Podcasts about Fulton County

The week in Donald Trump's legal world has felt less like a series of isolated hearings and more like one long, rolling courtroom drama, shifting from New York to Washington and back again, with judges, jurors, and prosecutors all pulling on different threads of the same story.In New York, the civil fraud case that once delivered that massive judgment against Donald Trump and the Trump Organization is now in its post-trial grind, but it is far from over. New York Attorney General Letitia James is still pressing to enforce the judgment, while Trump's lawyers are working every angle on appeal, arguing that Judge Arthur Engoron overreached when he found that Trump, his adult sons, and senior executives systematically inflated the value of properties like Trump Tower and Mar-a-Lago to secure better loans and insurance. Outlets like the New York Times and the Associated Press have noted that the appeal filings in the past few days sharpened their focus on what they call “political bias” by New York state officials, framing the entire case as an effort to drive Trump out of business in his home state. At the same time, the state has been quietly filing its own responses to keep pressure on Trump's assets, setting up a long appellate fight.Down in federal court in Washington, the special counsel election interference case remains technically on track but practically bogged down in pretrial maneuvering. According to recent reporting by CNN and Politico, Trump's team has been leaning heavily on arguments of presidential immunity and First Amendment protection, trying to narrow what Special Counsel Jack Smith can present to a future jury about Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, the fake electors plan, and the chaos leading up to January 6 at the United States Capitol. Judges on the D.C. Circuit have been working through dense briefing on whether a former president can ever be criminally prosecuted for “official acts,” and in the last few days, legal analysts at Lawfare and Just Security have been dissecting how those arguments might ripple into other Trump cases.At the same time, the classified documents prosecution in Florida has been crawling forward under Judge Aileen Cannon. NBC News and the Washington Post report that the most recent hearings have focused on what evidence can be excluded because of alleged mishandling by the FBI during the search at Mar-a-Lago, and how to protect national security secrets while still giving Trump's team access to the material they say they need to defend him. Prosecutors have kept pressing the core claim: that Trump knowingly kept highly sensitive documents at his private club and then obstructed efforts by the National Archives and the Department of Justice to get them back. Trump's lawyers, in turn, have tried to reframe the case as a dispute over records that should have been handled under the Presidential Records Act rather than as a crime scene.Meanwhile, in Georgia, the state election interference case in Fulton County remains a looming threat even as no trial has begun. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, defense lawyers for Trump and several co-defendants have spent these last days filing motions to limit the racketeering charges brought by District Attorney Fani Willis, arguing that normal political advocacy is being criminalized. The pressure there is less about a trial date and more about whether the sweeping racketeering structure survives early challenges.Stack all of this together, and what you have over these past few days is a picture of Donald Trump not in a single courtroom showdown, but in a legal siege on multiple fronts, each case feeding into the political and personal narrative he presents to his supporters as he continues to seek power again.Thank you for tuning in, and come back next week for more. This has been a Quiet Please production, and for more, check out QuietPlease dot A I.Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.aiThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

In this powerful and unexpected episode of Why We Vote, CannCon and Ashe in America are joined by a last-minute, but absolutely show-stopping, guest: Harrison Floyd, one of President Trump's former RICO co-defendants in the Fulton County case. With Patrick Byrne unable to make the show, Harrison steps in and delivers his first full podcast interview since the charges against him were dropped. Harrison walks through the real story behind his involvement in Georgia, the FBI's actions at his home, and the political machinery driving the case. He details his conversations surrounding Ruby Freeman, the chaotic and contradictory behavior of state and federal actors, and how coordinated lawfare became the true weapon of 2020 and beyond. This candid conversation exposes the emotional, legal, and financial toll on defendants while highlighting the deep, unresolved issues within election systems nationwide. Harrison also announces his renewed mission: supporting others targeted by weaponized government through the Statesman Project. An unfiltered, gripping, and deeply human interview you won't hear anywhere else.

Welcome to The Georgia Politics Podcast! This week, we dive into three seismic political shakeups reshaping Georgia and the national landscape. First, we unpack Marjorie Taylor Greene's stunning announcement that she'll resign from Congress on January 5, 2026. We explore what her departure means for GOP power dynamics, who might emerge to fill the vacancy, and how her public break with Donald Trump could reverberate through the MAGA movement — as well as what she might be positioning herself for next. Then, we break down the December 2 municipal election results: Mary Robichaux unseats Roswell Mayor Kurt Wilson in a closely watched runoff, while in Sandy Springs, Rusty Paul coasts to a fourth term. We look at what these outcomes signal for suburban political trends across the region, including that unexpected Tennessee special angle. Finally, we examine the dismissal of the Fulton County racketeering case against Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants. With special prosecutor Pete Skandalakis concluding the evidence couldn't support a RICO conviction — and suggesting federal authorities may be better suited to pursue any remaining issues — Georgia's last active 2020-election case comes to an abrupt end. We dig into what this means for accountability, taxpayer exposure under Georgia's new legal-fee law, whether the case could ever be revived, and how this decision may influence public trust in election and judicial systems nationwide. A packed episode, full of context, clarity, and big questions that linger long after the headlines fade. Tune in. Connect with The Georgia Politics Podcast on Twitter @gapoliticspod Hans Appen on Twitter @hansappen Craig Kidd on Twitter @CraigKidd1 Lyndsey Coates on Instagram @list_with_lyndsey Proud member of the Appen Podcast Network. #gapol

The reasons Pete Skandalakis dismissed the Fulton County 2020 Election Interference case are ridiculous. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the disqualification of Alina Habba as US Attorney for New Jersey.We have an update in the case against Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan.Plus, a former immigration judge has sued the Trump Administration saying she was unlawfully terminated because she's a woman and a Democrat. Allison Gillhttps://muellershewrote.substack.com/https://bsky.app/profile/muellershewrote.comHarry DunnHarry Dunn | Substack@libradunn1.bsky.social on BlueskyWant to support this podcast and get it ad-free and early?Go to: https://www.patreon.com/aisle45podTell us about yourself and what you like about the show - http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hosts Greg Bluestein, Patricia Murphy, and Tia Mitchell break down the stunning decision that ended Fulton County's election interference case against Donald Trump and his co-defendants. AJC senior reporter Tamar Hallerman explains how misconduct allegations, a failed search for a new prosecutor, and a blistering review of key charges led to the case's collapse. She also details what it means for Georgia's “fake electors,” the Ruby Freeman investigation, and why Fulton County taxpayers could now be on the hook for millions in legal fees. The hosts dig into the political consequences for Fani Willis as state lawmakers ramp up their probes and as questions loom over her future in public life. Have a question or comment for the show? Call or text the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 770-810-5297. We'll play back your question and answer it during our next Monday Mailbag segment. You can also email your questions at PoliticallyGeorgia@ajc.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Tuesday December 2nd edition of Georgia Today: Fulton County taxpayers could end up paying President Donald Trump's legal fees; Atlanta public school enrollment continues to decline; And a panel of lawmakers pushes for need-based college scholarships, saying current options don't get the job done.

Fulton County taxpayers might see the bill for the now-dismissed Trump election interference case; Grady is opening new medical centers in Dekalb County; and a new North Atlantic Right Whale calf was spotted off the coast of GeorgiaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 399, Ken and Dave discuss, Fulton County dropping the Trump charges, the DC shooting, a judge interfering with high school football, the Virginia football coach on the run, Campbell's soup is for poor people, Coke's fake Johnny Cash song, Margorie Taylor Greene flies off the handle, and who will take the soon to be open 14th congressional seat.

Unique, Fearless and Topical where you provide the balance to our content. Tonight, in Hour 1, it's the go home show on the night before Thanksgiving, Shelley talks about Thanksgiving, the Fulton County trail, gets Thanksgiving shout outs from people you will know, and much more. Listen LIVE weeknights 7pm-9pm on 95.5 WSB

Unique, Fearless and Topical where you provide the balance to our content. Tonight, in Hour 2, it's the go home show on the night before Thanksgiving, Shelley talks to Harrison Floyd someone just set free due to the Fulton County case being overturned, talks to the listeners about what they are thankful for, asks the members of the show and the staff at the station what they are thankful for, and much more. Listen LIVE weeknights 7pm-9pm on 95.5 WSB

We begin this hour with CBS Chief Washington Correspondent Major Garrett on the latest between Pete Hagseth and Mark Kelly, the dismissal of the Fulton County case with Donald Trump and Thanksgiving fun as well! Then we bring in Susie Jones to have some Thanksgiving fun as well from when to eat, what to eat and when it needs to be done!

PLUS: is Esther Panitch a DINO? How can we trust what we see from Georgia's leaders & will data centers leave us in a wintry darkness?Today, Rons threads together several major developments shaping Georgia and the nation. The hour opens with Fulton County's proposed tax increase to meet federal consent-decree obligations for the county jail—an issue Ron argues reflects a broader philosophical debate over public safety, policing, and the kinds of services communities truly need. He contrasts Fulton's choices with an unexpected policing alliance in New York City, highlighting how unusual partnerships can still drive progress.The show then shifts to a national controversy: the CDC quietly changed language on its vaccine-autism webpage, a move condemned by scientists, pediatricians, and autism advocates. Ron breaks down the political pressure behind the update, the reaction from experts, and the implications of RFK Jr.'s leadership at HHS.Later, the focus turns to Georgia politics—specifically Sandy Springs—where Democrat Esther Panitch's endorsement of Republican Rusty Paul ignites a fierce response from challenger Dontaye Carter. Ron explores the community, political, and identity dynamics at play.Then there's the push to ⁠accelerate construction permitting⁠ and what impacts that may have on the homes people buy - and find themselves stuck with when that acceleration leads to preventable concerns.Georgia Recorder columnist Jay Bookman dips into the rise of political deepfakes, including a controversial video targeting Senator Jon Ossoff, and what this new frontier means for voters navigating misinformation.Ron has a conversation with CBS News correspondent David Schechter to determine whether data centers could push winter power grids to the brink—an issue with major implications for Georgia's energy future.Lastly, on this Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR), it's hard to ignore a few certainties:1. with MAGA, the cruelty is the point - which explains DHHS announcing a Trump administration attack on the rights of trans youth and parents on TDOR. 2. the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Endocrine Society declined to participate in the review and the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), which has long set the standard of care for transgender individuals, was not invited to review the report.Still, it's TDOR, and with more than 350 preventable transgender deaths so far just this year including Kennesaw State University trans activist Marisol "Mari" Payero, memorialized by Noel Heatherland from Georgia Equality. Tune in to catch the Ron Show weekdays from 4-6pm Eastern time on Georgia NOW! Grab the app or listen online at heargeorgianow.com.#HearGeorgiaNow #TheRonShow #DavidSchechter #DanteCarter #EstherPanitch #JonOssoff #MarjorieTaylorGreene #RFKJr #FultonCounty #GeorgiaPolitics

This episode of The Ron Show centers on one of the most consequential developments in Georgia politics: the appointment of Pete Skandalakis as the new prosecutor overseeing the Fulton County election interference case involving Donald Trump and multiple co-defendants. Ron and Georgia NOW News Director Alexis Young walk through what his appointment means, why so many prosecutors reportedly turned down the role, and how the eight-terabyte evidence load sets the stage for a complicated legal path forward. Ron and Alexis also examine the broader political environment surrounding the case, including the recent round of federal pardons issued to several figures tied to Trump. While those pardons have no bearing on state prosecutions, they add another layer to an already high-profile legal battle. They also discuss concerns about political pressure, prosecutorial discretion, and what Georgia law requires when reviewing evidence and making charging decisions.From there, the episode expands into other key news stories shaping Georgia and national politics. Ron covers the AI-generated deepfake circulated by Congressman Mike Collins' campaign, which used synthetic audio to imitate Senator John Ossoff. The segment outlines the ethical questions raised, the response from both parties, and how AI manipulation may impact campaign messaging in 2026 and beyond.The show also touches on the ongoing divide between Donald Trump and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, recent reporting on misconduct by FBI Director Kash Patel, and the Eleventh Circuit's decision to uphold hate crime convictions in the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.Listeners get a clear, grounded overview of the week's major stories — with Alexis providing additional context from the Georgia NOW newsroom and Ron connecting the dots across statewide and national developments.Tune in to catch the Ron Show weekdays from 4-6pm Eastern time on Georgia NOW! Grab the app or listen online at heargeorgianow.com. #AlexisYoung #PeteSkandalakis #GeorgiaPolitics #FultonCountyCase #MikeCollins #JohnOssoff #AhmaudArbery #GAnews #HearGeorgiaNow #TheRonShow

Hosts Greg Bluestein and Patricia Murphy are joined by AJC senior reporter Tamar Hallerman to unpack the fallout from President Trump's sweeping pardons for his 18 federal co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case. They explain what the move means for the stalled Fulton County prosecution, how it could affect Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, and why replacing District Attorney Fani Willis has proven so complicated. Then the show kicks off Politically Georgia's Candidate Forum series with former Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, who talks about his decision to run for governor as a Democrat, his priorities on affordability and health care, and his message to voters who want to move past Trump-era politics. Have a question or comment for the show? Call or text the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 770-810-5297. We'll play back your question and answer it during our next Monday Mailbag segment. You can also email your questions at PoliticallyGeorgia@ajc.com. Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠Dive into the shocking Rod Wave arrest with Analytic Dreamz on Notorious Mass Effect. This segment delivers a full breakdown of the 27-year-old rapper's (real name: Rodarius Green) Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, bust in Atlanta, Georgia—hours after securing his first-ever Grammy nomination for Best Song Written for Visual Media ("Sinners" from the 2025 horror film Sinners). According to Fulton County records and NYT reporting, charges include two counts of possession of a controlled substance (Schedule II and V), possession of a firearm or knife during a felony, and reckless driving. Released Saturday on $8,000 bond, this marks his third 2025 arrest in the county: May's dozen-plus counts (aggravated assault, battery) and June's follow-up, which his team dismissed as baseless. Lawyers Drew Findling, Marissa Goldberg, and Zack Findling blast it as "unjust profiling" by APD's quota-driven Crime Suppression Unit, vowing to challenge constitutional violations in court. APD details remain scarce. Amid his "pain music" rise—2023's Nostalgia (#1 album), 2024's Last Lap (#2 peak)—fans flood socials with #FreeRodWave support. WSB Radio confirms late-night booking. Analytic Dreamz unpacks the timeline, career stats, and legal implications.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Chuck Grassely is calling for a deeper dive into the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation giving millions in 501(c)3 mony to the Communist Party of China... at the same time George Soros is being exposed for his connection to a network of charities that have funneled millions into Zohran Mamdani's mayoral campaign. A staggering number of young people have a grisly opinion of political violence. The DOJ is now getting involved in a 2020 election case in Fulton County, Georgia, a state Biden mullegedly won by 12,000 votes. Gavin Newsom's wife proves to us that her husband is terrified of Donald Trump.

CannCon and Ashe in America kick off Badlands Daily with early-morning banter about the eerie symbolism of the Denver Airport before diving into a packed show covering politics, corruption, and cosmic irony. They announce updates for the upcoming Great American Restoration Tour, welcome new sponsors like Kitchen and Flooring Direct and Benson Honey, and then tear into the day's big headlines: the death of Dick Cheney (“Good riddance”), election-day apathy amid unfix elections, and fresh DOJ pressure on Fulton County to finally release the 2020 ballots. Ashe dissects the meaning of the DOJ's new tone while CannCon lays out why this letter could be the start of accountability. From public-sector grift in California to SNAP fraud, Pelosi's rumored retirement, and the latest Comey revelations, the pair mix analysis and outrage with humor and hope. They wrap with sharp commentary on media manipulation, election integrity, and why America's “leaders” can't manage a budget, but patriots can still change the world one conversation at a time.

Kelly shares the details of the upcoming Lip Sync Battle fundraiser for CASA, how to become a volunteer to serve children in Knox, Warren, Henderson, McDonough, and Fulton Counties, and more on the WRAM Morning Show.

===== MDJ Script/ Top Stories for October 24th Publish Date:  October 24th    Commercial: From the BG AD Group Studio, Welcome to the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast.    Today is Friday, October 24th and Happy Birthday to Kevin Kline I’m Keith Ippolito and here are the stories Cobb is talking about, presented by Times Journal Mableton candidates share plans to tackle homelessness amid rising concerns Turnout remains steady in Week 2 of early voting Brazilian steakhouse coming to Cumberland Mall Plus, Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on sweet tooths All of this and more is coming up on the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen and subscribe!  BREAK: Ingles Markets 2 STORY 1: Mableton candidates share plans to tackle homelessness amid rising concerns  Homelessness is a growing issue in Cobb County, and Mableton, as the county’s newest city, isn’t immune. As of February, five homeless encampments were identified in the area. Local resources like Family Life Restoration Center and HOPE Family Resource Center are working to help, but the challenge is complex. In August, a former Wingate Hotel near Six Flags was converted into housing for homeless veterans, despite pushback from Mableton’s City Council. With two contested City Council races on the Nov. 4 ballot, candidates were asked how they’d address homelessness. District 2 Michael McNeely emphasized collaboration: “We need an asset map to identify resources and capacity, especially as the weather changes. I’ll work with elected officials, churches, and nonprofits like Family Life Restoration to create a sustainable plan.” Incumbent Dami Oladapo focused on partnerships and community action: “We can expand resources with groups like HOPE Family Resource Center and Family Life Restoration. But it’s not just about institutions—neighbors coming together to collect blankets or food makes a real impact. Long-term, we need attainable housing and neighborhood revitalization.” District 4 Patricia Auch acknowledged the complexity: “We direct people to nonprofits like MUST Ministries and Sweetwater Mission, but homelessness often involves mental health or substance abuse issues. It’s not just about finding a home—it’s about addressing deeper problems.” Cassandra Brown, meanwhile, stressed connection over criminalization: “We need to link unhoused residents to local nonprofits already doing the work, like Family Life Restoration and HOPE. MUST Ministries is great, but it’s too far—over two hours by bus. We need solutions closer to home.” Homelessness remains a tough, multifaceted issue, but candidates agree: it’ll take compassion, collaboration, and creativity to make progress. STORY 2: Turnout remains steady in Week 2 of early voting  Early voting in Cobb County is off to a slow but steady start, with just under 6% of eligible voters casting ballots so far. Monday and Tuesday saw the second- and third-highest turnout days, with 1,410 and 1,495 voters, respectively. Friday still holds the top spot with 1,728 votes. Some locations, like the Cobb Elections Main Office in Marietta, are seeing spikes—554 voters showed up Tuesday. East Cobb’s Government Service Center also had its busiest days, with 321 voters Monday and 329 Tuesday. Early voting runs through Oct. 31 at seven locations countywide, with hours varying by day. Election Day is Nov. 4. STORY 3: Brazilian steakhouse coming to Cumberland Mall  Fogo de Chão, the beloved Brazilian steakhouse known for its tableside meat service, is heading to Cumberland Mall, taking over part of the old Sears site. This week, the Cobb Board of Commissioners gave the green light for the mall’s site plan update, paving the way for an 8,670-square-foot restaurant between Dick’s Sporting Goods and Cobb Parkway. If you’re unfamiliar, Fogo de Chão is all about churrasco—Brazilian barbecue where meats are roasted over an open flame and carved right at your table. Guests use a green-and-red disc to signal servers: green means “keep it coming,” red means “I’m stuffed.” This will be Georgia’s third Fogo location, joining Buckhead and Dunwoody. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.799.6810 for more info.  We’ll be right back. Break: Ingles Markets 2 STORY 4: Cobb School Board vice chair ordered to repay $225,000 in lawsuit settlement On Wednesday, a Fulton County judge ordered Cobb School Board Vice Chair John Cristadoro to pay $225,000 to Sagicor Life Insurance Company after allegations of misappropriated funds. According to court documents, Cristadoro’s marketing firm, Alliance Activation, received $250,000 from Sagicor to fund an advertising campaign. Of that, $225,000 was meant for a third-party vendor, Sunburst Entertainment, but the money never made it there. Instead, it was allegedly used to cover Alliance’s operating expenses—and even Cristadoro’s personal credit card bills. Judge Wesley Tailor ruled Cristadoro must pay $186,000 within three days, followed by $500 monthly payments until the full amount is settled. Cristadoro denied wrongdoing, calling the settlement a business negotiation and accusing critics of “manufacturing outrage.” However, parents and activists, including Heather Tolley-Bauer of Watching the Funds Cobb, pushed for transparency, opposing Cristadoro’s attempt to seal the settlement details. If Cristadoro defaults, the unpaid balance will accrue 10% interest until paid. STORY 5: OUT AND ABOUT: 5 things to do this weekend in Cobb County — Oct. 24 - 26 Cobb Fall Festival of Fun This Saturday, the Fall Festival of Fun is back at Jim R. Miller Park from 5 to 10 p.m. Expect hayrides, carnival games, a petting zoo, and yes, a haunted house ($5 entry). Parking and admission? Totally free. Acworth’s Halloween JamBOOree Dinosaurs, fairies, and who-knows-what-else will take over Logan Farm Park this Saturday from 3 to 7 p.m. Games, rides, live music, and a costume contest at 5 p.m. make it a must. Spooky Movies at The Strand Catch Hocus Pocus at Marietta’s Strand Theatre Saturday at 3 or 8 p.m. Tickets start at $15. Kennesaw’s Nightmare on Main 5k Run, don’t walk! The Nightmare on Main 5k kicks off at 8 a.m. Saturday in downtown Kennesaw. Registration is $39. And now here is Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on sweet tooths We’ll have closing comments after this. Break: Ingles Markets 2 Signoff-   Thanks again for hanging out with us on today’s Marietta Daily Journal Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at mdjonline.com Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the BG Podcast Network Show Sponsors: www.ingles-markets.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 / 4 MDJ Script/ Top Stories for October 22nd Publish Date: October 22nd Commercial: From the BG Ad Group Studio, Welcome to the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast. Today is Wednesday, October 22nd and Happy Birthday to Christopher Llyod I’m Keith Ippolito and here are the stories Cobb is talking about, presented by Times Journal 1. State approves Wellstar's application for 230-bed hospital in Acworth 2. Judge denies request to seal settlement involving Cobb school board vice chair 3. Sixth suspect charged in hotel shooting that killed baby All of this and more is coming up on the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen and subscribe! BREAK: INGLES 1 STORY 1: State approves Wellstar's application for 230-bed hospital in Acworth Well, it’s official—Wellstar’s getting the green light to build a massive new hospital on Cobb Parkway. The Georgia Department of Community Health gave the thumbs-up to their $1 billion plan for a 230-bed facility in Acworth. Big news, right? Apparently, Wellstar pitched this back in May, saying the area’s bursting at the seams with demand for hospital beds. And yeah, some rival health systems tried to block it—because of course they did—but Wellstar’s exec Matthew O’Connor wasn’t having it. He basically said, “Look, we’re the only ones who can handle this.” The hospital? Eight stories, 675,000 square feet, emergency bays, operating rooms—the works. It’s supposed to ease the load on their Marietta location, which is practically bursting at 98.5% capacity. Plus, it’ll bring 1,500 jobs to the area. STORY 2: Judge denies request to seal settlement involving Cobb school board vice chair So, here’s the deal: a Fulton County judge just said “nope” to sealing the settlement terms in a lawsuit involving Cobb school board VP John Cristadoro. Privacy concerns? Not enough to outweigh the public’s right to know, according to Judge Wesley Tailor. He didn’t mince words—“no reason” to keep it under wraps. The backstory? Cristadoro and his marketing firm were accused of pocketing $250K meant for advertising at sports games. He denied it, of course, but the case dragged on for over a year before both sides finally settled. They wanted the terms sealed. Parents like Heather Tolley-Bauer? Not having it. “Transparency matters,” she said. STORY 3: Sixth suspect charged in hotel shooting that killed baby 2 / 4 A sixth person’s been charged in that awful Cumberland hotel shooting—the one that killed a 9-month-old baby. Nateemah Ware, 32, from Marietta, is accused of hiding two suspects, Jayvian Young and Anthony Smith, in her apartment near the Chattahoochee River. Police say she knew what went down and still helped them. She was arrested on Oct. 6 but got out the same day on an $8,470 bond. The shooting happened Sept. 23 at the Budgetel Inn. A baby girl—just 9 months old—was hit by gunfire. Her mom was there. Can you even imagine? She didn’t make it. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.799.6810 for more info. We’ll be right back. Break: COBB FALL FESTIVAL STORY 4: Cobb begins second week of early voting So, here’s the scoop: early voting’s kicked off in Cobb County, and so far, just over 6,000 people have cast their ballots. That’s, what, about 3.86% of eligible voters? Not exactly a stampede, but hey, it’s early. Marietta’s leading the charge with more than 2,300 voters showing up at the main office on Roswell Street. Other spots? East Cobb had 1,071, Mableton 950, and so on—Austell brought up the rear with 271. People are trickling in steadily, no lines, no drama. Hamilton Shelfer, a Tampa transplant, said he’s all about staying informed—property taxes are on his radar. Meanwhile, Kassie Jones called voting her “civic duty,” and Guy Williams? He’s just here for the low-stress vibes of early voting. Oh, and if you’re wondering, polls are open through Oct. 31 at seven locations. Bring your ID, check your voter page, and don’t wait till the last minute. STORY 5: Two Hillgrove High School students selected for State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council Big news for Hillgrove High sophomores Adrianne Marriott and Jillian Taylor—they’ve snagged spots on State Superintendent Richard Woods’ 2025-2026 Student Advisory Council. Out of 1,200+ applicants, only 79 made the cut, and these two are in. Pretty impressive, right? Their job? Sit down with Woods throughout the year, talk about what’s actually happening in classrooms, and give him the real-deal student perspective. They’ll also tackle service projects and act as school ambassadors. Woods said he’s pumped to hear from students directly—“the ones living it every day.” First meeting’s in November in Atlanta. Exciting stuff ahead! Break: 3 / 4 STORY 6: Sheriff’s Office introduces horse therapy work program for jail inmates The Cobb County Sheriff’s Office has rolled out a pretty unique program—jail inmates working with horses. Yep, horses. Low-risk detainees now get to team up with the mounted patrol unit, helping care for the horses and handling barn chores. Sheriff Craig Owens says it’s about more than just mucking stalls—it’s about teaching responsibility, patience, and, honestly, a little humanity. Three days a week, participants groom, bathe, and feed the horses, all under supervision. And apparently, it works. Studies show programs like this can cut recidivism in half. Therapeutic? Sure. Practical? Absolutely. Sheriff’s office says they’ll keep an eye on the results. STORY 7: Breast Cancer Awareness: Two Kennesaw Mountain teachers beat cancer at the same time At Kennesaw Mountain High, 2019 was a year of grit, heartbreak, and unexpected strength for two teachers who refused to let cancer define them. Niki Jaquish, an English teacher, and Sherry Williams, who teaches math, both faced breast cancer head-on—while still showing up for their students. For Jaquish, it was round two after beating cancer in 2016. Thirty chemo sessions, 72 rounds of radiation—she kept teaching through it all. Williams, new to the fight, found herself leaning on Jaquish, who was just down the hall. They weren’t close before, but cancer has a way of forging bonds you never see coming. Some days were brutal. Chemo knocked them out, but they kept coming back. Why? Their students. Their students didn’t just support them—they protected them. They’d warn visitors not to get too close to Jaquish, knowing her immune system was fragile. They noticed when she was struggling and quietly stepped up. Now cancer-free, both teachers keep reminders of their journey—pink wristbands, thank-you notes—scattered around their classrooms. They’re symbols of survival, yes, but also of the community that carried them through. We’ll have closing comments after this. Break: INGLES 1 Signoff- Thanks again for hanging out with us on today’s Marietta Daily Journal Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at www.mdjonline.com 4 / 4 Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the BG Podcast Network Show Sponsors: ● www.ingles-markets.com NewsPodcast, CurrentEvents, TopHeadlines, BreakingNews, PodcastDiscussion, PodcastNews, InDepthAnalysis, NewsAnalysis, PodcastTrending, WorldNews, LocalNews, GlobalNews, PodcastInsights, NewsBrief, PodcastUpdate, NewsRoundup, WeeklyNews, DailyNews, PodcastInterviews, HotTopics, PodcastOpinions, InvestigativeJournalism, BehindTheHeadlines, PodcastMedia, NewsStories, PodcastReports, JournalismMatters, PodcastPerspectives, NewsCommentary, PodcastListeners, NewsPodcastCommunity, NewsSource, PodcastCuration, WorldAffairs, PodcastUpdates, AudioNews, Podcast Journalism, EmergingStories, NewsFlash, PodcastConversationsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation provides legal and other wraparound services to people facing stable housing challenges and intimate partner abuse. The Fulton County-based nonprofit, which places legal advocates and social workers in the courthouse and the communities to support survivors, has lost almost all its primary federal funding amid ongoing cuts under the Trump Administration. Michael Lucas, who serves as the executive director for the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation, talked with “Closer Look” program host Rose Scott about the impact of the cuts so far and how the organization is bracing for potential restructuring. Plus, we remember one of NPR's 'founding mothers.' Susan Stamberg passed away on October 16 at the age of 87. Today, we revisit Rose’s 2016 interview with the broadcast pioneer. During the discussion, Stamberg reflected on the early days of NPR, breaking barriers for women in journalism, her concerns about where the industry is headed, and her mother-in-law's iconic cranberry relish recipe.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big week of football, plus volleyball distrcit tournaments

A shooting at Texas’s largest casino leaves two people dead and five others wounded as terrified guests dive for cover during a midnight raffle event in Eagle Pass. Actor Tyrese Gibson is wanted in Fulton County, Georgia after police say his Cane Corso dogs mauled and killed a neighbor’s small dog in an Atlanta neighborhood. Drew Nelson reports.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Author ("Southern. Gay. Teacher." and "Gay Arab American and Middle Eastern Men") and former Fulton County educator Randy Fair joined the show today to share with me what prompted him to write an op/ed in the South Florida Sun Sentinel (paywall ... wah wahhh) defending teachers' free speech rights. I read the op/ed for the audience prior to the conversation, so you won't need to pay to read it.In the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk assassination, school systems throughout the country have been suspending and/or terminating educators for social media posts reacting to Kirk's passing. Fair believes this is an overstep. We also discussed what prompted him to write about Gay Arab American & Middle-Eastern Men for his latest book. ------ She's already shattered never-before crossed boundaries as Georgia's first-ever Palestinian-American lawmaker, and now, Rep. Ruwa Romman wants to be Georgia's first woman governor. She spent time with me to discuss what prompted her to run for the Democratic Party's nomination with an already-heavy ticket.

A new report from the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities reveals that suicide is the second leading cause of death for children ages 10 through 14. Suicide is also the third leading cause of death for Georgians between the ages of 15–24. In 2023, at least 249 people under the age of 24 died by suicide in Georgia. For “Closer Look’s” series focusing on National Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month, host Rose Scott talked with several guests about the impact of suicide on Georgia’s youth and efforts to raise more emotionally resilient kids, teens, and young adults. Guests included: Dr. Chinwé Williams, a nationally recognized licensed therapist and author of the book, "Calm, Courageous, and Connected Kids: A Parent’s Guide to Raising Emotionally Resilient Children Derrick Matthews, the director of research science for The Trevor Project Dr. William Procter, the associate director of counseling services at Morehouse College Marcy Stidum, the assistant vice president of student wellbeing at Kennesaw State University You can reach the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also reach counselors with The Trevor Project by phone at 1866-488-7386 or by texting 678-678. *** Here are several free or low-cost mental health resources in the Atlanta / Fulton & DeKalb areas. Always call ahead to confirm eligibility, costs, and whether there are waiting lists. *** Hotlines & Statewide Lines (available in Atlanta): Georgia Crisis & Access Line (GCAL) — 24/7 crisis, referral, help connecting to local services. Call 1‑800‑715‑4225 Open Path Collective – Atlanta — For a one‑time membership fee ($65), you can access therapy sessions priced $40‑$70 (or $30 for student/intern sessions). NAMI Georgia Helpline — Free support, information, and referrals (non‑crisis). (770) 408‑0625 Mental Health Hotline (Atlanta, GA) — Free, confidential support 24/7: 866‑903‑3787 *** Local Clinics & Sliding Scale / Free Options in Atlanta: Fulton County Adult Behavioral Health Services - Therapy, psychiatric assessment, group counseling, etc. Free or sliding scale for uninsured adults. (For all of Fulton County (including Atlanta) Grady Behavioral Health Center - Sliding scale fees based on income. - (404) 616‑4444 DeKalb Community Service Board (CSB) - Free or sliding-scale mental health services for low-income / uninsured individuals. - 23 Warren Street SE, Atlanta; (404) 370‑7474 Comprehensive Counseling Solutions - Services on sliding scale, or free for those qualifying. - 2636 MLK Jr Drive SW, Atlanta; (770) 933‑6289 Sage Center – STEP Program - Reduced fees (sliding scale) via supervised counseling interns / residents - Based in Atlanta; apply via their “STEP” process Samaritan Counseling (Atlanta) - Sliding fee scale based on income & assets - (404) 228‑7777 NAMI Georgia Helpline - Information, peer support, resource referrals (non‑crisis) - (770) 408‑0625 National Depression Hotline (for Georgia) - Free, confidential help for depression/anxiety - 866‑629‑4564 *** Tips & Additional Options - Universities’ training clinics / psychology programs – Many universities (e.g. Emory, Georgia State) have psychology or counseling training clinics where students provide therapy under supervision, often at reduced cost. (These are often listed under “low cost counseling in GA” overviews) - Faith-based / community organizations – Some churches or nonprofit groups offer free counseling or support groups. Ask around locally. - Sliding scale private therapists – Use directories (e.g. Psychology Today, Open Path) and filter by “sliding scale / low cost” to find individual therapists in your ZIP who accept lower fees. - Use GCAL or NAMI line – These hotlines can often help you find the nearest clinic that fits your income /See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Senator Jon Ossoff joins Politically Georgia to discuss the strain Medicaid cuts are putting on rural hospitals, the fight to extend Obamacare subsidies, and the rising threats of political violence. Washington correspondent Tia Mitchell brings the one-on-one conversation from Capitol Hill. Then host Greg Bluestein answers listener questions on the fate of the Fulton County election case, MARTA expansion, new candidates in Georgia's 2026 governor's race, and the fallout from the Hyundai raid. Have a question or comment for the show? Call or text the 24-hour Politically Georgia Podcast Hotline at 770-810-5297. We'll play back your question and answer it during our next Monday Mailbag segment. You can also email your questions at PoliticallyGeorgia@ajc.com. Listen and subscribe to our podcast for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also tell your smart speaker to “play Politically Georgia podcast.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Parents have mixed views on vaccines, poll finds; Gov. Kemp will travel to South Korea to promote trade, even after 300 nationals were detained in an immigration raid at a South Georgia manufacturer; and why Fulton County is being sued for the way it's collecting some property taxes. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tuesday, September 19th, 2023In the Hot Notes: More obstruction of justice in the Mar-a-Lago documents case; Jeffrey Clark didn't show up to his hearing today in his bid to remove his Fulton County case to federal court; House Democrats press for cameras in federal courts; Hunter Biden has filed a lawsuit against the IRS; Kenneth Chesebro has filed a motion to quash one of the Fulton County charges against him arguing that the fraudulent electors were duly elected and certified; Jann Wenner has been removed from his position on the board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for racist and sexist statements; 7 Americans have returned home from being wrongfully imprisoned in Iran; Trump attacks liberal Jews on Rosh Hashanah; plus Allison and Dana deliver your Good News.Our Guest Michael HarriotBlack AF History The Un-Whitewashed Story of Americahttps://www.michaelharriot.comhttps://twitter.com/michaelharriotDrapetomaniax Podcast Our Donation LinksNational Security Counselors - DonateMSW Media, Blue Wave California Victory Fund | ActBlueWhistleblowerAid.org/beansFederal workers - feel free to email AG at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen. Find Upcoming Actions 50501 Movement, No Kings.org, Indivisible.orgDr. Allison Gill - Substack, BlueSky , TikTok, IG, TwitterDana Goldberg - BlueSky, Twitter, IG, facebook, danagoldberg.comCheck out more from MSW Media - Shows - MSW Media, Cleanup On Aisle 45 pod, The Breakdown | SubstackShare your Good News or Good TroubleMSW Good News and Good TroubleHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?The Daily Beans | SupercastThe Daily Beans & Mueller, She Wrote | PatreonThe Daily Beans | Apple Podcasts Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Four courtrooms, countless legal arguments, and one man at the center of it all: Donald Trump. Over the past few days, the trials surrounding the former—and now president-elect—Donald Trump have played out across headlines and legal calendars, keeping the country on edge as the judiciary weighs in on the powers and responsibilities of a president.Let's get straight to the action. In New York, the courtroom drama hit fever pitch when Trump was convicted on all 34 counts related to falsifying business records in the Stormy Daniels hush money case. This landmark verdict—delivered on May 30, 2024—was the first time a former president was found guilty of criminal charges. Initially, his sentencing was slated for September 18, 2024, but delays pushed it to November 26. The twist arrived in January: Trump received an unconditional discharge on January 10, 2025, making even the final outcome a subject of intense debate about precedent and presidential privilege.While the city that never sleeps was watching its own legal spectacle, Florida's courtrooms became another battleground. Trump had faced 40 federal charges over alleged mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, with Judge Aileen Cannon dismissing the case in July 2024. That dismissal was based on the conclusion that the special counsel, Jack Smith, was unconstitutionally appointed. The Justice Department tried appealing, but after Trump's victory in the November election, protocol meant the department wouldn't continue to prosecute a sitting president. By late November, appeals were withdrawn, and the classified documents saga wound down—at least for now.Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. saw its own flurry of motions and Supreme Court rulings involving Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Judge Tanya Chutkan first presided over these proceedings, and after a Supreme Court decision in July 2024 that split the difference on presidential immunity—immunity for official acts, but not for personal ones—the case was sent back to her courtroom. But on November 25, 2024, the D.C. election interference case was dismissed without prejudice.And then there's Georgia. Fulton County's DA Fani Willis, who led the charge over Trump's alleged interference in the 2020 vote count, was disqualified in December 2024 by the Georgia Court of Appeals. With another prosecutor possibly stepping up, the possibility of state-level charges remains uncertain, given that Trump was inaugurated as president again in January 2025.Even as these trials unfold, the Supreme Court is gearing up for more Trump-related questions. On November 5 this year, arguments will be heard over his authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act—a case with far-reaching implications for trade and presidency.Throughout all these proceedings, Trump has pleaded not guilty to every charge and has consistently argued his actions fall under executive prerogative, shaping debates not only in courtrooms but also in the public sphere.Thanks for tuning in for this whirlwind tour through the trials and twists surrounding Donald Trump. Be sure to check back next week for more deep dives into the legal cases that shape headlines and history. This has been a Quiet Please production—for more, visit Quiet Please Dot A I.Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.aiThis content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI

Outdoor enthusiasts in south-central Pennsylvania have a new reason to explore the Bedford and Fulton County region, thanks to the opening of the Sideling Hill Trailhead at the Sideling Hills Service Plaza along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The new trailhead provides access to local hiking and biking trails, along with convenient amenities for visitors.Support WITF: https://www.witf.org/support/give-now/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Friday September 12th edition of Georgia Today: The Georgia Heath Department reports a new case of measles in Fulton County; Construction is delayed for the southeast GA Hyundai plant raided by immigration officials last week; And Atlanta's transit system MARTA is getting some upgrades ahead of next year's World Cup. 

On the Friday September 12th edition of Georgia Today: The Georgia Heath Department reports a new case of measles in Fulton County; Construction is delayed for the southeast GA Hyundai plant raided by immigration officials last week; And Atlanta's transit system MARTA is getting some upgrades ahead of next year's World Cup. 

Jon Herold and Chris Paul fight through hotel Wi-Fi and post-golf exhaustion to tackle a whirlwind of stories. They dive into Mike Johnson's claim that Trump once acted as an FBI informant against Epstein, parsing out the difference between Epstein's real crimes and the “Epstein files hoax” aimed at smearing Trump. The conversation turns to John Durham, with bizarre claims from ex-CIA official Suzanne Miller that she was secretly charged with “insurrection”, a story with no legal record but plenty of intrigue. From there, the hosts dissect a New York Times report of a failed 2019 SEAL Team 6 mission in North Korea, questioning its plausibility and timing in relation to Trump's peace talks with Kim Jong Un. They wrap with election battles in Georgia, MTG's push for federal investigations into Fulton County, and Trump's narrative moves on foreign leaders and sovereign alliances. Blending humor, speculation, and sharp analysis, this episode threads lawfare, geopolitics, and psyops into the ongoing devolution narrative.

Welcome to The Georgia Politics Podcast! Fulton County may have reached a tipping point as Democratic commissioners resist a court order requiring the appointment of two Republicans to the elections board. A judge has ruled that Fulton County Commissioners must appoint Julie Adams and Jason Frazier to its Board of Elections, as the law mandates no discretion for the commissioners to reject them. When the Democratic-majority Board of Commissioners declined, the court held them in contempt and imposed a $10,000-per-day fine. That penalty is now paused because the commissioners have appealed. Also, we got an early start to election season this year in Georgia as Debra Shigley and Jason Dickerson are headed to a September 23 runoff after finishing 1/2 in the August primary to replace Brandon Beach in a special election for SD21. Shigley, the lone Democrat in a seven-candidate special election led the primary with about 40% of the vote and Republican Jason Dickerson finished second with 17.4%, edging out Cherokee County Commissioner Steve West (17.1%).  We also touch on some updates to the Lieutenant Governor's race, as there are not 4 declared Republican candidates including Senate leaders Steve Gooch, John Kennedy, Blake Tillery, and Rep. David Clark. Sen. Greg Dolezal may also enter. On the Democratic side, state Sen. Josh McLaurin is the only announced candidate so far. The campaign is shaping up around high-stakes policy debates, particularly GOP efforts to eliminate Georgia's state income tax. Overhyped/Underhyped, Play-Along-At-Home and much more on today's jam packed episode! Connect with The Georgia Politics Podcast on Twitter @gapoliticspod Hans Appen on Twitter @hansappen Craig Kidd on Twitter @CraigKidd1 Lyndsey Coates on Instagram @list_with_lyndsey Proud member of the Appen Podcast Network. #gapol

A Fulton County Judge has delayed his order requiring Fulton County to pay $10,000 a day until two Republican nominees are appointed to the Fulton County Board of Elections. Senior Superior Court Judge David Emerson is now allowing the county to appeal. This is a story that has been developing for months. Rose talks with Fulton County Commissioners Mo Ivory and Dana Barrett, who are both being held in contempt by the court over this matter, after refusing to confirm Republican backed nominees Julie Adams and Jason Frazier. Plus, the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is now accepting applications for its Preserving Black Churches grant program. Executive director Brent Leggs talks about the $60 million national initiative dedicated to uplifting historically Black churches and the communities that preserve them. Lastly, a newly launched initiative will eliminate $10 million in debt for families across metro Atlanta. The initiative, helping 3,500 households, is part of a partnership between the Atlanta Dream and Cash App and ForgiveCo. Rose talks with Atlanta Dream president and CEO Morgan Shaw Parker and ForgiveCO co-founder and CEO Craig Antico, about the debt elimination initiative. Plus, Shaw Parker talks about the team’s namesake being connected to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., when it was selected by the community in 2008.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Friday, September 1st, 2023In the Hot Notes: the first Proud Boys' sentences come in at HALF the recommended time by sentencing guidelines; Representative Jamie Raskin asks Rep Comer to subpoena Jared Kushner after failed attempts to retrieve documents regarding his $2B Saudi payout; several filings are made in Fulton County about the speedy trial considerations and removal of Meadows' case to federal court; the jury in 1/6 fugitive Brandon Fellows' case reaches a guilty verdict after submitting a note asking whether the defendant has their personal information; the Biden Administration seeks to close the gun show loophole; conservatives draw up a plan to dismantle to government if Trump wins; Governor Brian Kemp denounces the removal of Fani Willis from office; plus Allison and Dana read your Good News.Our Guest:Prof. Anthony Michael Kreishttps://twitter.com/AnthonyMKreishttps://law.gsu.edu/profile/anthony-kreisFrom the Good Newshttps://www.axios.com/2023/08/31/nebraska-volleyball-attendance-world-record-womensporthttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/patrons-sponsoring-patrons  Our Donation LinksNational Security Counselors - DonateMSW Media, Blue Wave California Victory Fund | ActBlueWhistleblowerAid.org/beansFederal workers - feel free to email AG at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen. Find Upcoming Actions 50501 Movement, No Kings.org, Indivisible.orgDr. Allison Gill - Substack, BlueSky , TikTok, IG, TwitterDana Goldberg - BlueSky, Twitter, IG, facebook, danagoldberg.comCheck out more from MSW Media - Shows - MSW Media, Cleanup On Aisle 45 pod, The Breakdown | SubstackShare your Good News or Good TroubleMSW Good News and Good TroubleHave some good news; a confession; or a correction to share?Good News & Confessions - The Daily Beanshttps://www.dailybeanspod.com/confessional/ Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:The Daily Beans on Apple PodcastsWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?The Daily Beans | SupercastThe Daily Beans & Mueller, She Wrote | PatreonThe Daily Beans | Apple Podcasts

How WILD is it that Fulton County's elected commissioners are being compelled - by force - to vote a certain way (why do they have a role at all if merely ceremonial?) in seating election-deniers to that county's elections board? Well, that's what a Brian Kemp-appointed judge decided earlier this week. Here we are, with Fulton County Republican clowns offering up only two appointees - both election-deniers - for Fulton commissioners to (uh) "choose" from. ------If that erosion of democratic norms and liberties isn't enough, now the same party that loathes "government overreach" from the federal bureaucracy is sending word from on high (DOT Secretary Sean Duffy) that (checks notes) rainbow crosswalks have to go "because safety." Atlanta officials say theirs are here to stay, and there's ample reason to believe they're actually good for pedestrian safety, but whatever, "woke libs!" Florida's crosswalks face a less certain fate. ------Meanwhile, the Wednesday night CDC "red wedding" would be an utter embarrassment to RFK Jr. and the Trump White House if they had any self-awareness in the first place. First, they fired that just-appointed CDC director THEY signed off on; an appointee who'd just weeks ago been voted in by the Senate. She refused to step down so naturally, Donnie J. had to take to Truth Social to make it official. LOL That's where we are now, as a country. Then, Atlanta-based Dr. Demetre Daskalakis penned a resignation letter he posted to the X platform, excoriating the "intentional eroding of trust in low-risk vaccines favoring natural infection and unproven remedies ..."Just another day to be embarrassed as an American to be led by such buffonishness while our health and wellness guardrails continue to be dismantled.

8.27.2025 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Maxine Waters Shreds Trump Power Grabs, Chicago Pushback, GA Election Denier FightCalifornia Congresswoman Maxine Waters is here to talk about what that twice-impeached, criminally convicted felon-in-chief, Donald "The Con" Trump, has been up to: from "firing" Federal Reserve Governor, Lisa Cook, to deploying the National Guard to D.C., to threatening other cities, like Baltimore and Chicago.Speaking of Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson says Trump's authoritarianism is not welcome in his city. He'll be here. Those idiots in the White House are telling the world they are taking over D.C. Union Station, when it's already under federal control. We'll talk to a D.C. councilmember about the real reason MAGA is attacking the capital city. A Fulton County, Georgia Commissioner says he's willing to go to jail to keep two 2020 election deniers off the county elections board. He'll be here to explain why. Download the Black Star Network app at http://www.blackstarnetwork.com! We're on iOS, AppleTV, Android, AndroidTV, Roku, FireTV, XBox and SamsungTV.The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platform covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CannCon and Ashe in America bring sharp commentary and humor to a jam-packed news cycle. They kick things off with pop culture absurdities like Trump's tongue-in-cheek response to Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement, before diving into Cracker Barrel's logo flip-flop and the deeper culture war at play. The hosts tackle Snoop Dogg's swipe at woke Hollywood, expose shocking immigration failures including a sex offender hiding in a daycare, and unpack the federal trial of a judge accused of helping an illegal immigrant escape ICE custody. They then dig into the explosive revelation of “burn bags” tied to 2020 election corruption, Trump's push to sanction EU censors, and a heated battle over Pennsylvania's mail-in ballot rules. From Zelensky's illegitimacy and pipeline attacks in Europe to Fulton County's election board defiance and Trump's call to RICO the Soros family, this episode ties together cultural battles, global geopolitics, and the fight for election integrity.

Dr. Pamela Roshell's Plan for a Healthier Fulton County: Solving Health Deserts & Boosting Community Wellness Dr. Pamela Roshell is leading a comprehensive effort to transform public health in Fulton County, Georgia. Her strategy is a tailored, holistic approach that addresses the unique needs of communities from North to South Fulton. Roshell's mission focuses on tackling "health deserts"—areas with limited healthcare access. Through strategic partnerships, like the one with Morehouse School of Medicine, she is establishing new community clinics. These hubs offer essential services, including primary care and preventative screenings, to create a more equitable healthcare system for underserved residents. Leveraging her background as a former Obama Administration official and Regional Director for HHS, Roshell brings a deep understanding of securing federal funding for innovative, community-based solutions. A top priority is mental and behavioral health. Roshell is fighting the stigma and lack of access to care through new programs and expanded access points. Her work also directly benefits Fulton County's senior population, with initiatives that improve access to care and promote social engagement to combat isolation. Roshell believes in a holistic approach to community well-being, recognizing that public safety and the arts are interconnected with health. This 360-degree view helps her create policies that improve the overall wellness of the county's residents. Follow @fultoninfo Web: https://www.FultonCounty.gov Call: (404) 612-4000 About: Dr. Roshell, one of the highest regarded experts on health services in the south (and an Obama Administration Presidential Appointee!) – she'd love to talk about how Fulton County is improving quality of life for its residents through developing new clinics in “health deserts,” and working to solve critical health issues for individuals and families in the county's 15 municipalities (Fulton County extends from cities like Milton, Alpharetta, Johns Creek at the top to Fairburn, Chatahoochee Hills and more at the base of the long county!). This includes behavioral health and mental health, some very important topics these days! She is a delight! Please let me know the coordinates I should share with her, and I should have at least one other person to send you for the following day too...   Dr. Pamela Roshell serves as Chief Operating Officer for Fulton County Government, where she provides executive leadership and operational oversight across key service areas including Health and Human Services, Economic Development, Public Safety, and Arts and Libraries. In this role, she manages a broad portfolio of countywide initiatives, directs a large and diverse workforce, and stewards a multi-million dollar operating budget that supports critical programs and services for Fulton County residents. She also ensures alignment with essential community partners, including the Fulton County Board of Health and the Department of Family and Children Services.   Since joining Fulton County in 2017, Dr. Roshell has held several senior leadership roles, including Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Director of Senior Services. Her work has focused on advancing innovative strategies to improve service delivery, expand access to care, and strengthen outcomes for vulnerable populations.   Prior to her service in county government, Dr. Roshell was appointed Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she oversaw federal health programs across the Southeast. She also held executive roles at the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), including serving as State Director for AARP Georgia, where she led advocacy, outreach, and program development for more than one million members.   Dr. Roshell holds a bachelor's degree from Columbia College, a Master of Social Work with a concentration in administration from the University of South Carolina, and a Ph.D. in social policy, planning, and administration from Clark Atlanta University. Ash Brown: Your Ultimate Guide to Inspiration, Empowerment, and Action Are you searching for a dynamic motivational speaker, an authentic podcaster, or an influential media personality who can ignite your passion for personal growth? Look no further than Ash Brown. This American multi-talented powerhouse is a captivating event host, an insightful blogger, and a dedicated advocate for helping people unlock their full potential. With her infectious optimism and genuine desire to empower others, Ash Brown has become a leading voice in the personal development and motivation space. Discover the World of Ash Brown: AshSaidit.com & The Ash Said It Show AshSaidit.com: A vibrant lifestyle blog and event platform, AshSaidit.com is your gateway to Ash's world. Here you'll find exclusive event invitations, honest product reviews, and a wealth of engaging content designed to inform and inspire. It's the perfect online destination to stay connected and get your daily dose of Ash's unique personality and insights. The Ash Said It Show: With over 2,100 episodes and over half a million global listens, "The Ash Said It Show" is a powerful and popular podcast. Ash engages in meaningful conversations with inspiring guests, diving into topics that truly matter. Listeners gain valuable life lessons, encouragement, and practical advice to help them navigate their own journeys. Why Ash Brown is a Leading Voice in Personal Development What truly distinguishes Ash Brown is her authentic and relatable approach to personal growth. She builds a genuine connection with her audience, offering practical advice and encouragement that feels like a conversation with a trusted friend. Ash doesn't shy away from life's challenges; instead, she provides the tools to tackle them head-on with confidence. Authentic Optimism: Ash's positive energy is contagious, empowering her audience to embrace new challenges with a more capable and hopeful mindset. Relatable Advice: Ash offers unfiltered, real-world guidance that resonates with people from all backgrounds. Her understanding that life can be tough makes her advice both honest and deeply encouraging. Actionable Strategies: Beyond just feeling good, Ash provides practical tips and strategies designed to help you turn your aspirations into tangible results. For a consistent source of inspiration, genuine encouragement, and actionable advice, Ash Brown is your ultimate resource. Her incredible positivity and unwavering dedication to helping others make her the ideal guide for maximizing your life's potential. Connect with Ash Brown: Goli Gummy Discounts: https://go.goli.com/1loveash5 Luxury Handbag Discounts: https://www.theofficialathena.... Review Us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/po... Subscribe on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/c/AshSa... Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1lov... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashsa... Blog: http://www.ashsaidit.com/blog #atlanta #ashsaidit #theashsaiditshow #ashblogsit #ashsaidit®Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-ash-said-it-show--1213325/support.

MUSICRIP: Ex-Mastodon guitarist Brent Hinds has died at age of 51. Atlanta police say that Hinds was driving his Harley Davidson Wednesday night when the driver of a BMW SUV failed to yield while making a turn at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Boulevard and struck him. The Fulton County medical examiner's office confirmed Hinds's death to Atlanta TV station WANF this morning. https://loudwire.com/mastodon-brent-hinds-dead/ Bon Jovi's “Livin' on a Prayer” has surpassed two-million streams on Spotify.Millie Bobby Brown is a mom! The 21-year-old Stranger Things star and her husband, Jake Bongiovi, welcomed a daughter through adoption. They shared the baby news in a message to fans on Instagram. https://people.com/millie-bobby-brown-and-husband-jake-bongiovi-welcome-first-baby-together-8731794 Lil Nas X was arrested and hospitalized yesterday, after he was found wandering around Ventura Boulevard in nothing but his skivvies and a pair of cowboy boots. https://www.tmz.com/2025/08/21/lil-nas-x-hospitalized-possible-overdose/ NEW IN RECORD STORES AND STREAMING:Three Days Grace's Alienation includes "Mayday" and "Apologies," and sees original singer Adam Gontier rejoin the band.Deftones' 10th album is called Private Music.The Who's Live at the Oval 1971 is a previously unreleased concert.The Warning's Live From Auditorio Nacional, CDMX was recorded earlier this year in Mexico City. TVNetflix has dropped the first teaser trailer for Black Rabbit, a gripping limited series starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman. https://people.com/black-rabbit-trailer-jason-bateman-and-jude-law-11794409 Nicolas Cage is in talks for Season 5 of "True Detective". Cage is in talks for the lead role of Henry Logan, a New York detective on the case at the center of the new season, sources said. A rep for HBO declined comment.https://deadline.com/2025/08/nicolas-cage-true-detective-season-5-hbo-1236494884/ Erik Menendez was denied parole Thursday after more than 36 years behind bars for the 1989 murders of his parents. Menendez, now 54, appeared via videoconference at a nearly 10-hour hearing before the California Board of Parole Hearings, which cited concerns over his prison misconduct — including contraband cellphones and other violations — and ongoing risk to public safety. The board ruled he must serve at least three more years before becoming eligible again. Officials also noted that his brother, Lyle Menendez, is scheduled for a separate hearing the following day. Apple TV Plus is hiking its prices to $13 per month effective now. https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/apple-tv-plus-price-increase-streaming-subscription-1236494949/ Serena Williams is the latest celebrity to admit to using the GLP-1 weight-loss medication. https://www.today.com/health/womens-health/serena-williams-glp-1-weight-loss-rcna226141?taid=68a70e2b1c816e0001ca7f3c&utm_campaign=trueAnthem_manual&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter MOVING ON INTO MOVIE NEWS:1. "Relay" (R) Trailer: A thriller starring Riz Ahmed as a corporate fixer who risks his life to protect a new client played by Lily James. She's on the run from a team led by Sam Worthington after coming into possession of evidence of an unlawful coverup. 2. "Honey Don't" (R) Trailer: Margaret Qualley plays a private investigator looking into some mysterious deaths tied to a shady church run by Chris Evans. It's directed by Ethan Coen and also stars Charlie Day and Aubrey Plaza. 3. "Eden" (R) Trailer (Limited): A survival thriller about three group of outsiders who settle on a remote island in 1929, only to discover that their greatest threat is each other. It's directed by Ron Howard and based on a true story. Jude Law and Vanessa Kirby just wanted to live in isolation, but their solitude is broken first by Daniel Bruhl and Sydney Sweeney, then by a baroness (Ana de Armas) who threatens to build a hotel on their island paradise. 4. "Splitsville" (R) (Limited) It opens nationwide on September 5th: Adria Arjona tells her husband she's been cheating and wants a divorce. But once their neighbors reveal the secret to their happiness is an open marriage . . . he crosses a line by having his own affair with Dakota Johnson. Glen Powell is taking himself out of the James Bond conversation. https://www.eonline.com/news/1421403/glen-powell-on-james-bond-casting-rumors AND FINALLY Is there a celebrity you absolutely CANNOT stand for petty reasons? People online are sharing their thoughts: https://www.buzzfeed.com/chelseastewart/disliked-celebs-for-petty-reasonsAND THAT IS YOUR CRAP ON CELEBRITIES!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Two national figures made stops in Georgia this week to test out political messaging for the 2026 elections. Meanwhile, four major U.S. Senate candidates all gathered in one room. On this week’s episode of “Plugged In,” hosts Rahul Bali and Brendan Rivers discuss the early start to the campaign season. Plus, Fulton County Commissioners defy a judge’s order and could face jail time and a Georgian who rose to national prominence during the 2020 election considers running for Secretary of State.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Two national figures made stops in Georgia this week to test out political messaging for the 2026 elections. Meanwhile, four major U.S. Senate candidates all gathered in one room. On this week’s episode of “Plugged In,” hosts Rahul Bali and Brendan Rivers discuss the early start to the campaign season. Plus, Fulton County Commissioners defy a judge’s order and could face jail time and a Georgian who rose to national prominence during the 2020 election considers running for Secretary of State.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're at the "elected local officials could be jailed for their votes" portion of the slow-roll to full-on MAGA authoritarianism in the United States. Fulton County Democrats are refusing to seat two election denier Republican nominees to its election board, with the county and state GOP now seeking legal recourse which could include fines and jail time for commissioners who keep voting to refuse seating those nominees. They're not refusing to seat Republicans, period; just these two, particular (as Fair Fight calls them) 'conspiracy theorists.' Joining me to discuss are Fulton County district three commissioner Dana Barrett - who's seeking to unseat commission chair Rob Pitts - and Fair Fight's Max Flugrath. Max and I further discuss Fair Fight's activism for voters being disenfranchised by mass voter purges occurring right now; purges that disproportionately affect voters of color. ------In Florida, that state's transportation department cowering to Trump transportation secretary Sean Duffy's anti-gay, anti-woke screed to whitewash rainbow crosswalks and other street messaging from America's roads, took all the color out of the Pulse Nightclub crosswalk memorial.Because the cruelty is the point. It isn't speaking to "all lives matter," for sure.

Hey writers! Sarina here! I have never been quiet about how much I enjoy Karin Slaughter's work. So when the opportunity arose for me to read her brand new book, We Are All Guilty Here, and then interview her about it, I raised my hand faster than an extra in a deodorant ad. The new book is a series starter with a kickass female heroine, and I could not have loved it more! Join as as I quiz Karin on: * How to write a sweeping series starter* Small towns as a setting. How small is too small?* The difference between a procedural and psychological suspense* Character development and much more! Karin is incredibly smart and such an important voice in suspense. You won't want to miss this one!Other favorite's of Karin's that we discussed include:Pieces of Her The Grant County seriesHey, Jess here to talk to you about a series I have created just for supporters of the #AmWriting Podcast.I met an aspiring author and speaker who has an idea for a book that just knocked me over. I said, please, please write that book. This is someone who had an idea that has a place in the market. It's timely. She's the perfect person to write it, and I asked her, I begged her, if I could please mentor her through this process publicly on the podcast.So while we're not giving her full name and we're not giving the actual title of the book, because we don't want to hand those things away, I am coaching her through the entire process, from preparing her book proposal to querying an agent. I'm going through the whole thing with her. She knows nothing about the publishing industry, she knows very little about how one goes about writing a book—so essentially, this is as I mentioned before, from soup to nuts, From Authority to Author, and hopefully we'll get her there.But really, whether or not this book ends up selling, whether after this book she ends up having a speaking career, this is about the process of preparing to do that. I hope you'll join us.This series is for supporters only, so if you are a free subscriber right now, consider upgrading. Remember, if you upgrade, you'll also get the ability to submit for our First Pages Booklab, and lots of other fun stuff that we put out just for supporters—So come join us. It's a lot of fun.Transcript below!EPISODE 461 - TRANSCRIPTJess LaheyHey, Jess here to talk to you about a new series I have created just for supporters of the Hashtag AmWriting Podcast. I met an aspiring author and speaker who has an idea for a book that just knocked me over. I said, please, please write that book. This is someone who had an idea that—it has a place in the market, it's timely, she's the perfect person to write it—and I asked her, I begged her, if I could please mentor her through this process publicly on the podcast. So while we're not giving her full name and we're not giving the actual title of the book, because we don't want to hand those things away, I am coaching her through the entire process, from preparing her book proposal to querying an agent. I'm going through the whole thing with her. She knows nothing about the publishing industry. She knows very little about how, you know, one goes about writing a book. And so she—essentially, this is, as I mentioned before, From Soup to Nuts, From Authority to Author, and hopefully we'll get her there. But really, whether or not this book ends up selling, whether this book—she ends up having a speaking career—this is about the process of preparing to do that. How do you write a book? How do you prepare to become a speaker on the back of that book? So I hope you join us. This is a series for supporters only, so if you are a free supporter—or if you're a free subscriber right now—consider upgrading. Remember, if you upgrade, you'll also get access to the ability to submit for our First Pages Booklab and lots of other fun stuff that we put out just for supporters. So come join us. It's a lot of fun.Multiple SpeakersIs it recording? Now it's recording, yay. Go ahead. This is the part where I stare blankly at the microphone. I don't remember what I'm supposed to be doing. All right, let's start over. Awkward pause. I'm going to rustle some papers. Okay, now one, two, three.Sarina BowenHello, my name is Sarina Bowen, and you're listening to the AmWriting Podcast. This is the podcast about writing all the things—short things, long things, fictional things, non-fictional things, pitches and proposals—in short, this is the podcast about sitting down and getting the work done. I am alone today with an interview that I could not be more excited about. I don't know how I drew the long straw here, but today I have the pleasure of interviewing Karin Slaughter. She is the author of more than 20 instant New York Times best-selling novels, including the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and standalone novels The Good Daughter, Pretty Girls, and Girl Forgotten. That's actually an amazing one, by the way—go read it. She's published in 120 countries, with more than 40 million copies sold across the globe. She also has a number one Netflix series and another long-running series. She has hit all the bells and checked all the boxes in thriller land, and she is also just one of my favorite writers. So happy to be here. Welcome, Karin Slaughter.Karin SlaughterIt's my pleasure. Thank you.Sarina BowenWe're here to talk about your August release, which is called We Are All Guilty Here. I received this ARC a few months ago—actually read it immediately—because I love your suspense, and I also was really excited to see that it was clear as day on the release. So you owe me now that it's a series starter.Karin SlaughterIt is, yeah. It was a lot of fun planning it out.Sarina BowenOh, good, yeah. And I want to hear a little bit about that, but I'm just going to read the very short flap copy for We Are All Guilty Here so we all know what we're talking about.[Reads flap copy]The first thrilling mystery in the new North Falls series from Karin Slaughter. Welcome to North Falls—a small town where everyone knows everyone. Or so they think. Until the night of the fireworks, when two teenage girls vanish and the town ignites. For Officer Emmy Clifton, it's personal. She turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help—and now she must bring her home. But as Emmy combs through the puzzle the girls left behind, she realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did. Every teenage girl has secrets. But who would kill for them? And what else is the town hiding?So, flap copy very much pitched as a thriller. Here is the problem here—you know, we're wanting the solution, but I would argue that your novels are always, always about bigger than the problem and its solution. So how did you conceive of this town, and what does North Falls mean to you as you were getting into it?Karin SlaughterWell, I mean, North Falls is a very small town inside of a larger county. So it's rural, but it's not tiny like my Grant County Series. And I think that I learned some lessons in Grant County—mainly, make it a larger town so there's more people you can kill, because at a certain point, why would anyone live in this tiny town? But also, I knew going into it that it was going to be a series. And so, you know, unlike Grant County and Will Trent—which I was hoping would be series, but I wasn't sure, and I was at a different point in my writing life—you know, I'm pretty sure, 25 books in, that they're going to publish at least two or three more of my books. So I thought, let me set this up as a series, and let me do this world building that can carry on into several books, and let's make this town. You know, North Falls is the seat of the county, but it's also in a county called Clifton County. And the main narrator you meet is called Emmy Clifton, and she's a sheriff's deputy. Her father, Gerald Clifton, is the sheriff of this county. There are Cliftons everywhere—there are rich Cliftons and poor Cliftons—and so you have this family saga potential. But also, it gave me the opportunity to plant a lot of different seeds that will later grow into novels. So I was really happy about that, but I definitely structured the county in a way where there's plenty of space to tell stories.Sarina BowenRight. So I noticed, and when I read a book like this, I am reading it as a reader, but also as a writer.Karin SlaughterYes.Sarina BowenAnd so I really noticed how long the character count in this book is—by which I mean how many characters there really are, how many named characters. There's so many of them, and that felt really fearless to me, you know, like you weren't sitting there at your keyboard wondering if you were going to ask your reader to remember this other family member, but you just went for it. And is that something that you ever try to balance? Like, you're not taking it easy on us here, and ultimately, I loved every word of it. But do you ever worry about that? Like, do you let that voice from other books past into your brain to say, like, well, that one time…Karin SlaughterNot really. You know, I think a writer's job is to trust the reader, and it's certainly my job to tell a story that is gripping and that makes sense and that pulls them into the world. And so what I was thinking about as I was writing this was, I need to write these characters in such a way that you care about them; otherwise, you won't care what happens. And, you know, Emmy is in a pretty universal position for a lot of millennial women. She's in a marriage that's not a great marriage. She's trying to raise her son. Her parents are starting to get older—you know, they're failing a little bit—so she's noticing that. And in the middle of this, she has this horrific crime happen where these two girls are abducted. And because they are in this small town, she knows one of these girls, who's actually a stepdaughter of her best friend—her best friend since kindergarten—and so just that one thing happening blows her world apart. To me, that's what the hook is. You know, there's this greater mystery of what happened to these girls, what's going to happen, who took them—all those things—but there's also something that I rely on a lot in my books, which is the mystery of character, and people wanting to know more about how does Emmy navigate this. What happens to her brother and her sister-in-law, and this handsome guy who is the school resource officer? You know, how does this all play out? And that, to me, is the job of the writer—to make these characters interesting and make the plot and the balance of the character stories fit together in a way that, you know, when there's not a car chase or a gunfight or whatever, you still want to keep reading because you're involved in the mystery of the character.Sarina BowenYeah, and we sure are. And Emmy is just the beating heart of this book, but she is not your only point of view character. And how—is that something you really have to fiddle with as you go, like, do you try on other point of view characters and then pick the winners as you go?Karin SlaughterYeah... I never have, you know, I think that I'm a very opinionated writer. I have a very firm sense of point of view. And so I knew that Emmy was going to get the bulk of the first part of the story. And then I knew that Jude was going to come in when she came in, and that I would have to build out, like, just drop the reader in this unfamiliar, new world, right in San Francisco, with like, a completely different character, and you don't know what's going on, and you make assumptions about her based on what she does for a living and all this other stuff. And you know, I knew that was coming all along and that the book would be told from these two women's points of view. I never felt—other than the early part with Madison, one of the girls who is abducted—I never really felt like anyone else could tell these stories.Sarina BowenOkay! And you mentioned that you learned some things from writing your Grant County Series that informed your choice of the size and milieu of what you chose for North Falls and for Clifton County. What do you think? How did it feel to start a series in 2025 versus starting one, you know, a decade ago? Like, is there anything about the world that made your choices different, or is it all, um, you know, coming from what you've learned as an author?Karin SlaughterYeah, I think it's cumulative. I mean, the point of being an author with a 25-year career is to learn from each book, and I never want to feel like when I finish a book, oh, that's perfect. I can't do better than that. I always, you know, want to learn something, and then the next book I want to try something new. I mean, I could have just kept writing Will Trent novels and occasionally standalones for the rest of my life. I mean, and I am going to write more Will Trent novels interspersed with North Falls. It's really important to me to—I love that character, I love Sara Linton, and I want to keep telling those stories. And I actually have another idea for a standalone I want to do. But, you know, the point of being a writer is to get better at it. I think anybody who loves writing and the challenge of writing, and feels a calling, wants to be better with each story—to hone certain skills, to do novel things (to use a pun there) in their writing that challenge them and make the work more interesting—and that's what I try to do with every book. So starting North Falls this far into my career was a leap, but I think, hopefully, it's one that has paid off for me as a writer, just to have the ability to tell new stories and kind of prove that I've got more stories in me.Sarina BowenYeah, I confess that I regularly have moments where I stop myself and ask, have I said this before this way? Have I done this little thing before? And what would you tell me about that—like, to just, like, get over myself? Or, you know, what happens when you come to a moment like that in your own story craft?Karin SlaughterWell, I mean, in polite terms, you could think of it as an homage to yourself. I mean, honestly, I'm writing about murder. I'm writing about violence against women. I mean, I do write about men dying, but no one seems to care—so sorry, guys. You know, I had one book where I killed, like, six men, and then the next one I killed one woman, and they were like, wow, this return to violence. I'm like, come on, guys. But yeah, you know? So I think how you do it is you have to think of it through the lens of the character, and that's a choice I made in Grant County and Will Trent—was that they were going to be affected by what happened in the previous book, right? So, you know, you don't have a situation—you know, I love series novels, but there are some where… and Jack Reacher is an exception because I love Jack Reacher, and every Reacher book is: he gets to a new town, people are doing bad s**t, and he shoots a lot of people, and he makes it right, you know. And I love Jack Reacher. But, you know, some writers do write the same thing over and over again—they have the same concept or the same gimmick—and that's never been a career that I'm interested in. For me, I want to tell new stories and do new things. And, you know, after a while you run out of crimes that are new crimes. You know, I've written about abduction before, I've written about abuse before, but it's the character—the way the character sees a story, and the connection, the emotional connection the character has—that makes a difference. And, you know, in many ways, it's harder to write a novel in North Falls, where Emmy has a personal connection to the crimes that are occurring, as opposed to writing a Will Trent novel set in Atlanta, where, you know, it's a stranger to them. And so I have to...Sarina BowenIf Will Trent knew—yeah, if Will Trent knew every dead person, that would just seem weird.Karin SlaughterYeah, exactly, yeah. And so I have to find a way into the story, and with Will and Sara, for instance, it's a little more difficult than something where, okay, there's this immediate emotional connection, because I'm writing in North Falls more psychological thrillers, as opposed to Will Trent, which is more procedural.Sarina BowenOkay, can I poke you about that a little bit? Because, um, these words are used a lot. Procedural, to me, I've always understood to be a professional character. So Emmy Clifton is a law enforcement officer—she's a pro—so in strictly, strict definition, this is a procedural novel. But how do you feel the difference between psychological versus procedural functions in those two series?Karin SlaughterWell, you know, I think absolutely, if you want to be strictly by definition, it would be procedural. But, you know, the thing about thrillers is they're all things now, right? I mean, you could call it domestic—a domestic thriller, or domestic mystery, or whatever—you could call it, you know, a family story. And I think of it more as a saga, because it is about a family spanning generations, and this town spanning generations. But, you know, yeah, there's a procedural element. There's also—like, it's very emotionally tied into the character. There's a darkness to it, so it's psychologically, you know, you're very close to the bone on it. And I think that's why I would call it more of a psychological thriller, as opposed to Will Trent where, you know, it's very led by the investigatory steps, right? Like, you know, if Will Trent is going to be there, they're going to talk to witnesses, they're going to talk to suspects, they're going to, you know, have to fill in with their boss. There are just different parts of that that, in one way, the structure makes it easier to write than something like We Are All Guilty Here. But, you know, with this in particular, where you have it talking about not just the crime, but how f*****g hard it is to grow yourself into a woman, as Emmy says, and friendships and relationships and family and dealing with aging parents and, you know, siblings and that sort of stuff—that, to me, is what makes it more in the realm of psychological.Sarina BowenOkay. I've actually really admired the way that you sometimes walk the line on this. For example, I really enjoyed Girl Forgotten, which is the character that is first introduced in Pieces of Her, where she is not a professional. And then in Girl Forgotten, she has joined a law enforcement agency, but it's still her first day on the job—which is just such a wonderfully fun way to throw things at that character—because then it becomes both a procedural and not. Like, she is technically a professional, but she doesn't know what the heck she's doing, and not everybody there is willing to help her. So to me, that was a fantastically fun way of making both things true at once. And when I was reading that book, and of course then this one, I wonder—how you get the legal—the law enforcement stuff? So, like, how did…I know that by now, at this point in your career, you must have many people you can talk to about this, but how did you start that? Like, how did you inform yourself of what you didn't know so that you could fix it and not get those things wrong?Karin SlaughterYeah, you know, when I wrote my second book, I had met a guy who's a doctor, and he is married to a pediatrician, and his brother works on a body farm in Texas. So this is, like, the perfect family for me for what I'm doing to make Sara the smartest doctor on the entire planet. Because, you know, it might take my friend David, who advises me, four days to come up with a solution, but Sara has to do it in half a paragraph. So she's definitely the doctor you want if anything very unusual happens. I mean, her career would be the subject of scholarly articles forever.Sarina BowenZebra is not horses for her.Karin SlaughterExactly, yeah. And so I am…I have them—I have a lot of police officers I speak to, a lot of retired GBI officers. One of them was very helpful in this novel because, you know, the GBI—it escalates, you know, crimes in the state of Georgia escalate completely when there's a child involved, just because, you know, somebody who's in Fulton County can't jump to Acworth, for instance, as far as policing, but the GBI is in charge of the entire state—Georgia Bureau of Investigation—so they handle a lot of kidnappings and abductions. And most of the time, you know, it's statistically…there's a 1% chance it's going to be a stranger. Usually it's a parent or “Uncle Bob,” or, you know, the youth pastor, or someone like that who has access to a child. And so she hooked me into the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is a remarkable resource. And, I mean, I think they're just amazing in what they do. But, you know, the thing is, as much as I know about this stuff, I always check my work because I'm not a professional. And, you know, it's very rare these days, I think, for people to say, hey, I'm not an expert in this, let me talk to someone who is and has spent 20 years becoming an expert. But it's really important to me to get those details as correct as I can. Now, they're not always going to be 100% accurate because I'm telling a story, you know? If putting in a chest tube takes 20 different steps…Sara's going to do it, you know, in like a sentence.Sarina BowenRight.Karin SlaughterSo I have to—but I feel like I need to know the rules and I need to know the facts before I fudge them so that I can still give them a sense of believability. I'm writing…not writing textbooks, I'm writing fiction, but I want to be as accurate as possible, and I think that's really important, you know? And I know that a lot of my readers are very immersed in true crime and podcasts and all these sorts of things. And sometimes you can get the accurate information from those. A lot of times you don't. And I want them to say, wait a minute, you know, on “Murder Death Podcast”, they said this would never happen, and if they look it up, or they talk to an expert, they'll be like, ha, “Murder Death Podcast” was wrong. You know, maybe I shouldn't trust this guy or gal who's doing a podcast out of the backseat of her car for my forensic knowledge. So that's my job as a writer—to get it as factually accurate as I can.Sarina BowenYeah, and there are areas, um, where readers care more. Like, when I ask readers, um, what do you—what drives you nuts in research? It's the nurses are really, like, um, triggered by bad medicine. But…Karin SlaughterYeah.Sarina BowenBut there are some areas, you know, like technology, and there are some places where, you know, less accuracy—or more creative accuracy—is more excusable than if you do the nurse thing wrong, because they will come for you.Karin SlaughterYeah, yeah, they will. Or guns…Sarina BowenRight.Karin SlaughterYou know? And it's really because the armorer for the GBI—I actually confirmed some details with him in a book—and, like, some guy in, I don't know, Idaho sent me this angry email saying I got it wrong. And I'm like, talk to the armorer, right? I mean, people…people just want to fight sometimes. But yeah, nurses can be brutal when they come for you. It's like, come on, man. It's funny that you mentioned doctors, actually; doctors are like, you know, people get it wrong, but nurses are like, no, you got this wrong, you need to apologize.Sarina BowenIt's funny that you mentioned the guns, because I heard last year Gregg Hurwitz speak, and he said, “Don't get the guns wrong. The gun people will come for you. And don't hurt the cat, because the cat people will come for you.”Karin SlaughterTrue. It's true. I would say the cat people are more brutal than the gun people.Sarina BowenYeah.Karin SlaughterAs it should be. You should never hurt an animal in a book.Sarina BowenRight. So back to the idea of a series again. I was so excited to see that this will be a series, and I—the expansiveness of the first book makes a lot of sense series-wise. What do you think is actually harder about writing a series versus a standalone, or the reverse?Karin SlaughterWell, you know, in a standalone, the stakes can be much higher because you're not going—you can damage these characters. I mean, you can kill the characters. You can kill them all by the end of the book, you know? So the sense of jeopardy is always heightened in a standalone, at least in my standalones, because I'm not precious with people, even if they're narrators. But, you know, I think it's really important to—no matter what you're writing—just keep in mind that there's someone out there who has experienced the crimes you're writing about. And, you know, a case of gender violence is happening right now, and right now, right now, and right now, right? So it's like every second of the day in the world, it's happening somewhere. And I keep that in mind when I'm writing, and I want to make it matter. I don't want to use it for effect—it's not titillating or sexualized, or any of those things. So, you know, when I'm writing—whether it's a standalone or a series—I want to set up that world where the lives of these people matter, and you understand that the loss of life is felt in the community, and by the family, and the characters, and the investigators, and everyone there. And so, you know, the challenge with the standalone is finding that world, building that world, and then leaving that world, right? It's a lot of work, as opposed to in a series where you know you're going to carry it on. So you have to be a little careful about how you structure things, and you don't want to leave your character in a place where the next book you don't know how they're going to go on, also. And so you have to have some sense of hope, or some sense of closing that one chapter and moving on to the other. I mean, I use a lot of humor in my books. I get a lot of questions about the violence, but I never get questions about the humor. I think it's really important to have that lightness among the darkness. I mean, my grandmother used to say, “You can't fall off the floor,” and I'm a big proponent of that. I think at some point, you know, you have to have some relief from it. And in a standalone, you know, you have a very short runway to do that, but in a series, you have a longer…you know, you can trust the reader, as they get to know these characters, that they have a little more empathy and sympathy with what they're going through.Sarina BowenYeah, so you mentioned darkness, and I've been thinking a lot about this. And your books have some very dark topics and themes, as they must, because you are carrying storylines that are, um, can be very dramatic and have very high stakes. One thing I've noticed about your books, and why I like them so much, is that even in the year of our Lord 2025, when I pick up a Karin Slaughter book, it could be dark as anything, but I know from at least chapter one and a half who I am rooting for and who I care about. So Emmy is a wonderful example of this. Ten minutes into my journey with her, I know that she's my girl. You know, I'm very invested in her, even though that does not mean she has to be perfect, that she isn't flawed, or that she even knows what's going on—but I know, because of the cues that you've given me, that I'm supposed to care about her, and I do instantly. So when I began reading lots and lots of suspense three or four years ago, as I was writing my own, I very quickly sorted all of the suspense in the world that's selling right now into two pots, without trying to—which is the books where I know who I'm supposed to root for immediately, and the books where you don't. And I noticed that that second category is awfully popular now, and maybe is sort of on an upswing, like where the mystery, the story, might be very beautifully rendered, but I don't necessarily care about any of the people, or I'm not sure who to pull for. And that's not because these books aren't well written, but because that's a mood, and I wonder if you've noticed that, and, um, and how you feel about it, just from a writerly perspective. Like, what is going on there? Like, why is there so much darkness in the reader's perspective, and, you know, not just in the themes right now?Karin SlaughterWell, I mean, I think it's where we are, just in the world, right? You had a lot of that before 9/11, and then there was a need after—I mean that, and I speak to 9/11 because that's…my first book was published a few days after 9/11, so…Sarina BowenOh, wow.Karin SlaughterAnd there was this idea, like, you saw it in the TV show 24, where there's good and bad, and there's, you know, black and white. It's very—and then we've moved definitively toward grays. But, you know, I like books where you know where you stand. And I have written books with unreliable narrators at times, and, you know, Gillian Flynn did it best and kicked that off. But, you know the thing about an unreliable narrator or an antagonist being your narrator is, I prefer a Tom Ripley, right? I mean, Tom Ripley, Patricia Highsmith's character, is decidedly a bad guy. He murders and steals and, you know, but you're rooting for him, even not to get caught, you know. And a lot of the tension comes from him making really stupid mistakes, and you're cringing as a reader and thinking, God, how's he going to get out of this? And I don't want him to get arrested, even though he's this bad guy. And I love books that play against that. I think sometimes we have books where people—I mean, what you're saying about not knowing who to root for—I mean, if they're a good antagonist or they're a good foil, like a Moriarty…I mean, a lot of times you're not rooting for Sherlock, you're rooting for Moriarty. It just depends on how it's drawn. But for me, I just felt like, you know, this is sort of a return to Grant County, which is…I started writing Grant County, and, you know, you believe that Jeffrey and Sara and Lena, for the most part, were always trying to do the right thing. And I think we've lost the benefit of the doubt for a lot of people—particularly police officers have lost the benefit of the doubt—which is very troubling, because they police with our consent. And we need to understand who we're giving consent to. And we need to understand—you know, “defund the police” has been, like, a buzz…buzzword, phrase, whatever, for a while now, but rural areas, particularly in smaller states, have been defunding the police for years. And it's not a movement or anything; it's just not paying people enough money to live off of, right? So we've got police officers who have two or three jobs, rather than professionals who have one job, and that pays their bills, and they can take care of their responsibilities with that. So we've been defunding them. We don't give them enough training, and we're just seeing an erosion of that. And so it's something that I'm going to talk about a little bit in this next novel—is that defunding of police and how it's been, like, a nationally…it's been a real issue. We're seeing a deterioration in police forces because of it, and particularly in retention. And so that's definitely something I want to talk about, but I think you have to put it in context and take the politics out of it, because it's not politics. It's just people not having money to pay, or choosing not to pay for services that they really need.Sarina BowenRight. Or it is politics. It's just not party politics. It's just…Karin SlaughterExactly, yeah, yeah.Sarina BowenIt's just bad politics.Karin SlaughterYeah, well, it's bad social engineering.Sarina BowenYes.Karin SlaughterBasically. So it's there…if you could look at it from a sociological standpoint, it's just a really bad idea. And, you know, you don't retain good officers. So what do you have when that's over? You know, and not to say, like, paint entire police forces as bad because they're just not making money—but, you know, it takes…all it takes is a few bad cops, and a police force is in jeopardy.Sarina BowenRight, like, would you rather live in a state where the cops and the teachers were paid well, or a state where they weren't and…?Karin SlaughterYeah, yeah.Sarina BowenWell, I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us today about all of these story craft problems that were mired in all week along. If listeners want to find you, where is the best place for them to look, besides the bookstore, where this this book is coming?Karin SlaughterWell, I I'm all over social media. All you have to do is search for me. You see a little black cat with gorgeous green eyes. That's my baby boy, Dexter. So that gives you an indication of it. You're in the right place, or Facebook, obviously, but yeah, I'm all over the place.Sarina BowenWonderful! Thank you so much for being with us today, and listeners, until next week—keep your butts in the chair and your heads in the game.Jess LaheyThe Hashtag AmWriting Podcast is produced by Andrew Perilla. Our intro music, aptly titled Unemployed Monday, was written and played by Max Cohen. Andrew and Max were paid for their time and their creative output, because everyone deserves to be paid for their work. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

A shooting suspect and one DeKalb County police officer are dead after an active shooter situation played out near the campuses of the CDC and Emory University; Class action lawsuit seeks to reverse state's denial of transgender care to inmates; and drinking and flushing are about to cost more in Fulton County. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's August 6, 2025, and these past several days have felt like a relentless ride on the legal rollercoaster that is the ongoing saga of Donald Trump's court trials. Just this week, chatter around Trump's name in courtrooms from Manhattan to Atlanta has heated up again, and the energy outside those courthouses is as buzzing as ever. Let me walk you through where all the high-stakes proceedings stand, and how Trump—now back in the White House—remains a central figure in the courtroom drama that continues to grip the nation.First, New York. The city's legal powerhouse, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, made history last year by securing Donald Trump's felony conviction. Back on May 30, 2024, a jury found him guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from hush money payments and bookkeeping maneuvers during his first presidential run. But what turned more heads in January 2025 was the sentence. Justice Juan Merchan handed Trump an unconditional discharge—which means no jail time, but the felony conviction remains on his record. Even with Trump now serving as president again, the legal and political weight of being the only U.S. president ever convicted of a felony still looms large over his administration. Protesters and supporters alike continue making their presence known along Centre Street, where the courthouse became a national stage.Down in Florida, federal prosecutors faced a stunning twist in what was billed as the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Last July, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the entire indictment against Donald Trump. Special Counsel Jack Smith, who had charged Trump with more than 30 counts of mishandling national defense information and several counts of obstruction, suddenly saw his case collapse over a controversy about his own appointment and funding. Although Smith appealed, by the end of January 2025 the Department of Justice had withdrawn all appeals—effectively ending federal prosecution in that venue, at least for now.Meanwhile, Fulton County, Georgia remains a focal point of public interest, as Trump and a cohort of alleged co-conspirators face charges connected to alleged interference in the 2020 election. The sheer number of defendants and legal maneuvers has kept this case from reaching trial quickly, but it's set to escalate in the coming weeks. Observers in Atlanta watch for the next moves from District Attorney Fani Willis, whose office charges Trump and others with racketeering and other election-related offenses.While those three criminal trials dominate headlines, there's more just beneath the surface. Federal courts in Washington, D.C. have paused most proceedings as higher courts continue to hash out Trump's arguments that he's immune from prosecution for acts taken while president—a fight reignited by a Supreme Court decision just days ago, sending questions about presidential immunity back to the lower courts. That pause means, for now, any trial regarding Trump's actions leading up to January 6 remains at a legal crossroads, adding yet more uncertainty to the picture.From Manhattan to Miami and Atlanta to Washington, the narrative of Trump in court remains ever-evolving—a mix of sharp legal arguments, unexpected dismissals, and the ceaseless spin of political consequence. As the country watches, the weight of these court proceedings shadows the highest levels of government.Thanks for tuning in to this week's recap. Don't forget to come back next week for more. This has been a Quiet Please production. For more, check out QuietPlease.ai.Some great Deals https://amzn.to/49SJ3QsFor more check out http://www.quietplease.ai

The Georgia State Election Board voted to seek assistance from the DOJ to “bring any action necessary” to obtain the voting records of Fulton County from the corrupt 2020 election. Yet, Fulton County continues to refuse to turn over their results, defying a subpoena, because they know what it will reveal. Later, Morgan Lerette joins to talk about his book, Guns, Girls, Greed, which recounts his time in the Middle East as a private contractor! All this and more on today's Untamed! Happy Friday!

Fulton County, Georgia Board of Commissioners voted 5-2 Wednesday to reject the GOP's nominations of two prominent election deniers to the county board of elections.We have an update on New York Attorney General Tish James' lawsuit to block Trump's tariffs.Trump's pick to replace Hampton Dellinger as Special Counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel would be a total disaster.Pete Hegseth continues to be disastrous.Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger has some parting words.Plus, if Steve Bannon could feel shame he would be completely embarrassed by his recent loss in court.Use promo code CLEANUP at CBDistillery.com for 25% off your purchase.Specific product availability depends on individual state regulations.Allison Gillhttps://muellershewrote.substack.com/https://bsky.app/profile/muellershewrote.comHarry DunnHarry Dunn | Substack@libradunn1.bsky.social on BlueskyWant to support this podcast and get it ad-free and early?Go to: https://www.patreon.com/aisle45pod Allison Gillhttps://muellershewrote.substack.com/https://bsky.app/profile/muellershewrote.comHarry DunnHarry Dunn | Substack@libradunn1.bsky.social on BlueskyWant to support this podcast and get it ad-free and early?Go to: https://www.patreon.com/aisle45podTell us about yourself and what you like about the show - http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short