Beans Talk | What Opposition Looks Like

Summary

The Daily Beans – Beans Talk | What Opposition Looks Like

Date: March 30, 2026
Hosts: Allison Gill & Dana Goldberg

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Overview

In this episode of Beans Talk, Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg reflect on the historic "No Kings 2" protests, highlight the vibrancy of progressive opposition, and delve into the importance of joyful resistance. They share personal experiences, discuss memorable protest signs, and contrast the energy at progressive rallies with the lackluster atmosphere at CPAC. The episode is marked by the hosts' trademark wit and candid discussion of activism, solidarity, and political absurdities.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Power and Diversity of Protest (03:24–06:26)

• Both hosts recount participation in the "No Kings 2" protests, which set a new record for the largest single-day demonstration in American history, with over 8 million attendees nationwide.
• Allison underscores the emotional toll of such events for those with anxiety and PTSD, but also speaks to the emotional fulfillment of being part of such a large-scale action:
  "My mental health was a little bit scattered, but my heart is like so full." (03:24)
• Dana emphasizes the importance of joy and creativity in protest:
  "Peaceful protest should not just be us angrily marching through the streets. We should be able to show the world we're not just people angrily marching... we're joyful, we're funny, we're celebratory, and we're sick of the shit. All of those things can exist simultaneously." (03:24)
• The hosts marvel at the logistics and scale, with Allison recounting running over a mile without finding the front of the parade:
  "I ran a mile. I couldn't find the front." (05:49)

2. Highlights from the Protest – Signs, Symbols, and Moments (06:06–11:00)

• Discussion turns to the humor, creativity, and power of protest signs:
  • "Be gay do process" – a play on the classic LGBTQ+ slogan with a legal twist.
  • Visuals featuring intersectionality:
    "The intersectionality between so many communities in our country. We're not just one thing. My identity intersects into several different minority groups." – Dana (07:16)
  • Humorous and biting messages:
    "Free balls for members of Congress who lost theirs" and a sign with detachable velcro balls.
  • Artistic political critique:
    A photo of a sign depicting "half Hitler, half Trump".
  • Reference to the resilience and creativity in red states, with special mention of a Handmaid's March in Nashville, where protestors dressed as characters from "The Handmaid's Tale" held up names of perpetrators from the Epstein files (08:25–09:23).
  • Satirical and pop-culture nods ("Let's go blood clot", "Tiger Woods for Trump's chauffeur", and a "Nope, nope, nope" call-back to Sesame Street/childhood TV).

3. Contrast with Conservative Gatherings – The CPAC Scene (11:00–13:22)

• The hosts juxtapose the energized protests with a listless Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), filled with empty chairs and sleeping attendees:
  • "It's a ghost town at CPAC, people falling asleep. Look, EMP chairs. Hundreds of empty chairs." – Allison (11:07)
  • Dana jokes about misinterpreted protest energy:
    • "If this keeps up, they're gonna want to impeach... half of the crowd started cheering... I don't think these people understand the question." (12:24)
  • They humorously reflect on conservative narratives and conspiracy theories about "paid protesters".

4. Media Coverage & Importance of Visibility (04:19–05:16)

• Allison discusses frustrations with mainstream media relegating protest stories, but praises outlets like Ms. Now for their coverage:
  "I want to show the rest of the world we aren't cool with this... there are some networks who get those pictures out. And I think that's really important." (04:19)

5. Debunking Conservative Talking Points (13:22–14:15)

• Hosts point out the peacefulness of the protest in direct contrast to January 6th:
  "We had over 8 million people. Not a single incident. I want to thank everybody for that, for showing it's... we're not the violent ones." – Allison (13:22)
• Dana deflates myths about protestors being paid:
  "George Soros is not paying people to protest. And you know what? I'll do this shit for free until this regime is gone." (13:51)
• Witty quips about the supposed $400 million spent on protestors, with Dana and Allison joking about collecting their checks.

6. Community Engagement and Looking Forward (14:26–15:07)

• Listing ways listeners can participate, submit photos, and continue to build the coalition:
  "All you got to do is go to dailybeanspot.com and click on Contact and submit your favorite signs, your favorite photos. We would love to just see all of it." – Allison (14:37)
• Teasing next steps and continued activism with another event planned for May 1st.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Joyful Protest:
  "We should be able to get member and show the world we're not just people angrily marching through the streets. We're joyful, we're funny, we're celebratory, and we're sick of the shit." – Dana (03:24)

• On Protest Scale:
  "Single biggest single day protest in American history." – Allison (04:04)

• On Intersectionality:
  "I'm many things. My identity intersects into several different minority groups." – Dana (07:16)

• On Conservative Conspiracies:
  "George Soros is not paying people to protest. And you know what? I'll do this shit for free until this regime is gone." – Dana (13:51)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 03:24: The nature of modern protest and experiencing large social actions with disabilities.
• 04:04: Documenting the scale and visibility of No Kings 2.
• 06:06–11:00: Protest creativity, intersectionality, and notable signs.
• 11:00–13:22: The anticlimactic CPAC and satirical reflections on impeachment talk.
• 13:22–14:15: Contrasts with January 6th and debunking talking points about protestors.
• 14:37: Engaging the community and call for submissions.

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Final Thoughts

Beans Talk's "What Opposition Looks Like" episode captures the essence of modern progressive resistance: huge, joyful, creative, intersectional, and fiercely peaceful. With laughter, sharp wit, and fierce advocacy, Allison and Dana both celebrate the impact of organized opposition—demonstrating that political dissent is as much about camaraderie and hope as it is about drawing a line in the sand. The show ends with a heartfelt thanks to all participants and a clear invitation for listeners to stay engaged and keep the movement's momentum alive.

Transcript

[A]

It's no surprise that newsmakers try to manipulate the audience. They want you to believe that they are the one holding the line, and they'll use any trick they can to get you there. But don't let them fool you. Get Unspun. I'm Amanda Sturgel. I've been a reporter, and today I teach future reporters to cut the spin and think critically about what newsmakers say. My podcast, Unspun, shows you how to know when you're being manipulated by the news, learn to spot the tricks, and how to make up your own mind about what's true. So if you're tired of being fooled by the news, subscribe to unspun today. Unspun. Because you deserve the truth.

[B]

Hey, everybody, it's Monday, March 30th, 2026. I'm Allison Gill.

[C]

And I'm Dana Goldberg, and this is Beans Talk.

[B]

Okay, so as we talked about a little bit on the Daily Beans Audio podc, both of our voices are kind of thrash this morning.

[C]

I mean, or very sexy, whatever you'd like to think of it just an octave lower than normal. This is my podcast voice, Kathleen Turner.

[B]

Yes, indeed, Kathleen Turner Overdrive. It's my new band. But you also, aside from no Kings, which we're gonna talk about in a second, you had an amazing human rights campaign gala this weekend.

[C]

I did. It was one of those nights that I'm just damn good at my job, everybody. We were honoring Michael Patrick King. And if you don't know that Michael Patrick King was behind Will and Grace, Sex and the City, the new show, the Comeback with Lisa Kudrow and RuPaul. Just an extraordinary man who has just given us some of our favorite television shows over the years. And he's gay and lovely, and they were honoring him. And I got to meet RuPaul and Lisa Kudrow. I also raised a quarter of a million dollars for HRC last night through the live auction and the money raised. And it was just an exciting night. But when I'm on stage doing that, putting out all that energy, I mean, it's a lot for our voices. The other thing that was awesome is I got to sit next to and befriend Brittany Bow, the Olympic speed skater. And Brittney is one of the nicest down to earth powerhouses. You would never know. Just so unassuming and absolutely wonderful. So I got to spend some time with her. It was just one of those nights at work that was just really enjoyable for me as much as it was productive, if that makes sense. So it was. But that's why I do sound like a little bit like my Uncle Murray today. Hello, everybody on the podcast.

[B]

And I, you know, after no Kings, and I just want to say everyone out there who has a little bit of anxiety, who's not real good in crowds, I see you and I feel you, because that is me. It's very, very difficult for me to be around large crowds of people because of, you know, certain disabilities that I have, particularly PTSD and generalized anxiety disorder. It's so difficult. But I have my plans. I've got my places to go and hide. There was one really wonderful organizer who let me kind of sit in her truck for a minute while I was waiting to get up and speak. But on the other hand, so it takes a while to, to sort of recover from that. Right. Any sort of social event for folks with anxiety, it takes a minute. Like you gotta go home and you gotta recharge. But so my, my, my mental health was a little bit scattered, but my heart is like so full.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

I mean, seeing 8 million, 8 million plus. I don't even know if those numbers are accurate. I mean, I think they're low, if anything. But 8 million people out on the streets joyfully and, and it's, you know, everyone was talking about like, oh, is a bouncy house appropriate for something? Yes, it is. Peaceful protest should not just be us angrily marching through the streets. We should be able to get member and show the world we're not just people angrily marching through the streets. We're joyful, we're funny, we're celebratory, and we're sick of the shit. All of those things can exist simultaneously. They don't have to be mutually exclusive.

[B]

Yeah. Like, like Savage said, the, the dance is what we fight for.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, so we would protest during the day, dance at night. And that's really kind of sort of sums it up for me how it was this Saturday. Single biggest single day protest in American history.

[C]

Incredible.

[B]

So Indivisible has broken its own record of the biggest single day protest in history with no Kings 2 and no Kings 1, but just absolutely incredible energy. And, you know, I wanted to what was important to me, and I know that it's Monday, right. And Matto's going to be on tonight and she's going to show this. Ms. Now is really good about putting all of this out so that people can see it, which is really, really important. I mean, it's buried like the 15th story on the New York Times feed, but there are some networks who get those pictures out. And I think that's really important because I want to show the rest of the world we aren't cool with this. This is. You know, we are very much against everything that's happening here with the government of the United States. But we've got some really great pictures I wanted to share, and Dana wanted to share some of our favorite designs from. From no Kings. And here. This is a photo of the rally I was at at the San Diego waterfront, and it's taken from the crow's nest of one of the ships docked there at the Embarcadero, docked at the marina.

[C]

So cool.

[B]

It's massive. And Dana, I tried to. I was supposed to be. I was speaking, and then I. I got off, and I'm supposed to be at the front of the parade with a bunch of groups. And so I'm running to try to find the front of the parade, and I ran a mile. I couldn't find the front of the.

[C]

That's extraordinary.

[B]

That's.

[C]

To have a march a mile long in San Diego plus. Plus a mile plus. I mean, you start and tried to find. That's. I don't know. It's just a testament to what we're dealing with right now and how fired up people are.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

There's some. There's a. Some of our favorite signs. Here's another one. It just says, be gay due process, which makes me happy.

[B]

A play on the old BK do crime. Yep. Thing that's been a rallying cry for a very long time in the LGBTQ community. I absolutely love that. Be gay do process.

[C]

It's so good. This one, though, man. It hit you in the chest.

[B]

Oh, yeah, I saw this. This is a photo that I took at the. At the San Diego rally. Half Hitler, half Trump. I thought it was really well done. It was very big. It was very noticeable. And then also, I really liked this guy with the Dropkick Murphy shirt and the FDT button. It's pretty small. You might not be able to see it. And the Mexican flag and the progressive, you know, pride flag. I thought this was fantastic.

[C]

It was beautiful.

[B]

He had his little flag holder and everything. It was amazing. And right. Right before I took that picture, Dana, some guy cruised by on a little Segway with a. A pride flag and a California flag with the bear on it just, like, right in front of him.

[C]

It's awesome.

[B]

I wished I'd gotten that on video because it was just a great.

[C]

This picture that you're showing, it's it's the intersectionality between so many communities in our country. We're not just one thing. You know, I'm. I'm. I'm many things. My. My identity intersects, intersects into several different minority groups, especially if you consider just women, Jewish people, lesbian, you know, all of these things. The pictures like this really depict that sort of thing, which I love. I also love the people, especially when it's older women. I don't know why, but that have a sense of humor. Look at this one. Free balls for members of Congress who lost theirs. And I've seen this sign before. Make it as many times as you need to. It's funny every damn time.

[B]

It is. Little detachable velcro balls that you can. That's pretty fantastic. And this one, this one was pretty great. Spin the wheel. Fuck Blank Bondi Bance. Fuck Hegseth reminds us of when we. Reminds me of when we used to do the live Muller She Wrote shows. And I would have the whole audience sing a four part harmony chord of the word fuck. And then we would pick somebody. I wish I had had this wheel at the time because we could spin the wheel and pick whoever it was at that particular moment. But I just, I thought that was a pretty good one.

[C]

Oh, this one, I mean, it's good. And it's also just like eerie. I mean, because, you know, the Handmaid has. The Handmaid's Tale has turned into a documentary since the Supreme Court is what it is. But this is basically an amazing Handmaid's March at the Tennessee no kings. And I really love that because I like seeing these in the red states. I like seeing these in rural areas and things like that. You know, you're expecting big numbers on the coastal states. New York, you know, California, all of those. But when you see them in states like Tennessee, you have to remember and you get reminded these people are on the front lines. All of the laws they're trying to pass down there, and it's not coming from the White House, it's also the local legislatures. But we have to remind that, that there's no kings in any part of our government. It doesn't have to just be the guy in the White House. You know, you shouldn't have be able to make these laws and in all of these states that are just damaging, damaging communities. So it's nice to see stuff like this in Tennessee, for sure.

[B]

Yeah. And this one in particular was, I believe in downtown Nashville. It was very solemn and the handmaids are holding signs with names of men, perpetrators who appear in the Epstein files. So it's just really, really well done. And speaking of Tennessee, there was also a pretty massive turnout in Franklin, Tennessee, which is a super red area. And I was thinking of you when they showed the villages down in Florida and their massive turnout for this. But here's one of my favor. It says, let's go blood clot.

[C]

I mean, you don't even have to have his name. Someone could just have that flying everywhere and you would know what they are talking about. And it resembles that, you know, fuck Brandon, go. Whatever, whatever it is when they fuck Joe Biden signs or, you know, Trump 2020, whatever. It's just. I like that it's in their design, their font and I say their cause of the other side and it's just so good. I don't even feel bad for laughing at this stuff. It's just very creative and it makes me happy. Yeah.

[B]

And a close second along that same vein is this one. Tiger woods for Trump's chauffeur. That was very timely and topical as well.

[C]

Tiger woods needs to get his shit together. I mean, yeah, I'm glad no one was hurt in that rollover, but he's just a. He's a hot mess. And this one, this one makes me laugh because it brings me back to our childhood. We always quote, we often quote like the Electric Company in Sesame street on this show, but these guys are just. Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. Radio, radio. Nope, nope, nope, nope.

[B]

Great to see those guys out there. Absolutely. And it was warm.

[C]

It was warm. Those costumes had to have been warm.

[B]

Yeah, it was pretty warm across. Across the country, so. Nope, nope, nope. Murraying fantastic. Meanwhile though, at cpac, can we cue that morning music that it's a ghost town at cpac, people falling asleep. Look, EMP chairs. Hundreds of empty chairs.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

People falling asleep. Look at this woman just head down blatantly on the desk. Just assuming.

[C]

I'm not even understanding this photo because it doesn't. I don't know where her arms are. I don't know if they're tucked into her shirt just to comfort herself. They're not in the sleeves, but sure, it's possible.

[B]

Who knows?

[C]

Hopefully. And we obviously were doing this.

[B]

I think it's just she's got it wrapped around her because it's probably really cool because it's there. That makes a lot of sense. No bodies. There's no.

[C]

I had a moment where I was like, dana, if this is someone who has lost their arms in some kind of a military war. You're an accident. You're an asshole. But I have. You're right. I think the shirt is just wrapped around her because it's chilly.

[B]

Yeah, because there's no people to keep the room warm. So they've heard. They've cranked the AC up. But you know how you rely on crowds to get the warmth up in a. In a seminar like that? But yes, News fest. And did you see the video from

[C]

CPAC of the guy that was like, you know who, if this keeps up, they're gonna want to impeach? And who wants another impeachment? And half of the crowd started cheering, and he went, no, no, no, we don't want an impeachment. Let's try that again. Who wants impeachment? And so more people kept cheering. And he was like, we need to get some coffee in here. I don't think these people understand the question. And I'm like, no, I think they understand the question.

[B]

That is Matt, grab him by the weenus. Yes, that is who that was. That is the guy who.

[C]

Who had founded Touching Men that are around him.

[B]

Yes.

[C]

Inappropriate.

[B]

His campaign. Yes. So that was cpac. Meanwhile, millions and millions and millions of far left, radical, violent. There were so many arrests on Saturday, Dana. It was just violence after. No, no, I'm sorry. That was January 6th. That was.

[C]

Yes, that was. That's right. That's right.

[B]

We had over 8 million people. Not a single incident. And I think that. That I just. I want to thank everybody for that, for showing it's. We're not the violent ones.

[C]

I know. And of course, now they're like. They were paid protesters. Tommy Lauren, who I hate quoting, was like, they paid people, homeless people, $50 to hold signs. And some guy was like, I was one of those homeless people. And then the comment below is like, where'd you get your cell phone and your WI fi, sir? Like, it's.

[B]

It's just.

[C]

They're absurd. George Soros is not paying people to protest. And you know what? I'll do this shit for free until this regime is gone.

[B]

8 million times $50, $400 million they spent.

[C]

Yeah, that sounds right.

[B]

Where do I get my check, by the way?

[C]

Where do I pick that up? And that's also the fine that Meta got, isn't it?

[B]

375 million.

[C]

Pretty cool.

[B]

That's what happened. Mark Zuckerberg turned around and paid us all. Yeah, with his. Oh, no, no. It was the people who sued Facebook and won a 375 million dollar settlement.

[C]

That's where that's exactly what it was. These signs are so good though. Keep them coming. Obviously you can send them to us on the on the long beans. If you listen to the podcast, you know how to submit there. So we love to see them.

[B]

Yep. All you got to do is go to dailybeanspot.com and click on Contact and submit your favorite signs, your favorite photos. We would love to just see all of it. So thank you all so much for turning up, turning out. Thanks for those who, who attended virtually who maybe couldn' it in person. We appreciate every single one of you and it was a wonderful day of solidarity and we we'll see what happens next time on on May 1st and what kind of an impact that will have now that we've amassed this gigantic coalition. So, yeah, thank you so much and we'll see you tomorrow. I'm Allison Gill.

[C]

I'm Dana Goldberg. And that was Beans Talk.

[A]

It's no surprise that newsmakers try to manipulate the audience. They want you to believe that they are the one holding the line, and they'll use any trick they can to get you there. But don't let them fool you. Get Unspun. I'm Amanda Sturgill. I've been a reporter, and today I teach future reporters to cut the spin and think critically about what newsmakers say. My podcast, Unspun, shows you how to know when you're being manipulated by the news, learn to spot the tricks, and how to make up your own mind about what's true. So if you're tired of being fooled by the news, subscribe to Unspun today. Unspun because you deserve the truth.