The Disruptors Featuring Christian F. Nunes and Lorissa Rinehart

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Welcome. I'm Eric Fleming, host of A Moment with Erik Fleming, the podcast of our time.

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I want to personally thank you for listening to the podcast.

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If you like what you're hearing, then I need you to do a few things.

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First, I need subscribers. I'm on Patreon at patreon.com slash amomentwithericfleming.

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Your subscription allows an independent podcaster like me the freedom to speak

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truth to power, and to expand and improve the show.

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Second, leave a five-star review for the podcast on the streaming service you

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listen to it. That will help the podcast tremendously.

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Third, go to the website, momenteric.com. There you can subscribe to the podcast,

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leave reviews and comments, listen to past episodes, and even learn a little bit about your host.

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Tell someone else about the podcast encourage others to listen to the podcast

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this moment a movement thanks in advance for supporting the podcast of our time

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i hope you enjoy this episode as well,

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the following program is hosted by the nbg podcast network.

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Music.

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Hello, and welcome to another moment with Erik Fleming. I am your host, Erik Fleming.

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And so this episode is going to be the last episode in March.

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And March is Women's History Month.

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And so we're going to close it out with program that,

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you know, most of my programs are not dedicated to particular months or holidays or whatever,

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and I have been very fortunate that I have had a lot of positive role models

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as far as women leaders and activists in the community.

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So I don't necessarily dedicate things, but the way that it worked out this week,

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I have two women that I think epitomizes what this year, 2025,

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Women's History Month is about, the significance of it.

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So I hope that you enjoy these two guests. I think you will.

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And well, as a matter of fact, I know you will. I know you'll enjoy them and

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will be enlightened by their thoughts and their insight into where we are.

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So we got that going on. And then, of course, we still are trying to get 20,000

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subscribers on Patreon.

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Please go to patreon.com slash amomentwitherikfleming and go ahead and subscribe.

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I would greatly appreciate that. But, you know, and even if we don't get to

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20,000, if we get close, that'd be great.

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But I want to get to 20,000. I think that that would really help sustain the

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podcast and keep it where...

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I don't have to worry about corporate sponsorships or just any kind of sponsorship at all.

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Just constantly trying to bring you the best guests possible and to have the

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best podcast available to talk about what's going on in this country.

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And, you know, I should sound a little more enthused about that.

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But I'm not, you know, I'm not a great salesperson when it comes to those kind

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of things. But if you're listening to the podcast and you really like what's

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going on, then subscribe. It's only a dollar.

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And it'll go really, really a long way.

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The more subscribers I have, the more guarantee that we will be able to keep

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this podcast going for as long as need be. Right.

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Nothing lasts forever. But in these times, we really need to make sure that this podcast is going.

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All right. So I'm ready to get this show on the road. And as always,

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speaking about women, great women, it is time for a moment of news with Grace G.

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Music.

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Thanks, Eric. A journalist was inadvertently added to a national security chat

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which detailed the recent military operation that killed a Houthi leader in Yemen.

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The U.S. Social Security Administration leader reversed plans to shut down operations

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after a judge clarified a ruling limiting Elon Musk's access to citizen records.

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Louis DeJoy, the embattled chief executive of the United States Postal Service,

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abruptly resigned. The U.S.

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Health and Human Services Department canceled $12 billion in pandemic-era grants

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for programs addressing infectious diseases, mental health, and addiction treatment.

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Measles cases in Texas and New Mexico surged to 370, surpassing last year's

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nationwide total of 285. A U.S.

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Judge temporarily halted the deportation of Mexican activist Jeanette Vizguera,

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who was arrested by ICE agents in Denver.

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Guyanese social media activist Melissa Atwell Holder, a critic of her home government,

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was also detained by ICE in Louisiana.

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The Trump administration announced plans to end temporary legal status for 530,000

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migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

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President Trump revoked security clearances for Kamala Harris and Hillary Clinton.

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Namibia's first female president, Natumbo Nandi Ndwaita, pledged to tackle unemployment

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during her inauguration ceremony.

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Solomon Pena was convicted of orchestrating shootings at Democratic officials'

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homes after losing a New Mexico legislative race.

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Israeli demonstrations intensified over government attempts to oust key officials

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and the resumption of military bombing in Gaza.

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Trump withdrew an executive order targeting law firm Paul Weiss after it pledged

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$40 million in free legal work and dropped diversity policies.

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Four people were arrested in connection with a shooting at an unauthorized New

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Mexico car show that left three dead and 15 injured.

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And both boxing legend George Foreman, 76, and the first black Republican Congresswoman,

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Mia Love, 49, passed away.

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I am Grace Gee, and this has been a Moment of News.

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Music.

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All right. Thank you, Grace, for that Moment of News.

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And now, y'all remember at the end of the podcast last week,

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I had said I was trying to get something together for that podcast and it didn't work out.

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Well, it worked out. So it is my honor to introduce this guest.

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And her name is Christian F. Nunes.

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Christian F. Nunes became now president in August 2020.

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She was previously appointed vice president by the board in May 2019.

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She is the second African-American president in the organization's history,

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the youngest person of color, and the youngest president in more than 40 years.

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Ms. Nunes is a former now board member and committee chair, as well as a licensed

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clinical social worker, consultant, and woman minority business owner.

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She is an active community organizer and public speaker, regularly featured

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at events such as the March for Black Women,

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Women's March events, and rallies around the country in support of the Equal

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Rights Amendment and immigration rights.

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Along with her activism for mental health, Ms.

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Nunes has more than 20 years of experience advocating for children's and women's issues. Ms.

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Nunes received her BSW degree from Northern Arizona University,

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Masters of Science from Columbia University, and Master of Business Administration

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from the University of Phoenix.

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Ladies and gentlemen, it is truly my distinct honor and privilege to have,

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as a guest on this podcast, the President of NOW, Christian F. Nunes.

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Music.

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Ladies and gentlemen, it's my distinct honor and privilege to be talking to

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the president of NOW, Christian F. Nunes. Madam President, how are you doing?

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I'm doing great today, Eric. How are you doing? I'm really happy to have you on.

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Thank you for inviting me on again. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Because,

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you know, there's a lot of stuff going on.

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And to have somebody of your stature to kind of talk to the listeners from your

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perspective, from your organization's perspective, what's going on be very valuable.

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So as always, we do the icebreaker part of the program first.

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So the first icebreaker is a quote, and I want you to respond to this quote.

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We must continue to do the work. We must show up, not give up.

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I remind myself of all the work done to get us this far, and we must keep marching

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forward. What does that quote mean to you?

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I mean, I think it really resonates and talks about over-experiencing right

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now is that there have been so many people who have been in this fight for justice,

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equality for a very long time.

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And they have paved the way, but they also have relied on their ancestors and

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the position to make that way for them.

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And although I look at it as although we progress, We know that,

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you know, movements are kind of like ebbs and blows to me.

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And even though we are facing like a place of difficulty right now that we have

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to keep pushing forward for that ultimate goal of like equality and justice

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for everyone, like we cannot stop.

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We have to continue to move forward, even though we're facing adversities,

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even though we're feeling like kind of sometimes helpless and hopeless right

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now, what we're seeing or just overwhelmed.

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We still have to push forward because the ultimate goal of what we're trying

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to achieve is more important than the little bit of resistance that we're experiencing right now. Yeah.

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So my next icebreaker is I want you to give me a number between 1 and 20. 18. 18.

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What's one thing we might all agree is important, no matter our differences?

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I think one thing that we all agree on, no matter our differences,

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is like just a right to, you know, have a happy, successful.

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Safe, and, you know, I don't want to say prosperous, but just like a fulfilling life.

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I think that's something that everyone's working to achieve and everyone can agree on. Okay.

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So this might be a personal question, but how are you holding up in the moment?

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And the reason why I'm asking this is because you wrote in your sub stack to Empathy Edge recently.

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As the days unfold in 2025, I look around and see a growing sense of regret, fear, and exhaustion.

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I see it in the eyes of my family, my neighbors, my community.

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The air is thick with anxiety as new policies roll out daily,

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targeting, erasing, and bullying marginalized communities under false pretenses.

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But let's be honest. These actions are not about greatness. They are about regression

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and reinstating hierarchies that many have fought to dismantle.

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It is the soft bigotry of low expectations being camouflaged into policy and policing.

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I feel this deeply. I carry the weight of this hate, but I refuse to surrender.

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Yeah, I mean, that is very accurate and very true. I always tell everyone,

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you know, that my life as a Black woman is,

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The experience of racism and sexism has existed throughout as long as I've lived, right?

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And I know that I have it easier than my mother had it and my grandmother had it or, you know, etc.

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But still, those things still are very much true right now in this world.

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And if anything, I feel that there is this sense of people are feeling very

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emboldened to be in their racism and their sexism and misogyny.

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I feel that when we have an administration who thrives on it,

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mocks and bullies, intentionally tries to erase people's identities, it's heavy, right?

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And I had these conversations with my family all the time about,

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like, we sit there and we analyze what is going on.

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But I also know that this is not the first time in our history or any history

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that things like this have happened. And so for me, I've always been committed

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to this cause for justice and equality.

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And for me personally, it's bigger than me, right?

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It's not about Christian effectiveness. It's bigger than me.

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It's about this world as a whole. It's about healing this world.

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It's about justice for this world.

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So what helps me get through for me personally is my sense of personal faith, right?

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As a Christian not a Christian nationalist a real Christian I want to be clear to say and that.

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No matter who thinks they're going to be a king, they are not the king. They are not the king.

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And the hatred and all this hatred and all this attempts to hurt,

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you know, I don't fear it because that's not who I hold in high reverence.

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So I have to continue to moving forth on the path that I feel like is important.

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And when you have a sense of spirituality, you have a sense of purpose that's

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beyond people, it's easy for you to stay motivated in your fight for equality

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and justice because you don't look to that purpose.

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You don't idolize people. You don't reverence people in that way.

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So for me, I don't reverence person.

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So it's very easy for me to say, well, we're seeing this happen again.

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We're seeing this occur. But I, for me, reside and know who my personal ultimate

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king is in that sense, and who I know has the final say.

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So that's how I, Christian effectiveness, guide my life.

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And also because of that,

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my fight and quest for justice and equality is respecting humanity and every

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person and understanding that every person deserves peace,

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deserves to be treated equal, deserves to be valued,

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deserves to have opportunity, deserves to be safe.

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And I will continue that fight. Yeah, yeah, because one of the things you threw

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out there about revering other people was,

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One of the main things that we see is that there are some people in leadership

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positions who revere themselves more than anybody else.

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Absolutely. And that is really, really causing a lot of damage.

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You dove into it, but I'm going to dive into a little more.

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It's like we were commanded not to put anybody else or any other gods before God himself.

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And, you know, but it seems like the more that we become sophisticated,

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the more we become technologically savvy, the more we tend to forget about that that commandment.

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And also to Eric, if I could just add, and then when we start revering ourselves

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as the ultimate person, then there is no sense of accountability, right?

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And I think that's what we're seeing happen is the accountability that needs

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to exist in this world is lost in a lot of ways.

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Because when you think you're the top, you're the best, you're the highest.

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When you think we can go beyond human in a lot of ways,

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then where is the accountability that makes us have these checks and balances

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to make sure that we're still operating on an ethos that's helpful and toward

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humanity and geared toward respecting people or respecting lives?

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It gets lost, you know?

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That's exactly right. And that's a good way to sum that up.

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So talk to me, Madam President, about the significance of Women's History Month in the year 2025.

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Why is it important this year as compared to any other year we've dealt with?

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Wow. So it is extremely important that we continue to recognize Women's History

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Month, regardless of any attempt to try to take it off a calendar.

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It still exists because the contributions that women have made to this world and globally,

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From intervention to leadership to caregiving to parenting to world peace,

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you know, to health care.

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I mean, it's just so many different areas. Women have been extremely important

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in creating a world for all, for helping us show us what it means to be involved

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in movements for equality,

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for what it means to advance, for what it means to balance.

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And, you know, I think women are the prime poster child for multitasking.

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You know, being able to balance family life, being able to balance career,

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being able to deal with opposition and discrimination at the same time,

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but still pushing forward and not giving up on their hopes and their goals and their dreams.

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And we just finished experiencing our very first ever, ever in U.S.

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History, vice president that was a woman and a woman of color,

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which I think for many of us never thought we would see that day. Well, we saw it.

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So it just reminds us that anything is possible for women.

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And I think right now in 2025, although

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we're feeling so much pressure and so many of our rights under attack and so

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much just misogyny that's existing and toxic masculinity and white patriarchy's

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permissiveness existing that has direct attacks on women's livelihood and personal autonomy.

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I think recognizing the strengths and accomplishments of women in 2025 reminds

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us that when we're committed to this,

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that we are capable of achieving everything we need to achieve.

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And we're capable of getting past any adversities. Because in the past,

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our ancestors and women in our past histories have gone through many adversities

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and many of this oppression. but they fought and they stayed committed to it.

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And because of them, we were at the place where we are today.

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I'm at a place to be able to be an African-American national president of a

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national organization, right?

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Which many people didn't have that opportunity to do.

00:21:10.088 --> 00:21:15.988
I mean, we're still a very small percentage of, you know, women in executive C-suite leadership.

00:21:16.908 --> 00:21:20.208
So celebrating Wednesday, Wednesday month, this month is extremely important

00:21:20.208 --> 00:21:24.928
just to remind us of our capabilities and remind us that we all get past this.

00:21:25.940 --> 00:21:28.600
And just remind us of what everything women have contributed to this world.

00:21:28.820 --> 00:21:31.580
I think it's so important that we celebrate that, if all things,

00:21:31.700 --> 00:21:36.400
even though we're experiencing a place of adversity right now,

00:21:37.160 --> 00:21:42.540
celebrating the competition reminds us that women are capable and women will continue to succeed.

00:21:43.560 --> 00:21:49.820
Yeah. All right. So last month, you, along with other partner organizations,

00:21:50.120 --> 00:21:52.720
announced the launch of the Disrupt Now campaign.

00:21:53.380 --> 00:21:57.300
Talk to the listeners about it and where the campaign stands right now.

00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:03.500
Sure. So the big part of the Surup Now campaign actually came from our response

00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:10.300
to the 2024 election and Project 2025 as well.

00:22:10.300 --> 00:22:17.620
And just kind of seeing what was, you know, the plan to roll out on the attacks

00:22:17.620 --> 00:22:24.300
of, you know, DEI, which includes women, on our families, on everyone.

00:22:24.300 --> 00:22:30.160
Just looking at, you know, the states who have been passing these horrendous

00:22:30.160 --> 00:22:37.220
abortion bans where they're trying to charge femicide and homicide charges against people, you know,

00:22:37.600 --> 00:22:40.540
taking and acting into their own personal autonomy.

00:22:41.220 --> 00:22:46.420
And so we felt that was really important that we go into this year with a very strong approach.

00:22:48.374 --> 00:22:55.034
Response to the misogynistic propaganda that we have been witnessing and the

00:22:55.034 --> 00:23:02.154
importance of increasing feminist education about why we have to vote and be

00:23:02.154 --> 00:23:07.054
educated on issues that not just affect women,

00:23:07.254 --> 00:23:09.394
but because they trickle down and affect families,

00:23:09.754 --> 00:23:11.494
because they trickle down and affect their neighbors.

00:23:11.934 --> 00:23:16.214
So we felt it was really important that in this campaign that we really focused

00:23:16.214 --> 00:23:17.634
on educating communities,

00:23:17.634 --> 00:23:22.814
because we felt like a lot of things that happened in the election was misinformation

00:23:22.814 --> 00:23:27.894
and disinformation was so prevalent, people didn't really understand how issues impacted them.

00:23:28.494 --> 00:23:31.334
So Disrupt Now was formed to, you know,

00:23:31.834 --> 00:23:36.154
be our response and challenge the disinformation, misinformation that we're

00:23:36.154 --> 00:23:40.574
seeing, and particularly the misogyny propaganda, but also increased education

00:23:40.574 --> 00:23:44.454
awareness about the importance of issues like health care, reproductive health care,

00:23:44.714 --> 00:23:48.694
about economic justice, about safety for women and ending violence against women,

00:23:48.774 --> 00:23:54.874
and how all of those intersect and intertwine with everyday issues that are impacting us daily.

00:23:55.154 --> 00:23:58.874
And then the armed people training, so how they can be, you know,

00:23:59.014 --> 00:24:04.954
authentic and activists on the ground in their states to speak up and advocate

00:24:04.954 --> 00:24:08.254
for women's issues and women's right issues.

00:24:08.434 --> 00:24:10.754
And I would say women and children because they go hand in hand.

00:24:11.334 --> 00:24:15.834
So that's how the campaign got started. The campaign involves different parts.

00:24:16.014 --> 00:24:19.554
There is a part where we are working and we have a partnership with the campaign

00:24:19.554 --> 00:24:27.574
school at Yale to train activists who are either interested in running for office,

00:24:27.654 --> 00:24:29.294
because a big part of what needs to happen is,

00:24:29.454 --> 00:24:35.434
you know, flipping these seats in 2025 and 2026 so that we can get that control over.

00:24:36.005 --> 00:24:40.905
And have a Congress that envisions the family and envisions progression.

00:24:41.625 --> 00:24:45.845
So we're partnering with them to provide this training. And then the other part

00:24:45.845 --> 00:24:50.185
is that we're doing town halls, virtual in states,

00:24:50.485 --> 00:24:54.565
where we're going to work to just really train and educate and have conversations

00:24:54.565 --> 00:25:01.625
with those people and stakeholders and activists about what's happening and

00:25:01.625 --> 00:25:05.285
how we respond to it in a way that is...

00:25:06.005 --> 00:25:10.505
You know, courts nonviolent with strong, truthful,

00:25:11.545 --> 00:25:17.885
purposeful response of how we can mobilize activists and organizers to be able

00:25:17.885 --> 00:25:24.585
to work against, you know, the anti-woman attacks that we're seeing happen.

00:25:25.205 --> 00:25:31.005
And the third, you know, we are just also just working and put lots of information

00:25:31.005 --> 00:25:35.085
on social media and to make sure it's accessible to social media for people

00:25:35.085 --> 00:25:37.865
who may not have access to actually go,

00:25:38.045 --> 00:25:41.025
we're giving them opportunities of things they can do online to be activists

00:25:41.025 --> 00:25:44.485
and go into their advocate roles. Yeah.

00:25:45.365 --> 00:25:51.325
Have you been getting, you know, I've been watching some of the town hall meetings with people.

00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:56.039
You know, dealing with their congressional leaders.

00:25:56.519 --> 00:26:02.579
Have you experienced some of that frustration or concern in the town halls that

00:26:02.579 --> 00:26:05.439
you've been having and trying to get people activated?

00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:11.079
So we actually have our first virtual town hall happening in April,

00:26:11.259 --> 00:26:15.019
April 16th, and it's a Western Region town hall.

00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:19.639
So this will be our experience to see what response. But I honestly,

00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:23.959
if I'm going to speak honestly, I feel that everyone's so fired up,

00:26:24.079 --> 00:26:26.319
right? They're upset about what's happening and they want to do something.

00:26:26.599 --> 00:26:29.559
And there are so many different events happening.

00:26:29.859 --> 00:26:34.859
There's so many different rallies, marches, protests, things happening.

00:26:35.159 --> 00:26:40.439
And I think it's great. But I also believe that we have to have multi-strategy

00:26:40.439 --> 00:26:42.179
issues to address this problem.

00:26:42.519 --> 00:26:47.139
And so one of our ways, that's why our campaign is multi-strategy campaign.

00:26:47.139 --> 00:26:54.539
And I would like to see how we also put the same effort into things like electing

00:26:54.539 --> 00:26:58.479
new people into office, you know, calling our Congress members.

00:26:58.859 --> 00:27:04.159
I think people are frustrated because what they expected from their Congress

00:27:04.159 --> 00:27:05.939
members is not taking place.

00:27:06.399 --> 00:27:09.599
They feel like they're not getting the access they need. And,

00:27:09.779 --> 00:27:14.079
you know, on the members of Congress side, I'm assuming they are overwhelmed

00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:16.759
by the amount of calls that they're getting.

00:27:17.139 --> 00:27:20.939
And there's things they can and cannot do. And sometimes we don't understand that.

00:27:21.059 --> 00:27:25.439
Even as a leading organization, sometimes supporters and members don't fully

00:27:25.439 --> 00:27:27.179
understand what's in your hands, right?

00:27:27.419 --> 00:27:31.959
So I think one thing we all can do is continue to increase our communication

00:27:31.959 --> 00:27:34.179
and education about things.

00:27:34.439 --> 00:27:38.339
I think the town halls are great. I think that for people showing up at these

00:27:38.339 --> 00:27:41.119
town halls is fabulous. It's wonderful. Yeah.

00:27:42.118 --> 00:27:46.438
And I also think that we can continue to show other ways that we can tap into

00:27:46.438 --> 00:27:51.518
strategies that can help do this and that people feel empowered in the process

00:27:51.518 --> 00:27:56.798
of what they can do in their states, their regions, you know, and things like that.

00:27:56.798 --> 00:28:02.918
So I think it's a good thing, but I think that also we need to not stop there

00:28:02.918 --> 00:28:08.918
and just having rallies in town halls where we have to tap into how do we hold

00:28:08.918 --> 00:28:13.138
these elected officials accountable for not standing for their constituents,

00:28:13.138 --> 00:28:23.078
for not stepping up and voting in favor of protecting our country or placing

00:28:23.078 --> 00:28:24.458
their values in the right thing.

00:28:24.978 --> 00:28:29.678
How do we move away from people and having constituents who are more concerned

00:28:29.678 --> 00:28:31.538
about their billions and their

00:28:31.538 --> 00:28:34.618
money than they are concerned about the welfare of their constituents?

00:28:35.058 --> 00:28:38.918
And the way we do that is we replace them. We have to get them out of office.

00:28:39.098 --> 00:28:46.278
We have to elect different people who value family, who value support,

00:28:46.278 --> 00:28:51.538
who value, you You know, America having relationships.

00:28:52.138 --> 00:28:59.978
Domestic and global relationships that help strengthen our country,

00:28:59.978 --> 00:29:06.198
that help us be united and supporting and not separate ourselves out as if we

00:29:06.198 --> 00:29:07.358
feel like we're better than everybody else.

00:29:07.518 --> 00:29:10.838
That never works, never will work. No matter how hard people try,

00:29:11.178 --> 00:29:13.058
we are all interdependent on each other.

00:29:13.198 --> 00:29:15.998
And we need to see more elected officials just to support that,

00:29:16.498 --> 00:29:22.458
of how we have allies, how we work on building allies, then creating separation and division.

00:29:22.898 --> 00:29:29.898
And that's what we're seeing. So I am hopeful about the outcome of the town halls.

00:29:30.038 --> 00:29:34.418
At the same time, I need us to also tap into holding people accountable,

00:29:34.738 --> 00:29:38.358
getting them out of office, organizing around that as well. Yeah. Yeah.

00:29:39.211 --> 00:29:45.211
So just to kind of follow up on that, so one of the issues, you're younger than

00:29:45.211 --> 00:29:50.711
me, so one of the issues that has come up is generational change.

00:29:50.711 --> 00:29:57.511
Do you think that there's a need to change, not just based off of actions,

00:29:57.511 --> 00:30:00.491
but also from a generational standpoint?

00:30:00.911 --> 00:30:05.751
Because, you know, there's some people that are like, yeah, these people are

00:30:05.751 --> 00:30:09.431
supposed to be on our side, but, you know. Because, you know,

00:30:09.491 --> 00:30:11.791
a lot of people said that about President Biden.

00:30:11.931 --> 00:30:16.431
It was like a good guy, but he was he was too old.

00:30:16.831 --> 00:30:21.691
And and, you know, they're propping up AOC, for example, and,

00:30:21.691 --> 00:30:26.931
you know, Jasmine Crockett, Maxwell Frost. You know, those are names that are

00:30:26.931 --> 00:30:30.151
coming up now saying, why don't we lift them up?

00:30:30.671 --> 00:30:37.751
What's your take as far as, you know, trying to recruit women to be in the process?

00:30:38.451 --> 00:30:42.171
I know you're not deliberately saying, OK, you're too old and all this stuff.

00:30:42.311 --> 00:30:49.791
But what are you seeing as far as like people being interested in jumping into the political fray?

00:30:50.471 --> 00:30:54.551
Well, I think there has to be more effort to bring in young generational leaders,

00:30:54.811 --> 00:30:57.871
right? And the movement has to be intergenerational.

00:30:58.311 --> 00:31:02.071
It has to, because being intergenerational, you have a mix of new ideas.

00:31:02.071 --> 00:31:05.311
You have a mix of existing experience.

00:31:06.231 --> 00:31:10.711
You're able to tap into the assets of everybody to see what they have seen,

00:31:10.871 --> 00:31:15.771
what they have witnessed, what they believe is important for us all to do well

00:31:15.771 --> 00:31:17.671
and have this fair democracy.

00:31:17.671 --> 00:31:23.751
So I think it's not about replacing everyone, but it's about guaranteeing that

00:31:23.751 --> 00:31:25.351
the movement is intergenerational.

00:31:25.691 --> 00:31:29.051
And for women to be a part of that movement is extremely important.

00:31:29.931 --> 00:31:34.951
And there has to be effort for intergenerational, multiracial,

00:31:35.331 --> 00:31:43.491
multi-ethnic movement, multi, you know, just everything has to be alike.

00:31:43.491 --> 00:31:48.371
It needs to be inclusive where we're having representation from different belief

00:31:48.371 --> 00:31:53.471
systems, representation from LGBTQIA community as well, representation from

00:31:53.471 --> 00:31:56.911
different races, different ethnicities, abilities.

00:31:57.451 --> 00:32:01.771
You know, everybody needs to be represented because when we tap into everybody

00:32:01.771 --> 00:32:08.231
in this movement, then we're truly looking to move in a position where everyone's represented.

00:32:08.631 --> 00:32:11.891
And we're going to be able to create policies based on that.

00:32:11.891 --> 00:32:16.851
But if the movement gets stuck and just reelecting the same people over and

00:32:16.851 --> 00:32:21.131
over and over and over and again, I think that's not the way to go for regression.

00:32:21.731 --> 00:32:25.171
And if we go to a place where we're just saying, let's remove everybody,

00:32:25.411 --> 00:32:28.331
even if they've had great impact, that's not the way either.

00:32:28.831 --> 00:32:36.171
So I think it has to be a mixture of really putting forth effort to bring in new leaders and.

00:32:36.699 --> 00:32:41.839
And also, you know, work with those who have been true to the cause,

00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:43.979
who really have demonstrated their

00:32:43.979 --> 00:32:48.179
leadership and their commitment to our country and their communities.

00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:52.999
So it has to be both. It's not about, you know, I'm Gen X, right?

00:32:53.159 --> 00:32:55.999
So I'm not millennial. I'm not Gen Z.

00:32:56.279 --> 00:33:01.079
I'm not baby boomer. And I think what we see a lot of, you know,

00:33:01.259 --> 00:33:03.279
happening is it's like these polar extremes.

00:33:03.439 --> 00:33:07.079
And I think we have to have all of that, right? So I believe in the uplifting

00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:09.259
young generation, absolutely.

00:33:09.999 --> 00:33:13.699
And I also believe the young generation, you know, actually,

00:33:13.819 --> 00:33:18.619
if you think about movements through history, they've always been involved and led in our movements.

00:33:18.879 --> 00:33:22.539
So to me, that's nothing new. So I think we have to continue doing that.

00:33:22.799 --> 00:33:28.599
But I also feel that we can learn and still benefit from other generations and

00:33:28.599 --> 00:33:33.519
other leaders who've been through other movements about how they were successful.

00:33:34.159 --> 00:33:37.639
I think that's how we all grow. That's how we all move in the right direction.

00:33:37.859 --> 00:33:41.359
So to me, it has to be a mixture, Erik. It has to be this intergenerational movement.

00:33:41.599 --> 00:33:45.539
It has to be a multinational, multiracial, multi-ethnic movement.

00:33:45.659 --> 00:33:50.839
It has to be an inclusive, intersectional movement for us to really make some changes right now.

00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:55.279
We stay how we are, it's going to be a problem. And I also want to push away

00:33:55.279 --> 00:33:57.099
from the fact that we have to have a leader.

00:33:57.339 --> 00:34:01.659
I know a lot of people feel that we have to have a leader of the movement.

00:34:01.659 --> 00:34:04.159
I don't believe that has to be one leader.

00:34:04.699 --> 00:34:09.439
I believe we have to be in solidarity. I believe that we have to have different leaders.

00:34:09.759 --> 00:34:14.719
We have to have a strong sense of support for people who are able to connect

00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:16.259
and reach out to different groups of people.

00:34:17.299 --> 00:34:20.899
So I'm of a way from this. I know I hear it a lot. You probably hear it.

00:34:20.979 --> 00:34:24.079
But where is our new MLK Jr.? Where is our new?

00:34:24.379 --> 00:34:30.539
But why do we have to have one person who is dominating the leadership or who

00:34:30.539 --> 00:34:34.119
are the only person to go to, because those people relate to some people, but not to everybody.

00:34:34.339 --> 00:34:38.159
But how we make sure that everybody that we need in this movement is being involved

00:34:38.159 --> 00:34:43.739
is we have representations of a variety of leaders who are working together with the same cause,

00:34:43.899 --> 00:34:48.099
the same message, the same place, to be able to work for the greater good,

00:34:48.199 --> 00:34:49.639
the greater cause we're trying to do.

00:34:49.799 --> 00:34:52.739
Because they're each going to have the impact to be able to reach a community

00:34:52.739 --> 00:34:53.779
that the other one can't do.

00:34:54.879 --> 00:34:58.839
That is, that's amazing to hear.

00:34:59.419 --> 00:35:01.639
And the reason why I say that is because

00:35:01.639 --> 00:35:07.099
you are you have been given the opportunity to be a national leader.

00:35:08.270 --> 00:35:12.910
And to hear somebody in a position like that saying, hey, guys,

00:35:13.010 --> 00:35:17.910
you know, don't ever, you know, we don't necessarily need a Pied Piper or a St. Patrick.

00:35:18.210 --> 00:35:24.430
We need a community of elders. We need a group of leaders. We need a bunch of people.

00:35:24.970 --> 00:35:29.710
And that's really, really not only amazing, but refreshing to hear coming from

00:35:29.710 --> 00:35:31.850
somebody that is in a national position.

00:35:32.030 --> 00:35:36.550
That's awesome. Yeah. And if I were to say that I couldn't have done the work

00:35:36.550 --> 00:35:39.390
that I do without tapping into other leaders, right?

00:35:40.070 --> 00:35:44.510
So I have to tap into other leaders for support. We have to come together for

00:35:44.510 --> 00:35:48.610
coalition work together to make the difference. Now can't do it alone.

00:35:49.970 --> 00:35:52.730
LCCHR can't do it alone. Illegal Men Voters can't do it alone.

00:35:53.270 --> 00:35:57.690
NAACP can't do it alone. None of us can do it alone. We all have to tap in together.

00:35:58.010 --> 00:36:00.730
We are stronger together than we are apart. Yeah.

00:36:01.310 --> 00:36:04.750
And, you know, in a situation like with Dr. King and others,

00:36:04.790 --> 00:36:08.090
if you understand the history of the movement and not necessarily you,

00:36:08.190 --> 00:36:15.450
but to the listeners, you know, it's just he was elevated within that group of leaders.

00:36:15.450 --> 00:36:19.970
He ended up to be the elevated voice, but it wasn't necessarily something he

00:36:19.970 --> 00:36:26.990
sought out. But anyway, there was a couple of other things, but I love the way

00:36:26.990 --> 00:36:28.290
that this conversation went.

00:36:28.390 --> 00:36:31.350
So I want to close out with something positive.

00:36:32.390 --> 00:36:35.770
Let's talk about your new project called No Hug Today.

00:36:36.630 --> 00:36:39.690
Yes, yes, yes. Oh, thank you for bringing it up.

00:36:40.110 --> 00:36:46.030
So for those listeners who don't know, my background started in social work and mental health.

00:36:46.490 --> 00:36:51.270
My career started as, well, first a victim advocate, and then I moved to becoming

00:36:51.270 --> 00:36:53.510
a therapist, and I started with working with children first,

00:36:53.690 --> 00:36:57.750
and then moved to families and adults and things like that. But I'm a trauma therapist background.

00:36:59.190 --> 00:37:03.210
And truthfully, it's really being, having a mental health background has really

00:37:03.210 --> 00:37:06.390
helped me be really, I feel to be very successful in my work,

00:37:06.550 --> 00:37:10.650
and working in the field directly and knowing directly how policies impact people,

00:37:10.650 --> 00:37:13.430
I think has helped me be effective as an advocate and national leader.

00:37:13.430 --> 00:37:16.610
But it has not, I have not lost that passion.

00:37:17.050 --> 00:37:20.410
So one of the, I always wanted to be a children's author.

00:37:20.590 --> 00:37:24.390
So I finally just released my first children's storybook designed for younger

00:37:24.390 --> 00:37:29.450
kids, because I believe we have to start early with teaching them these things versus waiting late.

00:37:29.730 --> 00:37:31.950
And so the book is called No Hug Today.

00:37:32.490 --> 00:37:37.490
And it's really kind of mixes the need for helping young children understand

00:37:37.490 --> 00:37:42.370
the importance of consent, the importance of personal autonomy and personal boundaries.

00:37:42.890 --> 00:37:46.530
So it's a nice storybook and it takes on the journey of a little girl named Olivia.

00:37:47.210 --> 00:37:52.430
It applies to boys or girls or any child. And it's her journey of her making

00:37:52.430 --> 00:37:57.130
decisions about who she feels comfortable with to give a hug to for the day.

00:37:58.260 --> 00:38:02.560
You know, so then she goes on this journey and she decides based on her own

00:38:02.560 --> 00:38:09.620
feelings, her own body awareness and thoughts about who she'll give a hug to

00:38:09.620 --> 00:38:11.300
today and why she'll do that.

00:38:12.180 --> 00:38:14.380
So that's the book, No Hug Today.

00:38:16.060 --> 00:38:21.180
And it's so personal to me and it's inspired by my son. I have a five-year-old, actually.

00:38:21.880 --> 00:38:26.020
And I always give him the, I always send him the gift right early when he was able to communion.

00:38:26.180 --> 00:38:28.860
I would always say, hey, can I have a hug? And he would, you know,

00:38:29.040 --> 00:38:30.780
and of course, mommy, most of the time he gives me one.

00:38:31.180 --> 00:38:33.980
But sometimes he's on the mood and I would always be like, okay.

00:38:34.220 --> 00:38:37.120
And then when he wants to, he comes and gives me one. But I was just really

00:38:37.120 --> 00:38:41.300
big on letting him have that autonomy to decide what he feels comfortable with.

00:38:41.680 --> 00:38:44.280
And if he is around family members, I'm like, well, he doesn't want to give

00:38:44.280 --> 00:38:45.660
a hug. That's just what it is.

00:38:46.480 --> 00:38:51.260
But also it helps families understand that we have to start teaching our children

00:38:51.260 --> 00:38:52.420
that they have that choice.

00:38:52.520 --> 00:38:56.400
Because I know for many of us growing up, it was the thing where you had to

00:38:56.400 --> 00:39:00.560
deal with your elders. you didn't have option, whatever date was told you had

00:39:00.560 --> 00:39:02.320
to do it, regardless if you feel comfortable or not.

00:39:02.680 --> 00:39:06.480
But if we start early teaching our kids that, you know, you have a control of

00:39:06.480 --> 00:39:09.740
your body, what makes you feel comfortable is important.

00:39:10.080 --> 00:39:14.360
Be respectful, but, you know, it's important. And we start teaching that early.

00:39:14.460 --> 00:39:17.780
I think it really, really helps shape them to be feeling empowered,

00:39:18.460 --> 00:39:23.120
feeling confident, and also being able to communicate to people they care about

00:39:23.120 --> 00:39:25.000
if something doesn't make them feel comfortable.

00:39:25.280 --> 00:39:29.480
So no hug today is that little fun journey for a young child.

00:39:30.360 --> 00:39:35.020
And there are other ones coming afterward, but this is the first that I've released and I'm super excited.

00:39:35.520 --> 00:39:39.460
You can pre-order it right now on Amazon at Barnes and Nobles.

00:39:39.840 --> 00:39:42.000
I know a lot of people are not doing Amazon, so Barnes and Nobles.

00:39:42.780 --> 00:39:46.180
And then official release date is April 15th. So if you pre-order today,

00:39:46.560 --> 00:39:48.600
then the book will get to your house on April 15th.

00:39:49.348 --> 00:39:54.928
So how can people reach out to you if they want to be a part of the Disrupt

00:39:54.928 --> 00:40:00.408
Now or just, you know, just to communicate with you about other issues?

00:40:00.528 --> 00:40:02.068
How can they reach out to you? Sure.

00:40:02.448 --> 00:40:09.508
So if you're looking to be a part of Disrupt Now, you can reach out at our website,

00:40:09.688 --> 00:40:14.968
www.now.org has all the information for their campaign.

00:40:15.488 --> 00:40:20.028
It has a sign-up sheet if you want to be involved, so you can reach out there.

00:40:20.288 --> 00:40:24.848
And if you're trying to personally be involved or want to, you can email now,

00:40:25.048 --> 00:40:29.888
noww at noww.org to reach out to us and let us know.

00:40:30.088 --> 00:40:32.648
And if you want to get communication to me, you can reach out directly to the

00:40:32.648 --> 00:40:36.568
email and my admin will forward it to me, and then we'll get you involved.

00:40:37.188 --> 00:40:45.188
And if you are interested in more about the book and how future books are coming

00:40:45.188 --> 00:40:49.908
out and how I could come do anything regarding the book to your class,

00:40:50.148 --> 00:40:55.968
to your therapy group, to any things like that, you can email me at info,

00:40:55.988 --> 00:41:00.028
I-N-F-O, at christianfnunes.com.

00:41:00.668 --> 00:41:06.308
Well, Christian F. Nunes, there's a saying. And Nunes with an S, not a Z.

00:41:06.568 --> 00:41:09.568
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Please make that make that distinction.

00:41:10.408 --> 00:41:16.848
But there's there's a saying that goes, you know, we're in a time like this. Right.

00:41:17.588 --> 00:41:25.368
And I and I believe other people will join me in in the fact that we are grateful

00:41:25.368 --> 00:41:28.688
that there is somebody out there

00:41:28.688 --> 00:41:33.468
like you that has accepted the mantle of leadership in a time like this.

00:41:34.168 --> 00:41:41.528
It is it is always an honor for me to converse with you and and to keep up with what you're doing,

00:41:42.308 --> 00:41:48.968
i i encourage people to read the empathy edge on substack uh because i've i've

00:41:48.968 --> 00:41:53.468
interviewed numbers of social workers on on this podcast and they always remind

00:41:53.468 --> 00:41:55.308
me that y'all run the world,

00:41:57.648 --> 00:42:02.148
i'm a true blue social worker i'll have to tell you well i mean you know and

00:42:02.148 --> 00:42:05.208
i i have no argument against that at all.

00:42:05.608 --> 00:42:08.588
But I'm really, really grateful to have you on the podcast.

00:42:08.688 --> 00:42:14.588
And I'm really grateful that you are in this leadership position in a time like

00:42:14.588 --> 00:42:15.968
this. So thank you so much.

00:42:16.228 --> 00:42:19.348
Yeah. And Eric, I thank you for your platform. And I thank you for your podcast

00:42:19.348 --> 00:42:24.128
to bring people on to talk about these important issues and then supporting

00:42:24.128 --> 00:42:26.348
my leadership. I appreciate that as well.

00:42:26.508 --> 00:42:30.968
So thank you. And anyway, we can continue to work together or to move this,

00:42:31.108 --> 00:42:34.588
to bend this arc to the right direction, you know, please feel free to reach out.

00:42:35.348 --> 00:42:39.788
Yes, ma'am. Thank you. All right, guys, and we're going to catch y'all on the other side. Thank you.

00:42:40.240 --> 00:42:58.640
Music.

00:42:58.486 --> 00:43:05.786
All right. And we are back. And so now it is time for my next guest, Lorissa Rinehart.

00:43:06.346 --> 00:43:12.346
Lorissa Rinehart is an engaging author and public speaker whose work explores

00:43:12.346 --> 00:43:17.606
the powerful intersections of women's history, politics, peace and war.

00:43:17.806 --> 00:43:22.266
Her debut book, First to the Front, The Untold Story of Dickie Chappelle,

00:43:23.226 --> 00:43:28.366
trailblazing female war correspondent, garnered rave reviews from The Wall Street Journal.

00:43:28.486 --> 00:43:32.766
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Publishers Weekly, and more.

00:43:32.946 --> 00:43:37.246
Her upcoming second book, Winning the Earthquake, How Jeanette Rankin Defied

00:43:37.246 --> 00:43:42.206
All Odds to Become America's First Congresswoman, is set for release by St.

00:43:42.366 --> 00:43:44.126
Martin's Press in November 2025.

00:43:45.166 --> 00:43:49.386
Through her weekly newsletter and podcast, The Female Body Politic,

00:43:49.966 --> 00:43:55.806
Lorissa offers insightful analysis of contemporary events drawing on 250 years

00:43:55.806 --> 00:43:58.226
of women's engagement in American politics.

00:43:58.486 --> 00:44:04.386
A dynamic TEDx speaker, Lorissa has delivered thought-provoking talks at prestigious

00:44:04.386 --> 00:44:10.426
venues, such as the National Press Club, Friends of the National World War II Memorial,

00:44:11.126 --> 00:44:15.626
the Women's National Press Club, and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

00:44:16.286 --> 00:44:20.046
Her expertise has been featured on prominent podcasts and radio shows,

00:44:20.246 --> 00:44:24.786
including Tell Me Everything, Cold War Conversations, Writers Talking,

00:44:25.106 --> 00:44:27.586
and Her Story on the Rocks.

00:44:28.266 --> 00:44:31.846
Lorissa is proudly represented by Lowenstein Associates.

00:44:31.986 --> 00:44:36.426
Ladies and gentlemen, it is my distinct honor and privilege to have as a guest

00:44:36.426 --> 00:44:39.886
on this podcast, Lorissa Rinehart.

00:44:42.480 --> 00:44:52.080
Music.

00:44:52.050 --> 00:44:55.250
Lorissa Rinehart. How you doing, ma'am? You doing good?

00:44:56.230 --> 00:45:03.510
I am doing very well. It's a beautiful day where I am, and I'm so glad to be on your podcast.

00:45:03.730 --> 00:45:05.950
Well, I am honored to have you on.

00:45:06.290 --> 00:45:12.290
You have been kind of stirring some things up over the last couple of years,

00:45:12.550 --> 00:45:15.210
and especially the timing.

00:45:16.610 --> 00:45:21.150
I usually don't have themed podcast,

00:45:21.410 --> 00:45:24.410
not lest the guests line up that way, but the way it's looking,

00:45:24.410 --> 00:45:29.510
this is going to be a great way to close out Women's History Month and no better

00:45:29.510 --> 00:45:34.210
way than I have a soft spot for historians. I love historians.

00:45:34.490 --> 00:45:39.730
I love teachers, but I really love historians because I think if you don't understand

00:45:39.730 --> 00:45:42.250
history, you can't go forward.

00:45:42.430 --> 00:45:46.750
You can't understand why things are happening the way they're happening.

00:45:46.870 --> 00:45:52.690
You've got to put all the pieces of the puzzle together. So I commend you for doing that kind of work.

00:45:53.630 --> 00:45:58.270
So let's go ahead and get started. I do a couple of icebreakers to kind of get the show going.

00:45:58.970 --> 00:46:04.670
So my first icebreaker is connected to a quote. And so this is the quote that I'm going to give you.

00:46:05.210 --> 00:46:10.230
One day, I want to look at Congress, boardrooms, and history books,

00:46:10.270 --> 00:46:15.150
and not have to count the women because there are just as many men.

00:46:15.650 --> 00:46:17.030
What does that quote mean to you?

00:46:18.084 --> 00:46:23.904
That quote means gender parity, that women deserve to be an equal number of

00:46:23.904 --> 00:46:30.644
decision makers as men, and that our voice is equally as important to the voices of men.

00:46:30.644 --> 00:46:39.464
And it's not about one gender dominating over another.

00:46:39.464 --> 00:46:49.184
It's about creating a conversation where everyone is welcome and everyone is valued.

00:46:49.184 --> 00:46:54.024
And I think this really goes to, and I know this is a bit tangential,

00:46:54.184 --> 00:46:59.304
but in our current political climate, you know, DEI, diversity,

00:46:59.544 --> 00:47:01.784
equity, and inclusion is so vilified.

00:47:02.064 --> 00:47:07.284
But we know from personal experience, from just looking at the world,

00:47:07.504 --> 00:47:13.484
that when we have diversity, we are stronger, better, and smarter.

00:47:13.484 --> 00:47:19.684
And that's true in every single different scenario, whether that's in your business,

00:47:19.844 --> 00:47:23.384
in your school, in your family, in your church, in your community.

00:47:23.684 --> 00:47:28.724
The more diversity, the more equity, and the more inclusion we have, the better we are.

00:47:28.844 --> 00:47:32.804
And that's the founding principle also of the United States of America.

00:47:32.804 --> 00:47:40.584
So when we talk about having women in the room, we talk about having a fair and equal society.

00:47:41.084 --> 00:47:49.864
And that is very much my mission and purpose in life is to help build that dream. Yeah.

00:47:50.104 --> 00:47:54.724
And, you know, I make the argument all the time that America is special because

00:47:54.724 --> 00:48:01.164
we're the only nation that has every country in the world represented in its population.

00:48:01.864 --> 00:48:06.104
And, you know, diversity is is so important.

00:48:06.284 --> 00:48:11.844
And when people understand that diversity is a strength, we'll we'll we'll keep moving forward.

00:48:12.980 --> 00:48:17.520
All right, so my next icebreaker is I need you to pick a number between 1 and 20.

00:48:18.240 --> 00:48:22.520
17. Okay. Which is a very popular number, by the way.

00:48:23.060 --> 00:48:28.460
What's something about people who see the world differently than you that you've come to appreciate?

00:48:29.840 --> 00:48:38.000
I love it when someone makes me say I've never thought about it in that way.

00:48:38.000 --> 00:48:46.540
Because even if I don't agree with their point of view, it helps me understand

00:48:46.540 --> 00:48:50.900
my own thought process and my own conclusions better.

00:48:51.180 --> 00:48:56.100
And so I actively seek out folks that I can have productive,

00:48:56.440 --> 00:49:01.040
respectful, civil conversations with, but who disagree with me,

00:49:01.240 --> 00:49:03.140
even on fundamental things.

00:49:03.140 --> 00:49:09.200
So that's what I love about folks who see things differently than I do Yeah,

00:49:09.500 --> 00:49:15.400
yeah, same with me I love to have conversations In this day and age, it's kind of hard to do,

00:49:16.260 --> 00:49:21.160
But when I get a chance to do it, I really love that All right,

00:49:21.360 --> 00:49:23.380
so you have written two books.

00:49:24.260 --> 00:49:29.580
One highlighting the life of Dickie Chappelle and one, and a new one,

00:49:29.800 --> 00:49:33.660
highlighting the life of Congresswoman Jeanette Rankin.

00:49:34.480 --> 00:49:38.540
Which woman do you identify with the most and why?

00:49:38.940 --> 00:49:43.240
I have to say I identify with both of them equally in a lot of ways.

00:49:43.400 --> 00:49:50.980
And it's been very interesting how my own life experiences have allowed me to write these books.

00:49:50.980 --> 00:49:56.820
Now, as a biographer, I try to remain objective and bring a critical eye to

00:49:56.820 --> 00:49:58.620
my subjects, and I think I did that.

00:49:58.780 --> 00:50:04.480
But with Dickie Chappelle, she was a combat photojournalist.

00:50:05.391 --> 00:50:11.011
And she spent a lot of time working in what I call the crater pit of peace,

00:50:11.191 --> 00:50:12.831
right? What happens after the war?

00:50:13.091 --> 00:50:17.751
As a younger person, I spent a lot of time working in nonprofits,

00:50:17.751 --> 00:50:24.591
trying to eliminate child labor and working on disarmament and peace issues.

00:50:24.771 --> 00:50:31.171
And so that really informed my understanding of war and inequity that she really

00:50:31.171 --> 00:50:33.811
was steeped in. And then with Jeanette,

00:50:34.331 --> 00:50:38.631
again, before I sort of became a historian, I worked in politics.

00:50:38.931 --> 00:50:44.471
And so I had this deeper understanding of the world she operated in.

00:50:44.691 --> 00:50:51.671
So both women very much encompass elements of my own life experience and also

00:50:51.671 --> 00:50:53.311
aspects of my personality.

00:50:53.311 --> 00:51:01.891
They were both incredibly fiery women, unafraid, unapologetic for being who they were.

00:51:02.091 --> 00:51:10.411
And those are rather aspirational qualities for me. But I really have a place

00:51:10.411 --> 00:51:16.231
of deep appreciation for both Jeanette and Dickey.

00:51:16.611 --> 00:51:22.491
Yeah, and both of them were pioneers in what they did. You know, Ms.

00:51:22.531 --> 00:51:28.171
Chappelle was, you know, a pioneer as far as being a war correspondent, period.

00:51:29.451 --> 00:51:35.411
And Ms. Rankin, of course, was the first woman ever elected to Congress.

00:51:36.611 --> 00:51:39.851
And and she has a she has a very unique

00:51:39.851 --> 00:51:42.791
distinction is that the two

00:51:42.791 --> 00:51:45.591
times she served in congress she had to vote

00:51:45.591 --> 00:51:50.111
on whether the united states was going to enter a world war and she voted against

00:51:50.111 --> 00:51:55.691
it both times and i one of the things i liked about her story was that when

00:51:55.691 --> 00:52:00.151
they asked her what would her legacy be you know and she said well i know most

00:52:00.151 --> 00:52:04.091
people are going to say i voted you know i I voted against war twice,

00:52:04.091 --> 00:52:10.031
but I want people to remember that I am the only woman to ever vote for women

00:52:10.031 --> 00:52:11.131
to have the right to vote.

00:52:11.811 --> 00:52:17.751
And I think that's that's so profound. So in that sense, do you feel that you're

00:52:17.751 --> 00:52:22.091
pioneering in anything or do you do you have that pioneer spirit?

00:52:22.791 --> 00:52:27.711
And and what barrier do you think that we need to break next? Yeah.

00:52:28.311 --> 00:52:31.911
So to answer your question, I want to go back to one of the first things that

00:52:31.911 --> 00:52:38.451
you said, which is if we don't understand history, we can't understand why things

00:52:38.451 --> 00:52:40.351
are happening the way that they are.

00:52:40.551 --> 00:52:44.511
I want to add to that and say if we don't understand history,

00:52:44.511 --> 00:52:47.771
we can't understand how things could be.

00:52:48.231 --> 00:52:52.111
And so much of history is unwritten.

00:52:52.451 --> 00:52:57.571
That's true for women's history, Black history, LGBTQ hit plus history.

00:52:57.571 --> 00:53:05.611
These histories of fortitude and perseverance and courage and changing the world

00:53:05.611 --> 00:53:09.271
have been buried and almost erased.

00:53:09.631 --> 00:53:15.971
And when we don't know these histories, when we are denied our tradition of

00:53:15.971 --> 00:53:21.971
power, our power is taken away from us. And so I am a woman's historian.

00:53:22.251 --> 00:53:27.911
And what I try to pioneer is that link to the past, that link to our power,

00:53:28.091 --> 00:53:32.591
that link to our tradition of being changemakers.

00:53:33.171 --> 00:53:37.291
And that, I'm not saying I'm the first by any means.

00:53:37.431 --> 00:53:41.891
There are, of course, thousands of incredible women historians that have come

00:53:41.891 --> 00:53:47.331
before me. But we are all working together to break through this wall.

00:53:47.671 --> 00:53:52.891
And even though we are facing difficult political times, especially as women,

00:53:53.151 --> 00:53:58.311
I also believe that is because we are so close to breaking through to the other side.

00:53:58.511 --> 00:54:04.611
I do have that deep and unshakable belief that we are closer than we know.

00:54:04.791 --> 00:54:12.291
So that is the area, that is the tradition that I'm trying to pioneer and be a part of.

00:54:13.071 --> 00:54:18.371
So, and you kind of answered this question a little bit, but I'm going to go ahead and ask it.

00:54:18.551 --> 00:54:24.351
When you asked yourself the question, what can we do to shape a more sustainable,

00:54:24.771 --> 00:54:28.371
equitable, and just future? What was your first answer?

00:54:29.536 --> 00:54:34.516
That's a great question. You know, my first answer is always building community.

00:54:34.736 --> 00:54:39.296
It's always reaching out to the folks around me, being a resource,

00:54:39.476 --> 00:54:42.416
being an ally, because that's immediate.

00:54:42.616 --> 00:54:46.496
It's not easy, but it's something you can do right now.

00:54:46.496 --> 00:54:49.796
And then the second thing that

00:54:49.796 --> 00:54:53.176
I try to do is extend that community to

00:54:53.176 --> 00:54:56.216
you know folks who are no longer

00:54:56.216 --> 00:55:01.876
with us to learn about their legacies their lives their strategies for making

00:55:01.876 --> 00:55:09.716
change and bring that into our current moment because it's gonna take all of

00:55:09.716 --> 00:55:13.196
us to build that American dream.

00:55:13.916 --> 00:55:22.176
And I, like you, I'm not a critic of America, of course,

00:55:22.376 --> 00:55:27.296
and many of its policies and so on and so forth, but I am also such a believer

00:55:27.296 --> 00:55:33.716
in its promise because we are a nation of nations. We are a nation of the world.

00:55:33.836 --> 00:55:38.656
And for that reason, we are sort of the ultimate experiment in democracy.

00:55:39.316 --> 00:55:49.336
And if we are going to be successful, we have to be as inclusive as possible

00:55:49.336 --> 00:55:52.656
in our lives, our thoughts, our communities.

00:55:53.196 --> 00:56:00.216
Yeah. Yeah. I tend to say that I'm not a conformist in a sense,

00:56:00.276 --> 00:56:07.616
but the only thing I ask people to conform to is to conform to the idea of inclusivity, right?

00:56:07.996 --> 00:56:12.136
If you're going to be an American, I think that's the most important quality

00:56:12.136 --> 00:56:17.396
to have, that you respect that this country is diverse.

00:56:18.136 --> 00:56:23.896
But getting into that, how do you feel about the current administration's efforts

00:56:23.896 --> 00:56:30.076
to remove any vestige of women's history in the military or even outlawing the

00:56:30.076 --> 00:56:33.976
word woman in government documents and correspondence?

00:56:34.716 --> 00:56:40.596
Well, so first of all, I'm about to publish an essay on this on my sub stack,

00:56:40.776 --> 00:56:41.836
the female body politic.

00:56:42.176 --> 00:56:48.396
But I don't mean to correct you, but the word woman, singular, is allowed.

00:56:48.616 --> 00:56:51.796
The word women, plural, is not

00:56:51.796 --> 00:56:59.596
allowed. because it is in our being in community that women have power.

00:56:59.816 --> 00:57:04.276
When we are isolated the way that they want us to be, isolated from our history,

00:57:04.576 --> 00:57:08.556
from ourselves, from each other, then we are powerless.

00:57:08.856 --> 00:57:14.536
So it's very specific why it is woman is allowed to be included, but women is not.

00:57:14.816 --> 00:57:16.956
As to how I feel about that.

00:57:18.437 --> 00:57:26.257
It's livid is the word that comes to mind first and then fired up.

00:57:27.257 --> 00:57:35.797
I am, of course, a historian and this recent purge of images from the Department

00:57:35.797 --> 00:57:39.717
of Defense Digital Archive.

00:57:39.717 --> 00:57:47.157
If your listeners don't know, they've deleted 26,000 photos of women,

00:57:47.657 --> 00:57:53.337
you know, the Tuskegee Airmen, incredible Black heroes,

00:57:53.917 --> 00:57:55.717
LGBTQ plus heroes,

00:57:56.437 --> 00:58:00.457
you know, our warriors fighting for liberty and justice and freedom for all.

00:58:00.457 --> 00:58:02.817
They have deleted their photographs.

00:58:03.477 --> 00:58:10.157
And it is an attempt to, again, erase our tradition and history and heritage

00:58:10.157 --> 00:58:13.917
of being warriors in our own freedom.

00:58:13.997 --> 00:58:20.817
And we cannot let this happen. We cannot let them divide us and erase us and

00:58:20.817 --> 00:58:25.897
make us feel that we are not together in community because, first of all, we are.

00:58:25.897 --> 00:58:30.837
And second of all, if we succeed, that is if they succeed, that is exactly how

00:58:30.837 --> 00:58:36.117
they are going to implement their ultimate plan of, you know, Project 2025.

00:58:36.517 --> 00:58:43.957
And I don't want to, you know, get too alarmist, but white male supremacy.

00:58:44.577 --> 00:58:48.777
And we have to stand together all together to to.

00:58:50.332 --> 00:58:55.252
Avoid that fight against that and build the America and the government and the

00:58:55.252 --> 00:58:59.212
society that benefits us all, not just one small segment.

00:59:00.132 --> 00:59:05.812
Yeah. And, you know, that list is changing. So if they took one man out, that's good.

00:59:06.432 --> 00:59:11.332
In a sense, they shouldn't have the list at all. But at least if they're making

00:59:11.332 --> 00:59:14.792
some changes, because I saw both of them in there in the list I pulled up,

00:59:14.892 --> 00:59:17.112
and I was like, so what are we doing?

00:59:17.112 --> 00:59:23.472
But anyway, that's, you know, I've got a lot of commentary about all that,

00:59:23.592 --> 00:59:32.412
but I agree with you that we can't allow them without a substantial fight to to just erase stuff.

00:59:32.692 --> 00:59:38.792
I mean, they've gotten to the point now where the plane that actually dropped

00:59:38.792 --> 00:59:43.532
the first atomic bomb is no longer in the archive because the word gay,

00:59:43.792 --> 00:59:47.492
the woman's name was Enola Gay. So it's out.

00:59:47.852 --> 00:59:51.852
I mean, just the dumb stuff. And then they reversed their position about Jackie

00:59:51.852 --> 00:59:53.512
Robinson and the Tuskegee Airmen.

00:59:53.632 --> 00:59:57.692
But I'm like, why were we even in that discussion in the first place?

00:59:58.032 --> 01:00:00.052
So livid is a good word.

01:00:03.012 --> 01:00:07.952
Speaking about your female body, the female body politics substack,

01:00:08.092 --> 01:00:13.032
you recently wrote to find a roadmap of resistance and resilience.

01:00:13.112 --> 01:00:17.912
We only need to look to the example of Fannie Lou Hamer and the millions of

01:00:17.912 --> 01:00:22.532
black women over the course of generations who stood up to American authoritarianism

01:00:22.532 --> 01:00:29.512
in myriad ways to build their and all of our freedom brick by brick.

01:00:29.512 --> 01:00:34.812
So what lessons can Americans learn from black women specifically to challenge

01:00:34.812 --> 01:00:37.732
this new vestige of authoritarianism?

01:00:38.944 --> 01:00:45.304
Everything. Everything. I mean, if you want to look at what American authoritarianism

01:00:45.304 --> 01:00:47.424
looks like, study the Jim Crow South.

01:00:47.664 --> 01:00:52.824
That's what it is. The Nazis took a page out of that book.

01:00:53.224 --> 01:00:56.824
They admired the Nazis, the Jim Crow South.

01:00:57.264 --> 01:01:08.564
They saw that that was the way to oppress and eliminate, exterminate an entire segment of society.

01:01:08.944 --> 01:01:16.364
And black people and black women like Fannie Lou Hamer stood up regardless and

01:01:16.364 --> 01:01:24.484
effectively over the course of generations and over the course of lifetimes fought back and won.

01:01:24.984 --> 01:01:29.404
And if we're going to do the same they already made the roadmap they already

01:01:29.404 --> 01:01:33.564
did it you know we need to adapt it to our own times and there are lessons we

01:01:33.564 --> 01:01:38.004
can learn we can learn from their mistakes and failures but they made those

01:01:38.004 --> 01:01:42.744
mistakes and failures they had the bravery to do that and they had ultimate success.

01:01:43.224 --> 01:01:55.204
And it is, I would say, always the strategy of revolutionaries to study analogous

01:01:55.204 --> 01:01:58.104
movements and revolutions in the past.

01:01:58.264 --> 01:02:04.304
And the most analogous revolution to our current moment is that of women,

01:02:04.544 --> 01:02:09.744
Black women, standing up against white supremacy in the Jim Crow South.

01:02:10.884 --> 01:02:15.604
So what lessons can we learn? We can learn resilience, fortitude,

01:02:16.164 --> 01:02:18.884
courage, and solidarity.

01:02:19.824 --> 01:02:22.644
Yeah, I think solidarity is a key one.

01:02:23.776 --> 01:02:32.476
You know, when I, you know, I'm glad that historians are touching on the tension

01:02:32.476 --> 01:02:36.816
between Black men and Black women during the movement.

01:02:36.976 --> 01:02:41.956
And the reason why I say that is because now you're starting to hear more of

01:02:41.956 --> 01:02:44.816
the stories of Fane Lou Hamer and Ella Baker.

01:02:45.656 --> 01:02:50.396
I forget Miss Robinson, who I actually had a chance to meet,

01:02:50.676 --> 01:02:55.736
who, you know, was was attacked on on Bloody Sunday in Selma.

01:02:56.636 --> 01:03:03.156
You know, it's like it was an even and even Coretta Sky King, because,

01:03:03.456 --> 01:03:10.456
you know, they were in that that era where it was like the woman was supposed

01:03:10.456 --> 01:03:14.096
to be more of the house manager,

01:03:14.116 --> 01:03:20.616
more of the supportive partner instead of the one being let out there.

01:03:21.316 --> 01:03:27.176
And and one of the things that the reason why I mentioned Coretta Scott King

01:03:27.176 --> 01:03:32.776
is because people recognize that she was the one who pushed Dr.

01:03:32.976 --> 01:03:38.076
King to take a position against the war because she had taken a position and

01:03:38.076 --> 01:03:41.876
she was going to the different meetings and speaking, especially to women's groups.

01:03:43.496 --> 01:03:47.736
And basically just kind of said, he just said, you know what?

01:03:47.876 --> 01:03:50.596
I got to stand with my wife, right?

01:03:51.456 --> 01:04:01.076
And so I think the solidarity piece to me is men and women standing side by side.

01:04:01.136 --> 01:04:05.696
And I'm a Christian, so it's like that's the way God intended it.

01:04:05.896 --> 01:04:09.936
It was like I tell people all the time that he didn't take a piece of Adam's

01:04:09.936 --> 01:04:16.556
spine and created Eve. He took the rib so they could be side by side.

01:04:16.776 --> 01:04:21.236
And I think that's very, very important when we talk about,

01:04:22.362 --> 01:04:27.522
change and solidarity and making a difference is that we have to understand

01:04:27.522 --> 01:04:31.702
that we're partners and not one being in front of the other.

01:04:33.142 --> 01:04:38.042
Absolutely. And I also want to say that, you know,

01:04:38.582 --> 01:04:46.882
one of the things that Dickie Chappelle really made me think about was the importance

01:04:46.882 --> 01:04:52.382
of domestic labor in making change.

01:04:52.702 --> 01:04:58.042
So, right, even if these women in the civil rights movement,

01:04:58.182 --> 01:05:03.242
Black women, were not out front, that they were supporting, they were,

01:05:03.442 --> 01:05:04.942
you know, keeping the home,

01:05:05.402 --> 01:05:09.522
making sure the children were fed into school on time, keeping peace in the house,

01:05:10.002 --> 01:05:14.782
making sure dinner is on the table, that is important support work and should

01:05:14.782 --> 01:05:21.702
be honored and valued as well by both society and historians and needs to be acknowledged.

01:05:22.442 --> 01:05:27.042
And Dickey Chappelle really documented this in her work, specifically in her

01:05:27.042 --> 01:05:31.462
post-World War II coverage, where, right, the men had died.

01:05:31.662 --> 01:05:35.982
So many of the men had died in Europe. She was in Europe. And it was the women

01:05:35.982 --> 01:05:40.622
who had to create peace in a war-ravaged landscape.

01:05:40.622 --> 01:05:45.962
And their work, their labor, their efforts, their courage, their fortitude was

01:05:45.962 --> 01:05:53.302
frankly no less heroic, but is utterly ignored by sort of this view,

01:05:53.582 --> 01:05:58.382
this historicization of war and of social change movements.

01:05:58.382 --> 01:06:03.882
So I love that you brought that up because you can't have one without the other.

01:06:05.222 --> 01:06:09.362
We need to work together if we're going to really achieve change.

01:06:10.022 --> 01:06:15.362
Yeah. All right. So define an ungovernable woman.

01:06:16.556 --> 01:06:21.336
Okay, so that's a great question. And, you know, a lot of people are talking

01:06:21.336 --> 01:06:25.396
about do not obey, rather, do not obey tyranny in advance.

01:06:26.236 --> 01:06:31.036
And it occurred to me that patriarchal

01:06:31.036 --> 01:06:38.136
beliefs and systems are designed to make women obey in advance.

01:06:38.536 --> 01:06:43.016
We are told to be quiet. We are told We are not as worthy as men.

01:06:43.236 --> 01:06:45.316
Our voices are not as important.

01:06:45.796 --> 01:06:54.656
And as soon as you can shed those beliefs, you become that much more free and

01:06:54.656 --> 01:06:57.636
that much more ungovernable by tyranny.

01:06:58.056 --> 01:07:04.716
But I think the most important part of that, and this gets a little self-healthy,

01:07:04.876 --> 01:07:08.656
but I think it's actually very important is

01:07:08.656 --> 01:07:11.856
to love yourself to

01:07:11.856 --> 01:07:15.316
love yourself as you are for who you are and

01:07:15.316 --> 01:07:20.496
the way that you are and to practice self-love self-care

01:07:20.496 --> 01:07:24.136
and intentional joy because

01:07:24.136 --> 01:07:27.276
if you can love yourself then you are never dependent

01:07:27.276 --> 01:07:31.756
on any power structure to validate

01:07:31.756 --> 01:07:47.876
your worth So to be ungovernable is to be free and to have a sense of infinite self-worth.

01:07:49.256 --> 01:07:58.416
Yeah, I agree with that. You know, and I think that when we have these discussions

01:07:58.416 --> 01:08:01.976
about surrendering in advance,

01:08:03.035 --> 01:08:06.875
I think people just need to remember that they're human beings.

01:08:07.595 --> 01:08:11.275
I always, you know, I'm a big nerd, right?

01:08:11.435 --> 01:08:17.155
So I'm a sports guy. I love sports, but I'm a big nerd. I've been to comic books

01:08:17.155 --> 01:08:18.915
and science fiction and all that stuff.

01:08:19.635 --> 01:08:25.955
And I remember there was a scene in the original Avengers where Loki shows up.

01:08:26.055 --> 01:08:28.755
I think he's in Germany or one of those countries in Europe,

01:08:29.155 --> 01:08:35.595
maybe Austria. and he tells the people that have gathered around him to bow.

01:08:36.115 --> 01:08:39.615
And as he's doing that, he says, that is your nature.

01:08:40.015 --> 01:08:45.555
That is what you crave to do. You crave basically to be subservient to someone.

01:08:46.135 --> 01:08:49.975
And as one man stands up, of course, before Captain America does his thing,

01:08:50.155 --> 01:08:55.655
but as one man stands up and says, yeah, I've heard of somebody like you before.

01:08:55.655 --> 01:09:00.195
I've dealt with that person in my lifetime and I made a decision there,

01:09:00.335 --> 01:09:01.895
I'm not going to bow again.

01:09:02.935 --> 01:09:07.455
And, you know, and I think that's kind of the spirit that we have to have.

01:09:07.615 --> 01:09:13.135
We have to remember that in our humanity, we were given a charge of dominion.

01:09:14.195 --> 01:09:19.055
So when, you know, when we get people that try to get us to be subservient like

01:09:19.055 --> 01:09:23.895
that and to bow and, you know, in my in my history, as far as my people,

01:09:24.315 --> 01:09:26.595
you know, slavery and all that stuff.

01:09:27.115 --> 01:09:31.575
When Kamala Harris stood up and said, we're not going back, we mean that.

01:09:31.695 --> 01:09:35.255
Now, she didn't win the election, but that doesn't mean that our attitude has

01:09:35.255 --> 01:09:38.355
changed. We're not trying to be subservient.

01:09:38.655 --> 01:09:43.395
And I think that just needs to be a general, whether you're talking about gender

01:09:43.395 --> 01:09:46.015
issues, whether you're talking about race issues, ethnicity,

01:09:46.375 --> 01:09:50.655
I just think that that's a fundamental belief that we have to instill in ourselves,

01:09:50.655 --> 01:09:55.115
that we are humans and we shouldn't be subservient.

01:09:55.235 --> 01:10:01.555
I think we should submit to authority, meaning respect it, but it doesn't mean

01:10:01.555 --> 01:10:04.155
that we should be enslaved by it or oppressed by it.

01:10:04.575 --> 01:10:07.015
But maybe I'm getting a little too deep. What do you think?

01:10:07.935 --> 01:10:11.535
No, and it's not only that we're humans, we are Americans.

01:10:11.895 --> 01:10:17.935
This country was founded on a rejection of tyrannical authority.

01:10:17.935 --> 01:10:22.075
And it's one thing to say, okay, I'm going to obey the law, the laws that are

01:10:22.075 --> 01:10:24.855
of, for, and by the people. Yes, I'm all for that.

01:10:25.055 --> 01:10:28.755
But if you have Crazy King George or the current administration,

01:10:29.575 --> 01:10:36.635
those are what we need to rebel against as humans, but as Americans,

01:10:36.635 --> 01:10:39.675
and it is our birthright to do so.

01:10:39.675 --> 01:10:45.835
And I will be damned if I will sacrifice that, because I am going to stand up

01:10:45.835 --> 01:10:48.235
until I cannot stand anymore.

01:10:48.355 --> 01:10:53.735
And then I will raise my voice as loud as I can for as long as I can.

01:10:54.455 --> 01:10:57.015
And, you know, when...

01:10:58.363 --> 01:11:03.603
We do this as individuals or small communities or small groups.

01:11:03.823 --> 01:11:10.483
It has, I know, as a historian, it has incredibly powerful ripple effects.

01:11:10.703 --> 01:11:14.543
And so if you are the only one in your church, your school,

01:11:15.003 --> 01:11:24.583
your workplace, even your family who is standing up and rejecting this new form of tyranny,

01:11:24.763 --> 01:11:28.963
and you feel like you're not making a difference, I can assure you that you

01:11:28.963 --> 01:11:32.703
are making a huge difference, more than you will know.

01:11:32.863 --> 01:11:38.823
And it's fascinating to me as a historian to see these ripple effects traveling

01:11:38.823 --> 01:11:45.903
for hundreds of years sometimes to arrive at a moment when they become a wave.

01:11:45.903 --> 01:11:53.563
And I really think we're about to see a lot of that, our own voices and standing

01:11:53.563 --> 01:11:59.323
up and all these voices of histories coming in history, coming to a culminating point.

01:11:59.743 --> 01:12:04.263
So please, if you can, continue, continue your work.

01:12:04.423 --> 01:12:08.843
And I'm so grateful to be here with you, Eric, continuing this work.

01:12:08.843 --> 01:12:11.963
Well, thank you. I appreciate that. And I appreciate you.

01:12:12.603 --> 01:12:16.863
One last thing I wanted to ask you, you've you had Dr.

01:12:17.263 --> 01:12:25.643
Nancy Pearson on your podcast, and she's kind of been identified as the evangelist of local elections.

01:12:25.643 --> 01:12:34.623
She has advocated that in order to achieve the changes that we want,

01:12:34.623 --> 01:12:39.803
that we've got to focus in on getting women, primarily in her case,

01:12:40.003 --> 01:12:43.843
but people, good people elected at the local level. Yeah.

01:12:44.842 --> 01:12:48.422
As somebody that has studied history and somebody that understands that,

01:12:48.742 --> 01:12:51.862
is that a great premise to work from?

01:12:52.062 --> 01:13:01.542
Or, you know, do we really need somebody dynamic at the top to kind of stir

01:13:01.542 --> 01:13:03.862
the pot and keep things going?

01:13:04.262 --> 01:13:08.042
I think we need both. I think it should be a multi-pronged attack.

01:13:08.042 --> 01:13:12.882
But the thing about the wonderful thing about engaging with the local government

01:13:12.882 --> 01:13:15.902
is you can make real change happen immediately.

01:13:16.602 --> 01:13:20.342
That, again, has ripple effects that are national and global.

01:13:20.662 --> 01:13:26.762
So let me just give you a stat. A very high turnout for a local election is

01:13:26.762 --> 01:13:29.682
15 percent. That's on the high end.

01:13:29.842 --> 01:13:34.682
Right. So in most municipalities, and even in places like New York City,

01:13:34.942 --> 01:13:40.242
you can sway an election for a city council member or a school board member

01:13:40.242 --> 01:13:47.802
or so on and so forth just by engaging and organizing your church, your knitting group,

01:13:47.962 --> 01:13:52.002
your reading group, whatever community you're involved in.

01:13:52.002 --> 01:13:56.862
If you can activate them and then their networks, you can make real changes.

01:13:56.862 --> 01:14:01.882
So you don't like that your school board members are trying to ban books. Guess what?

01:14:02.062 --> 01:14:08.082
If you can get 5% more of your community to turn out, you can get yourself or

01:14:08.082 --> 01:14:09.922
someone else elected that you agree with.

01:14:10.322 --> 01:14:15.582
And the reason I know this is important is because this is exactly what the

01:14:15.582 --> 01:14:18.622
GOP did in the 1990s with the Tea Party.

01:14:18.842 --> 01:14:21.502
They focused on local media.

01:14:22.183 --> 01:14:25.783
Government in order to build the platform that we see today.

01:14:26.223 --> 01:14:35.623
And though we do not like the outcome, we can admire their effective and successful strategy.

01:14:35.883 --> 01:14:40.263
And so I encourage everybody to listen to the podcast with Dr.

01:14:40.363 --> 01:14:42.523
Nancy Pearson or go to her website.

01:14:42.663 --> 01:14:46.483
You can just Google her name. And she lays out a lot of really great strategies

01:14:46.483 --> 01:14:50.103
for getting involved now with your local community, governments.

01:14:50.823 --> 01:14:54.623
And affecting that change you want to see in the world today.

01:14:55.123 --> 01:14:58.823
All right. And speaking about the podcast, how can people listen to it?

01:14:58.903 --> 01:15:02.963
How can people get in touch with you, buy your books, all that stuff?

01:15:03.443 --> 01:15:09.143
So my podcast in Substack is the Female Body Polytech, and that's all on Substack.

01:15:09.183 --> 01:15:12.223
You can also listen to the podcast on Spotify and Apple.

01:15:12.863 --> 01:15:18.283
You can buy my books anywhere books are sold and also through my website,

01:15:18.443 --> 01:15:20.103
LarissaReinhardt.com.

01:15:20.563 --> 01:15:24.743
So, yes, that is where I'm available. And you can contact me there as well.

01:15:25.363 --> 01:15:29.283
All right. So give the name of the books because the one with Congresswoman

01:15:29.283 --> 01:15:33.083
Rankin, that hasn't come out yet, right? That's right.

01:15:33.303 --> 01:15:36.643
So my first book about Dickie Chappelle is called First to the Front.

01:15:36.643 --> 01:15:39.743
And my forthcoming book about

01:15:39.743 --> 01:15:42.743
Jeanette Rankin that comes out in November is called Winning

01:15:42.743 --> 01:15:48.423
the Earthquake and the reason it's called that is because she said once you

01:15:48.423 --> 01:15:54.823
can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake and her devout and lifelong

01:15:54.823 --> 01:16:01.423
peace activism I believe was how you could win an earthquake by preventing it in the first place.

01:16:01.863 --> 01:16:06.103
Well, Lorissa Rinehart, it's been an honor to have you on the podcast.

01:16:06.103 --> 01:16:09.223
I greatly appreciate you taking the time to do this.

01:16:10.123 --> 01:16:15.243
I look forward to reconnecting with you when the book comes out.

01:16:15.683 --> 01:16:23.263
And like I've told you in private and I make public for any guests,

01:16:23.403 --> 01:16:28.163
anytime you want to come back on, you know, you just got a wild hair, you know,

01:16:28.723 --> 01:16:31.263
just do that.

01:16:31.263 --> 01:16:37.623
Because you have quickly established yourself as a voice in the community.

01:16:37.903 --> 01:16:41.863
And I think the niche, you coming in as a historian, really,

01:16:41.983 --> 01:16:43.903
really gives some gravitas to that.

01:16:44.183 --> 01:16:48.143
So I'm honored that our paths are crossed. I'm honored that you came on the

01:16:48.143 --> 01:16:49.963
podcast and I thank you for that.

01:16:50.643 --> 01:16:55.263
Well, thank you, Erik. This has just been such a wonderful, fascinating and

01:16:55.263 --> 01:16:58.143
thought-provoking conversation. So I'm so grateful to be on.

01:16:58.463 --> 01:17:01.663
All right. All right, guys. and we're going to catch y'all on the other side.

01:17:02.320 --> 01:17:13.040
Music.

01:17:13.857 --> 01:17:21.317
All right, we are back, and so I am really, really glad that Madam President Christian F.

01:17:21.437 --> 01:17:23.837
Nunes was able to come on.

01:17:24.577 --> 01:17:32.337
I mean, this worked out perfectly, considering I was trying to get her on,

01:17:32.537 --> 01:17:37.797
as stated before, last week, and it didn't work out.

01:17:37.797 --> 01:17:45.257
But she came on this week, and this really, the way the show lined up was even

01:17:45.257 --> 01:17:47.577
better. So thank you, God, for that.

01:17:48.177 --> 01:17:54.877
And thank you, Madam President, for coming on. And for Lorissa Rinehart,

01:17:55.077 --> 01:18:04.037
who 30 minutes is not enough time to pick her brain and to really get her thoughts

01:18:04.037 --> 01:18:11.857
out about the importance of women in American society, especially historically.

01:18:11.857 --> 01:18:23.097
Luckily, but she is, she is a true believer. She is a true activist and she's

01:18:23.097 --> 01:18:25.317
definitely going to be back on the podcast for sure.

01:18:25.837 --> 01:18:29.277
At some point in time, we're going to, we're going to make sure that happens.

01:18:30.097 --> 01:18:37.457
So, but I'm glad that Lorissa and, and, and Christian Nunes were able to come on and,

01:18:37.597 --> 01:18:43.857
and, and, And I think to culminate Women's History Month, I think they did a

01:18:43.857 --> 01:18:45.877
spectacular job in doing it.

01:18:47.417 --> 01:18:57.257
So I want to close out with, you know, ineptitude will show.

01:18:58.017 --> 01:19:03.837
You can mask it as long as you want to. You can put any kind of spin on it.

01:19:05.575 --> 01:19:11.795
You know, you can take the shaggy defense of what me, all that, but it's going to show.

01:19:12.675 --> 01:19:17.115
As somebody that's a big fan of sports that actually try to play sports in his

01:19:17.115 --> 01:19:22.995
life, you know, when you're dealing with a better team or, you know,

01:19:23.095 --> 01:19:25.995
when you're not as good as you think you are, it's going to be exposed.

01:19:27.895 --> 01:19:32.415
And it may be painful to you and it may be painful for others to watch,

01:19:32.655 --> 01:19:33.955
but it's going to happen.

01:19:35.695 --> 01:19:43.135
And that's where we are now. You know, I always tell people that folks that

01:19:43.135 --> 01:19:46.155
are evil, right, always overplay their hand.

01:19:46.655 --> 01:19:53.055
If you read a comic book in your life, you watched an action movie in your life,

01:19:53.535 --> 01:19:55.495
that's usually how it goes.

01:19:55.935 --> 01:19:59.235
The bad guy overplays their hand.

01:20:01.655 --> 01:20:05.135
And the villain always overplays their hand.

01:20:06.295 --> 01:20:12.215
Just when they think they have the hero down and out, they overplay their hand

01:20:12.215 --> 01:20:14.995
and they get exposed and defeated.

01:20:15.795 --> 01:20:18.475
And that's what's happening now, you know.

01:20:19.295 --> 01:20:21.395
I don't know who the heroes are yet.

01:20:23.435 --> 01:20:29.775
But they're out there and they're working and they're going to emerge when it's all said and done.

01:20:31.655 --> 01:20:37.275
But the villains are definitely identifiable and they're overplaying their hand

01:20:37.275 --> 01:20:41.275
and they're going to get their comeuppance.

01:20:42.315 --> 01:20:45.295
If you don't know who the villains are in this political scenario,

01:20:45.315 --> 01:20:47.515
it's the Republicans, plain and simple.

01:20:48.455 --> 01:20:51.595
I mean, Elon Musk is straight out of Hollywood.

01:20:52.755 --> 01:20:58.575
He's trying to buy a Supreme Court election just like he's taking credit for

01:20:58.575 --> 01:20:59.915
buying a presidential election.

01:21:00.755 --> 01:21:03.335
In the Supreme Court elections in Wisconsin.

01:21:05.143 --> 01:21:08.703
And, you know, I just, I just,

01:21:08.963 --> 01:21:16.503
I get it, you know, that there are some people that appeal to the base level

01:21:16.503 --> 01:21:23.043
for humans that really, really can hit home with our nature.

01:21:23.903 --> 01:21:30.543
But, you know, I'm just hoping that people don't get caught up in the smoke

01:21:30.543 --> 01:21:36.503
and mirrors again and just really realize what's happening.

01:21:37.643 --> 01:21:46.303
Why would a guy spend $20 million on a Supreme Court race in a state that he doesn't live in? Right.

01:21:46.943 --> 01:21:48.983
It's because he's suing that state.

01:21:49.843 --> 01:21:55.023
And he wants to have a Supreme Court that's going to rule in his favor.

01:21:55.443 --> 01:22:00.383
And he thinks that $20 million or whatever else he spends between now and,

01:22:01.523 --> 01:22:04.703
well, I mean, the election is pretty much over.

01:22:04.903 --> 01:22:11.283
But, you know, he spent $20 million to try to get a court to rule in his favor.

01:22:13.343 --> 01:22:17.043
Now, technically, it's not a guarantee that that will happen.

01:22:18.203 --> 01:22:21.423
But considering the track record of what we've seen,

01:22:22.103 --> 01:22:27.363
if there's a majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court that's conservative or

01:22:27.363 --> 01:22:31.183
Republican or whatever title they mag or whatever title they want to use,

01:22:31.723 --> 01:22:39.463
then they're going to rule an Elon Musk's favor and they'll find the legal excuses to do that. Right.

01:22:40.403 --> 01:22:50.443
But, you know, it is what it is from Elon's mindset, but it doesn't have to be.

01:22:51.503 --> 01:22:58.303
So if anybody in Wisconsin is listening to this, do not vote for Elon Musk candidate.

01:22:58.763 --> 01:23:01.723
I think I can't remember the woman's name right off.

01:23:02.973 --> 01:23:10.373
I know Susan something. So if you go to a ballot and you see Susan, vote for Susan, right?

01:23:10.913 --> 01:23:14.553
I mean, people got to send a message.

01:23:15.173 --> 01:23:18.973
Those folks that believe that we should be an authoritarian state,

01:23:19.133 --> 01:23:23.853
those people that believe that villains should run the world,

01:23:24.333 --> 01:23:25.833
then you vote accordingly.

01:23:25.833 --> 01:23:30.553
But those of us who believe that America is still worth fighting for,

01:23:31.453 --> 01:23:34.553
In Wisconsin, I need you to show it, right?

01:23:34.773 --> 01:23:37.193
I need y'all to vote for Susan.

01:23:40.853 --> 01:23:45.833
But even more so, we've got to send a message that, you know,

01:23:45.973 --> 01:23:51.133
incompetence and deception and all that stuff is not acceptable anymore.

01:23:52.713 --> 01:23:59.433
And this recent screw-up by the national security team.

01:24:00.153 --> 01:24:03.553
And I want you to understand, this is our national security team.

01:24:03.673 --> 01:24:05.073
This is mine. This is yours.

01:24:05.213 --> 01:24:09.833
This is everybody in America's national security team. Screwed up.

01:24:11.013 --> 01:24:18.213
First of all, you're using an app on your regular phone to conduct business.

01:24:18.833 --> 01:24:21.693
I don't care how encrypted the app is.

01:24:22.413 --> 01:24:27.013
It was not encrypted by God. It was encrypted by a man or a woman.

01:24:28.613 --> 01:24:33.473
Therefore, there's a chink in the armor somewhere, just nobody's been smart enough to find it.

01:24:34.113 --> 01:24:37.573
But if, you know, you do do that.

01:24:39.370 --> 01:24:44.930
You know, if you make that mistake and do that, then you should be punished for that.

01:24:44.950 --> 01:24:51.550
In the political realm, that means you lose your appointment or you lose an election, right?

01:24:52.690 --> 01:24:59.790
Some people say that's not fair, but hey, you know, it's all about a standard.

01:25:00.310 --> 01:25:03.290
It's all about for once not being hypocritical.

01:25:04.290 --> 01:25:08.110
If you thought that it was an atrocity that.

01:25:09.370 --> 01:25:15.330
Hillary Clinton, when she was Secretary of State, used a private server to keep

01:25:15.330 --> 01:25:20.290
files, even to the point where you were chanting, lock her up.

01:25:20.910 --> 01:25:27.010
The very least you can do is to get rid of one of your people, right?

01:25:28.250 --> 01:25:31.730
But it's like when other people make a mistake, you highlight that.

01:25:31.850 --> 01:25:35.150
But when you make a mistake, you're in denial, right?

01:25:35.790 --> 01:25:41.370
And at some point in time, the majority of the people are going to be motivated

01:25:41.370 --> 01:25:44.890
enough to say, yeah, we're not going to put up with that.

01:25:47.230 --> 01:25:52.530
And, you know, I don't care how racist I am. I don't care how xenophobic I am.

01:25:53.370 --> 01:26:00.910
You know, I just don't want incompetent people running things. Right. There's a line.

01:26:02.950 --> 01:26:11.130
You know, but, and then to the people who have not voted, the longer that you

01:26:11.130 --> 01:26:17.250
sit on the sideline, the more chances incompetent people will remain in office.

01:26:17.750 --> 01:26:22.050
And you can change that. All you got to do is vote them out.

01:26:22.610 --> 01:26:25.490
When the opportunity comes, send them home.

01:26:26.230 --> 01:26:29.610
Five minutes out of your day. Five minutes.

01:26:30.470 --> 01:26:35.290
You can send them home. So, you know, I mean, good people have lost elections.

01:26:35.610 --> 01:26:39.070
So why shouldn't bad folks? Right?

01:26:40.190 --> 01:26:41.410
I mean, I'm just saying.

01:26:43.050 --> 01:26:48.350
You know, we have a serious problem in this nation.

01:26:49.030 --> 01:26:53.070
And it's going to take a long time to fix it. I'm not here to give you some

01:26:53.070 --> 01:26:57.010
kind of magical hope bullet or pill.

01:26:57.570 --> 01:27:01.430
You know, but I do want y'all to be aware that there is a problem.

01:27:01.730 --> 01:27:10.890
And as long as we live in a society where we try to otherize people instead

01:27:10.890 --> 01:27:16.410
of embracing the value of every person, that's where we are.

01:27:18.404 --> 01:27:26.484
We just got to educate ourselves. I don't agree with the Department of Education being eradicated.

01:27:27.784 --> 01:27:34.124
But at the same time, I don't think that's our only avenue to educate ourselves.

01:27:34.944 --> 01:27:39.504
The Department of Education does not control what happens in your house.

01:27:39.504 --> 01:27:49.504
You in your home, you in your self-conscious have to decide that I'm not going

01:27:49.504 --> 01:27:55.324
to be prejudiced against anybody based on something outside of their character.

01:27:56.504 --> 01:28:02.584
Right. If a person is a bad person, disassociate yourself with them. Right.

01:28:03.604 --> 01:28:08.804
If a person is not redeemable, whereas in the Christian faith,

01:28:08.824 --> 01:28:14.804
we believe everybody is, but there's some people that just won't change no matter

01:28:14.804 --> 01:28:16.004
how much knowledge you give them.

01:28:16.264 --> 01:28:19.664
Just associate yourself with them. Do not put them in leadership positions.

01:28:19.664 --> 01:28:21.344
Do not hang out with them.

01:28:22.304 --> 01:28:23.604
Just avoid them.

01:28:26.724 --> 01:28:29.824
And just pray that they'll come along.

01:28:30.644 --> 01:28:36.784
And, you know, it's just time for us to do better. It really is.

01:28:37.944 --> 01:28:47.644
I mean, human beings are going to be weak enough where they want to judge people for the wrong reasons.

01:28:48.504 --> 01:28:56.624
So the discipline that we have to have is to elevate our thoughts and our minds

01:28:56.624 --> 01:28:59.524
to not doing that, you know?

01:29:00.504 --> 01:29:05.004
You know, you see people on the street, you see people at your workplace and

01:29:05.004 --> 01:29:08.024
all this stuff, and you kind of get a first impression and all that,

01:29:08.084 --> 01:29:09.344
and it's really hard to shake.

01:29:10.044 --> 01:29:14.524
But our job is to give people a chance.

01:29:15.124 --> 01:29:20.524
Now, when we give them a chance and they prove that we were right in our gut

01:29:20.524 --> 01:29:21.984
instinct, then we're not.

01:29:22.807 --> 01:29:29.147
Move on, right? You know, we're supposed to forgive, but God is the ultimate forgiver.

01:29:30.407 --> 01:29:34.627
So you can forgive somebody, but you don't have to be friends with them.

01:29:35.947 --> 01:29:41.467
You don't have to elevate them into leadership positions. You don't have to embrace them.

01:29:42.167 --> 01:29:46.987
Just forgive them and keep them moving. Pray for them and keep it moving, right?

01:29:47.767 --> 01:29:54.207
So what I'm trying to tell y'all is we can fix this, but we're going to have to go through some pain.

01:29:55.167 --> 01:29:59.767
And I guess the best way to describe that would be somebody that's been on drugs.

01:30:00.907 --> 01:30:06.607
And when they make that decision to sober up, it's a painful process.

01:30:07.147 --> 01:30:13.327
Your body literally goes through a withdrawal period because you're trying to

01:30:13.327 --> 01:30:16.547
get that craving for that drug out your system.

01:30:16.987 --> 01:30:21.627
And it's going to hurt, and you're going to struggle, and you're going to be weak.

01:30:22.207 --> 01:30:26.487
But when you get to the other side, you become a better person for that.

01:30:27.827 --> 01:30:31.727
In the Bible, it talks about us being broken.

01:30:32.127 --> 01:30:36.367
Paul talks about being reborn, the apostle, right?

01:30:37.047 --> 01:30:39.287
And it's not an easy process.

01:30:41.867 --> 01:30:46.627
So if you're trying, if you want to, if you think that, well,

01:30:46.707 --> 01:30:52.247
the change, you know, is going to happen and it's going to be automatic.

01:30:52.427 --> 01:30:58.287
No, it's it's you're going to suffer because Donald Trump was duly elected,

01:30:58.687 --> 01:31:01.267
which means that he's got four years.

01:31:02.687 --> 01:31:07.067
Long as he's healthy, as long as nobody does anything egregious to him,

01:31:07.607 --> 01:31:12.007
health-wise, he's going to be the president for the next four years.

01:31:12.687 --> 01:31:17.247
So that's going to be painful for people. It's going to be painful for people

01:31:17.247 --> 01:31:19.987
like me, people in my community.

01:31:20.127 --> 01:31:22.667
It's going to be painful for a lot of other communities, right?

01:31:23.367 --> 01:31:28.807
And we haven't even been through 100 days, and we already know what the pain's going to be.

01:31:29.627 --> 01:31:33.887
I mean, we're not even at the halfway point of the first year,

01:31:34.667 --> 01:31:36.727
but we already know how painful it is.

01:31:38.087 --> 01:31:44.367
So we're going to endure that. And yeah, there's a midterm election coming and

01:31:44.367 --> 01:31:51.707
people will be able to vote at a federal level and make some changes in Congress, but that's 2026.

01:31:52.987 --> 01:31:56.147
Still going to go through some pain right now.

01:31:57.107 --> 01:32:04.007
So what needs to happen is people need to mitigate that pain.

01:32:04.787 --> 01:32:08.387
And you can do that by showing up at these town hall meetings.

01:32:08.967 --> 01:32:11.207
You can do that by protesting.

01:32:11.867 --> 01:32:18.307
You can do that by educating yourself a little better about why it's important

01:32:18.307 --> 01:32:23.087
to vote and why it's important to pay attention to who you're voting for or against.

01:32:24.627 --> 01:32:30.087
And pay attention to every election that comes forward, not just the federal.

01:32:30.727 --> 01:32:35.127
Pay attention who's on your school board. Pay attention to who's on your city council.

01:32:35.507 --> 01:32:39.207
Pay attention who the mayor is. Pay attention who your county officials are.

01:32:39.867 --> 01:32:45.067
Pay attention to your state legislators and state senators, right?

01:32:45.487 --> 01:32:48.487
Pay attention to all of that. Your governor.

01:32:48.907 --> 01:32:53.207
Who is your insurance commissioner? You need to pay attention to all of them

01:32:53.207 --> 01:32:59.427
because each one of these people in all these positions, there are some positions

01:32:59.427 --> 01:33:03.327
a lot of people don't even know that they vote for, like judges, for example.

01:33:05.647 --> 01:33:11.207
You need to pay attention. Again, I am not asking people to be a political junkie.

01:33:11.327 --> 01:33:14.807
I'm not asking anybody to just totally immerse themselves.

01:33:15.427 --> 01:33:21.387
But as a citizen who is given a responsibility to vote, you need to pay attention

01:33:21.387 --> 01:33:25.627
to who's running for these offices. You need to ask them questions.

01:33:26.367 --> 01:33:30.087
Or you need to pay attention to the people who are asking them questions.

01:33:30.727 --> 01:33:35.267
Right? And listen for their answers or their non-answers.

01:33:36.207 --> 01:33:40.907
Most importantly, pay attention to who's accountable and who is not.

01:33:42.242 --> 01:33:47.602
Right. I heard somebody else say it, and it's something that I've always believed

01:33:47.602 --> 01:33:53.462
in that, you know, an accountable person understands when they've made a mistake.

01:33:54.022 --> 01:33:58.062
An accountable person understands when they don't know something.

01:33:58.802 --> 01:34:03.222
That's why usually the smart people, successful people have people around them

01:34:03.222 --> 01:34:09.082
that one will hold them accountable and two will give them some sound advice

01:34:09.082 --> 01:34:14.042
or open their eyes to other options or give them the knowledge in a subject

01:34:14.042 --> 01:34:15.982
matter that they're not strong in.

01:34:16.722 --> 01:34:20.642
That's how that works. That's how leadership is supposed to work.

01:34:22.202 --> 01:34:29.242
You know, being loud and being boisterous and having a whole lot of money is

01:34:29.242 --> 01:34:34.082
not a sign of leadership to sign that you're loud and boisterous and you have

01:34:34.082 --> 01:34:36.522
a whole lot of money. It's not a leader.

01:34:37.402 --> 01:34:43.042
You know, oh, he tells it to us straight. He tells you what you might want to hear.

01:34:44.467 --> 01:34:49.067
But it's not the truth and it's not straight, you know?

01:34:49.987 --> 01:34:54.507
We're at a point now where politicians feel that they got to cuss each other

01:34:54.507 --> 01:35:00.127
out in public, that they got to fight, that we can denigrate other people's

01:35:00.127 --> 01:35:03.787
families, all that stuff, you know?

01:35:04.507 --> 01:35:12.567
It's just that we're electing human beings that don't have any love or empathy at all.

01:35:13.287 --> 01:35:19.167
There was a man who once said, who was an elected leader in a city that I lived in.

01:35:20.007 --> 01:35:24.327
He said something to the fact that you have to love, right?

01:35:24.787 --> 01:35:28.487
Because if you don't have a love for the people, you can't serve the people.

01:35:29.147 --> 01:35:37.027
You know, it's time for us to get serious about this.

01:35:37.767 --> 01:35:41.167
It really is. This is not entertainment.

01:35:42.127 --> 01:35:48.887
This is life. And people are in positions now that are impacting our lives.

01:35:49.347 --> 01:35:56.987
People are making bad decisions that impact our lives, whether it's RFK at Health and Human Services,

01:35:58.207 --> 01:36:03.547
Elon Musk with his Doge, Donald Trump and his national security team,

01:36:03.967 --> 01:36:06.327
J.D. Vance cussing out world leaders.

01:36:07.607 --> 01:36:12.687
This is really, really happening. This is not some soap opera where it's like,

01:36:12.887 --> 01:36:14.667
will it be renewed next year? No, no, no.

01:36:15.147 --> 01:36:19.087
This is real life. And this is really going to have an impact on millions,

01:36:19.107 --> 01:36:26.907
if not billions of people, especially the 330 plus million Americans that live here. Right.

01:36:27.667 --> 01:36:34.807
We got to get serious about it. We can no longer take it for granted that other

01:36:34.807 --> 01:36:39.527
people are going to do what you and I need to do, right?

01:36:41.107 --> 01:36:43.167
So I'm here with this podcast.

01:36:45.024 --> 01:36:51.744
And I have been given an opportunity in my life to make decisions to help people.

01:36:52.084 --> 01:36:53.724
And I did the best that I could.

01:36:55.444 --> 01:37:02.284
And so now I'm at this phase in my life where I'm trying to evangelize through podcast world.

01:37:03.004 --> 01:37:06.204
And I'm not saying that you have to do the same thing I'm doing.

01:37:06.404 --> 01:37:09.764
I just need you to pay attention to who you're voting for.

01:37:10.204 --> 01:37:14.124
Pay attention to what they're really saying. And then vote accordingly.

01:37:15.024 --> 01:37:20.044
If, again, you are down with misogyny, you are down with xenophobia,

01:37:20.324 --> 01:37:25.844
you are down with racism, that's you. I don't associate with you.

01:37:26.364 --> 01:37:29.244
I'm not cool with you. You know?

01:37:30.184 --> 01:37:34.924
So you vote for a candidate that appeals to that. But for the rest of us,

01:37:35.304 --> 01:37:40.644
which I think is the overwhelming majority of Americans, then we got to vote

01:37:40.644 --> 01:37:44.664
for people to keep those folks out of positions.

01:37:45.544 --> 01:37:50.344
Right? You know, it's very easy for us to say, oh, man, if we get in there,

01:37:50.504 --> 01:37:52.704
we need to put all of them in jail and blah, blah, blah.

01:37:54.904 --> 01:38:04.224
All we have to do is get them out of office and don't cater to that kind of thought ever again.

01:38:05.124 --> 01:38:07.164
But it's a lot tougher than it sounds.

01:38:08.164 --> 01:38:12.044
It's because we have to be disciplined enough and pay attention enough.

01:38:12.144 --> 01:38:16.064
Yeah, we got stuff going on in our lives, with our families,

01:38:16.424 --> 01:38:17.964
with our job and all that.

01:38:18.304 --> 01:38:25.444
We got to sleep eventually, but it's really not that hard to pay attention to

01:38:25.444 --> 01:38:29.544
what's going on at your city hall that you pay for,

01:38:29.924 --> 01:38:34.804
at your state capitol that you pay for, at your county courthouse that you pay for,

01:38:35.244 --> 01:38:39.144
at the White House, at the U.S. Capitol that you pay for.

01:38:40.641 --> 01:38:43.681
You bought stock in something, you pay attention to the stock market.

01:38:44.061 --> 01:38:49.361
You want to see if that stock rises or falls. If you're in the forex trading,

01:38:49.381 --> 01:38:51.101
you're paying attention to the currencies.

01:38:51.801 --> 01:38:56.201
Why not pay attention to people that are making decisions on whether any of

01:38:56.201 --> 01:38:58.461
that is going to be legal or not?

01:38:59.561 --> 01:39:04.561
I'm worried about my kid in school. Then you need to worry about the people

01:39:04.561 --> 01:39:07.141
who make decisions of whether that school exists or not.

01:39:08.201 --> 01:39:12.821
Oh, and I'm worried about my job and da-da-da-da. Well, you need to pay attention

01:39:12.821 --> 01:39:16.841
to the people who determine whether your business exists or not.

01:39:17.621 --> 01:39:22.721
Your business may want a small business loan. You don't know that if you're

01:39:22.721 --> 01:39:26.801
not in the leadership of that business, but they may need that.

01:39:27.281 --> 01:39:31.701
They may want to be publicly traded. There's literally a government agency that

01:39:31.701 --> 01:39:33.721
determines whether they can do that or not.

01:39:34.481 --> 01:39:41.441
And you elect a people who appoint people or who actually makes the final decision.

01:39:42.421 --> 01:39:46.861
You have that power. So you need to pay attention.

01:39:47.861 --> 01:39:54.321
If you want speed bumps in your neighborhood, do you look for a genie with a

01:39:54.321 --> 01:39:57.981
lamp or do you go down to the city hall and talk to the city council and say,

01:39:58.081 --> 01:39:59.981
hey, we need these bumps on our street?

01:40:00.721 --> 01:40:02.601
And all those people are elected.

01:40:05.301 --> 01:40:10.441
Again, we got to pay attention. People voted for a man to be president because

01:40:10.441 --> 01:40:12.661
they were concerned about the price of groceries.

01:40:13.521 --> 01:40:20.001
And he has done nothing to address that issue. Nothing. If anything, he's made it worse.

01:40:21.581 --> 01:40:25.501
So y'all need to pay attention. And y'all need to send a message.

01:40:27.030 --> 01:40:34.250
Is it possible that if you vote for certain people that the other side will

01:40:34.250 --> 01:40:37.090
get the message and say, hey, we might need to refocus?

01:40:37.610 --> 01:40:40.730
Sure, because that'll be beneficial to everybody.

01:40:41.630 --> 01:40:45.210
But I'm of the opinion that these people are not redeemable.

01:40:46.750 --> 01:40:50.670
I'm of the opinion that these people have pretty much shown us who they really are.

01:40:51.650 --> 01:40:58.030
And we can't give them any more chances. We can't give them any room to breathe.

01:40:58.030 --> 01:41:01.350
We can't give them any quarter to hide in.

01:41:01.570 --> 01:41:06.030
We can't accept every lie that they throw at us. We got to challenge it.

01:41:07.390 --> 01:41:12.950
So next elections, next time you have an election, make sure you vote for people

01:41:12.950 --> 01:41:19.670
who really are trying to do their best for all of us, not just a select few.

01:41:20.730 --> 01:41:23.810
And in the meantime, raise your voices.

01:41:24.410 --> 01:41:28.130
Let them know that you're not happy with the direction that you're going.

01:41:28.370 --> 01:41:33.010
So far, so good from what I've seen, but it needs to be more.

01:41:35.390 --> 01:41:41.130
And I just, you know, I mean, that's just how I feel right now.

01:41:42.030 --> 01:41:49.270
I think that we know better. We should know better. So we should do better.

01:41:50.590 --> 01:41:54.290
And you know for every action there's consequences,

01:41:55.010 --> 01:41:59.990
so we're dealing with the consequence right now of this administration being

01:41:59.990 --> 01:42:06.410
in office but that part is actually redeemable, that part you can fix,

01:42:07.150 --> 01:42:10.570
but you gotta vote and you gotta raise your voice,

01:42:11.950 --> 01:42:19.650
and you know I mean that's it that's the game And, you know,

01:42:19.770 --> 01:42:22.470
ineptitude should never be tolerated.

01:42:23.190 --> 01:42:28.490
It shouldn't. It shouldn't be glorified. It shouldn't be bragged about.

01:42:29.070 --> 01:42:30.310
It shouldn't be accepted.

01:42:32.030 --> 01:42:37.050
So it's time for us to reflect, and it's time for us to reclaim.

01:42:39.150 --> 01:42:42.230
And I'm going to do my part to keep evangelizing that.

01:42:44.310 --> 01:42:49.090
So, as always, I greatly appreciate y'all listening. And until next time.

01:42:49.360 --> 01:43:37.432
Music.