Welcome to the Relaunch of My Blog
Hey everybody.
So.
It’s been a while since I’ve written word one on this blog. I couldn’t believe the most recent post I published was a full year ago when all I thought we had to be concerned about from an healthcare perspective was a global pandemic.
Silly me.
“Back then,” in June of 2021, I was new to the world of podcasting, having barely joined The Heartland POD that January. I started this blog a year or so before then as a way to elevate down ticket issues and statewide politics, particularly in the parts of the country most liberals on the coasts feel liberated (see what I did there?) to ignore: The Midwest.
Podcasting is a lot of work. Building an audience, figuring out the dynamic with a new group of people, and then pushing out content 5/days a week is a herculean effort. I also had no idea what this blog would even be for in light of the fact that writing and talking about midwestern politics and what’s broken about it is way, way, way, way, way, way, way, way more fun when you do that thing with other like-minded people.
So, this little space sat on the back burner.
But then…I started having other ideas.
Ideas that weren’t a good fit for The Heartland POD’s Patreon or the podcast.
Ideas about who should be the next Democratic Senator from California should be (it’s not who you think), my takeaways from the most recent Los Angeles mayoral primary. Ideas about Big Tech, antitrust legislation, and literally anything else I feel like talking about. It could be a recipe. I don’t know. The point is: I never thought I’d have the emotional or physical capacity to produce work like this again.
When I started this blog, I felt terribly isolated. I was. As I shared in this Patreon post after the POD’s first live event earlier this month, my personal life was (to say the least) a bit frothy. The fact that I have ideas of any stripe, or the mental juice to turn those ideas into words is down to the fact that I have a community now, something I never quite felt like I could claim until very, very recently.
Moving to a new city in the midst of an election like 2016 (from California to Missouri no less) can be jarring. My husband was critically ill. Outside of my family, we didn’t have any friends. I moved in and out of some activist circles throughout 2017 and 2018, but a series of surgeries and, of course COVID, put a stop to all of that. (My husband is severely immunocompromised.)
The POD has reinvigorated my creative voice. I think most people who have suffered (gestures towards planet) understand what a relief that can be.
I’ll be blogging here regularly, sharing ideas about down ballot/down ticket, statewide, and local issues. I may also share the odd insight here or there about emerging technology and platforms with the express goal of giving people talking points and clarity on subjects that are by their very nature confusing.
I also just want to thank everyone in the Heartland POD family and circle for your love, support, energy, time, resources, and engagement. That alone is what helps me get out of bed many days of the week.
As they say: Watch this space. There’s more coming.
All my best to you and your loved ones during this incredibly brutal and difficult time in our country.
Love,
Rachel
P.S. I tweet about awful midwestern politics with great humor and a lot of curse words on Twitter. That’s where you’ll find updates about my latest interviews on the podcast, and anything else that makes me want to throw a hammer through my windshield. If you like the work I do, and you want to support (and see more of it) please visit my store and buy some cards that will make you cry laugh. Thank you all for all you do!