Sharon McMahon “America’s Government Teacher,” on Hope for Better Things

Friends, today’s episode is a powerhouse! We’re thrilled to have Sharon McMahon, known as “America’s Government Teacher,” joining us to share insights from her new book, Small and Mighty. Sharon dives deep into how twelve unsung heroes from American history played pivotal roles in shaping democracy—and what we can learn from their stories to impact our world today. This conversation is all about finding hope amid challenges and understanding that each of us, no matter our size or reach, can make a difference. So, buckle up for an inspiring episode that’ll remind you of your own power to effect change. Let’s dive in!

In this hope-filled chat:

  • Jen and Amy discuss which historical figures they’d most like to meet and share their election night routines.
  • Sharon walks us through her journey from award-winning yarn influencer to “America’s Government Teacher.”
  • We break down why factual information is so critical in today’s world of fake news and disinformation.
  • Sharon explains the importance of participating in state and local elections.
  • We explore ways to engage in democracy beyond voting.
  • And Sharon answers questions from our audience!

Mentioned In This Episode 

The Henry Fite House of Baltimore

The Angry Trout Cafe, Grand Mariais, MN 

The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon

Yvette Nicole Brown: Black women and the importance of joy and sisterhood

In this engaging conversation, actress, activist, and all-around beautiful human, Yvette Nicole Brown, gives us a lesson on the fundamental importance of joy, the blessings of caregiving, and the significance of community support. Through an exploration of Yvettes’ career, first in the music business, and now in the entertainment industry, she and Jen and Amy discuss the many challenges that face black women today while also talking about one of black women’s greatest superpowers – the sisterhood that exists among them. They lean into how white women can learn to harness that power in their relationships, too, and the things that can be done to support their sisters of color right now. Yvette also reflects on her personal life as a devoted caregiver, and dishes for a moment about the beauty of finding love in your late 50s.

[BONUS] Jen Hatmaker Book Club ft. Here for It by R. Eric Thomas

Bestselling author, R. Eric Thomas, wrote “Here for It” in 2020 and it continues to reverberate in the hearts and minds of readers because of its timely topics and riveting personal story—making it a perfect “revisit” for our book club community!  With humor and vulnerability, Eric shares about his memoir which is equal parts hilarity and heart–and what it took to write about his intersecting identities as a Black, queer, Christian man.

Join Jen and Eric as they traverse transforming the ordinary into the profoundly funny and insightful. 

Book Summary:

In his memoir of essays “Here for It,” Eric attempts to define what it means to be an “other” through his experience growing up in two very different worlds — the urban landscape of his parents home in Baltimore and then the wealthy, white suburb where he went to private school. He tries to figure out how to reconcile all of this, not just these two wildly different racial and class spaces, but also his Christian upbringing with his sexuality as a gay man; the exhaustion of code switching; accidentally finding internet fame; covering the 2016 election and all of that aftermath. Ultimately, he is seeking to answer whether the future is worth it when everything seems to be getting worse. He re-envisions what could be by placing himself at the center of his own story and sharing his experiences with us.

Books & Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Here for It or How to Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas 

The Preacher’s Wife

Congratulations, The Best Is Over by R. Eric Thomas

Kings of Baltimore by R. Eric Thomas

Dickinson (TV Series) 

Better Things (TV Series) 

MAKING SENSE OF THE 2024 ELECTION: With Pantsuit Politics’ Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers

It’s election season, and it’s been an interesting ride to this cycle’s moment of truth! Jen and Amy dive deep into the heart of the upcoming 2024 election with the insightful women from Pantsuit Politics–Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. The conversation centers around the distinct dynamics shaping this election, along with insight as to why it’s vastly different from 2016; sparking a thought-provoking dialogue about the evolving political landscape. 

With Vice President Kamala Harris potentially on the brink of breaking barriers as our first female president, the discussion also touches on the hopes and challenges ahead. Sarah and Beth were participants at the Democratic National Convention in August, and they share what that experience was like, and how it informed their views of the current political terrain. As we look to a potentially historic outcome, Beth and Sarah share practical ways we can engage in the process and build community as we navigate this pivotal moment together.

You also won’t want to miss a new GenXcellence segment where Jen and Amy reminisce about their first voting experiences. 

Crime Junkies Host Ashley Flowers on True Crime, Activism, and Becoming a Novelist

True crime shows actually aren’t a new thing. They weren’t invented with podcasts. Who remembers being on the edge of our seats watching America’s Most Wanted back in the day or Dateline? Or there’s some newer, really amazing, true crime documentaries, like The Staircase or Making a Murderer–I mean who couldn’t tear their eyes away from Tiger King in 2020? There’s something compelling about the true crime genre and it’s not just the “we can’t look away from the car wreck” stereotype–it has a lot to do with how technology in crime solving has developed so rapidly in the last few decades and how fascinating it is that a single strand of hair or a carpet fiber, to say nothing of the digital maps that can be utilized now, like our cell phone records, our web history, can take us straight to the guilty party. It’s such an interesting, fascinating mix of science and sleuthing. True crime stories also highlight he best and the worst of human behavior. Plus, it puts us in the seat of being the detectives. Which one of us hasn’t yelled at a program or a podcast when we could see or hear who the perp obviously was (and yes, we now use terms like “perp,” like the true detectives we are). We’ve got an amazing guest who is here to talk about the true crime podcast phenom, and she’s one of the folks that really put it on the map. Ashley Flowers is the host of the wildly popular podcast, Crime Junkies. She and her co-host Brit have spent years researching, analyzing, and solving cases. And with over 1 billion downloads, it’s easy to say they are pretty good at what they do. So, you will not want to miss one second of this episode. Jen and Ashley get into how Crime Junkies got started, their thoughts on why the true crime genre is so popular and how Ashely’s using the platform to educate as well as entertain. 

The Shaky Future of Women’s Reproductive Health with Dr. Natalie Crawford

It’s been two years since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court. As the power to rule over women’s reproductive rights reverts to the states, we are seeing many move toward vast limitations of reproductive choices, including bans on terminating pregnancies, but also devastating impediments toward the processes that have helped those who are struggling with infertility have a chance to conceive. To open up this conversation and really delve into what this decision means, we have Jen’s longtime friend Amy Hardin joining the pod. As women who lived their childbearing years under the protections of Roe v. Wade, Jen and Amy discuss what the aftermath will look for the next generation of women. 

Later on the show, we’ll feature an interview with Dr. Natalie Crawford, a Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility Specialist in Austin, TX who really helps us break down all the salient issues. Dr. Crawford sensitively approaches all the repercussions of not having a safe way for a woman to terminate a pregnancy that many of us may not have even considered. Wherever you stand on the issue of abortion, these conversations show the ripple effect this decision has had on women’s ability to make health choices for themselves and how it affects women who do wish to conceive and the hurdles they will now face.

Get Your Life Together with Peloton’s Cody Rigsby

Coming in hot for our Queer Futures series, we’re bringing you an interview previously aired on For The Love’s Premium Podcast channel with celebrity Peloton instructor, Cody Rigsby. Cody has gained a devoted following through his engaging and motivational fitness classes on the Peloton platform. He talks about his memoir “XOXO Cody: An Opinionated Homosexual’s Guide to Self-Love, Relationships and Tactful Pettiness” in which he opens up about transitioning from professional dance to fitness, his relationship with his mother who struggled with addiction and bipolar disorder, and how he aims to empower others through vulnerability and self-love. With his vibrant personality and inspirational story, Cody has become a celebrity in his own right.

Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

Cody on Dancing with the Stars 

One Peloton Community

XOXO, Cody: An Opinionated Homosexual’s Guide to Self-Love, Relationships, and Tactful Pettiness

Dancing with the Stars ft. Cody Rigsby

Jess King: Peloton Instructor

Robin Arzón: Peloton Instructor

Glamorous (Netflix TV Series)

Tiger King (Netflix Documentary)

Centering Others: Empowerment in the Margins with Roxane Gay & Megan Pillow

This powerful episode in our Queer Futures series features an enlightening conversation about power structures with Jen and renowned author Roxanne Gay and co-writer Megan Pillow. The women explore not only the concept of individual power, but how we can engage in community empowerment. Together, they delve into how marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQ+ individuals, can claim their power and challenge existing power structures to create a more inclusive and just society.

Discussion includes: 

  • Claiming Individual Power: How women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and others can assert their power in personal and professional spaces.
  • Challenging Power Structures: The importance of calling out abuses of power and questioning the status quo
  • Empowerment Through Solidarity: The role of community and collective action in amplifying individual voices and driving social progress.
  • Re-examining Power Dynamics: How rethinking traditional notions of gender, race, and power can lead to more equitable outcomes.
  • Focusing on the Margins: The significance of centering marginalized voices and experiences in conversations about power and progress.

Roxanne and Megan discuss practical steps that anyone can take to empower others around them. We’re encouraged to ask ourselves critical questions about our own relationships to power and to question the power sources that infringe on the rights of others and use our individual power to disrupt them. Every small act of resistance contributes to a larger movement for justice.

Growing Up Evangelical and Gay with Jonathan Merritt

It’s an origin story we’ve heard time and time again; a young person trying to figure out who they are as they grow up—in the context of their families, their religious beliefs, and their sexuality. And when all of those areas conflate, there can be fallout and damage—especially when they discover how and who they choose to love isn’t embraced by their faith or family structures. Award winning journalist and writer Jonathan Merritt navigated this particular firestorm in his own life by pursuing a Masters in Divinity and Theology and becoming a journalist who asked hard hitting questions at the intersections of faith and culture. But it would take years for him to sort out who he himself was in the midst of it. Growing up in the family of an evangelical mega-pastor, Jonathan was taught that in regards to gay people, Christians were called to “love the sinner, but hate the sin.” Jonathan didn’t see a lot of love with this practice, just a lot of hate. And it kept him from being open to who he himself might be—a gay man. It took an event that shattered his life into pieces and caused his private process to become very public; which ultimately sent him down the road to really pursue his identity and recalibrate his relationship to his family, his faith, and his purpose. For the first time, he talks about this process, and shares a moment where he and Jen’s paths crossed in a significant way that would also blow up a few sacred cows in Jen’s life and introduced her to an early version of cancel culture, circa 2016. Welcome all, to this first, powerful episode in our Faith Shakers series. 

On Our Best Behavior: Elise Loehnen Pushes Back on the Patriarchal Narrative

In this episode of the Matriarchy series, we explore how deeply ingrained patriarchal narratives can create a policing effect on the behavior of women. 

Author, Elise Loehnen, discusses her book “On Our Best Behavior” which examines how concepts like the seven deadly sins have historically been used to restrict women’s behavior and police their adherence to an idealized form of “goodness.” Loehnen unpacks the insidious ways women are culturally conditioned from a young age to suppress normal human drives like anger, ambition, and sexuality. And how disrupting rigid gender stereotypes is important when raising the next generation in order to build a more compassionate world. 

Jen and Elise discuss:

  • How women are culturally conditioned and expected to embody “goodness” while men are oriented toward power 
  • How concepts like the “seven deadly sins” have historically been used as a patriarchal “punch card” to police women’s behavior
  • Why raising boys to have an emotional inner life nurtures positive identity development
  • The current era of politics that calls for women to challenge the patriarchal system while also having compassionate dialogue to build a new, care-centered world where everyone can flourish