Capitol Courage

Ryan O'Toole
  • 5.0 (7)
  • POLITICS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to Capitol Courage—where politics meets bold ideas and fearless conversations. We’re here to break down the biggest stories in Virginia and across the country with hot takes, real talk, and a little fun along the way. Whether it’s policy fights, political showdowns, or the leaders making waves — we’re diving into the courage it takes to stand up, speak out, and shake things up.

  1. 11/06/2025

    Episode 17: It's a Mandate!!!

    Call it what you want to: a Democratic trifecta, a blue wave, a landslide. Whatever it is, Virginia voters spoke clearly this week in the 2025 elections and gave an affordability mandate to the three new statewide officials — Gov-elect Abigail Spanberger, Lt. Governor-elect Ghazala Hashmi, and Attorney General-elect Jay Jones — and the largest Virginia House Democratic majority since 1989 after they flipped 13 seats for a now incredible 64/100 seats. And while we live in Virginia and care the most about our home state, it was incredibly exciting - and dare we say hopeful - to see a national trend of courageous voters opposing and fighting the Trump administration and its weird obsession with fascism over affordability. From New Jersey to New York City to Georgia, voters spoke loudly and clearly and delivered huge wins to folks including NJ Gov-elect Mikie Sherrill and NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. While the elite media might love to debate the path forward for Democrats, over here at the pod we would say it’s simpler than that: voters don’t care how you get there, they just want a relentless and bold focus on making life more affordable now. We’ll be watching all of these newly elected Democrats to make sure they deliver on their promises and prioritize regular people, not corporate elites.

    31 min

  2. 10/31/2025

    Episode 16: Virginia House Candidate John McAuliff and the Courageous Redistricting Push

    After Rhena’s recent trip to Greece (hear more on today’s episode), we’re back!! And it’s a good thing, because we have A LOT to talk about. This whole podcast exists to highlight politicians and other civic leaders who are showing the courage needed to meet the moment, as well as those who are showing the cowardice that reveals their ineptitude. And after talking about the need for Democrats to approach the redistricting fight with the same fire Republicans are using, we couldn’t be more excited to post today’s episode amid Virginia Democratic leaders pushing a bold plan to give Virginia a stronger voice in our nation’s redistricting battle. As if that wasn’t exciting enough, we’re now only 4 days out from the 2025 Virginia elections in which we hope to see a new Democratic trifecta elected and a Democratic sweep of the statewide offices. As part of our recent string of House candidate interviews, we’re excited today to welcome John McAuliff — candidate for Virginia HD-30 — to the pod. Stay tuned here to Capitol Courage for our response to the elections next week and in the coming weeks as we highlight the transition towards a new Governor and the 2026 session.

    51 min

  3. 10/03/2025

    Episode 15: Virginia House Candidate Lily Franklin and the Shutdown

    Welcome back listeners!! We’re now on day 3 of the federal government shutdown, and on this week’s episode we dive into the lose-lose situation surrounding the fact that Republicans have shut down the government all to let healthcare get more expensive. It’s not a typical episode for us with heroes and villains. Increasingly so many of the fights gripping our country — the shutdown, the attacks on free speech, Trump declaring war on American citizens and weaponizing law enforcement against those who simply disagree with him — have a common theme: we have a courage problem. We hope that through this podcast allows us to dive into what it takes to be courageous in today’s political environment, a task that gets harder and harder every day. Speaking of, we’re thrilled to welcome to the pod this week another outstanding Virginia House candidate, Lily Franklin running in HD-41 centered around Blacksburg and Virginia Tech. A second-time candidate after losing in a Trump district by only 183 votes in 2023, she’s back and running an incredible race focused on what regular people need to have life be more affordable.

    54 min

  4. 09/18/2025

    Episode 14: Virginia House Candidate Jessica Anderson

    Welcome back listeners! Vacations and some personal leave have gotten in our way over the last month, and we’re so thrilled to be back. We’re onto Episode 14, where we begin what will be a recurring theme over the next 6 weeks: highlighting battleground candidates in the 2025 Virginia House races. There are some incredible courageous and progressive candidates running for the House this year, and we’re excited this week to welcome Jessica Anderson, candidate in HD-71, to the pod. We also begin a discussion today that we’ll keep up in the coming weeks, diving into the growing cowardice all around our nation’s political discourse these days. Whether it’s elected officials, colleges, media companies, or so many other so-called ‘institutions,’ the cowardice of so many people and organizations in positions of power towards the Trump administration is changing the fabric of our country more and more away from democracy and more towards authoritarianism and fascism. We hope you’ll stay with us on the pod as we keep lifting up this massive courage problem in America, and as we say at the end of every episode, keep showing up where it matters.

    51 min

  5. 08/15/2025

    Episode 13: Senator Stella Pekarsky on Primarying an Incumbent and Banning Hidden Fees; Plus the Latest on the Heroes and Cowards of the Redistricting Wars

    Welcome back to Capitol Courage! We’ve had some vacations recently during the dog days of summer, so bear with us during a spottier schedule. You’ve probably noticed that the redistricting wars around the country are only getting hotter and hotter, with California Democrats’ press conference rolling out their Election Rigging Response Act (learn more here). This is undoubtedly one of the most important fights in the U.S. right now, and with loads of heroes and cowards on all sides, we break down the latest in the fight in Texas, California, New York, and even Virginia. And we’re thrilled to welcome to the pod this week State Senator Stella Pekarsky, who embodies courage serving Virginia’s SD-36. From serving on the Fairfax County School Board, defeating a longtime incumbent in a 2023 primary, and leading the charge on several legislative fights — including this year banning hidden junk fees — hear her break down what courage in politics means to her.

    1 hr

  6. 08/05/2025

    Episode 12: Sen. Russet Perry on Data Center Proliferation, the Fight to Protect Virginia Colleges from Trump, and Putting Lipstick on the Pig of the Republican Budget

    Welcome to Episode 12 of Capitol Courage!! Can you also believe we’re almost a teenager?? Around the pod, we’re feeling really happy with the name we picked for this podcast — we see more and more people these days talk about the courage crisis in American politics, by which we mean that there’s simply not enough elected officials or policymakers with the courage necessary to meet this perilous moment in our country. We’re excited to continue growing this podcast with you all and highlight the courageous folks around the country, and those cowards who are failing this moment. This week’s episode brings us talks around some heroes — those fighting to keep Virginia colleges and universities free from the interference of the Trump administration, including Virginia Senate Democrats — and cowards, especially those who are trying to sell the dangerous and deadly Republican budget bill. And we’re thrilled to be joined this week by Virginia Sen. Russet Perry, who has been one of the General Assembly’s leaders in fighting the entirely unregulated proliferation of data centers in Virginia, impacting regular people’s backyards and wallets. As always, DM us with any suggestions on future fights to cover and find us on social @CapitolCourage on Twitter and @CapitolCouragePod on Instagram and TikTok.

    59 min

  7. 07/25/2025

    Episode 11: Delegate Paul Krizek and Protecting Consumers from Predatory Skill Games

    Welcome back to Capitol Courage, where we’re doing our best to stay on top of all of the heroes and cowards making news in politics today, both in Virginia and across the country. Today’s episode is stacked with discussion around some of the week’s biggest fights, ranging from South Park excoriating Paramount and Donald Trump through the power of laughter and satire; some Democrats maybe, actually showing courage and the willingness to go for the jugular on redistricting, and the complete cowardice of Congressional Republicans protecting a dead pedophile and a sexual predator in the White House. On our home front in Virginia, join us also for a great discussion with Del. Paul Krizek, a leader in the Virginia General Assembly on gaming issues, where we break down why the fight around so-called “skill” games (aka gas station slot machines) matters to you.

    1h 7m

  8. 07/17/2025

    Episode 10: Del. Holly Seibold on Taking on Big Tech and Big Gaming & What Republicans Hope You Miss in Their Budget

    Welcome listeners to Episode 10 of Capitol Courage! We’re thrilled to be celebrating double digits with you all. We’ve got some exciting conversations teed up for the coming weeks, and we’d love to hear from you on what big fights you think we should focus on next, or guests you’d like us to interview. Today we’re thrilled to welcome Virginia Delegate Holly Seibold to the pod, as she shares an all-too-rare perspective on what it means to stand up for your constituents, aka the regular people without a paid lobbyist. Whether it’s fighting a proposed casino in Tysons Corner or taking on big tech companies like Amazon to fight for consumer protection, she’s showing courage where it matters. And we also highlight a few of the less-publicized parts of the recent Ugly Republican Budget that is now law. Spoiler alert, they all make life more expensive for you and give special handouts to corporate special interests. Whether it’s making it harder for Medicare to lower prescription drug costs, restricting college student loan options, or forcing you to keep paying some private company to file your taxes, Republicans are hell-bent on raising the cost of living for regular people higher and higher. Lastly, join us for Part 1 of a sure-to-be-evolving conversation around how states are approaching redistricting, with some cowardly moves coming from Republican-led states. Will Democratic-led states have the courage to respond? We shall see..

    1h 6m
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About

Welcome to Capitol Courage—where politics meets bold ideas and fearless conversations. We’re here to break down the biggest stories in Virginia and across the country with hot takes, real talk, and a little fun along the way. Whether it’s policy fights, political showdowns, or the leaders making waves — we’re diving into the courage it takes to stand up, speak out, and shake things up.

Information

  • Creator
    Ryan O'Toole
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Ryan O'Toole
  • Show Website
    Capitol Courage