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SPEAKER 2
I'm very excited to be doing it here for everybody and to do this inaugural one with the remarkable Shannon Watts. You all know who she is, but I'm going to say quickly, founder of Moms Demand Action and one of the most uniquely inspiring activists I know alive today. Shannon, you're just a remarkable force and thank you for
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SPEAKER 1
doing this or no Jessica I mean I just I want to say that I feel the same way about you and you are so remarkable news not noise is my go-to at all times because I don't want to panic but I also want the facts and I also think you are just so good
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at taking policies and and data and making it so understandable and actionable so you're you're my news hero thank you I love it

Post Election Debrief: Where do we go from here? With Shannon Watts

A conversation about the election, the future, and staying spirited and engaged

This week I did my first Substack live — in conversation with Shannon Watts of Moms Demand Action. Shannon shared her wisdom for learning lessons, building a way forward and practicing hope as a discipline. The live was easy and got a ton of engagement so we will do more of these going forward. If there are experts or voices you’d suggest for a conversation please share in comments.

Thank you

, , , , , and many others for tuning into the live video with ! Join me for my next live video in the app.

Get more from Jessica Yellin in the Substack app
Available for iOS and Android

Discussion about this podcast

Nov 10Liked by Shannon Watts

Thank you from my soul. I watched it later. I needed this.

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Nov 9Liked by Shannon Watts

This was awesome. So needed. So glad I could watch it later! Looking forward to the next one.

T H A N K Y O U !!!

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Nov 9Liked by Shannon Watts

Thank you for making this free to subscribers.

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Nov 9Liked by Shannon Watts

Thank you both SO much. 💙💙

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Nov 9Liked by Shannon Watts

Thank you for this! Definitely do it again. 💙

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Fantastic conversation

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Loved it! 💙 thank you both

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It was a great conversation. Here for all your grief-y needs.

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Nov 9Liked by Shannon Watts

Thank you for this! I would love to see Dr. Alison Fragale interviewed on public perception of Harris vs Trump.

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The complaints about cheating are not connected to the electronic voting machines. They are connected to the mail-in ballots. People on social media are talking about tracking their ballots that they either mailed in or put in drop boxes and finding out their ballot was marked provisional, when it wasn't. Or it was rejected. Or it never made it to the polling places. Or they are missing. It's happening mainly in swing states. Then there is Musk's app to consider which targeted voters in swing states and collected personal information from them instead of letting them register to vote like it was supposed to. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/02/elon-musk-pac-voter-data-trump-harris.html?__source=sharebar I think he might have gotten into trouble for this, but I'm not sure. Personally, I also find it odd that swing states are saying they had record-breaking turnout on early voting that even surpassed day of voting records, but then the day after the election, reports started saying voter turnout was low and that Harris received far fewer votes than Biden and Trump received the same amount of votes.

As far as what we need? We need unbiased, fact-checked, and trusted news sites without paywalls that are easily acceptable and not just reliant on social media (at least not current popular social media). If people can't afford rent and food, they also can't afford to buy their news. News is a public service, or at least it should be, but right now, too much news is owned by corporations, so there are paywalls. I appreciate being able to access your information without having to pay. But my point is that without access to news sources that are trusted by the general public, where a large number of people can only access sensationalized headlines, they are forced to go to independent sources, or fringe media that isn't always as reliable.

This leads me to think we need a trustworthy social media site. We need a place where we can have conversations and easy access to fact-checking mechanisms, where we aren't being tracked, and our data isn't being sold. Between Zuckerburg and Musk, our data is being used against us to sway our opinions and influence our behavior, including how we vote, because our algorithms are designed for the CEOs to make money from us vs. being a place to socialize and organize online. They are both destroying how we interact with the world, creating and proliferating mistrust in the people we know and don't know and our institutions. Many of us stay, though, because we think it's the only free place to communicate. We want to share our stories and learn about other people from a distance that seems safe, but even that is deceptive.

If they didn't win by what would traditionally be thought of as cheating, then they won using propaganda, which is not a new idea. We aren't supposed to be able to pay people to vote, yet Musk got to give away millions to voters to get them to register, and he got them to gamble to incentivize them to vote; how is that legal? We don't need to be like them. We need to do better, and we need to be better. I think we could create a social media site that works on donations instead of selling user data that would be a great start.

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Although I’m merely a 🇬🇧 bystander, I can see how pervasive the politics of fear and division, underpinned by vast sums of vested interest money behind this, has become the biggest threat to democracy globally. I echo the need for effective messaging but concerned that is being choked by the same monied vested interests.

Appreciate your dissection of the topics. Brava!

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The results of 2024 election are a majority of white women actually voted for Trump. I am a male and a liberal democrat. If white women are not holding having reproductive healthcare as a human right so beit. What will happen because of the SCOTUS decision to overturn Roe is that people, mainly women, will refuse to move to states which have restricted access to reproductive healthcare. For the states that have past laws and regulations which restrict access to reproductive healthcare, their ability to grow their economy will be limited because we are currently at full employment and the pool of workers they have access to will be limited because women don't want to live there.

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I think Trump doesn't understand that people are tired of having him in their living room everyday with more carzy sh#t.

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BTW, Biden needs to expel Elon Musk from the US because of his past activities as an illegal alien and being Putin's lap-dog.

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I wrote this last week:

Donald Trump has a big problem relative to the economy which is the national debt. If he re-approves the tax cuts established in his first term in 2025 he and the Republicans are going to have a big problem with the national debt which will impact interest rates and slow down the economy. He is going to implement his tariff regime to generate new revenue to mitigate the impact of extending his tax cuts. The tariffs will raise costs to American consumers across the board with the middle class and poor families paying an estimated $4000 per year and that is what he is going to do. The result of the whole scenario is US consumers will have less money, consumption will decrease, and the economy will grind to a slow halt, i.e. the US economy will go into recession. Of course, Donald Trump will blame this on Biden and the Democrats but he will cause it and the Democrats will get elected in 2028 and they will spend the next 6 years digging out of the fiscal / monetary mess MAGA will leave them.

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Last thing, lets start working / organizing for the 2026 election right now.

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Ok Shannon / Jessica what are we going to do to thwart Trumps and his band of thieves attempts to change our government to an autocracy? My advice is lets get focused on stoping the Trump Administration from taking away our rights and intimidating Democrats and other political groups. We need to stand up and use the same tactics Trump and his buddies have used for the past 4 years, i.e. file law suites and fight MAGA every step of the way including appealing everything up to SCOTUS.

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I'm shifting focus on my Substack. I'm putting my 45 years of federal/state/local government experience to work.

The goal is to create the preeminent resource center for people who want to run for local/state/federal office and-or seek appointment to government advisory boards. I'll also be loading up information to help everyone be a better advocate.

If you check my site, you'll see there's already a huge amount of info on election matters.

Sign up ... Tap my huge knowledge. Support my work. Time is of the essence! Virginia has statewide rejections this year! 2026 candidates need to plan now! Also gotta fill if you're going to run a ballot initiative.

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This was so helpful, thank you!

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Thank you, some of this is hard to hear. You both have such informed perspectives. I love Shannon's questions. Jessica, I think I will need at least two weeks, I'm so overwhelmed. I feel stupid for thinking we would not do this again. A part of me wants to give up, but I know I can't.

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Amazing conversation from two inspiring women who I will be plugged into the next 4 years!

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Before planning pushback, perhaps the task at hand is some soul searching. Something more than economics motivated voters to reject decisively the direction the country was headed. There’s consolation in reaching beyond a status quo and even being willing to enter into mutual dialogue.

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lauren, I wrote the underlying piece 4 years ago. Yes, the Democratic party has issues it needs to address, https://sharonlawrence.substack.com/p/elections-breaking-down-the-red-wall

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Was there a second video Tuesday the 12th? It doesn’t look like it but I thought that was the plan? Perhaps wishful thinking! Thanks for all you do!! ✌🏻🎯

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Thank you for this 🫶

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Love you both. Brilliant sensitive curious women!!

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3% is not a mandate. Trump win 51%. Harris won 48% … so a 3% difference …. How is that a landslide … how is that a mandate … that is a razor close election … 1/2 of America does not agree with Trump/MAGA

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Did you say you’re two privileged white women? And since there are people less privileged you have use your privilege to save them? You should write or say that out loud be you say it again. Is there anything more arrogant. White and privileged? What is that anyway?

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Well I can commend you that your dialogue was not filled with tired old he’s a racist rhetoric tropes. White people calling white people racists is not a good look and the blacks never see it has productive. Plus how can you be believed. So it sounds like you want a meritless pursuit of office by women like you. You can’t win like that. Why, because women aren’t a monolithic hive. Actually you’ve acknowledged frailties too much. Find the policies that align with good foundations in government. Your presentation needs a reality check. How was he even elected, you say. But how is Harris a choice for anymore. He won because they pushed Harris onto the track and she got Trump stomped. Get a better candidate without prerequisites in gender, race and even party.

Actually i retract my first. As you winded down the derangement and long debunked nonsense surface, my bad. You have not mention anything about Harris better policy. Did you notice that? You can ping me @ Verd Wade if need catharsis by screaming at someone.

You’re right about one thing, the play book is being rewritten from a very old theme for the executive. Federalist 70. You should maybe define Art 1,2,3 to support your opinions, cause you girls sound catatonic.

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How are we here again? Because America decided they didn't want a fraud and imposter and incompetent worthless do nothing no plan piece of garbage as a president..

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Fellow Seekers, World-Builders, Allies, Colleagues, Community:

I’m writing to you as the Founder and Director of Meridian Behavioral Health in New Mexico. At Meridian, we stand with our communities by offering mental and behavioral health care, and in these times, we’re seeing how much more there is to protect.

The recent election has marked a shift that brings real and immediate concerns. With Congress now under the influence of leaders who embrace authoritarian principles, many of us feel a renewed urgency to protect basic freedoms, health services, and social equity. This moment feels heavier because it calls for us to reckon with the threat to long-established but fragile rights—rights that have only ever fully applied to some and continue to be unevenly distributed.

These changes directly impact bodily autonomy, education, and mental health support and risk pulling apart the safety net that so many in our communities rely on. For those already marginalized or vulnerable, the consequences could be profound, reversing years of hard-won progress. Although New Mexico retained a Democratic majority, voter turnout reflects the disenfranchisement, disillusionment, and frustration of so many.

We need something deeper than “unity”—we need reciprocal vulnerability, courage to face contradictions, and the strength to bring all voices, stories, and experiences into our plans. We’re not seeking a superficial consensus; we’re aiming to build a coalition that’s resilient enough to hold and protect the diversity of our values, to ground ourselves in the truth of our history, both light and dark, and to find a way forward that truly honors this complicated path we’re on.

I’m reaching out to ask how we might join forces across our communities and states to develop a coalition that truly has the backbone and heart to stand up to what lies ahead. Voting and state advocacy matter, but there’s more to do—strategies that go beyond these traditional measures, securing our state as a sanctuary for human rights, equity, and opportunity.

I’d be grateful to connect with each of you and hear your thoughts on ways we can protect our communities in the face of likely constraints on rights and services. Together, I believe we can stoke the fire needed to keep these spaces as safe harbors, grounded in the honest, often uncomfortable courage that real change demands.

Thank you for your dedication, your courage, and your readiness to dig into this work. I’m looking forward to the chance to build something meaningful together.

With respect, courage, and solidarity,

Madeleine Wilson, LCSW

Founder & Director,

Meridian Behavioral Health & Meridian Collective Foundation

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If I recall correctly, you mentioned letting black women lead. Who do you recommend? I have several black women and men I follow.

Thank you so much for this. It blessed my spirit and inspired me.

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Good

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BTW, I have been a Democrat for 50 years now and I have never given up on moving forward with establishing our governement on liberal democratic principals and will continue.

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On my Substack, I'm going to try to write about issues in ways John and Jane public can understand.

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Excellent conversation. Thank you!

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These conversations have been SO informative/grounding/life giving...*thank you*

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Thank you both so much

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Thank you both. JY - this was great!

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Thank you so much!! Helped me to pause, gain perspective and feel part of a like-minded community!

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News Not Noise
News Not Noise Podcast
Separating the news from the noise. We give you information, not a panic attack.
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Jessica Yellin
Shannon Watts