Take a moment to learn about Empowered & Embodied, another show in the Feminist Podcasters Collective. If you love Messy Liberation, you'll probably love this awesome show, too. (And, Becky Mollenkamp will be a guest on Empowered & Embodied soon.) Listen on this pod app or on YouTube.

In this episode of Messy Liberation, Becky and Taina dive into the VP debate aftermath, tackling the key moments that had them cheering, cringing, and downright furious. They break down JD Vance’s slippery rhetoric on abortion, illegal immigration, and school shootings, while giving a shoutout to Tim Walz’s quieter, but solid points on gun control and housing. They also critique Margaret Brennan’s skillful moderation and the frustrating limitations on fact-checking. The conversation goes deep into the dangerous narratives around reproductive freedom, American imperialism, and racism that dominated the debate stage. Tune in for a brutally honest analysis and some hard truths about the state of U.S. politics.

Discussed in this episode:

• VP debate highlights and key moments
• JD Vance’s contradictory abortion stance and political manipulation
• Illegal immigration and its scapegoating in U.S. politics
• School shootings and gun control: How both sides approached the issue
• The Project 2025 pregnancy registry and its implications for reproductive rights
• The role of racism and American imperialism in the debate
• Margaret Brennan’s moderation and media bias in political debates
• Tim Walz’s understated but effective points on housing and gun reform

Resources mentioned:

• Impact.org for fact-checks on political debates
• The Majority Report podcast
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgWt-QcPYMo
  
  

We want to hear from you! Email us at messyliberation@gmail.com.

In this important episode of Messy Liberation, Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown discuss the devastating case of Marcellus Williams, a Black man executed in Missouri despite strong evidence of his innocence. They explore the racial inequities embedded in the U.S. legal system, focusing on the death penalty, the prison industrial complex, and the connection between modern-day incarceration and the legacy of slavery. This conversation touches on state-sanctioned violence, the systemic oppression of Black and brown bodies, and the urgent need for change in how justice is delivered in America.

Discussed in this episode:

• Wrongful executions and racial injustice: The case of Marcellus Williams serves as a tragic example of how the death penalty disproportionately impacts Black men in the U.S.
• State-sanctioned violence and the death penalty: A look at how executions perpetuate racial injustice, including the recent case of Khalil Owens, and why the legal system continues to fail marginalized communities.
• The prison industrial complex and systemic racism: How the U.S. prison system, particularly privatized prisons, profits from incarcerating people of color, creating a modern form of slavery through prison labor exploitation.
• Connection between slavery and modern prisons: Examining the historical roots of the prison system in slavery and eugenics, and how these legacies shape racial disparities in incarceration and executions today.
• Abolishing the death penalty: Why the movement to end capital punishment is essential for dismantling systemic racism, and how activists are pushing for change in the legal system.

Resources mentioned:

• The Innocence Project
• Death Penalty Information Center
• “Capital Punishment and the Legacies of Slavery and Lynching in the United States”
• “The end of the abolition era: Democrats quietly drop their opposition to the death penalty” from Salon Magazine
• “The New Jim Crow” by Michelle Alexander
• “13th” by Ava DuVernay on Netflix

If this episode sparked new thoughts or questions, reach out to us at messyliberation@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!