Pausing Democracy

This week we cover the full spectrum of American absurdity—starting with Rach playing the game so hard at the bowling alley that she literally peed her pants, and ending with Trump deciding to send actual troops into Oregon like it’s his own personal war game. Between strikes, gutter balls, and creeping authoritarianism, we’re asking the real question: how do you keep your bladder (and your democracy) intact when everything feels like it’s spinning out of control?

This week on Pausing Democracy 🍸, things are anything but normal. Jess gets mistaken for a senior citizen (apparently moisturizer isn’t working), Katie chokes on popcorn and pees her pants, and Rachel declares that her true happy place is Skinny Pop and binge-watching The White Lotus.Meanwhile, in the world outside our snack bowls: the U.S. government is literally bombing boats off the coast of Venezuela and killing alleged narcoterrorists, Jimmy Kimmel has been yanked off the air under federal pressure, and the media seems weirdly silent about Tyler Robinson and Charlie Kirk’s parents. Something doesn’t add up… and we’re here to call it out.Grab your drink, laugh through the absurd, and join us as we try to process a democracy that feels like it’s circling the drain — with a little popcorn, a lot of sarcasm, and a promise not to take ourselves too seriously.

This week on Pausing Democracy, we take on the chilling reality of political violence in America. The assassination of Charlie Kirk has left the nation reeling, and we dive into what it means for a country already teetering on the edge. With the temperature rising on all sides, the whispers of civil war don’t feel so far-fetched anymore. We talk about fear, anger, and how democracy keeps slipping further from our grasp—even as we’re just trying to make it through menopause without losing our minds.

This week on Pausing Democracy, we open with Missy’s obnoxiously smooth ride through perimenopause (yes, we’re jealous, and yes, it’s lame). From there, it’s straight into the circus. “Gaslight Barbie” and a few of her administration cronies met with Congress to push the Big Beautiful Bill—except their strategy was to just rebrand it and flat-out lie, telling constituents it helps working families instead of crushing them. Meanwhile, the Trump family pocketed $5 billion from their cryptocurrency grift, a federal judge ruled Trump’s tariffs illegal (to the tune of $210 billion in refunds owed to businesses), and administration insiders are already scheming to profit off the fallout.But that’s not even the worst of it. Trump literally blew up a boat in the Caribbean, killing 11 people under the pretense of fighting drug cartels—experts are calling it a war crime. The Epstein files remain sealed, and survivors’ voices were drowned out—literally—by a White House-ordered military flyover. Add in the ongoing scandal of Guatemalan children, rumors about Trump’s death, the CDC chaos with RFK, and a hot mic at DOJ, and it’s another week where democracy feels like it’s circling the drain.

This week on Pausing Democracy, we’re packing up for the colonies — where bartering is back, and we’re trading low-dosage estrogen patches like contraband cigarettes. Missy’s reinventing herself as a beat poet in exile, Jen’s spiraling after On Tyranny wrecked her week, and Rachel and Jessica are quietly Googling “how to prep for the fascist regime” without ending up on a list. Meanwhile, Nevada’s government is hacked and under siege, the CDC is MIA, Alligator Alcatraz is closed (don’t ask), and Donald Trump can’t even cover his bruises — or remember the ten wars he swears he solved. Pour a drink, grab a patch, and join us in the chaos.

Jessica narrowly escaped both a sketchy medical procedure and her own road rage. Missy accidentally tipped big for a Gen Z couple with major attitude. Meanwhile, Gavin Newsom has been trolling Trump like it’s his full-time job—and honestly, we’re here for it. But let’s be real: nice-guy politics aren’t cutting it anymore. If Democrats want to win, they’re going to have to play dirty. We also get into Trump’s latest attempt to erase slavery from history, ICE proudly picking a side (and it’s not ours), and the unhinged meltdown over… the Cracker Barrel logo. Yep, democracy’s still burning—and we’ve got the cocktails.

In this week’s episode, we dive headfirst into the absurdity of the headlines—starting with whispers of a possible HRT shortage (because apparently menopause wasn’t hard enough already). We unpack the surreal rebranding of the Kennedy Center into the Trump/Kennedy Center, Ghislaine Maxwell’s eyebrow-raising work release privileges, and the latest bait-and-switch over grand jury files. We break down how tariffs are fueling more inflation, introduce you to Heritage Foundation favorite E.J. Antoni—now running the BLS—and discuss ICE’s new recruitment push. And yes, we’ll talk about Jared Wise, the high-ranking DOJ official making news for all the wrong reasons. All with our usual cocktail of menopause mood swings, political side-eye, and just enough irreverence to keep us sane.

This week on Pausing Democracy 🍸, Jessica is exhausted (possibly from perimenopause, possibly from accidentally waxing off part of her eyelid), but we are still finding the energy to rage-sip through another week of American chaos.Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because the jobs report didn’t vibe with his vibes, and then wheeled out a kindergarten-level bar graph with “new data” presented by none other than Project 2025’s Stephen Moore. Meanwhile, JD Vance’s hush-hush cabinet meeting may or may not have been canceled, and Trump’s threatening to seize D.C. with the military.Over in Dogeland, “Big Balls” (yes, that’s a real guy) got attacked trying to help a woman, South Park returned to tear into authoritarianism, and Texas Republicans are so committed to gerrymandering they’re threatening to jail their own colleagues to do it.Also: Jeanine Pirro is now U.S. Attorney for D.C., the DOJ mysteriously deleted parts of the Constitution from their site, NASA wants nukes on the moon, and Ghislaine Maxwell swears she never saw Trump do anything “inappropriate” (sure, lady).Oh, and aliens might be here by November. Cheers!

On this week's Pausing Democracy, we try to process the national chaos machine, one RIP at a time. Monday started with the loss of Malcolm Jamal Warner (no, not Theo!) The US government casually dropped the long-sealed MLK files but continued to fail to drop the Epstein files.  Ozzy died too- ugh but South Park tried to cheer us up with the ultimate smackdown.  Not to be outdone by the one and only Jerome Powell! It's the fall of democracy folks, and we're hanging by a very thin thread...

After a 2-week hiatus filled with hormone surges and collective dread, we return to find the world still on fire- so to speak.  The Epstein files, or alleged lack there of, are causing quite the rattle in MAGA world.  We have a theory: what if this isn't just fallout? What if it's Heritage Foundation clearing the path for a more manageable monster?! We're connecting the dots and finding ourselves deep in the perimenopause, patriarchy, and political panic. Join us!

Rachel's right eye had a hot flash and Missy's plantar fasciitis ghosted her, which is a good thing.  Too bad the world is still on fire.We mark Juneteenth with a bitter reminder by our Dear President that racism is still alive and well in the USA.  Also in the grab bag of political horror, Republicans make light of political assassinations, ICE raids are still a go and we are on the brink of war.  Let's get ready for the Zombie Apocalypse - also another SpaceX exploded. Cheers! 

This is an episode that was recorded on June 4.  Jessica forgot to upload it due to...you know, MENOPAUSE! 

Rachel joins the pod this week, and things are getting sweaty- literally and politically! Jen and Rach are melting in an AC battle with their husbands, Katie jumped into a lake to survive the heat, and Jess once again forgot to upload last week's episode. We're talking about the upcoming No Kings Rally and why we're nervous and how it all awkwardly lands on Trump's birthday- and yep, there's a military parade.

Menopause is real, and so is Jess's confusion after realizing she sponsored an entire golf tournament she has no memory of. This week the memory fog is thick, but we do our best to cut through it and catch you up on all the political chaos that's unfolded since Memorial Day. Spoiler: It's a lot. From the courtroom drama to Trump's meltdowns, we're breaking it all down with our signature perimenopausal blend of rage, jokes, and memory losses. 

This week perimenopause heel pain isn't the only thing throwing us off balance- our train of thought has completely left the station and is crashing...just like the authoritarian regime that is now the US government.  We attempted to stay on track while covering Trump settling with Ashli Babbit's family for $5M (once again rewarding an insurrectionist), Kristi Noem's legal illiteracy, USDA cuts and food bank shortages, Harvard losing its international students and Trump's personal Qatari Jet that is going to be refurbished on our dime.  There is no tidy them here, folks. Just rage, confusion and the dulcet tones of our exhaustion.  Buckle up- or don't. We're off the rails either way!

In this week's chaotic cocktail of Pausing Democracy, the menopause squad dives headfirst into America's latest constitutional hot flash. We unpack the Supreme Court's flirtation with ending birthright citizenship and how Trump's immigration preferences now apparently include being white.  Then it's on to his beef with T-Swift and The Boss because nothing says "presidential" like attacking beloved Grammy winners. He's giving off preschool recess vibes this week! 

In this episode, Jen is convinced her son is about to be drafted, Jess thinks she can open a DIY dog grooming salon, and as usual, we are all outraged by the situation we find ourselves in.Meanwhile. the Trump administration continues its full blown decent into cartoon villiany with its foreign money and crypto scams, billionaires buying influence like its a clearance sale a Mar-a-Lago. The corruption is so blatant it makes our hot flashes fee subtle.Are we going crazy or is it just menopause, late stage capitalism and the collapse of democratic norms all at once. Either way, we're all in this together!

This week the girls are spiraling! We talk GLPs and weight loss injections. Meanwhile, Katie's menopause fueled anxiety about her 12K birthday race in Carmel has everyone googling whether "menxiety" is real...On the national front, Trump is in a full gaslight and grift cycle, blaming Biden for his own disastrous economy while simultaneously trying to claim credit for the good times we had under Biden.  With the lowest approval rating of any president ever, even MAGA is getting quiet.  Turns out, alternative facts don't pay the bills, and the biggest victims of his con might just be the folks who voted for him.Grab your electrolytes and political despair because we're sprinting though the end of times like a 5k runner in a 12K...or something like that.  

This week we dive into the wild world of the federal government (i.e. Elon Musk) offering a $5,000 baby bonus. Meanwhile, the FDA is being gutted and surprise: there's been a secret E. coli outbreak that they definitely don't want you to know about. As usual its complete chaos and unfortunately, the government hiding a food safety crisis from the public is not surprising! 

This week, we dive into the never ending cycle of bad news + cramps. We are in a full Constitutional cosplay: defying court orders, threatening to deport citizens, and turning economic policy into an extended improv bit. Meanwhile, we are trying to figure out if we take the new hormones with or instead of the patch...or blend them in a smoothie and hope for magical powers (preferably the non-mustache kind).

In this episode, we cover the full spectrum of existential dread, from laughing about how no one warns you that aging might mean peeing your pants, to screaming about billionaires buying the world like it's a yard sale, to reminding everyone that yes, the government is still casually disappearing people like it's totally normal.It's late stage capitalism meets late stage bladder control. Nothing is safe. No one is dry.Welcome to America. Bring a change of clothes.

This week on Pausing Democracy, we tackle the absolute absurdity of immigration raids targeting green card holders and permanent residents-holders and permanent residents-because apparently "legal" isn't legal enough in the land of freedom fries. We also dive beak-first into the cold, hard truth about the new tariffs on penguins (yes penguins), and wonder aloud if this is all just a Mad Libs presidency at this point!

In this episode of Pausing Democracy, we navigate the chaos of menopause and politics with our usual mix of exasperation and laughter. Jen recounts her estrogen patch mishaps and we are reminded of Prohibition when Trump slaps tariffs on our beloved European wine.  Can't wait to see America's attempt at making "champagne". Meanwhile, we wonder if a handmaid's tale colony on Mars would be better than on Earth and we try to make sense of the White House's latest spectacle- a car show. Oh, and RFK Jr. was interviewed at Steak n' Shake. We have some thoughts. Tune in for the usual absurdity, rage, and reluctant hope!

In this episode of Pausing Democracy, we dive into the chaos of hormonal brain fog- Jessica lost her keys and forgot that she had another car, and menopause is to blame. Meanwhile, Katie breaks down the unfortunate relationship between body odor and hormonal imbalances, while Missy wonders if we all secretly miss the Weekend at Bernie's energy of Joe Biden.  We go back to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act and how bad economic policy helped tank the economy and sent us into the Great Depression- spoiler: tariffs are not a tax break.  We also unpack the absurdity of Republican make up vs. Woke make up and the latest corruption spree as government agencies conveniently start shredding documents. Democracy might be crumbling, but at least we're going through it together! Tune in!

In this episode, we delve into a series of unexpected events.  Jess shares a humorous yet cautionary tale about losing her balance and taking a tumble. Jen opens up about forgetting an appointment.  Getting old is no joke. We muse about Trump having to get a new desk after Elon's 4 year old picks his nose and wipes a booger on it.  We also express our own personal dismay at the way Trump and Vance bullied Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. There's not a lot to laugh about but we do our very best.

Missy has her first hot flash. Jessica's insomnia is now endangering her pets.  Katie is now a chicken farmer...because, you know, the price of eggs! And Jen is indoctrinating the children.  

Buckle up, because Jessica, Missy, Katie and Jen- friends from childhood, are here to laugh and rant about the absurdities of perimenopause while surviving the current political climate.  Think of this trailer/mini episode as a quick meet and greet!  We are tackling our most annoying perimenopause symptoms, menopause meltdowns and with plenty of detours about how crazy the news is lately!Expect brutal honesty, questionable wisdom, and at least one story we'll probably regret sharing.  Grab a glass of wine, hit play and join the chaos!Follow us on Instagram @pausingdemocracy!  Leave a review and let us know what you think!