In 2018, Jessica Yellin founded News Not Noise. She’d spent 17 years working in TV news (including as CNN’s Chief White House correspondent) and through those years, she learned that traditional news media is really good at generating anxiety and ratings. What it isn’t so good at is helping people understand what’s really going on (at least, not without a daily panic attack). What we really needed was… well, the news without the noise.

Meanwhile, around that same time, Katie Paris was seeing similar shortcomings in politics itself. Pundits out of Washington, D.C. were trapped in the way things had “always been done,” while Katie was seeing suburban women across the country getting together to make real change in their communities — not just following marching orders from D.C.

When you think about it like that, of course it makes perfect sense that News Not Noise and Red Wine & Blue would collaborate!

The news media has long been under attack by the Trump administration. He’s explicitly called journalists “the enemy of the people,” verbally attacked reporters (especially women), and his latest ridiculous move is launching a new page on the actual White House website called “Media Offender of the Week.”

We’re all for thoughtful media criticism, but this partisan and deeply unserious web page insulting “Democrats and Fake News Media” is… not that.

It’s why we’re so grateful to journalists like Jessica for bringing us political news in a way that helps us understand what actually matters and what’s a mere distraction. Without knowing what’s going on, after all, how can we make a plan to fix it? As the saying goes, “when you know better, you do better.”

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

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This week is Thanksgiving, so we're celebrating gratitude with the RWB fam. We heard from our colleagues about what they're grateful for this year -- from brave kids walking out over ICE to the work we get to do every day to the joys of a good book.

That's not to say that we're not also pissed off! Trump's latest misogynistic jibe (calling a female reporter "piggy") has Katie and LaFonda fuming. But the response we're seeing online from other women and the ways that our communities are standing up to extremism across the country give us hope.

We can hold many things at the same time. 2025 has been an unbelievably difficult year, but it's also been full of moments that make us grateful. We hope you have a safe and happy holiday and we'll see you next week.

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

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As an introvert and first-generation immigrant who moved to her city right before Covid, Lily didn’t know many of her neighbors. But this year, she was inspired to help deliver meals for a local food bank. Once she started hearing the stories of the families she was helping, she says her heart was touched and she was motivated to do more.

She organized a group of volunteers to help even more families in need, meeting so many “like-minded and like-hearted people” in the process. “It’s really a dream team,” she said, “and we work together so well because everyone is so focused on the goal, which is to serve these families.”

That would be an inspiring enough story on its own, but there was an even bigger twist waiting for her.

Lily was unfortunately laid off from her job a few weeks ago. That same day, while stocking a community fridge, she talked to the founder of the food bank who assured her that they had her back. “Don’t worry,” the founder told her. “You know we have good food, and you’re covered.”

This is truly the spirit of mutual aid: one day we’re helping our community and the next day they’re helping us. It’s not a bunch of wealthy “ladies who lunch” sipping champagne and deciding who to bestow their charity on today. It’s about all of us lifting each other up… together.

If you have a little extra time, money, or food this holiday season, we encourage you to share it with your community just like Lily.

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

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Extremism lost big in Pennsylvania last week, from ICE-loving sheriffs to the State Supreme Court to school boards across the commonwealth. And it didn’t happen because of pundits on cable news or DC-based strategists. It happened because regular Pennsylvanians stepped up, ran for office, and talked to their neighbors and friends about what was on the line.

This week on the pod, we’re joined by Sherry Luce, our PA Program Director, and Stacy Kunkel, our PA Deputy Program Director. They shared some inspiring stories from the ground, like a couple of moms who decided to set up their own tripod to stream their local school board meetings to show their neighbors how extremist their school board had become. And last Tuesday night, their efforts paid off! They won five seats and their school board is now full of common sense candidates who care more about kids than culture wars.

Sherry and Stacy are also our favorite “self-care resisters,” as LaFonda puts it. But their conversation shows that there’s no one way to balance work and self-care. No matter what, community is at the heart of it all.

We hope you enjoy today’s episode and are as inspired as we were by the amazing work being done in Pennsylvania!

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media!

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By now, you’ve probably heard that Democrats won big across the country last night. From Governor and Lt. Governor in Virginia to Proposition 50 in California to school boards and city councils across the country, the people made their voices heard. And some of the biggest swings, especially in Virginia, were amongst suburban women.

This win goes far beyond the races that were on the ballot last night. This is a win for every American who wants to preserve democracy, common sense, and decency.

Ever since the devastating losses in 2024, we’ve been saying “when they go low, we go local.” Some people were skeptical — how could “going local” stop ICE from invading our cities? Or Trump from cutting food stamps for children? But it was about planting seeds. Those seeds have already grown into some pretty incredible results… who knows what our harvest in 2026 or 2028 will look like?

The work doesn’t end, but we all deserve a little rest. In fact, we deserve to rest and celebrate! So let’s take a moment and feel all the feelings. Let’s thank someone who worked on a campaign or turned out their friends to vote. Today reminds us what’s possible. Even in the face of all the darkness this year has brought, we can shine our own light. And when we shine together, there’s no stopping us.

We’ll be sharing more wins and inspiring stories over the coming weeks. Celebrate, get some rest, and stay tuned!

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media!

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Last Wednesday, Red Wine & Blue was joined by Heather Cox Richardson for a virtual rally that celebrated America. After all, MAGA doesn’t own patriotism or the flag — and the No Kings protests last month were anything but “hate America rallies.” Exercising our First Amendment rights and protecting democracy against authoritarianism is as patriotic as it gets!

We wanted to build on that momentum to get us through election day, so we held our own Love America Rally last Wednesday night. And we weren’t just joined by Heather that night — tens of thousands of women were on the call to celebrate America. We hope you’re as inspired by Heather’s words as we were.

Tomorrow is election day! Make sure that you vote and that everyone you know votes too. This is our America and tomorrow is our chance to start taking it back.

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

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This week on the pod, we were joined by a Virginia mom named Andrea. For years, she thought she hated politics — she says it just seemed like a reason for “people to be mean to each other.” But as last year’s election drew closer, she noticed that her friends and family weren’t talking about it. Everyone said they were too exhausted after the first Trump presidency.

Andrea understood the feeling (who isn’t exhausted by Trump??), but she couldn’t stand by and do nothing. So she started a TroubleNation group called NoVA Childless Cat Ladies. At first, all they did was write postcards, but she used those get-togethers to talk about their shared values and how they could support marginalized groups in their area. Now, a year later, Childless Cat Ladies has more than 100 members!

It feels like we were just here — on the cusp of an election, not knowing which way things will go. If you’re feeling a bit of PTSD, you’re not alone. This year’s elections are getting a lot less press and attention than 2024, but local elections are SO important. From the governor and attorney general of Virginia to school boards and mayors and ballot propositions across the country, we have the opportunity to protect our neighbors next Tuesday. And, as a bonus, we can kick off a blue wave that’ll take us through next year’s midterms.

If you want to join Red Wine & Blue and Heather Cox Richardson for a virtual Love America Rally on Wednesday 10/29 at 7:30pm ET, you can learn more and RSVP here.

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media!

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This week on the pod, we were so excited to talk to Karen Walrond. She’s the author of books like The Lightmaker’s Manifesto, Radiant Rebellion, and In Defense of Dabbling. Her words about the importance of kindness, self-compassion, activism, and even anger were exactly what we needed to hear coming out of this past weekend of joyful protests.

Our mission here is to help women make a difference in their communities without losing their shit, and the subtitle of The Lightmaker’s Manifesto is actually “How To Work For Change Without Losing Your Joy,” so clearly we had to get her on the show as soon as we could!

In the interview, she emphasized the natural rhythm and cadence to activism. Anger can be a useful spark, but kindness and love are what keep the fire going. Rest and recreation (re-creation) aren’t optional — they’re necessary to keep getting up every day and fighting for our values. When our neighbors need to take a breath, we can speak up in their place. And when we need a moment to rest, we can trust that they’ll step in for us. “Activism” might sound overwhelming, but much like the No Kings rallies, it isn’t actually scary. It can be a beautiful intersection of self-care and community.

As Karen says, “Joy comes from intention, self-compassion is a non-negotiable, and kindness is a power move.” We couldn’t agree more.

For a transcript of this episode, please email comms@redwine.blue.

You can learn more about us at www.redwine.blue or follow us on social media!

Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA

Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA

YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA