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Sharon McMahon
Known forAmerica's Government Teacher
Notable workThe Small and the Mighty
Websitehttps://www.instagram.com/sharonsaysso/

Sharon McMahon is an American podcast host, author, Instagram influencer, and law and government teacher.

Nicknamed "America's Government Teacher", McMahon produces and hosts civics and history-focused content on her podcast, Instagram and other platforms[1] with a particular focus on combating misinformation, from both sides of the aisle, and providing nonpartisan explanations on the application of constitutional law to contemporary American politics.[2]

Teaching career

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McMahon taught government and law in public schools in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.[3][4][5] After years of teaching, McMahon began publishing politics-oriented content to her Instagram in September 2020 in response to what she saw as rising misinformation in her own social media feeds amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 election cycle.[6][7]

Book

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McMahon's first book was published in September 2024. The book, entitled The Small and the Mighty is about twelve unsung Americans who changed the course of American history.[8][9][10] During a promotional tour for the book McMahon was interviewed by filmmaker Ken Burns at the 92nd Street Y, New York City.[11] The Small and the Mighty landed in the #1 spot on the New York Times Best Seller list for hardcover non-fiction the week of its launch.[12]

Podcast

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In July 2021, McMahon started hosting Here's Where It Gets Interesting, which is ranked as in the center politically according to All Sides.[13] The 400+ episodes are a mix of interviews with notable Americans and DocuSeries shedding light on American history, like Prohibition, Civil Rights, World War Two, and the Leo Frank case in her series The Vigilantes. Topics covered by McMahon on her podcast as well as her instagram account have included the responsibilities of the electoral college, principles of democracy, the functions and structure of US government, and untold stories of general American history.

Podcast guests have included Sen. Mitt Romney, actor George Takei, actor Rainn Wilson, Heather Cox Richardson, Maria Bamford, and documentarians Ken Burns and Sarah Botstein.[14]

Newsletter

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McMahon launched her newsletter, The Preamble in June 2024 and has more than 200,000 subscribers.[15]

Philanthropic activity

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In December 2020, McMahon launched her first giving campaign with the goal to raise $1000 for a family in need. Instead, McMahon crowdfunded more than $125,000. In January 2021, McMahon gained media attention for organizing a letter-writing campaign to thank U.S. Capitol custodians cleaning up after the January 6th insurrection.[16][17]

McMahon's motto, "Pennies into miracles", has resulted in over US$10 million being raised for teachers grants,[18] medical debt payments, natural disaster relief[19] and families in need. In 2022, "Governerds", what McMahon's following nicknamed themselves, were able to raise US$565,000 for RIP Medical Debt who was able to forgive $147,000,000 of medical debt for individuals and families in the USA.[18] In early December 2023, Governerds raised an additional US$1M for RIP Medical Debt and US$600K for families in need.[citation needed]

Awards

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McMahon was recognized as Communicator of the Year by PRWeek and nominated as Best Social Creator at the 2022 Webby Awards.[1][20]

Here's Where It Gets Interesting, the podcast, won a 2023 Webby Award for Best Writing and People's Voice.[21]

Media appearances

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McMahon has appeared on The Daily Show and as a panelist for the George W. Bush Presidential Center's "Engage at the Bush Center" series.[22] In 2021, McMahon appeared on CNN and Good Morning America. She frequently appears on local news and radio networks across the United States, such as Minnesota Public Radio, Maine Public Radio and KSL, advocating for civil engagement and discourse while breaking down constitutional topics.[23][24][25]

In June 2021, Wired wrote about McMahon's ability to help people break out of echo chambers and information silos on social media.[26]

Other activity

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McMahon is a founding partner[27] of "Starts with Us", an organization overcoming extreme division. Starts With Us is "a movement to empower millions of Americans who are tired of the culture of contempt and energized to foster critical thinking and constructive communication across individual's lines of difference".[28]

McMahon has also launched Government for Grownups, a workshop series about US history and government.[29]

Bibliography

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  • McMahon, Sharon (2024-09-24). The Small and the Mighty. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-593-54167-8.

References

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  1. ^ a b "'America's Government Teacher' Sharon McMahon honored as Communicator of the Year". PRWeek. March 17, 2022. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022.
  2. ^ Erdahl, Kent (January 8, 2021). "Former MN Teacher Going Viral for Combating Political Misinformation on Instagram". KARE. Archived from the original on August 4, 2023. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  3. ^ "Former Duluth teacher shares tips on talking to students about Israel-Hamas War". MPR News. 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  4. ^ Oldroyd, Devin (2023-10-07). "Becoming civic-minded with "America's Government Teacher" Sharon McMahon". KSLNewsRadio. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  5. ^ Ross, Jenna (February 28, 2021). "Debunking in Duluth". Johnson City Press.
  6. ^ Godfrey, Elaine (June 5, 2022). "Sharon McMahon Has No Use for Rage-Baiting". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  7. ^ Wurzer, Cathy (December 14, 2021). "Civics Lessons for Adults—on Instagram? Sharon Says So". MPR News. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  8. ^ Duncan, Rodger Dean. "Leadership And Life Lessons From People You've Never Heard Of". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  9. ^ "Sharon McMahon Tells Maria About Her New Book—Stories of Ordinary Americans Who Changed History (and Ways You Can, Too)". Sunday Paper PLUS. 2024-09-28. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  10. ^ Ross, Jenna (2024-09-27). "From a dirt road outside Duluth, Sharon McMahon expands her media empire with new book". www.startribune.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  11. ^ https://www.92ny.org/event/newmark/sharon-mcmahon-and-ken-burns
  12. ^ "Hardcover Nonfiction Books - Best Sellers - Books - Oct. 13, 2024 - The New York Times". The New York Times. 2024-10-13. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-11-08.
  13. ^ "Sharon Says So Media Bias". All Sides.
  14. ^ "Here's Where It Gets Interesting".
  15. ^ McMahon, Sharon. "Thanks to you..." thepreamble.com. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  16. ^ Vargas, Theresa (January 16, 2021). "People Are Sending Thank You Cards to the Capitol's Cleaning Crew. They Deserve Our Gratitude. And More". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  17. ^ Moeller, Amy (January 10, 2021). "There's a Campaign to Send Thank You Notes to the Custodial Staff That Cleaned the Capitol After the Riots". Washingtonian. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
  18. ^ a b "'Governerds' Community Raises Over $1 Million For Teachers". Good Good Good. 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  19. ^ "Sharon McMahon's 'Governerds' Raise Millions to Help Others". Good Good Good. 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  20. ^ "Sharon Says So". The Webby Awards. 2022.
  21. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  22. ^ "Event: Freedom Matters with David Rubenstein and Sharon McMahon". George W. Bush Presidential Center. March 20, 2023. Archived from the original on January 27, 2023.
  23. ^ "Civics lessons for adults — on Instagram? Sharon Says So". MPR News. 2021-12-14. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  24. ^ Madsen, Candice; July 6, KSL-TV | Posted-; P.m, 2022 at 5:22. "Woman behind 'Sharon Says So' podcast explains how we stop 'screaming at each other'". www.ksl.com. Retrieved 2023-10-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ "Former teacher combats political misinformation with nonpartisan facts about democracy". Maine Public. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  26. ^ Fuchs, Matt. "How Some Americans Are Breaking Out of Political Echo Chambers". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  27. ^ "Movement Partners". Starts With Us. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  28. ^ "Overcoming Extreme Division Starts With Us". Starts With Us. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
  29. ^ Luscombe, Belinda (2024-09-17). "Sharon McMahon Did Not Plan to Be America's Government Teacher". TIME. Retrieved 2024-10-09.
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