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This “been conned” theme runs through a couple of our conversation topics today: the mind-bending / heartbreaking unreality in which MAGA folks exist, and the bombshell evidence the Jan. 6 Commission is revealing about the coup attempted by the disgraced former president.

We also talk about some sexy anti-monopoly action coming down the pike, and we make the world debut of our new song, “Serenity.”

Links:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/06/12/election-suspicion-georgia-greene-trump/
https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/torpedoes-in-the-water
https://current.thedispatch.com/p/getting-smart-on-intelligence

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We’re getting smart about topics that are painfully useful in 2022! 😭 Like what exactly do white Christian nationalists believe about America, and what implications does that have for the rest of us? What can we, as individuals, do to reduce gun deaths? How big, exactly, is a blue whale’s heart? (Ok, that one’s not painful at all.) And what do we have in common with a two-headed calf? (Also not painful, but very lovely, in fact.)

YLE firearms article: https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/firearms-what-you-can-do-right-now

NY Magazine Christian nationalism article: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2022/06/white-christian-nationalism-is-a-threat-to-democracy.html

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We are arming ourselves with facts for the gun reform debate! 💪🏻 And also with knowledge about the specific ways in which the very tiny minority of gun nuts try to confuse that debate in order to delay us and stop us from taking any action on gun control.

We also take a lovely detour into ancient language, gain some spiritual inspiration from an NBA star, and share our new song, “I Am.”

• call your senators: 202-224-3121
• https://votesaveamerica.com
• https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ultraconserved-words-ice-age-language-study_n_3228664
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-science-is-clear-gun-control-saves-lives/

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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/

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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.

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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.

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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

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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/