You may have seen headlines recently about extremists going after no-fault divorce. “Yeah, okay, I’ve seen those stories,” your friends might say, “but… why would they do that?” The answer, of course, is simple: it’s about controlling women.

Critics of no-fault divorce, like JD Vance, claim that it’s bad for couples and especially bad for kids. But the data just doesn’t bear that out. The really important thing to know is that no-fault divorce protects women. There was a 15% decrease in female suicides in states that passed no-fault divorce laws and a 30% decrease in domestic violence. Each one of those statistics is a real story — and you can hear some of them in this week’s episode.

A few years ago, an end to no-fault divorce seemed unlikely. But after the end of Roe v Wade, of course this is the next legal right to land on the chopping block. So far, bills to overturn no-fault divorce have been unsuccessful, even in states where they’ve been proposed like Texas and Oklahoma. But extremists aren’t going to stop their attack on women and it’s up to us to keep talking about it.

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!

Twitter: @TheSWPpod and @RedWineBlueUSA

Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA

Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA

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Donald Trump promised to be “tough” on immigration on the campaign trail, vowing to “launch the largest deportation program of criminals in American history.”

“Criminals,” he said. So why is ICE detaining children? And why do half of the adults held in ICE detention facilities have no criminal record?

In New York, a mom and her three kids—including a third grader—were arrested by ICE and shipped off to a facility in Texas. In Louisiana, ICE deported a four-year-old with cancer to Honduras, despite the child being a US citizen. Across America, families live in fear of separation, even those who are following the legal pathways and completing all of their required paperwork and check-ins.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, the conditions in ICE detention facilities is atrocious: crowded cells, freezing concrete floors, water from the toilet, and constant dehumanizing treatment from guards. All of this for people with no criminal record and, again, actual children. Is this really the America we want?

This Okay, But Why is upsetting, but we can’t turn away. Trump’s ICE quotas and for-profit prison companies are creating a hell on earth for some of our most vulnerable people and we have to speak out.

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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!

Twitter: @TheSWPpod and @RedWineBlueUSA

Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA

Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA

YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA

When James Baldwin went on the Dick Cavett Show in 1969, he was asked a very loaded question: why aren’t Black people more optimistic? Jim Crow laws had been outlawed, Black people were becoming mayors and successful businesspeople… so why was he still talking about race?

Obviously racism didn’t “end” with the Civil War, or the Civil Rights Act, or Obama’s election. In fact, Donald Trump has spurred a resurgence — there’s been a nearly 50% increase in white supremacy groups just in the past few years. And yet he’s waging a war on Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs, Critical Race Theory, and the very notion that racism still exists.

But racism – and anti-Blackness in particular – is still a powerful force. It’s built into the very structure of the country. It shows up in politics, medicine, sports, education, and even eBay.

In this week’s episode of Okay But Why, we explore the history of anti-Blackness in America, how it manifests to this day, and what we can do about it. If you want to learn more, there are so many books, films, and podcasts out there! Check out Code Switch, The 1619 Project, Stamped From The Beginning, The Black Friend, White Tears/Brown Scars, Hood Feminism, or the upcoming The Race Track: How The Myth of Equal Opportunity Defeats Racial Justice.

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!

Twitter: @TheSWPpod and @RedWineBlueUSA

Instagram: @RedWineBlueUSA

Facebook: @RedWineBlueUSA

YouTube: @RedWineBlueUSA