Bryce Greene, Gaza War Activist Organizer & American Exception Podcaster

Superman, Snacks & Summer Vibes | Ruth & Ray Catch Up

Ruth and Ray dive into their summer so far, starting with their family outing to see Superman—Ray geeking out over the reboot while Ruth shares her fresh take. They debate superhero movies, airport food hacks (yes, Ruth eats chips with chopsticks), and pitch wild documentary ideas (Screech biopic, anyone?). Plus, the shows and podcasts they’re loving this season. It’s a laid-back, fun-filled chat—just like hanging out with them IRL. TIME STAMP 00:00:00 – Intro: Ruth and Ray’s chaotic recording setup (car + office = audio adventures). 00:02:15 – Superman deep dive: Why this reboot nailed the character (and why Ruth thinks it’s underrated). 00:15:40 – Parenting win/fail: Taking Pablo to his first superhero movie (spoiler: he napped through the climax). 00:22:30 – Ruth’s hot take: Why most superhero movies don’t grab her (except Black Panther). 00:30:50 – Ray’s abandoned doc pitches: "Jay Without Silent Bob" and other deep-cut nostalgia. 00:38:10 – Ruth’s airport food hacks + the genius of chopsticks for chips (no Cheeto dust hands!). 00:45:20 – Summer recs: The Four Seasons, Mo, and podcasts they’re obsessed with (Good Hang fans unite). 00:55:00 – Closing: Why film festivals need to make a comeback in their lives. Listen on YouTube! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvPmfiMNPvg&list=PLiRGzHOAN66nm9nCNplA8CjmRvj-fX_dw&index=7 Follow Ruth: @ruthvaca [https://instagram.com/ruthvaca] | Vegan-ish Vegetarian: @veganishvegetarian [https://instagram.com/veganishvegetarian] Follow Ray: @truestories [https://instagram.com/truestories] | More at: truestories.us [https://truestories.us/]

Bryce Greene, Gaza War Activist Organizer & American Exception Podcaster

This podcast episode made us nervous! Activists and protest organizers like Bryce Greene are today facing scary repercussions for exercising their Free Speech and Freedom of Assembly like has rarely been seen before in American history. If you’ve been curious to better understand the people behind the controversial campus events opposing the Gaza War, Bryce’s story is for you. As one of organizers of the 2024 Indiana University encampments, he became a key target of the famous – or infamous – arrests that followed. And if you’re one of the tens of thousands who follow Bryce on X, listen to his regular contributions to the podcast ‘American Exception’, saw his 2023 testimony before the United Nations, or read his articles at FAIR and Substack, this intimate conversation will take you much closer. Time-stamp 00:00:01 Teaser from the Bryce Greene interview 00:01:00 Ruth+Ray Background on Bryce Greene and how he coincidentally came to know Ruth & Ray separately 00:09:15 R+R Ruth’s own form of activism via working with IU’s La Casa / Latino Cultural Center 00:13:30 R+R Our recommends for Movies about Activists; Gumbo Coalition; Aaron Sorkin’s Trial of the Chicago 7; Selma; Malcolm X; Milk; Occupy; He Named Me Malala; I Am Gretta; Navalny; Brett Morgan’s Chicago 10; A Song For Cesar; Ray’s idea for ‘Dunn’ a documentary about the history of activism at IU’s Dunn Meadow 00:24:14 Bryce Greene (BG) - Why Ray is scared doing this interview, Bryce’s take on whether it's smart to leave or stay and fight in Trump’s America, Contingency Plans 00:34:00 BG Growing up a middle class Black American in Indianapolis with “NPR liberal” parents, heads to Indiana University for Informatics, first radicalized by “Leftist reading list” books by Noam Chomsky (Profit Over People, Hegemony or Survival) and Howard Zinn, listening to Dan Carlin’s podcasts Hardcore History and Common Sense, heads down the “rabbit hole” of history, politics, anarchism, direct action 00:47:10 BG Starts writing for FAIR about Venezuela, then Israel and Palestine, then Ukraine; how in 2023 he got invited by Russian delegation to come to NYC and speak before the United Nations about the Nord Stream 2 pipeline bombing 00:54:00 BG Repercussions of researching “third rail” stories 00:56:30 BG How began appearing on Aaron Good’s American Exception podcast, “deep politics,” “deep state,” Peter Dale Scott, Aaron Good 00:59:20 BG Secret to Bryce’s social media popularity; parallels between the United States’ problematic reaction to 9/11 and Israel’s reaction to October 7th 01:01:20 BG Weird story of how Bryce came to know Ray, and separately Ruth, and how we all found out we’re in Bloomington IN together 01:02:45 BG Founding IU’s Palestine Solidarity Committee in 2018; advising 2024 IU encampment; famous - or infamous - riot police standoff in April ‘24 that turned out to be targeting Bryce specifically, roof snipers, police chatter, Bryce in zip ties 01:14:10 BG History of activism at IU’s Dunn Meadow going back to women’s suffrage, what the recent “turn” at Dunn and across U.S. seems to symbolize re Free Speech today 01:20:10 BG Bryce’s family’s reaction to his activism, where he’s heading with his life, PhD Listen to Everybody Has a Podcast ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/MvPmfiMNPvg [https://youtu.be/MvPmfiMNPvg] Follow Bryce Green On X - https://x.com/TheGreeneBJ Read latest writings on Substack https://brycegreene.substack.com/ Listen to Bryce on American Exception podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/nl/podcast/american-exception/id1617469345?l=en-GB Watch part of Bryce’s 2023 United Nations testimony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icYLdwEB8f0 Watch coverage of IU encampment with Bryce https://www.pbs.org/video/protests-at-iu-over-israels-war-in-gaza-may-3-2024-xbyyhj/ Watch Bodycam footage before Bryce’s arrest https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYNN_yqQYiY Follow & message Ruth on IG @RuthVacaIG @VeganishVegetarian Email Ray: RayNowosielski@gmail.com TrueStories.us Copyright 2025 True Stories Inc.

Oscars Recap Annual With “Bling” (2025 Edition)

Last year we started a tradition on this podcast of having Ruth’s BFF “Bling” on the day after The Oscars to get a fresh take on “Hollywood’s biggest night.” This is something Ruth and Bling have been doing for decades and that Ray started doing with Ruth after they met. One of our favorite topics! Join us for a laugh-filled convo among old friends about this year's movies and moments at the Academy Awards 2025. Time stamp: 00:00- 02:39: Welcome to our 2nd Annual Academy Awards Recap with "Bling"! Who is Bling? 02:39: Why we didn't watch all of the nominated films, and why we are grateful for HULU airing the Oscars to all members 08:31: Our thoughts on Conan as a host, the production, and set design.  13:17: Let's talk about the winners of the night! Starting with Kieran Culkin ( A Real Pain)  and his charming speech. Plus what we thought about A Real Pain, and how it was hard to love. 19:45: Feature Length Animated Film Winner: FLOW. Why Pablo, our 6 year old, was disappointed by its win. 21:43: How the Costume Designer presentation made Ruth laugh more than the Monologue. Anora's win for Best Film Editing and Sean Baker's funny speech while breaking a Oscar record. Comparing our notes and personality types. 27:08: Ruth's beef with Emilia Perez, Zoe Zaldana's speech and win, and the controversy around the film. Is okay to make films about other people's culture? What went wrong? 51:20: is Hulu gaslighting us? Why we missed the last two awards of the night. Our thoughts on the good an bad commercials, rivaling Superbowl commercials. Did Hulu just lose their deal with ABC? 56:17: Should Ruth style the Documentary nominees? Adrien Brody's gum spitting, speech and revealing his girlfriend's past and loyalty. 01:02:32: No More Land win and advocating for peace and resolution at the Oscar's podium. Why doesn't No More Land have distribution, even though it has won an Oscar? Is Hollywood blacklisting films about peace in the Middle East? 01:04:28: In Memoriam, where was Shannon Doherty? Bling's 007 thoughts, and how she noticed the commercials matched the commercials, until it got weird...We give our pitches for next year's pharma commercials. 01:08:17: Our last thoughts on Anora, Demi Moore, Best Actress, and highlighting independent films. 01:10:00: Our last reflection on the Oscars. Listen to Everybody Has a Podcast ON YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/@DoubleAsteriskMedia Follow & message Ruth: IG @RuthVaca IG @VeganishVegetarian Email Ray: RayNowosielski@gmail.com [RayNowosielski@gmail.com] TrueStories.us Copyright 2025 True Stories Inc.

'25 NAACP Image Award Nominee & Fmr Missouri State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal (Repped #Ferguson)

If you’re a good person wishing you knew how to run for office, to make a difference during these troubled times, listen to this episode. Repping the famous #Ferguson area of St. Louis during the birth of the movement for Black Lives, Maria Chappelle-Nadal was no stranger to controversy or adversity over her 2 terms in the Missouri senate and 4 terms in the house of representatives. Now she’s an NAACP Image Award nominee for her very first outing as a media personality, having joined the team of iHeartPodcasts’ After the Uprising as co-host, investigator, writer and producer for Season 2 – and helping solve the murder of activist Darren Seals. She also ran in the ‘24 threeway race between Cori Bush and Wesley Bell and has much more to reveal about new U.S. Congressman Bell. An inspirational and very interesting episode! Time-stamp 00:01:00 Ruth+Ray Is our recurring opening annoying? 00:03:40 R+R Ray’s going to the NAACP Image Awards in L.A. Are we moving to L.A.? 00:08:15 R+R Maria Chappelle-Nadal’s backstory, the dirt on new U.S. Congressman Wesley Bell, will there be a Season 3 of After the Uprising? 00:13:30 R+R Ruth’s Jimmy John’s foodie hack and unsolicited advice to Jimmy John’s 00:23:30 R+R Ray’s long-time Valentine’s Day curse 00:32:15 Maria Chappelle-Nadal - How Ray & Maria celebrated Image Award news! 00:34:30 MCN How Ray nagged Maria into joining After the Uprising 00:38:00 MCN How 29 year old Maria first won elected office 00:43:15 MCN Ups and downs of Maria’s time in office, scariest moments 00:48:15 MCN What led Maria to her (now Image Award nom’d) turn in the media 00:51:30 MCN Learning to investigate murder and corruption in a podcast, “counting bodies,” getting in touch with alleged killers to accuse them 00:57:30 MCN The problem with Wesley Bell the former prosecutor of St Louis County, now U.S. Congressman, why the St. Louis press is IGNORING it 01:04:45 MCN Why Maria ran in ‘24 against Cori Bush & Wesley Bell 01:09:45 MCN Maria’s current endeavors, Hounding Clayton, hope in the time of Trump Listen to Everybody Has a Podcast ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/zQ30H8WM47I Follow Maria Chappelle-Nadal’s on-going work holding feet to the fire in St. Louis by searching the handle “Hounding Clayton” on: Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/@HoundingClayton Bluesky - https://app.bsky.cz/profile/houndingclayton.bsky.social X - https://x.com/HoundingClayton TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@hounding.clayton IG - https://www.instagram.com/houndingclayton/ Listen to Maria’s Image Award-nominated turn as host, investigator, writer & producer of Season 2 of iHeartPodcasts’ AFTER THE UPRISING wherever you get your podcasts, including: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/after-the-uprising/id1568344817 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/after-the-uprising/id1568344817] Read the latest article quoting Maria Chappelle-Nadal, about Wesley Bell, as mentioned in this episode: https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/column/joe-holleman/settlement-pending-in-discrimination-lawsuit-involving-wesley-bell/article_d34a27b8-d374-11ef-a99a-e756e8941927.html [https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/column/joe-holleman/settlement-pending-in-discrimination-lawsuit-involving-wesley-bell/article_d34a27b8-d374-11ef-a99a-e756e8941927.html] Follow & message Ruth: IG @RuthVaca IG @VeganishVegetarian Email Ray: RayNowosielski@gmail.com [RayNowosielski@gmail.com] TrueStories.us Copyright 2025 True Stories Inc.

Groundhog Day movie Writer Daniel Rubin

Happy Groundhog Day, everyone! The Bill Murray movie set during this quasi-holiday has inspired and made laugh people the world over, and it was conceived and written by Daniel Rubin, our guest this episode. This show’s hosts, spouses Ruth and Ray, fell in love - yuck - 15 years ago watching this movie together from two different coasts, a story they tell here. Rubin was a brand new screenwriter when he came up with, as his first real idea, the concept of an infinite time loop, a day lived again and again, one that has caught on in popular culture. As a teacher of how to break a story at a high level, Rubin provides a 30 minute “master class” for writers in this episode, breaking down how he developed an incredible idea into a winning film. Time-stamp 00:01:00 R+R Larry David & when is it too late to wish Happy New Year? 00:02:35 R+R Background on Daniel Rubin & the interview 00:07:00 R+R Ruth’s story of being “inebriated” the first time she spoke to Daniel Rubin 00:09:00 R+R How Ruth & Ray fell in love over Groundhog Day 00:11:25 R+R What would you choose as your Groundhog Day to live over and over? 00:17:30 R+R Vince Vaughn Jon Favreau move Swingers 00:18:50 R+R Chicago dudes Vince Vaughn & John Cusack, 2 ends of political spectrum, Ray’s interview with Cusack, Ruth’s love of Joan Cusack, Ruth & Ray do improv 00:23:30 R+R Our 2025 NAACP Image Award nomination for podcast After the Uprising - Vote! 00:27:25 Daniel Rubin - Certain kind of movie people become devoted to, why Groundhog Day creates devoted viewers? 00:30:45 DR How he grew up, inspired by Twilight Zone, Wonderful Life 00:32:30 DR Origin Story of Groundhog Day, unexpected Anne Rice vampire connection 00:37:40 DR Big ideas, Wonderful Life creator, what Daniel was going for, David Lynch, inspiration of Chicago comedy improv exercise “directed scene,” what the Studios would want 00:42:15 DR How did Groundhog Day become the holiday Daniel chose? And Punxsutawney PA? And a weatherman as the protagonist? 00:47:30 DR How the Bill Murray character came about 00:52:15 DR The “trigger warning” suicide element and Daniel’s thoughts 00:54:45 DR Other movies & shows that “robbed” Groundhog Day - Natasha Lyonne’s Russian Doll, X Files, Andy Samberg’s Palm Springs, Tom Cruise’s Edge of Tomorrow 00:57:00 DR Daniel Rubin meets Ruth (while she’s “inebriated”) Listen to Everybody Has a Podcast ON YOUTUBE https://youtu.be/1T0JdCW3-f4 [https://youtu.be/1T0JdCW3-f4] Watch Groundhog Day on AppleTVhttps://tv.apple.com/us/movie/groundhog-day/umc.cmc.1w6jlmh7a3csaxq764zd0b6f0 Find out more about Daniel Rubin athttps://www.dannyrubin.com/ Follow & message Ruth: IG @RuthVacaIG @VeganishVegetarian Email Ray: RayNowosielski@gmail.com TrueStories.us Copyright 2024 True Stories Inc.