Earlier this year, the Southern Poverty Law Center named Moms for Liberty an extremist hate group. This is after Moms for Liberty endorsed 275 winning school board candidates nationwide in 2022. They continue to targeting thousands of school board seats and are calling for books bans and censorship of history lessons. They also use their platforms to harass teachers and school administrators and advocate for the dismantlement of the Department of Education. Much of their hate is targeted towards the LGTBQ+ community.

On today’s program, we try to understand the seeming swift rise of Moms for Liberty. First we are joined by Syracuse University Professor of History Margaret Susan Thompson. She helps us understand the legacy of far-right women’s groups in the US.

Then, we speak with Mother Jones senior editor Kiera Butler about her extensive reporting on Moms for Liberty, including her recent attendance at their conference in Philadelphia.

Margaret Susan Thompson is a professor of history and political science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs at Syracuse. University.  She teaches, among other subjects,  an honors seminar on White Nationalism/Right Populism in Modern America. She received her PhD from the UW-Madison.

Kiera Butler is a senior editor at Mother Jones. Her reporting is focused on how purveyors of disinformation target online communities of women. Her August 2022 piece “The Most Powerful Moms in America Are the New Face of the Republican Party” offers a deep dive into the making of Moms for Liberty.

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