When online communities become real life communities

LifePodcasts

Sep 2

I started listening to the Pantsuit Politics podcast in 2020 when my then boss Julie was invited for an episode on how to support kids learning at home as—thanks to the pandemic—so many families were thrust into homeschooling. I’ve been known to call Pantsuit Politics my “emotional support podcast” and in 2024 I started supporting them financially at the “executive producer” level.

I attended their first live show last year in Cincinnati despite not knowing anyone outside the parasocial relationship I have with the hosts, Sarah and Beth. I truly had no idea of what to expect. What I found was an amazing real life community with diverse political and religious life experiences but grounded in the values that Sarah and Beth bring to the podcast - nuance, curiosity, kindness, care, and most importantly, assuming good faith in disagreement.

The executive producers stayed connected after the live show via a WhatsApp group which has become a place to process (and vent!) about the news, celebrate and share struggles, discuss books and whatever else comes up (looking at you, menopause!) But even better, once we were connected, we started finding more ways to meet in person. I’ve met up with several folks who were passing through the area and several of us who live in Virginia met up in Richmond for lunch.

Needless to say, when they announced the Spice Conference, another live show in Minneapolis, I didn’t hesitate to sign up (especially since I’ve never been to Minnesota and I’ve always wanted to visit!) And now that I am home, I can definitely sayt that it did not disappoint. While the activities and talks (and the live show!) were fun, what I enjoyed most was seeing people I had met in Cincinnati (while missing those who could not come!) as well as meeting new executive producers I had gotten to know from our chat.

I especially appreciated the care that went into holding space for both acknowledging the trauma of the ICE occupation on the residents of Minneapolis and celebrating the strength and courage shown in resistance. We got to hear from multiple business and restaurant owners about what it was (and is) to live through the occupation and it is obvious that there is still much trauma to be processed. And yet there was also much joy and determination as could be seen in the members of the Singing Resistance who performed at the live show. We also compiled 2,400 hygiene kits over the course of the weekend in support of Sanctuary Supply Depot.

I am still thinking about the live show discussion on how the resistance came together and how important it was that it was grounded in personal connection with neighbors and relied on a whole lot of trust. Hearing these stories makes it hit home how utterly horrifying it is that this blatant disregard for basic rights as well as basic human dignity is happening all over this country as we speak.