This week’s episode is different.
Usually, we come to the microphone with an outline and some scripting to help us make sense of the moment we’re living in. But on Saturday, January 24th, that didn’t feel possible or honest.
We were still processing the news out of Minneapolis: another protester killed by ICE agents. As the day went on, more videos surfaced. More angles. More details. And instead of clarity, what emerged was something far more disturbing: a widening gap between what federal officials were saying and what we could see with our own eyes.
In this episode, we talk through that shock in real time.
We talk about the speed at which official narratives are now deployed, often before facts are verified, and these days even in direct contradiction to video evidence. We talk about how corrosive that is, not just to public trust, but to the idea that government actors should be accountable to the truth at all. We also name the feeling many of us are sitting with: not just anger or grief, but overwhelm.
We wrestle with something we’ve returned to again and again on this podcast: how to stay informed without completely losing your peace.
Lisa shares the tension between relying on responsible journalism, where verification takes time, and the emotional pull of social media, where information (and misinformation) moves instantly. Aaron reflects on the deeper, meta-level damage caused when federal officials appear to lie without consequence, and what that does to any remaining faith in institutions.
And yet, as heavy as this episode is, we look for the light.
As always, we talk about action—practical ways to stay engaged without burning out. We talk about calling representatives, using tools like Five Calls, supporting campaigns with postcards to voters, and preparing for the protests and primaries ahead with organizations like Indivisible (https://indivisible.org/)
Finally, we make room for joy. Not as denial. Not as distraction. But as something essential. A haircut. A basketball game. A cat who insists on being adored. Small, human moments that remind us why staying connected, to each other and to this work, still matters.
This is a raw episode. A seat-of-the-pants conversation. No outline. No easy answers. Just two people trying to process a moment that feels both unbearable and unavoidable.
🎧 Listen to this week’s episode of A Couple Thinks wherever you get your podcasts.If this conversation resonates, consider sharing it with someone who’s also trying to make sense of this moment—and finding their way from anger to action, one step at a time.
