Podcast Summary: The Preamble — "A Stranger Saved My Husband’s Life, Why You Think the Way You Do, and Answers to Your Questions"

Host: Sharon McMahon
Guest: Colin Woodard (author, historian)
Date: November 10, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of The Preamble weaves together a deeply personal account of medical crisis and organ donation, an insightful discussion with author Colin Woodard on America’s regional identities, and thoughtful answers to complex listener questions. Sharon McMahon brings her signature clarity to why we hold the political and cultural views we do, highlighting how history shapes the present, and delving into timely matters like U.S. foreign policy, national debt, and the ethics of government communications.

1. A Stranger Saved My Husband’s Life — Sharon’s Personal Story

[00:51 – 19:28]

Key Points

• Life-Changing Diagnosis

  • Sharon recounts how her husband, Chris, received a sudden diagnosis of stage five kidney failure in 2018, changing their family’s life overnight.
  • She describes the essential functions of the kidney and lays out the stark reality: “There is but one solution. Get a new kidney. It’s simple, but it’s not easy.” (03:36)

• Transplant Pathways

  • Explains the two paths to receiving a new kidney: waiting on the transplant list or finding a living donor, often through complex “donor chains.”
  • “Some donor chains have more than a dozen people involved in a complicated web of human interconnectedness that would boggle the minds of the people who came before us.” (05:55)

• Chris’s Community Impact

  • Chris is highlighted as a selfless community figure, active on multiple nonprofit boards and widely admired in their Minnesota town.
  • “He has personally raised more than $25 million for nonprofits… After I finished this piece, I went to vote... ‘Are you married to Chris?’ I told her I was. ‘What a wonderful guy,’ she said.” (09:18)

• Barriers to Donation

  • Sharon considers donating her own kidney but is disqualified due to discovery of a tiny kidney stone (“a grain of salt”), as stringent rules protect donors and recipients.
  • Even unsymptomatic kidney stones result in disqualification; “If for any reason the transplant center determines that you fall outside of their guidelines, they simply will not do the surgery.” (13:08)

• The Pandemic Complicates Everything

  • COVID-19 halts elective surgeries, increasing risk for kidney failure patients. Family endures isolation to protect Chris, whose health deteriorates.

• A Donor Chain Offers Hope

  • July 2020: The transplant center calls — a donor chain is possible if Sharon’s mom, an exceptionally healthy candidate, will donate to a stranger.
  • Sharon’s mother asks, “What greater gift can I give my grandchildren than prolonging the life of their father?” (16:37)

• The Gift of Life

  • The chain involves organs traveling by plane across states, culminating in life-saving surgery. Chris’s new kidney (“Magnus”) works instantly.
  • Sharon’s mother’s remaining kidney compensates, and both patients thrive.
  • “His single functioning kidney... now performs as well as the two kidneys of his same age peers... My mother’s remaining kidney has grown in capacity, admirably picking up the slack.” (17:45)

• Hope Amid Healthcare Challenges

  • Sharon notes the bleakness of U.S. healthcare headlines, but also the everyday miracle of organ donation.
  • “Every day, men and women piloting hollow metal tubes at 32,000ft... are carrying something truly extraordinary... a kidney... hurtling towards a new destiny.” (18:44)

2. Interview: “Why You Think the Way You Do” — Colin Woodard on American Nations

[21:36 – 35:30]

Key Points

The Premise: Many American Nations

• Historic Roots of Regional Cultures
  • Woodard explains America has never been a single unified nation, but rather a patchwork of distinct regional cultures with deep colonial roots.
  • “There’s never been one America, but several. And indeed, they have properties of almost like stateless nations, regional cultures that have been with us since the beginning of colonization.” (22:34)
  • Contrasts New England Puritans’ collectivism with Virginia’s aristocratic individualism, Dutch commercial cosmopolitanism in New York, and the fiercely independent Appalachian borderlands.

How Regionalism Shapes Modern Divides

• Centuries-Old Patterns Persist

  • Despite mass media, migration, and modern immigration, regional differences are not weakening—they’re intensifying.
  • “But no, the data shows that, if anything, the differences between the regions are getting larger, which is intriguing.” (26:55)

• Where Immigrants Went Matters

  • Woodard discusses how waves of 19th and 20th-century immigrants concentrated in “Yankee Dom,” the Midlands, the West, and cities, but avoided the South and Appalachia.
  • “Three cultures… the Southern ones… were 1% foreign born… a 30 fold difference. In other words, that whole process didn’t happen in those three regions. There weren’t ‘foreigners’.” (27:20)
  • Lasting impacts: Explains homogeneity and the rise of Christian nationalism in those regions.

Current Tribalism & The Potential for Unity

• We Think We’re More Divided Than We Are

  • Sharon observes: “The actual political positions of the two different sides… are not farther apart than they used to be. We just loathe the people who are not on our side with a more intense fervor.” (29:35)
  • When stripped of political identities, Americans show more consensus.

• Message Matters by Region

  • Woodard: Persuasive arguments need to match cultural values of a region—for gun control, emphasize “protecting your kith and kin” in Appalachia, “community safety” in New England.
  • “If you reverse those approaches, they’re not going to work as well in each place.” (32:33)

• Democracy or “Blood and Soil” Authoritarianism

  • Woodard warns America is at an inflection point: “It’s a battle between essentially democracy and some form of dictatorship... nearly half of Trump’s own voters prefer the declaration, a side to side matchup.” (33:18)
  • “The tribes for this big struggle are not Democrats versus Republicans… It's the American experiment versus blood and soil autocracy.” (34:05)

• The Pathto Healing: Understanding Each Other

  • “Understanding the types of values that motivate and animate a different group... can help you become much more persuasive…” (34:49)

Memorable Quotes

• “There’s never been one America, but several.” — Colin Woodard (22:34)
• “If you do Policy X, it will help you protect your family. And in the Yankee zone... it will make our communities safer.” — Colin Woodard (32:24)
• “It’s a battle between the American experiment... or we’re going to devolve into a blood and soil [autocracy]…” — Colin Woodard (33:18)

3. Ask Sharon: Listener Q&A

[39:28 – 49:58]

Q1: Will the U.S. Take Military Action in Nigeria?

[39:28 – 43:13]

• Background: Trump has publicly threatened military intervention against extremist violence targeting Christians.
  • “He said the US could go in, quote, guns a blazing, to wipe out what he called Islamic terrorists targeting Christians.” (39:40)
• Legal & Political Context: The U.S. can name countries as “of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act, triggering options like sanctions or aid restrictions.
• Likely Outcome: Uncertainty remains whether this is pressure or a real threat; previous actions suggest legal requirements (consulting Congress) have been bypassed.

Q2: How Can the Richest Country Be So in Debt?

[43:15 – 47:06]

• Paradox Explained: U.S. GDP is huge, but sustained borrowing finances government programs and emergencies.
  • “Personal finance is not the same as the finances of a government. It is a paradox, I get it.” (43:43)
• Debt Is Owed Mainly to Ourselves: Many lenders are domestic; bonds are seen as safe investments.
• Potential Risks: If borrowing continues unchecked, debt service could crowd out other spending.

Q3: Partisanship in Government Messaging—Is It Legal?

[47:08 – 49:58]

• Recent Situation: Federal agencies using websites and emails to blame Democrats for a government shutdown.
• The Hatch Act: Prohibits partisan activity using government resources; such messaging likely violates the law but is hard to enforce against top officials.
  • “The Hatch act exists for a reason, and ethics experts say this kind of messaging could be a clear violation.” (49:49)
• Principle: “Taxpayer funded government resources are supposed to serve everyone, not be used for partisan political battles.” (49:54)

4. Notable Quotes / Memorable Moments

• On Chris’s Reputation:
  “What a wonderful guy, she said. We worked together on the United Way food drive.” (09:18, Sharon McMahon quoting an election worker)

• On the Medical Miracle:
  “Magnus, the nickname Chris gave his donor kidney, began working as soon as the transplant surgeon hooked up the blood supply.” (17:32, Sharon McMahon)

• On Modern America:
  “But no, the data shows that, if anything, the differences between the regions are getting larger, which is intriguing.” (26:55, Colin Woodard)

• On Bridging Divides:
  “Understanding the types of values that motivate and animate a different group… can help you become much more persuasive in your own ideas and values. And that’s really what democracy is.” (34:49, Sharon McMahon)

5. Timestamps for Major Segments

| Segment | Start | End | |------------------------------------------------|----------|----------| | Sharon’s Kidney Transplant Story | 00:51 | 19:28 | | Interview — Colin Woodard: American Nations | 21:36 | 35:30 | | Listener Q&A | 39:28 | 49:58 | | Q1: U.S. Military in Nigeria? | 39:28 | 43:13 | | Q2: U.S. National Debt Paradox | 43:15 | 47:06 | | Q3: Government Websites & Political Messaging | 47:08 | 49:58 |

Tone and Style

Sharon McMahon’s narration is compassionate, clear, and candid. The episode blends emotional storytelling, brisk explanatory journalism, and accessible expert interviews. The conversation with Colin Woodard is lively, intellectual, and approachable, offering nuanced historical insight without academic jargon.

Conclusion

This episode exemplifies The Preamble’s mission: making sense of complicated issues by combining personal experience, historical analysis, and practical civics. Listeners are left not just with stories of hope and resilience, but with a roadmap for understanding America's tangled divisions—and how to talk across them.