This week on the podcast, Blaire sits down with Reverend Stephen Tillett, Democratic candidate for Maryland State Senate in District 32, pastor, Air Force veteran, former NAACP leader, and possibly the only politician willing to discuss public policy, Star Trek, and cottage homes in the same conversation.

Pastor T talks about growing up in Washington, DC, serving congregations across Maryland for decades, and why he says this political moment calls for people focused on service, not climbing the career ladder in Annapolis. The conversation dives into skyrocketing utility bills, housing affordability, tiny homes, healthcare access, corporate influence in politics, and why “policy is a choice.”

Blaire and Pastor T also get into Maryland redistricting fights, political courage (or the noticeable lack of it), ICE and immigration policy, environmental concerns around data centers, the criminal legal system, and why poverty in America can feel like “quicksand.” There’s also an unexpectedly passionate discussion about shower niches, luxury apartments nobody can afford, and the fact that poor people are often working harder than everybody else.

The episode closes with Pastor T’s call to “resist, rebel, and rebuild,” plus the now sacred Cat Ladies for America tradition: “Claws out. Meow.” And yes, he actually did the meow.

Find Pastor T’s campaign at FriendsOfStephenTillett.com.

Links to activism resources, representatives, and ways to get involved are in our bio.