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Oof. It’s another horrifying day in a horrifying time in the so-called home of the brave. We spend a lot of our conversation doing unfiltered and honest exploration of our thoughts and feelings about the mass gun murder at a Texas elementary school, and how it connects to the broader landscape of rising fascism in America.

We also talk about the message a river had for us yesterday: how making a conscious connection to something bigger and more everlasting than this moment in history may be essential for us to survive it, and to love ourselves and each other through it.

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It can often seem like we’re powerless against the horrors of white supremacist fascism on the rise here in the U.S. — like the murder of 10 Black people at a grocery store this week — but there is one small, yet vitally important and powerful, weapon that every last one of us has at our disposal: our language.

We also cruise through other topics like how we can be better media consumers, how goth is a black hole (answer: so goth), and the Zen Buddhist nature of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”

Here’s the Washington Post article on how to spot a fake video: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/03/19/how-spot-fake-video/

And here’s that InVID site … just paste a video link from Twitter / Facebook / YouTube, and it’ll help you figure out how trustworthy the video and the person sharing it are! https://www.invid-project.eu/

Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.

Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️

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We’re still unpacking thoughts and feelings about last week’s Supreme Court disaster for reproductive rights. In doing so, we learn about the 17th-century douchebag dude whose writings the right-wing extremists on the court think are the bomb, we find practical inspiration from an 80s kids’ movie, and we debut our new song, which is 100% related to our effort to find power within ourselves during this frightening time.

Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.

Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️

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We’re back from break! And it appears there is a whole lot going on in the “this feels important” category upon our return.

We talk — from a few different angles — about the impending ruling by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade, and what it means not only for bodily autonomy but also for democracy. And, not to focus solely on doom and gloom, we also take fun detours into medieval timekeeping and the evolutionary importance of caring.

Here’s the Politico article Shannon mentions: 
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/05/religious-right-real-origins-107133/

And the number for the Capitol switchboard: (202) 224-3121. CALL YOUR SENATORS.

Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.

Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️

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We’re visiting family! Might we suggest revisiting last week’s episode? It was dense. See you next week, most likely, unless we return home to find that something’s blown up. We’ll keep you posted.

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lwpS5M7hgA

Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.

Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️

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Are we the only ones who have been feeling like the dumpster fire of world events seems to be particularly dumpster-fire-y lately? Well … we’re feeling it, and we’re talking about it.

Specifically, we discuss how real the pull can be toward cynicism (and how we can practically help each other through moments like that), the myriad ways in which the drama-addicted media in the U.S. really needs to get their shit together in the face of rising authoritarianism (or, more realistically, how each of us can and must be mouthpieces in our own circles about what is true), how non-mask-wearers are killing the independent touring industry, and how lies create wars (this is pretty much a Timothy Snyder fan-cast at this point). We also go in-depth about our brand-new song, “Sweat and Butterflies.”

Here’s a direct link to an English translation of the Russian “Genocide Handbook,” which you should absolutely read. https://medium.com/@kravchenko_mm/what-should-russia-do-with-ukraine-translation-of-a-propaganda-article-by-a-russian-journalist-a3e92e3cb64

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We’ve recovered from the Great (two-hour-long) Central Tacoma Power Outage of 2022 to bring you more riveting Misfit Stars discussion! Topics this week include unions (hopefully!) making a comeback, the scientific possibility that Fox News addicts’ alternate reality can be set straight (when they stop mainlining Fox propaganda), an inclusive teacher in Florida calling out the absurdity of that state’s new “Don’t Say Gay” law in a beautifully snarky letter (which may or may not be real, but we don’t care — it’s glorious), and inspiration from author E.B. White about the possibility and terror of a blank page.

To hear the first Small Dinosaurs record “Household Songs,” click here: https://smalldinosaurs.bandcamp.com/album/household-songs-2

And to read the Fox News study cited in the podcast, click here: https://osf.io/jrw26/

Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.

Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:32 — 36.6MB) | Embed

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A busy schedule required us to record this one super early this week … so if any really important things happened in the world and we aren’t talking about it here, well, we hope you’ll give us a pass. 😅

But! It’s an all-good-stuff pod this week! Including us getting deep about the new song we just released, “Be With What Is,” and the idea of radical acceptance. Come on in, the water’s warm.

Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.

Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️

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In between raving about spring springing in Washington, we manage to have some good non-weather-related conversation!

Topics include: a couple of unexpected wins in the effort to protect trans kids, a beautiful and emotionally intelligent mechanism of the Irish language, the relevance of truth both in anti-authoritarianism and in having hope, and how we think this year’s Best Picture Oscar nominees could be … well, better.

Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.

Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:08:53 — 63.4MB) | Embed

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We get into some good, deep stuff this week, all wrapped up neatly in roughly an hour of us on mics — which stands for microphone, and does not refer to one or more persons named Mike. Just … FYI.

Topics include: good news about California vehicle emissions standards, a brain-bending perspective on the size of the solar system, the relationship between internalized capitalism and self-worth, the great daylight savings debate, a new song about the power in admitting powerlessness, how to respond to right-wing propaganda-addled folks who (wrongly) complain that Biden is to blame for high gas prices, how anti-trans efforts are (horrifyingly) aimed at nothing short of extermination, and how the people of Ukraine are reminding all of us about our values, our humanity, and what’s worth fighting for.

Here is a good list of specific ways to help advocate for trans kids in some of the states in which they’re coming under attack, courtesy of Misfit Star Bonnie R: https://20465691.hs-sites.com/rally-against-anti-trans-legislation-a-state-by-state-guide

Our work relies on the ongoing small-dollar support of people who believe in what we’re doing. If that’s you, please join us: misfitstars.com/support.

Thank you so much for your support; we couldn’t do any of this without you. ❤️