The Signal
Bucks Co Beacon
The Signal, a podcast from the Bucks County Beacon, shines a light on the right-wing extremist currents streaming though Bucks County and beyond. Twice a month we will talk to guests who will help listeners navigate these perilous political waters by providing insight, analysis, and organizing solutions so that we can steer the community toward calmer, saner progressive waters.
Episodes
Bucks County's Bryan Allen Wants to Expand Democrats' Majority in the State House
Bryan Allen is a lifelong Lower Bucks County resident, a father of three, and a dedicated public servant who has spent more than three decades fighting for the community that raised him. Now he wants to take that fight to Harrisburg. Bryan joins me today to talk about why he is running to unseat Republican incumbent state Rep K.C. Tomlinson. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: Democrat Tim Hayes Wants to Flip a Bucks County State House Seat from Red to Blue Why We Need ‘AI for the People’, with Congressman Ro Khanna These 3 Central Bucks Parents Started a ‘Revolution’ to Save Their School District from Moms for Liberty and Other Right-Wing Extremists A Look at Bob Harvie’s ‘New Fair Deal for Working Families’ and the Chance to Flip PA-01, with Cyril Mychalejko and Kevin Mahoney Filmmaker Robert May Discusses His New PBS Documentary Series ‘Bucks County, USA’ Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Filmmaker Robert May on His New PBS Documentary Series ‘Bucks County, USA’
Robert May is a producer/director of independent films whose projects have collectively garnered over 40 awards including the Oscar, Bafta, Independent Spirit Award and Human Rights Award, to name a few. He produced documentaries the Fog of War, about former U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, Kids for Cash, about a scandal involving judges in Wilkes Barre receiving kickbacks for sending kids to a private prison, among other films. His latest, which airs on PBS on Sunday, is Bucks County, USA, a five-part documentary series May co-produced with filmmakers Jason Sosnoff and Barry Levinson. The series, filmed over 4 years, covers what the New York Times dubbed “The School Board Wars” in Central Bucks School District. He spoke with me to talk about his filmmaking career, Bucks County, USA, and how he hopes this new docuseries can help a community once at war with each other heal, and maybe even actively try to listen and talk to each other like friendly neighbors – despite deep political differences. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: BCCC Embarrasses Itself With Decision to Cancel Special Community Prescreening of PBS Docuseries ‘Bucks County, USA’ It Takes A Village: Expelling Right-Wing Extremism From Bucks County School Districts CBSD Neighbors United Was a Revolution in Central Bucks School District ALSO LISTEN TO: These 3 Central Bucks Parents Started a ‘Revolution’ to Save Their School District from Moms for Liberty and Other Right-Wing Extremists Anti-Fascist, Dystopian YA Novel Inspired by Central Bucks School District Unmasking Moms for Liberty’s Extremism, with Olivia Little and Diana Leygerman Raising a Transgender Child in an Increasingly Transphobic Country and School District, with Brett Freeman Fighting for Students’ and Teachers’ Rights in Central Bucks School District, with ACLU’s Witold Walczak The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider on Their New Book ‘The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual’ Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
The Power of Participation: Showing Up for Ourselves, Each Other, and Our Communities
This special episode of The Signal Podcast brings listeners inside a dynamic, solutions‑focused conversation about civic engagement, community care, and the everyday actions that strengthen democracy. Recorded live at a joint event hosted by the Bucks County Beacon and Doylestown Action League, the discussion explores what participation really looks like—and why showing up matters. Moderator Connor O’Hanlon guides a powerhouse panel of leaders whose work spans civic education, mental health advocacy, trauma‑informed care, and political engagement. Join him and featured panelists Lauren Cristella, Amy Widestrom, Ariel Virk and Nick Emeigh for an in-depth and actionable conversation. Together, these experts unpack the barriers that keep people from participating, the cultural narratives that shape our sense of agency, and the practical steps anyone can take to build healthier, more connected communities. This is an energizing, grounded, and deeply human conversation about the power of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Links: Bucks County Beacon - News. Government. Politics. Behind the Beacon | The Bucks County Beacon https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-bucks-county-beacon-turns-5-tickets-1989228969396?aff=oddtdtcreator
A look at Bob Harvie's "New Fair Deal for Working Families" & the chance to flip the PA-01, with Cyril Mychalejko and Kevin Mahoney
Kevin Mahoney takes over the mic for a conversation with Cyril Mychalejko, the editor-in-chief of The Beacon and the regular host of The Signal. We take a close look at Democrat Bob Harvie's "New Fair Deal for Working Families" - a 12 point plan for "Restoring the Promise of the American Dream in the 21st Century." I think it's fair to say that Cyril and Kevin have some questions for the Harvie campaign and some thoughts on what's needed if Democrats have a shot at defeating the always slippery, deep-pocketed, yet vulnerable Republican Brian Fitzpatrick in this year's mid-term elections. NOTE: At one point in the conversation Cyril misspoke regarding health care spending. He said that the US spends half as much on insurance than other countries. What he meant to say was that OTHER COUNTRIES spend half as much as the U.S. per person on health. For clarification, here's the relevant article from Peterson-KFF: "How does health spending in the U.S. compare to other countries" Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
These 3 Central Bucks Parents Started a ‘Revolution’ to Save Their School District
These 3 Central Bucks Parents Started a ‘Revolution’ to Save Their School District “CBSD Neighbors United Was a Revolution in Central Bucks School District.” This was the title of a recent column authored by Diana Leygerman, Tracy Suits, and Steve Sullivan, district parents and the founders of the organization which helped save the school district from Moms for Liberty, a local MAGA multi-millionaire, and other right-wing political arsonists who had captured the school board back in 2021 and were pushing a reactionary, and largely anti-public education agenda. The three join me today to talk about how CBSD Neighbors United started, the organization’s breathtaking success, and why even though they are closing its doors they are confident the movement they helped start will live on. Diana Leygerman is a Central Bucks School District parent and the Director of Comms and Strategy of CBSD Neighbors United. Steve Sullivan is a CBSD parent and the Director of Fundraising for Neighbors United. Tracy Suits is the current chair of the Chalfont New Britain Democrats. She served on the Central Bucks school board from 2017 to 2021, and is the Chair and Director of Operations for CBSD Neighbors United. She’s also a CBSD parent. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: CBSD Neighbors United Was a Revolution in Central Bucks School District Meet Three of the Neighbors Who United to Defend Public Education in Central Bucks School District Moms for Liberty CEO and Co-Founder Tina Descovich Verbally Attacks the Bucks County Beacon at Harrisburg-Area Event We Must Continue to Defend the Freedom to Read in Central Bucks School District It Takes A Village: Expelling Right-Wing Extremism From Bucks County School Districts ALSO LISTEN TO: Anti-Fascist, Dystopian YA Novel Inspired by Central Bucks School District Unmasking Moms for Liberty’s Extremism, with Olivia Little and Diana Leygerman Raising a Transgender Child in an Increasingly Transphobic Country and School District, with Brett Freeman Fighting for Students’ and Teachers’ Rights in Central Bucks School District, with ACLU’s Witold Walczak The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider on Their New Book ‘The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual’ The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Pride Month Is a Riot, with Marlene Pray
Marlene Pray (she/her) is a queer activist, sexuality educator, and community organizer whose work spans over three decades of LGBTQ+ advocacy, anti-racism, and social justice movement-building. She founded and directs the Rainbow Room, Bucks County’s LGBTQ+ youth center at Planned Parenthood Keystone, which has been a lifeline for queer youth in the region for 24 years. A PhD candidate in Human Sexuality Education, Marlene has trained educators, organizations, and communities across the country on LGBTQ+ inclusion, racial equity, and youth empowerment. Her public service includes serving on Doylestown Borough Council, where she championed the borough’s LGBTQ+ anti-discrimination ordinance, and she continues to lead through board roles with the NAACP and NAMI Bucks County. Marlene lives in Doylestown and brings her whole self to the work — as an organizer, mother, homicide survivor, and earth-based celebrant committed to collective liberation. She joins me today to kick off Pride Month, to talk about its history as a riot, as protest, and as a demand, and what the fight for LGBTQ+ rights looks like today. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: How Local Journalism and Pro-Democracy Reporting Can Protect Main Street from Hate and Political Extremism, with Phil Williams Journalist Jordan Green on Why the Neo-Nazi Movement Is an Escalating Threat to US Democracy The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Post Bucks County Democratic Primary Roundup with Kevin Mahoney and Cyril Mychalejko
Welcome, welcome everybody to a special edition of The Signal from the Bucks County Beacon. Today guest host Kevin Mahoney talks with Cyril Mychalejko, the editor-in-chief of the Bucks County Beacon, about this week’s primary elections. We’ll take a look at the results and focus on two of the contested Democratic primaries: the PA 01 House race to face Brian Fitzpatrick in November, and the PA 16th State Senate race that will challenge Moms for Liberty darling, Jarett Coleman. What do the results mean in November's mid-terms? We’ll also take a little stroll down memory lane as Cyril celebrates his fourth anniversary with the Beacon! That’s right, Cyril basically has the equivalent of a presidential term with the Beacon - and what a few years it has been. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart
Why We Need 'AI for the People', with Congressman Ro Khanna
"I believe if we just give the AI revolution to tech billionaires we're going to have political unrest in this country." Ro Khanna is a Bucks County native who is a U.S. Representative in California’s 17th District. He is also vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Last month he wrote an article in The Nation, “AI for the People”, which laid out his vision “for an AI revolution that works for the many not just the billionaires.” He joins us today to talk about why he is an an AI-democratist, his policy vision for regulating this disruptive technology, and why we cannot allow Big Tech oligarchs to build a society where “AI ‘progress’ is defined by their wealth rather than by our democracy.” Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: AI for the People, by Congressman Ro Khanna “The Nation” Is Siding With Humanity, by Katrina vanden Heuvel and John Nichols What We Need to Ask Ourselves About AI, by Senator Bernie Sanders As AI Breathes Down Our Necks, It’s Time for a Luddite Renaissance, by John Nichols ALSO LISTEN TO: Reading George Orwell in Trump’s America, With Laura Beers How Local Journalism and Pro-Democracy Reporting Can Protect Main Street from Hate and Political Extremism, with Phil Williams
Democrat Tim Hayes Wants to Flip a Bucks County State House Seat from Red to Blue
Tim Hayes is an Army National Guard Veteran, Dublin Borough Council President, and Environmental Legislative Manager running for State Representative in Pennsylvania’s 143rd District. He joins us today to talk about growing up in Bucks County, his dedication to public service, and why Republican Shelby Labs has failed her constituents. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: TIM HAYES: State House Bill Seeks to Protect Pennsylvania Communities from Data Center Impacts Three Bucks County Republican State Lawmakers Voted to Keep Pennsylvania’s Minimum Wage at $7.25 Per Hour Here’s How Bucks County State House Lawmakers Voted on Three Gun Safety Bills Pennsylvania House Passes 4 Bills to Protect ‘Obama Care’ for Pennsylvanians. Here’s How Your Bucks County Lawmakers Voted Bucks County Republican State Representatives K.C. Tomlinson and Craig Staats Vote Against Free Lunch for K-12 Students ALSO LISTEN TO: What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us? Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Every Day Is Earth Day, with Delaware Riverkeeper Network’s Anneke van Rossum
Anneke van Rossum is the Advocacy and Advancement Coordinator at Delaware Riverkeeper Network. She has been in her staff role for just over 3 years but has a storied history with the organization going back to childhood. Anneke graduated from Ithaca College with her Bachelor of Arts in Politics and minored in Environmental Studies. She then went on to Vermont Law School where she graduated with her JD in 2022. Anneke role centers around education, community organizing, and overall uplifting of the powerful work Delaware Riverkeeper Network does. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: Barbara Simmons on International Women’s Day and Organizing for Peace in Bucks County Solidarity Journalism Can Help the Mainstream Media Restore Public Trust and Strengthen Democracy, with Dr. Anita Varma Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
How Local Journalism and Pro-Democracy Reporting Can Protect Main Street from Hate and Political Extremism, with Phil Williams
NewsChannel 5 Chief Investigative Reporter Phil Williams is one of the most highly acclaimed investigative journalists in America. He has been recognized with journalism’s most prestigious honors on multiple occasions throughout his 40-year career. He is a five-time recipient of the George Foster Peabody Award and a five-time recipient of the duPont Columbia Award, both considered broadcasting’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize. He was inducted into the ranks of some of America’s best-known reporters in 2023 when he was honored with the highly coveted John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism. That award is administered by Columbia Journalism School. That same year, on his Last Week Tonight show, HBO’s John Oliver presented a 10-minute segment about Williams’s reporting, famously dubbing him “Nashville’s Nosiest Bitch” and citing his work as the type of unflinching journalism desperately needed in America. He joins us for Local News Day to discuss the importance of local media, his own pro-democracy reporting, and why for the last few years he and his team have refused to surrender to the fascist mob and continue to center their work on investigating and reporting about hate groups and political extremists looking to seize power and grow their influence in Tennessee (and beyond). Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Hate Comes to Main Street - Phil’s Newsletter ALSO LISTEN TO: Journalist Jordan Green on Why the Neo-Nazi Movement Is an Escalating Threat to US Democracy The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials From Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Bucks County’s Fred Harran: Why ICE 287(g) Partnerships Are So Dangerous, with Jessica Pishko Katherine Stewart Discusses Her New Book ‘Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy’ Former FBI Agent Who Once Infiltrated Neo-Nazi Groups and Militias Explains Why Law Enforcement Fails to Take Far-Right Extremism Seriously How Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Will Legalize and Deploy Vigilantes to Push Their Agenda, with David Noll Unmasking Moms for Liberty’s Extremism, with Olivia Little and Diana Leygerman Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Tom Taft on Bucks County Democrats' Efforts to Defeat Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick in PA-01
Tom Taft comes from a family with a 200 year history of dedicated public service. Tom wanted to add to that and his own legacy with a run for Congress as a Democrat in PA-01 but had to end his campaign after failing to gather the required number of signatures. Nevertheless, he joins me today to talk about politics in Bucks County’s first congressional district and the race for the Democratic nomination in May for a chance to unseat Republican incumbent Brian Fitzpatrick. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us? Could Progressive Congressional Candidate Lucia Simonelli Shock PA-01 With a Victory in the May Democratic Primary? Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Barbara Simmons on International Women’s Day and Organizing for Peace in Bucks County
Barbara Simmons serves as executive director of The Peace Center, an educational peace and justice non-profit organization in Bucks County. After retiring from the role in 2019 (after 30 years in the position), she came out of retirement in October 2025 to once again lead the organization after it was announced it was planning on closing—something she couldn’t let happen. Barbara spoke with me today to talk about International Women’s Day, what’s new at The Peace Center, and the organizing work around making Bucks County a more just, inclusive, and compassionate community. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Transcript: Barbara Simmons on International Women’s Day and Organizing for Peace in Bucks County Bucks County’s Peace Center Isn’t Going Anywhere On International Day of Peace, Let’s Pledge to Make Peace a Bigger Part of Our Lives Why I Commemorate the Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Raising Our Children as Future Leaders in an Era of Book Banning and Attacks on ‘Critical Race Theory’ ALSO LISTEN TO: The Radical History of International Women’s Day and the Feminist Movement, with Liza Featherstone Radical Independent Media, Feminist Struggles, and International Women’s Day: A View from Latin America, with Dawn Paley Peace Activism from Bucks County to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with Barbara Simmons Sylvia Pankhurst – Suffragette Socialist and Scourge of Empire, with Dr. Kate Connelly The 365 Foundation’s Natalie Venezia on Promoting Women’s Empowerment Through Art, Advocacy, and Community Service After Misogyny: How the Law Fails Women and What to Do about It, with Julie C. Suk Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Anti-Fascist, Dystopian YA Novel Inspired by Central Bucks School District, with author Rich Shifman
An anti-fascist, dystopian YA novel published last week, We Were the Cuckoos Bees, was inspired in large part by Central Bucks School District during a time when Moms for Liberty and right-wing Christian extremists captured the school board in the early part of this decade. This is a story the Bucks County Beacon has reported on in great detail. Today I speak with local author Rich Shifman, who writes YA stories under the pen name, R.B. Shifman, about his new book which he dedicated to local Bucks County residents who helped flip the school board in late 2023 to bring sanity, common sense and compassion back to the school district. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Meet Three of the Neighbors Who United to Defend Public Education in Central Bucks School District Moms for Liberty CEO and Co-Founder Tina Descovich Verbally Attacks the Bucks County Beacon at Harrisburg-Area Event We Must Continue to Defend the Freedom to Read in Central Bucks School District It Takes A Village: Expelling Right-Wing Extremism From Bucks County School Districts ALSO LISTEN TO: Unmasking Moms for Liberty’s Extremism, with Olivia Little and Diana Leygerman Raising a Transgender Child in an Increasingly Transphobic Country and School District, with Brett Freeman Fighting for Students’ and Teachers’ Rights in Central Bucks School District, with ACLU’s Witold Walczak The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider on Their New Book ‘The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual’ The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Arts and Culture Journalism Is Thriving in Philly, with Broad Street Review's Alaina Johns and Kyle Hiller
Arts and Culture journalism and criticism is thriving in Philly thanks in part to the Broad Street Review - which just received a citation from the Philadelphia City Council in honor of its 20 year anniversary. Two of the people responsible for this publication’s success join me today. Alaina Johns has been editor-in-chief of Broad Street Review since 2018. She is a Philadelphia-based journalist and cultural critic covering our region since 2007. Associate Editor Kyle Hiller is born and raised in West Philadelphia. He practices Restorative Yoga, is a hobbyist DJ, and is the author of the 2016 novel The Recital. They talk about their work and the critical role of arts journalism in today's society. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: Reading George Orwell in Trump’s America, With Laura Beers The Normalization of Book Banning in the United States, With PEN America’s Sabrina Baêta Solidarity Journalism Can Help the Mainstream Media Restore Public Trust and Strengthen Democracy, with Dr. Anita Varma Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Tracy Hunt Wants to Bring His Pragmatic Optimism to Washington as PA-01’s Next Congressman
Tracy Hunt is a husband, father, hardworking attorney, a Business Law Professor at DelVal University, and a Democratic candidate for Congress in PA-01. He joins The Signal to talk about why he recently left the Republican Party, his views on a wide range of policies, and why he believes he can bring pragmatic and effective representation to Washington at a time when it is sorely lacking. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Tracy Hunt: Democracy Is for All of Us, Not Just the Party Insiders ALSO LISTEN TO: What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us? Could Progressive Congressional Candidate Lucia Simonelli Shock PA-01 With a Victory in the May Democratic Primary? Rob Strickler Wants to Challenge the Status Quo in His Run for Congress in PA-01 Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Lucia Simonelli's Journey: From Academia to U.S. Senate Advisor, Now Activism to PA-01’s Congressional Seat?
Lucia Simonelli is an Italian-American whose upbringing instilled a great appreciation for public services such as public education, public transportation, public parks, and more. Born in Landsdale, she has lived, travelled and worked around the globe, before settling down in Quakertown. Politically, she has worked to make change both inside and outside of government, from serving as a scientific advisor in the United States Senate, working on energy and climate policy, to organizing with the Upper Bucks United Indivisible Chapter. Now, she is running in the Democratic congressional primary in May for a chance to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. Could Lucia be PA-01’s AOC? I’ll be speaking to each of the candidates on this podcast to give listeners a chance to get to know them better. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Political ‘Outsider’ Rob Strickler Announces Congressional Run in PA-01 ALSO LISTEN TO: What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us? Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Rob Strickler Wants to Challenge the Status Quo in His Run for Congress in PA01
On this episode of the signal I welcome Rob Strickler. Rob is a political outsider who is running in the Democratic Party congressional primary in May for a chance to unseat incumbent Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick. We discuss his blue-collar upbringing in Levittown, his political awakening, and why he thinks he is the best person to represent Pennsylvania’s first congressional district. I’ll be speaking to each of the candidates on this podcast to give listeners a chance to get to know them better. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Political ‘Outsider’ Rob Strickler Announces Congressional Run in PA-01 ALSO LISTEN TO: What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us? Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social
Reading George Orwell in Trump’s America, With Laura Beers
Back in December I read an article Laura Beers published in The Conversation where she compared White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s press conference on the so-called truth about the good news of the state of the economy under President Trump’s stewardship to the repeated pronouncements of the Ministry of Plenty in George Orwell’s ‘1984.’ This led me to pick up and read her book Orwell's Ghosts: Wisdom and Warnings for the Twenty-First Century. Beers is a professor of British history at American University whose writing has appeared in the New Republic, Washington Post, CNN, among other publications. She joined me today to speak about her book and the enduring value of Orwell's insights for modern society, especially under this new Trump Regime. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Karoline Leavitt’s White House briefing doublethink is straight out of Orwell’s ‘1984’ Philadelphia Sues Over Trump Administration’s Removal of Slavery Exhibit at Independence National Historical Park Pittsburgh Professors Say Research Was Weaponized in Trump’s Higher Education Fight AI Is the Next Frontier for Far-Right Extremists to Spread Propaganda, Incite Violence, and Recruit New Followers Always Watching: How ICE’s Plan to Monitor Social Media 24/7 Threatens Privacy and Civic Participation ALSO LISTEN TO: The Normalization of Book Banning in the United States, With PEN America’s Sabrina Baêta The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Welcome to Season 4 of The Signal: Looking back at 2025. Looking ahead to 2026.
Welcome to the first episode of season 4 of The Signal from the Bucks County Beacon. Today, Kevin Mahoney sits down with Cyril Mychalejko, the editor-in-chief of the Bucks County Beacon, to talk about what the New Year has in store for The Beacon. We also take a look back at some of the most significant stories published in the Beacon in 2025. We’re going to need independent, community supported progressive media in the weeks, months, and years ahead. There could not be a better time to take a moment to head over BucksCountyBeacon.com and click on the Support the Beacon button and become a supporter. You can become a monthly entry-level supporter for as little as $1/month. Or, jump right in as a regular supporter for just $5/month, or a yearly supporter for at little as $50/year. Or, you can drop a one-time donation to help keep the Beacon’s critical lens focused and sustainable. Just go to BucksCountyBeacon.com, click on the Support the Beacon button and become a supporter today. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart READ: The Bucks County Beacon Looks Back at 2025 Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
The MAGA-fication of the U.S. Military, with Bucks County Veteran Steve Nolan
On this week’s episode of the Signal we welcome back Bucks County’s Steve Nolan. Steve spent 30 years in the military and 25 years as a mental health professional. He is the author of the 2020 book American Carnage, An Officer’s Duty to Warn, and today Steve is here to warn us again about the MAGA-fication of the military and How Pete Hegseth is running Trump’s Department of War. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart READ: Trump’s Pardon of Honduran Ex-President Who Conspired to Traffic Over 400 Tons of Cocaine Into US Exposes ‘War on Drugs’ Myth Leaked DHS Memo Shows Trump Administration Wants to Deploy Military on City Streets to Hunt Down Immigrants ‘Bro Culture’ on Top at the Pentagon Here’s What Project 2025 Has Planned for the Military Trump Tells Military Brass ‘We’re Under Invasion From Within’ and US Cities Should Be ‘Training Grounds for Our Military’ Using Black Hawk Helicopters and Chemical Agents, ICE Agents Turn Chicago Into a ‘War Zone’ How the Trump Administration Turned Immigration Courts Into Deportation Traps for ICE ALSO LISTEN TO: Is Donald Trump Mentally Unfit to Be Commander in Chief? An Interview with Military Veteran and Mental Health Professional Steve Nolan American Carnage: An Officer’s Duty to Warn, with Steve Nolan Former FBI Agent Who Once Infiltrated Neo-Nazi Groups and Militias Explains Why Law Enforcement Fails to Take Far-Right Extremism Seriously How Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Will Legalize and Deploy Vigilantes to Push Their Agenda, with David Noll Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
What Did Sheriff-Elect Danny Ceisler’s Victory and Bucks County Democrats’ Blue Wave on Election Day Teach Us? With Philadelphia Citizen Reporter Malcolm Burnley
Malcolm Burnley is a staff writer for The Philadelphia Citizen. He has been a journalist in Philadelphia since 2013, contributing to outlets such as Philly Mag, WHYY, and Politico Magazine. Five days before the election he published, “What a Bucks County Sheriff's Race Can Tell Us about U.S. Politics.” He joins us today to talk about that race which Democratic challenger Danny Ceisler won handily, the Blue Wave that washed away so many other Republican officeholders in Bucks County on Election Day, and what this may signal for the midterms in 2026. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Podbean and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: From Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Bucks County’s Fred Harran: Why ICE 287(g) Partnerships Are So Dangerous, with Jessica Pishko ‘A Fight Fails Without A Dream’: DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta on How The Democratic Party Will Meet This Dangerous Trumpian Moment Fighting to Finally Raise the Minimum Wage in Pennsylvania: A Conversation With State Rep. Roni Green Kadida Kenner on Defending Democracy and Voting Rights in Pennsylvania Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
America Is a White Christian Nationalist Project, With Religion Dispatches Editor Megan Goodwin
Megan Goodwin is senior editor for Religion Dispatches, nerd-in-chief at Feral Nerd Consulting, and media & tech consultant for The Crossroads Project. Goodwin is the author of Abusing Religion: Literary Persecution, Sex Scandals, and American Minority Religions (Rutgers 2020). With Ilyse Morgenstein Fuerst, she cohosted Keeping It 101: A Killjoy’s Introduction to Religion Podcast; and their first co-authored book, Religion Is Not Done With You, is now available through Beacon Press. Her next project is tentatively entitled Cults Incorporated: The Business of Bad Religion. Megan, who grew up in Yardley where she attended St. John the Evangelist Grade School and later graduated from Archbishop Egan High School, joins The Signal to talk about her scholarly and journalistic work covering religion. She explains why religion – and specifically white Christian Nationalism – are topics each of you should care about, whether you are religious or not. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Podbean and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials Katherine Stewart Discusses Her New Book ‘Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy’ Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Evangelical Support for Trump and Project 2025’s Christian Nationalist and Authoritarian Designs for the Nation A Conversation with André Gagné About His Book ‘American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times’ The New Apostolic Reformation: A Revolutionary Theocratic Movement Coming For Pennsylvania, The Nation, And The World Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
The Critical Importance of Pennsylvania's Supreme Court Election, With Garen Meguerian
Garen Meguerian is a civil rights, free speech lawyer, with 30 years of experience, practicing in the state and federal courts in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Since 2016, Garen has volunteered with grassroots groups, primarily in Chester County, to preserve democratic institutions. He joins us today to raise the alarm about the threats against Pennsylvania's independent judiciary and the importance of the PA Supreme Court’s retention election on Nov. 4. In this conversation, Garen explores the implications of misinformation, gerrymandering, and the role of the judiciary in protecting voting rights, reproductive rights, and environmental protections in the commonwealth. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Podbean and iheart READ: Stand up for Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court, by Colin Coyle League of Women Voters of PA Warns of Right-Wing Disinformation Campaign Targeting Pennsylvania Supreme Court Retention Election, by Melinda Rizzo. The Makeup of Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court Hangs in the Balance in November. Here’s What’s at Stake, by Melinda Rizzo Judicial Elections Key to Protecting Pennsylvania’s Democracy and Our Environment, by Molly Parzen How Pennsylvania Judges Facing Retention Ruled on Key Election Cases, by Carter Walker, Votebeat ALSO LISTEN TO: Kadida Kenner on Defending Democracy and Voting Rights in Pennsylvania Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
The Normalization of Book Banning in the United States, With PEN America’s Sabrina Baêta
“In 2025, book censorship in the United States is rampant and common. Never before in the life of any living American have so many books been systematically removed from school libraries across the country. Never before have so many states passed laws or regulations to facilitate the banning of books, including bans on specific titles statewide. Never before have so many politicians sought to bully school leaders into censoring according to their ideological preferences, even threatening public funding to exact compliance. Never before has access to so many stories been stolen from so many children.” This is the introduction to PEN America’s Banned in the USA 2024-2025 report “The Normalization of Book Banning.” As part of the Bucks County Beacon’s Banned Books Week coverage, we speak with one of the author’s of this report – Sabrina Baêta. Sabrina is a senior program manager with Freedom to Read at PEN America. She engages in research and awareness-building around censorship attacks on public K-12 education, especially as it relates to literature accessibility in libraries and classrooms. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: The Quiet Creep of Censorship: How ‘Everyday Banning’ Is Reshaping American Schools, by Tabitha Dell’Angelo We Must Continue to Defend the Freedom to Read in Central Bucks School District, by Karen Smith Banned Books Week: A Local Reflection From a Pennridge School District Dad, by Darren Laustsen ‘This Book Won’t Burn’ Celebrates Student Resistance in This New Era of Book Banning, by Lauren Bradley ALSO LISTEN TO: The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials This Bucks County Dad Took His Child’s School District to Court to Uncover a Secret Book Banning Scheme Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider on Their New Book ‘The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual’ Black History Is a History of Resistance and Liberation, with Rann Miller Fighting for Students’ and Teachers’ Rights in Central Bucks School District, with ACLU’s Witold Walczak Unmasking Moms for Liberty’s Extremism, with Olivia Little and Diana Leygerman Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
The History of Fascism and Anti-Fascism in America, with Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials
On this week's episode of The Signal I welcome two guests: Bill V. Mullen, Professor of English and American Studies at Purdue University and Christopher Vials, an Associate Professor of English at the University of Connecticut, where he also serves as Director of American Studies. Together they co-edited the book The U.S. Anti-Fascism Reader. Today we talk about their book, the history of fascism and anti-fascism in America, and lessons we can learn to help us navigate through this moment where President Trump has just designated anti-fascism as domestic terrorism and on Tuesday told top military generals and admirals that the country faces an enemy from within (namely his political opponents) and that US cities should become training grounds for the military. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: The U.S. Anti-Fascism Reader, by Bill Mullen and Christopher Vials Haunted by Hitler: Liberals, the Left, and the Fight against Fascism in the United States, by Christopher Vials How Fascism Works: The Politics of Us and Them, by Jason Stanley The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, by Jeff Sharlet Trump Tells Military Brass ‘We’re Under Invasion From Within’ and US Cities Should Be ‘Training Grounds for Our Military’ ‘Rubber Glue Fascism’: A Close Reading of Trump’s ‘Countering Domestic Terrorism and Organized Political Violence’ Memo Why Journalists Are Reluctant to Call Trump an Authoritarian – and Why That Matters for Democracy ALSO LISTEN TO: Journalist Jordan Green on Why the Neo-Nazi Movement Is an Escalating Threat to US Democracy From Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Bucks County’s Fred Harran: Why ICE 287(g) Partnerships Are So Dangerous, with Jessica Pishko How Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Will Legalize and Deploy Vigilantes to Push Their Agenda, with David Noll Former FBI Agent Who Once Infiltrated Neo-Nazi Groups and Militias Explains Why Law Enforcement Fails to Take Far-Right Extremism Seriously Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Editor-in-Chief Cyril Mychalejko on The Beacon in Turbulant Times
Cyril Mychalejko is the Editor-in-Chief of the Bucks County Beacon. He has over two decades of journalistic experience. His work has appeared in The Bucks County Courier Times, The Intelligencer, Upside Down World, Common Dreams, TruthOut, and other publications. Today, Cyril joins The Signal as a guest to reflect on the week that Charlie Kirk was killed, the disturbing history of Turning Point USA, the failure of the mainstream media to meet our authoritarian moment, and the role of The Beacon in these turbulent times. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Why Journalists Are Reluctant to Call Trump an Authoritarian – and Why That Matters for Democracy Why Some People Are Pretending About Charlie Kirk’s History and the Truth About This Dangerous Moment White House Working to Criminalize Left-Wing Dissent as ‘Domestic Terror’ in Wake of Charlie Kirk Murder Right-Wing Extremist Violence Is More Frequent and More Deadly Than Left-Wing Violence, Data Shows State Senator Steve Santarsiero: American Democracy Is the Frog and the Water Is Starting to Boil Jimmy Kimmel’s Cancellation Is the Latest Sign We’re Witnessing the End of US Democracy Democracy Requires Our Attention, All The Time Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro Says US Must ‘Turn the Tide’ Against Political Violence, Reject Vengeance Trump Administration Uses Tragic Minneapolis School Shooting to Target Transgender Community Rather Than Strengthen Student Safety Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Journalist Jordan Green on Why the Neo-Nazi Movement Is an Escalating Threat to U.S. Democracy
Jordan Green is an investigative correspondent based in Greensboro, N.C., who covers right-wing extremism for Raw Story. His work has been featured in a host of publications, including the Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The Nation, In These Times and Sojourners. Today he joins us to talk about his recent article in The Assembly “I’ve Seen How the Neo-Nazi Movement Is Escalating. You Should Worry,” and to talk about covering, and being stalked and threatened by neo-Nazi groups, and the threat militant far-right accelerationism poses for the country. Read Jordan’s reporting at the Raw Story here. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: Interview: Solidarity Journalism Can Help the Mainstream Media Restore Public Trust and Strengthen Democracy, with Dr. Anita Varma From Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Bucks County’s Fred Harran: Why ICE 287(g) Partnerships Are So Dangerous, with Jessica Pishko How Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Will Legalize and Deploy Vigilantes to Push Their Agenda, with David Noll Former FBI Agent Who Once Infiltrated Neo-Nazi Groups and Militias Explains Why Law Enforcement Fails to Take Far-Right Extremism Seriously Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Fighting to Finally Raise the Minimum Wage in Pennsylvania – A Conversation With State Rep. Roni Green
State Rep. Roni Green’s professional life has been about helping people climb out of poverty and fighting for working class families. She began her career serving the people as a human services caseworker with the Glendale County Assistance Office, working for nearly two decades to ensure that Philadelphia’s most vulnerable residents have access to a path out of poverty. Her experience has deeply informed her understanding of the systemic causes of economic, social and political inequality. Roni won her first election with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 668 as a Shop Steward and through additional elections held the positions of Philadelphia Chapter 12 Chair, and statewide Secretary/Treasurer based in Harrisburg, while serving as a community and labor organizer for more than 30 years. As a state representative Roni’s priorities include fighting for a living wage and workers’ rights, affordable housing to preserve neighborhoods and ensure that every working family has a home, sensible gun reform to combat the gun violence epidemic, equitable community and economic development that provides opportunities for all, and criminal justice reform with a focus on ending mass incarceration. She joins us today to talk about the current struggle to get lawmakers in the state capital to finally raise the commonwealth’s embarrassing $7.25 per hour minimum wage. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart. ALSO LISTEN TO: Interview: Solidarity Journalism Can Help the Mainstream Media Restore Public Trust and Strengthen Democracy, with Dr. Anita Varma ‘A Fight Fails Without A Dream’: DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta on How The Democratic Party Will Meet This Dangerous Trumpian Moment Larissa Hopwood on the Newly Formed Doylestown Action League and Progressive Activism in Bucks County Interview: Kadida Kenner on Defending Democracy and Voting Rights in Pennsylvania Karen Downer Has Fought Racism Locally Since She Was a Child in Pre-Civil Rights Bucks County Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Photojournalist Michael Nigro on Documenting History as It Happens
Photojournalist Michael Nigro reported a piece for the Bucks County Beacon earlier this month from the streets of Los Angeles which were turned into a war zone after Trump sent in the National Guard and Marines to quash anti-ICE protests. He was actually shot in the head with nonlethal bullet by police, though thankfully he was wearing a helmet. This multimedia journalist based in Brooklyn, New York joins us today to talk about his work and his penchant for documenting world-changing stories that has put him at the forefront of some of the most crucial events of our times, including Occupy Wall Street, Standing Rock, Charlottesville, the Yellow Vest Movement in France, The January 6th Capitol Riots, and three assignments in Ukraine, to name a few. His work has been featured in dozens of publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, Vice, The Intercept, Rolling Stone, and Time Magazine. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart Photo Essay: Trump’s Militarized War on Immigrants Meets Citizen Resistance in Los Angeles, by Michael Nigro Michael’s Website: https://www.nigrotime.com/ Michael’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/nigrotime Follow Michael on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nigrotime/ ALSO LISTEN TO: Interview: Solidarity Journalism Can Help the Mainstream Media Restore Public Trust and Strengthen Democracy, with Dr. Anita Varma From Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Bucks County’s Fred Harran: Why ICE 287(g) Partnerships Are So Dangerous, with Jessica Pishko How Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Will Legalize and Deploy Vigilantes to Push Their Agenda, with David Noll Former FBI Agent Who Once Infiltrated Neo-Nazi Groups and Militias Explains Why Law Enforcement Fails to Take Far-Right Extremism Seriously Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
From Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio to Bucks County’s Fred Harran: Why ICE 287(g) Partnerships Are Dangerous, with Jessica Pishko
Jessica Pishko is a journalist and lawyer with a JD from Harvard Law School and an MFA from Columbia University. She is the author of The Highest Law in the Land: How the Unchecked Power of Sheriffs Threatens Democracy. She has been reporting on the criminal legal system for a decade, with a focus on the political power of sheriffs since 2016. In addition to her newsletter Posse Comitatus, her writings have been featured in The New York Times, Politico, Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, The Appeal, Slate, and Democracy Docket. She has been awarded journalism fellowships from the Pulitzer Center and Type Investigations and was a 2022 New America Fellow. A longtime Texas resident, she currently lives with her family in North Carolina. She joins us today to talk about the ICE 287g program partnering with a growing number of sheriffs departments across the country, including right here in Bucks County, as well as how this development fits within the history of Sheriffs in the United States. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Exclusive: Sheriff Fred Harran Enlists Bucks County in Trump’s Nationwide Immigration Crackdown Bucks County Commissioners Meeting Packed with Residents Fired Up Over Sheriff’s ICE Agreement ACLU Says Sheriff Fred Harran Must Get Bucks County Commissioners’ Approval for Future Partnership with ICE It’s Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran Who Owes the Jewish Community an Apology for His Disingenuous Accusations of Antisemitism ICE Approves Bucks County Sheriff’s ‘Task Force Model’ Partnership, ACLU Lawsuit ‘Forthcoming’ Republican Bucks County Sheriff Fred Harran Calls Local Critics of ICE Agreement ‘Liars’, ACLU ‘Lunatics’ Bucks County Commissioners Vote to Set the Record Straight That the Sheriff Lacks the Legal Authority to Partner with ICE Ballooning Number of ICE Partnerships with Sheriff’s Departments — Like in Bucks County — Leaves Immigrants and Advocates Worried ALSO LISTEN TO: Larissa Hopwood on the Newly Formed Doylestown Action League and Progressive Activism in Bucks County How Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Will Legalize and Deploy Vigilantes to Push Their Agenda, with David Noll Former FBI Agent Who Once Infiltrated Neo-Nazi Groups and Militias Explains Why Law Enforcement Fails to Take Far-Right Extremism Seriously The Growing Fascist Threat To American Democracy, With Jeff Sharlet Karen Downer Has Fought Racism Locally Since She Was a Child in Pre-Civil Rights Bucks County Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Evangelical Support for Trump and Project 2025’s Christian Nationalist and Authoritarian Designs for the Nation Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
CELDF’s Ben Price, Trailblazer in the Rights of Nature Movement, on His New Book, “Wouldn’t You Say: A Collection of Essays About Environment and Community”
On this special Earth Day episode of The Signal, we welcome Ben Price, education director at the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, where he has worked at since 2004. Ben is a trailblazer in the Rights of Nature movement and has a new book out: Wouldn’t You Say? A Collection of Essays About Environment and Community. In this conversation, we discuss his book and how the rights of nature movement challenges us to rethink our relationship with the natural world while calling us to expand our political imaginations to not just dream of what a sustainable, just world looks like – but how each of us can work in our own communities to make that dream a reality. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: Larissa Hopwood on the Newly Formed Doylestown Action League and Progressive Activism in Bucks County Kadida Kenner on Defending Democracy and Voting Rights in Pennsylvania Solidarity Journalism Can Help the Mainstream Media Restore Public Trust and Strengthen Democracy, with Dr. Anita Varma Ralph Young on His New Book ‘American Patriots: A Short History of Dissent’ Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
‘A Fight Fails Without A Dream’: DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta on How The Democratic Party Will Meet This Dangerous Trumpian Moment
Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta was recently elected Vice Chair of the DNC. He joins us today to speak about the Trump administration’s dangerous and disastrous first few months in power and what Democrats are going to do to save our economy, our constitution, our democracy, and our future. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iHeart ALSO LISTEN TO: Larissa Hopwood on the Newly Formed Doylestown Action League and Progressive Activism in Bucks County Kadida Kenner on Defending Democracy and Voting Rights in Pennsylvania Karen Downer Has Fought Racism Locally Since She Was a Child in Pre-Civil Rights Bucks County The Democratic Party Needs a Generational Change in Leadership, with Daily Beast Columnist (and Central Bucks Grad) Rotimi Adeoye Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Larissa "Lolly" Hopwood on the Newly Formed Doylestown Action League and Progressive Bucks County Activism
On this week's episode, we welcome Larissa Hopwood, also known widely as “Lolly,” to the show. Larissa has lived in Bucks County since 1999. In addition to being a local activist and Democratic Committee Person, she's also a children's musician, author, teacher, designer, and proud mother of a trans son. Recently, Larissa co-founded the Doylestown Action League, which has been organizing rallies and community forums in the County Seat. She joins us today to talk about her work with the newly formed Doylestown Action League, Bucks County’s local community of activists and organizers, and how you can get involved in the fight to save our country and democracy in your own neighborhood. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: Kadida Kenner on Defending Democracy and Voting Rights in Pennsylvania Karen Downer Has Fought Racism Locally Since She Was a Child in Pre-Civil Rights Bucks County The Democratic Party Needs a Generational Change in Leadership, with Daily Beast Columnist (and Central Bucks Grad) Rotimi Adeoye This Bucks County Dad Took His Child’s School District to Court to Uncover a Secret Book Banning Scheme Peace Activism from Bucks County to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with Barbara Simmons Raising a Transgender Child in an Increasingly Transphobic Country, with Brett Freeman Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
The Beacon’s Emily Smith Interviews Boston University Geneticist Shoumita Dasgupta on Her New Book, Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins
Shoumita Dasgupta is the daughter of Bengali immigrants, a woman of color in STEM, and a scientist, educator, and geneticist. She is Professor of Medicine and Assistant Dean of Diversity & Inclusion at Boston University, a Fulbright Specialist, and a member of the inaugural cohort of faculty affiliates at the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. Cyril first came across Shoumita’s work when the Beacon republished a piece she wrote for The Conversation entitled “Mass Deportations Don’t Keep Out ‘Bad Genes’: It’s Scientific Racism That’s Used to Justify Xenophobic Immigration Policies.” Well it turns out she grew up in Central PA and was childhood friends with our Publisher Emily Smith. So for today’s special International Women’s Day episode of the Signal, Emily takes over the hosting responsibilities and speaks with Shoumita about her work, and her new book Where Biology Ends and Bias Begins: Lessons on Belonging from Our DNA, which was just published in February. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart READ: Trump’s Executive Orders Seek to Erase Scientific Truth Mass Deportations Don’t Keep Out ‘Bad Genes’: It’s Scientific Racism That’s Used to Justify Xenophobic Immigration Policies Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Kadida Kenner Is Defending Democracy and Voting Rights in Pennsylvania
Kadida Kenner is the founding Chief Executive Officer of the New Pennsylvania Project. Kadida is a tireless advocate for social and economic justice issues and is motivated to empower and excite the electorate to enthusiastically vote in every election — all the way down the entire ballot. Kadida has led efforts to stop the passage of a judicial gerrymandering constitutional amendment, raise the minimum wage, fairly fund public education, protect federal courts from problematic judicial nominees, and protect the state courts from extremist attempts to undermine their independence. Kadida also serves as co-chair of Why Courts Matter – Pennsylvania, an advocacy campaign of the New Pennsylvania Project, seeking to protect the independence of our state and federal courts and educate the electorate about their importance. I first spoke to Kadida Kenner 3.5 years ago when I was writing a progressive column for the conservative Bucks County Courier Times when her voting rights organization the New Pennsylvania Project had just launched. Since then her group has grown to 65 full- and part-time staffers across the commonwealth, and Kadida and her colleagues tireless advocacy in defense of democracy and voting rights is needed now more than ever. She joins us today on The Signal to talk about her lifelong journey in civil rights activism and what the New Pennsylvania Project is currently working on in order to defend, expand, and strengthen voting rights and voter engagement across the state. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: Author Elaine Weiss on the Four Little-Known Activists Who Were the ‘Beating Heart’ of the Civil Rights Movement Karen Downer Has Fought Racism Locally Since She Was a Child in Pre-Civil Rights Bucks County Black History Is a History of Resistance and Liberation, with Rann Miller Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Elaine Weiss on Her New Book ‘Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools That Built the Civil Rights Movement’
Elaine Weiss is an award-winning journalist, author, and public speaker. She is the author of The Woman’s Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote and Fruits of Victory: The Woman’s Land Army of the Great War. She joins us today to talk about Her new book, Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools That Built the Civil Rights Movement, which comes out March 4th. Her book, which tells the story about how four ordinary citizens through social movement organizing affect change, offers valuable lessons for today as the country finds itself engaged in a new Jim Crow moment and a renewed battle over civil rights. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: Karen Downer Has Fought Racism Locally Since She Was a Child in Pre-Civil Rights Bucks County Black History Is a History of Resistance and Liberation, with Rann Miller Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Karen Downer Has Fought Racism Locally Since She Was a Child in Pre-Civil Rights Bucks County
Karen Downer recently stepped down as president of Bucks County NAACP after holding the position for six years. In this conversation, Downer shares her experiences growing up as a Black girl in Bucks County, her early involvement in civil rights activism, and her leadership role and work with the local NAACP. She discusses the challenges faced by the Black (and broader) community, particularly in education and policing. She emphasizes the importance of allyship and inclusivity in the ongoing fight for civil rights and racial justice. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: Black History Is a History of Resistance and Liberation, with Rann Miller How Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Will Legalize and Deploy Vigilantes to Push Their Agenda, with David Noll Former FBI Agent Who Once Infiltrated Neo-Nazi Groups and Militias Explains Why Law Enforcement Fails to Take Far-Right Extremism Seriously Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
The Money, Lies and God Behind the Authoritarian and Fascist Movement Seeking to Destroy American Democracy, with Katherine Stewart
Katherine Stewart is the author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, the award-winning book upon which the documentary feature, God & Country, produced by Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner, is based. She has covered the intersection of faith and politics for over 15 years; her work appears in the New York Times, The Washington Post, the New Republic, the Guardian, and Religion News Service and she has been featured on broadcast media outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, and NPR. Her 2012 book, The Good News Club, covered the religious right’s effort to infiltrate and undermine public education. On Feb. 18th Stewart’s explosive follow-up to her 2020 book The Power Worshippers will be published. MONEY, LIES, AND GOD: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy “exposes the inner workings of the ‘engine of unreason’ roiling American culture and politics, but aims at a bigger and more challenging target: how did we get to the point where there is an organized political movement within the United States that is working to destroy American Democracy? Furthermore, why have so many Americans turned against democracy? Stewart takes readers to conferences of conspiracy-mongers, backroom strategy gatherings, and services at extremist houses of worship, and profiles the people who want to tear it all down. She introduces us to reactionary Catholic activists, atheist billionaires, pseudo-Platonist intellectuals, self-appointed apostles of Jesus, disciples of Ayn Rand, women-hating opponents of ‘the gynocracy,’ pronatalists preoccupied with the dearth of white babies, Covid truthers, militia members masquerading as “concerned moms” and battalions of spirit warriors who appear to be inventing a new style of religion even as they set about attacking democracy at its foundations.” Katherine joins us today to talk about her new book and the role Christian nationalism and the Christian right play in this broader, and ascendent authoritarian and fascist movement that has democracy in its crosshairs – both in the U.S. and abroad. Listen on Apple, Spotify, and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: How Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Will Legalize and Deploy Vigilantes to Push Their Agenda, with David Noll Former FBI Agent Who Once Infiltrated Neo-Nazi Groups and Militias Explains Why Law Enforcement Fails to Take Far-Right Extremism Seriously The Growing Fascist Threat To American Democracy, With Jeff Sharlet The New Apostolic Reformation: A Revolutionary Theocratic Movement Coming For Pennsylvania, The Nation, And The World Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Evangelical Support for Trump and Project 2025’s Christian Nationalist and Authoritarian Designs for the Nation The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Why Solidarity Journalism Can Help Restore Trust in Mainstream Media and Strengthen Democracy, with Dr. Anita Varma
Dr. Anita Varma is an assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Media at UT Austin where she focuses on media ethics. She leads the Solidarity Journalism Initiative at the university’s Center for Media Engagement. She received her Ph.D. in Communication from Stanford University, and her dissertation, Solidarity in Action: A Case Study of Journalistic Humanizing Techniques in the San Francisco Homeless Project, received the inaugural Penn State Davis Ethics Award. Her research, teaching, and public engagement all focus on the role of solidarity in journalism. She believes journalism can help change the world for the better, and dedicates herself to helping journalists do their best work. Anita joins us today to discuss the mainstream media’s credibility crisis and how solidarity journalism offers a way forward for the media industry to build public trust, strengthen democracy and better serve its audiences. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart SOLIDARITY JOURNALISM RESOURCES: The Center for Media Engagement - Solidarity Journalism Mainstream Media Faces a Credibility Crisis – My Journalism Research Shows How the News Can Still Serve the Public, by Dr. Anita Varma Life and Death of the American Worker: The Immigrants Taking on America's Largest Meatpacking Company, by Alice Driver The Defender Handbook, by The Kansas City Defender and the Reynolds Journalism Institute Tahera Rahman Cecilia Lei 285 South The Texas Tribune Outlier Media Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
Former FBI Agent Mike German Explains Why Law Enforcement Fails to Take Far-Right Extremism Seriously, Even Within Its Own Ranks
Mike German is a fellow with the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School. He has worked at the ACLU and served sixteen years as an FBI special agent, 12 of which he was tasked with combating domestic terrorism, sometimes going undercover and infiltrating white supremacist groups and militias. German is the author of Thinking Like a Terrorist as well as Disrupt, Discredit, and Divide: How the New FBI Damages Our Democracy. Today, he joins us to talk about his new book Policing White Supremacy: The Enemy Within, which comes out Jan. 7. In it, he urges law enforcement to prioritize combatting far-right violence and to finally end tolerance for racism and extremism within its ranks. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: How Donald Trump and the MAGA Movement Will Legalize and Deploy Vigilantes to Push Their Agenda, with David Noll The Growing Fascist Threat To American Democracy, With Jeff Sharlet BBC News Reporter Mike Wendling on His New Book ‘Day of Reckoning: The Far Right’s War on Democracy’ Interview with Alan Jenkins, author of 1/6: The Graphic Novel Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
How Donald Trump Will Deploy Vigilantes to Enforce His MAGA Agenda on America, with Rutgers University’s David Noll
David Noll is a professor of law at Rutgers University. An academic fellow of the National Institute for Civil Justice, his writing has appeared in The New York Times, Slate, the New York Law Journal, and many others. He clerked for Judges Pierre N. Leval and Raymond J. Lohier Jr. on the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and Judge Richard J. Holwell on the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. He joins us to talk about his new book, which he co-authored with Jon Michaels - VIGILANTE NATION: How State-Sponsored Terror Threatens Our Democracy. We discuss the history of vigilantism in the country and how we can expect the second Trump Administration, with the help of the Christian right, to continue to normalize and legalize vigilante activities in order to serve and enforce this new militant, MAGA, political moment we find ourselves in after this past election. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: The Growing Fascist Threat To American Democracy, With Jeff Sharlet The New Apostolic Reformation: A Revolutionary Theocratic Movement Coming For Pennsylvania, The Nation, And The World The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Evangelical Support for Trump and Project 2025’s Christian Nationalist and Authoritarian Designs for the Nation BBC News Reporter Mike Wendling on His New Book ‘Day of Reckoning: The Far Right’s War on Democracy’ Interview with Alan Jenkins, author of 1/6: The Graphic Novel From the ‘Shadow Network’ to Christian Nationalists’ ‘Bad Faith’, with Journalist Anne Nelson Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on BlueSky: @buckscountybeacon.bsky.social @cmychalejko.bsky.social @rcpress.bsky.social
The Signal | The Democratic Party Needs Generational Change in Leadership, with The Daily Beast Columnist Rotimi Adeoye
Rotimi Adeoye is a writer and Opinion Columnist at The Daily Beast, covering topics such as American history, voting rights, and constitutional law. He has appeared on MSNBC and various podcasts, and his writing and advocacy have been featured in Teen Vogue, MSNBC, The New Republic, The American Prospect, and Axios. With a background as a speechwriter for the American Civil Liberties Union and on Capitol Hill for Congressman Kildee, Chief Deputy Whip of the House Democratic Caucus under then-Speaker Pelosi, Rotimi has extensive experience in politics and advocacy. Rotimi lives in Philadelphia, holds a degree in Political Science from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and is pursuing a law degree at Temple Beasley School of Law. He is also a Bucks County native from the Central Bucks School District. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart Rotimi’s List of Local Young Democrats to Follow: Annie Wu: @Annie_wu_22 Connor OHanlon: @con_ohanlon Laura Shadle: @laurashadlepa Andre D. Carroll: @andredcarroll Malcolm Kenyatta: @malcolmkenyatta PA Young Dems: @payoungdems ALSO LISTEN TO: Building a Greater Society: A Guide to Political Revolution for Millennials & Generation Z, with Connor OHanlon
The Signal | From the ‘Shadow Network’ to Christian Nationalists' ‘Bad Faith’, with Journalist Anne Nelson
Anne Nelson is an award-winning author and journalist who has published a wide range of works dealing with human rights and freedom of expression. Her most recent book is Shadow Network: Media, Money, and the Secret Hub of the Radical Right, which describes the alliance of billionaires and Christian Nationalists who helped bring Trump to power. Today Anne joins us to talk about her book Shadow Network and the new documentary which she helped produce, Bad Faith. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: The Growing Fascist Threat To American Democracy, With Jeff Sharlet The New Apostolic Reformation: A Revolutionary Theocratic Movement Coming For Pennsylvania, The Nation, And The World The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Evangelical Support for Trump and Project 2025’s Christian Nationalist and Authoritarian Designs for the Nation BBC News Reporter Mike Wendling on His New Book ‘Day of Reckoning: The Far Right’s War on Democracy’ Interview with Alan Jenkins, author of 1/6: The Graphic Novel Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on Twitter: @BucksCoBeacon @cmychalejko @RCpress
The Signal | Is Donald Trump Mentally Unfit to Be Commander in Chief?, with Steve Nolan
On this week’s episode of the Signal we welcome back Bucks County’s Steve Nolan. Steve spent 30 years in the military and 25 years as a mental health professional. He is the author of the 2020 book American Carnage, An Officer’s Duty to Warn, and today Steve is here to warn us again about why Trump, who checks the boxes for Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder, is mentally unfit for the presidency, or even to be a private in the military. Steve has published in numerous journals and his poetry was featured on National Public Radio, Morning Edition, upon his return from Afghanistan in 2007. He is also the author of the books Go Deep, and Base Camp. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart Host Cyril Mychalejko’s 5 Book Recommendations to Further Shine a Light on the Issue The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President - Updated and Expanded with New Essays, by Bandy X. Lee, M.D., M.Div., Organizer of Yale's "Duty to Warn" Conference The Cult of Trump A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control, by Steven Hassan Trump on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President, by Justin A. Frank, MD Unthinkable: Trauma, Truth, and the Trials of American Democracy, by Jamie Raskin The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War, by Jeff Sharlet
The Signal | Interview with Alan Jenkins, author of 1/6: The Graphic Novel
Alan Jenkins is a writer, Harvard law professor, and human rights advocate. He and co-author Gan Golan, along with illustrator Will Rosado, led the creation of the graphic novel series 1/6, which asks the question: What if the Jan.6 insurrectionist attack on the US capitol had been successful? In the tradition of speculative fiction from George Orwell’s 1984 to Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, it explores themes of autocracy, scapegoating, strategic disinformation, and more, all of which we are still dealing with as a nation. Alan joins us today to talk about this really informative and critical series, which just released its second issue, and how he and his team are sending copies to schools all across Pennsylvania. Visit: https://onesixcomicsstore.com/ Jenkins teaches courses on Race and the Law, Communication, and Supreme Court Jurisprudence. Before joining the Law School faculty, he was President and Co-Founder of The Opportunity Agenda, a social justice communication lab. His prior positions have included Assistant to the Solicitor General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he represented the United States government in constitutional and other litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court; Director of Human Rights at the Ford Foundation, where he managed grantmaking in the United States and eleven overseas regions; and Associate Counsel to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, where he defended the rights of low-income communities facing exploitation and discrimination. He previously served as a Law Clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun and to U.S. District Court Judge Robert L. Carter. Jenkins is a frequent commentator in broadcast, print, and digital media on topics ranging from Supreme Court decision making to racial equity to the role of popular culture in social change. His past Board service includes New York Public Radio, the Center for Community Change, the Legal Action Center, and Futuro Media Group, as well as the Board of Governors of the New School for Public Engagement. He has also served on the Selection Committee for the Sundance Documentary Fund. Jenkins holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School, an M.A. in Media Studies from the New School for Public Engagement, and a B.A. in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard College. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart ALSO LISTEN TO: The Growing Fascist Threat To American Democracy, With Jeff Sharlet The New Apostolic Reformation: A Revolutionary Theocratic Movement Coming For Pennsylvania, The Nation, And The World The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart Kristin Kobes Du Mez on Evangelical Support for Trump and Project 2025’s Christian Nationalist and Authoritarian Designs for the Nation BBC News Reporter Mike Wendling on His New Book ‘Day of Reckoning: The Far Right’s War on Democracy’ The Signal is produced by Kevin Mahoney, Raging Chicken Media. Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on Twitter: @BucksCoBeacon @cmychalejko @RCpress
The Signal | Keystone Newsroom Political Correspondent Sean Kitchen on the Democratic National Convention
Sean Kitchen is the Keystone Newsroom’s political correspondent. The Keystone is a Pennsylvania-based newsroom of local editors and reporters with a modern take on sharing information and telling stories that impact our communities. The Keystone is owned and operated by COURIER, a pro-democracy news network that is building a more informed, engaged, and representative America by reaching audiences where they are online with factual, values-driven news and analysis at the local and national level. Sean joins us after just getting back from Chicago where he covered the Democratic National Convention. He talks to us about the DNC and the presidential race moving forward. Subscribe to the Keystone’s newsletter: https://keystonenewsroom.com/newsletter/ Follow Sean on Twitter: https://x.com/pennslinger Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart The Signal is produced by Kevin Mahoney, Raging Chicken Media. Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on Twitter: @BucksCoBeacon @cmychalejko @RCpress
The Signal | From Jesus to John Wayne and Donald Trump to Project 2025. A Conversation with Kristin Kobes Du Mez About MAGA Evangelicals
Kristin Kobes Du Mez is Professor of History and Gender Studies at Calvin University. She holds a PhD from the University of Notre Dame and her research focuses on the intersection of gender, religion, and politics. She has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Religion News Service, and Christianity Today and has been interviewed on NPR, CBS, and the BBC, among other outlets. Her most recent book is Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation. Kristin joins us today to talk about her book, evangelical support for Trump, and how Project 2025 looks to advance the MAGA-evangelical movement’s broader goals to transform the nation. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart Subscribe to Kristin's newsletter here: https://kristindumez.substack.com/ Host Cyril Mychalejko’s 5 Book Recommendations to Further Shine a Light on the Issue American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times, by André Gagné The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism, by Tim Alberta The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America, by Frances Fitzgerald The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, by Katherine Stewart American Idolatry: How Christian Nationalism Betrays The Gospel And Threatens The Church, by Andrew L. Whitehead ALSO LISTEN TO: EPISODE 5 – The Growing Fascist Threat To American Democracy, With Jeff Sharlet EPISODE 7 – Understanding Backlash Politics And Religious Conservatives Inciting School Board Wars, With PRRI’s Melissa Deckman EPISODE 12 – The New Apostolic Reformation: A Revolutionary Theocratic Movement Coming For Pennsylvania, The Nation, And The World EPISODE 18 - The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart EPISODE 19 - A Conversation with André Gagné About His Book ‘American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times’ The Signal is produced by Kevin Mahoney, Raging Chicken Media. Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on Twitter: @BucksCoBeacon @cmychalejko @RCpress
The Signal | How the Corporate Poverty Complex Profiteers Off of Poor Americans, with Anne Kim
Anne Kim is a writer, lawyer, and public policy expert with a long career in Washington, DC-based think tanks working in and around Capitol Hill. She is a contributing editor at Washington Monthly, where she was a senior writer. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, Governing, TheAtlantic.com, the Wall Street Journal, Democracy, and numerous other publications. Today Anne joins us to talk about her new book Poverty for Profit: How Corporations Get Rich off America’s Poor. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart Host Cyril Mychalejko’s 5 Book Recommendations to Further Shine a Light on Public Education in America The Guarantee Inside the Fight for America’s Next Economy, by Natalie Foster Regulating the Poor: The Functions of Public Welfare, by Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward America: What Went Wrong?, Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele Poverty, by America, by Matthew Desmond Why Americans Hate Welfare: Race, Media, and the Politics of Antipoverty Policy, by Martin Gilens. The Signal is produced by Kevin Mahoney, Raging Chicken Media. Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on Twitter: @BucksCoBeacon @cmychalejko @RCpress
The Signal | This Bucks County Dad Took His Child’s School District to Court to Uncover a Secret Book Banning Scheme
Darren Laustsen has lived in Bucks County for over 35 years. He became involved in local politics after witnessing right wing extremism consume his daughters’ school district. Darren is an outspoken voice in support of public education and against Moms For Liberty. He testified in Harrisburg in support of anti-book banning legislation and took the Pennridge School District to court uncovering a secret book banning operation initiated by school board members. Today Darren joins us to talk about his activism in defense of public education and students’ freedom to read. Listen on Apple, Spotify, Google and iheart Read Darren’s Articles: Why I’m Taking Pennridge School District To Court In Pennridge School District, Books Once Shadow Banned Are Now in the Trash Can Uncovering the Cover-up: How Republican Pennridge School Board Directors Secretly Banned Books Also Listen To: EPISODE 2 – The Merchants of Deception: The Dark Money and Front Groups Behind School Privatization, with Maurice Cunningham EPISODE 6 – The Right’s Long War On Public Education, With Jennifer Berkshire EPISODE 7 – Understanding Backlash Politics And Religious Conservatives Inciting School Board Wars, With PRRI’s Melissa Deckman EPISODE 10 – Raising A Transgender Child In An Increasingly Transphobic Country, With Brett Freeman EPISODE 11 – Unmasking Moms For Liberty’s Extremism, With Olivia Little And Diana Leygerman EPISODE 21 – Understanding the Nation’s Mounting Book Banning Crisis in Public Schools, with PEN America’s Sabrina Baêta EPISODE 30 – ‘The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual’, with Jennifer Berkshire and Jack Schneider The Signal is produced by Kevin Mahoney, Raging Chicken Media. Music by Maf é Tulà and Cartas a Felice, "La Loca." Panela Music. Follow us on Twitter: @BucksCoBeacon @cmychalejko @RCpress