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Kate and Emily are back from a Door County vacation where they failed spectacularly at recording an IRL podcast and succeeded at most everything else. Now it's post-Labor Day, kids are in school, and there are 56 days until the midterms. This week: Kate has taken up a new hobby, which is arguing with Congressman Derrick Van Orden on X. It went about how you'd expect — he accused her of being paid (because who would hold him accountable for free?), Mark Pocan jumped in on her side, and Rebecca Cooke posted the single best clap-back of the cycle: an MTV Cribs-style tour of the "waterfront property" Van Orden keeps bringing up. It's a small house on a lake heated by a log fire. Also on the docket: the viral campaign that signed up 26,000+ paid poll workers, why Wisconsin's measles case count and kindergarten vaccination rates should have every parent locked in, the Republicans' first-ever midterm convention (tickets: $25,000), why AI deepfakes in campaign ads are about to be everyone's problem, and Hunter Biden's meme coin, because of course. Then: JD Vance's plan to take money out of the child care program that helps working and single parents afford daycare, and hand it to two-parent families where the mom stays home. Emily walks through what that actually does to a single mom who has to work to feed her kids — and Kate shares that her own daycare tuition just went up $160 a month after Wisconsin Republicans let the state's child care funding expire. Plus: Emily's hair, Kate's toxic relationship with a chatbot, and the 24-hour rule for angry emails.

Emily's coming at you from the future (well, Maine, in a fleece, with a fire going) and Kate is hot in Wisconsin. But first, a teaser: next weekend these two are podding on location together, dog and toddler included. Then it's a speed round through the news. Kate reports back from the Iowa State Fair, and makes the case that the least glamorous races on your ballot are often the ones you can actually swing. Emily walks through what's happening with North Korea: what kind of country it actually is, why the U.S. runs military exercises with South Korea every year, and why Trump scaling them back while calling the North Korean dictator a "bestie" has people uneasy. Plus: Trump's former personal lawyer is now the Attorney General, and why that job is supposed to work for us, not the president. What the Comstock Act is and how it could become a backdoor national abortion ban. Sen. Ossoff's viral roast. Karoline Leavitt heading for the exit. Nancy Mace's tattoos. Also: the death of Hayden Panettiere, the Lindsay Clancy trial, and a conservative influencer claiming postpartum depression is really just selfishness. Spoiler, it isn't. 77? days to the midterms. Drink your water.

This is the hot takes episode. We are in an ornery mood and we pre-gamed this recording for two hours, so buckle up. On the docket: the internet's purity-police problem — why piling on lifestyle influencers the moment they dip a toe into politics (badly) is a losing strategy for a party that needs to grow its tent, not shrink it. Then, AOC is meeting with MAHA activists, Turning Point's Alex Clark is sounding the alarm about it, and we break down why the MAHA-adjacent mom vote is genuinely up for grabs — and why the way doctors talk about vaccines is losing a communication war that Jenny McCarthy started winning decades ago. Also: Nara Smith goes on Call Her Daddy to declare she was never a tradwife (sure, Jan), what that says about where the tradwife aesthetic is headed, and how conservative messaging about motherhood is quietly softening its edges. We cover the serious abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller of Ohio — and his father-in-law Senator Bernie Moreno's too-little-too-late response. And to leave you on a high note: Jon Ossoff got hot, George Clooney might be running, and we would simply like a hot president. We've earned it. Content note: this episode includes discussion of domestic violence and child abuse allegations.

Less than 100 days until the midterms, the House is on a five-week vacation, and nobody has actually seen Mitch McConnell since June 16 — but don't worry, they released another "proof of life" photo. Kate and Emily break down what happens if McConnell's seat opens up in Kentucky, why one senator (Utah's Mike Lee) is holding the Senate hostage over the SAVE Act, and why that bill almost certainly isn't going anywhere. Then: the New York Times report on DNC chair Ken Martin melting down — and the bigger problem behind the drama. The Democratic Party's national committee is $2 million in debt and took a mortgage out on its own headquarters, while Trump's super PAC is sitting on $400 million. What does that actually mean for 2026 and 2028? The girls get into it: the DSA and Zohran Mamdani, "safe bet" candidates like Janet Mills, why the establishment keeps making the same play, and why waiting your turn in politics is overrated. Plus: Emily achieved inbox zero (4,000 emails deep), Kate visited a giant data center being built in Wisconsin, an Anne Lamott quote for your rusty toolbox of a soul, and the pop culture homework you all assigned us — Netflix's true crime doc "A Toxic Love Story." (Spoilers, obviously.) And breaking: RHONY's original cast is coming back, and we WILL be recapping. Drink your water. Take your meds.

Kate and Emily are back with a weekly catch-up that starts with the administrative burden of adulthood and ends with a nationwide outbreak nobody in charge seems worried about. In between: those AI camp photo services (cute or surveillance state?), the license plate cameras popping up on every corner, and why Emily keeps having to rewrite her dystopian novel because reality keeps beating her to it. Then it's off to the races — literally. Kate breaks down the absolute chaos of Wisconsin's governor primary: Francesca Hong's front-runner momentum, the campaign finance scandal that took down Sara Rodriguez, and Governor Evers going rogue with a surprise endorsement three weeks before the election. Emily covers Maine, where Troy Jackson has been anointed as Graham Platner's replacement to take on Susan Collins. Plus: the Vances' new baby (and Emily's theory about Usha as shadow VP), the Haley Stevens accent discourse, whether James Carville is wrong about AOC (he is), Kamala in 2028, and Emily's unsolicited advice for Andy Beshear on the McConnell seat. And finally, the diarrhea dispatch: the FDA's "false positive" on Taylor Farms lettuce, decimated public health funding, and RFK Jr. shrugging off what is decidedly not a normal summer tummy bug. Wash your produce. Maybe soak it in vinegar. We're not doctors.

Emily and Kate get into what the loss of one of the Senate's most powerful dealmakers actually means — hard power, soft power, and the proof-of-life photo that has everyone side-eyeing Mitch McConnell, who hasn't been seen in a month. Did the Russians do it? A court of law hasn't decreed, but the * court of vibes * (a brand-new segment) has questions.Then Kate pulls out the red string. What starts as a data-center land grab on the Wisconsin lakeshore turns into a whole board: Oracle and Larry Ellison, Trump's $1.4 billion crypto pivot, a tungsten mine in Kazakhstan, Howard Lutnick's kids, and the billionaire dads — and their sons — quietly running the world. It's giving *movie*.Also on the menu: $8.99 eggs and why Democrats still can't sell the economy, JD Vance and Marco Rubio as the two most juiceless guys of 2028, the quiet war on IVF that the Heritage Foundation is building for the future, and a brand-new closing game: the * Happiness Scale *.Don't forget the plot, and drink your water. 💧—ACTUALLY is a weekly show where Emily Amick and Kate Duffy break down thenews, culture, and the stuff nobody else will say out loud. TMZ meets yoursmartest friend. New episodes every week.▶ SUBSCRIBE to the podcast version:Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033msaG...Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...📩 Go deeper on Substack:Emily: https://emilyinyourphone.substack.com/Kate: https://motherhoodforgood.substack.com/📲 Follow us on Instagram:Emily:   / emilyinyourphone  Kate:   / motherhoodforgood  💬 Got a topic you want us to cover? Drop it in the comments.#Actually #Podcast #WomenInPolitics #Politics #Culture

Emily and Kate are back from the holiday with thoughts on why the left is finally taking patriotism back — and why loving your country is easier at a small-town parade than on the internet. Then: Trump's increasingly royal behavior, from the $1.4 billion his family has reportedly made in crypto to the Qatari jet and an 850,000-firework taxpayer-funded show. Plus, Kate's sports corner covers Trump's FIFA phone call that got a US player's World Cup suspension mysteriously lifted, the girlies weigh in on Taylor and Travis's Madison Square Garden wedding, and what Mallory McMorrow's exit from the Michigan Senate primary says about why "safe" candidates keep fizzling out. If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe, rate, and share with a friend!

Emily and Kate get into the issue that's dominating kitchen-table conversations across the Midwest: data centers. Kate breaks down her year-long rabbit hole - the secret NDA deals, the tax breaks for trillion-dollar companies, the "it's giving Foxconn" of it all - and why community organizing is actually beating Big Tech in Wisconsin. Plus: the tech money flooding into politics, Trump's algae-bloom reflection pool disaster and its tragic baby duck, the Iran ceasefire, the private-equity takeover of youth sports, dating after 35, trad wives, no-fault divorce, and why every woman should keep building her personal brand. Just your typical weekly yap sesh that darts all over the place which is a lot more than our 80-year old president can say for himself. If you tolerate listening to this and/or us, please leave us a five-star review and subscribe!

Most of us are winging this whole adulthood thing, and lately it feels like the people running the show are too. But here's the thing Kate and Emily keep coming back to: a lot of the chaos isn't an accident. The confusion is the point. In this episode they get into how the stories we're told — about politics, about who we're supposed to be, about what's "normal" — are built on purpose, and who benefits when we don't notice. A few things they cover: Why political messaging feels like a movie plot — and how that's by design, not coincidenceThe reproductive rights fight, including real stories from women stuck between the law and their own medical careFetal personhood — what the term actually means and why it could change so much more than people realizeSocial media and misinformation — how the wildest claims travel the fastestThe "trad" thing — the cultural push toward old-school gender roles, and what's underneath itConspiracy theories and why they're spreading the way they areHow symbols get used to move public opinion without anyone arguing the actual factsHormonal health and the real, personal cost of ignoring itThe influencer hypocrisy of people selling ideas that quietly hurt the audience buying themNeither of us is a buttoned-up expert, and we're not pretending to be. But between the two of us we've spent a long time watching how this stuff actually works behind the scenes — which makes it a lot easier to spot when we're being played. And if this is finding a spot in your regular rotation, please subscribe, leave us a rating, and send it to a friend who'd get it. That's genuinely how a show like this finds the people it's meant for. Your hosts: Kate Duffy is a Wisconsin mom, content creator, and the founder of Motherhood for Good — basically the group-chat version of the news, where power gets explained in plain language. Find her at @motherhoodforgood. Emily Amick is a lawyer and writer who breaks down politics and the law for people who never planned on caring this much. Find her at @emilyinyourphone.

We're back with our weekly chat and zero solutions to anything. We get into the Graham Platner mess in Maine (the Blackwater past, the New York Times exposé, the ex-girlfriend allegations), make the case that AOC is quietly building something bigger than anyone realizes, and watch Trump completely lose it on Kristen Welker over the 2020 election. Plus: Hunter Biden's chaotic-good redemption tour, why Wisconsin farmers are getting crushed, and the THC-drink loophole that's about to close. Also Emily is refinishing a dining table and Kate is paneling a wall, because we contain multitudes. More: - Is Mel Robbins a grifter or just a marketer? - Emily's full DIY era: $75K cabinet quote vs. the $10K she did herself - Pride Parade weekend + Charlie's near-miss with a pile of horse poop - Kate on getting sober at 29, and what Platner's drinking says about judgment - The Fetterman feud - AOC out-raising Speaker Mike Johnson — president, Senate, or Speaker? - Chuck Schumer's old-school politics vs. the online left - Hunter Biden's redemption tour + the Biden family book wave - Trump in Wisconsin: farmers, tariffs, and a round table that was mostly yapping - Trump's crash-out with Kristen Welker over 2020 "evidence" - Bill Pulte for DNI + the FISA reauthorization standoff - The 2028 third-term question (and why the midterms matter) - Wisconsin's THC drinks disappearing in November (the farm bill loophole) - The "not a doctor, not a lawyer" disclaimer that should probably be our subtitle.

Kate and Emily get into the Graham Plattner scandal and what it means for the Maine Senate race, the Patagonia-vs-Pattigonia trademark lawsuit, and a growing list of "unlikely recession indicators" — from $9 annuals to $100 Korean spa scrubs. Plus: why nostalgia for a simpler summer is really about affordability, the looksmaxxing rabbit hole, and a full decoding of Gen Z and Gen Alpha slang (frame mogging, mini bosses, and Needoh squishies included). Follow Emily Amick: https://instagram.com/emilyinyourphone Follow Kate Duffy: https://instagram.com/motherhoodforgood

Emily and Kate are finally recording the phone calls they were going to have anyway. In the inaugural episode: Emily's harrowing saga of getting her iPhone battery changed (spoiler: Apple broke the whole phone), the case for why your $1,200 device is designed to fall apart right on schedule, and a genuinely good conversation about why the Democratic Party keeps losing the narrative war — and why "doing what worked last cycle" is a losing strategy in an information environment that changes faster than their consultants can keep up with. Plus: the canvassing event from hell, the DNC chair situation, and why what the party really needs is a few personality hires.