Women's Liberation Radio News

In 2014, Thistle Pettersen interviewed Sheila Jeffreys on community radio station WORT, 89.9 FM via the Access Hour. She wrote this song for the occasion that WLRN now plays at the end of each monthly podcast.

Pennsylvania listener Tracye Bennis-Sine called in to give WLRN a five-year anniversary shout-out to help us celebrate. Thank you, Tracye! If you'd like to join her in airing your voice in WLRN's Five-Year Anniversary Podcast dropping May 6th, send your shout-out as an MP3 to wlrnewscontact@gmail.com by May 4th to be considered. Below is the original call-out for celebratory remarks. Cheers! Do you love the DIY nature of what WLRN has done over the past five years in your ears as YOUR feminist community-powered radio station in the Femisphere? We were one of the first news outlets to publicly be critical of transgender politics and ideology back in 2016. We haven't missed ONE MONTH for five years of collective collaboration to put together our news show. Each month, we talk with top feminist activists and scholars from around the world, promote women's music, report on the world news, and offer up Totally Excellent Radical Feminist commentary. Whatever it is about WLRN that you love and appreciate, you can help us to celebrate our anniversary by sending us an MP3 file of your voice describing what you like about WLRN, what it has meant for you in your life and your good wishes for us to continue broadcasting into the future. Just send us your 1-3 minute five-year anniversary shout-out in MP3 form to wlrnewscontact@gmail.com and we'll include it in our Five Year Anniversary Edition next month and also on our NEW WEBSITE coming to an internet near you! Thanks for staying tuned to TERF Radio, WLRN! Thanks for tuning in to feminist community-powered radio, WLRN.

In this herstoric podcast you will hear Jenna DiQuarto's new WLRN theme music right before Sekhmet SheOwl delivers the greeting and then hands off the baton to Emiliann Lorenzen with WLRN's world news segment. Next, enjoy 'Respect' by Aretha Franklin before hearing a musical collage of women's voices Thistle captured at the 'TERF' hotel while staying in DC for the Women Picket DC event on March 8th, International Women's Day. Thanks to Jennifer, Kat, Annie, Lindsay Platoshyn, Isabella Malbin, Charlie Rae, Heather Scalzi and, Jennifer Thomas for speaking to WLRN at the hotel. After that, stay tuned for Jenna DiQuarto's presentation of the speakers and excerpts of their speeches at the event. Kara Dansky, Stephanie Gifford, Suzanne Vierling, and Courtney Catearth Piper all gave a formal address to the crowd gathered in front of the Washington Monument and to the world. Finally, hear Thistle's commentary reflecting on the event and featuring the Adult Human Female chant by Lara Polangco Potter. Thistle paints a colorful picture of the women who gathered on March 8th to close out the show. Thanks for listening to WLRN, YOUR community-powered radio station in the Femisphere. WLRN is celebrating five years in your ears next month! Stay tuned for our brand new website designed by Anonymous featuring WLRN five year anniversary merch designed by Natasha Petrov and KC Walker. We are proud to be part of and to serve the radical and lesbian feminist community. Be in touch by emailing wlrnewscontact@gmail.com. Photo of Joy Hope taken by Linday Platoshyn.

In this 59th edition of WLRN's monthly handcrafted podcast, hear Emiliann Lorenzen deliver the world news before enjoying the song "Girls" by Girl in Red. Stay tuned next for Mer Safina's interview with lesbian feminist scholar and activist, Sheila Jeffreys. Jeffreys talks about the social construction of our sexuality and what that means for women under patriarchy. Finally, don't miss Sekhmet SheOwl's powerful commentary on the topic, encouraging women to closely examine the ways in which our sexuality is used to reinforce male power. Thanks for tuning in to WLRN, community-powered radio collectively created for our sisters worldwide.

In this edition of WLRN's monthly handcrafted podcast hear the world news delivered by Emiliann Lorenzen after WLRN's newest member, Mer Safina, begins the show with the greeting. After the world news, enjoy music by the Go Gos and Sia before listening to interview clips of discussions of dance and our experiences of it from Thistle Pettersen and Agnes Wade. Thanks to Mer Safina, our newest member, for stepping up to interviewing Thistle, our longest time WLRN member. And thanks to Agnes Wade for speaking so truthfully about her experiences in the sex industry. To view both of those interviews in their entirety, stay tuned to the WLRN Youtube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP213EJAmGphc7BBJuyi1lA After the interview segments, make sure to keep listening to the end of the show for Sekhmet SheOwl's commentary about the role dance can play in our lives as a tool for healing within ourselves and bonding with each other in our sisterhood. Thank you for tuning in to WLRN's monthly podcast. Please listen, like, and share widely as our grassroots labor of love only reaches women by social media and word-of-mouth. Until next time, stay strong in the struggle!

To start off 2021 with a bang, we decided to ask joey brite, producer of Can I Get a Witness? to give us her rundown on the top ten feminist stories of 2020. To see the full interview Thistle did with joey, click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLj9sOvfhCA In this edition of our monthly podcast, hear WLRN's world news segment delivered by Emiliann Lorenzen before enjoying Enya's song "Only Time" before getting the rundown from joey. Stay tuned 'til the very end to hear Sekhmet SheOwl's take on the top feminist stories of 2020 and what she looks forward to in 2021. Happy New Year to all of our WLRN listeners and followers! Thanks for tuning in to volunteer powered feminist community radio and for your continued support. You can write to us at wlrnewscontact@gmail.com.

On December 15th, 2020, Thistle sat down with Political Cartoonist from the UK, Stella Perrett, to talk about her new book called "2020 -- The Year We All Were Cancelled!" The book is a collection of Stella's best political cartoons from the year and synopses of cases of people or ideas that were "cancelled" due to expressing views that are not mainstream. To buy Ms. Perrett's book, please click on this link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/2020... In this interview, you'll hear Stella talk about her personal story of being let go by the Morning Star communist newspaper after she published a cartoon that expressed concern about transgender ideology. You will also hear Stella and Thistle tease out the differences between free speech and hate speech and conclude that much of the censoring of women's voices has to do with misogyny, and not just with the suppression of free speech. There are many moments during the interview that Stella expresses her undying support for true free speech and the value of political cartooning, an art form that is threatened by the heightened "wokeness" of the press we are seeing as the rise of transgenderism continues. To see Stella's new cartoons on a weekly basis, please follow this link: http://www.uncancelled.co.uk/ Stella's website is here: http://www.spanglefish.com/stellaillu... WLRN is proud to support "cancelled" artists as we go into 2021. If you like what you're hearing and would like to become a listener sponsor, please click on the donate button on our wordpress site. https://wlrnmedia.wordpress.com/

Last week, I spoke via Skype with Silvia Carrasco, professor of Social Anthropology at Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. Professor Carrasco is currently working on early school leaving and social integration of migrant and refugee children to Europe and on the penetration of neoliberal ideology in education and its impact on coeducation. As a feminist activist, she is co-founder of Feministes de Catalunya, a radical feminist organization that is part of the Spanish Confluencia Movimiento Feminista. http://movimientofeminista.org/ In this interview, I spoke with Silvia about her feminist activist work with the newly formed umbrella organization of almost 60 feminist groups uniting under the heading of "Confluencia" or "Coming Together." My hope is that American listeners will gain in understanding the possibility and political power of uniting behind key feminist principles for the common good. We are stronger together as a political force for change. Thank you to the Spanish women who are modeling for the world a way to bring all of us together to fight patriarchy and win. To hear women in Confluencia talk about their movement at their launch on November 10th, click on this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeG2lOzgiKo and then go to configuración (settings)-go to traducción (translation)-choose language, to have English subtitles provided.

Last month, I took a tour of Moonwise Herbs and then sat down to talk with Linda Conroy on her land in southern Wisconsin where she teaches classes and holds women's herbal apprenticeship programs. The focus of our discussion was on the many animals Linda co-habits with on the land and maintains relationships with throughout the seasons. Our conversation culminates with Linda describing a recent ceremony she and other women took part in to bring death to some drakes (male ducks) for the many reasons Linda talks about in the interview. Hear this eloquent wise woman speak about the interconnection of all beings in the webs of life we live and create, and how women in particular, benefit and give benefit when it comes to our relationships with animals. ~ Thistle

Welcome to our monthly podcast for December 2020! First up, hear Emiliann Lorenzen deliver WLRN's world news segment followed by a clip of Jonna Jinton from Sweden, singing a traditional herding song to bring cows and goats in from pasture. Next, hear Thistle's interview with Falcon River, lesbian feminist homesteader in the State of Michigan. Falcon wanted to make sure women know she is on Facebook and always interested in hearing from sisters looking for sisterhood and community. She also wanted us to share this link to her feminist spiritual group, https://www.circleofaradia.org/4/index.htm. After the interview with Falcon about the animals she grew up with and the horses she currently lives with in Michigan, hear feminist herbalist Linda Conroy talk about the animals she lives with on her land in Southern Wisconsin. To learn more about Linda's work, visit https://moonwiseherbs.com/. Finally, enjoy WLRN commentary from April Neault and Sekhmet SheOwl on the topic before the team at WLRN signs off. WLRN is completely volunteer powered and listener sponsored so please like and share widely. Consider a donation to the cause of feminist community powered radio by visiting our wordpress site, https://wlrnmedia.wordpress.com/, and clicking on the donate button. Thanks for staying tuned to WLRN!