"Well, what a summer it's been!" says Joan Neal at the start of this week's episode. And August only just began!

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind in U.S. politics. A shooting targeting former president Trump left many injured and two people, including the shooter, dead. Coming off a debate performance that raised concerns about his age, President Biden withdrew his bid for reelection and quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman in U.S. history to be the presumptive nominee of a major party. And just this past week, Harris selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate—with only 85 days left until the 2024 election.

To make sense of all this, Laura Peralta-Schulte joins Just Politics this week. Peralta-Schulte is the senior director of public policy and government relations at NETWORK.

"While the media likes to focus on the horse races ... what we're really talking about is who is going to represent us that will pass paid leave, make sure kids are not hungry, make sure that everybody has access to affordable healthcare," Peralta-Schulte says.

Sometimes, hearing from policy wonks can leave us feeling like things are actually worse than we thought. But Peralta-Schulte offers a hopeful read of this election season, pointing to the many people already engaging with energy, inspiration, and solidarity. "It's not Pentecost," she says, "but it seems like it sometimes when you have folks going to their parishes and doing voter education and voter registration in places like Cleveland."

Peralta-Schulte points to NETWORK's online resources and tools that anyone can use to get informed on the issues, find voter registration and polling place information, and take action. And she offers an invitation to NETWORK's Nuns on the Bus & Friends tour, hitting the road this fall.

Learn more about what's going on, what you can do, and why we remain hopeful and engaged on this week's episode of the Just Politics podcast.

NETWORK Advocates is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to advancing the principles of Catholic social justice and does not endorse or oppose any candidate or party in the upcoming election.

Additional Resources:

NETWORK's 2024 Election Resource Page http://networkadvocates.org/be-a-voter

NETWORK's Equally Sacred Checklist https://networkadvocates.org/equally-sacred-multi-issue-voter-checklist/

Nuns on the Bus & Friends "Vote Our Future" Tour http://nunsonthebus.org/