The PoliticsGirl Podcast – Episode Summary

Episode Title: 2025, What a Year to Be Alive: A Thanksgiving Episode
Host: Leigh McGowan (PoliticsGirl)
Release Date: November 25, 2025

Overview of the Episode

This special Thanksgiving episode of The PoliticsGirl Podcast, hosted by Leigh McGowan, is an intimate and passionate reflection on gratitude, family transitions, and the emotional toll of America’s current political landscape. Leigh candidly shares personal stories about impending changes in her family as her son prepares to leave for college, and connects these changes to her deep concern and melancholy over the direction of American democracy under the current administration. Through a blend of personal narrative and political commentary, Leigh calls for empathy, resilience, and the active fight for a more just and compassionate America.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Reflections on Family and Change

• Transition in Family Life: Leigh opens up about her son, Lachlan, preparing for college and the emotional challenges of letting go as a parent.
  • "Being a parent is fascinating. For 18 years, this child is everything... And then it's just over and they go off and you stay behind." (03:00)
• Roots and Wings: She recalls a framed quote from her childhood:
  • "There are two lasting gifts we can give our children. One is roots and the other is wings." (06:00)
• Melancholy Amid Gratitude: Leigh expresses gratitude for family time but acknowledges a profound sense of melancholy—not just for parental transition but for the state of the country.
  • "But man, I am a bit melancholy. And as we come up on Thanksgiving, that melancholy is only amplified by what's going on in the world." (09:45)

2. Thanksgiving Traditions & Cultural Contrast

• Canadian vs. American Thanksgiving: Highlights differences between the two, reflecting on founding myths and family rituals.
  • "Thanksgiving in America is a completely different holiday. It is deeply rooted in American history, or at least the idealized history that school used to teach my generation..." (12:15)
• Meaning of Chosen Family: Leigh shares the story of how her family found a new Thanksgiving tradition with friends in New York, illustrating the importance of chosen family.
  • "They have become part of our family." (15:45)

3. Struggle to Find Gratitude in America's Current Moment

• Loss of Idealism: Leigh voices her struggle to find national pride or things to be grateful for as an American.
  • "I find myself deeply confused about what Americans are supposed to be grateful for this holiday." (17:30)
• Critique of National Leadership and Direction: She vents frustration about leaders defending authoritarian and inhumane actions.
  • "If you were part of an international sex trafficking ring that raped and abused young women and girls for decades, to me, how you vote or what party you donate to is irrelevant." (19:50)
• Child Separation Policies: Emotional recounting of family separation at the border.
  • "We stole those children. We brutalized those families for what? As a deterrent." (25:20)
• Normalization of Abuse of Power and Human Rights Violations: Deep distress at the apparent lack of public outrage.
  • "It's just so incredibly disappointing that there are so many people tying themselves into knots trying to cover this up. It's sickening." (22:45)

4. Feeling Alienated by Current America

• Shift in National Identity and Values: Leigh grieves the loss of what she believed America could be and critiques exclusionary and regressive politics.
  • "What I'm mourning is the America I thought existed, the country I thought we were." (32:10)
• Women's Rights Under Siege: Sharp criticism of cultural and policy setbacks for women and minorities.
  • "With the reversal of Roe v. Wade, we now have women dying of treatable pregnancy complications. Child marriages are up, the age of consent is going down." (38:55)
• Firsthand Accounts of Sexism in Media: shares a CNN segment exchange illustrating the dismissive attitude toward women and minorities in the current political climate.
  • "In fact, based on his policies... he doesn't care what happens to most of us. And this holiday season, it is hard to find gratitude in that." (42:00)

5. Call to Empathy, Resilience, and Action

• Living in the 'Upside Down': Leigh likens the present situation to a surreal breakdown in democracy and norms. She encourages listeners not to check out but to stay connected and engaged.
  • "You cannot be a person with critical thinking skills right now and not feel like you're living in the upside down." (48:00)
• The Power of Love and Community: Leigh urges listeners to focus on their immediate circles, to “shine their light” on those around them, and to resist the national tide of cruelty by cultivating gratitude and compassion at home.
  • "Maybe that will give us the strength to continue the fight to unite with those who love against those who hate." (56:20)
  • "Hate can't drive out hate, only love can do that... Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that." (59:10, quoting Martin Luther King, Jr.)
• Polishing Small Acts of Resistance: By protecting the good in their families and communities, listeners can play a role in preserving hope and resisting authoritarianism.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The days are long, but the years are short.” (07:40)
• On Thanksgiving nostalgia:
  "We always closed our cottage on Thanksgiving weekend... every family member would have to come with a poem that we had written about the summer." (10:50)
• “It's just a really hard time to be an empathetic, aware, patriotic American.” (29:25)
• “You have to work for [justice] to happen... hate can't drive out hate, only love can do that.” (58:50)
• “Bring it in. Make it small, make it personal. Look at your people or your person or your animal, whatever it is in your life that you love, and be in the moment with them.” (55:40)

Important Timestamps

• 00:00-09:45 – Reflections on family and letting go
• 09:45-15:45 – Thanksgiving traditions and family of choice
• 17:30-25:20 – Struggle to find national gratitude, critique of US policy
• 32:10-38:55 – Mourning American ideals, women’s rights under siege
• 42:00-48:00 – Sexism in media and alienation from American identity
• 48:00-56:00 – Describing the national climate, coping, call to engagement
• 56:00-59:35 – Uplifting closer: light, love, and personal action

Tone & Delivery

Leigh McGowan’s tone in this episode is earnest, heartfelt, at times indignant or despairing, and always infused with urgency for democratic engagement and personal compassion. She balances personal anecdotes with calls to action, and her style is passionate, candid, and “slightly mouthy,” true to the show’s ethos.

Summary Conclusion

Leigh McGowan’s Thanksgiving episode is both a personal meditation on change and a fiery critique of America’s political and moral backsliding. Though she acknowledges burnout and heartbreak, her message is ultimately one of resilience. She urges listeners to hold close what is real and good, to focus on love and personal connection as forms of resistance, and to stay engaged in the fight for a better America—even when gratitude is hard to find.

Notable Quote to Close:
"Be good to each other. The world needs you." (1:00:12)