The Politics Chicks Podcast

Why Republicans Blocked Gun Safety Legislation After a School Shooting with MN State Rep. Kaela Berg

🌟 Welcome to Episode #24 of The Politics Chicks Podcast! 🌟 🎙️ Before this podcast, we honestly didn’t realize just how intense things had become inside the Minnesota Capitol over gun safety legislation. This week, we sat down with Minnesota State Representative Kaela Berg for a raw, urgent conversation about the Capitol sit-in over the Annunciation Catholic School shooting, labor rights, mental health in schools, ICE raids in Minneapolis, and why working-class voices matter now more than ever. 🔥 This is one of those episodes that reminds us politics isn’t abstract—it’s deeply personal. 🐓 IN THIS EPISODE: 📍 What REALLY happened during the Minnesota Capitol gun safety sit-in 📍 Why Republican leadership refused to hold a vote after the Annunciation school shooting 📍 Assault weapons bans, ghost guns, binary triggers & school safety legislation 📍 The emotional testimony from Annunciation families 📍 Why “guns don’t kill people” ignores America’s unique gun culture 📍 ICE raids, fear in Minneapolis communities & Operation Metro Surge 📍 Mental health resources in schools & why Kaela authored legislation for counselors 📍 Labor unions, captive audience meetings & protecting workers’ rights 📍 Why Kaela Berg is running for Congress in Minnesota’s 2nd District 📍 How ordinary people can still make a difference in dark political moments ✨ ABOUT KAELA BERG: Kaela Berg is a Minnesota State Representative, union leader, flight attendant, and congressional candidate in Minnesota’s 2nd District. She has authored legislation focused on gun violence prevention, workers’ rights, and mental health resources for students across Minnesota public schools. 🧭 This conversation touches on: Gun violence prevention • Minnesota politics • school shootings • labor unions • ICE raids • authoritarianism • mental health • workers’ rights • women in politics • grassroots organizing • democracy • education • public safety 💌 We would love your input! What gives YOU hope right now? What issues do you want us covering next on the podcast? 👇 Drop your thoughts in the comments. 🔔 RESOURCES: ➡️ Kaela Berg for Congress: https://kaelaforcongress.com ❤️ FOLLOW & SUPPORT THE POLITICS CHICKS: Substack: https://thepoliticschicks.substack.com Threads: https://threads.net/@thepoliticschicks BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/thepoliticschicks Instagram: https://instagram.com/thepoliticschicks TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@thepoliticschicks 🧡 xoxo — Christy & Monica Minnesota politics, Kaela Berg, gun safety, gun violence prevention, Minnesota Capitol protest, Annunciation school shooting, assault weapons ban, ICE raids Minneapolis, labor unions, workers rights, Minnesota Democrats, Moms Demand Action, school mental health, gun reform debate, working class politics, The Politics Chicks, democracy, grassroots movement, Minnesota news, political podcast, ghost guns, NRA, Everytown for Gun Safety, Lisa Demuth, public safety

Fierce Love MN Is Documenting the Helpers

🌟 Welcome to Episode #23 of The Politics Chicks Podcast! 🌟 🎙️ Before this podcast, The Politics Chicks began as two women trying to make sense of politics, power, and the human cost of cruelty. This conversation is about what happens when ordinary people decide they are done looking away. Today we’re joined by Teri Leigh, creator of Fierce Love MN, whose writing documents grief, resistance, mutual aid, women, community, and the quiet courage of people showing up for each other in impossible moments. 🐓 IN THIS EPISODE: 📍 What “Fierce Love” Really Means Teri explains how fierce love became her way of understanding the helpers, organizers, mothers, neighbors, and women refusing to abandon each other. 💔 Grief, Hope, and the Both/And We talk about how grief is rooted in love — and why hope is not denial, but survival. 🧡 Minnesota Women in Resistance Teri shares powerful stories of women stepping into mutual aid, legal observing, community protection, and care work during ICE enforcement actions in Minnesota. 🦉 The Rise of the OWLs Older White Ladies with no more fucks to give are showing up, standing in their privilege, protecting families, and reminding the world that women have always led in moments of crisis. 🚨 ICE Is Still Here We discuss what is still happening in Minnesota, why these stories matter, and how cruelty thrives when people stop paying attention. ✨ Turning Up the Volume on Love Teri reminds us that even in the flood of awful, people are still choosing each other — and that may be exactly how culture changes. 🛑 Final Word  Fierce love is not soft. It is not passive. It is not naïve. It is the choice to stay human when the world gives you every reason not to. 💌 Find Teri’s work at:  fiercelovemn.com FOLLOW/SUPPORT:  Substack | Threads | BlueSky | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook  @ThePoliticsChicks 🧡 xoxo — Christy & Monica

From Self-Doubt to Power: Giving Girls the Skills They Need to Become Leaders

🌟 Welcome to Episode 21 of The Politics Chicks Podcast! 🌟 🎙️ We started on Substack building a community around truth, accountability, and real conversations—and now we’re bringing those conversations here. 🔥 YOU CAN’T LEAD IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE YOU BELONG Why the confidence gap starts long before women ever run for office What if the leadership gap doesn’t start in adulthood—but in high school? Today we’re joined by Sarah Jakle, founder of Democrashe, an organization helping girls build confidence, resilience, and the skills to step into leadership before the world teaches them not to. Women with the same qualifications are far less likely to run—and when they do, they face significantly more pushback and harassment.   This isn’t a pipeline problem. It’s conditioning. 🐓 IN THIS EPISODE • Why high school is the last point girls and boys see leadership equally  • How neuroplasticity shapes confidence early • The role of the amygdala in fear and hesitation • Why “just be confident” doesn’t work • Inner critic → inner best friend • Trauma, burnout, and the 24/7 news cycle • Why Democrashe pays girls to participate • The stat that says it all: → 76% of high-performing women get negative feedback vs. 2% of men   🧠 THE BIG IDEA Confidence isn’t a personality trait—it’s a skill. If we don’t teach it early, the world teaches girls the opposite. 🛑 FINAL WORD Leadership doesn’t start when you run for office.  It starts when you believe your voice matters. 🔗 RESOURCES 🌐 Democrashe — https://democrashe.org  💼 Sarah Jakle on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-jakle-535617240/

RECEIPTS NOT RAGE: HOW ONE MINNESOTA DAD IS HOLDING TOM EMMER ACCOUNTABLE

🌟 Welcome to Episode #20 of The Politics Chicks Podcast! 🌟  🎙️ Before this podcast, we launched our journey on Substack—where we shared sharp takes on current events, deep dives into policy, and personal reflections on the state of politics. Now, we’re bringing that same energy—and our signature voice—straight to your favorite podcast platform. 🐓 IN THIS EPISODE:  Today we’re joined by Chad Maschke—creator of MN06 Watch, a rapidly growing Substack dedicated to tracking what’s actually happening in Minnesota’s 6th Congressional District using real data and primary sources.   This isn’t spin.  This isn’t partisan noise.  This is receipts. 📍 FROM FRUSTRATION TO ACTION  One dad. No platform. No media background.  Just a growing frustration with not being able to verify what was true—and the decision to do something about it.   🏪 BUILDING ACCOUNTABILITY FROM SCRATCH  Using data, transcripts, and public records, Chad built a system to track votes, rhetoric, and contradictions—proving you don’t need a title to make an impact.   🤝 RECEIPTS OVER RHETORIC  “Receipts, not rage” isn’t just a tagline—it’s a methodology.  No spin. No fluff. Just primary sources that let people draw their own conclusions.   🧭 BREAKING DOWN THE SAVE ACT  What people think it does vs. what it actually does—and how misinformation spreads when no one reads beyond the headline.   🚨 RHETORIC VS. REALITY  From contradictions in messaging to discrepancies between votes and public statements, we dig into how narratives are shaped—and challenged.   ✨ SCALING TRUTH  What happens when this model expands beyond one district?  The potential to track accountability across Congress—and give power back to voters.   🛑 FINAL WORD  This conversation is a reminder that you don’t need credentials, connections, or a platform to make a difference—you need curiosity, consistency, and the willingness to ask better questions. Because when everyday people start paying attention and demanding clarity, the entire system shifts. And that’s where real change begins. 📄 Chad’s Substack: www.mn06watch.substack.com 🌐 Chad’s Website: www.mn06watch.com 💌 We would love your input! If you have topics you want us to cover, news to share, or a shout-out to give—please let us know. We’re building this together. 💌 If this conversation moved you, taught you something, or made you think—please like, comment, and share. It helps more than you know and puts our work in front of more eyes. 📱 Find and follow us @thepoliticschicks on Substack, Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok   🧡 Keep shining your light so we can find each other in the dark.  We are always stronger together.  — Christy & Monica 🧡

Building Joy Where It Was Missing: An Inclusive Space for Women's Sports & Community

🌟 Welcome to Episode #18 of The Politics Chicks Podcast! 🌟 🎙️ Before this podcast, we launched our journey on Substack—where we shared sharp takes on current events, deep dives into policy, and personal reflections on the state of politics. Now, we’re bringing that same energy—and our signature voice—straight to your favorite podcast platform. Building Joy Where It Was Missing: How One Woman Turned Frustration Into a Movement for Women’s Sports and Community 🐓 IN THIS EPISODE: Today we’re joined by Jillian Hiscock—owner of A Bar of Their Own, the Midwest’s first sports bar dedicated entirely to women’s sports.  📍 FROM FRUSTRATION TO ACTION A missed softball game. A dismissive bar. And a moment that turned into a mission. Jillian didn’t just notice the inequity in women’s sports—she built something to change it. 🏪 BUILDING SOMETHING FROM NOTHING No restaurant experience. No formal business training. Just passion, community, and the willingness to ask for help—and figure it out anyway. 🤝 COMMUNITY IS A VERB This isn’t just a bar—it’s a hub. From inclusive design to staff culture to giveback nights, everything is intentional. Because belonging doesn’t happen by accident. 🧭 INCLUSION BY DESIGN Accessibility. Representation. Language. From large print menus to “period products” instead of “feminine products,” this space was built by listening—not assuming. 🚨 MORE THAN SPORTS Women’s sports aren’t just games—they’re political, cultural, and deeply human. From pay gaps to visibility to trans athlete debates, we unpack what progress looks like—and how far we still have to go. ✨ JOY AS RESISTANCE In a world that feels heavy, this is a reminder: Joy matters. Community matters. And sometimes the most powerful thing you can do… is build something better. 🛑 Final Word What Jillian built isn’t just a bar—it’s a blueprint. A reminder that when systems fail, people step in. That community isn’t something we wait for—it’s something we create. In a moment where so much feels fractured, spaces like this prove something simple but powerful: people are still showing up for each other. And that might just be how we get through this—together. 💌 We would love your input! If you have topics you want us to cover, news to share, or a shout-out to give—please let us know. We’re building this together. 💌 If this conversation moved you, taught you something, or made you think—please like, comment, and share. It helps more than you know and puts our work in front of more eyes. 📱 Find and follow us on Substack, Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok @thepoliticschicks www.thepoliticschicks.substack.com thepoliticschicks@gmail.com 🧡 Keep shining your light so we can find each other in the dark and we are always stronger together. — Christy & Monica 🧡