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The Daily Beans
Hanging On By A Thread
00:49:45
Wednesday, July 1, 2026 Today, Today, Birthright Citizenship hangs on by a thread while transgender rights and campaign finance are gutted by the Supreme Court; the Justice Department is now zero for eleven in voter roll smash and grab; Donald gave a secret $500m no-bid contract to Clark Construction for his ballroom; Meta contractors posed as teenagers to prompt rival chatbots about suicide, sex, and drugs; a federal judge orders Donald to end his efforts to kill Hudson Tunnel funding; a judge rules that nursing is a professional degree for student loan purposes but drops theology; former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper holds a 14-point lead over Republican Michael Whately in the state’s open US Senate race; the Alaska Supreme Court rules that Dan Sullivan can be on the state’s primary ballot; the New Jersey Rep that has been missing for months - Tom Kean - has reappeared; DC will pay $50k to a man detained while protesting the National Guard using the Star Wars Imperial March...
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- [00:02]
Amanda Sturgel
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.
- [00:10]
Alison Gill
But don't let them fool you.
- [00:12]
Amanda Sturgel
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.
- [00:40]
Alison Gill
MSW Media. News whispering jelly beans.
- [00:54]
Dana Goldberg
Jelly beans.
- [00:57]
Alison Gill
Jelly beans.
- [00:59]
Dana Goldberg
Daily beans.
- [01:04]
Alison Gill
Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Wednesday, July 1, 2026. Today, birthright citizenship hangs on by a thread while transgender rights and campaign finance laws are gutted by the Supreme Court. The justice department is now 0 for 11 in voter roll smash and grabs. Donald gave a secret $500 million no bid contract to clerk construction for his ballroom meta. Contractors posed as teenagers to prompt rival chat suicide, sex and drugs. A federal judge has ordered Donald to end his efforts to kill the Hudson Tunnel funding. A judge has ruled that nursing is still a professional degree for student loan purposes, but they drop theology. Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper holds a 14 point lead over Republican Michael Whatley in the state's open U.S. senate race. The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that Dan Sullivan 2.0 can be on the state's primary ballot. A New Jersey representative that's been missing for months, Tom Kane, has reappeared. And DC will pay $50,000 to a man detained while protesting the National Guard by playing the Imperial March from Star Wars. I'm Alison Gill.
- [02:11]
Dana Goldberg
And I'm Dana Goldberg.
- [02:16]
Alison Gill
Rabbit. Rabbit. Happy July, my friend.
- [02:18]
Dana Goldberg
Happy July to you. And a big fuck you to the Supreme Court. Let's just start with that.
- [02:22]
Alison Gill
Fuck you to the Supreme Court.
- [02:24]
Dana Goldberg
We knew it was coming. We knew it was coming.
- [02:25]
Alison Gill
We need the Imperial March guy to play them out of their chairs. Seriously, we're going to talk all about that. We got some really great reporting from Aaron Reed, who writes Aaron Reed in the Morning on Substack. Please subscribe to everything she does. But yeah, it was a. It was a. It was a bad day in the Supreme Court. I mean, we got a win. But is it a win when it's 5 to 4 on birthright citizens?
- [02:49]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, I mean, it was so close to The Supreme Court literally just ending the United States, like, literally ending our democracy in the way we are on Constitution.
- [02:59]
Alison Gill
And Alito. Alito's dad is an Italian immigrant.
- [03:03]
Dana Goldberg
Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Did you see NPR put out a story that Alito was retiring and then retracted it?
- [03:09]
Alison Gill
Yeah, I think what happened there, like, most news organizations have stories ready to go, like obituaries and things that we know are probably eventually going to happen. They probably have one written up in case Alito doesn't, you know, shuffles off the mortal coil. Yeah. But I think somebody accidentally published this.
- [03:31]
Dana Goldberg
I'll tell you what. I've been talking about it. Watch the Supreme Court, because if the Republicans don't think that they can steal this election, they are going to put two very young pups in Alito and Clarence Thomas's position. I'm telling you, watch the Supreme Court in the next couple months.
- [03:45]
Alison Gill
Yeah. That's why they've said they aren't going to retire. But come on. And, like, that's why we have to add seats. We have to dilute their votes for a change.
- [03:56]
Dana Goldberg
Speaking of seats, one of them has been filled back in by the person who's been holding it for the last few months but hasn't been showing up. And that's Tom Kaine. He's back, apparently. And I don't wanna make light of this reason he was away, but it's an interesting take. He gave a floor speech today saying that he was suffering from depression and that he had been in the hospital. Well, Mike Johnson, who a couple weeks ago said that Cain was sick, said Cain and I quote, had worked overtime, was in constant contact with his office and that he believed Cain's constituents and I quote, have been served throughout this process.
- [04:32]
Alison Gill
Yeah, he was working overtime selling $190,000 worth of stock.
- [04:36]
Dana Goldberg
Yep.
- [04:37]
Alison Gill
This just has a. It's got a weird vibe to me. Depression is a serious issue. Of course, RFK Jr thinks it doesn't exist.
- [04:44]
Dana Goldberg
Right.
- [04:44]
Alison Gill
And I hope that people who listen to his floor speech who might not support or believe in the fact that depression exists, might change their mind about that. But for four months to be hospitalized for depression? I don't think I've ever heard anything like that. And it's not like he's like the rest of us and has to wait three months to get an appointment. He's got congressional health care coverage. That's a very good point, which we all should have. But just something's weird about it because Mike Johnson, like you said, actually said he's sick. And Mike Johnson also said today that he thanks Cain, but he hopes that he talks more about his illness. So, you know, we'll see what happens. But I mean, I don't believe most things that come out of Republicans mouths.
- [05:27]
Dana Goldberg
No.
- [05:28]
Alison Gill
So while I hope and wish that more people will lift a stigma, you know, a perceived stigma from the Republican Party on mental health issues, I'm not sure what's really going on here. And I'm going to wait for more information. But something else that happened today. Mike Johnson failed again. He tried to sneak the Save America act into the National Defense Authorization Act.
- [05:52]
Dana Goldberg
Yep. That's amazing.
- [05:53]
Alison Gill
The bill that funds the Pentagon. He tried to sneak it in there and it failed. It got the House failed to pass the National Defense Authorization act, and not by a thin margin either, 198 to 224.
- [06:09]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [06:10]
Alison Gill
That's how many Republicans do not want this to pass. So they're going to keep trying. I know Donald Trump wants to do it through budget reconciliation, but the parliamentarian has said no. And Trump says fire her. And John Thune says I'm not firing the parliamentarian. Republicans in disarray. Republicans in disarray. But God, we should just call it the Fetch act because stop trying to make fetch happen. It's not going to happen. All right. We have a lot of news, some good, some terrible. But we got to get to it all because that's what we do here. Let's hit the hot notes. Hot notes. All right, first up, from the Associated Press. The Supreme Court concluded its term Tuesday by issuing several landmark decisions affecting immigration, athletics, transgender rights and federal campaign finance. The court rejected Trump's executive order restricting birthright citizenship, upheld state laws limiting transgender participation in girls and women's sports, and struck down federal limits on coordination campaign spending by all by political parties. Because one American doesn't love more money in politics.
- [07:15]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, no kidding.
- [07:16]
Alison Gill
A divided Supreme Court Tuesday upheld a broad conception of birthright citizenship, rejecting Trump's executive order declaring that children born to people who are in the United States illegally or temporarily are not American citizens by a 6 to 3 vote, which is actually a 5 to 4 vote, and I'll talk about that in a minute. The court struck down Trump's order. A bare majority of five justices, in an opinion written by Roberts, held that the long settled understanding of the 14th Amendment amendment adopted after the Civil War, makes a citizen of anyone born in the country with very limited exceptions. But Kavanaugh disagreed about the Constitution part. He doesn't think the 14th Amendment protects birthright citizenship. He thinks it's a federal law passed a long time ago that conveys birthright citizenship. So four other justices voted today to throw out the Constitution, the 14th Amendment, but they've been trying to do this for a while. A senior counsel at the Democracy Defenders Fund, Taryn Wilgas Null, said, I would be in no way surprised if the Trump administration re ups their efforts to remove immigrants, but legally nothing has changed. She doesn't, however, think that Trump's post urging Congress to pass a law to end birthright citizenship should be taken seriously, saying, I know Trump made this statement today that suggests Congress could just respond to the decision with legislation. He doesn't understand how the Supreme Court works or how the Constitution works, she said. The only way a Constitution can be changed is with a constitutional amendment, but only five of the justices agree with you. The other four think it shouldn't exist at all or can be changed with the law. The court also struck down federal limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates for Congress and president, overturning campaign finance restrictions that have been in place for more than five decades. The ruling eliminates limits on coordinated spending between political parties and federal candidates, finding the restrictions violate constitutional protections for political speech. The case was brought by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, Then Ohio Senator J.D. vance and former Congressman Steve Shabbat. The Federal Election Commission initially defended the law, but then later joined the plaintiffs in asking the Supreme Court to overturn the spending limits. The restrictions had been enacted to prevent individuals from bypassing campaign contribution limits by routing money through political parties for the benefit of specific candidates. The Supreme Court had previously upheld this law in 2001, but they gutted it today.
- [09:42]
Dana Goldberg
Thank you so much Alison. And this is the story we were telling you about. This is from Erin Reed at Erin in the morning. On June 30th. This is the last of the term and the final day of Pride Month. The Supreme Court issued a 6:3 ruling that states may ban transgender athletes from women's and girls sports, holding that Title IX permits schools to determine eligibility based on biological sex. The ruling, authored by Kavanaugh, was narrower than some of the worst case scenarios. It preserved bottom which is a big deal. It did not overtly strip transgender people of equal protections and explicitly declined to decide whether states must exclude trans athletes. But in most consequential holdings still has vast consequences. The court declared that sex in the Title IX and I quote, cannot plausibly be interpreted to refer to anything other than biological sex. A definition ruling about the statute itself, not merely about sports. That's a problem. I just introduction there. That's a fucking problem. Because sex is not binary. And Aaron goes on to say, and though the majority have deliberately avoided saying that blue states must discriminate against transgender people under Title ix, its holding leaves wide lanes for the Trump administration to pressure schools and colleges through funding threats and investigations. And for far right organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom to file lawsuits targeting trans inclusive policies in every state in the country. The ruling was not as sweeping as it could have been. The court specified two important limiting principles. First, the majority explicitly stated that it was not deciding whether states that choose to allow transgender athletes to participate are in violation of Title ix, noting that, and I quote, that question is currently the subject of litigation in some lower courts and that nothing in this opinion is intended to decide that question. So this preserves, at least for now, the legal space for inclusive states to maintain their own policies. Second, the Court declined to resolve whether transgender people as a class are entitled to heightened constitutional protection under the Equal Protection Clause. This was one of the potential worst case scenarios. A ruling on those grounds could have greenlit virtually any law targeting transgender people by declaring them undeserving of equal protection. Instead, the Court analyzed the sports bans as sex based classifications subject to intermediate scrutiny, and found they satisfied that standard. Ultimately, though, the impact of this ruling will likely be severe. The most immediate consequence is that states across the country now have clear Supreme Court authorization to enact education based bathroom and sports bans targeting transgender students, with Title IX posing no barrier. But the damage is not going to be confined to red states. The Court gave a wide lane for lawsuits against schools and colleges in blue states that allow transgender athletes to participate. A more likely and immediate impact of this ruling, though, is the ratcheting up of the Trump administration's pressure campaigns against colleges, universities and public school districts to capitulate to its anti trans demands. And this is a quote. This ruling is deeply harmful for transgender women and girls who only ask for the ability to participate in sports with their peers. This is from Sasha Bucher, the senior attorney and director of the Non Binary and Transgender Rights Project. Lambda Legal went on to say, countless studies have demonstrated the myriad of benefits that come with participation in team sports. Now one population, transgender youth and collegians, are targeted for specific and baseless discrimination. We will not be deterred and we will continue to fight back to secure the equal participation that all youth, including transgender youth, deserve. You can read more at Erin in the Morning on Substack and I Hope that you will. And as I said before, this also, when you make this based on sex, there is a large population in this country. When I say large, there's 200,000 people a year, I believe, born intersex. This creates an opening for sex testing in collegiate sports. I don't know about high school. And the bottom line, this was never even brought up because Becky Pepper Jackson, who is an incredible young woman, it was never about being the best athlete. She just wanted to play sports with her peers, and that's it. This is all just so sad. It doesn't. And it now puts elementary school kids, because a lot of kids know that they are transgender very early on in life. It puts them on the same fucking playing field as Olympians. It's absurd. The ruling is absurd.
- [14:36]
Alison Gill
And you'll notice, and I know you've brought this up several times, it's just transgender girls and women.
- [14:41]
Dana Goldberg
Right?
- [14:42]
Alison Gill
That's it. And this doesn't protect women. This is going to subject who knows how many CIS girls and women to questions about their birth sex.
- [14:54]
Dana Goldberg
It will disproportionately affect them, just like you said, Alison, because the amount of transgender athletes in this country is miniscule. But the amount of athletes that don't fit in to society's definition of what a girl should look like is a vastly larger number.
- [15:10]
Alison Gill
Yeah, and what are you gonna do? Make 9 year old Becky take a hormone test? Like, I don't. It's disgusting. Invasive.
- [15:18]
Amanda Sturgel
Yeah.
- [15:19]
Alison Gill
Completely blows through privacy. And I'm just. I'm so upset that they used equal protection clause of 14th Amendment and Title IX to disenfranchise these young girls. It's a horrible, horrible, horrible ruling. All right, we're going to shift gears. We're going to talk about something from democracy. Docket. A Republican appointed federal judge in New Hampshire dismissed the Department of Justice lawsuit against the state, which refused the department's demand to hand over unredacted copies of its statewide voter registration list. The ruling Monday now marks the 11th straight loss for the Department of Justice, which has sued 30 states and D.C. in an unprecedented effort to obtain unredacted statewide voter registration list that includes sensitive personal data of every registered voter. I do not understand why Republicans support a federalized list of all its citizens and all your private information. Yeah. What happened to your don't tread on me flag?
- [16:19]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [16:20]
Alison Gill
No, no. Court, by the way, has ruled in favor of the Department. One appeals court has ruled against the DOJ as well.
- [16:28]
Dana Goldberg
All right, thank you so much. This is from the Post White House officials last year secretly awarded a no bid contract worth up to $500 million for the construction of the East Wing ballroom in a very unusual arrangement that sidesteps typical contracting procedures designed to control cost. That's according to a copy of the agreement obtained by the Washington Post. The confidential contract with Clark Construction, along with related correspondence and records obtained by the Post, reveal for the first time how the Trump administration bypassed norms last summer as it set the ballroom project in motion. Records also show that President Donald Trump was directly involved in negotiating some of the costs of this project. The E Swing contract is the latest example of the administration turning to no bid deals to hasten a Trump style makeover of the nation's capital, which has included handpicked firms to upgrade Lafayette Square, the public park next to the White House, and to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
- [17:30]
Alison Gill
Yeah, and this initial $500 million contract, I think, came under the Biden administration. And it's just with the basic. For basic upkeep and maintenance. Yeah, right. Of the whole. Of the whole grounds. And then Trump came in gutted. It said, 500 million to build my ballroom and destroy the East Wing of the White. No bid contract through that particular lane that he went in. The executive office of the president doesn't require competing bids. So gross. That whole time he was like $100 million tops. No taxpayer money. Meanwhile. All right, next up from Wired, this is a bizarre story. Hundreds of contractors working for Meta were instructed to pose as miners online and probe how competitor chatbots responded to prompts involving suicide, sex, eating disorders and other high risk subjects. According to internal documents, the effort, which was managed by Meta contractor Covalen, was active as recently as April 21. Known internally as Can C A N N E S, it targeted OpenAI, ChatGPT, Google, Gemini, and Character AI. The project asked workers to create dummy accounts of people under 18, send written prompts and images to rival chatbots, and copy their responses into spreadsheets. Some of the images contractors sent included pills, knives, nooses, a medical diagram of a gynecological procedure. And the prompts were often designed to push the chatbots toward responses their safety systems are supposed to refuse. According to instructions describing the project, a single round of testing, completed in August 2025 saw more than 45,000 prompts run through rival chatbots. The companies behind the chatbots were not aware Meta was doing this.
- [19:23]
Dana Goldberg
Oh, boy.
- [19:24]
Alison Gill
Former contractors who worked on the project described several aspects as alarming. According to one worker, employees feared the possibility they could be generating or preserving child sexual abuse material if a chatbot responded to certain sexual prompts involving minors. Another said they worried the project amounted to secretly taking material from competitor systems to potentially feed back into Meta. The former contractors who spoke with Wired requested anonymity.
- [19:51]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah, of course they did.
- [19:53]
Alison Gill
Quote, I've seen a lot of things I wish I hadn't while doing this job, one tells Wired. Everyone I knew who worked on this project was completely gobsmacked by some of the text they were asked to use on these rival chatbots. Surely we're going to get in trouble for doing this, is what they said. Just weird. Meta Zuckerberg.
- [20:14]
Dana Goldberg
Fucking weird. I know.
- [20:18]
Alison Gill
Okay.
- [20:19]
Dana Goldberg
All right. Okay. I'm taking you away from that. Allison, we're going to the New York Times.
- [20:23]
Alison Gill
Thank you.
- [20:23]
Dana Goldberg
You're welcome. A federal judge on Monday ordered the Trump administration to permanently abandon its efforts to suspend funding for A16 billion with a B rail tunnel under the Hudson river, describing those attempts as flagrantly illegal. Judge Jeanette Vargas of the Southern District of New York said that the administration violated federal guidelines when it stopped reimbursing the tunnel's builders for their expenses in September. The suspension forced a shutdown of the construction project that led to a brief layoff of about 1,000 workers in New York City and New Jersey in February. The decision on Monday did not complete litigation over the suspension. The Development Commission is still suing the Transportation Department for monetary damages resulting from the forced shutdown of the project.
- [21:10]
Alison Gill
Good. I hope they get every penny back.
- [21:12]
Dana Goldberg
I hope they do too.
- [21:13]
Alison Gill
Asshole. Not you. All right. From the Associated Press Students pursuing graduate degrees in nursing, physical therapy and several other fields will be eligible to take out higher federal student loan amounts, at least for now, after a federal judge blocked the wrestling lady at the Department of Education and her administration rule that held them to lower limits. Remember when she decided nursing was no longer a professional degree? The U.S. of Education Department issued a revised rule on Monday designed to follow the judge's order from last week, officials told the Associated Press. Agency officials called it a temporary change while they fight it out in court to keep the original rule which defined medicine, law and other fields as professional programs but excluded nursing as a professional degree. But in strictly applying the judge's order, the department is now striking some degrees from the list of professional programs, meaning those students will face lower loan limits. Theology studies are among the biggest shift from professional to non professional degrees in the shuffle, subjecting theology students to a lower student loan limit. The Masters of Divinity degree, which is a common degree for pastors and ministers, remains on the professional list, but they pulled theology out. So, you know, I guess don't poke the bear. McMahon, is that her name?
- [22:34]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [22:34]
Alison Gill
She goes in nursing. Can't be professional degree? Oh, no. We're putting nursing back as a professional degree. And we're actually taking theology away from you. So have a nice day.
- [22:43]
Dana Goldberg
I despise that person.
- [22:45]
Alison Gill
She's awful.
- [22:46]
Dana Goldberg
Yes, she is. All right. This is from the Carolina Journal. New statewide polls has crossed the board. Good news from Democrats in North Carolina. We've got former Governor Roy Cooper leading former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley by 14 points. 14 points in the state's open U.S. senate race with Donald Trump approval remaining underwater in Democrats ahead on nearly every ballot test. Those results are from the latest. What is that? Catawba College?
- [23:17]
Alison Gill
I think so.
- [23:18]
Dana Goldberg
Catawba College YouGov survey released June 23. In the poll, Cooper drew 48% support to what least 34% with 15% undecided. The margins largely unchanged from March when Cooper led by 15 points. And this is a quote, Cooper's advantage is not simply a function of Democratic support. This is Michael Bitzer. He's the director of Catawba College's center for North Carolina Politics and Public Service, which wrote and paid for the survey. He went on to say his lead is being driven by independents who currently support him by more than 2 to 1 over Whatley. That independent vote can often be a decisive factor in statewide North Carolina elections. Independents backed Cooper 50% to 23%, with nearly a quarter still undecided. Cooper held 83% of his own party, while Whatley took 77% of Republicans. The race bifurcated along views of the president. Two thirds of those who approve of Trump intend to vote for Whatley, while 77% of those who disapprove of him are obviously favoring Cooper.
- [24:26]
Alison Gill
Yeah, it's pretty amazing what a president's poll numbers in a midterm election can do for a race. All right, from the Associated Press. And remember yesterday we talked about how a lower court in Alaska in the state said that Dan Sullivan, the other Dan Sullivan.
- [24:43]
Dana Goldberg
Yep.
- [24:43]
Alison Gill
Republican on the ballot. And you and I were like, well, let's see what the Alaska Supreme Court says. Well, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled Monday that a man with the same name and party affiliation as Alaska Republican U.S. senator Dan Sullivan is qualified to run for the seat and ordered election officials to place him on the August primary ballot. The ruling came hours after the court heard arguments and just days after a state court judge, Thomas Matthews, found the division of Elections had abused its discretion in booting the other Dan Sul Sullivan from the ballot. The Supreme Court in a brief ruling, affirmed Matthews decision to include the other Dan Sullivan on the ballot, but sent back to the division the issue of how he should be listed as a candidate, quote, within the confines of existing Alaska ballot design law. So you are going to have a Dan J. Sullivan and a Dan S. Sullivan, both Republicans, on the primary ballot. It's going to be interesting to see when it goes back to the lower courts how the Republicans want to list him on the ballot like imposter in
- [25:44]
Dana Goldberg
a. Oh, my God.
- [25:46]
Alison Gill
You know, but oh my gosh, this is an open primary.
- [25:51]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [25:52]
Alison Gill
So this will be interesting.
- [25:53]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. It will be a little bit of good news to end with here. And our last story is from the Associated Press. The District of Columbia has agreed to pay $50,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a resident who accused police officers of illegally detaining him for following an Ohio National Guard patrol while playing Darth Vader's theme song from Star wars on his cell phone. That's according to a document released Monday. The video is hilarious. The painter, who is Sam o', Hara, sued the District, four Metropolitan Police Department officers and a Guard member from Ohio over what he says was his act of protest against Donald Trump's federal law enforcement, that surge in Washington, D.C. o' Hara played the Imperial March thing. From Star wars on his phone as he followed several National Guard troops down a Public street on September 11, 2025. One of the troops summoned police officers who stopped O' Hara and kept him handcuffed for 15 to 20 minutes before releasing him without charges, according to a lawsuit.
- [26:59]
Alison Gill
Imagine having to tell your mom that you called the police over because someone was following you around playing the Imperial March.
- [27:06]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah. Or anybody. Not just like anybody.
- [27:10]
Alison Gill
Oh, well, now DC's got to pay 50 large. I love that.
- [27:13]
Dana Goldberg
Snowflakes.
- [27:15]
Alison Gill
I love that. I also love the protester who had a tuba that was following around white supremacists playing like, like the tuba is the instrument for these guys.
- [27:28]
Dana Goldberg
It so is. So funny.
- [27:30]
Alison Gill
Fantastic. Great news. Thank you for that. We have more good news from listeners. We're going to get to that right after this quick break. Stick around. We'll be right back after these messages.
- [27:40]
Dana Goldberg
We'll be right back.
- [27:43]
Alison Gill
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- [31:29]
Martin Sheen
Hello, Martin Sheen here, and it seems to me that no day of the week is without its endless barrage of bad news. Even on Sunday. For God's sake, let's change that. What do you say? Together, let's make Sunday immune to bad news. Available now every Sunday. Season three of the Martin Sheen Podcast with yours truly, Martin Sheen has begun. Yeah, 10 brand new episodes are already underway. So join me, Martin sheen, for a 20 minute journey as I share my personal stories, a bit of poetry, and insightful reflections that will encourage you to take a deep breath and enjoy a relaxing moment. Of course, it's important to know and understand what's happening in the world, but I also believe there's nothing wrong with taking a step back to find strength and clarity. And Lord knows we need that now more than ever. A moment of thoughtfulness and calm may be rare these days, but it doesn't have to be. So what do you say? You want to take back your Sundays? So do I. And guess what? I've already done it with the Martin Sheen Podcast Season three available now. Don't mess with my Sunday and thank you for listening everybody.
- [32:43]
Alison Gill
Welcome back. It's time for the good news everyone.
- [32:47]
Dana Goldberg
Then good news everyone.
- [33:03]
Alison Gill
All right everybody, if you have any good news good trouble suggestions. Maybe your good news is little. Maybe it's just a thank you note. Maybe you just want to say hey to the whole Illuminati listening. Maybe you want to give a shout out to yourself or a loved one or a non profit or some great community activism. Maybe you have a fun story that you like to share with friends when you're all hanging out. We would love to tell that story. Send it to us. We just need to microdose in your hope and all you got to do to get your stuff read on the air is attach a photo. A photo that will bring a smile to our face. It can be you pay your pod pet tax if you want by attaching a photo of your pet. We can try to guess the breeds in your shelter. Pup or cat or horse or cow or chickens. You can find a random animal on the Internet. You can use family photos pictures of the last no Kings rally you went to. Some of your favorite signs, some of those overhead pass resistors that put those signs up on freeway overpasses. We'd love to see that. What you're making or creating. Did you knit a scarf? Did you make a quilt? We want to see it. Send it to us dailybeanspod.com click on Contact. First up is your good Trouble. Good Trouble today comes from Hans pronouns he and him, hi AG and dg. I've been listening to you both every morning for over a year now. The Daily Beans has become part of my daily walk and workout routine and I want to share something happening here in South Florida that I think your listeners would appreciate. I work for AIDS Healthcare Foundation AHF and we're helping lead a coalition of community organizations coming together for the we the people march in Fort Lauderdale on the eve of America's 250th birthday. At a time when healthcare is becoming harder to access, rents continue to rise, families are struggling with costs, and communities are feeling left behind. We're gathering to remind America that the freedoms promised in our founding documents belong to all of us. Thousands of Floridians, healthcare workers, teachers, veterans, farm workers, families and advocates are going to come together with one we the People means all of us. Friday, July 3, 6pm Esplanade park in Fort Lauderdale. We will have a link in the show notes to wtpmarch.org the event will include a march, rally, speakers, music, and community action. Thanks for everything you do to keep us informed, inspired, and laughing through the chaos. If you're looking for events happening around the country leading up to Independence Day, we'd love for you to know about this one. With gratitude, Hans attaches my pet pod Tax Finn. He's just shy of 16 months. He's mini, but he's mighty. He just stopped growing at six months. What he lacks in size, he makes up with in personality and love of life every day. Look at that side eye.
- [35:44]
Dana Goldberg
He is so cute.
- [35:46]
Alison Gill
Oh, my goodness. Incredible. And thank you, Hans, for your work with the AIDS Healthcare foundation and telling us about that march and everybody, we're extending our Trevor Project donation project, I guess through July because I've decided why not? July is Pride Month where I live in San Diego.
- [36:05]
Dana Goldberg
There you go.
- [36:06]
Alison Gill
We're going to extend it another 30 days if you want to help. Just a dollar. If everybody listening to this gave just a dollar, it's tax deductible. Can you do that? Can you imagine putting that on your taxes? I gave a dollar. Trevorproject.org beans they do incredible work. Incredible work with LGBTQ youth. Incredible work with Crisis Hotline. The crisis hotline that they have.
- [36:30]
Dana Goldberg
It is so important.
- [36:31]
Alison Gill
They're going to need so much help right now with what just happened to transgender folks at the supreme court. So please, trevorproject.org throughout San Diego Pride Month of July.
- [36:44]
Dana Goldberg
Awesome. All right, this is from another aunt, Meggie Pronoun. She and her hello, Beans. Queens love you both and the podcast. I actually saved you for one of my last listens in my daily lineup because I need the swearing after all the awful news. I have one good news item and one I was today years old. Win. My good news is that my sister and I got to see Paula Pallenstone on Saturday the 27th. It was at the Kent Stage in Kent, Ohio. It's a great small venue and if you ever get a chance to go see a show there, I highly recommend. Paula notoriously meets with the audience after. But it was sort of late and my sis wasn't feeling great, so I agreed to not wait in line. The universe had my back, though. As we were rounding the corner to go to our car, Paula walks right in front of us and I immediately scream, oh, my God. And I'm not known for low decibel levels. I startled her, but she was kind enough to let me grab her for a huge hug. I did manage to get a few coherent sentences out. Even with complete fangirling, I didn't think it was fair to her to ask her for a pic because we had sort of just jumped the line. So even though no pic, it did happen. My I was today years old. About a week ago, I wanted stuffing with my dinner. I had purchased a local shop's homemade mix. Read directions. I expected to have to bake it like my mom always did with the extra dressing at holidays. Wow. No oven. That's when I realized Stovetop. It's not just the name brand. I'm 49 by the way. The first pick is me and my sister, also a loyal listener and me at the show. The second is Raina and Hans, who you have seen before. I'm sure you'll 100% on the guessing of their breeds. Thanks again and love you guys. Oh, look at the Rottweiler and the wiener dog.
- [38:32]
Alison Gill
The rotty wiener. Oh, Rottweiler. Rottweilers are the sweetest babies.
- [38:37]
Dana Goldberg
They are so cute. Gentle giants.
- [38:39]
Alison Gill
Great, fantastic picture of you and your sister as well. Thanks for that. Yeah, Paula Poundstone's so great. Yeah, she's lovely. Just a lovely human. All right, next up from Nick pronouns he and him Good day ladies. I write to you to report that my inability to make the gala turned out to be a good thing. My car's been vibrating a lot in recent months at highway speeds, so I took it in to get examined on Friday. Turns out that my U joint was so bad they were surprised it hadn't fallen apart as such. While the bad news is I couldn't attend the Leguma Verse event, the good news is I had to avail myself of neither this great nation's alleged healthcare system nor its, shall we say, post healthcare system. I didn't get hurt. I didn't die, I think is what Nick's getting at there. I feel I need to speak up as to regional weather preparedness. I don't know how Allison defines the Midwest, but here in South Dakota we get winters with polar vortices that drive the temperature below minus 20 Fahrenheit. And we get summers that see not only triple digit temperatures, but high humidity as well. Our weather is like hell's bucket in the underrated I feel movie Cabin Boy. I'm experiencing the heat dome right now. And while the state may not elect good politicians, I once again apologize for producing Kristi Gnomes. You can throw most any weather at us and we'll just say, that's real nice, son. This here's what I carry. Yes, that quote is A movie reference. And I know it. Do you know it?
- [40:09]
Dana Goldberg
I have no idea.
- [40:09]
Alison Gill
It's the Beverly Hillbillies. All right, let's just double check. Yes. Okay. It was under a black bar, so I had to guess. For good news, I present Megatron, the babiest baby, and our new acquisition, June. An actual baby. She's as small and as loud as he is. Not. Anyways, keep up the good work. In the face of gestures broadly including Justice Kavanaugh choosing to be legally correct, but still a drunk shit bag. Yeah, look it. Oh, look at your new kitten. Yeah, look at the belly. Kitty bellies are the best. Thanks, Nick.
- [40:48]
Dana Goldberg
All right, next up, from Sarah, no H pronouns, she and her. I took time out of my nutty schedule in the thick of any immigrating to Vancouver, British Columbia, to meet up with my pals Sabra and to attend the gala in Chicago. I am so glad I did. Thank you, thank you. Thank you to the Beans team for putting on a lovely event. And Dana, you slayed. Can I say the next one? Does she. Do you think she listens to the podcast?
- [41:12]
Martin Sheen
I don't know.
- [41:13]
Alison Gill
Maybe we should just.
- [41:14]
Dana Goldberg
It just says more than tig. But don't tell her I said that. A comedy is subjective. And thank you very much, Sarah. At the start of the evening, I had to step out for a FaceTime tour for a place to live in Vancouver. An hour later, in line for the bar, I met Bill and Ana. Ana also works in healthcare, just moved to Vancouver in January, and lives in the same building as the flat I just seen. What?
- [41:38]
Martin Sheen
What?
- [41:38]
Alison Gill
Is there a legume Vorticey Vortex?
- [41:41]
Dana Goldberg
That's wild.
- [41:42]
Alison Gill
In this building in British Columbia.
- [41:44]
Dana Goldberg
That is wild. I also wanna shout out Anna as she decided to exclusively specialize in gender affirming care after her move. She's kicking ass. Word is spread like wildfire about this wonderful new doctor in the community. Thanks to the Daily Beans, we each have a new friend in our new city with whom we can share Leguminati fun. Good news, everyone. Attached are some photos of the gala and another from dinner last week in Vancouver with Bill and Anna. Oops. Limit Got me. We'll send other pics for y' all to enjoy offline.
- [42:14]
Alison Gill
Oh, I remember. I remember. I remember your dress.
- [42:18]
Dana Goldberg
Yes. Beautiful green.
- [42:21]
Alison Gill
Oh, look, got a new friend that lives in the same building doing gender affirming care in British Columbia.
- [42:26]
Dana Goldberg
It's so fucking awesome.
- [42:27]
Alison Gill
Our audience is the best. All right, next up from Marty. Good day, AG and dg. I was in New York last weekend visiting My daughter and was sad I wasn't able to make it to see Dana. A couple weeks ago, my brother and I took our 78 year old mom to see her all time favorite, Rod Stewart. It was so amazing to see her sing every song and dance. Even my brother and I found ourselves singing along. Who knew this was the show that Rod Stewart was struggling and needed oxygen. He finished the show and seated on a chair, bless his heart. That's the good news. The funny news is that during his encore, he sang Love Train and talked about how the world needs love while showing visuals of news clippings depicting war and conflict throughout the world contrasted with people doing good, with no shortage of negative headlines about Trump, including memes of him taking Greenland, etc. Seated next to me was a large man in his 50s who unfortunately got his feelings hurt by this and Rod's pro Ukraine dialogue and held up a double bird while yelling fuck you, Rod. These poor snowflakes. It was comical to all of us, even mom who's an avid Fox viewer. Here's a picture of the three of us at a concert and another of some great graffiti art I saw in New York City. Thanks for all you do. Love you guys. We got a note from the producer, Marty. Your photos didn't come through, so maybe try to send them our way again tomorrow. But that's incredible. And also Marty, Dana's gonna be back in Chicago in September.
- [43:52]
Dana Goldberg
Well, this was New York and I was gonna tell Marty that that show that you missed while you were in New York last weekend, it didn't happen. So you didn't miss me? Marty, I had no control over the show. It was Ty Hernan's event and something had happened where they had to postpone it. So you did not miss me. And hopefully the next time you are in the city, maybe we'll overlap.
- [44:13]
Alison Gill
I figured it's cause he said he was in New York last weekend, he couldn't come see you in Chicago, but. But it could have been the New York show too. But hey, if you're bound to go to Chicago.
- [44:24]
Dana Goldberg
That's right. If you're in Chicago, there's still some tickets available. There's a little low ticket alert on the website, but it's at the Den Theater in Chicago. It's gonna be a great crowd, a wonderful audience and you can go to my website, which is danagoldberg.com and go to my tour page and get tickets to Chicago on September 23rd. I'd love to see you.
- [44:41]
Alison Gill
Amazing. All right, next up from Gwen is it Me. Is it my turn? Did I.
- [44:46]
Dana Goldberg
No, I'm taking it from you. Okay, next up, next up from Gwen. Pronoun she and her. Okay, you can have it.
- [44:54]
Alison Gill
I'm just cutting into line like that Paula Poundstone fan.
- [44:57]
Dana Goldberg
Hello, AG and dg. I'm writing to say happy anniversary belated to my wife. It's been a little over 30 years since our holy union at a small MCC church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, surrounded by a full house of family and friends. Even though that was not a legal ceremony, we sure felt married. Then just 12 years ago on June 30, we were able to legally tie the knot in our backyard surrounded by a smaller group of our friends and family. In my vows to her, I said, I want no one else driving the bus of our life but you. Last year, Becky had a life threatening challenge and was on a ventilator for 10 days. Jesus. I thought my life as I knew it was coming to a close. God's plan for her prevailed and she is working her way back to better health. Things are challenging for her every day and she's met with physical restrictions, but she is the strongest and most loving person I know. She's still driving my life bus. It's time for me to close before I say anything embarrassing, except I love you to the moon and back.
- [45:58]
Alison Gill
Becky.
- [45:59]
Dana Goldberg
Attached is a picture of our cat, Little. She was rescued from a fox that was attacking her in the yard by a German shepherd. Wait, what? Hold on.
- [46:07]
Alison Gill
The German shepherd rescued the cat from a fox in your yard?
- [46:10]
Dana Goldberg
That's sure what it sounds like.
- [46:12]
Alison Gill
Wow.
- [46:13]
Dana Goldberg
Becky was able to nurse her wounds while I was away on a trip. She's now a total princess in our house. Thank you to all the beans who help keep our hope and faith in these bizarre times. And what a gorgeous cat.
- [46:24]
Alison Gill
That's a beautiful cat. That's like a. Like a calendar cat.
- [46:28]
Dana Goldberg
Yeah.
- [46:29]
Alison Gill
Gwen. Amazing. And happy anniversary belated to you and your wife. Thank you for sending that in. All right, next up from Nicole Pronouns. She and her I have something to share to close out Pride month after our small town bookshop. The local bookshop, Felixology, located in Maynard, Mass. Was the subject of a proposed book ban by a local bigot mouth bully for promoting the book Genderqueer. Our community rallied behind the store and the owner, Libby. The shop is so cool and so diverse and if you ever have a book she doesn't have, she'll order it for you on the spot. She amplifies all voices and interests. She hosts Drag Story Time during our Pride Fest celebration. And is very deliberate in promoting marginalized voices, especially during the month that is meant to honor them. This store has been a wonderful addition to the place I've called home for about 30 years. The only downside is that I can never get my kids to leave. I'm happy to report that the community, with the help of Maynard Indivisible, rallied around that store and the book is currently on backorder. We are living through extremely difficult times, but this is an example that love can conquer hate when we all stick together and take care of one another. If you're ever in the Boston area, please stop by. We also have the Sanctuary, which is a venue that hosts bands and comedy acts. Hint hint, Dana and it would be so great to meet you too. For my pod pet tariff, I'm including my handsome 12 year old boy in his pride bandana. I think you'll know one of his breeds right off the bat. I guess the other one based on his play behavior and build, but the other two I learned from his DNA test. Thanks for all the work you do. Taking extra time to care for your listeners by providing some good news when the rest of the news is so fucked up. All right, three breeds here. What do you think? Pit bull.
- [48:12]
Dana Goldberg
Boxer. Boxer.
- [48:14]
Alison Gill
And gay.
- [48:16]
Dana Goldberg
Very gay. That dog is gay.
- [48:21]
Alison Gill
Maybe chow chow and a whippet that watched.
- [48:24]
Dana Goldberg
Let's see what we got. Bulldog. Throw it in there Staffy.
- [48:27]
Alison Gill
Pity Bulldog.
- [48:29]
Dana Goldberg
Oh I'm glad we threw it in there.
- [48:31]
Alison Gill
And Boxer. We got em all. And gay.
- [48:36]
Dana Goldberg
And gay.
- [48:37]
Alison Gill
Look at this next photo.
- [48:39]
Dana Goldberg
Oh wow.
- [48:41]
Alison Gill
Whoa.
- [48:42]
Dana Goldberg
I know from atheist Eagle Scout pronouns. He, him, ag, dg. Thank you for all you do. You asked her. Pictures of goats and pictures of sunsets. How about a picture of a goat watching a sunset in the badlands? This was taken in 2017 during the High school graduation trip from our youngest son en route to his staffing at scout camp in South Dakota. This is just stunning.
- [49:04]
Alison Gill
That's some badlands and some goats and some sunsets right there.
- [49:08]
Dana Goldberg
Love it.
- [49:10]
Alison Gill
You want to take the next one since that one was so short?
- [49:13]
Dana Goldberg
I'm going to close this out. You sure?
- [49:14]
Alison Gill
Yeah, close us out.
- [49:15]
Amanda Sturgel
All right.
- [49:15]
Dana Goldberg
This is from Raina. Pronouns she and they. Top of the morning Bonnie Beans. A year ago I wrote in with the exciting news about an upcoming post mastectomy reconstruction of my left breast. Thanks to the amazing UW Health Madison, my wish finally came true. Last December they used my own stomach tissue and everything went swimmingly. I am now symmetrical again in time for being 5 year cancer free once again Fuck cancer. To infinity and for all eternity. And also, by the way, Rena, very impressive that you were symmetrical before cancer. Cause not many of us are. For my pod pet tax, I present our newest baby, Mickey. After our old boy Willie crossed over last year, the ladies at our rental office knew we would eventually want to adopt again. In January, we got a call. A neighbor had passed away, leaving his cat alone. My husband and I, along with a couple other neighbors, visited Mickey every day to feed and keep him company. He was incredibly shy, but gradually he let us pet, hold and play with him. And in. In February, we took him home. He's getting along with Deren, I guess, another adopted. And he also Deren, another adoptee. He also goes by Michael Moss, Michelnugget Mixomatosis and Mixmaster.
- [50:33]
Alison Gill
Mixmaster Mike.
- [50:35]
Dana Goldberg
Keep up the awesomeness.
- [50:37]
Alison Gill
What a sweet baby. Brianna, thank you. Thank you so much. And congratulations on five years cancer free. Fuck cancer. Yeah, everybody, thank you so much for your good news. Send it in. Send it all in to us. We love it. We love it so, so very much. You can send it@dailybeanspod.com and click on contact. Do you have any final thoughts before we get out of here today, my friend?
- [50:57]
Dana Goldberg
I do not.
- [50:58]
Alison Gill
All right, we'll be back in your ears tomorrow. Till then, please take care of yourselves, take care of each other, take care of the planet, take care of your mental health, and take care of your family. I've been ag. I've been dg and I'm the Beans. The Daily Beans is written and executive produced by Alison Gill with additional research and reporting by Dana Goldberg. Sound design and editing is by Desiree McFarlane with art and web design by Joelle Reader with Moxie Design Studios. Music for the Daily Beans is written and performed by they Might Be Giants, and the show is a proud member of the MSW Media Network, a collection of creator owned podcasts dedicated to news, politics and justice. For more information, Please visit msw media.com msw media.
- [51:39]
Martin Sheen
Hello, Martin Sheen here. And it seems to me that no day of the week is without its endless barrage of bad news. Even on Sunday. For God's sake, let's change that. What do you say? Together, let's make Sunday immune to bad news. Available now every Sunday, season three of the Martin Sheen podcast with yours truly, Martin sheen has begun. Yeah, 10 brand new episodes are already underway. So join me, Martin sheen, for a 20 minute journey as I share my personal stories, a bit of poetry and insightful reflections that will encourage you to take a deep breath and enjoy a relaxing moment. Of course, it's important to know and understand what's happening in the world. But I also believe there's nothing wrong with taking a step back to find strength and clarity. And Lord knows we need that now more than ever. A moment of thoughtfulness and calm may be rare these days, but it doesn't have to be. So what do you say? You want to take back your Sundays? So do I. And guess what? I've already done it with the Martin Sheen Podcast, Season three, available now. Don't mess with my Sunday, and thank you for listening.