Shira Richter is a researcher, filmmaker, and multimedia artist whose work on motherhood, mothers’ work, and living in a military state confronts the dominant narrative. She’s been censored for covering topics such as friendship between Israeli and Palestinian women and postpartum depression. Shira notes that mainstream media represents the interest of the state, whether that’s about healthcare, war or women’s bodies. The media, like the state, wants ordinary people to carry out embittered battles on their behalf. Shira is no stranger to controversy, as one of the original signers of the 2015 open letter to MANA authored by Mary Lou Singleton, which protested the removal of the words women and mother in their educational materials. In this episode we explore the intersection of the scamdemic, transgender ideology, industrial birth and female erasure within the context of Israel and the expectations of Israeli Jewish mothers to circumcise their baby boys and send them to war. Shira and I also discuss the success of the three in-person events we put on in Israel in August.

The Status of a Mother │ Shira Richter