Finding Truth in a Gaslighted Nation

Why I write, why it's free, and who I trust to tell the truth

I started this Substack for two reasons.

First, I needed a constructive outlet for my anger at Donald Trump and the Christian nationalist movement.

Over the past year, we’ve watched the Project 2025 architects—Stephen Miller and Russell Vought—gain influence, while a self-serving, corrupt leader governs with increasing impunity, enabled by a Supreme Court majority that has repeatedly expanded executive power. Project 2025, along with the Christian nationalist “Seven Mountains” mandate, seeks to transform democracy into a theocratic plutocracy by seizing unitary control over seven spheres: government, education, media, religion, family, business, and the arts.

If you’re new to MadMotherWrites, I’ve written several pieces on Project 2025 and Christian nationalism. The post linked below is the best single starting point for understanding the movement’s purpose and methods.

Second, I started writing to share truth with a wider audience than just family and close friends. My research has led me through the Affordable Care Act, the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Trump-era corruption, threats of military action against some countries and the use of force against others, and much more. Over time, the sheer volume of reading and reporting has sharpened my writing—and I hope it’s made the newsletter more useful, clearer, and more satisfying to read.

In these past few months, Substack has helped keep me sane. I hope it has also contributed, in some small way, to your own understanding of facts and truth in a nation built on gaslighting. I don’t actively chase an audience, and I want my work to be accessible, so I’ve kept it free—with an option to subscribe for anyone who wants to support it. To all of you who choose to read, thank you. A writer needs readers.

As we begin another year of corporate-media complacency, reflexive “both-sides” deflection, and a steady stream of far-right lies and propaganda, I’ll leave you with a few Substacks I read or listen to regularly - voices I trust to tell the truth, just as I strive to do. If you try any of them, let me know what you think.

Finally, a heartfelt thank-you to my daughter, Lindsay, who has contributed some of the smartest work on this Substack. She’s tackled Hollywood’s role in the rise of MAGA, the AI/human intersection (in a compelling two-part series), and a deeply researched piece that cuts through the noise on inflation. I’m hoping - selfishly - that we’ll get much more from her in the year ahead.

Here are the voices I recommend:

Meidas+ (MeidasTouch Network) - founded by three brothers Ben, Brett, and Jordy. A pro-democracy news network with millions of viewers and a large roster of contributors, independently owned and operated.

Adam Kinzinger - Former U.S. Representative; member of the Jan. 6 investigation committee.

Jim Acosta - Former CNN journalist.

Elizabeth Graham - Studied Russian for 10 years; spent 20+ years in Russia and Central Asia managing multi-million-dollar programs. Author of From Democracy to DemocrAZY.

Scott Dworkin - Longtime anti-Trump organizer and communicator since 2016; among the sharpest critics of corporate media failures.

Jess Piper - Executive Director for Blue Missouri. Former nominee for State Rep, ‘22. Rural mom fighting for public schools. Speaker and writer.

Timothy Snyder - Renowned historian of Central and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, and the Holocaust; author of On Tyranny. Richard C. Levin Professor of History at Yale and permanent fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.