July 2025: "Concentration Camps, Classroom Chaos, and Christian Nationalist Blueprints"

Welcome to your July solo news drop — where we pull back the curtain on what the GOP and Trump administration are doing while everyone’s distracted by sunglasses and soundbites. In this episode, we break down:

• Alligator Alcatraz – the Everglades-based migrant concentration camp that flooded on its second day open. No plumbing, no oversight, no humanity. With eyewitness accounts, whistleblower reports, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz demanding a federal investigation.
• School Funding Freeze – the Trump administration is illegally withholding $7 billion in education money already approved by Congress. We cover Rep. Terri Sewell’s July 11 letter, districts hit hardest (Alabama, Texas, Florida, Arkansas, Missouri), and DeSantis’ Orwellian push to let political allies accredit colleges.
• Project 2025 – the Heritage Foundation’s fascist roadmap is no longer a warning—it’s a playbook in motion. From gutting the Department of Education to legalizing mass deportation and firing career scientists, we connect the dots from the headlines to the handbook.
• Measles Outbreak Cover-Up – how HHS is scrambling behind the scenes to keep a lid on rising measles cases, with vaccine distribution stalled and states reporting spikes in preventable illnesses.
• NIH and Science Under Attack – UMass Chan faces a $94M NIH funding shortfall. Research is halted, jobs slashed, and pediatric brain cancer trials frozen. The Trump budget calls scientists wasteful and dangerous — and it's costing lives and leadership.
• DeSantis’ Fake Accreditation Program – in his bid to MAGA-fy academia, the Florida governor wants political operatives to greenlight colleges. Because apparently facts now require loyalty oaths.

This episode isn’t about headlines — it’s about the hostile architecture being built underneath them. And if you're waiting for someone to sound the alarm, congratulations. You just pressed play.

📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…”
Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social:

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In this episode, Chelsey & Jenn discuss their personal updates, community engagement strategies, and the restructuring of their podcast to focus on fewer topics for deeper discussions. They highlight the contributions of women in science and politics, emphasizing the importance of representation and activism. The conversation also touches on current events, the political climate, and the historical significance of women's roles in shaping public health and policy. In this conversation, Chelsey Hockett and Jennifer Wisniewski discuss the alarming spread of misinformation in public health, particularly regarding vaccines and scientific integrity. They explore the consequences of recent cuts to health agencies and the impact on research, emphasizing the need for clarity and expertise in public health. The discussion also touches on the importance of community building and the future of public health amidst these challenges.

📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…”
Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social:

📧 momsagainstthemachinepod@gmail.com
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🎥 TikTok: @momsandmachines

In our premiere episode, we go back—way back—to the women who laid the emotional, intellectual, and literal groundwork for American democracy.
We’re talking Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, and Phillis Wheatley—three women who never got a seat at the table but still pulled up with receipts, rage, and revolutionary fire.

From letters to husbands to poems that challenged tyranny, these founding mothers were raising babies and raising hell. We explore what they might say about today’s school voucher battles, book bans, and ongoing fights for equality. Spoiler: they wouldn’t be quiet about it.

As suburban moms with a mic, we reflect on our own letters to America, the ways our lives echo theirs, and why joy is resistance in 2025.

What We Cover:

• “Remember the Ladies”: Abigail’s demand to be heard
• Mercy Otis Warren and the pen that mocked kings
• Phillis Wheatley’s poems of protest and power
• What Texas school voucher hearings have in common with revolutionary resistance
• What we would say if we could write our own Letter to America

Further Reading:

• Abigail Adams' letters: Massachusetts Historical Society
• Mercy Otis Warren bio: National Women’s History Museum
• Phillis Wheatley’s poetry: Poets.org
• Primary Source Material:
  Abigail Adams:
  • “Remember the Ladies” Letter (March 31, 1776)
    Massachusetts Historical Society
    🔗 https://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/archive/doc?id=L17760331aa
• Mercy Otis Warren:
  • Biography (NWHM) – Overview of her political writings and role in the Revolution
    National Women’s History Museum
    🔗 https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mercy-otis-warren
  • Selected Works:
    Observations on the New Constitution (1788)
    The Group (1775) – Political satire play
    Full text collection:
    🔗 https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/warren/revolution/revolution.html
• Phillis Wheatley:
  • Poetry Collection: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773)
    Available through Poets.org
    🔗 https://poets.org/poet/phillis-wheatley
  • Letter and Poem to George Washington (1775):
    Library of Congress
    🔗 https://www.loc.gov/resource/mgw4.028_0384_0385/?sp=1

📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…”
Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social:

📧 momsagainstthemachinepod@gmail.com
📸 Insta @MomsAgainstTheMachine
🎥 TikTok: @momsandmachines