Stone Mountain, GA — State Sen. Kim Jackson is documenting her first legislative session — with slices of her unique life as an Episcopal priest and hobby farmer — in the new podcast “God, Goats & Government.”

The idea for the podcast was sparked after WABE’s Rose Scott asked Jackson if she was going to chronicle her first year in office.

“That was the little kick I needed to make me really do it,” Jackson told The Tucker Observer.

Jackson became the Georgia Senate’s first openly LGBTQ member after being elected to the Senate District 41 seat last November. She replaced Sen. Steve Henson, who retired after serving nearly 30 years in the legislature. The district includes Scottdale, Pine Lake, Stone Mountain, Clarkston, Tucker and Lilburn.

Jackson has been a guest on several podcasts, but this is the first time doing one of her own. The desire to reflect on her experiences during the legislative session motivated her to add the task to her busy life as a pastor, state senator and, along with her wife Trina, owner of six goats on their farm in Stone Mountain.

“It was either take the time to journal every day or set aside an hour a week to do the podcast and obviously the podcast won out,” she said.

Jackson also wanted to make lawmaking more accessible to everyday people.

“I try to be intentional about explaining what is Crossover Day? How does this process work?” she said. “It felt like before I got into politics, I had no idea how it worked, so that’s been one of the purposes around it is to open this up for more people to understand the legislative process.”

Jackson also opens up about the frustrations of a session battling her Republican colleagues over their numerous attempts to restrict voting in Georgia.

“I wouldn’t call it therapy, but it does have a therapeutic nature to it,” she said.

“The biggest challenge is figuring out what’s OK to say knowing that I don’t know who’s going to hear it,” she added.

But she’s enjoyed documenting the dropping of her first bills. One, Senate Bill 75, is a bipartisan measure that expands protections for stalking victims. The Senate passed it in March and it’s now under consideration in the House.

Jackson also appreciates host Shereetha Jackson (no relation) helping her reflect each week and making sure she’s practicing self-care.

“I know Shereetha is going to ask me every week what I’m doing to take care of myself so to be able to answer that question, I make sure I take care of myself,” Jackson said.

The podcast launched in January and will end with a post-session review sometime after Sine Die on March 31. It remains to be seen whether it will return for a second season of faith, farming and Gold Dome fights next year.

“God, Goats & Government” is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Audible.

The Tucker Observer is a new community news website owned by Decaturish.com. We provide locally sourced news about Tucker, Clarkston and Stone Mountain.

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