 Best Appalachian Podcasts worth listening to in 2025. Red State Blue Mom has garnered #16 on this list. It’s quite unexpected and very good news. In looking at the subject matter of the other 49 podcasts Feedspot says are worth listening to this year, I think it’s safe to say: this is one of the very few on their list that is mostly political, giving listeners an idea of what it’s like to be an Independent blue leaning voter and mom living in the Appalachian south in the reddest part of one of the reddest state’s in the country.

After recording last month’s episode of this podcast, Mama B., took her own advice to relax and recharge before Trump is sworn in as President and the Project 2025 agenda starts being implemented on January 20. Along with her family, she spent the holiday break in southern Italy. After her trip, it was easy for Mama B. to make both historical and modern-day comparisons of Trump to the famous and infamous in Italian history. She then pivots and does a review, maybe more of a cliff notes kind of summary, of a book she read on her holiday trip: “On Tyranny – Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century” by Timothy Snyder. She feels this book may end up being a big help to her as well as her fellow Americans as a navigational tool for the next four years of the Trump presidency.