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A Navy helicopter pilot who has landed on aircraft carriers in the middle of the night is now trying to land something even harder: real accountability in Washington. I sit down with Rebecca Bennett, a veteran leader who served more than 15 years, moved through corporate healthcare and health tech startups, and is now running for Congress in New Jersey’s 7th district with a message that cuts through the partisan noise: country over party, results over reels.

We start with Rebecca’s path from small town Texas to Navy aviation, what it means to lead under pressure, and why military life forces you to solve problems with the team you have. From there, we shift into the U.S. healthcare system, including women’s health, menopause care, and why a fragmented system makes continuity of care so difficult. We talk incentives too: fee for service vs outcomes, prevention vs reaction, and why rewarding health outcomes could lower costs and improve lives.

Then we get into the gritty reality of modern politics. Rebecca explains what pushed her from volunteering to running, why campaign finance and fundraising rules block normal people from serving, and how she’s building a grassroots campaign without corporate PAC money. We also dig into veteran and military family issues like transition support, military spouse employment, the PACT Act, and why more women veterans in Congress matters.

If you’re tired of performative hearings and want practical leadership, listen now. Subscribe, share this with a friend who cares about service and civic life, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

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Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better!

Calling yourself patriotic is easy. Living like a patriot is harder, especially when the facts feel messy and the incentives in politics push us toward slogans instead of responsibility. We sit down with Michael T. Lester, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, Desert Storm veteran, and cybersecurity leader, to talk about why he titled his book We Are the Bad Guys and what he means by it: not that Americans are bad people, but that U.S. foreign policy is often experienced abroad as coercion, not liberation. That outside view can be shocking, and it can also be clarifying.

We unpack how beliefs are shaped through selective information, repetition, and social proof, the mechanics behind manufactured consent. Then we zoom out to history and geopolitics, touching on examples like Central America, Hawaii’s overthrow, and the 1953 Iran coup and why “it came out of nowhere” is often a symptom of missing context. We also connect the dots back home: opportunity costs in federal spending, a growing civic knowledge gap, and why performative patriotism can replace real involvement.

Finally, we get practical. We talk campaign finance, super PACs, Citizens United, closed primaries, gerrymandering, and reforms like ranked-choice voting and the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. Most importantly, we lay out steps you can take now: start local, keep conversations nonpartisan, learn who represents you, and hold them accountable in ways that actually get seen. If this made you rethink anything, subscribe, share it with a friend, and leave a review so more people find the conversation.

Stories of Service presents guests’ stories and opinions in their own words, reflecting their personal experiences and perspectives. While shared respectfully and authentically, the podcast does not independently verify all statements. Views expressed are those of the guests and do not necessarily reflect the host, producers, government agencies, or podcast affiliates.

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76

Let us know what you think of the show and what we can do better!

The biggest military homecoming videos end with hugs and banners, but a lot of families know the harder chapter starts after the uniforms are folded and the photos stop. We sit down with Cathy Turner and Jackie Voytak, founders of the Restored Heart Collective, to talk about what reintegration really looks like when the spouse is quietly carrying anxiety, loneliness, and the constant pressure to keep everything functioning.

We trace both of their paths through military life: learning the culture as an outsider, navigating officer spouse expectations, dealing with unspoken rank boundaries, and the slow drift of putting your own needs last while trying to “support” a partner through PTSD and post-deployment stress. Then we dig into what actually helped, from intimate retreat spaces to nervous system practices like breathwork, meditation, journaling, yoga, sauna, and cold plunge. The point isn’t trends or buzzwords, it’s reclaiming stability and identity so the whole household can breathe again.

You’ll also hear how they turned one powerful retreat experience into a spouse-only 501(c)(3), why they chose the name Restored Heart Collective (inspired by kintsugi), and how their model builds community before and after a weekend retreat with structured Zoom calls and year-long follow-up. If you care about military spouse mental health, family readiness, and real-world healing support, this conversation offers a clear blueprint for what’s been missing.

Subscribe for more Stories of Service, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review telling us what kind of support military spouses should have had all along.

Support the show

Visit my website: https://thehello.llc/THERESACARPENTER
Read my writings on my blog: https://www.theresatapestries.com/
Listen to other episodes on my podcast: https://storiesofservice.buzzsprout.com
Watch episodes of my podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheresaCarpenter76