On The Issues With Michele Goodwin

This Women's History Month, we’re wondering: What will it take to achieve a society that prioritizes—and achieves—true equality? Our answers to those questions are the Majority Rules: a series of rules, created by Supermajority, intended to guide us to our ultimate goal of gender equality.  Today, we’re diving into Rule #1, "Our lives are safe.” Our country continues to deny safety to women, and especially women of color. From physical to mental and emotional harm, women are consistently the target of violence, causing many to fear for their safety. So, we're asking: how can we create a better world, a world where all are safe? Joining us to answer this vital question is a very special guest:Shannon Watts. Shannon Watts is the founder of Moms Demand Action, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the nation. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook mass shooting, Shannon, a former stay-at-home mom as she describes herself, started a Facebook group fighting for the establishment of public safety measures that protect people from gun violence. From there Shannon founded Moms Demand Action, an organization that now has a chapter in every U.S. state, and 10 million supporters. Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the show

In this episode, we're thinking about the many ways in which girls and women in the U.S. are denied, passed over, and even cheated of opportunities they have earned.  We note that it happens at school, college, graduate school, the work environment, and even in government.  Being denied can be humiliating, embarrassing, and stressful.  But, women can and do fight back—often by overachieving. How do we move ahead in light of social, political and other forces that hold women, girls, and those of other marginalized backgrounds back?Joining us to discuss these issues is a very special guest who tells her own story about being denied.Professor Tracey Meares is the Walton Hale Hamilton professor and a founding director of the Justice collaboratory at Yale Law School, and a former professor at the University of Chicago Law School. She is a nationally recognized expert on policing in urban communities.Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the showSupport the show

In the wake of a year that’s been plagued with book bans, book burnings, and right-wing censorship of all kinds, we’re wondering: why is our American history being banned? Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ recent attempts to ban an Advanced Placement course in African American studies have us thinking about American fragility, and the drastic consequences of this censorship. Not to mention, what does this mean for our constitutional rights—matters like free speech, and the First Amendment? When the government infringes on our fundamental constitutional rights, how can we fight back?Joining me to discuss these important issues, is a very special guest (one who himself has been blacklisted!):Professor Roderick Ferguson is the William Robertson Coe Professor of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Yale University, where he is also a professor of American Studies. He is the award-winning author of One-Dimensional Queer; We Demand: The University and Student Protests; The Reorder of Things: The University and Its Pedagogies of Minority Difference; and Aberrations in Black: Toward a Queer of Color Critique.Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the show

In this episode, we remember and celebrate the life of Anita Pointer, founder of The Pointer Sisters. Anita died of cancer on Saturday, Jan. 1, at home in Beverly Hills, Calif. She was 74.Her writing and singing talents helped propel the group to stardom. But Anita was also a writer, producer, business mogul and feminist activist—a proud supporter of women’s rights and committed to advancing racial justice and civil rights. Throughout her career, she blazed a trail for women artists, particularly Black women artists, on stage and behind the scenes. Anita Pointer changed the game both on and off the stage through her involvement in the civil rights and Black Power movements in the Bay Area in the ’60s.In honor of her passing and support of her family, we’re re-releasing this special episode with Anita and her brother Fritz Pointer, acclaimed professor and historian and former music manager, which we taped last summer. The two joined us to celebrate Juneteenth and unpack their award-winning memoir, Fairytale: The Pointer Sisters’ Family Story. In it, the Pointer siblings discuss coming of age during the civil rights movement; emphasize the importance of tenacity and learning the hard way; and break down what it was like for their family to finally break through and land award after award—all by doing it their own way. As an added bonus, expect to be serenaded by Anita Pointer!Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the show

On today’s show, we’re talking about the Janes. Before Roe v. Wade, if you were in need of an abortion in Chicago, there was a number you could call, run by young women who called themselves Jane. They’d provide abortions to women who had nowhere else to turn. It was started by Heather Booth when she was 19 years old.  We're joined by Booth, to discuss the history of the Jane Collective and the connections between our pre-Roe past and post-Roe future. Where do we go from here? Joining us to discuss these vital issues is our special guest:Heather Booth: Heather Booth is a feminist organizer and political strategist. She started the JANE collective in Chicago in the 1960s when she was just 19, to help provide abortions prior to Roe v. Wade. Since then she has gone on to become a political strategist for progressive issue and electoral campaigns, working with the DNC, NAACP, and more. Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the show

Iran is currently experiencing its largest civil rights movement since the 1979 revolution. This uprising, sparked by the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini—who died after being detained by the Iranian morality police for being improperly veiled—is proving to be a critical turning point for Iranian women. Since the protests began in September, at least 16,000 have been detained, and hundreds have been killed—including at least 380 protestors and at least 58 children, some as young as eight. Helping us to unpack these important issues are two very special guests: Dr. Yalda Hamidi is Assistant Professor of Gender and Women's Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato. She identifies as a feminist pedagogue, mentor, and storyteller. Yalda's research provides a more comprehensive picture of transnational feminism for diasporic communities and explores intersectional identities and feminisms in Iranian women's writing in the diaspora and inside Iran. Dr. Parmis Khatibi is a leading expert on mental health and wellness services.  She is a clinical specialist at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center as well as a Clinical Adjunct Professor for the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy and USC School of Pharmacy. She provides mental health and clinical care to the most vulnerable community members suffering from addiction. She is  engaged in solving some of the most pressing issues of our global economy and has served as Chairwoman for the World Affairs Council of Orange County, California.Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the show

On today’s show, we’re tackling issues women face in online spaces — from privacy to misogyny to censorship of women who use their voices to speak out, and more. We’re taking on the tech platforms and we’re talking about how women are fighting back. To help us unpack these crucial topics, we’re joined by two special guests:Danielle Citron: Professor Citron is the Jefferson Scholars Foundation Schenk distinguished professor in law at the University of Virginia law school, where she writes and teaches about privacy, free expression, and civil rights. She is also the author of the recently released book The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity, and Love in the Digital Age.Jackie Rotman: Jackie Rotman is the founder and CEO of the Center for Intimacy Justice (CIJ), a nonprofit organization focused on creating equity in people’s intimate lives. The CIJ is currently working to change policies, attack platforms to allow health ads to be more gender equitable, and allow more ads directed at women and people with vulvas.Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the show

In this episode of On The Issues, lawyer and writer Dahlia Lithwick returns to our show for an intimate conversation with Dr. Michele Goodwin about the Supreme Court, her career, and new book, Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America.  They dive deep about the women saving America and why Lithwick says she "quit the Court" after the confirmation of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Helping us to sort out questions about women saving democracy and to set the record straight is our very special guest, Dahlia Lithwick: Dahlia Lithwick is a lawyer, writer and journalist. She writes about the courts and law for Slate, and hosts the popular podcast “Amicus.” Her new book Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America, out September 2022, tackles the story of the women lawyers at the heart of our nation’s ongoing battle to save democracy. Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the show

On today’s show, we’re delving into the lives and work of the women coming together to save our democracy. Election administration has become one of the most challenging jobs in the U.S. government. One in three election officials reports feeling unsafe because of their job. Americans are doubting the legitimacy of our elections, despite the fact that experts described the 2020 election as the “most secure” in American history.In the face of these fundamental challenges to our democracy—and in an environment increasingly characterized by political polarization—how can we protect our elections, and support our elections officials?Helping us to sort out these questions and set the record straight are our very special guests: Natalie Adona: Natalie Adona is the county clerk-recorder elect and former assistant clerk-recorder/registrar of voters for Nevada County, Calif. She previously worked as the senior research and learning associate for the elections program at Democracy Fund, where she co-authored the reports "Understanding the Voter Experience” and “Stewards of Democracy.”Tonya Wichman: Tonya Wichman is the director of the Defiance County Board of Elections in Defiance, Ohio, and a certified elections and registration administrator. Kathy Holland: Kathy Holland was the director of the Alamance County Board of Elections for over 31 years until she retired in 2021. She served in eight presidential elections, and was the president of the North Carolina Association of Directors of Elections.This special episode of On the Issues with Michele Goodwin is presented in conjunction with Ms. Magazine’s “Women Saving Democracy” platform, produced in collaboration with the Brennan Center for Justice and RepresentWomen. Explore the whole project—featuring reported pieces, firsthand accounts from election officials, video events with women political leaders, and more—here. Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the show

In this episode, we consider the American landscape as children go back to school.  As mass shootings devastate communities across the country, parents are packing bulletproof protection in their children’s backpacks and sending them to school with lessons on how to survive a mass shooting. Jackson Katz joins Dr. Michele Goodwin to discuss the complicated issues at the heart of this crisis including questions related to masculinity, why mass shootings are overwhelmingly committed by men, and the implications in light of the rise in white supremacy in the United States.Joining us to discuss these vital issues is our special guest: Jackson Katz is a scholar and activist working on issues of gender, race and violence. He is co-founder of Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), as well as the author of two acclaimed books and creator of the award-winning Tough Guise educational documentary series. Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at ontheissues@msmagazine.com. Support the show