🔥 REHUMANIZE CONFERENCE — OCTOBER 16–18, CHICAGO

Check out the 2026 Rehumanize Conference, October 16–18 in Chicago and online. It brings together activists and people with experience of dehumanization and violence around a consistent life ethic. Our campaign is a Platinum Sponsor, and I’ll be participating, so come meet me in person.

Conference & tickets:
https://www.rehumanizeintl.org/conference
Rehumanize International:
https://www.rehumanizeintl.org/

In this episode of Unorthodoxing, I sit down with Lauren Pope, executive director of Rehumanize International, to talk about political transformation, the Consistent Life Ethic and a movement that refuses to divide human dignity along partisan lines.

Lauren traces her journey from anti-war Democrat to Republican to politically homeless after 2016. A life-changing pregnancy reshaped her thinking about abortion, while her search for a politics opposing abortion, war, the death penalty and other violence led her to Rehumanize.

Lauren explains Rehumanize’s secular, nonpartisan Consistent Life Ethic: recognizing every person’s humanity and opposing aggressive violence, including abortion, capital punishment, euthanasia, torture, unjust war and police brutality.

We also discuss common ground across political divides; Rehumanize’s chapters, student affiliates, Life Matters Journal, Create | Encounter, advocacy and membership; and building an inclusive movement where people of different faiths and backgrounds can work together without theological or partisan uniformity.

FOLLOW REHUMANIZE INTERNATIONAL
Website: https://www.rehumanizeintl.org/
Conference: https://www.rehumanizeintl.org/conference
X/Twitter: https://x.com/RehumanizeIntl
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rehumanizeintl
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLwEOT_fZznDi402wdzpH7w
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rehumanizeintl/

FOLLOW LAUREN POPE
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-pope-062889163/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cle_lauren/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@cle_lauren

FOLLOW MARIA OSWALT
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rehumanizemaria/
X/Twitter: https://x.com/RehumanizeMaria
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariaoswalt/

What happens when people from different third-party and independent political traditions decide to work together instead of competing for the same small piece of political territory?

In this solo episode of Unorthodoxing, I look ahead to the 2026 Independent National Convention, taking place September 23–25 in Washington, D.C. I’ll be there as the American Solidarity Party’s candidate for Governor of Illinois, meeting independent candidates, organizers, reformers and political leaders from around the country.

I talk about what I hope to accomplish at the convention: building relationships, learning from other campaigns, introducing more people to our Vick-Pierce write-in campaign, and exploring what real cooperation outside the two-party system can look like.

A major part of that story is the growing relationship between the Illinois Solidarity Party and the Independence Party. My running mate, Gary Pierce, had previously been running for governor on the Independence Party ticket before joining me as our candidate for lieutenant governor. Today, Gary and I are both involved with both political communities in different ways, giving us a firsthand opportunity to test what cross-party collaboration can actually look like.

I also discuss the Independence Party’s recent vote to endorse our write-in campaign, and how helpful its members have been in helping us gain attention and opportunities surrounding the Independent National Convention.

I also talk about why independent politics needs more than individual candidates. It needs relationships, institutions, organizers, media, donors and volunteers that can last beyond a single election.

The timing matters for our campaign. We’ve recently produced our first campaign ads, and now we need to get them in front of voters. Producing the message is one challenge; distribution is another.

If you want to learn more about our campaign, volunteer, or contribute, visit:

Campaign: https://www.votevickusa.com/

Contribute: https://secure.anedot.com/friends-of-mike-vick/votevickusa
Independent National Convention: https://independentnationalconvention.com/
American Solidarity Party: https://www.solidarity-party.org/
Illinois Solidarity Party: https://www.ilsolidarity.com/
Independence Party: https://www.indyvoters.org/
Unorthodoxing: https://www.unorthodoxing.com/

00:00 — Why I’m Heading to the Independent National Convention
02:28 — Politics Beyond the Two-Party Boxes
04:30 — Why Independent Parties Need to Collaborate
06:54 — The Independence Party Endorses Our Campaign
09:19 — What Healthy Multiparty Politics Could Look Like
11:38 — Our First Campaign Ads & Getting the Message Out
13:52 — Can Independent Politics Build Something That Lasts?
14:50 — Following Along From Washington
15:16 — Campaign, Party & Convention Links

What happens when your politics change dramatically—but one of your deepest convictions doesn’t?

In this episode of Unorthodoxing, I sit down with activist, artist, doula, student and mother Connie Becker for a conversation about political transformation, human dignity, race, faith, Indigenous sovereignty and motherhood.

Connie’s political journey began in middle school, when she became an enthusiastic Trump supporter and was drawn into the online alt-right pipeline. She explains what changed her mind: not ridicule or political shaming, but relationships with people on the left who took her seriously, defended their beliefs and engaged her in real conversation.

As Connie moved away from conservative politics, became anti-capitalist and reconsidered her understanding of race and American history, one conviction remained: her opposition to abortion. We discuss why she remained pro-life, her family’s experience with abortion and the controversy over graphic imagery in pro-life activism.

Connie also explains her anti-capitalism, confronting internalized racism, and her involvement with Black Lives Matter, Indigenous sovereignty and Puerto Rican advocacy. She discusses Land Back as a broader conversation about sovereignty, stewardship, resources, representation and reconciliation.

The conversation then turns to Connie’s identity as a “decolonized Christian.” Drawing on her upbringing in the Black church, she reflects on how Black Christian institutions emerged in response to segregation, arguing that Christianity need not be filtered through white American cultural assumptions.

Connie reflects on motherhood, raising a multiracial son in an individualistic society and her desire to teach him human dignity, community, empathy and respect rather than defining worth through wealth, dominance or conventional gender expectations.

• 00:00 — Introduction
• 02:36 — From teenage Trump supporter to leftist activist
• 08:34 — What pulled Connie out of the alt-right pipeline?
• 10:15 — Why Connie remained pro-life
• 13:10 — Should pro-life activists use graphic abortion imagery?
• 15:04 — Why Connie became anti-capitalist
• 18:46 — Race, internalized racism and changing political perspectives
• 22:42 — Black Lives Matter, Indigenous sovereignty and Puerto Rico
• 24:17 — Colonialism, Puerto Rico and Indigenous identity
• 26:58 — What does “Land Back” actually mean?
• 31:05 — Becoming a “decolonized Christian”
• 38:07 — Motherhood in a hyper-individualistic culture
• 40:07 — Raising a boy beyond machismo and the manosphere
• 42:32 — Where to follow Connie

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@connietalkspolitics

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/connietalkspolitics/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@connietalkspolitics

Unorthodoxing explores the people, ideas and movements that don't fit comfortably inside America's conventional political boxes. Through political autobiography and long-form conversation, the show asks not simply what people believe, but how they got there—and what their experiences can teach us about politics, faith, culture and one another.