The Friday Power Lunch launches our 5th Season at 12 PM ET today with special guest Jess Piper!

GET READY TO DANCE IN THE ROOM TO "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone.

Join us today to hear from Jess Piper. Register here.

Nina Simone sings:

Birds flying high, you know how I feel
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by, you know how I feel

It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life for me, yeah

It is a new day for all of us. After all the news this week, it will feel good to come together to hash out what is going on and to discuss what it means for us in 2025. To do any good, we first must take care of ourselves to aid those around us. It is a new dawn, and we will face it together, find joy in the most unexpected places, and fight together for a better day.

Today’s show kicks off at 12 NOON ET. Not registered yet? Well, by all means, register here.

About the show today

This week the Friday Power Lunch welcomes Jess Piper (Executive Director at Blue Missouri and Substack author of "The View from Rural Missouri), with special guest MC Lynlee Thorne (Political Director at Rural GroundGame), and Luisa Boyarski (Virginia Grassroots Coalition Leader) for a special grassroots report.

Jess Piper - Rural Badass

As we roll into 2025, we know that it will be challenging. That is why we invited rural badass Jess Piper, Executive Director at Blue Missouri and Substack author of "The View from Rural Missouri," to join us on January 3, 2025, at noon ET. Jess has reminded us that she and others in red states have been under the rule of right-wing fascism for some time now. We can learn from Jess the best ways to keep moving forward and to punch back to win. Check out Jess Piper's articles here.

Luisa Boyarski - Virginia Grassroots Coalition Leader for the Grassroots Update

The Virginia Grassroots Coalition is the hub of action for activists in Virginia. This New Year, Luisa will update us on Virginia’s elections including the special election on January 7, 2025; the Virginia General Assembly first day of Session, lobby days and what to expect. She will also cover the importance of Constitutional Amendments and the Budget.

New Year’s Resolutions from Rural Badesses with Lynlee Thorne and Jess Piper

Our final segment called New Year’s Resolutions from Rural Badasses, we will welcome Lynlee Thorne in the conversation along with Jess Piper, Finale Norton and Katherine White. Typically, resolutions focus on getting healthy or setting aspirational goals. We will take on the New Year with some badass resolutions and common sense resolute ideas from a rural activist point of view.

Happy New Year!

Hope to see you soon!

Katherine White, Big Mic on the Friday Power Lunch