Friends, today’s episode is a powerhouse! We’ve got Sharon McMahon, aka “America’s Government Teacher,” bringing some serious wisdom from her new book, "The Small and the Mighty." Even the drafters of the Constitution worried about chaos, but they hoped for better things—and Sharon’s here to show us how twelve lesser-known heroes in American history made a huge impact on democracy. She’s drawing parallels to how we can still shape our future today, no matter how small we feel. Get ready to be inspired, y’all! Let’s dive in! In this hope-filled chat: Jen and Amy muse around which historical figures they would most like to meet and we get a glimpse of their preferred election night routines Sharon highlights the arc of her career from an award-winning yarn influencer known as the Yarnista, to a photographer, to “America’s Government Teacher” We discuss the need for reliable sources of factual information in a world filled to the brim with fake news and disinformation Sharon explains why we shouldn’t sit out during state and local elections We talk about a variety of ways to engage in democracy beyond just voting And Sharon fields questions from members of our audience. *** Thought-provoking Quotes: “We’re all tired, we’re exhausted from the endless partisanship and the fake news and the disinformation and vitriol.” – Jen Hatmaker “I started noticing that there were a lot of people that were just really confidently wrong on the internet, saying things like ‘the electoral college is a university you can graduate from’.”– Sharon McMahon “There’s a big list of people, especially women, who never, ever get the credit when it comes to the civil rights movement – it’s the attorneys, it's the Thurgood Marshalls, it’s the Freddie Grays,  it’s the Martin Luther Kings.,and, of course, what they did is incredibly important but… there are a lot of women with whom this hot air balloon does not get off the ground. There is no leaving the ground without the significant contributions of women.” – Sharon McMahon “We have to stop viewing this as a zero sum game in which our enemies must be defeated or destroyed. That’s an onramp to dictatorship.” – Sharon McMahon “There are many ways to be involved in democracy. It’s not just voting and running for office. There’s not one prescription for how to be involved. Do things you are good at and contribute in your own way. We can’t all be parade goers.” – Sharon McMahon “We tend to put all of our eggs in this basket of who will win the presidential election but who gets elected in your state matters so much. The things that really affect your daily life are defined at the state and local level.” – Sharon McMahon Resources Mentioned in This Episode: The Henry Fite House of Baltimore - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Fite_House The Angry Trout Cafe, Grand Mariais, MN - https://www.angrytroutcafe.com/ The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, from the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement by Sharon McMahon - https://amzn.to/3NsoqjI Guest’s Links: Sharon’s website - https://sharonmcmahon.com/ Sharon’s Newsletter, The Preamble - https://thepreamble.com/ Sharon’s Governerds Book Club - https://sharonmcmahon.com/products/governerds-insider Sharon’s Here’s Where It Gets Interesting Podcast - https://sharonmcmahon.com/podcast Sharon’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/sharonsaysso Sharon’s Twitter - https://x.com/sharon_says_so Sharon’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sharonsaysso/ Sharon’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@sharonsaysso Connect with Jen! Jen’s website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this engaging conversation, actress, activist, and all-around beautiful human, Yvette Nicole Brown, gives us a lesson on the fundamental importance of joy, the blessings of caregiving, and the significance of community support. Through an exploration of Yvettes’ career, first in the music business, and now in the entertainment industry, she and Jen and Amy discuss the many challenges that face black women today while also talking about one of black women’s greatest superpowers – the sisterhood that exists among them. They lean into how white women can learn to harness that power in their relationships, too, and the things that can be done to support their sisters of color right now. Yvette also reflects on her personal life as a devoted caregiver, and dishes for a moment about the beauty of finding love in your late 50s. *** Thought-provoking Quotes: “I don’t know as a kid that I ever thought that I would be a star. I always felt that I would be impactful in people's lives in some way because of the way that I love people.” – Yvette Nicole Brown “I am still pinching myself. I’m Forrest Gump in the flesh – in real life – because I just say yes to things that feel right and God just takes me to the next opportunity to do the same.” – Yvette Nicole Brown “That’s why black women are always so close with each other because whenever you see a ‘sista’, you know her story, without knowing her story. That’s why we call each other ‘sista’, because we know what she’s been through. Same thing with black men. ‘Brotha’. ‘Sista’. We know what the other person has been through and we stand with each other and support each other. But here’s the thing, we stand with and support everybody else too. And that’s why we say ‘vote like black women, think like black women’. That’s not hubris. That’s not arrogance. That’s heart. That’s soul.” – Yvette Nicole Brown “When it comes to anything that comes up in the news, culture, current events, whatever’s going on, if I feel even a modicum of uncertainty about how to feel about it, I just look to the black women. It’s the correct reading of the room. The response is always for the greater good. It’s what’s good for culture, for people, our neighbors, progress, equality.” – Jen Hatmaker “Instead of me showing you my pain, I’m going to use my joy as my strength and I’m going to dance and laugh through this thing.” – Yvette Nicole Brown Resources Mentioned in This Episode: I Take My Coffee Black: Reflections on Tupac, Musical Theater, Faith, and Being Black in America by Tyler Merritt - https://amzn.to/3U6nMfN Yvette’s acting and producing credits - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1304328/ Kamala Harris for President - https://kamalaharris.com/ How Black Women Organizers Broke Zoom to Raise $1.5 Million - Fortune.com  K-Pops by Anderson .Paak at Toronto International Film Festival - https://tiff.net/events/k-pops Frasier - https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/frasier-2023/ Among Us - https://www.innersloth.com/voice-cast-for-the-among-us-animated-series-round-1/ Donors Choose - https://www.donorschoose.org/ The Creative Coalition Commission on Caregiving - https://thecreativecoalition.org/caregiving/ Emily’s List Guest’s Links: Yvette’s website - http://www.actressyvettenicolebrown.com/ Yvette’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/yvettenicolebrown Yvette’s Twitter - https://x.com/ynb Yvette’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/YvetteNBrown/ Yvette’s Squeezed Docupodcast - https://lemonadamedia.com/show/squeezed/ Connect with Jen! Jen’s website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ Jen’s Instagram - https://instagram.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s Twitter - https://twitter.com/jenHatmaker/ Jen’s Facebook - https://facebook.com/jenhatmaker Jen’s YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/JenHatmaker The For the Love Podcast is presented by Audacy. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week Jen and Amy sit down with the charismatic and engaging Stanley Tucci, to discuss his new book, 'What I Ate in One Year', that explores the deep connections we can find amongst the food we eat, the memories we make, and the emotions we feel and how our cultural practices around food can provide fuel for us, not just in times of celebration, but can also provide us comfort in times of grief. Stanley reflects on how food plays a role in both joyous and difficult moments, emphasizing the importance of sharing meals with loved ones, hoping that readers will find comfort and connection through his work, especially in a time when we are all experiencing more loneliness and disconnection. *** Thought-provoking Quotes: "You're such a Renaissance man." – Jen Hatmaker "I like it so much more when we all eat together." – Stanley Tucci "Food is just a part of life, which means it's a part of death too." – Stanley Tucci “When somebody brings me bread, that’s my person. Let’s get married.” – Jen Hatmaker “Even if you’re in a really shitty place, even if the food is terrible, but you’re eating with people that you love, it’ll be a memorable meal.” – Stanley Tucci “I don’t want to eat a well done burger. I’d rather eat an extra side of fries.” – Jen Hatmaker “Eating outdoors makes things taste better. Why is that? I don’t know but the place is crucial…in a weird way. It can change the taste of things.” – Stanley Tucci “We think that in the moment we’re going to remember something forever but we don't. It just slips away. Even just writing your story down for you has meaning.” – Jen Hatmaker Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Stanley Tucci’s new book 'What I Ate in One Year' - https://amzn.to/484rxb2 Big Night (1996) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115678/ CNN Show: Searching for Italy - https://www.cnn.com/shows/stanley-tucci-searching-for-italy Stanley Tucci makes a Negroni for his wife, Felicity - https://bit.ly/4h2L9QW The Devil Wears Prada (2006) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458352/ Stanley Tucci’s film bio - https://imdb.to/3YgfeW2 Stanley Tucci’s theater bio - https://playbill.com/person/stanley-tucci-vault-0000019856 Taste: My Life Through Food by Stanley Tucci - https://amzn.to/4f08P6Y Guest’s Links: Stanley’s Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/StanleyTucci Stanley’s Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/stanleytucci/ Stanley’s TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@stanley.tucci Connect with Jen! Jen’s website - https://jenhatmaker.com/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Named a best podcast of 2023 by Vulture, Time, The Economist, & Vogue. No question too big, no question too small. On Search Engine, host PJ Vogt answers the kinds of questions you might ask the internet when you can't sleep. If you find the world bewildering, but also sometimes enjoy being bewildered by it, we're here for you. Edited by Sruthi Pinnamaneni. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices