My Body. My Pod. with Mini Timmaraju

Live from Manchester, New Hampshire, former Vice President Kamala Harris joins Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju on My Body. My Pod. for a candid conversation about political accountability, reproductive freedom, and the urgent need for systemic change just days before the 2026 midterm elections.

The conversation follows remarks from Rep. Chris Pappas, Reproductive Freedom for All's endorsed candidate for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire.

Harris isn’t mincing words. She’s calling for leaders to be “ruthless” about accountability, not through cruelty, but through an uncompromising commitment to meaningful change. 

For Harris, accountability means more than calling out abuses of power or sending strongly worded letters. It means enforcing real consequences and putting progress before process.

In this special live episode, VP Harris and Mini dig into:

• How people know they deserve better: Harris reflects on what she's hearing from Americans across the country, and across party lines: frustration with their political leaders, and why people are unwilling to accept what she describes as brutality and lack of accountability from the most “callous, corrupt and incompetent presidential administration we have ever experienced.” 
• Demanding systemic change: Why Harris is calling for expanding the Supreme Court to 13 justices, critically examining the Electoral College, and overturning Citizens United, and reforming political institutions. “We’ve got to think structurally whether or not the system is working as intended to reflect the will of the people.”
• What inspired Harris’ fight for reproductive freedom: How her upbringing, her mother's work in women's health, and her early career protecting women and children shaped her advocacy. Harris also reflects on leading the Biden-Harris administration's response to the fall of Roe v. Wade, including efforts to protect medication abortion and emergency care. “In moments where any group of people, or their rights, are being attacked, we can’t make the warriors for justice fight alone.”
• The health care crisis created by Trump and Republican lawmakers: Their reckless policies have gutted Medicaid, SNAP, and other federal programs—taking food, and medical care away from those in need to offset tax breaks for multi-millionaires and billionaires.
• A defense for the Gen Z voter: Harris makes a case for why leaders must earn the younger generation’s trust rather than dismiss them as apathetic. “You can’t expect people to be engaged in a system that is not invested in their best interest.”
• People power and the 2026 midterms: Harris shares her vision for how voting, community engagement, and collective action can give people a voice in shaping their future.

The hopelessness phase is over. Harris says it's time to turn anger, sadness, and disappointment into action. It's time to build a political system that works for the people, not the other way around.

Your vote is your power! Cast your ballot on or before Election Day next Tuesday, November 3. 

• Get ready to vote using our voter resources
• Join our Volunteer Elections Team

Episode recorded on October 24, 2026.

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In this special episode of My Body. My Pod., Reproductive Freedom for All President and CEO Mini Timmaraju joins U.S. Reps. Adelita Grijalva (AZ-07), and Maxine Dexter (OR-03) to expose ICE’s cruel, inhumane, and illegal treatment of women and pregnant people in custody.

Recorded in Phoenix, Arizona, following a congressional oversight visit to the Eloy Detention Center by Reps. Dexter, Grijalva, and U.S. Rep Yassamin Ansari (AZ-03), the conversation takes listeners behind the scenes of ICE’s mistreatment of detained people, including 24-year-old Maria Alejandra Valero Brinez. 

Five months into a high-risk pregnancy, Maria reports experiencing complications, struggling to access regular prenatal care, and fearing another pregnancy loss after previously experiencing a stillbirth.

The lawmakers also discuss reports of inadequate access to clean water, adequate food, menstrual products, safe sleeping conditions, and medical care across immigration detention facilities. 

These concerns extend beyond Eloy, including reports involving pregnant migrant children who were reportedly transferred to San Benito, Texas—where abortion is banned—in order to deny them abortion care.

“Pregnancy doesn't stop at the detention center door,” says Mini. “Medical emergencies don't wait, and access to reproductive health care should never depend on someone's immigration status or whether they're being held in federal custody.”

ICE has demonstrated a pattern of abuse under the Trump administration. Despite federal policy stating that pregnant and postpartum people should only be detained in limited circumstances, hundreds have been detained and deported.

There have been multiple reports of ICE forcing pregnant people to navigate pregnancy under dangerous and inhumane conditions, denying them basic medical care, including abortion access, and reportedly “losing count” of miscarriages in custody.

This is state-sanctioned reproductive violence.

Together, Mini and Reps. Dexter and Grijalva examine the broader reproductive freedom crisis in immigration detention and beyond—the urgent need for accountability, and what it will take to protect our health, rights, and freedoms.

We strongly condemn the Trump administration’s cruel actions against pregnant people. 

Sign our petition demanding Maria's release at reproforall.org/freemaria.

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Actor, author, and reproductive freedom advocate Busy Philipps joins Mini Timmaraju for a funny, fearless conversation about abortion, motherhood, activism, and what happens when we refuse to be silenced. 

Busy shares why she publicly told her abortion story, the fear of speaking out and how reclaiming her own personal narrative helped challenge the stigma around abortion. 

From protesting the overturning of Roe v. Wade to testifying before Congress, Busy shares how personal experiences can become powerful acts of resistance. 

Reflecting on how women have been taught to feel ashamed of their bodies and reproductive choices, Busy says, “Well, the shame is how they've tricked us into feeling that we don't have any power… and quite the opposite is actually true.”

Mini and Busy also unpack the everyday misogyny that shapes our culture, from toxic masculinity to rape culture. But—there’s hope. Mini and Busy talk about being inspired by their kids, and how the next generation is rejecting the messages of shame and limitations.

And yes, they get into THAT controversial “Saturday Night Live” monologue, which Busy calls out as lazy, mediocre comedy. And yes—it IS that serious. Mini and Busy explore how normalizing sexism reinforces the same attitudes that threaten our safety, bodily autonomy, and reproductive freedom.

Plus, Busy opens up about her recent brain surgery, the importance of being heard and taken seriously when advocating for your own health care, and her new CBS series “Cupertino” which explores the influence of powerful men, particularly in tech, on our culture, politics, and lives. 

With the 2026 midterms approaching, Busy and Mini remind us that we have the power to push back, organize, and VOTE, VOTE, VOTE! 

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Big news for My Body. My Pod.! We're finalists for TWO Shorty Impact Awards, and we need your votes!

In this special mini-episode, host Mini Timmaraju shares how you can help us bring home the awards for Podcast and Government & Politics. Voting is open through October 13, and you can vote once a day in each category.

Plus, we're gearing up for the 2026 midterm elections with a special lineup of big-name guests, powerful conversations, and new episodes every week through Election Day.

Vote for My Body. My Pod.: https://shortyawards.com/11th-impact/my-body-my-pod-a-reproductive-freedom-podcast

We'll see you next week!

Get ready to vote! Your vote is your power. Find the tools you need to get informed, make a plan, and be ready to vote in the midterms: reproforall.orgorg/get-ready-to-vote/

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Content warning: this episode includes adult language and mature themes. Parental discretion is advised. 

This special episode was filmed LIVE at the 2026 Women’s Convening, hosted by our friends at the Women’s March in Houston, Texas on September 26, 2026.

Mini Timmaraju sits down with Rachel O’Leary Carmona, Women's March Executive Director, and Nsé Ufot, Solidarity Analytics & Media Founder and Women’s March Board Member, on stage before hundreds of organizers to explore a feminist future: what is it and how do we get there?

At the top of the conversation, Carmona shares a metaphor about creating a vision for a feminist future, explaining how movement work cannot just be about opposing harm; it must articulate the tangible vision of liberation being fought for.

"You all are talking about the recipe and the people need to learn about the brownie. What is the brownie that we are fighting for?,” Carmona says. “What exactly are we fighting for in the face of a very clearly articulated plan?"

Together, Mini, Rachel, and Nsé lay out a vision for 2050—one built on true equity, full bodily autonomy, and sustained movement building.

They dig into:

• What a "feminist future" looks like in 2050—from federal protections for abortion access to closing health care gaps, paid leave, and menopause research equity
• Confronting the underlying misogyny of political allies willing to compromise on abortion rights while women are dying as a result of harmful bans
• Reclaiming the definition of "pro-life" to describe a society that affirms communities, ends profit-driven healthcare, and protects people from birth to old age
• Why the mutual care, mutual aid, and organizing networks created by women serve as the core operating system of successful liberation movements
• How organizers in the south and red states build resilient, long-term power without buying into national political cynicism
• Rejecting the “loser energy” of anti-abortion extremists and politicians who are actively gutting our fundamental freedoms
• Why every person has a specific assignment in the movement ecosystem—from frontline organizing and union support to childcare and community care
• The critical importance of voting in the upcoming midterm elections to win back power for reproductive freedom and a feminist future

"They've gotten really, really comfortable with political wins on the backs of women's labor and at the expense of women's lives. That's not going to change until we aggressively elect leaders who reflect us." — Mini Timmaraju

The conversation gets at why winning requires more than just showing up in election years—it requires building lasting community infrastructure, pouring into the next generation of organizers, and protecting our collective peace and joy along the way.

About the Women’s Convening 2026: Women's March, in partnership with Project South and 22nd Century Initiative, supported by Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Madre, Borealis and more, convened hundreds of women from all 50 states for a national train-the-trainers summit, launching a bottom-up effort to rebuild democracy led by everyday women.

Episode recorded on September 26, 2026.

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Troy Jackson has a hell of a story.

He’s a fifth-generation Maine logger who got into politics because he was angry about the way working people were being treated in America.

And, he once opposed abortion rights.

So what changed? He listened. To women, doctors, and people in his own community. “I just started to understand that I was wrong on this issue,” he tells Mini.

And then? He did something about it.

As president of the Maine Senate, he helped pass some of the strongest reproductive freedom protections in the country.

Now he’s running for the U.S. Senate against SusanCollins–the Senator who took the deciding vote for Brett Kavanaugh. And we are so here for it.

In this episode of My Body. My Pod., host Mini Timmaraju sits down with Troy in Portland, Maine, to talk about what changed for him, why abortion is health care, and why reproductive freedom is part of the affordability conversation – whether politicians want to admit it or not.

They also talk about power: who has it, who doesn’t, and what happens when regular people decide they’ve had enough.

And, yes, they talk about what it takes to send Susan Collins packing.

Collins has repeatedly stood by her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, who overturned Roe. Troy helped make Maine a national leader on reproductive freedom. And that contrast? It is at the heart of one of the most important Senate races in the country.

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Content note: This episode includes a brief discussion of sexual assault (~4:30-8:30). 

Michigan Governor Gretchen “Big Gretch” Whitmer has helped transform reproductive freedom in Michigan and shown what’s possible when reproductive freedom champions have the power to govern.

In this episode of My Body. My Pod., Mini Timmaraju sits down with Gov. Whitmer to talk about Michigan’s transformation from a state at risk of reverting to a 1931 abortion ban after Roe v. Wade was overturned, to one that has expanded protections for abortion, contraception, IVF, and reproductive freedom by enacting the Reproductive Health Act.

Gov. Whitmer also shares how her own experience shaped her fight for reproductive freedom and why abortion access cannot be separated from the economic issues affecting families every day.

“You can't divest that most important decision from the person that is going to bear the consequences of it,” Whitmer says.

Mini and Gov. Whitmer look at what Michigan can teach us about winning long-term fights, why reproductive freedom remains at stake even after voters have protected it at the ballot box, and what it will take to keep moving forward. This includes electing reproductive freedom champions up and down the ballot in the midterm elections—in Michigan and beyond.

As Whitmer puts it: “These fights are longer than they should be. They're harder than they should be, but they're winnable.”

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Dr. Kristin Lyerly has experienced the fight for reproductive freedom from nearly every angle imaginable: as an OB-GYN, abortion provider, advocate, candidate for Congress, and as a named physician plaintiff in the landmark lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's 1849 abortion law. That case cleared the way for abortion care to resume in Wisconsin.

In this episode of My Body. My Pod., Mini Timmaraju and Dr. Lyerly dig into Wisconsin’s fight for reproductive freedom and what’s possible when we organize: we win back political power to protect and expand reproductive freedom.

They also discuss the real health consequences of abortion bans, including the risks of pregnancy, delivery, and the postpartum period, and what happens when politicians interfere with medical care.

“This is about so much more than whether you can get an abortion in your state or not,”  says Dr. Lyerly. “It's about health care. It's about freedom. It's about our ability to live our lives.”

Mini and Dr. Lyerly discuss:

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Republican officials are trying to enforce their abortion bans across state lines. Democratic governors and attorneys general are using shield laws to fight back, and protect providers and their patients. This is why the governors and attorneys general we elect matter more than ever. 

Here’s how a shield law looks in practice.

In December 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued a New York provider for prescribing telemedicine abortion care to a patient in Texas. After a Texas court ordered the provider to pay more than $113,000, Paxton tried to get New York to enforce the judgment.

New York refused. An Ulster County clerk blocked the filing under the state's shield law, and Attorney General Letitia James stepped in to defend the law and the provider.

Then, Louisiana officials indicted the same doctor and sought to have her extradited. Again, New York refused. This time, New York Governor Kathy Hochul stepped in and refused to turn over the provider.

In this episode of My Body. My Pod, human rights lawyer and Reproductive Futures founder and CEO Julie F. Kay joins Mini Timmaraju to discuss the shield laws at the center of this fight, the growing attacks on telemedicine abortion, and the importance of the midterm elections.

Mini and Julie Dig into:

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When Ashley and Marcus Brandt learned they were expecting twins, they imagined their family finally feeling complete. Just weeks later, everything changed.

During a routine ultrasound, one of the twins was diagnosed with a fatal condition. Because of Texas' abortion ban, their doctors couldn't provide the medical care they needed. The family traveled to Colorado for a procedure that protected Ashley from life-threatening complications and saved their surviving twin.

In this special collaboration with Abortion in America, Mini Timmaraju sits down with Ashley and Marcus to hear their story. Together, they discuss how abortion bans delay critical medical care, and undermine the ability of patients and doctors to make the best decisions together.

“I felt like a reproductive refugee,” says Ashley. “My daughter has less rights now than her grandmother did. It’s unacceptable."

They discuss:

This episode is a powerful reminder that abortion is health care—and that politicians should never stand between families and the medical care they need.

Episode recorded on March 8, 2026

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