Episode Description:

In this episode, Chelsey and Jenn dive deep into Project 2025 — the radical plan spearheaded by conservative think tanks and Trump loyalists to permanently reshape American government. We trace the origins of the playbook, expose the threats it poses to democracy, women's rights, and freedom of speech, and connect the dots between Reagan-era conservatism and today's far more dangerous authoritarian shift.
Spoiler alert: This isn’t your grandparents’ Republican party anymore.

If you think the 2024 election was the end of the fight—think again. The groundwork is being laid right now for a seismic takeover of federal agencies, the judiciary, and your rights as a citizen. We break down how Project 2025’s authors are planning mass firings, loyalty oaths, the end of checks and balances, and an executive branch that answers to no one but a dictator.

It’s happening in plain sight. And we’re here to expose it.

Key Topics Covered:

• What is Project 2025?
  • A coordinated far-right effort, launched by the Heritage Foundation and 100+ conservative organizations
  • Aim: Seize control of the federal government and permanently entrench far-right rule
  • Primary tools: Executive orders, loyalty tests, mass purges of civil servants, regulatory rollbacks
• The "Presidential Transition Project" explained
  • Not a normal transition plan — a hostile takeover manual
  • "Day One Project" plan: fire 50,000 government employees and replace them with ideologues
• Executive Orders Already Laying the Groundwork
  • Trump’s orders from early 2025 (referencing Axios and Politico lists)
  • E.O.s weakening federal hiring protections
  • E.O.s targeting independent agencies like the DOJ, Fed, and CDC
• Historical Parallel: Reagan vs. Trump
  • Reagan preached small government but still respected constitutional checks
  • Trump and Project 2025 push for unchecked executive dominance
  • Shift from conservatism to authoritarianism
• How it Threatens Everyday Americans
  • Women's rights (e.g., economic independence under direct threat; Newsweek coverage of Trump executive orders)
  • Freedom of speech (targeting universities, media, and public dissent)
  • Immigration: mass deportation programs and militarized detention centers
  • Religious freedom under assault (only one “approved” religion promoted)
• Why This Matters to Moms, Families, and Citizens
  • Raising kids under a dictatorship-lite system isn’t freedom
  • Education, healthcare, reproductive rights, and free speech all on the line

Resources and References:

• Project 2025 Official Site (Heritage Foundation)
• Axios: "Trump’s 2025 executive orders, explained"
• Politico: "Project 2025 outlines Trump’s plan for government control"
• Newsweek: "Trump’s executive orders could impact women’s financial independence"
• Federalist Papers: (Selected readings on executive overreach and separation of powers)
• Historical Notes: Comparison to Reagan policies and constitutional framework

Call to Action:

• Join local organizing efforts — democracy isn’t self-cleaning!
• Follow us on Instagram and TikTok for updates and breakdowns.
• Moms Against the Machine isn’t just a podcast — it’s a movement. Get involved.

📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…”
Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social:

📧 momsagainstthemachinepod@gmail.com
📸 Insta @MomsAgainstTheMachine
🎥 TikTok: @momsandmachines

In our premiere episode, we go back—way back—to the women who laid the emotional, intellectual, and literal groundwork for American democracy.
We’re talking Abigail Adams, Mercy Otis Warren, and Phillis Wheatley—three women who never got a seat at the table but still pulled up with receipts, rage, and revolutionary fire.

From letters to husbands to poems that challenged tyranny, these founding mothers were raising babies and raising hell. We explore what they might say about today’s school voucher battles, book bans, and ongoing fights for equality. Spoiler: they wouldn’t be quiet about it.

As suburban moms with a mic, we reflect on our own letters to America, the ways our lives echo theirs, and why joy is resistance in 2025.

What We Cover:

• “Remember the Ladies”: Abigail’s demand to be heard
• Mercy Otis Warren and the pen that mocked kings
• Phillis Wheatley’s poems of protest and power
• What Texas school voucher hearings have in common with revolutionary resistance
• What we would say if we could write our own Letter to America

Further Reading:

• Abigail Adams' letters: Massachusetts Historical Society
• Mercy Otis Warren bio: National Women’s History Museum
• Phillis Wheatley’s poetry: Poets.org
• Primary Source Material:
  Abigail Adams:
  • “Remember the Ladies” Letter (March 31, 1776)
    Massachusetts Historical Society
    🔗 https://www.masshist.org/digitaladams/archive/doc?id=L17760331aa
• Mercy Otis Warren:
  • Biography (NWHM) – Overview of her political writings and role in the Revolution
    National Women’s History Museum
    🔗 https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/mercy-otis-warren
  • Selected Works:
    Observations on the New Constitution (1788)
    The Group (1775) – Political satire play
    Full text collection:
    🔗 https://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/warren/revolution/revolution.html
• Phillis Wheatley:
  • Poetry Collection: Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral (1773)
    Available through Poets.org
    🔗 https://poets.org/poet/phillis-wheatley
  • Letter and Poem to George Washington (1775):
    Library of Congress
    🔗 https://www.loc.gov/resource/mgw4.028_0384_0385/?sp=1

📝 “Dear America, I’m a mom and I…”
Finish the sentence. Send us your voice memo or tag us on social:

📧 momsagainstthemachinepod@gmail.com
📸 Insta @MomsAgainstTheMachine
🎥 TikTok: @momsandmachines