Moms Against the Machine

Truth vs. Power: Epstein Survivors, Gaza, and the Cost of Silence

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2471754/open_sms] This episode of Moms Against the Machine doesn’t do “short news week.” Chelsey and Jenn dig into two stories that powerful people would rather you scroll past: the continuing revelations from the Epstein files, and the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Part I: Epstein Chelsey traces the story through the voices of survivors — Marina Lacerda, Haley Robson, Liz Stein, Lisa Phillips, and others — who are standing on Capitol Hill, demanding that America stop pretending their trauma is a hoax. She walks listeners through decades of institutional betrayal: the FBI ignoring Maria Farmer in 1996, Alex Acosta’s 2007 sweetheart deal that protected Epstein’s network, the Department of Justice giving Ghislaine Maxwell yoga classes and interviews while survivors were silenced, and Congress burying real transparency under political stunts. Survivors call it what it is: a cover-up. And Chelsey doesn’t hold back on naming names — from Cornyn’s silence to Cruz’s selective outrage to Gooden’s cowardly disappearance. Part II: Gaza Jenn turns the mic toward Gaza, where famine is official, children are starving, and siege is being enforced with bullets, bombs, and silence. She tells the story of the Global Sumud Flotilla — ordinary people from 40+ countries sailing flour and medicine straight into danger, carrying a moral conscience world leaders abandoned. She describes Palestinians etching “We Are Waiting” and “Sumud” into the sand, American veterans dragged out of Senate hearings for demanding accountability, and journalists killed in record numbers to erase the witnesses. Jenn’s message is urgent: silence is not neutral. AIPAC money, U.S. complicity, and political cowardice are fueling this atrocity, and it will only end if people refuse to look away. Together This episode is about survivors — of trafficking and of siege — standing in their truth when every institution failed them. It’s about the systems that protect the powerful, silence the vulnerable, and rely on public exhaustion to keep their secrets. And it’s about refusing that silence. Because whether it’s a teenage girl in Epstein’s mansion or a starving child in Gaza, the question is the same: who will be brave enough to keep telling the truth when power demands you shut up? 📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…” Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social: 📧 momsagainstthemachinepod@gmail.com 📸 Insta @MomsAgainstTheMachine 🎥 TikTok: @momsandmachines 📧 citizensagainstlancegooden@gmail.com 📸 Insta @citizensagainstlancegooden 🎥 TikTok: @citizens.vs.gooden

Ep. 16 - From Slave Patrols to Sandra Bland: The True History of U.S. Policing

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2471754/open_sms] In this episode of Moms Against the Machine, Chelsey and Jenn dig into the true history of American policing — a story rarely told in textbooks. From slave patrols in the South to strikebreakers in the North, from the Thibodaux Massacre in Louisiana’s sugar fields to the brutality of Jim Crow sheriffs, Chelsey traces how policing was designed not to protect the public but to enforce control. She connects this legacy to the Civil Rights Movement, the beating of John Lewis, the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson, and the long line of modern victims — Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, Tyre Nichols, and more. Jenn brings the story into the present: what became of the calls to defund the police, the reforms promised under Biden, the rollbacks under Trump, the militarization of local departments, and the sight of American cities under what looks like military occupation. Together, they confront the uncomfortable truth: police violence is not an aberration, but a system functioning exactly as it was built to do. This is not a light episode, but it is a necessary one — for anyone who grew up believing the myth that police exist to protect and serve, and who is ready to hear the history that Black communities and other marginalized groups have long known firsthand. 📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…” Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social: 📧 momsagainstthemachinepod@gmail.com 📸 Insta @MomsAgainstTheMachine 🎥 TikTok: @momsandmachines 📧 citizensagainstlancegooden@gmail.com 📸 Insta @citizensagainstlancegooden 🎥 TikTok: @citizens.vs.gooden

Ep. 15 - TikTok, Troops, and Texas: The New American Playbook

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2471754/open_sms] This week on Moms Against the Machine, we connect the dots between a White House bent on control and a Texas government following suit. From Trump’s weaponized TikTok—used to intimidate protesters and bury scandals—to ICE’s secretive detention empire stretching from Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” to Fort Bliss’s new mega-facility, the message is clear: silence dissent, erase rights, and call it “order.” Add in armed National Guard patrols in D.C., a looming federal ban on mail voting, and Trump cozying up to Putin while his DOJ shields Epstein’s network, and you’ve got a blueprint for authoritarianism masquerading as governance. Meanwhile, Texas is perfecting that playbook. Gerrymandered maps, detained legislators, over 100 polling sites erased in Tarrant County, and a public education system gutted for donor profit show how far state leaders will go to lock in power. Flood victims are ignored, vouchers drain classrooms, and Abbott’s billionaire backers cash out while Texans pay the price. This isn’t isolated chaos—it’s coordinated control. And we’re here to call it what it is, expose the players, and demand better. 📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…” Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social: 📧 momsagainstthemachinepod@gmail.com 📸 Insta @MomsAgainstTheMachine 🎥 TikTok: @momsandmachines 📧 citizensagainstlancegooden@gmail.com 📸 Insta @citizensagainstlancegooden 🎥 TikTok: @citizens.vs.gooden

Ep. 14 - Interview with a Park Pass Queen

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2471754/open_sms] 🌵 Wildfires, Park Crimes, and Trail Snacks  This week, Chelsey and Jenn welcome a guest who lives right outside Joshua Tree National Park. She’s worked in California’s state park system, survived wildfires too close for comfort, and is a walking ad for the library pass program. We talk wildfire realities, behind-the-scenes stories from park work, and the fight to protect Joshua trees as protections roll back. Plus: a trivia game on “park crimes,” quickfire trail snack debates, and a few confessions you probably shouldn’t make in front of a ranger. Part serious, part absurd — just like the fight to keep our parks safe, wild, and for everyone. 📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…” Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social: 📧 momsagainstthemachinepod@gmail.com 📸 Insta @MomsAgainstTheMachine 🎥 TikTok: @momsandmachines 📧 citizensagainstlancegooden@gmail.com 📸 Insta @citizensagainstlancegooden 🎥 TikTok: @citizens.vs.gooden

Ep. 13 - Breaking Quorum & Breaking News

Send a text [https://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2471754/open_sms] This week we’re covering ICE’s latest due process violations in New York and Dallas, the Miccosukee Tribe’s fight against “Alligator Alcatraz” in endangered species habitat, dangerous NIH cuts and the return of eugenics-era “autism lists,” and the Texas aquifer battle over water privatization. We dig into Congress ducking a vote on the Epstein files, Trump’s shifting excuses, and Texas redistricting chaos — from bomb threats to Beto suing Ken Paxton, who’s still dodging his own subpoena. We close with a call to action: get trained as a Volunteer Deputy Registrar, help register voters, and join efforts like Powered by People to turn frustration into real political power. https://www.mobilize.us/mobilize/event/622514/  📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…” Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social: 📧 momsagainstthemachinepod@gmail.com 📸 Insta @MomsAgainstTheMachine 🎥 TikTok: @momsandmachines 📧 citizensagainstlancegooden@gmail.com 📸 Insta @citizensagainstlancegooden 🎥 TikTok: @citizens.vs.gooden