KPFA - Womens Magazine

To the extent that news about Palestine is even covered in the world’s mainstream media, the coverage is typically about violence and destruction, and when Palestinian people are humanized, grief and suffering. When, where, and how have you seen and heard about another side: children, youth, and young and older adults creating art together using naturally available materials? On today’s program, you will have the chance to learn from artists Haya Allabadi, Sara Hammoudeh, and Sera Maraka about the work of an art studio and their creations to archive and document the beauty of Palestine to build bridges of hope for generations to come.

The post Palestinian Artists Building Bridges of Hope appeared first on KPFA.

Black feminism, theory, and practice have profoundly influenced contemporary feminist thought and practices in and outside the US. Women’s Magazine producers Margo Okazawa-Rey and Jovelyn Richards discuss their respective understandings of Black feminism and its relevance in these times of national and global “poly crises”. They will also pitch for support on this next to the last day of the KPFA Summer Fund Drive.

The post What Black Feminisms for This Political Moment? Conversation with Jovelyn Richards Women’s Magazine Producer Live appeared first on KPFA.

In her groundbreaking new film, Pomegranate, Iraqi American writer and director Weam Namou reveals the messy, humorous and heartbreaking reality of what happens when immigrants who fled the same country argue with each other over the American Dream. Widely recognized as the first Iraqi American feature film, Pomegranate has swept over 50 international film awards and caught the eye of Home Alone producer Scott Rosenfelt, who came on board as executive producer.

The post Jovelyn Richards of The Space Between, chats with Iraqi American writer & Director; Weam Namou appeared first on KPFA.

This Monday on KPFA’s Women’s Magazine Lisa Dettmer will talk to Wynd Kaufman and Valerie Sizemore  from the local grassroots group Stop AI about the existential threat that AI poses to our existence.  Stop AI is a very committed group of local activists who are willing to put their bodies on the line as they seek a world that values humanity over machines and community care over profit. They work to raise  public awareness, influence decision-makers and legislation, and engaging in non-violent direct action which 5 members of their group did recently right here in  SF, the capital of AI.

One of our guests Wynd Kaufman was part of the group of Stop AI members who blockaded the doors of  OpenAI, a leading company in the global race to develop “Artificial General Intelligence” (AGI) and “Artificial Superintelligence” (ASI), AI that would match or exceed human capabilities across the board.  Wynd Kaufman a former professor at City College  was recently convicted by the SF prosecutors of trespassing, interfering with a business, unlawful assembly, and refusal to disperse for her acts of Civil Disobedience.   This case marks the first time a court got  to hear some of the copious evidence that AI companies are gambling with our lives. You can find out more about StopAI at https://www.stopai.info/

Next, we talk to 3 women directors who are showing their documentaries at the Sf Jewish Film Festival, Leah Galant, Vivian Kleinman and Sai Gilman

Director Leah Galant’s Landscapes of Memory delves into the thorny issues of who Holocaust memorials are made for and the proliferation and mystification of memorial culture in Germany. Galant’s documentary is a profound meditation on the uses and abuses of memorial culture and the intersection of national trauma and collective memory

Berkeley resident Vivian Kleiman  will talk to us about her short film, A Grain of Truth, which journeys into wartime Denmark to uncover a cherished national myth—the Legend of the Yellow Star—through the lens of collective memory.

And Sari Gilman will be screening her Work-in-Progress short film, American Jew. About  her father and how his sense of belonging to Judaism has eroded because of Israel.

You can get more information about the festival at https://jfi.org/sfjff-2026

The post Lisa Dettmer talks to Stop AI members/ and to 3 directors of films at SF Jewish Film Festival appeared first on KPFA.

My guest today is Dr Alexis Pauline Gumbs, aka Docta Sista, who describes herself as Queer Black Troublemaker and Black Feminist Love Evangelist and an aspirational cousin to all sentient beings. An independent scholar/author writer, she is a prolific writer of books, poems, essays, and more. Alexis and their beloved Sangodare also create and facilitate regularly scheduled spaces for education, emotional and spiritual renewal and transformation. She has received numerous awards such as the prestigious Whiting Award for non-fiction Undrowned: Black Feminist Lessons from Marine Mammals in 2022 and ZORA (formerly the Hurston-Wright Legacy Award) in Non-fiction and the Judy Grahn prize in Lesbian Non-fiction for the 2024 Survival Is a Promise, The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde. Alexis will also discuss her latest publication “Primary-After and With Alma Thomas.”

The post “Every Breath: The Cosmic Purpose” Conversation with Alexis Pauline Gumbs appeared first on KPFA.

Today’s conversation is about war, politics, and the experiences of women, girls, and communities in war-torn Sudan with Dr Suad Musa. She is a freelance researcher and consultant on women, gender, peace, and governance issues. She has worked with the Government of Sudan and has extensive experience working with international NGOs, such as Oxfam and civil society organizations in Sudan, the Horn of Africa, and Britain. Dr. Musa is a co-founder of Gender Centre for Peacebuilding and Sustainable Development in El Fasher, Darfur, Sudan

The post Women, Girls, and the War in Sudan with Dr. Suad Musa appeared first on KPFA.

My guest today is Linda Quiquivix (ki-ki-vish) a California-based geographer of Maya roots and author and illustrator of Palestine 1492: A Report Back, a political memoir and geography lesson, that places 500 years of struggles side by side with Palestine, from below and toward the common. As Quiquivix write, the book is “a report back of what I see from 500 years of struggle in words, maps, and images in the 7 cardinal directions and in the spiral that is time. Throughout, I share conclusions of what Palestinians, Zapatistas, Panthers, and Jaguars have taught me along this journey….” I devoured the book in a few sittings. As you listen to QuiQui talk about her book and more, you will get why. This program was first broadcast on Women’s Magazine 25 November 2025

The post Palestine 1492 A Report Back appeared first on KPFA.

When a white student quoted a line from Blazing Saddles, blurting out the N-word in the middle of class, Professor Elizabeth Pryor froze. In that moment, she was shockingly confronted with not only the most notorious slur in the United States, but the line quoted by the student was one her father – the iconic comedian Richard Pryor – had written. After the incident, Elizabeth dove into research to better understand the history of the word, and discussed it with her students and in her Ted Talk, “Why it’s so hard to talk about the N-word”, which has been viewed over 2 million times. During her research, Elizabeth’s own memories of the N-word rose to the surface, and she found that a reckoning with this word meant a reckoning with memories of her father, Richard Pryor, who skyrocketed to fame in the 1970’s, making the N-word a hallmark of his act.

Elizabeth Pryor now teaches a class titled “Richard Pryor’s America,” and her videos about the class have become hugely popular on her Instagram, @pryorhistories

The post Jovelyn delves into Conversation with Professor Elizabeth Pryor’s Book: Something We Said. appeared first on KPFA.

Today for KPFA Radio’s Women’s Magazine, WM host Lisa Dettmer celebrates Pride month by talking about some of the films I recommend that are showing  at the   the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, hosted by Frameline.  Frameline  was founded in 1977 and is the longest-running, largest, and most widely recognized queer film exhibition in the world so this year marks 50 years of Frameline films.  The films run from June 17th thru June 27th and are shown in both SF and the East Bay. We talk to Allegra Madsen,  the director of SF Frameline.   

And then Lisa Dettmer  talks to Cheri Gaulke about her new documentary “Acting Like Women” which looks at the Art, activism, and female-powered performance burst onto the scene in 1970s Los Angeles, forming a tight-knit and transformative creative community. Centered around the early days of the Woman’s Building, these artists explored the body, gender, and identity — challenging the entrenched sexism of the art world while forging groundbreaking new modes of expression that would influence generations to come.

We also  talk to Sasha Water, director of the new documentary Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World which  weaves Oliver’s own words through rare archival materials and candid reflections from those who knew and admired her, including John Waters, Stephen Colbert, and Oprah Winfrey. From her formative years marked by hardship to her quiet life in Provincetown with her longtime partner, the film traces the journey of a poet who found salvation in attention — to nature, to language, and to love. Tender, contemplative, and deeply human, this documentary invites us not only to understand Mary Oliver’s life, but to reflect on our own.

Then we talk to two of the women behind the Queer Women of Color Film Festival,  managing director Kebo Drew and founding Executive/Artistic Director of QWOCMAP, Madeleine Lim.

The QWOCFF features 49 films across seven curated screenings at San Francisco’s historic Presidio Theatre. It includes  Filmmaker Q&As and  community celebrations among other events. Every screening is  fully accessible with open captions, audio description, and ASL interpretation.

For 22 years, QWOCFF has been where LBTQIA+ BIPOC filmmakers bring their work showing  films  from across continents and generations. The in person festival is June 12-14 at the Presidio Theatre, 99 Moraga Avenue, San Francisco.  

And lastly Judith Masur  will remember lesbian feminist disability justice activist Jill Lessing who died last month at 83. 

The post SF Frameline, QWOCMAP and remembering Jill Lessing appeared first on KPFA.

This hour long radio program presents and discusses women’s lives and issues globally and locally from a radical, multiracial, feminist, mujerist, womanist perspective.

The post Womens Magazine – June 1, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.