Turning Grief into Action With Allie Phillips
Allie Phillips is a working mom of two, a Tennessee native, and a first-time political candidate turned relentless advocate. After being denied lifesaving reproductive care under Tennessee's abortion ban following a devastating diagnosis at her 20-week anatomy scan, Allie was forced to leave the state to terminate a pregnancy her doctors confirmed was not compatible with life. She documented her experience publicly in real time — and the response changed everything.
Allie went on to co-file a landmark lawsuit against the state of Tennessee with the Center for Reproductive Rights, challenging the narrow scope of the state's medical exceptions. She's now running for Tennessee House District 75 to fight for working families, public schools, healthcare access, and the kind of leadership that actually gives a damn.
This episode covers:
- 00:00 - Introductions + Tea & Crumpets
- 06:04 - Allie's story and the insane battle for reproductive rights
- 21:54 - Finding Purpose in Loss
- 29:42 - Challenges in Education and Advocacy
- 35:01 - Affordable Housing and Childcare Crisis
- 43:25 - Introduction to Political Identity
- 51:14 - The Impact of Patriarchy and Social Interactions
...but for REAL: Why aren't y'all voting?! Montgomery County had a 6% turnout in the last primary. 6%. Your vote matters more at the local level than almost anywhere else — these are the people deciding your schools, your roads, your healthcare, and your judges. August 6th and November 3rd. Get there.
Resources + Stuff Mentioned in This Episode
- Allie Phillips for Tennessee House District 75
- Center for Reproductive Rights — the organization behind Allie's lawsuit against the state of Tennessee
- Zurawski v. Texas — the similar Texas case Allie references
- Paradise on Hulu (Val's rec)
- Euphoria on Max (Allie's rec)
- Pura Smart Home Diffuser (Em's birthday gift obsession)
- "The Man" by Taylor Swift — Allie's campaign anthem
- Tennessee's Abortion Ban — SB 1257 — the trigger ban referenced throughout
- Nashville Star commuter rail — the model Allie references for a Clarksville-Nashville rail
- KHS America Musical Petting Zoo at CMA Fest (Em's Fire Dumpster Phoenix pick)
- Nashville Zoo Night Owl Program — where Allie's daughter's Girl Scout troop spent the weekend
Connect with Allie Phillips:
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- More about the pod / past episodes
- Watch us on YouTube
- Now That's What I Call... OKAAAAY Playlist
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- Send in a request for advice for our Step Into My Office segment
- Connect with us on IG: @butforrealpod
- The Gaia Center on IG: @thegaiacenter
- Val on IG: @existentiallyval
- The Gaia Center website: www.gaiacenter.co
DISCLAIMER: But For Real Podcast is not a substitute for individualized mental health treatment or healthcare. This podcast is solely for entertainment and educational purposes. If you are in crisis, please utilize crisis support services, such as the Crisis Text Line (Text START to 741741 in the US) or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: (Call 988 in the US), or visit www.findahelpline.com for international resources.
Transcript
Welcome to But For Real, a variety show podcast co hosted by two therapists who also happen to be loudmouth feminists.
Speaker A:I'm Valerie, your resident elder millennial child free cat lady.
Speaker B:And I'm Emerson, your resident chronically online Gen Z brat.
Speaker B:And on the show, we'll serve up a new episode every other week that will take you on a wild ride through the cultural zeitgeist, mental health and beyond.
Speaker A:You'll definitely laugh and TBH sometimes, maybe cry a little because this is a silly and serious show.
Speaker B:Buckle up my friends, and let's get into today's episode.
Speaker B:Welcome back everybody.
Speaker C:I'm so excited.
Speaker B:Today's episode is an interview with Ali.
Speaker C:Phillips, a working mom of two who.
Speaker B:Became a first time candidate after being denied life saving care under Tennessee's abortion ban.
Speaker C:Big womp.
Speaker B:Forced to leave the state during a medical crisis, she turned her pain into advocacy.
Speaker B:Now she's running again for Tennessee House District 75 to finish what she started fighting for working families.
Speaker B:We are so elated to talk to her today about her life changing story and her campaign for Tennessee families to have the lives they deserve and work.
Speaker C:Really fucking hard for.
Speaker C:So welcome to But For Real.
Speaker C:Thank you so much.
Speaker C:So happy to be here.
Speaker C:Thank you so much for having me and being in Nashville.
Speaker C:It's exciting.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:We're in the city.
Speaker B:We're city girls today.
Speaker C:Ally and I are Clarksville girls.
Speaker C:We're city girls today.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker B:Now it's time for our first segment, tea and Crumpets, where we tell you what we can't stop talking about this week.
Speaker D:And I will start us off with, oh my God, I'm late to the party on this show, paradise on Hulu.
Speaker B:Like everyone's been talking about it, but you know, I'm always late also.
Speaker D:Well, good.
Speaker D:I'm glad that y' all haven't watched it because I still have two episodes left.
Speaker D:But it's two seasons so far, short, like nine, eight or nine episode seasons.
Speaker D:Oh, Dan, what's his Face who did this is Us is the show creator.
Speaker D:I'm sure he'll really appreciate me calling him what's his face.
Speaker D:But he's.
Speaker D:And Sterling K. Brown is one of the leads.
Speaker D:It's phenomenal.
Speaker D:Like, I can't stop thinking about it.
Speaker D:I just highly recommend.
Speaker D:That's all I'll say.
Speaker C:Wait, that's exciting.
Speaker C:Ali, what's your tea?
Speaker C:So I have not watched paradise on Hulu, but I am a euphoria girl on HBO Max.
Speaker C:So I just, I think it was the last episode that My husband and I just watched, which is really sad.
Speaker C:It's really unfortunate and no spoilers from me, but I hate to see it if it was the last episode.
Speaker C:Really good.
Speaker C:If you haven't watched any Euphoria, I'm a big.
Speaker C:I'm a big fan of Zendaya.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker C:I've been watching her since Shake it off or Shake It Up.
Speaker C:Sorry, I was saying I'm such a swifty, so big Disney person.
Speaker C:And so Zendaya, I mean, I've just watched a lot of her work and so seeing her in Euphoria was such a different character, I think was watching her in different roles with Spider man and even the one that she did with Zac Efron, the.
Speaker C:The Greatest Showman, stuff like that.
Speaker C:But Euphoria is a really good one.
Speaker C:I haven't watched paradise though, yet, so that's interesting.
Speaker D:But Zendaya and Tom Holland, I'm literally obsessed.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker C:But this one.
Speaker C:Yeah, right.
Speaker C:So for me, as far as politics, tea, my.
Speaker C:My biggest tea, I guess, with politics is when people say that they don't do politics or that they're not involved in politics, my response is, well, politics does you, and politics is.
Speaker C:Is in you.
Speaker C:Because if you're driving on our roads, if you're paying taxes, if you went to public schools, if you were doing anything in society, if you are using public transit, if you are utilizing public services, like, you know, fire department, police department, any, like, social services, anything like that, WIC benefits, SNAP benefits, anything, Medicaid, all of it.
Speaker C:That is politics.
Speaker C:And so I really encourage people.
Speaker C:I understand that it can be really stressful and confusing.
Speaker C:100%, I understand that.
Speaker C:But if you are not involved in your local politics, now's the time to be.
Speaker C:Because these, these are the people that fund your schools, that decide if your potholes are going to be filled.
Speaker C:These are the people that elect, you know, who's going to be in charge of, like, judges, appoint your judges, appoint your sheriffs, things like that.
Speaker C:So these are impacts that decide if your property taxes go up.
Speaker C:Really, really big things that hurt you or could help you.
Speaker C:So if you aren't involved in politics, you need to be daily.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker D:And that's tea.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:That's really hard to follow.
Speaker B:I'm like my peers.
Speaker B:My best friend Val gave me my birthday present early.
Speaker B:Well, yes.
Speaker B:And she.
Speaker B:It's like, have you seen them?
Speaker B:They're like the little things that the buggies.
Speaker D:Yes.
Speaker B:And I love shit like that.
Speaker B:Like, I just love a SME.
Speaker B:Like, I'm a big Candle, girly.
Speaker B:But you have to be committed to burn a candle.
Speaker B:Or at least I do.
Speaker B:Like, you're locked in for the next.
Speaker C:Three to six hours.
Speaker B:I'm not having any time to Lane.
Speaker B:Don't piss me off.
Speaker B:These things are expensive.
Speaker B:So I like that the pura.
Speaker B:I can go on my phone and like, mess with the intensity.
Speaker B:You can set a schedule for it.
Speaker B:So like, there's a different scent.
Speaker B:So I come home and I'm like, ah, there's a new, like, little robot.
Speaker B:Like, I'm like, it feels like when you're at Disney and they're pumping like the fragrance, the popcorn scent down the wake of Main street and you're like,.
Speaker C:Should I go eat popcorn?
Speaker B:Like, I'm palaflobing myself almost.
Speaker D:I love fancy smells too.
Speaker D:Cause it's like you can choose ones that make it smell like you live in one of those fancy hotels.
Speaker B:It's very.
Speaker B:Yes, I have the Capri blue one.
Speaker B:I feel like that's fancy hotel smell.
Speaker B:So very obsessed with that fun stuff.
Speaker B:Welcome to the lore, where we share anonymous listener submitted stories about literally anything.
Speaker B:The more cringe or jaw dropping, the better.
Speaker B:To submit your story for a future episode, find deep on the gram at But4Real pod or at Gaia Center Co podcast.
Speaker B:Today we have Ali to give us the lore just about her story with her daughter Miley Rose, how that loss led to her campaigning for women's reproductive rights in Tennessee.
Speaker B:Basically, like the whole reason that you're here and doing what you're doing.
Speaker B:So tell us a little bit about the lore for people that don't know.
Speaker C:Your story and who Ali Phillips is.
Speaker C: to expand our family back in: Speaker C:And then at my 20 week anatomy scan, we found out that things were not progressing as they should.
Speaker C:And so my OB recommended me over to a high risk specialist.
Speaker C:And once we arrived to the high risk specialist is when we found out that pretty much everything that could have been wrong was wrong.
Speaker C:So we found out that we were having a little girl around 15 weeks and we named her Miley Rose.
Speaker C:And when we went to the high risk doctor, she confirmed the list of things.
Speaker C:So both of Miley's kidneys, her stomach and her bladder had all formed abnormally and were not functioning properly.
Speaker C:Her heart Only had two out of four working chambers.
Speaker C:She had stunted growth.
Speaker C:So even though I was 20 weeks along, she was measuring at 15 weeks.
Speaker C:She had little to no amniotic fluid surrounding her.
Speaker C:And for anybody that has never been pregnant or doesn't understand pregnancy, fetuses need amniotic fluid around them to continue to grow.
Speaker C:They inhale that, that helps them expand and develop their lungs and other essential organs.
Speaker C:Because of that lack of fluid, she didn't have any signs of lung development.
Speaker C:And then she had a rare brain defect diagnosed as semi lobar holoprosencephaly, which is a mouthful, and that's a really big word to say that her brain did not sp split all the way down the middle.
Speaker C:And that diagnosis alone, only 3% of fetuses normally can survive to birth with it.
Speaker C:And if they do, they typically don't live past the first year of life and they live with like a lot of health issues.
Speaker C:They don't, you know, meet milestones like talking, walking, eating, things like that.
Speaker C:And so with all of these things combined, my high risk doctor had told us that Miley was not compatible with life.
Speaker C:Obviously really devastating news for any parent to hear that's expecting a child.
Speaker C:And the first question that came to mind was, what are we supposed to do at this point in time?
Speaker C:Just six months prior, Tennessee had implemented its trigger ban after Roe v. Wade was overturned from the Supreme Court and the Dobbs decision.
Speaker C:So I already knew that Tennessee had a ban on abortion.
Speaker C:So being told that my daughter was not compatible, I already knew abortion was not an option, But I knew that there was exceptions for life of the mother.
Speaker C:Life of the mother, but you know, who defines when life of the mother is at risk?
Speaker C:And so I asked her, you know, what happens next?
Speaker C:And she said that the longer I stay pregnant, the worse Miley's going to get and the higher risk my health is going to become.
Speaker C:So I said, well, how long do we have?
Speaker C:And she was like, well, you know, there's no way to know.
Speaker C:She could live another couple months, she could live another week, she could die tomorrow.
Speaker C:We have no idea of knowing.
Speaker C:But you're at a greater risk by staying pregnant of, you know, a miscarriage, a stillbirth, or if she were to survive to term and be born, we would have to set up hospice care because she would pass immediately after birth because of the lack of lung development and all of that.
Speaker C:So with that in mind, and I had a, at the time, a five year old daughter at home, I didn't want to risk staying pregnant and putting myself in any sort of harm's way for my own health.
Speaker C:And also, I didn't want to risk my future fertility.
Speaker C:And so after a really long discussion with my husband, after a really long discussion with my doctor, after a long discussion with my parents, we made the decision that termination was the best route for us.
Speaker C:And I talked to my doctor and she said, if you choose to terminate, you can't do it here.
Speaker C:You're gonna have to look out of state.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Crazy, because even though if I stayed pregnant, that puts a risk on me, I was not actively dying in that moment.
Speaker C:So I did not qualify for Tennessee's exceptions.
Speaker C:So that was on a Friday.
Speaker C:I had to wait over the weekend, and then on a Monday, my mom and I spent the day calling states, different states.
Speaker C:Sorry.
Speaker C:And what people don't realize is when you live in a southern state like Tennessee, all of the states surrounding you also have abortion bans.
Speaker C:And so the closest state to you, the closest clinic to you, not only is taking care of their in state patients, but they're taking care of the influx of out of state patients that are fleeing to them for help.
Speaker C:So when I am calling clinics, they are on wait lists, like months of wait lists.
Speaker C:And not only that, but there's a cost involved.
Speaker C:Abortions aren't free.
Speaker C:We're in America.
Speaker C:Healthcare isn't free.
Speaker C:And on top of that, a midterm abortion is expensive.
Speaker C: weeks, it would be $: Speaker C:We could get you in.
Speaker C:If you can come in this Friday, we could squeeze you in.
Speaker C:And I was like, well, I can't.
Speaker C:I can't get in this Friday.
Speaker C:I would have to look at maybe next week because I have to figure out child care, I have to figure out jobs, right.
Speaker C:Like travel, all of that.
Speaker C:And so I was like, what about next week?
Speaker C:Well, next week you'll be 22 weeks.
Speaker C:It's 2, 500.
Speaker A:Wow.
Speaker B:What the hell?
Speaker C:It jumped up a grand because I was a week further along.
Speaker D:Wow.
Speaker C:Whoa.
Speaker C:So we're talking about financial impacts for families just to get healthcare.
Speaker C:And as someone who is not financially wealthy, like, that's, that's a real big burden just to get a medically necessary abortion to preserve my.
Speaker C:My life, my health, and my fertility.
Speaker C:And so I was documenting what was happening online on TikTok, and I ended up finding a clinic in New York and booked that up for the following week.
Speaker C:And it was around $1,100 for that one.
Speaker C:And I started to go fund me because we couldn't afford the round trip airfare to New York, the stay in New York and the abortion itself.
Speaker C:And so complete strangers on the Internet are the reason I was able to get the health care I needed.
Speaker C:And I flew to New York on March 7th.
Speaker C:I went to the clinic, and when I arrived to the clinic, I found out within a few hours after being there that Miley was already gone.
Speaker C:My body had not recognized that she passed.
Speaker C:And this had been 10 days since my high risk appointment.
Speaker C:She could have passed the moment I left that high risk appointment.
Speaker C:She could have passed the moment I got on the plane.
Speaker C:I don't know when she died, but I knew that she was dead and my body wasn't trying to expel her.
Speaker C:The doctor told me that when a fetus dies and your body doesn't start to expel it, you have about a two week window that you start becoming at a greater risk of infections, blood clots or going septic.
Speaker C:And because we have to go off of the last confirmed heartbeat, that was 10 days ago, you're at the end of that two week window, you're at a higher risk.
Speaker C:We need to do this today.
Speaker C:So typically a midterm, later term abortion is like a two day procedure that you go in, you do all the pre op stuff, the pre op testing, they give you these medications to help soften your cervix, stuff like that.
Speaker C:And then you, you come back the next morning and then they do the procedure.
Speaker C:It's a surgical abortion.
Speaker C:I went in, we found out Miley was gone.
Speaker C:They were like, we need to do this now.
Speaker C:It was from finding out that she was gone to being in the surgery room was less than an hour for me.
Speaker C:I didn't get the medication to soften my cervix.
Speaker C:I didn't get any of that.
Speaker C:They did a pelvic exam on me and he said, you're sorry, this is a tmi, but it's what happened.
Speaker C:He said, your cervix is really hard.
Speaker C:I don't know if we will be able to actually complete the surgery today.
Speaker C:He was like, we're going to try.
Speaker C:If I can't, we'll have to give you the softeners and you'll come back tomorrow.
Speaker C:So I went into surgery for this abortion without knowing if it was even going to be successful.
Speaker C:So when I woke up after coming off anesthesia the first Question I asked was, was, am I still pregnant?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:And the nurse said, no, ma', am, you're not.
Speaker C:And of course, that was just like a.
Speaker C:That was like a reality check for me.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And it still is.
Speaker D:Good God.
Speaker D:But yeah, I mean, that's, it's huge.
Speaker D:And really your story has gone viral for, you know, all the reasons that it, it needed to.
Speaker D:Like it.
Speaker D:It's horrible that that ever had to happen to you or to any other woman.
Speaker D:But, you know, that's that loss.
Speaker D:You know, I always think of like, instead of the phrase everything happens for a reason, it's just I view it like the post traumatic growth of sometimes horrible things happen and then, you know, there, there is a pathway forward that may not have existed otherwise.
Speaker D:It doesn't have to mean we're glad that it happened that way.
Speaker C:Right, Right.
Speaker D:So part of like the, the, the gold that has come from the ruins of, of that trauma, which again, should never have happened that way, is that people have heard your story nationwide and even worldwide.
Speaker D:And I wonder, when you think back to yourself, really when all of that started blowing up and you started sharing your story and especially with your campaign, what stands out to you?
Speaker D:When you think back to that time when this was all first kind of.
Speaker C:Coming out, I think what most stood out to me was the amount of women that reached out and shared their stories and really found community and comfort in me being so public with mine because they felt ashamed and like they couldn't be open about themselves.
Speaker C:There is one that has stuck with me throughout the years because she shared her story with me and told me that her family doesn't even know.
Speaker C:She said I'm the only person in the world that knows that she had an abortion.
Speaker C:But she felt comfortable enough to share with me because I was so open about mine.
Speaker C:And to me, I just feel like that just one.
Speaker C:It just breaks my heart that we are, as a society are so cruel to women that.
Speaker C:Because what I went through wasn't cruel.
Speaker C:I mean, it was cruel to me, but, you know, we have just lost sight of taking care of each other.
Speaker B:Yep.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:And I will say a lot of it was trauma dumping on me.
Speaker C:And that was something I had to unpack with my therapist and I didn't realize what that was.
Speaker C:And me being an empath, like, I was taking on a lot of other people's trauma that they experienced and I took it on as much as I could and I, I empathize and I sympathize with them.
Speaker C:But now looking back, like, I, I Sat and I am weighed down with everybody else's trauma now too.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:And as much as I like, I'm okay with it because it helped them heal a little and I hope they do feel healed because they shared with me.
Speaker C:But now I have to heal not only my trauma, but I have to heal from holding their trauma as well.
Speaker C:And so I didn't give myself space like I should have.
Speaker C:But, but to answer your question, it was just the amount of people and women and even men who reached out to me that were like, you know, my wife or my mom had to get an abortion.
Speaker C:And thank you so much for sharing your story.
Speaker C:I actually have a binder that I saved from my campaign last cycle from people that hand wrote notes to me or even typed a letter to me and they mailed it to my campaign that whether they shared their story, they were just thanking me for sharing mine.
Speaker C:And it's, it's like half, I mean it's a thick binder.
Speaker C:People from all over the country, people from different countries, and it just showed the impact that my story made, but also the impact that stories like mine can make that we're not all that different.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And stories like Miley's and just even regular miscarriage stories or even the most traumatic abortion stories.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:So they're all unique.
Speaker C:But at the end of the day, abortion is healthcare, period.
Speaker C:And it's not black and white and it's very nuanced.
Speaker C:And this is why you can't be making laws on it.
Speaker C:And that's why I'm so public about it.
Speaker C:That's why I continue to share my story.
Speaker C:Because we can't limit what access to healthcare people have because you never know when life can change.
Speaker C:Pregnancy is not guaranteed a healthy baby at the end ever.
Speaker C:I don't care how healthy you are, it can go south at any moment.
Speaker C:And this is why we need access to health care.
Speaker B:I feel like that really speaks to like such the double edged sword of like being a public figure or posting on the Internet or just you know, like navigating what you were navigating like at the peak of your.
Speaker C:Well, I don't even want to speak.
Speaker B:For you that it was the peak of your grief, but just like navigating your grief publicly and interpersonally putting your story out there on the Internet, not only are strangers across the the country or the world like weighing in, trauma dumping, kind of giving you the like, holy shit, this happened to me too.
Speaker B:Or this was my version of it, but then also like your local community, like People that just your neighbors that.
Speaker C:Maybe hadn't known you in that way.
Speaker B:Before or, you know, like with your daughter, like going, taking her to school or just.
Speaker B:Yeah, that involvement and people being able to weigh in on your life in what was similar to them or not similar to them.
Speaker B:Like, what did it take for from you and give from you to share in real time kind of what you were going through.
Speaker B:And having strangers being able to weigh in on what you were going through, what was that like as a normal person?
Speaker C:You're a normal human.
Speaker C:I think it gave me, honestly, it gave myself purpose.
Speaker C:You know, you just mentioned, like, you know, a lot of times we say, like, everything happens for a reason.
Speaker C:That is tattooed on my thigh right here.
Speaker C:I would show you, but I don't want to get flag crazy.
Speaker C:And though a lot of times we, like, we don't know what that purpose may be, whether it's good or bad.
Speaker C:And for a long time I didn't know why this happened to me.
Speaker C:Like, what did I do wrong for the universe to punish me?
Speaker C:Like, I just.
Speaker C:I just wanted to be a mom, you know, and something.
Speaker C:My mom, because I called my mom when I found out Miley was gone.
Speaker C:I stepped out of the clinic and went into the hallway and I called my mom and I told her that Miley was gone.
Speaker C:And on the phone, my mom said to me, she was like, you know, honey, I know it hurts right now, but I think this is the best gift Miley could have given you because you went to New York with so much guilt.
Speaker C:You went to New York with so much grief and so much of the what ifs.
Speaker C:What if your doctors are wrong?
Speaker C:What if Miley could be okay?
Speaker C:What if there's nothing wrong with her?
Speaker C:What if you're making the wrong choice?
Speaker C:And now you don't have to wonder, Miley made that decision for you.
Speaker C:Now you know that you were making the right choice.
Speaker C:And I think Miley gave you that best, the best gift she could have given you by going on her own.
Speaker C:And I mean, it doesn't take away the pain, right?
Speaker C:But knowing that, because, I mean, people still call me a baby killer, like, every day.
Speaker C:Like, I mean, any day get.
Speaker C:Any given moment.
Speaker C:Get on, get on my page and.
Speaker B:Look at my comments.
Speaker C:Someone's calling me a baby killer.
Speaker C:Just the other day, someone said, you killed your kid.
Speaker C:Because I got endorsed by Planned Parenthood for my campaign this year.
Speaker D:And also let me just say too, that even in cases where that doesn't happen, where the baby has not gone on their Own doesn't make the person a baby killer.
Speaker B:What the hell?
Speaker D:It doesn't in your case, it's just factually inaccurate.
Speaker C:It is, exactly.
Speaker C:And so that's the other thing.
Speaker C:I was like.
Speaker C:And nobody can tell me what I experienced, but there's so many people out there that are just these medical experts that were apparently in the room with me.
Speaker C:Yeah, I was just like, really?
Speaker C:Because I just thought it was me and a couple nurses.
Speaker C:I didn't realize half of you were there, but there's so many people.
Speaker C:And I was like, you know, no, my daughter died in my womb, so you can actually cannot call me a baby killer.
Speaker C:But regardless, even if I did get the abortion before she passed, that does not make me a baby killer.
Speaker C:So I think with this being the situation that I have Miley's purpose, though she had a short existence.
Speaker C:I think her purpose was to give me this story because I've always asked, I.
Speaker C:Everybody asks themselves, what is my purpose in life?
Speaker C:What am I supposed to do?
Speaker C:Life is so short.
Speaker C:You know, we're here for a short time and everybody wants to be somebody.
Speaker C:Like we want to leave a legacy.
Speaker C:Some of us do anyway.
Speaker C:And I have always wanted to leave this planet or at least this community that I'm in better than I found it, especially for my daughter and now my son.
Speaker C:But losing Miley really just kind of lit a fire in my ass that was like, you know, I can sit here and I can self pity myself all day, every day and I can be sad about it or I can get the fuck up and I can do something about it.
Speaker C:And so having strangers come up to me and share stories with me and thank me for being public and want asking to help and all of these things just kind of reiterated what I already knew.
Speaker C:And that's this is Miley's purpose was to light this fire under me, to go out and fight for not only women, but reproductive care and for just more than, more than what's in front of me.
Speaker C:I need to fight for more than myself.
Speaker C:I need to fight for a community.
Speaker C:I need to fight for the betterment of my state, my country, whatever, my world.
Speaker C:I need to fight for something that's bigger than me.
Speaker C:And so that's what I'm taking away from losing Miley.
Speaker C:I wish Miley was here, of course.
Speaker C:Like I would so much rather I would trade all of this right to just have my daughter.
Speaker C:But I think Miley is the reason I'm here.
Speaker C:My, she is.
Speaker C:And I think the fact that that little tiny Fetus caused such an uproar in politics that she.
Speaker C:This is why I tell people.
Speaker C:All these people that are pissed at me, they're like, move, Move to a blue state if you don't like the politics here.
Speaker C:I'm like, well, if you guys just would have had access to abortion, I wouldn't have never ran for office.
Speaker D:Correct.
Speaker C:I wouldn't be all up in your.
Speaker B:Shit, by the way.
Speaker C:I'm just letting you know, if you would have just let me have the access to care I needed, you wouldn't know who I am.
Speaker D:Correct.
Speaker C:Saw something along the side.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker D: nst the state of Tennessee in: Speaker D:What's considered an emergent medical condition.
Speaker D:How close to death is someone.
Speaker D:That exception to the total abortion ban.
Speaker D:Can you tell us what that experience has been like filing that suit and the other with the other women that have joined since the case started?
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So that is a really.
Speaker C:Oh, my gosh, I wish I had, like, better news for this, but they actually reached out to me within, like, two to three weeks of me getting back from New York, and they were pretty much like, hey, like, we don't know if you've heard about, like, the Zurowski vs Texas case, which I was following.
Speaker C:And I was like, yes, I've heard of it.
Speaker C:And they're like, we would really like to do something similar in Tennessee, if you're interested.
Speaker C:And I mean, I had never said yes to anything so fast in my life.
Speaker C:I was like, you don't even have to give me details.
Speaker C:Yes, I will do it.
Speaker C:Whatever you need.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:Suing Tennessee for their abortion ban.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:And where do I sign?
Speaker C:And so they're like, well, we have to figure out, like, you know, because Texas obviously is different than Tennessee.
Speaker C:Their law is different than Tennessee law.
Speaker C:And so it took.
Speaker C:They reached out to me in the end of March.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker C:We didn't file suit until September 11th.
Speaker C:That's how long it took to build the case.
Speaker C:So just to give anybody an idea of how long it takes to file, but.
Speaker C: ,: Speaker C:And that was a really exciting day.
Speaker C:It was a very powerful day.
Speaker C:We.
Speaker C:We had some doctors, some other women who were impacted by the ban.
Speaker C:And we had a day in Court in 24 where we got some leeway.
Speaker C:We had baby steps, positive baby steps, where we had four.
Speaker C:We have a three judge panel and they're all women.
Speaker C:And we got four, like, clarifications on what Doctors can perform abortions for if this were to arise for a patient.
Speaker C:So more clarifications is good.
Speaker C:Obviously we want broader, you know, coverage, but we will take what we can get.
Speaker C:A wins.
Speaker C:A win.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:And then we were supposed to have trial.
Speaker C:We were supposed to have trial last month.
Speaker C:Yeah, we waited three years for this trial.
Speaker C:The state has tried to stop this trial for years.
Speaker C:They have filed so many appeals.
Speaker C:Their appeals have, like, been blocked left and right.
Speaker C:They have gone to the state legislature and gotten the laws to be changed to favor them.
Speaker C:That has changed the jurisdiction of the appeals court that they no longer have jurisdiction over the case.
Speaker C:So that is why our trial date got postponed, because the court that we were going to no longer had jurisdiction over the case because the law got changed.
Speaker C:Because, like, it was a whole thing.
Speaker D:What a mess.
Speaker B:It got pushed until next year.
Speaker C:I mean, it could be years, right?
Speaker C:I mean, we don't know.
Speaker C:And so.
Speaker C:But of course the center is like appealing it.
Speaker C:And so they were in communications with the attorneys and they're doing everything they can.
Speaker C:But I mean, it could be next year, it could be two years from now.
Speaker C:Who it could be five years from now, we have no idea.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:So they are doing what they can.
Speaker C:Hopefully they're hoping that, you know, their appeal will come back sooner and we get our side gets, you know, the, the positive and maybe we can be back in six months or something.
Speaker C:You know, that's the, the hope.
Speaker C:But, you know, worst case scenario, it's another three years.
Speaker C:But we're not going anywhere.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:This just pisses us off more.
Speaker C:We're just going to get louder and yeah, trying to silence us from sharing our story isn't going to stop us from sharing our story.
Speaker C:Like, okay, we may not share it in a court of law, but we're on social media.
Speaker C:We can go out and we can hold public press conferences, we can put out press releases.
Speaker C:We can still share our story to the public.
Speaker C:It just won't be on public record in the court system.
Speaker C:Like, you're not stopping us.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But anyway, so that's where we're at right now.
Speaker C:The state is scared.
Speaker C:They don't want the people to know what happened.
Speaker C:If they thought that they were in the right, they would just let this trial go through and have their argument.
Speaker C:But they know they're in the wrong, which is why they're trying to stop it.
Speaker C:Wow.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:That, like, reproductive rights piece, obviously, is a huge element of your campaign and your work and trying to fight the good damn fight.
Speaker B:Education is Also, you know, a part of your campaign, I probably could have a bazillion questions about what you think about cmcss.
Speaker B:Clarksville, Montgomery county school system right now.
Speaker B:So feel free to throw in anything for that.
Speaker B:As a former school system, graduate of said system, shout out Rossview High School.
Speaker D:What are a couple of other big.
Speaker B:Issues that you were hoping to address for your constituents?
Speaker B:Ally?
Speaker C:So I will say regarding cmcss, there is just a lot of controversy going on right now.
Speaker C:I don't know when this will air specifically, but, you know, we had an issue with a student that was shown nude photos by her teacher.
Speaker A:Great.
Speaker D:Totally normal.
Speaker C:And he.
Speaker C:He wasn't fired.
Speaker C:He was allowed to resign from his position after a month of being put on like a paid leave.
Speaker C:And his wife happens to be the superintendent of our schools.
Speaker B:So there's.
Speaker C:There's a lot of controversy.
Speaker C:Controversy, if I can say that word Right.
Speaker C:With that.
Speaker C:And then the criminal case into him because he admitted to showing the photos.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:And then deleted them.
Speaker C:And the criminal investigation started in Montgomery county, but then got passed to Davidson county.
Speaker C:And then Davidson county just recently passed it to Sumner County.
Speaker A:What?
Speaker B:Fuck's sake.
Speaker C:So nobody wants to take this case.
Speaker B:No.
Speaker C:Because they know it's a shit show and it's just because of who they know.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:And that's my opinion.
Speaker C:So there's that.
Speaker C:And then there's the issue with the Kenwood bus accident where we unfortunately lost two young kids in that accident.
Speaker C:And the families of that accident have not been treated very well from the school system.
Speaker C:From what I've been told, and this is all alleged from what I've been told from the families is that they were shared, that they have been sending their medical bills to the school system.
Speaker C:And the school system has been told, alleged, allegedly told, that they do not need to pay a penny of these medical bills because if they do, they are admitting guilt.
Speaker D:Wow.
Speaker C:And so these families are getting no help right now other than people donating to GoFundMes and stuff like that.
Speaker D:And so just the legal gymnastics of all of this.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:And the.
Speaker C:Also heard that the bus driver, after she got out of the hospital, packed up and moved to Virginia.
Speaker C:So not even in the state anymore.
Speaker C:Don't know anything about that.
Speaker C:But there's just.
Speaker C:There's a lot going on.
Speaker C:The families feel ignored, like just abused.
Speaker C:And kids are being.
Speaker C:That were on the bus are being targeted by some staff personnel.
Speaker C:And there's a lot going on that the public is not aware of.
Speaker C:And they're now starting to Speak out.
Speaker C:They're speaking at school board meetings and posting online.
Speaker C:And a lot of the public are like, oh, you're just attention seeking and you just want this and money.
Speaker C:And like, they're like, no, they just.
Speaker C:They want help.
Speaker C:Yes, they want help.
Speaker C:Like these kids.
Speaker C:They want their leaders to be fucking accountable.
Speaker C:Well, that's our children.
Speaker B:Come on.
Speaker C:Well, and I mean, to two of these families, are they.
Speaker C:Their kids are never coming home.
Speaker C:Correct.
Speaker C:And some of them, they have.
Speaker C:Some of these kids were life flighted.
Speaker C:I mean, you're looking at $100,000 just base for a lifelight bill.
Speaker C:At least 100 grand.
Speaker C:Not even to mention the hospital bills of stay surgeries, these continuous, like, therapies that they need.
Speaker C:The trauma of watching two of their friends die.
Speaker C:I mean, that's insane.
Speaker C:It's ridiculous.
Speaker C:But outside of that, I will say, like, I am a strong advocate for public schools in general.
Speaker C:I am strongly against the Freedom Scholarship Fund.
Speaker C:It's vouchers.
Speaker C:They defund our public schools.
Speaker C:They do nothing but put money into private institutions for wealthy families because you can't ask the Republican Party where the money's going, because they can't tell you because that goes against their morals, to tell the truth.
Speaker C:But the majority of people that are applying for these vouchers are coming from Williamson County.
Speaker C:And Williamson county is one of the wealthiest counties not only in Tennessee, but in the country.
Speaker C:So if this is for lower income, poverty level kids, why is Williamson county applying for these, these vouchers?
Speaker C:Now, that's not to say there aren't poverty level people in Williamson County.
Speaker C:I'm sure there are.
Speaker C:But let's be.
Speaker C:Let's be honest.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker D:And it's all part of Bill Lee's plan to make Tennessee a theocracy.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker C:But outside of that, I support our educators and teachers making sure they're paid what they deserve, making sure their classrooms are fully stocked and funded to have everything they need to have a proper education setting so they can teach their students.
Speaker C:Making sure that our kids have food while they're at school.
Speaker C:So free school meals.
Speaker C:Because it is a proven fact that we learn better when we're not starving.
Speaker C:What a novel concept.
Speaker C:And then, yeah, just.
Speaker C:Just making sure our schools are taken care of.
Speaker C:I know in some schools in Montgomery county they were talking about there's like mold on ceilings in some areas, and that's just unacceptable.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But outside of that, one of the biggest things on my platform right now is affordability.
Speaker C:We mentioned at the top of this that I'm a working mom too.
Speaker C:And I mentioned I'm not independently wealthy.
Speaker C:You know, I work a full time job during the day, My husband works a full time job at night.
Speaker D:And then you're hand pressing all of your campaign shirts until midnight.
Speaker C:Yes, I'm up all night doing a lot of campaign stuff when I can.
Speaker C:And we work opposite shifts because we can't afford childcare.
Speaker C:And childcare for those that don't know actually costs the same as a full year of college tuition in the state of Tennessee.
Speaker C:So that's a fun fact.
Speaker C:Childcare is unattainable for a lot of families.
Speaker C:That's something I would like to make more obtainable.
Speaker C:I would like to make housing affordable.
Speaker C:We don't have a housing crisis in Tennessee.
Speaker C:We have an affordable housing crisis.
Speaker C:We have plenty of housing available.
Speaker C:We just can't afford it.
Speaker C:I would like to raise the minimum wage.
Speaker C:We're sitting at 725.
Speaker C:There's no reason for that.
Speaker C:Sure, a lot of jobs aren't paying 725, but the fact of the matter is gas, housing, food, all, everything else is going up but wages.
Speaker C:And if we set a standard, then we are telling our workers that, hey, we value you.
Speaker C:And so companies inherently have to pay more and that then, you know, they treat their employees better because they have to pay more because you guys are then being paid a living wage and valued.
Speaker C:And then healthcare, expanding Medicaid out because I believe that every human being on this planet should have access to healthcare.
Speaker C:And you don't need a job to have good health care.
Speaker C:A good paying job to have good health care where you shouldn't have to pay thousands of dollars to have this really good marketplace health care.
Speaker C:I believe you should just have access to health care also things like essential medications like insulin and inhalers.
Speaker C:I'm an asthmatic.
Speaker C:My campaign manager last cycle, she is a diabetic.
Speaker C:She didn't have insurance.
Speaker C:She had to pay $4,000 a month for her insulin.
Speaker D:Oh my God.
Speaker C:If her husband did not have the money to pay and if I wasn't paying her as a campaign manager, wow.
Speaker C:How does she get her insulin?
Speaker C:So like we're just telling people, if you're poor, sorry, you're just gonna die a life threatening condition.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Like, yeah.
Speaker C:So just sorry about it.
Speaker D:Good luck.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's just unacceptable.
Speaker C:And we need people in, in leadership positions and law making positions that actually care about others and not just themselves.
Speaker C:But so affordability aspects just all across the board.
Speaker C:And then public schools is a big one.
Speaker C:And then infrastructure investment So I would really, really love to see a rail going from the border of Kentucky around Clarksville all the way down to Nashville, because we are one of the biggest commuter towns.
Speaker C:Not only Clarksville, but Oak Grove and Hopkinsville also commute to Nashville.
Speaker C:Correct.
Speaker C:So we could not only improve or.
Speaker C:Sorry, we could.
Speaker C:Well, we could improve the commute for a lot of us, but we could decrease the amount of people that are on 24.
Speaker C:We need that because people.
Speaker C:Oh, we need it.
Speaker C:Yes.
Speaker C:We need to expand 24 anyways because we have a lot of trucks coming through.
Speaker C:But expanding 24 isn't going to solve the congestion problem, because when you expand a road, that tells more people, oh, hey, there's more room.
Speaker C:I'm going to go drive on 24 now.
Speaker C:So you're adding another, like, lane.
Speaker C:Sure.
Speaker C:But you're just adding more traffic because more people are going to take that route now.
Speaker C:So getting a rail from the state line down to Nashville is good revenue because we can charge, like, monthly passes.
Speaker C:It's also good for people that want to.
Speaker C:I mean, you have a lot of people in Clarksville that would love to go to Nashville.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:That's an hour drive.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker C:That's a lot of gas.
Speaker C:That's a lot of traffic.
Speaker C:And so they don't go to Nashville.
Speaker C:We could be spending more money in Nashville.
Speaker C:Where?
Speaker C:Nashville.
Speaker C:People could come up to Clarksville for I don't know what, but they could.
Speaker C:You know, we gotta.
Speaker B:For your people.
Speaker B:I'm the Clarksville country now.
Speaker B:I'm like, listen, come visit.
Speaker C:We thank.
Speaker C:We got.
Speaker C:They could come see the Rip Gary, the guardrail.
Speaker C:Yes, they could come.
Speaker C:City Forum.
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker C:We got the pinnacle.
Speaker C:Our downtown is getting there.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Hey, Black Horse, you can come to the downtown Commons.
Speaker C:Riverside, you know, beer cheese.
Speaker C:Yes, beer cheese.
Speaker C:You can't beat it.
Speaker D:I am perpetually jealous of Europe's rail system.
Speaker C:I mean, you just look at.
Speaker C:We have the national star, right.
Speaker C:That runs from downtown out east, so towards, like, Hermitage, Donaldson, Mount Juliet.
Speaker C:I don't think it reaches.
Speaker C:It might reach Lebanon.
Speaker C:I think it goes to Lebanon.
Speaker C:But so it does run.
Speaker C:It runs during the day for commuters that go to work, but it also runs sometimes for, like, Titans games.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:And so, like, that helps people, and people really enjoy that.
Speaker C:But if we had something similar, could you imagine if, like, there was concerts in Nashville and we had a rail in Clarksville, the amount of people that would use that.
Speaker B:Correct.
Speaker C:For football games, for Predators games, soccer games.
Speaker C:I mean, come on.
Speaker C:We could.
Speaker C:I mean, the revenue that.
Speaker C:Not only that would give our state.
Speaker C:But the amount of, like, people that would utilize that, and they would feel more connected with our city and more.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker C:I just.
Speaker C:As someone that sits in this damn traffic every day, like, we could really invest and finding the funding for it, obviously, the money for.
Speaker C:Is.
Speaker C:The big thing is like, okay, we have to be fiscal, basically responsible here.
Speaker C:And I know there was a big thing about, like, at one point they were going to get, like, the different counties to pay for it, to, like, invest.
Speaker C:And, you know, Montgomery, I think, was willing to do it, but then you had, like, Roberson and Cheatham that were like, we don't have the money to do that.
Speaker C:And so, like, you know, they're poor or not.
Speaker C:I don't want to say poor, but they don't have as much as maybe Clarksville Montgomery does.
Speaker C:And I get it.
Speaker C:So, like, maybe we can work out something different with some sponsors, like, you know, or if we can work with, like, unions and work with, like, the steel workers or the railroad workers.
Speaker C:You know what I mean?
Speaker C:Like, work with people.
Speaker C:Yeah, we gotta.
Speaker C:We gotta work together and find a solution here, because this is gonna benefit our state significantly.
Speaker C:And eventually, eventually, I would love to see a rail go from Clarksville to Nashville, Nashville to Memphis to Chattanooga to Knoxville.
Speaker C:Like, connect.
Speaker C:Yes, Connect the Tri Cities.
Speaker D:And it also benefits federal employees.
Speaker D:When you think of how many federal employees are in Clarksville, you know.
Speaker C:Well, and also, it could benefit when we.
Speaker C:If we connect the Tri Cities, if we connect out throughout our state.
Speaker C:Think about the money that we as taxpayers are paying per diem for these lawmakers to drive into work every day.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:If they took a rail, we could save money.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker C:We could just be paying for their monthly rail, their monthly train, you know, and that would.
Speaker C:I mean, they get over 400 a day driving it.
Speaker D:Wow.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker D:So your enthusiasm for things like that is so palpable.
Speaker D:And I want to know, how do you stay energized and hopeful for your campaign, for your community, especially right now with the absolute shitstorm going on in D.C. and also just in our state, the recent really blatantly racist redistricting here in Tennessee.
Speaker A:How do you stay hopeful and energized?
Speaker C:You know, I think it's meeting people like you guys.
Speaker C:It's meeting voters.
Speaker C:It's meeting people that still have hope.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:It's talking about the issues that matter to them.
Speaker C:And I mean, to be honest, a lot of it is.
Speaker C:It's really up.
Speaker C:A lot of it's really sad.
Speaker C:A lot of it is really, you know, it really tears you down.
Speaker C:There's days that I lay in bed and I look at my husband, I'm like, why don't I do this?
Speaker C:I'm like, this.
Speaker C:I don't.
Speaker C:I like, I don't want to.
Speaker C:I want to.
Speaker C:Take me to the UK or Germany or Switzerland.
Speaker C:I don't care.
Speaker C:Take me somewhere, anywhere.
Speaker C:And then I'm like, you know what?
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:Because that's the easy way out.
Speaker C:This is my home.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:You know, I've lived here.
Speaker C:I wasn't born here.
Speaker C:I was born in upstate New York, but we moved down here when I was three months old.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker D:So I claim to be in.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker D:Tennessee.
Speaker C:Oh, you are.
Speaker B:I've lived in Clarksville for 16 years.
Speaker B:I think I'm at Clarksville.
Speaker C:And I grew up in Ashland City, so I don't know how much more shade and county.
Speaker C:I don't know how much more rural I can get.
Speaker C:But the fact that I grew up in Ashland City and came out of raging liberal, know.
Speaker C:So I think what happened is I moved out of my small town.
Speaker D:Right.
Speaker C:And went to college.
Speaker C:And I think that's all they end.
Speaker C:Do that damn mtsu, man.
Speaker B:Don't.
Speaker C:Don't do it.
Speaker C:I had a whole class on how to be a liberal, and that's what they do.
Speaker D:It's a joke, people.
Speaker C:It is a joke.
Speaker C:They're just going to clip that one piece.
Speaker B:They are.
Speaker B:It's going to end up something, whatever.
Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:No, it really is.
Speaker B:It's about.
Speaker C:It's when I talk to people, people.
Speaker C:And it's the conversations of them saying, like, you know, I, we really appreciate you running or we still have hope or we really want that.
Speaker C:We want to see this.
Speaker C:And it's.
Speaker C:Honestly, I think it's about when I talk to the older generation, you know, I just.
Speaker C:What was it?
Speaker C:Thursday?
Speaker C:I was out and I was protesting with seniors out in front.
Speaker B:I saw that on your Instagram.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:I was standing with seniors from the Ajax Senior center who are protesting the city mayor who wants to take it over and give it to Parks and Rec because right now it's ran by a non profit.
Speaker C:And you know, one of them looked at me.
Speaker C:And when I introduce myself to people, new people, I never introduce myself as a candidate because I never want.
Speaker C:And other candidates advise against it.
Speaker C:They're like, always introduce yourself as a candidate.
Speaker C:I'm like, no, because I never want my first introduction to be politician.
Speaker C:I want it to be, hey, I'm just a person.
Speaker C:And then at the End.
Speaker C:If I feel appropriate, I will say, oh, hey, by the way, I'm running for office.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Because I never want the first impression to be, I'm only here because I'm running.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I want it to be, I'm here to make a connection with you, and that's why I'm here.
Speaker C:And so I just introduced myself and said, hey, my name is Ali.
Speaker C:And he said, well, it's good to see young people here.
Speaker C:We need young people here supporting us.
Speaker C:And I said, hey, well, listen, I'm sad to see that you're out here, but I'm happy to be here because I hope that in 30, 50 years, my daughter doesn't have to be out here, too.
Speaker C:He was like, that's a really cool thing that you just said.
Speaker C:And I was like, well, it's the truth.
Speaker C:Because years, decades, centuries, we keep having to do the same thing over and over and over again.
Speaker C:And eventually, maybe we'll get to a point in society where we won't have to protest anymore.
Speaker C:Things, people.
Speaker C:I mean, it'll never get there, but event, you know, people always have differences of opinions, but maybe eventually we can get to a point where our differences are at least around common ground and we can actually just have conversations.
Speaker C:Right.
Speaker C:But I just.
Speaker C:The things that keep me going are the people.
Speaker C:And seeing that people still have hope, even when I don't feel like there's hope out there.
Speaker C:Sometimes when seeing the redistricting, seeing whatever that is up in the White House, it's hard.
Speaker C:It is hard, but I know more than the average voter does.
Speaker C:And if the average voter knew what I did, they would probably be a lot less hopeful, to be honest.
Speaker C:But the fact that they don't and they're still hopeful, I'm like, yeah, you know what?
Speaker C:I can keep going.
Speaker B:And I think that there's too many.
Speaker D:Good people out there we're fighting for.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:And the fact that I wake up every day and I have two little kids that look up at me and they smile and they don't have any care in the world other than their mom is here and they're about to get food and watch Ms. Rachel and whatever, you know what I mean?
Speaker C:And, like, they are just happy as can be.
Speaker C:And I'm like, it's.
Speaker C:It's bad, but it's not that bad.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:You know, I may not be rich, but I'm rich today because my kids are healthy.
Speaker C:I may not be, you know, the wealthiest person in the world, but I'm wealthy in here because I have my Family.
Speaker C:And I'm very lucky in that.
Speaker C:And that's what keeps me going.
Speaker D:All right, take us out.
Speaker D:But for real.
Speaker C:Okay, but for real, why aren't you voting?
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, please, come on.
Speaker C:Well, no, because.
Speaker C:No, for real, because this last primary election, Montgomery county had a 6% turnout.
Speaker A:6%.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C: And in: Speaker C:So.
Speaker C:But for real, why aren't you voting?
Speaker B:Girls.
Speaker D:And we will get step it up.
Speaker A:Yourselves to the pole.
Speaker C:We will be knocking on your doors.
Speaker D:Expect to see us.
Speaker B:Expect to see Valerie in Clarksville, Tennessee at your door.
Speaker C:I mean, hey, we are.
Speaker C:We need volunteers.
Speaker C:We'll be knocking.
Speaker A:And now our musical segment.
Speaker A:Now that's what I call ok. Where Emerson and I each share a song with each other each week as representatives of our respective generations.
Speaker A:We tell you a little bit about the song or artist and then we press pause.
Speaker A:We share the song with each other and then we come back for our live reactions.
Speaker A:And we're capturing it all on a Spotify playlist linked in the show notes for you.
Speaker B:Usually, Valerie and I share a song to one another from.
Speaker B:Typically from our respective generations.
Speaker B:Sometimes in theme, sometimes not.
Speaker B:But when we have a guest, we just prioritize your song.
Speaker B:Ally, you gave like a menagerie of so many amazing songs, all Taylor Swift very reputation era coded because yes, fuck the patriarchy.
Speaker B:I just had to pick the man.
Speaker B:I just felt like that was so the one.
Speaker B:And I don't know if you've ever heard the man before, Val.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So I mean, maybe usually we have like a live, like live listen and watch and then we kind of gab about it.
Speaker B:But maybe if we all know the song, we just gab about why that one feels so good for you.
Speaker C:So I mean, just.
Speaker C:I mean being a Swiftie in general is just.
Speaker C:I mean, why not, right?
Speaker B:Of course.
Speaker C:If you aren't a swiftie, why aren't you?
Speaker A:Again, I'm slowly coming.
Speaker B:Val's getting there, okay.
Speaker B:She is.
Speaker C:We have to indoctrinate.
Speaker C:You prefer.
Speaker C:So the Man, I mean, I just showed Val.
Speaker C:I posted a video on my socials last night as I was pressing my campaign shirts to that song.
Speaker B:The Man.
Speaker C:Oh my God.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker C:So it's just like.
Speaker C:It just encompasses my life.
Speaker C:But the man, for me, it's like the soundtrack of not only my campaign, but what I went through.
Speaker C:And just the lyrics, wondering if I get there quicker if I was a man.
Speaker C:Because the reality is, is as a woman, not only just in politics, but in life is you have to do everything 10 times harder, prove yourself 10 times more because of your gender, because of your sex.
Speaker C:But for men, you're just.
Speaker C:You're let right in, you're approved, you're believed.
Speaker C:Like, we don't have that luxury of just being believed and accepted.
Speaker C:And, you know, when women are CEOs, it's just, oh, how many people did you sleep with to get that position?
Speaker C:Not how hard did you work?
Speaker C:You know?
Speaker C:And so as a woman in politics, my.
Speaker C:The difference between me and, like, my male opponent is he doesn't get all the sexual comments and hatred towards him.
Speaker C:Like, I get comments about my body all the time.
Speaker C:I get comments about, like, if I'm sleeping with people and I get rape threats and all this other.
Speaker C:Like, I'm sure he's not getting those.
Speaker C:Like, are people talking about, like, oh, like, are you gonna go sleep with, you know, Marsha Blackburn to get this position?
Speaker C:Like, you know what I mean?
Speaker C:Like, that's not gonna happen.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker C:It's not gonna happen.
Speaker D:And so nobody's saying that to a man.
Speaker C:No.
Speaker C:And the other thing is, is in politics, politics, women typically have to get asked between, like, seven to nine times to run for office before they say yes men.
Speaker C:Once.
Speaker B:Once.
Speaker B:I figured it wasn't once.
Speaker C:And it's like, hey, man, you ever think about running for office?
Speaker B:No, not really.
Speaker C:But sure, I'll do it.
Speaker B:My favorite joke is, men take mushrooms, and then they're having epiphanies than I.
Speaker C:Had when I was six.
Speaker B:They're just like.
Speaker B:They're like, wait, I could change the world?
Speaker B:I'm like, no, shit.
Speaker C:I was six years old.
Speaker B:Like, I want to change the world.
Speaker C:And they just, like, they just waltz.
Speaker C:And then we work so hard to do these things, and they just.
Speaker C:It's like when you do a group project, right?
Speaker C:And, yeah, all the work, and then the one guy that's on the team or they'll supposed to be on the team, does nothing the whole time.
Speaker C:And then you go present in front of the class.
Speaker C:And he's like, yeah, I did all of it.
Speaker B:He's like, hey, guys, welcome.
Speaker C:And I'm like, hey, you haven't said a word.
Speaker B:Where have you been, by the way?
Speaker D:I literally just experienced that at a conference, and I had to sell him.
Speaker D:I'm like, I'm very frustrated that you did nothing for this, and you're gonna take as much credit anyway.
Speaker C:That's the man.
Speaker B:Oh, that is the man.
Speaker D:And the reality, as I like to remind People is patriarchy hurts everybody.
Speaker D:It's hurting the men, too.
Speaker C:I saw a tick tock, and I think people have heard this, but they're like, you know, if there were no men in the world, then who would protect women?
Speaker C:And this husband asked the wife.
Speaker C:He was like, if there was no men in the world, then who would protect you?
Speaker C:And she was like, from what?
Speaker D:Yeah, from what?
Speaker C:And he got offended.
Speaker C:Man or the bear?
Speaker C:I mean, I'm like, yeah.
Speaker C:And he got offended.
Speaker C:He was like, what do you mean, from what?
Speaker C:She was like, protect me from what?
Speaker B:From what?
Speaker C:She's like, from men.
Speaker C:Because who would I need?
Speaker C:Because the women are hurting women.
Speaker B:Oh, my God.
Speaker D:That's such malarkey, man.
Speaker A:And now for our last segment of the show.
Speaker A:Welcome to Fire Dumpster Phoenix.
Speaker A:It is rough out there, y', all,.
Speaker D:And we need all the hope we can get.
Speaker A:It's time to go dumpster diving for some positive news and rides from the leftover Happy Meal.
Speaker A:Actions together.
Speaker D:Mine is very simple this week because I was just at this conference just outside Denver in Aurora.
Speaker D:Shout out to Frank, who's one of the shuttle drivers there at the Spring Hill Suites.
Speaker D:He was just one of those people who.
Speaker D:And this is like, again, listeners, everything is nuanced.
Speaker D:Just because we say smash the patriarchy doesn't mean we hate all men.
Speaker D:What a novel idea.
Speaker D:But Frank was this just one of those people who just immediately makes you feel cared for.
Speaker A:And it's just like, tell me about yourself and what do you like?
Speaker D:Just, you know, the conversation was just so sweet.
Speaker D:And then he was like, can you hold my phone while I'm on hold with this?
Speaker A:I'm trying to find out if my.
Speaker D:Favorite car builder is going to be at this car show this weekend so I can get him to autograph my engine.
Speaker D:And I'm just like, okay.
Speaker B:It was so sweet.
Speaker D:I just love meeting people like that.
Speaker D:They just make you remember how meaningful those brief interactions can be.
Speaker C:That's sweet.
Speaker B:I pulled this local one because I thought when I saw the title, I was like, musical Petting Zoo.
Speaker B:I was like, so are the goats playing instruments?
Speaker B:They kind of clickbaited me.
Speaker B:And it worked.
Speaker B:So, in partnership with the CMA foundation at CMA Festival, KHS America, which is a musical instruments distribution company, set up a booth offering free music classes to the festival goers.
Speaker B:Cute.
Speaker B:So they could come by and just, like, get a free little harmonica.
Speaker B:And they were doing, like, little harmonica lessons, which I thought was really cute.
Speaker B:I think they were also from the article they were doing like ukulele or drum lessons also.
Speaker B:Or you could just come by their booths and, like, check out any of their instruments.
Speaker B:I just feel like there was kind of a. I don't know, sometimes when you go to a festival or just,.
Speaker C:Like, the booth experience.
Speaker B:Experience, they just, like, hand you some tut, and then you're just, like, on your way out, you know?
Speaker B:But I just thought it was really cool and sweet.
Speaker B:And, you know, some of the festival goers that were interviewed in the article were like, yeah, I, like, left with the harmonica and, like, I know how.
Speaker C:To do a G chord or whatever.
Speaker B:And, like, it's really fun.
Speaker D:Love it.
Speaker B:So I just thought that was very sweet and just, like, a sweet local story.
Speaker D:And that's my kind of petting zoo where there's no animals.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker D:Shitty situations.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And everything is just kind of gross and weird.
Speaker B:So I was like, thank God it's instruments.
Speaker C:Allie, what's your good news?
Speaker C:So my daughter Adelie, she's a Girl Scout.
Speaker C:She just kind of advanced up to junior from Brownie, and her troop sold enough Girl Scout cookies this season.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker C:And they sold enough cookies that they were able to do this overnight zoo trip at the Nashville Zoo, and it's called the Night Owl Program.
Speaker C:So she just went and did that this past weekend.
Speaker C:And so she got to stay overnight with her troop.
Speaker C:They got to see animals up close and personal.
Speaker C:She got to learn about, like, they did this whole, like, class of, like, educational thing, and then they got to sleep in the bear den, and then they got to wake up and then do another, like, educational program thing, and then they got to spend the whole day at the zoo.
Speaker B:Oh, my God.
Speaker B:What a core memory for her.
Speaker C:So she had tons of fun.
Speaker C:And then this whole week, right now, she has Girl Scout camp.
Speaker C:So she's doing all sorts of amazing, fun stuff this week.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker C:And it's her birthday.
Speaker D:And also, shout out to sign the petition for no data center next to Nashville Zoo.
Speaker D:Correct.
Speaker D:We do not want to put anybody, including those animals, in that position.
Speaker C:No, just no data centers at all in general.
Speaker C:Yeah, we don't need them.
Speaker B:All right, let's do a little bit of rapid fire Q and a little.
Speaker D:Pew, pew, pew, where we just, you.
Speaker C:Know, ask you some silly questions, don't.
Speaker B:Think too much about it, and we'll just.
Speaker B:Off the top of the dome.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker C:Okay.
Speaker A:All right.
Speaker B:Ally, what is a seemingly trivial thing that you can't live without?
Speaker C:Probably my phone.
Speaker D:When you were a teen, what famous person were you obsessed with?
Speaker D:Or did you Want to be just,.
Speaker C:I was obsessed with Justin Bieber.
Speaker C:I got a belief tattoo.
Speaker B:Oh my God.
Speaker B:You said I'm a believer.
Speaker C:I'm a believer.
Speaker D:Still am.
Speaker B:Yeah, me too.
Speaker B:What is a place that's on your travel bucket list?
Speaker C:Ooh, okay.
Speaker C:It used to be Paris, but my mom brought me after the election in 24.
Speaker C:So now I would say probably Germany.
Speaker C:Would be Now I would love to go to Germany.
Speaker D:Okay.
Speaker D:If you could raid someone's closet, who would it be?
Speaker C:Taylor.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:What is something that you wish more.
Speaker C:People knew about you that I don't get a lot of sleep.
Speaker C:Like, I learned I'm up to like 2:00am every night, two or three o', clock, and then I get up at five or six, so just go easy on me.
Speaker C:And I don't drink coffee either, so.
Speaker C:Oh, yeah.
Speaker C:So like, stop inviting me to get coffee, please.
Speaker C:Yeah, people like, you want to go get coffee?
Speaker C:No, I don't.
Speaker A:See, I feel like yet.
Speaker D:Coffee is our cultural shorthand for I want to meet up with you in a time contained way at a public place that is not a meal.
Speaker C:This was so much fun.
Speaker B:Thank you for coming out and chatting with us.
Speaker C:Where can people go find you?
Speaker C:Yeah, so My website is ally, a, l, l, I, e, the letter p. Number4tn.com.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then.
Speaker D:Number4tn.com.
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:And then I'm on social media.
Speaker C:Ali, the number4tn on Instagram, Facebook, I'm on Threads.
Speaker C:And then Ali Phillips on Tick Tock.
Speaker D:Amazing.
Speaker C:Thank you so much.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Vote.
Speaker C:August 6th and November 3rd.
Speaker A:Yay.
Speaker A:This has been another episode of but.
Speaker B:For Real, hosted by Valerie Martin and Emerson Ryder and edited by Volt Productions.
Speaker A:But for Real is produced by the Gaia center for Embodied Healing.
Speaker A:The Gaia center offers individual couples and group therapy for clients across Tennessee and in person in our Nashville office, as well as coaching and other programs for clients worldwide.
Speaker A:For show notes or to learn more about our work, visit Gaia Center Co or find us on Instagram, hegaiacenter and utforrealpod.
Speaker B:But For Real is intended for education and entertainment and is not a substitute for mental health treatment.
Speaker A:Also, since we host this podcast primarily as humans rather than clinicians, we are not shy about sharing our opinions here on everything from snacks and movies to politicians and social issues.
Speaker B:Thanks so much for listening to this episode.
Speaker A:See you next time, bestie.
