This week, we dive right into the midterm elections. What does it mean to be in a country that makes great strides in one midterm election - placing a record number of women & religious minorities in office, electing the first openly gay man as a governor, and giving the voting rights back to 1.4 million people - yet, still elects individuals who openly propagate white supremacist ideals? We wrestle with the tension, as well as the data that shows us nothing is really changing, particularly with religious voters.\xa0
\n\n\nWe spend the second half of the episode talking about the drama around the Conference of US Bishops this week. US Bishops want to make significant, overdue changes in how the Catholic church handles instances of abuse, but the Vatican pulled the e-brake. What's the deal?\xa0
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\n\n\nDiscussed on the show this week:
\n\n\nRecords broken during the 2018 midterms (BBC)
\n\n\nRecord number of women elected to Congress (Vox)
\n\n\nBlue wave, or not? (WaPo)
\n\n\nVoting rights restored to individuals who served time for non-violent felonies in Florida (NPR)
\n\n\nDuncan Hunter wins with islamophobic campaign. (Vox)
\n\n\nVatican stops US Bishops from voting on sexual abuse responses.(WaPo)
\n\n\nRome orders US Bishops to wait on their plan to curb sex abuse. (NY Times)
\n\n\nGame of Thrones returns in April\xa0for it's final season\xa0(Variety)