Y'all, pull up a chair because we've got something special tonight. While the GOP machine keeps telling us Tennessee's a lost cause for progressives, Jerri Green's already out there proving them wrong, even if it means campaigning in a bulletproof vest after death threats from the folks who think democracy only works when they win.

This ain't your polite politics podcast episode. We're talking to the woman who's crisscrossed Tennessee seven times already, building a coalition of teachers, nurses, veterans, and everyday folks who are dog-tired of a government that only answers to the powerful. From her days as a juvenile public defender to fighting for clean water and living wages, Jerri's got the receipts and the backbone to take on Marsha "Trump in a wig" Blackburn for the governor's mansion.

We dig into the real Tennessee, where Democrats just sliced a 22-point Trump margin down to single digits in that 7th District special election. Where a mama of three decides to run for governor not because it's safe or easy, but because she's got to look her kids in the eye and show them you can do hard things. Where neighbors still build ramps for neighbors, even when the state won't lift a damn finger to help.

This is about more than one race. It's about whether we're going to let fear and fanaticism own our identity, or whether we're going to stand sturdy like cast iron, and fight for the South we know is possible. The one that doesn't leave working families behind while the well-connected get fatter.

The math is there. The map is there. Now we need the movement.

Listen in as Jerri breaks down how Tennessee's future isn't inevitable. It's up for grabs. And if you're tired of being told to shut up and accept the red state narrative, this one's for you.

Because Tennessee doesn't belong to one party. It belongs to the people brave enough to fight for it.

Y'all, the Republican machine wants you to think Tennessee's 7th Congressional District is theirs for the taking. They're dead wrong.

In this episode, we sit down with Kate Briefs, the Boston-bred, immigrant-raised campaign manager who's helping Aftyn Behn turn what everyone called a "safe red seat" into a battlefield. This ain't your typical campaign —this is grassroots organizing with teeth, stretching from Clarksville to the Alabama border across 14 counties.

Kate pulls back the curtain on how they're building something real in just six weeks—not with political mercenaries and consultants, but with organizers working out of homes, volunteers skipping Thanksgiving to knock doors, and folks from across the planet making calls in the middle of the night because they believe Tennessee deserves better.

We're talking about the campaign that's got Republicans scrambling, national media finally paying attention, and Tennessee Democrats remembering what hope feels like. This is what it looks like when progressives stop asking permission and start taking ground—one door, one call, one vote at a time.

Because here's the truth: The South isn't lost. It's not permanently red. It's full of people hungry for leaders who see them, who fight for them, who refuse to let hate and apathy win. Aftyn Behn is that voice. This campaign is that movement.

So buckle up and listen to what real resistance sounds like when it's forged in cast iron and tempered in Southern fire.

Special election is December 2nd. Get off your ass and get involved at aftynforcongress.com

In the wake of Charlie Kirk's shocking assassination, we sit down with Kevin Jenkins—a young Black man running for Congress in Tennessee's blood-red 1st district, where he's one of the few faces that don't look like the overwhelming majority. From the poorest county in Tennessee, Kevin's doing the hard work of building bridges in Trump country while folks on the right try to paint progressives as bloodthirsty monsters.

We dig into the real aftermath of political violence—not the manufactured outrage, but the genuine horror felt by decent people across the political spectrum. Kevin breaks down what it's like organizing in rural Appalachia, fighting for universal healthcare and affordable housing in places where Diana Harshbarger votes against her own constituents' interests, and why the real enemy isn't your Republican neighbor—it's the billionaires keeping us all down.

This isn't about left versus right. It's about top versus bottom, and it's time we started acting like it. Because the South isn't just red, y'all—it's hurting, and it deserves better than the politics of division and cruelty.