Interview: Bucks County’s Joe Khan on Why He Wants to Be Pennsylvania’s Next Attorney General

Khan recently served as Bucks County Solicitor, was Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of PA before that, and began his career in the Philadelphia DA's office.

Interview: The 365 Foundation’s Natalie Venezia on Promoting Women’s Empowerment Through Art, Advocacy, and Community Service

The Landsdale-based foundation, through strategic partnerships with local organizations, strives to foster a more inclusive and equitable society.

Radical Independent Media, Feminist Struggles, and International Women’s Day: A View from Latin America, with Dawn Paley

Dawn Paley is editor of Ojalá, a feminist digital weekly providing reporting and analysis from Latin America.

Interview: Ralph Young on His New Book ‘American Patriots: A Short History of Dissent’

In this episode of our podcast The Signal, Editor Cyril Mychalejko speaks with Temple University Professor Ralph Young about the history of progressive dissent in the United States.

Interview: Black History Is a History of Resistance and Liberation, with Rann Miller

Editor Cyril Mychalejko speaks with Rann about his book "Resistance Stories from Black History for Kids" and about why we are seeing a war being waged against Black History being taught in K-12 public schools and in colleges and universities across the country.

Understanding the Nation’s Mounting Book Banning Crisis in Public Schools, with PEN America’s Sabrina Baêta

From July 2021 to June 2023, PEN America recorded 5,894 instances of book bans across 41 states and 247 public school districts. And Pennsylvania was one of the worst states, coming in behind just Florida and Texas.

Looking Back at Season 1 of the Bucks County Beacon Podcast ‘The Signal’

We dove into Bucks County history, covered the school board wars, examined the growing threat of Christian Nationalism, discussed parenting a trans child, and much more.

The Signal (Episode 20) | Notes on Bucks County: Reflections on Politics in Pennsylvania’s Most Curious and Captivating Collar County, with Andy Warren and Hal Marcovitz

This is the last Episode of Season 1 of The Signal. We'll be back in January 2024.

The Signal (Episode 19) | A Conversation with André Gagné About His Book ‘American Evangelicals for Trump: Dominion, Spiritual Warfare, and the End Times’

Learn about the far-right charismatic Christian movement that seeks to seize Dominion over society's Seven Mountains: family, religion, education, media, entertainment, business, and government.

The Signal (Episode 18) | The Christian Right’s Crusade for Power and War on Democracy, with Katherine Stewart

"The leadership of the Christian Right has for decades been telling us that they want to demolish the public school system and replace it with Christian schools funded by taxpayer dollars," said Stewart.

The Signal (Episode 17) | After Misogyny: How the Law Fails Women and What to Do about It, with Julie C. Suk

I speak with Fordham University School of Law Professor Julie Suk about how to create a legal system free of misogyny in the United States.

The Signal (Episode 16) | American Carnage: An Officer’s Duty to Warn, with Steve Nolan

I talk to this Bucks County author and poet about his book "American Carnage" and why he feels compelled as a retired military officer and mental health professional to speak out about the threat former President Donald Trump poses to U.S. democracy.

The Signal (Episode 15) | Introducing Our New Gen Z Podcast ‘The Civic Circle’, with Sarah Zhang, Mallorie Marsan, and Alexandra Coffey

These students from Bucks County will be focusing on PA politics and want the podcast to serve as a call to action for all young people to get involved in the civic process and demand change.

The Signal (Episode 14) | Fighting for Students’ and Teachers’ Rights in Central Bucks School District, with ACLU’s Witold Walczak

Central Bucks is under fire for allegedly creating a toxic environment for LGBTQ+ students, vindictively targeting a teacher, and spending more than $1 million for reputation laundering.

The Signal (Episode 13) | Peace Activism from Bucks County to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with Barbara Simmons

Barbara Simmons was executive director of The Peace Center for 30 years. She was founding director of PeaceTalks radio, producing documentaries from across the globe. And she continues to be a force for peace and justice in Bucks County.

The Signal (Episode 12) | The New Apostolic Reformation: A Revolutionary Theocratic Movement Coming for Pennsylvania, the Nation, and the World

Frederick Clarkson unpacks this GOP-linked far-right theocratic movement that wants to build a "kingdom revolution" led by an "army of believers" to usher in Christian dominion over what they call the "Seven Mountains": religion, family, education, government, media, entertainment and business.

The Signal (Episode 11) | Unmasking Moms for Liberty’s Extremism, with Olivia Little and Diana Leygerman

On the first half of the show Olivia talks about her undercover reporting at the Moms for Liberty summit in Philadelphia, then Diana joins to explain why she and so many others in Bucks County refuse to co-parent with these extremists.

The Signal (Episode 10) | Raising a Transgender Child in an Increasingly Transphobic Country, with Brett Freeman

Brett talks about being a dad to his daughter Lily and what it's like in this Transphobic moment we find ourselves in nationally, and in Bucks County (specifically in Central Bucks School District).

The Signal (Episode 9) | Feminicide, Impunity, and the U.S.’s Bloody History in Guatemala, with Victoria Sanford

Victoria speaks about her new book "Textures of Terror: The Murder of Claudina Isabel Velasquez and Her Father's Quest for Justice," which she wrote, in part, "to help readers understand the violence and corruption that drives migration."

The Signal (Episode 8) | Students and Teachers Fight Back Against Book Banning in Central York, with Christina Ellis and Ben Hodge

What does successful student- and teacher-led community resistance to book banning look like? These two #FReadom fighters share their story – and strategy and tactics.

The Signal (Episode 7) | Understanding Backlash Politics and Religious Conservatives Inciting School Board Wars, with PRRI’s Melissa Deckman

The ideology and worldview of conservative activist parents is creating and contributing to the ongoing school board wars.

The Signal (Episode 6) | The Right’s Long War on Public Education, with Jennifer Berkshire

The co-author of "A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School" and author of the forthcoming "The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual" speaks to the Bucks County Beacon about the the backlash politics driving the so-called parental rights' movement looking to capture, transform, and potentially dismantle public education.

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