Refried Beans | Charlotte’s Angels (feat. Charlotte Clymer) | 7.29.2025

Summary

The Daily Beans — “Refried Beans | Charlotte’s Angels” (feat. Charlotte Clymer)

MSW Media | Air date: August 2, 2026
Originally aired: July 29, 2025

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Daily Beans is a special “Refried Beans” edition, where hosts Allison Gill (AG) and Dana Goldberg replay and reflect on a packed episode from July 29, 2025. It’s a dynamic mix of political news, sharp commentary, progressive legislative updates, and a feature interview with writer and activist Charlotte Clymer. The show covers everything from witness tampering allegations in the DOJ, abortion rights fights, and anti-woke media bankruptcies, to LGBTQ+ advances in Ukraine and family drama surrounding Lauren Boebert—all wrapped in the hosts’ signature humor and candid tone.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Breaking Political Headlines & Hot Notes

Timestamps: [01:31] – [15:05]

• Senators Demand DOJ Tapes

  • [04:46] AG details how Senators Durbin and Whitehouse formally requested all recordings/transcripts from DOJ interviews with Ghislaine Maxwell, conducted by Todd Blanche without usual prosecutorial oversight.
  • Concerns are raised about possible witness tampering and deals for pardons or commutation in exchange for information about Donald Trump’s connections to the Epstein case.
  • Notable AG Quote:

    “Democrats are eager to call for transparency and force the administration to explain why it’s unwilling to offer it... Unlike Durbin, I can sue in federal court if my FOIA for the Trump mentions doesn’t come through.” [07:35]

• Texas Abortion Lawsuit Crosses State Lines

  • [08:59] Dana shares details of a Texas man suing a California doctor (in federal court) for allegedly providing abortion pills to his girlfriend, testing newly formed "shield laws" protecting out-of-state abortion providers.
  • Notable Quote:

    “This is one of many-pronged strategy to test these shield laws in as many ways as possible.” — Rachel Rabush, Temple Law School [09:32]

• Planned Parenthood Defunded Attempt Blocked

  • [11:38] AG reports a federal judge ruled Medicaid reimbursements must continue for Planned Parenthood, affecting a million+ patients. AG criticizes AP wording conflating abortion services with Medicaid funding.

• Ukraine Recognizes Same-Sex Couples

  • [13:37] Dana shares milestone ruling by a Kyiv court legally recognizing a same-sex couple as “family” for the first time, setting a precedent for LGBTQ+ rights in Ukraine.

    “This may serve as a critical legal milestone in expanding those rights for LGBTQ families.”

• Lauren Boebert’s Family Legal Troubles

  • [15:05] AG gives a rundown of Rep. Boebert’s son’s new child abuse charge, along with a litany of earlier infractions.

    “Rap sheet on this guy is a mile long, but he just keeps getting off with slaps on the wrist.” [17:44]

• Dr. Phil’s Anti-"Woke" Network Bankrupt

  • [17:44] Dana and AG cover the bankruptcy and lawsuits swirling around Dr. Phil’s conservative Merritt Street Media network.

    “Oh, so it's not because his show sucks. No, it's because the Trinity Christian Broadcasting Network reneged...” — AG [18:25]
    “Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.” — Dana [18:09]

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2. Viral Segment: “Good Trouble” and Daring Activism

[21:45]

• AG shares an anecdote from trauma therapist Matthew Diddy, who anonymously mails letters to homes with Trump signs, expressing concern about their support for a “pedophile.”

  “If you feel like you want to do this anonymously... just tell them you’re very concerned for the children and the women in the neighborhood, that they’re supporting a pedophile.” — AG [22:40]

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3. Feature Interview: Charlotte Clymer

Timestamps: [24:00] – [42:12]

A. On Ryan Walters Scandal (Oklahoma Superintendent, Bible Push, Porn Incident)

• Charlotte lays out the record: Walters, a far-right culture warrior, focused on banning books, persecuting LGBTQ+ staff, and recently mandating Lee Greenwood/Trump-branded King James Bibles in every classroom.

  “This guy is easily the biggest culture warrior among state officials in the country, and that's saying something for the Republican Party at the moment.” — Charlotte [24:59] “[Walters] published his King James Bible, and Trump endorsed it, and Trump gets royalties… $70, made in China.” — Charlotte [28:20]

• Hilarious recap of the porn-on-TV-in-office mishap at a board meeting.

  “They alert Mr. Walters, and he says, ‘What are you talking about?’ Then he looks behind him and sees what’s playing, realizes what happened… and calmly comes back and continues the meeting like nothing happened.” — Charlotte [30:27] “I bet when he heard he was facing a probe, he got really excited for a second, but then realized it was probably not the kind of probe he was hoping for.” — AG [31:07]

B. Trump, Epstein, and the MAGA Narrative Unraveling

• Hosts and Charlotte dissect Trump’s botched PR on Epstein, with Trump admitting on camera, “I didn’t have the privilege of visiting Epstein’s island” (prompting the hosts to wish it could loop in every Democratic ad).

  “He just doesn’t seem to be able to unscrew himself… Every time, he triangulated, distracted people. This time, he just doesn’t seem able to.” — Charlotte [35:21] AG theorizes: “Once MAGA’s upset with Donald Trump, THEN the corporate media can come in and grab onto this and not let go.” [36:29]

C. Roy Cooper’s Senate Run in North Carolina

• Charlotte expresses delight for Cooper’s bid, calling him “the Superman of North Carolina Democratic politics.”

  “They feel like he's on their side… North Carolinians look at him and say, that's our guy… If we do what we need to do, Roy Cooper is going to be a Democratic pickup for the Senate next year.” [38:25]

D. On Youth, Party Leadership, and Writing

• Shout-out to Anderson Clayton, 26-year-old North Carolina Democratic Party chair.
• Charlotte, Dana, and Allison reflect humorously on their own youthful jobs (mall kiosks, Applebee’s) compared to today’s powerhouse young leaders.
• Dana jokes about writing a show set in an Albuquerque Applebee’s:

  “This stories, Charlotte—the stabbings and the bar fights… in an affluent area. Don’t worry, I’m writing a show.” [41:20]

E. The Importance of Activist Storytelling

• Mutual appreciation for Charlotte’s activism and writing. Charlotte calls Allison and Dana “my angels. I adore you both.” [42:12]

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4. Good News Segment

Timestamps: [44:31] – [57:44]

• Listeners submit positive news: successful town halls, pet photos (including goose dressed as a mailman), and family joys.
• Heartfelt listener stories include overcoming health challenges (Type 1 diabetes camp scholarships), grief over medical misdiagnosis (advocacy for amyloidosis awareness), and support for LGBTQIA+ youth—both in America and Australia.

  “We need to microdose hope, right? Like we've been saying.” — AG [44:41] “The power of ‘you’re not alone’.” — AG [51:39] “If a doctor’s not listening to you, walk to the end of the earth to get your message across!” — Anonymous [55:54] “I wish that I could just wrap all of these young queers and LGBTQI plus kids in a hug and be like, you're all right, you're all right. Not just that you belong here—we need you.” — Dana [57:48]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It violates the Geneva Convention at this point.” (Charlotte on repeated playing of ‘God Bless the USA’ in military training) [27:24]
• “$70, made in China, King James Bible.” — AG and Charlotte, skewering the hypocrisy of nationalist Bible marketing [28:17]
• On Dr. Phil: “Oh, so it’s not because his show sucks. No, it’s because the Trinity Christian Broadcasting Network reneged on what obligations? To make you better at TV?” — AG [18:25]
• “If you feel like you want to do this anonymously... just tell them you’re very concerned about the children and the women in the neighborhood, that they’re supporting a pedophile.” — AG [22:40]

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Major Interview Segments & Timestamps

| Segment | Topic | Timestamps | |---------|-------|------------| | Hot Notes & Headlines | DOJ, Abortion, Ukraine decision, etc. | [01:31]–[23:21] | | Charlotte Clymer Interview | OK education scandal, Trump/Epstein, Roy Cooper | [24:00]–[42:12] | | Good News | Listener submissions, hope, activism, pets | [44:31]–[57:44] |

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Tone & Vibe

• Candid, witty, and unflinching in critique—equal parts progressive activism, news breakdown, and community support.
• Humor and personal rapport shine: from razor-sharp political analysis to playful self-deprecation and heartfelt listener outreach.
• “Snark” isn’t just in the show tagline; it’s the secret sauce throughout.

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Summary Takeaway

This episode is a perfect snapshot of The Daily Beans at its best—tackling breaking news, holding power to account, and creating a space for progressive listeners to learn, laugh, and participate in the democratic process. Charlotte Clymer’s feature adds extra depth and wit to topics from the absurd hypocrisy of GOP cultural warriors to the very real stakes in upcoming Senate races. If you want both the state of play and the spirit of resistance—with a generous side of hope—this one’s not to miss.

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Subscribe to The Daily Beans for more snark-filled, substantive progressive news, and check out Charlotte's Web Thoughts on Substack for her latest essays and activism.

Transcript

[Allison Gill]

I'm Brian Caram and I've spent decades covering politics.

[Dana Goldberg]

Now I'm taking you behind the scenes, one interview at a time.

[Allison Gill]

Join us as each week Brian confronts the issues that matter, posing the questions you wish you could ask. No filter, no agenda, just the truth. We're not here for sound bites.

[Dana Goldberg]

We're here for substance.

[Charlotte Clymer]

Join me, Brian Caram, every week as

[Dana Goldberg]

we cut through the noise and get straight to it.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

This is Just Ask the Question where curiosity will lead us to the facts. Subscribe now on your favorite podcast platform and remember, when you want answers, all

[Allison Gill]

you have to do is just ask the question. MSW Media. Hey everybody, it's Ag. And welcome to Refried Beans, where we play an episode of the Daily Beans podcast from the same week either one, two or three years ago, so we can see how far we've come. So please enjoy this episode from days gone by and note the date in the intro.

[Charlotte Clymer]

Refried beans. I like refried beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's why I want to try fried

[Charlotte Clymer]

beans, because maybe they're just as good

[Dana Goldberg]

and we're wasting time.

[Allison Gill]

Daily beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

Daily beans. Daily beans. Daily beans.

[Allison Gill]

Hello and welcome to the Daily beans for Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Today, Senators Durbin and White House demand the tapes of Todd Blanche's witness tampering meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell. A Texas man is suing a California doctor, testing a new angle to crack down on abortion pills in the state. Another federal judge blocks the Trump administration's attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. Democrat Roy Cooper launches a bid for the North Carolina Senate seat while Republican Mike Collins throws his hat in the ring to challenge Jon Ossoff. In Georgia, Lauren Boebert's son has been charged with child abuse. Dr. Phil's anti woke network has filed for bankruptcy. And in a landmark ruling, a Ukrainian court recognizes a same sex couple as a family. I'm Allison Gill.

[Dana Goldberg]

And I'm Dana Goldberg.

[Allison Gill]

Hello, Dana.

[Dana Goldberg]

Hello, my friend.

[Allison Gill]

I'm so excited because later in the show we get to talk to Charlotte Clymer.

[Dana Goldberg]

Woo hoo. She's one of my favorite people. I mean, y' all just get on board, follow the substance. You're going to understand. You just have to go experience it for yourself. Charlotte's incredible. I'm glad we have her.

[Allison Gill]

Yes. And she has written like 16 essays. 17 essays. Something in the last month or something like that.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

And you know, we're going to talk politics in this show, but she has a really great essay about the Titanic movie that you, you absolutely have to read. And I guess it is political because it has to do with misogyny. But you definitely want to subscribe to her substack. We'll talk to her later in the show. Also, CBS says Roy Cooper, as we know, the former Democratic governor of North Carolina officially launched his Senate bid.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, amazing.

[Allison Gill]

For Republican Senator Thom Tillis open seat in 2026 on Monday. As for the Republicans pick, multiple sources tell ABC News that RNC Chair Michael Whatley is planning to launch a bid after being asked directly by Trump to run. And you might say what I said, excuse me, who?

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, Michael Watley, I mean, North Carolina knows Roy Cooper. This is, I'm hoping a landslide.

[Allison Gill]

I hope so, too. But yeah, Michael Whatley, RNC chair with Lara Trump member. He's kind of just a puppet there to make sure they can get all that Guam Republican money in there.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. Yep, yep, yep. And speaking of the Senate, we've got Rep. Mike Collins, who's that Republican in Georgia, on Monday announcing his bid for Senate next year's midterms. He's joining a now contested GOP primary of hopefuls attempting to, of course, unseat Senator John Ossoff, our Democrat who we love. And I quote, we need a senator who works for Georgia, not the California crazies or New York nutjobs. I wonder how long they workshop that quote. That's from Collins. He said that in an announcement posted on Twitter and in a video posted on Twitter to Collins's campaign account at Team Overhaul Georgia. And by the way, they misspell the word Georgia. I can't.

[Allison Gill]

That just about sums it up.

[Dana Goldberg]

It really does. My God.

[Allison Gill]

All right. And we're going to talk to Charlotte about Roy Cooper. And I can't wait to get to that. But first we have to hit the hot notes. Hot notes.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right.

[Allison Gill]

First up from the time, Senator Richard Durbin, that's Dick of Illinois, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday demanded all recordings and transcripts of the July 24th and 25th Justice Department interviews. I'm putting interviews in quotes because I think it's witness tampering with Ghislaine Maxwell, longtime partner of Jeffrey Epstein, who's serving a 20 year sentence for sex trafficking. She raped kids is what she did in a letter to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who conducted the interviews. Mr. Durbin also demanded the Justice Department commit to offering no pardon or commutation of Maxwell's sentence in exchange for information, citing, quote, serious questions about the potential for a corrupt bargain between the Trump administration and Ghislaine Maxwell. The letter, a copy of which was obtained by the Times, was co signed by Senator Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode island, who also sits on the judiciary. Because Democrats are in the minority and have no subpoena power, their demands carry little weight with Mr. Blanche. But the letter reflected how Democrats are trying to keep pressure on the Trump administration on an issue that has, at least for now, cleaved from the President a portion of his typically loyal MAGA base that is demanding a release of the files that the administration has refused to make public in a letter. In this particular letter, I should say Mr. Durbin noted that the meetings between Blanche and Maxwell last week were highly unusual. That's putting it lightly. Such interviews would typically be conducted by line prosecutors more familiar with the details of the case and more able to determine on the spot if Maxwell was lying. That's what he noted in his letter. But they fired the line prosecutor in this case. Yep, Maureen Comey. And they also didn't have an FBI agent sitting in on this, which is also something that doesn't happen. That Mr. Blanch himself conducted such interviews, Mr. Durbin writes, led him and Mr. Whitehouse to believe that the meetings were another tactic to distract from the DOJ's failure to fulfill Attorney General Bondi's commitment that the American people would see the full Epstein files. Durbin also wrote that there were serious concerns that Maxwell may provide false information.

[Dana Goldberg]

Why would they think that? Maybe because she's lied under oath before

[Allison Gill]

or selectively withhold information in return for a pardon or a sentence commutation. So I'm really glad that even though they can't do much here because they don't have subpoena power and they aren't in the majority, they're putting it in writing, right, that this is a corrupt bargain for a pardon. Now, in the letter, the senators also demanded the names and titles of everyone present during the two days of the interviews with Maxwell. And they question why the Justice Department believed she would be truthful when the Trump administration previously argued in court about her willingness to brazenly lie under oath about her conduct. They also requested the complete terms of an offer of limited immunity that was made to Ms. Maxwell to secure her cooperation in the interviews. And they demanded the Microsoft SharePoint online collaborative file that Mr. Blanche's office reportedly maintained to log mentions of Mr. Trump in the Epstein related records that have been reviewed by the Justice Department and the FBI. And by the way, I have also put in a FOIA request for that master file. And the reason that he knows that there's a master file is either because of the whistleblower that came and spoke to Mr. Durbin's office or the sources that I reported out. I think I'm so far the only one that is still reporting that there is a master Excel spreadsheet on a SharePoint drive with all of the Trump mentions. Now not only Dana have I FOIA that, but I also FOIA the video trainings that live on that SharePoint that are embedded in PowerPoint presentations that instruct FBI analysts on how to flag Trump mentions in the Epstein files. So I've got a FOIA out for all that. It's unlikely that Durbin and White House will receive any of that information, but Democrats are eager to call for transparency and force the administration to explain why it's unwilling to offer it. Now, unlike Senator Durbin, if I don't get that list of Trump mentions in the Excel spreadsheet, I can sue in federal court and I plan on it. Nice quote. The victims and survivors of Jeffrey Epstein have been repeatedly let down by the criminal justice system. That's what the letter states and that's an understatement. Rather than engaging in this elaborate ruse, DOJ simply released the Epstein files as Attorney General Bondi promised to do.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thank you so much, Allison. This next story is from the Texas Trib. Galveston man is suing a California doctor for allegedly providing his girlfriend with abortion inducing drugs. The latest effort to test Texas's anti abortion laws against blue states protections for abortion providers. Unlike other ongoing legal challenges in state court, the suit was filed in federal court which opens up a new avenue to stress test these so called quote shield laws. This is what legal experts are saying. After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, as red states like Texas were banning abortions, blue states passed these laws to protect abortion providers who mail medications into restrictive states. And I quote this is one of many pronged strategy to test these shield laws in as many ways as possible. This is from Rachel Rabush, the dean of Temple Law School and an expert on shield law. She went on to say about whether this case will go to the way they're expecting. That's lot we don't know yet. Now Jonathan Mitchell, a prominent anti abortion lawyer who helped design Texas's abortion laws. He brought the suit on behalf of his client Jerry Rodriguez seeking damages as well as an injunction on behalf of and I quote, all current and future fathers of unborn children in the United States. The complaint filed Sunday accused Mr. Remy Couteau, I think so, of mailing abortion pills to Rodriguez's girlfriend. And obviously, this is the doctor we're talking about. In September of 2024, she allegedly used the medication to terminate a pregnancy that month and later terminated a second pregnancy. Rodriguez says those abortions happened at the direction of his girlfriend's estranged husband. Okay. She's currently pregnant, the suit says, and Rodriguez fears that the husband will again pressure her to kill Rodriguez's unborn child and obtain abortion pills from Couteau to commit the murder. That's a quote, not my words. You know how we refer to fetuses here on this show? A man who answered the phone at Couteau's office said the doctor had no comment before hanging up. Rodriguez is asking a judge to award him at least $75,000 in damages against Scouto for causing the, quote, wrongful death of his unborn child. The lawsuit also alleges Couteau is in violation of the Comstock Act.

[Allison Gill]

There it is.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yep. An 18th century anti obscenity law. The Con Stop act has not been enforced for more than 100 years, with some legal experts arguing it's entirely unenforceable as a result, while others, including Mitchell, argue it can be used to federally criminalize mailing abortion pills.

[Allison Gill]

Well, if they're going to reenact the Comstock Act, I think it should apply to Ryan Walters as well.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

By the way, I don't think they should. And the Comstock act is stupid. And some better news from the Associated Press. A federal judge on Monday ruled that Planned Parenthood clinics nationwide must continue to be reimbursed for Medicaid funding as the nation's largest abortion provider fights President Donald Trump's administration over efforts to defund the organization and his signature tax legislation. And I really don't like that. The Associated Press refers to Planned Parenthood as the nation's largest abortion provider in the same sentence with reimbursed for Medicaid funding.

[Dana Goldberg]

Agreed.

[Allison Gill]

Because they aren't reimbursed for that at Planned Parenthood. The new order replaces a previous edict handed down by Judge Indira Talwani in Boston last week. We talked about it. Talwani initially granted a preliminary injunction specifically blocking the government from cutting Medicaid payments to Planned Parenthood members that didn't provide abortion care or didn't meet the threshold of at least $800,000 in Medicaid reimbursements in a given year. And so she's turned this preliminary injunction into a permanent one. Quote, patients are likely to suffer adverse health consequences where care is disrupted or unavailable. That's what she wrote in The Monday order in particular restricting members ability to provide healthcare services, threatens an increase in unintended pregnancies and attendant complications because of reduced access to effective contraceptives and an increase in undiagnosed and untreated STIs. In a lawsuit, Planned Parenthood had argued that they'd be at risk of closing nearly 200 clinics in 24 states if they're cut off from Medicaid funding. They estimated this would result in more than a million patients losing care. Quote we're suing the Trump administration over this targeted attack on Planned Parenthood health centers and the patients who rely on them for care. That's what Planned Parenthood's President and CEO, Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement on Monday. Quote, this case is about making sure the patients who use Medicaid as their insurance to get birth control, cancer screenings and STI testing and treatment can continue to do so at their local Planned Parenthood health center. And we will make that clear in court.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thank you so much, Allison. Now this next one, some good news. This is from Kyiv, Kyiv Independent. Actually a district court in Kyiv has formally recognized a same sex couple as a family, marking the first legal precedent of its kind in Ukraine. Human rights organization Insight LGBTQ. That's what they announced on July 3rd. Ukraine does not currently recognize same sex marriages or partnerships in this court ruling may serve as a critical legal milestone in expanding those rights for LGBTQ families. The case involves Zorian Kiss, first secretary of Ukraine's embassy in Israel, and his partner Timur Levchuk, who have lived together, by the way, since 2013 and were married in the United States in 2021. The court ruled on June 10 that their relationship constitutes a de facto marriage, establishing them as a family under Ukrainian law. The ruling comes after Ukrainian's foreign minister refused to acknowledge Lovechuck as Keyes family member, denying him spousal rights to accompany Keys on his diplomatic posting in Israel. His response? The couple filed a legal complaint in September of 2024. In its decision, the court cited both Ukrainian constitution and precedents from the European Court of Human Rights, which is the echr. Both of those require states to ensure legal recognition and protection for same sex families. So that is a wonderful thing that has happened. And Allison's about to follow it up with some horrifying news from the Bobert family.

[Allison Gill]

Is there anything but horrifying news from the Boebert family, if we're being honest? But anyway, that is such good news, Dana. I'm so glad to hear that because that sets a very this is like one step to recognizing all same sex marriage in Ukraine as as family. So very, very good news. And yeah, just content warning because you have to hear about it from the independent. Rep. Lauren Boebert's son has been charged with child abuse following an incident involving her grandson that she described as a miscommunication. So real mama bear energy here protecting her grandson. Tyler Boebert, who's 20, the eldest son of the MAGA congresswoman, was cited for criminal negligence where no death or injury occurred, which is a misdemeanor for the July 11 incident. And that's according to the Windsor Police Department records obtained by Denver Westward. Authorities have not yet shared details about the incident which the 38 year old congresswoman brushed off as a miscommunication on monitoring my young grandson that recently led to him getting out of the house.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

What?

[Allison Gill]

In a statement, the congresswoman described her son's legal trouble as a one time incident. One time incident. No, it's not. This is not the first run in with the law for the congresswoman's 20 year old son whose girlfriend became pregnant with his child when he was just 17 years old. In September of 2022, Tyler Bobert flipped his father's SUV into a creek, leaving the person in his passenger seat with multiple concussions and a severely lacerated hand. He was ticketed for careless driving. The case was eventually dropped down to defective vehicle for headlights ticket under a plea deal. Okay. Then in January 2024, he called the police to report that his father Jason was assaulting him, leading to his arrest. Now, during the incident, Jason allegedly, quote, pushed Tyler to the ground and pushed his thumb into his mouth, according to the arrest affidavit. A month later, Tyler was slapped with more than a dozen felony charges. Although this new misdemeanor is a one time thing. A dozen felony charges for a series of thefts from vehicles and for using stolen credit cards at local gas stations.

[Dana Goldberg]

Just a fine.

[Allison Gill]

Upstanding citizen Tyler Boebert pled guilty last October to a single charge of attempting to commit identity theft and was given a two year deferred judgment allowing his felony to be cleared from his record after completing his 24 month probation. So rap sheet on this guy is a mile long, but he just keeps getting off with slaps on the wrist. He's due in a Weld county court on September 8th. We'll see what happens.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thanks so much, Allison. We've got one from The Independent. Seems Dr. Phil McGraw. You know Dr. Phil. Thanks for that one, Oprah. Not your fault, but you know, we're sorry, he's here. He's that conservative leaning cable network, Merritt Street Media, and it's filing for bankruptcy barely a year after its launch and also suing its distribution partner Trinity Broadcasting for a breach of contract.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Trinity.

[Allison Gill]

Trinity Broadcasting, really?

[Dana Goldberg]

In its lawsuit against the Christian broadcaster, Merritt street alleged that Trinity, and I quote, reneged on its obligations and abused its position as the controlled shareholder of Merritt street, leaving the upstart channel with over 100 million do in debt. Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.

[Allison Gill]

Oh, so it's not because his show sucks. No, it's because the Trinity Christian Broadcasting Network reneged on what obligations to make you better at TV.

[Dana Goldberg]

The stories of Dr. Phil and what he did on his show are horrifying. Following a two decade run as a syndicated daytime talk show host, McGraw announced in late 2023 that he was starting up his own multi platform media company, which would include a cable television channel featuring who Dr. Phil Primetime program as its flagship. Claiming that Merritt street would become, and I quote, one of the most widely distributed startup networks in modern history, the company revealed before its official launch that it was partnering with TBN. Besides McGraw's week night show, the channel would focus on true crime and cultural programming and boost a lineup of familiar TV personalities. Like who? Nancy Grace, Steve Harvey. Interesting. And Bear Grylls. Do you know Bear Grylls?

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Isn't he like the survivalist guy that goes out into the nature and eats live animals and Bear Grylls? Me neither. I think that's right.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right. After officially launching, by the way, in April 2024, the network soon found itself in financial turmoil pretty quickly. Just months after McGraw's high profile and fawning primetime interview. With who? Donald Trump. Merritt street laid off roughly 40 employees in August of last year, representing one third of its total staff. And just last month, amid Dr. Phil Show's summer hiatus. Okay, that's what we're calling it. You're like, it was just a break. No, you broke up. Another 40 staffers were given the pink slip. So it would now appear though, that it was due to more than just McGraw's Primetime program taking a break. Dr. Phil, meanwhile, has made headlines in recent months for embedding himself with ICE agents for raids amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdowns in large American cities. After joining immigration enforcement for ride alongs in Chicago in January, with footage of migrant arrests being used for content for merit, the Network boasted that McGraw. Mr. McGraw and his camera crew got an I quote firsthand look at the targeted operations in Los Angeles that led to fiery protests and Trump mobilizing the National Guard. Oh, my God, what a fucking opportunist and a douchebag.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. And speaking of those LA protests, you really got to listen to the latest Unjustified podcast. I know I said this yesterday, but Andy and I talk about the fact that Trump's prosecutor, U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, has tried to get 38 people indicted by grand juries. And, like, he's failing miserably and no one's indicting any of the protesters. And so it's. It's pretty. It's pretty fascinating. And everybody's really mad. Like, why won't the grand juries indict these protesters? It's. Well, first of all, some of the ICE agents lied. Their cases are full of holes. There weren't assaults and the protests were peaceful. Yeah, maybe. Anyway, definitely check that out. And I think it's important to note that our media company, MSW media, has lasted seven times longer than Dr. Phil's.

[Dana Goldberg]

I love that we're almost measuring it in scaramuchies. What a douche. God. Dr. Phil.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Hmm.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Fuck that guy. All right, on that note, time for some good trouble.

[Dana Goldberg]

What are you guys doing?

[Charlotte Clymer]

Getting into trouble.

[Allison Gill]

Getting into trouble. All right, this is from a listener. Dana, your favorite clinical psychologist, John Gartner and Harry Siegel discussed the implications of sexual perpetrators in power with the ever inspiring Matthew Diddy, who's a trauma expert and a therapist and an educator on their latest podcast. And Mr. Diddy said, quote, I know we don't want to talk about it, but we're all going to have to start practicing talking about it. And I'm curious what you think. I've been doing a thing. It's a little devious. He said, I'm ready to. I'm ready to come out. It was me. I did this. And if you want to know what I've been talking about, I've been driving by homes that have Trump signs, writing down their addresses and sending them letters anonymously saying that I'm very concerned about their support for a pedophile. And I really hope they could clarify for the sake of the safety of the women and children in the neighborhood.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Love this.

[Allison Gill]

So there you go. If you, if, if you feel like you want to do this anonymously, send letters to addresses of people with Trump signs and MAGA signs in their yard and just tell them you're very concerned about the children and the women in the neighborhood, that they're supporting a pedophile

[Dana Goldberg]

so there you have it. Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

Thank you, Mr. Diddy, and thank you to our listener and everybody. Stick around. You do not want to miss this discussion with Charlotte Clymer. We'll be right back after these messages. We'll be right back. History is messy. It's weird, wild, and anything but boring. Rainy Day Rabbit Holes is a history podcast about unhinged stories that make you stop and ask, wait, is this real life? From crazy disasters and tasty scandals to

[Dana Goldberg]

enlightening and surprising heartwarming tales, we explore the moments where people behave badly and sometimes beautifully.

[Allison Gill]

We've got naughty politicians, cultural chaos, and a d deep love for the Pacific Northwest, including Bigfoot. It's thoughtful, irreverent, occasionally serious, and always entertaining.

[Dana Goldberg]

Let's fall down the rabbit hole.

[Allison Gill]

MSW Media. Hey, everybody. Welcome back. I'm so honored today, and I know Dana is, too, to be joined.

[Dana Goldberg]

I always join the interviews. But when Allison says, hey, are you available today? I said, absolutely, yes, I am. Yes.

[Allison Gill]

Because one of my favorite authors, one of my favorite essayists and activists and just all around amazing people is here. Joining us on the Daily Beans, it is Charlotte Clymer. Hi, Charlotte. How are you?

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Hey, ladies. Oh, my God. Think about all the history between the three of us.

[Dana Goldberg]

My goodness, it's amazing. It's my favorite threesome. Oh, it might be my only threesome.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

It's my favorite threesome this year. For me, it's probably not.

[Allison Gill]

It's probably not Ryan Walters, his favorite threesome, though.

[Charlotte Clymer]

Oh, man.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Well, we don't know. We don't, you know, you never know.

[Allison Gill]

I mean, let's start there because you wrote one of the best pieces of news on this. We covered it yesterday on, on the Daily Beans, Charlotte and over on Charlotte's Web Thoughts. It's a.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Your.

[Allison Gill]

Your substack, which is an incredible substack. Everyone should subscribe. You wrote about Ryan Walters Bible thumping, just all around, total, complete dickhead with porn in his office. And I loved your take on it. So talk a little bit about that.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Well, okay. So this guy is easily the biggest culture warrior among state officials in the country, and that's saying something for the Republican Party at the moment. He came blazing in as the superintendent of public instruction for Oklahoma public schools. And from pretty much day one, he has made culture war issues his top priority. Now, meanwhile, Oklahoma is like in the bottom five states for public schools across the board. Fourth grade meeting, fourth grade math, eighth grade reading, eighth grade math. Just across the board. Every educational survey says that Oklahoma public schools are in really Bad shape. And so you'd figure that this guy who is currently the Superintendent of Public instruction and before that was the Secretary of Education for Oklahoma would have been more focused on that over the past five years. Instead, he's doing things like trying to ban the Kite Runner from public school libraries. He's accusing librarians of trying to force pornography on the shelves in public schools. He got an elementary school principal to resign because the principal was performing as a drag queen in his off time away from kids. Privately, I mean, you know, just across the board and oh, my God. And I cannot believe we have to mention this, he issued a mandate to have a King James version Bible put in every classroom in every public school in the state of Oklahoma. And on top of that, it can't be any King James version Bible.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, no, no. It was made by who?

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Oh, Lee Greenwood. And I'm sure that some of your listeners are thinking, wait, the Lee Greenwood? Yes, the Lee Greenwood. The guy who wrote God Bless the usa.

[Dana Goldberg]

I'd like to be an American.

[Charlotte Clymer]

We're.

[Allison Gill]

At least I know when I was in the military in the 90s, they played that at us every day in bootkin basic training. And I'm like, oh, my God, I

[Dana Goldberg]

love that you just said they played that at us. Which is a perfect description of the song.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

It is. It violates the Geneva Convention at this point. I think it does. And by the way, Greenwood has made different versions for other countries. Did y' all know that?

[Allison Gill]

He has.

[Charlotte Clymer]

Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

No, I did not.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

I did know that he released. He released a Canadian version of that song.

[Allison Gill]

I'm proud to be a Canadian.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

I think he released a couple other versions, too. I mean, the guy is just a complete opportunistic, but whatever. So he published his King James version or his version of the King James version Bible, and Trump endorsed it, and Trump gets royalties. So Ryan Walters, on top of asking that a copy of the King James Bible be put in every classroom, says that it must be this one. It must be the Lee Greenwood branded. Trump endorsed King James Bible, $70 made

[Allison Gill]

in China, King James Bible, $3 million.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

He asks for Oklahoma Public Schools to carry this out. So across the board, the guy is just, you know, the most. Pick me. Trump supporting right wing extremist, faux Christian nonsense bullshit artist. But then this week, it's revealed on Thursday, in an executive session for the State Board of Education, two board members are sitting there in the audience listening to Mr. Walters drone on and on, as I'm sure he does, and they notice there's pornography playing on a television screen next to his desk in his office. Now, from their vantage point, they were the only two ones who saw it. And they're immediately like, hey, there's porn.

[Dana Goldberg]

I would like to play the part of one of these women where she was like, is that a nipple? Is that pubic hair? Are those women naked?

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Is that a bodysuit?

[Dana Goldberg]

Get that off the screen. What are we watching?

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

The one board member, she said she told the reporter that she thought they were bodysuits at first.

[Allison Gill]

Like, that's how Carson.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Yeah, that's how aggressively she was trying to rationalize what she was seeing. Like, it can't be porn, right? I mean, these must. This must be some random weird comedy video with two women wearing bodysuits or something. You know, something's going on.

[Allison Gill]

Adam and Eve type of a Bible show.

[Dana Goldberg]

An even Eve type of a Bible show.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

You know, we gotta show what's wrong for science. Right. Or for the good Lord. We have to show some lesbian sex. So, I mean, it's just crazy. They alert Mr. Walters, and he, for his part, says, what are you talking about? And then he looked behind him, apparently, and saw what was playing on the television screen, realized what had happened, although we don't know the full details yet of how that occurred. We can assume, but we don't for sure know. And then he just figures out a way to turns it on and calmly comes back and continues the meeting like nothing happened.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yep. Banana pants.

[Allison Gill]

What?

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

No.

[Charlotte Clymer]

Hey.

[Dana Goldberg]

Hands in the air.

[Allison Gill]

Like, no, no, no, no. What? How did that happen? It was just. It's ridiculous.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

This isn't my. This isn't even my tv. It's not even my office. What are you talking. I have no idea.

[Allison Gill]

I'm not even Mr. Walters.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

It's.

[Allison Gill]

You know, who knows?

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

It wasn't for those pesky kids.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, those meddling. Everyone.

[Dana Goldberg]

Everyone.

[Charlotte Clymer]

I would have gotten.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

It wasn't for the Kite Runner.

[Allison Gill]

Right, right. And now he's under investigation, though. I bet when he heard he was facing a probe, he got really excited for a second, but then realized that it was probably the. Not the kind of probe he was hoping for.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Oh, Lord.

[Allison Gill]

So we.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

We.

[Allison Gill]

We had that this week.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

We had that this week. And, you know, fortunately, Republican leadership of the Oklahoma State Senate, which is overwhelmingly Republican, are also embarrassed and mortified by this. Hard to say what's going to happen next. You know, I imagine Oklahoma Republicans would really love to sweep this under the rug as quickly as possible, but it's kind of hard to do when, you know, you have two Republican Appointed board members who are crying foul. So who knows? You know, Mr. Walters went from the past two years of clearly trying to pitch himself as Trump's Secretary of Education, and then he got passed over for that position, and now he may be facing, you know, resignation in the near future. We don't know.

[Dana Goldberg]

Nothing would make me happier in this moment. And I say that even knowing what's going on in the world, because I think this is much more realistic, like, this could actually happen sooner. So I would love to see him be out of a job. I think it's up for reelection next year. Is that right?

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

That's right. Yep.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Yeah, they'll probably run like Riley Gaines or something. I don't. Who knows?

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

But she'll come in fifth.

[Allison Gill]

She'll come in fifth. She'll tie for this.

[Dana Goldberg]

I had to back away from the mic because that was so funny and perfectly timed.

[Allison Gill]

That was a good one.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

So now let's move on to something else, because today, today. Thank you, Donald Trump, for talking about the Epstein files for another half an hour or whatever he did during that press conference. He won't shut up. I. I don't know if he's talking to a PR firm on how to handle a crisis, but he's handling it exactly backwards and wrong, which is great for everyone, you know, in the free world, but, you know, obviously terrible for him, but he will not shut up about it. And today he said, I didn't have the privilege of visiting Epstein's island. And I imagine he was trying to be sarcastic or I'm not sure, but I just want to think. I just want to put that on a loop. I just want to put that on a loop in every Dem ad from now until forever.

[Dana Goldberg]

But then he went on to say, the problem with Epstein is that Epstein's. Not that he was raping girls, not that he was sex trafficking girls, that he stole employees from Donald Trump. And that's when Donald Trump kicked him out of his club.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

He stole a different kind of chattel.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Yeah, that. That was. That was where he went wrong. I can. I can. I can accept sex trafficking, but I draw the line at, you know, oh, how dare you sniping him stealing my indentured labor. You know, but, you know, he also said that he had rejected an invitation to the island, not just that he hadn't gone, but that he had declined an invitation. It was one of his proudest moments. That's what he said. And, you know, the implication there seems to be that he knew what was going on. There. And so he decided not to go because it made him uncomfortable, and that's why he didn't want to go. So if he knew what was going on there, why in the hell.

[Dana Goldberg]

Why didn't he report it, say something? Either way, you're a monster.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Yeah, well, because, you know, we share wonderful secrets. He admitted to it in a letter.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

So I'll tell you what's so fascinating about this whole thing is, you know, for eight years, we have seen God. Someday someone's going to chronicle every single scandal or every single gaffe or whatever that have come out of this man's mouth over the last eight years. But this is the first time when he truly does seem lost. He doesn't seem to know how to get out of this one because every other time, even with the impeachments, he was able to kind of triangulate, distract people, you know, shift the attention of corporate media or legacy media, which is not that hard to do apparently, as we've discovered. But, you know, he. He was able to do it. And this time he just doesn't seem to be able to unscrew himself.

[Allison Gill]

No. Right. Criminal indictments don't stick. And I think the reason is, and this is just my opinion on this, is that MAGA is upset, and that's when the media grabs onto him. MAGA gave the corporate media the permission structure to go after this full bore, whether it was Murdoch or Thiel or Vance or just MAGA in general. Once maga's upset with Donald Trump. Oh, then the corporate media can come in and grab onto this and not let go. If it's just the Democrats or judges or the law that's upset with Donald Trump, fuck it. It doesn't matter. But when MAGA is upset, I think that gives the oligarchs who run the media pause. Right. And they need a plan. They need an escape route. They need to figure stuff out. They need to fly JD Vance out to Montana to meet with the Murdochs or whatever. So I think that's why this issue isn't going away is because it's not the Democrats yelling about it. I mean, we are and. But, you know, and we like to take credit for this not going away, but Trump won't shut up about it.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

That's right. I mean, he called him Stu. What did he. What did he say? He didn't want the support of. Of the MAGA base. Yeah, the losers who were criticizing him over this. I mean, you know, the man is abysmally incompetent on this Topic. And I. I gotta say. And again, you know, not to be, but, God, legacy media is just so thoroughly embarrassing. I mean, just completely embarrassing. You know, there's some great reporters doing amazing work at the New York Times and a couple other outlets, and I respect them. But on the whole, you know, on balance, legacy media has never been more pathetic than they've been this year.

[Allison Gill]

That's like fantasy for me. It's like fantasy baseball or, like, when I was a kid, I didn't follow teams necessarily. I followed players like, I love Nolan Ryan and, you know, specific players. And that's kind of how I feel about the media. There are certain reporters for, you know, outlets that run the gamut from corporate to independent. And I follow those reporters because I trust in their reporting and I trust in their sources, and I know they're not just there for access. You know what I mean?

[Dana Goldberg]

So that's a great way to say that.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, that's kind of how I. I feel about media in general. It's like fantasy baseball to me.

[Dana Goldberg]

I love that. I don't love. I didn't love the Dallas Cowboys, but I'd like Johnston, and I didn't love the Dallas Cowboys, but I liked Devin Smith. That's right, Novacek. But, yeah, as a whole, and no offense to Dallas Cowboys, but, you know, they've had some sketchy shit over the years.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

And the Cowboys fans, I've been.

[Dana Goldberg]

I was Dallas. Honestly, I was Dallas and Denver because I grew up in New Mexico. We didn't have a pro football team. So I either went to the right or above, and that was either Denver or Dallas.

[Allison Gill]

Ye. Nice. Let's do one. Well, maybe. Maybe two other things. I want to talk really quick about Roy Cooper, who has announced his bid for Senate. And I'm very happy about this. I know you're very happy about this. I was wondering if you could explain why this is such a great thing for North Carolina.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Roy Cooper is just exceptionally gifted. He has incredibly attuned communications with the people in North Carolina. They know him, they love him, they respect him. They feel like he's on their side, which. And again, I'm a proud Democrat. I will go ride or die for the Democratic Party. But let's face it, a lot of Americans don't really feel like a number of their Democratic leaders are on their side right now, or at least seeing their struggles with Roy Cooper. North Carolinians look at him and say, that's our guy. I mean, we basically just won the Senate seat for North Carolina. And I know I'M not supposed to say that. I know I'm supposed to say that it's important everyone get out and vote. And that's true. And yes, we need to work hard and canvass every door, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. But if we do what we need to do, Roy Cooper is going to be a Democratic pickup for the Senate next year. So this is extremely good news. I am over the moon. There was some time there when we weren't even sure that Roy Cooper was going to run for the seat and that, you know, we were gonna have to rely on a plucky Democrat to come in and, you know, try to get this. Try to wrest this seat away from Republicans. But now we have Roy Cooper, who is the superman of North Carolina Democratic politics. So we just won. We're good to go for this seat.

[Dana Goldberg]

Your mouth to goddess's ears. Whoever's listening, hopefully it's the Electra in the voters, because we really need this. But I hope you're right. It would be a beautiful thing to see. He's done wonderful things for the state when he was in his other position, so.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

And by the way, the North Carolina Democratic Party is fantastic. Yeah, they really are. Ms. Clayton, who is the chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party. I think she's 26.

[Dana Goldberg]

If I'm not sure. She's amazing. I think she spoke at the last HRC gala. She is a young spitfire, brilliant, smart, wonderful woman.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Dynamo. She is. She is cut from the old school cloth. Back when you had, you know, political operatives, their mid to late twenties who had their shit together and knew what they were doing. And at that level, I mean. I mean, we have plenty of organizers in their 20s who are not being promoted and given the responsibility they deserve. But she was. And she has done some remarkable things with it. I think that part, that state party is so adept, really, really works hard, knows what they're doing. And now they have the dream candidate to get into that Senate seat. So I think we're all pretty happy.

[Allison Gill]

26, Michael. When I was 26, I think I was selling phones at a kiosk in a mall. Like, this is amazing. These brilliant, brilliant people who are.

[Dana Goldberg]

I was bartending at an Applebee's. I don't like to brag, but I was a newer.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, amazing.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's. That's just.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

That's just great fodder for writing, though. I mean, that's a whole book of essays.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, it is. Trust me. This stories, Charlotte, the stabbings and the bar fights. And this was in, like, an affluent middle to upper class area of Albuquerque. We called it the Northeast Whites, and it was the Northeast Heights. And I mean, the stories that I have. Don't worry. I'm writing a show for our Off Broadway. It's all in there.

[Allison Gill]

Oh, excellent. I cannot wait to see it, because people in those kinds of areas getting shitty at an Applebee's.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, it's the best.

[Allison Gill]

I mean, the stories.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

The stories messy at the Applebee's.

[Allison Gill]

Well, thank you, Charlotte. It's always truly an honor to talk to you. And I'm so, so grateful that to. To just to be able to call you friend and colleague. So everybody must go and subscribe to Charlotte's web thoughts over on her substack. And I appreciate your time today.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Allison, Dana, my angels. I adore you both. I love you both.

[Dana Goldberg]

It's always nice to see you. Yes, love, back at you. Take care of yourself. You're doing a lot of work, Alison, I say the same to you. The amount of work they're doing on their substacks and writing and putting things out there. You know, Charlotte and I met when she was the rapid response director for the Human Rights Campaign. I believe that's when we met.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

That's right.

[Dana Goldberg]

And you're just incredible. You both are. And you're doing exactly what we need and informing the people about what's really going on. So definitely subscribe to both of their substacks. I could never. I don't believe I could write as well as either of them do. They're phenomenal. So kudos to you both. I tell the jokes. I tell the jokes.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

That's writing, my friend.

[Allison Gill]

That's writing. They don't just cut. They don't just happen. They don't just spontaneously.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

Your humility has no currency here.

[Dana Goldberg]

How dare you. We are ending this call.

[Allison Gill]

All right, with that, everybody, please stick around. We'll be right back with the good news.

[Charlotte Clymer]

Hello, Martin Sheen here, and I have a question for you. What do you do on Sunday to relax and unwind? Sleep in, read the paper, eat stuff? You shouldn't binge watch the shows on your My Stuff list. Okay, all good and fine, but I think this routine could be a bit better. Let me offer something to make your me time really special. My podcast. And I think once you hear it, you'll realize it is the perfect addition to your Sunday or whenever you're looking for A chance to unwind. Tune in as I share the stories of my life along with some poetry and an occasional personal reflection. In a way, that will have you saying that was time well spent and I didn't even have to get out of my pajamas. Starting Sunday, August 2, season four of the Martin Sheen Podcast begins with yours truly, Martin Sheen, of course. Yeah, 10 brand new episodes coming your way. I know our lives can be very busy and demanding these days. Whose are not. So join me on a storytelling journey that you can enjoy from the comfort of your favorite easy chair and a chance to relax and be in the moment. Check out the Martin sheen podcast season four starts August 2nd and make it part of your self care routine. And as always, thank you for listening.

[Allison Gill]

All right everybody, welcome back. It's time for the good news. Who likes good news, everyone? Then good news everyone.

[Dana Goldberg]

Good news.

[Allison Gill]

And if you have any good news, confessions, corrections, any small little awesome thing that happened to you this week, I'll tell you mine in a minute. But really, anything counts as good news. We need to microdose hope, right? Like we've been saying. So if you have like a shout out to a loved one or a kid or a, you know, a spouse or yourself self, shout outs are amazing. Toot your own horn. We want to hear it. Talk about your small business or maybe a small business in your area that could use a boost. A shout out to a government program that's helped you or a loved one, or just a government program in general that you think has helped a bunch of people that you really want to spotlight. Or maybe there's a great nonprofit in your area that really needs some help or just you want to shine a light on them. Let us know about it. We will talk about them and we will see if we can help boost their profile. Send it all to [e-mail] Click on Contact and to get your submission on the air. You just got to pay your podpat tariff, which really means literally attach a photo of anything. Um, within reason. No Ryan Walters photos, please. No, but seriously, your pet. If you want us to guess the breeds of your shelter pup, we'll try to do that. We're not very good, but we love, we love guessing. If you don't have a pet, an adoptable pet in your area, just grab a any random animal photo off the Internet. We love bird watching pictures, which can be an actual bird or you and your friends and family flipping the bird to trump or musk if you don't have any of that. Family photos. Awkward family photos. Weird Santa and Easter bunny photos are always fun. Your happy place, maybe your garden. Show us what herbs and spices you're growing with just really anything and whatever makes you happy. Send it to us dailybeanspod.com and click on Contact.

[Dana Goldberg]

This first picture of this kitty is so amazing.

[Allison Gill]

Oh my my. Good thing that happened to me this week I got to host a really amazing town hall with Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs in the 48th district. For it was it was a Darrell Issa empty chair town hall, but Sarah Jacobs showed up to answer the questions of of Darrell ice's constituents and it was a really great event.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's because you're amazing. I'm glad you got to have that opportunity. Those seats seems to be filled with people who actually care about the voters.

[Allison Gill]

I thank you for the kind words, but it was all Sarah's. Everybody was so excited to see her and hear from her and she had some really great answers for those constituents. But that. That's my little good news. So send it to us. Send your good news first up from Anonymous with this amazing photo. Hello Beans Queens. Today you reported on a school superintendent who was detained illegally in Houston. This story shook me as I'm married to an immigrant who is naturalized, but from a country that the US doesn't really like and happens to be a superintendent as well. He won't leave the US because of this bullshit. How the hell can they say that he had no rights? What can be done to stop this madness? Can this man sue them? This just hit so close to home and I'm so worried. Anonymous I don't know. I don't know if you can sue ice. And I think that the reason Donald Trump is expanding ICE and wants to use ICE as his own personal police is because they don't have the restrictions that normal law enforcement does. You don't have a lot of rights when you're detained by ice, unfortunately.

[Dana Goldberg]

And unfortunately there's a weird loophole when you are out, like when you're not yet stepped on American soil. So when you're coming back into a country there's some weird thing within the airports that they have more wiggle room with constitutional rights. It's unfair, but it's true. This next one's from Anonymous. Hello Beans Queens. I just got done listening to the Sup porn intendant episode and wasn't sure if hubby had heard the whole story about Ryan Walters. So I caught him up quickly and he had heard it and helped me finish the story. And then he says sounds like a happy ending. I love him. Here's our pet pair of Doodle Truman Capoodle whom you've seen before. Piebald kitty. All of that. We've talked about this before in their natural poses and baby tariff. Our two youngest grandchildren.

[Allison Gill]

I love Truman Caputo. There he is.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah. Cutie pie, Cutie pie.

[Allison Gill]

And all of that for. Oh, look at this.

[Guest or Additional Commentator (possibly Ryan Walters discussion participant or another guest)]

These kids.

[Allison Gill]

This is like. This is an advertisement for something. These children are so beautiful. Oh my goodness. Two youngest grandchildren. How adorable. Thank you so much for that and I appreciate your submission. Next up from Amanda Pronoun she and her hi Queens of the beans. I would like to shout out my amazing mailman husband, Sean. He's too amazing for words and his actions speak louder. Anyway, we went to Shakespeare in the Park, a free Shakespeare performance at a beautiful park by amazing actors. Things are rough, but we get each other through. Keep being a highlight of our day and fighting the good fight as our podpet tariff our lawn goose dressed up for for post office. 250 years of service. Amazing. And by the way, Amanda, excellent, excellent. Good news. Submission. We went to see Shakespeare in the park and it was awesome. That's it, right?

[Dana Goldberg]

That's it.

[Charlotte Clymer]

Look.

[Allison Gill]

This amazing photo is wonderful. And look at the lawn goose dressed up as a mailman. I love it and thanks to your service, your whole family as a matter of fact. I really appreciate it. Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

All right, we've got Rachel. Pronouns she and her hi Ag and Dana. Love the podcast and so grateful to both of you for your honest, relatable content. I have good news. My son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes about a year ago and of course it's been a major life change for our little family. But he has handled it with courage and grace and didn't realize was packed inside this little teenage body. He is the only child in his school with type 1 diabetes. He doesn't know anyone outside the school with it either. Earlier this year he received a full scholarship to attend two weeks of a sleep away summer camp for tween and teen boys with T1D single mom here. The tuition is $3,000 and would have otherwise been completely out of reach. The camp is staffed by counselors with T1D, nutritionists, nurses, therapists, etc. And daily routines activities are completely typical of what one thinks when hearing summer camp. The stigma of quote, being different around highs and lows, medicating for meals is completely removed and the kids just exist. He had a blast. He made friends. He learned independence around his condition. He relaxed into himself in a way he needed very much. I'm beyond thankful for our anonymous donor for making this possible for my kid. I'm beyond thankful for the simple existence of this camp. I'm hoping I can organize a way to allow him to camp again for years to come. Thank you for your time and attention. Thank you for this platform. Keep doing what you're doing. Both of my kids love the podcast too. By the way. Picture attached of him walking away from me, mom sobbing with his counselor after check in. This is awesome, right? Rachel? This is so cool. I love that he got to do this. It's just to be able to normalize things that you have experiencing in your body when they seem to be different than everyone else. It's a gift. This is beautiful.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. That's the power of you're not alone.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, right.

[Allison Gill]

We talk about it all the time. Just fantastic. That is wonderful. Let us know when it comes around again and maybe we can see if we can get some help to go to camp again. Rach. Next up from Anonymous.

[Dana Goldberg]

Hello.

[Allison Gill]

I'm writing again with a PSA for a rare disease more people should know about. About being an advocate for your loved ones. In mid 2024, my dad, always an active and healthy person, started getting strange symptoms that he and his primary care physician couldn't figure out. Swelling in his legs, known as edema. And then a bit later, a mass in his abdomen near his liver. A few tests and images later, cancer was ruled out, and the specialist he was sent to quickly diagnosed him with alcoholic cirrhosis. But wait, that didn't make sense. He's never been a heavy drinker. But the specialist was confident he was right, and so my dad was sent on his way with a treatment plan to cut alcohol out completely and keep mindful with a few dietary instructions. Fast forward to a mere two months later, and my dad was in the ICU facing liver failure, kidney failure, and heart failure. My dad passed away in August at the age of 64, with doctors making him feel ashamed and embarrassed and not listening to him, saying that none of it made sense. They simply made assumptions. It's cirrhosis. You never stop drinking when you were told to. My mom insisted on an autopsy and at a different hospital. Yeah, I don't blame her. Well, my dad did not die of alcoholic cirrhosis. He had a rare disease called al. Amyloidosis. Amyloidosis. Scar. Sorry, I know how to say this. Amyloidosis, where your body produces misshapen proteins that collect in your organs and get them all jammed up, causing organ failure. Because the first organ that was affected for him was the liver, and because it was presenting similarly to cirrhosis, that's what he was diagnosed with. But here's the rub. Despite my dad insisting it didn't make any sense, the specialist was so convinced without any evidence he never did a biopsy of the liver and a biopsy would have shown the amyloidosis. And even though because of how far along the disease was, he was likely going to die, we could have approached his final months in a way that didn't cause him an incredible amount of pain, suffering, and cost him his dignity. So my call out to everyone in the Leguminati is take a quick read through about what al amyloidosis is because it's sneaky as fuck. And two if a doctor's not listening to you or a loved one and things aren't making sense, walk to the end of the earth to get your message across. Because even though they have the knowledge and the power, doctors are not infallible and you know your body best. And as my dad used to say, well, that's enough of that for my pod pet tax and a shout out, I'm sending in photos of some past and present adoptable pups being fostered by my friend Kyle. She and her counterpart run a nonprofit foster for special needs puppies, mostly puppies just days old with cleft lips and cleft palates. Occasionally others like see hydrocephalus and heart conditions. Surgery for clefts has a low success rate in dogs and they come to her very weak because they haven't been able to latch on to mom. I never thought of that. So for weeks she tube feeds them every two hours and once they make it through that they transition to kibble and then they can live totally typical lives. Her work is so important for these little ones that are often not given a chance and they're usually euthanized. So thank you to Kyle. Their instagram is Echechs Tex for the number four clefts. C L E F T S I

[Dana Goldberg]

can barely handle these photos. My heart. These puppies.

[Allison Gill]

Oh my goodness.

[Dana Goldberg]

I know.

[Allison Gill]

What an incredible story. Anonymous and thank you for taking what just is such a horrible series of events and trying to make sure that it changes the lives of other people.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, absolutely. This one's from Anonymous. No pronouns given. I'm a huge fan. That's the end of the submission. I'm kidding. It's not the end of the submission. I discovered you Alison and Dana after my physics and maths loving Gen Z Aussie daughter phoned me distraught because Trump had broken directly into her world. She was 3,800km away from home at the time, researching at Australia's national science organization. I want to call it Cicero because I think that'd be fun, but it's C S I R O. Maybe it is Cicero. And because of its affiliation with NASA, she received the early email from Trump bullying workers to, quote, snitch on their co workers for being dei. My daughter is sweet, kind, hardworking, shy, very progressive, and gently coming out at her own pace as a lesbian. I love her so much. She's just the best. She went on this trip way out of her comfort zone to encourage herself to gain social confidence. I think this experience set her back on her path. Finding your podcast gives me so much comfort. I have shed many tears listening as things have gotten worse and worse since then. A single email seems so little now, but just that was big in our world. So I can't begin to fathom the horrors of people losing their jobs and people being disappeared. My heart went out to Andrea Herman Hernandez Romero and his mother. I wish Trump understood how what he is doing makes assholes around the world feel like they have been given license to openly discriminate. But if he doesn't care at home, why would he care about the rest of us? But still, I find that I feel against all odds, that I'm supporting by listening to YouTube. Because when you express so much love for the LGBTQIA community, I could see that there are people who will wrap my precious daughter in impenetrable love. Recently, she showed signs of resilience in light of this and came out to her close friends at work. She's such a ray of sunshine. I love it so much when you two share a belly laugh. It makes me happy. Thank you. It makes me happy as well.

[Allison Gill]

I'm so glad we can help you feel supported, Anonymous.

[Dana Goldberg]

Give your daughter love from both of us. I wish that I could just wrap all of these young queers and LGBTQI plus kids in a hug and be like, you're all right, you're all right. Not just that you belong here and we need you individually. We need everything you have to offer to this world.

[Allison Gill]

So true. So very true. Thank you so much, Anonymous, for that and thanks to all of you for your incredible submissions. This was a really, really great good news sesh, I think. I feel so much love and joy. So just thank you so much, everybody. I really appreciate you. And thanks to our good friend Charlotte for joining us today. Always a pleasure to speak to Charlotte.

[Dana Goldberg]

Always is. She's wonderful.

[Allison Gill]

I hope you get a chance to subscribe to her substack it's well worth it. And that's all I have. Do you have any final thoughts today, my friend?

[Dana Goldberg]

No, not today.

[Allison Gill]

All right, everybody, we'll be back in your ears tomorrow. Until 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.

[Dana Goldberg]

I've been dg.

[Allison Gill]

And them's the beans.

[Dana Goldberg]

Refried beans.

[Allison Gill]

I like refried beans.

[Charlotte Clymer]

Hello, Martin Sheen here and I have a question for you. What do you do on Sunday to relax and unwind? Sleep in, read the paper, eat stuff? You shouldn't binge watch the shows on your My Stuff list. Okay, all good and fine, but I think this routine could be a bit better. Let me offer something to make your me time really special. My podcast. And I think once you hear it, you'll realize it is the perfect addition to your Sunday or whenever you're looking for a chance to unwind. Tune in as I share the stories of my life along with some poetry and an occasional personal reflection in a way that will have you saying, that was time well spent and I didn't even have to get out of my pajamas. Starting Sunday, August 2, season four of the Martin Sheen Podcast begins with yours truly, Martin Sheen, of course. Yeah, 10 brand new episodes coming your way. I know our lives can be very busy and demanding these days. Whose are not? So join me on a storytelling journey that you can enjoy from the comfort of your favorite easy chair and a chance to relax and be in the moment. Check out the Martin sheen podcast season four starts August 2nd, and make it part of your self care routine. And as always, thank you for listening.