This week's primary results gave Democrats and independents a few reasons to pay attention — and behind closed doors, the Republican caucus is finally showing some friction. Beth and Sarah go deep on Delaney Hall, a Newark ICE detention facility where protests are escalating, lawsuits are piling up, and conditions are becoming impossible to ignore. Outside of politics, what we're doing with our "time confetti."
Topics discussed:
• Primary results in California, New Jersey, New Mexico, Iowa, South Dakota, and Montana
• Republican caucus friction: the anti-weaponization fund, Todd Blanche's AG nomination, and Bill Pulte as acting DNI
• Delaney Hall ICE detention facility in Newark
• New Jersey's lawsuit against the GEO Group and escalating protests
• The civil (not criminal) nature of ICE detention
• Immigration reform proposals
• Outside of Politics: using wait time for fiction
Want to be in a hotel full of Pantsuit Politics listeners this summer? The deadline to book in Minneapolis is one week away — find everything you need at https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/p/join-us-in-minneapolis-94f.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Graham Platner is running for Senate in Maine and trailing a string of controversies — a tattoo with Nazi-era symbolism, old Reddit posts, and now a Wall Street Journal exposé on explicit texts with multiple women. Sarah and Beth use his candidacy as a lens on what we actually want from politicians: how normal is too normal, what "progressive vs. moderate" names and misses, and whether emotional maturity is a reasonable standard to hold. Plus: a new Instagram obsession and significant news about changes at Pantsuit Politics.
Topics discussed:
- Graham Platner and the Maine Senate race
- Political scandals and changing voter tolerance
- "Normie" politicians and the unapologetic posture in American life
- Progressive vs. moderate framing in the Democratic Party
- What we actually need from candidates: policy, biography, communication style
- Emotional maturity as a political standard
- Partisan identity and double standards
- Bronte the Stylist on Instagram
- Team changes at Pantsuit Politics

Celebrate America250 with us at pantsuitpolitics.substack.com.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Pantsuit Politics: Ken Paxton defeats John Cornyn by 28 points — the widest primary margin against a sitting senator in nearly 50 years — and we dig into what it means for the Senate map and the midterms. Plus a redistricting roundup from South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida. And Outside of Politics: summer movies, from Project Hail Mary to The Odyssey to The Mandalorian & Grogu (the popcorn was excellent).

Ready to go deeper? Check out https://www.pantsuitpoliticsshow.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the weekend, I started a “lessons learned” Google doc. I love the stark, in-your-face, no-hedging clarity that comes from a bullet point list: “Here are the words that distill years or months of experiences, emotions, decisions, triumphs, and set-backs.” 

That energy seems to be in the air as Memorial Day unofficially kicks off summer. Pope Leo has distilled his thoughts on the dignity of humans. The public at-large seems to be with him on the indecency and foolishness of war. Universities and schools are changing policies in light of lessons learned, and people running for office are asking what we want our literal lessons to be. 

Sarah and I discuss the headlines and the lessons we’re learning about school as parents and from teachers. Then, we end in the only way a podcast kicking off summer should: with an ode to ice cream. - Beth

Topics Discussed:

• Texas Senate Primary
• Iran War
• Pope Leo and Human Dignity
• Tulsi Gabbard Resigns
• Education Policy
• Outside of Politics: Ice Cream

Ready to go deeper? Visit ⁠⁠⁠our website⁠⁠⁠ for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Beth’s daughter, Ellen, asked why our books aren’t on the bestseller list, and honestly? Great question, Ellen. That one question opens up the whole can of worms today: how popular consensus gets manufactured — from the mysterious black box of the New York Times bestseller list to music catalogs being protected like the financial assets they literally are, to the Vulture piece that confirmed what I’ve suspected for a while now, which is that nothing on your social media feed is actually organic. We also wade into the Michael Jackson biopic, which I have real feelings about, and we end in a much better place, talking about songs that have nothing to do with romantic love. I am warning you now that I cannot discuss Brandi Carlile without crying, so just be ready for that. — Sarah

Topics Discussed

• Cultural Consensus and Its Impact

• Art, Trust, and Marketing in the Digital Age

• Outside of Politics: Nonlove Songs

Ready to go deeper? Visit ⁠⁠our website⁠⁠ for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump's China trip barely makes a headline, a $1.7 billion taxpayer-funded slush fund raises alarms, and we check in on where we're really at with AI — as users, as parents, and as small business owners trying to keep up.

Topics Discussed:

• Trump Goes to China

• The AI Backlash

• Outside of Politics: The Goldilocks Summer

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats, and more.

Get 50% Off Monarch, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarch.com/pantsuit

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman launches her run for governor of Kentucky, we were honored to sit down with her and discuss her path to public service and hopes for the future of Kentucky.

Ready to go deeper? Visit ⁠⁠our website⁠⁠ for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This weekend, the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the voter-approved congressional maps, while the Tennessee legislature eliminated its only Democratic Congressional District — but Sarah and Beth think despondence is the wrong response. Then they break down Trump's increasingly tangled Iran situation, why declaring victory and walking away might be the best bad option on the table, and what Ukraine's quiet battlefield gains reveal what America's absence on the world stage costs. Then, Sarah and Beth discuss what it means when marriage and family become a luxury — and whether the way we talk about life is making the problem worse.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Fifth Circuit ruled again on mifepristone and the legal, political, and medical mess that followed is anything but settled. Sarah and Beth break down what Louisiana's "sovereign injury" theory means for mail-access abortion pills, why "leave it to the states" was never a real answer, and where the Republican Party goes from here on an issue Donald Trump desperately wants to avoid. Then, inspired by this week's Pulitzer announcements, they share the pieces of journalism they've never been able to forget.

Topics Discussed

• Mifepristone, the Courts, and the Mail
• Trump, the GOP, and the Abortion Trap
• Outside of Politics: Our Personal Pulitzers

Ready to go deeper? Visit ⁠our website⁠ for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sarah and Beth break down the Supreme Court's decision gutting the Voting Rights Act and what it means for the gerrymandering arms race reshaping our electoral map. They check on Trump's promises to lower prices and fix our fiscal house. Outside of Politics, prom season has them asking whether we've over-structured — or under-structured — life for our kids.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rahm Emanuel came ready to talk — and y'all, we were ready. This conversation covers the education crisis in America (which I don’t think a single person in this audience needs to be convinced about), what Mississippi actually did to turn things around, why Rahm closed schools in Chicago and would do it again, and what a real federal education strategy could look like. We also got into fiscal reality, political will, phones in classrooms, the debt we owe to community colleges, and whether the next president should come in like FDR or like a triage nurse. Plus: Rahm's near-death experience at 17, coffee in bed, and empty nest advice. — Sarah Topics Discussed

• The Education Crisis: Why We Know What to Do and Won’t Do It (science of reading, phonics, the Mississippi Marathon)

• High School Reform, Community Colleges, and the “Learn, Plan, Succeed” Framework

• Phones, Screens, and What We’ve Abdicated to the Algorithm

• School Closures, Political Will, and Owning Tough Decisions

• Outside of Politics: Swimming, Coffee in Bed, and Raising Boys

Ready to go deeper? Visit our website for complete show notes, exclusive premium content, chats, and more.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices