Women's Liberation Radio News

Welcome back, sisters, to the first hour of Women's Liberation Music in 2020. It's been eight months since my last music show when I featured the writings of Andrea Dworkin. I can honestly say that the two deaths of well-known writers who have affected me the most have been Andrea Dworkin (who died April 5, 2005) and Mary Oliver who died a year ago today, January 17, 2019. So it seems appropriate that I return with another edition of my music show with a tribute to Mary Oliver. This month's varied music of international under-represented female artists will accompany my reading of some of Mary's poems, all of which celebrate nature, my most beloved muse. I went to visit Mary's hometown for 40 years, P'town, last Fall for a week and walked the beaches and trails she walked and wrote prolifically about, like around Blackwater Pond and the Pinewoods. It was a significant and magical time there; I felt Mary Oliver close, chiding me, for example, to wake before dawn so as to catch the first glint of the day on Blackwater Pond, to see the world through the awe that moved her. I met a small white maltese (who reminded me of pictures of her beloved dog) on the beach directly in front of the home she and her partner Molly Malone Cook lived and I sat in the corner booth at Fanizzi's restaurant next door where I imagined she sat, marveled at the tides and wrote on days she tired of her desk. I didn't seek these things out, they came to me or, I, to them. It was an honor 'being led' by Spirit in this way. I can't imagine better footsteps to trace. And so, I bring that comfort and awe to you, sisters, through this pairing of entrancing and gentle music with Mary Oliver's poetry. I hope you are nourished by this next hour wherever and however you are this midwinter here in the Northern hemisphere. Song List: Returning Jennifer Berezan Elle Mari Boine Karuna Stellamara Title Unknown Jennifer Kriesberg Lecieli Zurauli Laboratorium Piesni You Never Know Mari Boine Oh Love Ayla Nereo Ahccai Mari Boine Lihkahusat Mari Boine Give Me a Break Mari Boine Sorgblidni Eivor Balu BaDuel Go Vuoittan Mari Boine Kappee Laboratorium Piesni Rise Again (Instrumental) Poetry List What the Body Says, New and Selected Poems, vol 2 Long Afternoon at the Edge of Little Sister Pond, ibid Lead, ibid Climbing Pinnacle, ibid Ravens, ibid In Praise of Craziness, of a Certain Kind, ibid The Bleeding-heart, ibid The Best I Could Do, Why I Wake Early Life Story, A Thousand Mornings The Measure, New and Selected Poems, vol 2 Bone, ibid The Sweetness of Dogs, Dog Songs Those Days, Our World I Looked Up, New and Selected Poems, vol 2

Last month, WLRN's Dani Whitaker spoke with Emily Kaht, an athlete and feminist who recently completed a marathon while carrying a flag that read, "Save Women's Sports. Woman = Adult Human Female." As Kaht discusses, this courageous act garnered both support and criticism during and after the event. Kaht is a twenty-nine-year-old woman with a bachelor's degree in biology. She has been involved in sports throughout her life with a current focus on long-distance running, and is committed to protecting the integrity of women's sports so that other women and girls can enjoy the same fulfillment and opportunities that sports have provided her. In this interview, Kaht shares the motivation behind her recent activism as well as the importance of acknowledging biological sex and preserving women's spaces.

In this interview, feminist author Lierre Keith gives us her take on the top stories and developments of 2019 as they impact girls and women and her analysis of the women's movement over the last decade and into the next. Keith gives listeners a fantastic overview of what's going on from her vantage point as an author and speaker with her finger on the pulse of what's changing, shaping up and shifting in the world. Stay tuned for Lierre as moderator of the Q & A after the talk titled "The New Misogyny: A Feminist Analysis of Gender Identity" featuring Meghan Murphy, Saba Malik and Kara Dansky as speakers at Seattle's Public Library, the central location on February 1st. There has been much hype and hoopla around this talk as transactivists gear up to confront the women attending with the aim to either shut it down or disrupt the event. Stay tuned for WLRN's on-the-ground coverage of the February 1st talk in Seattle. Follow our FB page for updates. For more information about the event, click on this link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fighting-the-new-misogyny-a-feminist-critique-of-gender-identity-tickets-85012638089

We made it to 2020 without blowing up! Unreal, right sisters? Grab your hats and put on your space suits for a fabulous journey into WLRN's first podcast of the new year and the new decade. First up, be greeted by WLRN's newest member, Dana Vitalosova from Slovakia who also delivers WLRN's January 2nd world news segment before passing off the baton to Thistle who interviews Elizabeth, a radfem from the Midwest and admin for the popular group Radical Feminism Resources. Elizabeth gives Thistle the skinny on her take on the top stories and developments of 2019. Elizabeth and WLRN wanted to make sure all of our listeners have this link to FIST's feminist amendments to the Equality Act, a story to look for in 2020. https://feministstruggle.org/2019/10/19/feminists-in-struggle-fist-launches-campaign-for-feminist-amendments-to-the-equality-act/ After hearing from Elizabeth, enjoy Ani DiFranco's rockin' tune from new year's eve 2008 called Red Letter Year before transitioning to listening to Lierre Keith ring in the new year with her take on the top stories of 2019 and what to look for in 2020.  Lierre Keith is a writer, small farmer, and radical feminist activist. She is the author of six books, including The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability, which has been called “the most important ecological book of this generation.” She is coauthor, with Derrick Jensen and Aric McBay, of Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet She’s also been arrested six times. You can read more about Lierre at www.lierrekeith.com. And finally, enjoy Sekhmet SheOwl's lovely commentary about what she sees as the rise of radical feminism in our friendships and our actions as we move into 2020 and the next decade. It is of note that none of the three speakers in today's program spoke to one another before they were recorded for this show, but yet, all three say some of the same things and there is much overlap. Take note and take heart! May we enjoy increased unity in the years to come. Below is a list of links WLRN requested of Lierre after the interview which she provided for us. Thank you Lierre! Wonderful to share our research and stories and to help move real conversations in society forward! Onward and Upward Sisters! Link to info on the Harris case: http://womensliberationfront.org/harris-funeral-homes-v-eeoc-frequently-asked-questions/ Loujain al-Hathloul https://theintercept.com/2019/12/24/loujain-al-hathloul-torture-saudi-arabia/ Japan's #KuToo https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/05/high-heels-at-work-are-necessary-says-japan-labour-minister Chilean anti-rape song: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/06/chilean-anti-rape-anthem-becomes-international-feminist-phenomenon Sex for Grades scandal in Nigeria and Ghana: https://www.newsweek.com/call-action-response-undercover-sex-grades-university-scandal-1463982 #AmINext in South Africa https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-death-of-uyinene-mrwetyana-and-the-rise-of-south-africas-aminext-movement J.K. Rowling https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/19/world/europe/jk-rowling-maya-forstater-transgender.html List of legal cases now pending in the UK: https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1209418488965672962.html Ohio bill on ectopic pregnancies: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2019/05/10/sponsor-an-ohio-abortion-bill-thinks-you-can-reimplant-ectopic-pregnancies-you-cant/ Bootleg footage of Jonathan Yaniv's testimony at the Human Rights Tribunal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwJBMapAnrA&list=UUB3MxRIg1Tc3vxvy-2Uluug&index=8 Meghan Murphy in Toronto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIzXSLFeAxQ Feb 1, 2020 Seattle event with Meghan Murphy, Saba Malik, and Kara Dansky https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fighting-the-new-misogyny-a-feminist-critique-of-gender-identity-tickets-85012638089

In this 44th edition of WLRN's monthly podcast you will hear the world news written and delivered by WLRN's April Neault followed by the song "Libres" by Mora Navarro. Next up, Thistle speaks with Mexican feminist Laura Lecuona Gonzalez of the organization Mexican Feminists Against Surrogacy. Laura Lecuona studied Philosophy at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and her professional life has been devoted to the editing world. Currently, she is an independent editor and translator, having worked for some major publishing houses for more than twenty years. She is the author of "Las Mujeres son Seres Humanos" (Women are human beings), an introductory book on feminism for teenagers and young adults, and keeps writing and giving lectures and talks on feminism despite the backlash she is facing. Laura spoke with Thistle about her feminist work and her experiences with trans activists in Mexico who have targeted her for attack and about how she has responded to those attacks. Next, enjoy the song “Antipatriarca” by Ana Tijoux before listening to the interview Thistle did in Spanish with Magali Terraza Ramirez, a young feminist activist from the organization Rosas Rojas, https://garmexicoblog.wordpress.com/rosas-rojas/?fbclid=IwAR0EDJEAx7q0n7rRhsAIMBqVQcNsc0njxGV3FsNkFuC5AT4iBuORxZjAFXE. Magali describes how she became interested and involved in socialist and radical feminist activism and what her recent experiences have been like in the streets. Magali is a graduate student in the school of social work at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the largest university in Mexico. She has participated as a leader and speaker at different universities around the issues of abortion, sex trafficking, violence against women and more. She is a specialist in the oppression of indigenous women. Finally, stay tuned for Sekhmet SheOwl's brilliant commentary on the feminist activism we see emerging in Mexico and Latin America and how it is different from North American feminism namely because the women of Latin America have to deal with racism, US imperialism and a whole host of factors that north american white women do not. Thanks for tuning in to our feminist community powered radio station online, WLRN. If you like what you are hearing and would like to support our work, consider a monthly donation to be taken directly from your account by clicking on the donate button on our wordpress site. We have a variety of WLRN merch to send you in exchange for your listener sponsorship and will also send you a handwritten "thank you" once you are on board as a listener sponsor. To sign the petition April reports on in the world news segment, click on this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfMw_9K-LSXrbsCh_Br7WZFIF4VionR2NNoLia47-irQ7Imfw/viewform

Renee Gerlich, a New Zealand feminist activist and writer, discusses the profound impact of addiction on women, linking it to broader societal issues and personal liberation. Young NYC dyke Jen Z shares her journey of recovery from alcohol addiction, addressing the nuances of trans culture and its intersection with substance use. They delve into the vital role of female-only spaces in recovery, the emotional ties between substance use and trauma, and the societal pressures facing women today. This enlightening conversation emphasizes empowerment, healing, and community.

Ann Menasche, a seasoned civil rights lawyer and activist, dives into the critical issues surrounding women's rights and gender identity. She discusses Feminists in Struggle's campaign to amend the US Federal Equality Act, clarifying the vital distinction between sex-based and gender-based rights. Ann emphasizes how current legislation may undermine women's protections and highlights the nuanced challenges faced by transgender individuals. Her insights reflect decades of advocacy for economic, social, and civil justice.

Cindy Sheehan is an American anti-war activist, whose son, U.S. Army Specialist Casey Sheehan, was killed by enemy action during the Iraq War in 2004. Since then, she has traveled in the USA and abroad to speak out against US led wars and war time economics that fuel endless wars. In October 2019 Ms. Sheehan was dis-invited from speaking at an anti-war event in Carbondale Illinois due to trans activist pressure on the organizers of the event. This interview focuses on the story of her de-platforming at that event and also her thoughts and analysis of what trans activism is and the role it is playing in leftist movements.

"Witches & WitchCraft" features an interview with Max Dashu, a witch historian. They discuss the witches of old and the current state of witch resistance in today's culture. The podcast also includes an interview with Ruth Barrett, who talks about the practice of witches in today's world. Thistle delivers a special commentary about her life as a witch. Don't miss this seasonal podcast filled with witch magic.

WLRN's Danielle Whitaker recently spoke with Donna Freitas, author of the newly released novel, Consent: A Memoir of Unwanted Attention, which tells the story of a young woman who was stalked in an unconventional way by her mentor. Freitas is a writer and scholar who has conducted extensive research on students, consent, and sex on college campuses. She has spoken at nearly 200 colleges and universities about her research and has been published in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post. Her latest book offers a unique perspective on the nature of stalking and the type of "unwanted attention" that can often be difficult to recognize or define. This interview explores the narrative of Consent, its background, and what inspired Freitas to come forward and share her traumatic story after all these years.