I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t singing. It was my first love before anything else, before acting, before filmmaking, before activism, before any of this. And for a long time it was the thing I wanted most in the world.

This month on Off The Record I’m sharing the story I’ve never really told publicly. Where singing started for me, what it cost me…

18 months in, what does everything actually cost now compared to when this administration started? We're breaking down grocery prices, gas prices, and the bigger economic picture, and what renewable energy's record-breaking spring means for family budgets going forward.

SOURCES

NBC News Grocery Price Tracker — https://www.nbcnews.com/data-graphics/grocery-price-tracker-inflation-trends-eggs-bread-trump-administration-rcna257424

USDA Food Price Outlook — https://www.usda.gov/topics/farm-economy/food-prices-and-spending

Gas Prices 18 Months — https://www.finder.com/economics/gas-prices

LendingTree Gas Price Study — https://www.lendingtree.com/credit-cards/study/us-gas-prices/

EIA Gasoline and Diesel Update — https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/gasdiesel/

BLS CPI May 2026 — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/10/cpi-inflation-report-may-2026.html

CBS News CPI Report — https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cpi-report-today-may-2026-inflation-iran-war-trump/

NBC News Inflation Report — https://www.nbcnews.com/business/energy/may-inflation-report-gas-prices-iran-rcna349059

USAFacts Wages vs Inflation — https://usafacts.org/answers/are-wages-keeping-up-with-inflation/country/united-states/

Canary Media Clean Energy Records — https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/clean-energy/this-spring-clean-energy-in-the-us-set-record-after-record

I write about faith, justice and moral clarity, giving language to the things you feel but struggle to say. Paid subscribers get two exclusive offerings: What I’m Learning Right Now, a monthly unfiltered personal essay, and starting in July, Off The Record, a twice monthly personal video series letting you into my actual life. Become a paid subscriber.

In this conversation I sit down with my long time friend John Pavlovitz to discuss everything from current politics, to theatre, to leading up to the mid-terms.

I write about faith, justice and moral clarity, giving language to the things you feel but struggle to say. Become a paid subscriber.

In this episode I sit down with Carter Brown who publicly announced her departure from MAGA. We discuss her upbringing, how she got sucked into MAGA ideology, and what she’s doing now to hold herself accountable.

I write about faith, justice and moral clarity, giving language to the things you feel but struggle to say. Become a paid subscriber.

Malynda chats with Pastor and Author Cody Deese of Vinings Lake Church.

Cody Deese is an author, pastor, and spiritual guide exploring what a new way of being human looks like in an age of spiritual upheaval, political polarization, and cultural change.

He is the author of Discovering Your Internal Universe: The Unexpected Good News About Anxiety, Panic, and Fear, a book that blends personal story, psychology, and spirituality to help people navigate fear and find wholeness.

Cody serves as the lead pastor of Vinings Lake Church, an evolving spiritual collective just outside Atlanta, Georgia. The Washington Post described the community as "a unicorn church," while USA Today called it "a refuge for those leaving organized religion."

A graduate of Emory University's Candler School of Theology, Cody writes and speaks at the intersection of faith, politics, relationships, mental health, and personal transformation. He has been married to his wife Katie for more than twenty-three years, and together they live near Atlanta.

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Facts & Context: The Quiet Ways People Are Trying To Survive Right Now

A lot is going wrong right now. But people are not waiting around. Here are five impactful ways communities are surviving and fighting back.

1. Food SNAP participation has dropped by 3.5 million people since last July and the Congressional Budget Office projects 2.4 million people will lose benefits every month over the next decade. In response people are building community refrigerators, mutual aid networks, community gardens, and buy nothing groups. Find your local mutual aid network or buy nothing group this week. If one does not exist start one.

2. Energy Energy prices are rising at double the rate of inflation. Balcony solar — also called plug-in solar — is a practical response. Systems start at $200, plug into a standard outlet, require no major installation, and can save households hundreds annually. More than 30 states have passed or introduced legislation to expand access. Search balcony solar and your state to see where things stand.

Sources:

● World Resources Institute

● Canary Media

● State Affairs

3. Mental Health 49,000 Americans died by suicide in 2024. Therapy costs $100 to $200 per session without insurance. People are turning to peer support networks, online communities, and faith spaces to bridge the gap. Check out Open Path Collective for affordable therapy options starting at $30.

4. Voting Rights A federal court just blocked Alabama’s discriminatory congressional map. That is a win. People are organizing at the local level — school boards, city councils, county commissions. Local elections have direct impact on your daily life. Find out when your next local election is and show up.

5. Community Community is not a buzzword. It is a survival strategy. Mutual aid, peer support, showing up for strangers — this is how people have always survived the unsurvivable. Do one thing this week for someone outside your immediate circle.

Everything begins with a conversation. What are you doing to survive this moment?

I write about faith, justice and moral clarity, giving language to the things you feel but struggle to say. Become a paid subscriber.

I have been paying close attention to who is showing up with both a clear vision and the receipts to back it up. Juliana Stratton is one of those people.

The Illinois Lieutenant Governor is running for U.S. Senate and I had the opportunity to sit down with her for a full conversation about what is actually happening in this country and what she plans to do about it.

We covered a lot of ground. The minimum wage and why $25 as the federal minimum is necessary. The dismantling of the Department of Education and what a real restoration plan looks like. Why Democrats keep getting outmessaged by Republicans even when the Republican message is objectively worse. Black maternal health and how Congress addresses the specific needs of specific demographics without reducing everything to a DEI debate. The real Chicago that people who have never been there do not know. And the conversation she thinks we are not having enough of right now.

Juliana Stratton has been delivering for Illinois for a decade. She has the track record, the clarity, and the urgency this moment demands.

Watch the full interview. And if you are in Illinois or know someone who is please share this. Local elections and state races matter more than ever right now and this is exactly the kind of candidate worth paying attention to.