Feminism NOW

If the Trump Administration  pushes through the SAVE Act, millions of eligible Americans could be turned away at the polls, not because of fraud, but because of paperwork. This week, Kim and Rose sit down with Lauren Kunis, CEO and executive director of VoteRiders, to talk about voter ID laws, proof-of-citizenship bills, and the confusion that keeps people home.

Lauren explains why roughly 34.5 million voting-age citizens lack a current photo ID, what the SAVE Act would mean for registration, and why women who changed their names, students, trans voters, and communities of color face the steepest hurdles. Plus: Kim and Rose on pregnant workers' rights and the toll of USAID cuts.

In this episode:

• Pregnant workers' accommodations and USAID cuts
• The ID gap: 34.5 million citizens without a current photo ID
• Why a driver's license isn't proof of citizenship
• What the SAVE Act would require
• How name changes, homelessness, incarceration, and trans identity complicate voting
• Why fraud claims don't match the evidence
• VoteRiders' free voter ID help, in English and Spanish

Got something to say? Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected]. 

Guest: Lauren Kunis has been CEO and executive director of VoteRiders since 2021. VoteRiders is a nonpartisan organization that helps voters get past ID barriers. It has helped millions of voters and aims to reach 10 million more with free help this year. In 2024, TIME named Lauren one of its inaugural Democracy Defenders. She previously directed National Voter Registration Day at Nonprofit VOTE and has worked with the National Democratic Institute and the World Bank in 15 countries.

Today's featured chapter: Appleton Area NOW 

#SAVEACT #voterid #feminism

Follow us on social media:
 Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose.

Find NOW here:
 Instagram: @nationalnow
 TikTok: @national_now
 BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social
 Facebook: NationalNOW

Find Lauren Kunis and VoteRiders:

VoteRiders: https://voteriders.org/
Free voter ID help: https://voteriders.org/freehelp/, or call or text 866-432-8683
Instagram: @voteriders
BlueSky: @voteriders.bsky.social
Facebook: VoteRiders

Holding powerful men accountable used to mean going through the courts. Now, it means winning the fight for public opinion online, too. This week, Kim and Rose sit down with Cheyenne Hunt, lawyer, organizer, and founder and executive director of Reckoning Action, to talk about exposing abuse by powerful men, supporting survivors, and the narrative battles now playing out in real time on social media.

Cheyenne walks through how she helped bring the Eric Swalwell story to light, why she pulled her support for Graham Platner once new reporting changed the picture, and why she calls misogyny a threat to democracy, not just a private harm. The conversation also covers Reckoning Action's survivor support work and its ongoing "Cover-Up Roundup" project tracking who's still avoiding scrutiny in the Epstein case. You can browse the DOJ's public Epstein Library yourself.

Whether you're a lifelong feminist or newly feminism-curious, join us this season as Kim and Rose speak with the movers and shakers defining the feminist movement. Listen to new episodes of Feminism NOW released every other Wednesday. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.

Leave us a voicemail for us to include in a future episode! Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected].

In this episode:

• How the Eric Swalwell story broke, 11 days after Cheyenne posted publicly and other survivors came forward
• Why survivors often stay silent even in the Me Too era
• Misogyny as a democratic threat, not just a workplace or private issue
• Why Cheyenne withdrew her support from Graham Platner after new allegations surfaced
• Reckoning Action's survivor support work: legal help, crisis communications, mental health resources, digital security
• The Epstein cover-up and the "Cover-Up Roundup" project
• A grassroots update from NOW organizers in East Texas

Guest: Cheyenne Hunt is a lawyer, organizer, and the founder and executive director of Reckoning Action, an organization that supports survivors of abuse by powerful men through legal help, crisis communications, mental health resources, digital security, and creator amplification. She played a central role in bringing the Eric Swalwell story forward and now leads Reckoning Action's work on political accountability and the Epstein cover-up.

Today’s featured chapter: Northeast Texas NOW, hosting the East Texas Women’s March and Expo, September 19, 2026. 

Follow us on social media:
Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose.

Find NOW here:
 Instagram: @nationalnow
 TikTok: @national_now
 BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social
 Facebook: NationalNOW

Find Cheyenne Hunt and Reckoning Action: 
Reckoning Action: https://www.reckoningaction.org/
Instagram: @cheyenne.I.hunt
Cheyenne’s website: https://www.cheyennespeaks.io/

Fighting Christian nationalism with facts alone doesn't work. This week, Kim and Rose kick off season six with Monte Mader, progressive political and cultural commentator, writer, public speaker, and vocalist, to talk about why stories, not statistics, are what actually help women question and leave high-control belief systems.

Raised on a rural Wyoming cattle ranch as a "biblical wife," Monte was taught to marry, submit, and build her life around men and children, until a family crisis made her question her ideology. She and the hosts dig into how trad wife content sells an illusion of safety while hiding the labor behind it, why complementarianism functions as the church's own "separate but equal" doctrine, and why fights over voting rights, Title IX, and trans athletes are really about controlling women. Plus: why Monte chose a one-on-one debate with Allie Beth Stuckey over the usual viral pile-on format, and what she tells anyone trying to reach a friend or family member pulled toward trad wife ideology or the manosphere.

In this episode:

• Kim and Rose open season six, reflecting on the show's growth and recent award recognition
• Rose breaks down Texas GOP efforts to end no-fault divorce, and how fault-based divorce can trap abused women in harmful marriages
• Kim discusses postpartum depression as an underrecognized women's health issue, using Hayden Panettiere's recent death as an example of how women's suffering is often ignored
• Monte on growing up as a "biblical wife" and the moment her worldview broke open
• How trad wife content hides the labor and exhaustion behind the aesthetic
• Complementarianism as the church's "separate but equal" doctrine
• Why Christian nationalist arguments so often target women's voting rights, Title IX, and trans athletes
• Monte's advice: lead with questions and your own story, not arguments

Whether you're a lifelong feminist or newly feminism-curious, join us this season as Kim and Rose speak with the movers and shakers defining the feminist movement. Listen to new episodes of Feminism NOW released every other Wednesday. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.

Leave us a voicemail for us to include in a future episode! Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected].

Guest: Monte Mader is a progressive political and cultural commentator, writer, public speaker, and vocalist. She speaks from lived experience inside white Christian nationalism and now helps others recognize the signs, language, and power structures of these movements.

Today’s featured chapter: Central New York NOW, hosting their fourth annual Reproductive Rights Film Fest, September 15-19, 2026. 

Follow us on social media:
 Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose.

Find NOW here:
 Instagram: @nationalnow
 TikTok: @national_now
 BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social
 Facebook: NationalNOW

X: @nationalnow

Roe v. Wade is dead, but who was the murderer? In this episode, Kim and Rose sit down with journalist Amy Littlefield, author of the new book Killers of Roe: My Investigation into the Mysterious Death of Abortion Rights to trace the decades-long effort to dismantle federal abortion protections—and what that history means for the future of reproductive rights in the United States. 

This is the last episode of season 5. We will be taking a short break and then Kim and Rose will be back, speaking with the movers and shakers defining the feminist movement. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.

Leave us a voicemail for us to include in a future episode! Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected]. 

Guest: Amy Littlefield has reported on abortion rights for over a decade.  She is the abortion access correspondent for The Nation. She has contributed to The New York Times Opinion and wrote the Times’ Sunday Review cover story “Where the Pro-Choice Movement Went Wrong.” She is a frequent commentator on abortion for TV and radio news outlets and podcasts, including MSNOW and Democracy Now!. Littlefield was a lead reporter and narrator on shows for Reveal, the national investigative journalism show. She lives in Boston with her family.

Follow us on social media:

Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose. 

Find today’s guest, Amy Littlefield, on Instagram @littleamyfield on X @amylittlefield

Find NOW here:

Instagram: @nationalnow

TikTok: @national_now

BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social

Facebook: NationalNOW

“Why didn’t she just leave?” Despite decades of progress toward gender equality, domestic violence–and the judgement of women in violent situations–remains pervasive. In this episode, Kim and Rose sit down with journalist and author Rachel Louise Snyder to discuss the systemic failures that allow intimate partner violence to persist and what real solutions could look like.  

Whether you’re a lifelong feminist or newly feminism-curious, join us this season as Kim and Rose speak with the movers and shakers defining the feminist movement. Listen to new episodes of Feminism NOW released every other Wednesday. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.

Leave us a voicemail for us to include in a future episode! Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected]. 

Guest: Rachel Louise Snyder is a professor of literature and journalism at American University, and a New York Times contributing opinion writer. She is the author of numerous books including “Women We Buried, Women We Burned: A Memoir” and “No Visible Bruises: What We Don’t Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us.”

Follow us on social media:

Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose. 

Find today’s guest, Rachel Louise Snyder on Instagram @rlswrites.

Today’s featured chapter is Central NY NOW, https://cny-now.com/ and on Instagram @cnynow and Bluesky @cnynow and on Facebook @CentralNYNOW 

Find NOW here:

Instagram: @nationalnow

TikTok: @national_now

BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social

Facebook: NationalNOW

We often hear that workplaces are meritocratic. But if that was true, would white women and people of color still be earning so much less than men? Would those board rooms be quite so male?

In this episode, Kim and Rose sit down with Sarah Kaplan, Founding Director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management to discuss the costs of being a woman and how we can move beyond individual solutions toward systemic change. 

Whether you’re a lifelong feminist or newly feminism-curious, join us this season as Kim and Rose speak with the movers and shakers defining the feminist movement. Listen to new episodes of Feminism NOW released every other Wednesday. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.

Leave us a voicemail for us to include in a future episode! Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected]. 

Guest: Sarah Kaplan is Professor Emerita and Founding Director of the Institute for Gender and the Economy at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. She is author of several books including the forthcoming Products for the People (published by W.W. Norton). She regularly advises corporations, governments and agencies on board diversity, board governance, the care economy, employment, pay equity, and inclusive innovation. In recognition of her contributions, she was named one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women.

Follow us on social media:

Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose. 

Today’s featured chapter is MassNOW, massnow.org and on Instagram and TikTok @MassNOW. 

Learn more about NOW’s Book Club, Feminist Public Square: https://now.org/national-organization-for-women-book-club/ 

Find NOW here:

Instagram: @nationalnow

TikTok: @national_now

BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social

Facebook: NationalNOW

People often worry about the harms of social media. But social media also has so much promise for the feminist movement. Today, Kim and Rose sit down with Blair Imani, creator of the viral web series Smarter in Seconds, to talk about feminism in the age of social media. 

Whether you’re a lifelong feminist or newly feminism-curious, join us this season as Kim and Rose speak with the movers and shakers defining the feminist movement. Listen to new episodes of Feminism NOW released every other Wednesday. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.

Leave us a voicemail for us to include in a future episode! Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected]. 

Guest: Blair Imani is the creator of the viral web series, Smarter In Seconds, LA Times bestselling author of Read This to Get Smarter, and co-host of the podcast Thoughts About Feelings. The New York Times praises Blair Imani’s unique ability to create “progressive lessons with vibrant visuals and a perky, quirky delivery.” Her scholarship spans intersectionality, gender studies, race and racism, sociology, and United States history. She is also a historian, having written Making Our Way Home (2020) and Modern HERstory (2018).

Follow us on social media:

Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose. 

Find today’s guest, Blair Imani, on Instagram and TikTok @blairimani 

Today’s featured chapter is Appleton Area NOW, https://www.appletonareanow.org/ and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/appletonareanow/ 

Learn more about our special feature, the 2026 Driving the Vote for Equality national tour to raise awareness about the Equal Rights Amendment, at https://era-now.org and https://drivingthevote.org

Find NOW here:

Instagram: @nationalnow

TikTok: @national_now

BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social

Facebook: NationalNOW

Extremist, violent actions and ideologies are front and center in the news. But this week’s guest, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, noticed that no one ever seems to mention how most of those extremist and violent actions are done by men. In this episode, Kim and Rose sit down with Miller-Idriss to talk about the connections between men, patriarchy, and ideological extremism, how patriarchy harms men, and what all of us can do about it. 

Whether you’re a lifelong feminist or newly feminism-curious, join us this season as Kim and Rose speak with the movers and shakers defining the feminist movement. Listen to new episodes of Feminism NOW released every other Wednesday. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.

Leave us a voicemail for us to include in a future episode! Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected]. 

Guest:

Cynthia Miller-Idriss is a Professor in the School of Public Affairs and in the School of Education at the American University in Washington, DC, where she is the founding director and chief vision officer of the pioneering Polarization and Extremism Research & Innovation Lab (PERIL). She is a columnist for MS NOW with recent bylines in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, Politico, and more. Her most recent books include Man Up (Princeton University Press, 2025) and Hate in the Homeland (Princeton University Press, 2022). 

Follow us on social media:

Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose. 

Find today’s guest, Cynthia Miller-Idriss, on Bluesky @milleridriss.bksy.social. 

Today’s featured chapter is Central Phoenix Inez Casiano NOW, https://centralphoenixnow.org/, on Instagram @cpicnow, and on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CPICNOW/ 

Find NOW here:

Instagram: @nationalnow

TikTok: @national_now

BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social

Facebook: NationalNOW

As ICE has carried out mass arrests and deportations in Minnesota, the people have not been sitting by. They have been following cars, blowing whistles, protesting, and buying groceries to feed their neighbors. In this episode, Kim and Rose talk with the Chapter President of Minnesota NOW about why ICE went to the state, what they hoped to accomplish–and what they got instead. 

Whether you’re a lifelong feminist or newly feminism-curious, join us this season as Kim and Rose speak about important issues with leaders working for justice. Listen to new episodes of Feminism NOW released every other Wednesday. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.

Leave us a voicemail for us to include in a future episode! Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected]. 

Guest:

Renee Cardarelle is the Chapter President of Minnesota NOW. She has 20-plus years of experience in working on community building and social justice. She is a non-profit leader, a community building facilitator, a racial justice practitioner, an educator, and a lifelong learner. Besides her practical, lived education, Renee has a PhD in Public Service and Management from Hamline University, where she explores civic engagement and local government, and a Master’s degree in Social Responsibility from St. Cloud State University. She focuses on creating a world that is healthy, thriving, and healing. Renee was born, raised, and lives in the wonderful world of rural Minnesota.

Follow us on social media:

Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose. 

Today’s featured chapter is Minnesota NOW, https://www.facebook.com/minnesotanow/ 

A Note from Renee: Minnesota Immigrant Families need your help! 

As the ICE/immigration crisis continues, families are losing their jobs, unable to go to work, and unable to leave their homes. New Hope for Immigrants has been helping new American families for over 10 years. They provide mutual aid support, guidance on finding work, and more. 

Here is just one story: Hassan has been pursuing his citizenship but is still in TPS status and fears he will be detained. This has made it difficult for him to get to work and his family is struggling to make ends meet. Now they cannot afford to pay their rent. (Names have been changed).

We are looking for 100 people to donate $100 to reach a goal of $10,000 to help families with this need!  Can you donate? Any amount is welcome!

You can donate at: DONATIONS | Newhopeforimmigrants

All donations are tax deductible.

Find NOW here:

Instagram: @nationalnow

TikTok: @national_now

BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social

Facebook: NationalNOW

Natalism is having a moment, and so is the far right. This week’s guest, journalist and author Seyward Darby, says that’s no coincidence. In this episode, Kim and Rose sit down with Seyward to unpack what natalism is, its dark ties to eugenics, and why so many, from Silicon Valley tech bros to Timothy Chalamet, seem to have bought into it. 

Whether you’re a lifelong feminist or newly feminism-curious, join us this season as Kim and Rose speak with the movers and shakers defining the feminist movement. Listen to new episodes of Feminism NOW released every other Wednesday. To find out more about the National Organization for Women, visit our website.

Leave us a voicemail for us to include in a future episode! Call 202-628-8669 or send a voice memo to [email protected]. 

Guest:

Seyward Darby is the editor in chief of The Atavist Magazine, an award-winning publication that specializes in longform narrative journalism. She is the author of Sisters in Hate: American Women on the Front Lines of White Nationalism (2020), which was a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Harper's, The Guardian, and other publications. She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, who is also a writer, and their dog, cat, and infant son, who are not (yet).

Follow us on social media:

Find Kim on Instagram @KimVillanueva_NOW, and find Rose on X @BrunacheRose. 

Find today’s guest, Seyward Darby on Instagram @seywarddarby and Bluesky @seywarddarby.bsky.social

Today’s featured chapter is Riverside County NOW: https://riversidecountynow.com/ on Instagram @riversidecountynow

Find NOW here:

Instagram: @nationalnow

TikTok: @national_now

BlueSky: @nationalnow.bsky.social

Facebook: NationalNOW