The Women's World Cup just wrapped up and was filled with excitement, firsts, and joy. But it was also mired by sexism and sexual harassment, taking focus and energy away from the incredible accomplishments of these incredible athletes. I explore the situations faced by the Spanish and Zambian national teams and hope for a day where women players can just focus on winning.

A recent survey of Brazilians found that the vast majority of Brazilians believe Brazil is a racist nation, but only a small minority believe that they themselves hold discriminatory views. I share more about this survey and make comparisons to American attitudes on race.

Cited during the episode:

Instituto Peregum: https://peregum.org.br/

The Seta Project: projetoseta.org.br

Boletim Folha podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/boletim-folha/id1501368386

2021 Gallup study: https://news.gallup.com/poll/352544/larger-majority-says-racism-against-black-people-widespread.aspx

2023 Pew Research Center study: https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2023/08/10/views-of-the-countrys-progress-on-racial-equality/

On Nov. 7th, Ohioans will have the chance to vote on a constitutional amendment to protect reproductive rights. This amendment is polling very well, with about 59% of the public in support. Upset by this, Republican legislators have added an election on August 8th to vote on Issue 1, which would change the threshold to amend the state constitution by referendum from 50% + 1 vote to 60% — virtually guaranteeing that the Nov. reproductive rights measure will fail.

We need to stop Issue 1 by boosting turnout for the August 8th election (which is a historically low turnout time, which is why they picked it). In this episode, I talk about how.

#VoteNoInAugust

To find your polling place: VoteOhio.gov

To volunteer to help spread the word, visit PostcardsToVoters.org

To read more about what's at stake, check out this Indivisible piece

To support abortion funds in Ohio, visit the Abortion Fund of Ohio

The City of Atlanta wants to spend $90 million in taxpayer dollars to tear down forest and build a police training center, where they will build a mock city for training for urban warfare, engage in explosions testing, have shooting ranges, and controlled building burns. This proposal is deeply unpopular among Atlanta residents, who want the money to be spent on several other areas where there are pressing needs, including education and healthcare. The major supporters of Cop City are major corporations - not the actual residents who will be targeted by the police trained at Cop City.

The good news is community organizers have organized an opportunity to put Cop City to a public vote. By August 14th, they need to collect 70,000 signatures from registered voters in Atlanta to secure a referendum on the November 7th ballot on whether Cop City should be funded.

Let's spread the word!

https://www.copcityvote.com - all the info you need about the petition and signature gathering

https://stopcop.city/ - all the info you need about what Cop City is

Also check out @copcityvote and @cpdaction for more and @atlantabeltlinehatesyou for great memes about #NoCopCity

You can also donate to the Atlanta Solidarity Fund at https://atlsolidarity.org/

To learn more about the major corporations backing Cop City, check out: https://news.littlesis.org/2022/11/15/meet-the-major-corporations-and-cultural-institutions-helping-build-cop-city-in-atlanta/

#StopCopCity

Today's episode focuses on one of the Supreme Court cases decided last week, 303 Creative v. Elenis, which held that businesses can refuse service to gay customers. This case is bad news, and in this episode, I explain why.

I also mention the website www.oyez.org, where you can listen to all Supreme Court oral arguments and read the opinions (the decisions of the justices).

First episode of season 3!

Today I talk about the quick yet powerful read called Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey. In a capitalist society, our worth is measured by our productivity. Unfortunately, that measurement is unsustainable, not only for us, but for the planet as well. I reflect on Tricia's book and examples from various countries around the world about how we can make the world better if we prioritized rest more.

Buy it on Bookshop.org at https://bookshop.org/p/books/rest-is-resistance-a-manifesto-tricia-hersey/18255493?ean=9780316365215

Buy it on BetterWorldBooks.com at https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/rest-is-resistance-a-manifesto-9780316365215?_gl=1*r2vl3p*_ga*MzYzNDUzNDQuMTY4NjE5OTg3Mw..*_up*MQ..

Or buy it at your local bookstore

Today we continue exploring how criminal courts work. We start by building off of last episode's discussion about the prohibitive cost of jail/prison phone calls with good news that Minnesota is making calls in its state prisons free. To learn more about that, check out Worth Rises: https://worthrises.org/pressreleases/minnesota-connecting-families-win. We then skip ahead in the criminal court process to talk a little bit about the reentry process and how incarceration sets people up for a very difficult road in reintegrating into society. As an example, I talk about Mary Henderson-Uloho, who was featured in the latest season of the tv show Queer Eye. Mary was incarcerated for about 12 years, followed by another 12 years on parole. She is the founder of Sister Hearts (www.sisterhearts.org), which helps formerly incarcerated people through the reentry process. Mary's story is inspirational and educational; I highly encourage listeners to watch her Queer Eye episode. You can also learn more about Mary through the Atlantic-award-winning short film "Women After Prison" (https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/591364/sister-hearts/). You can also follow Mary on instagram @maryamuloho. I also mention an article I wrote for Well + Good about the unlikely connections between the wellness industry and prison abolition, which you can read here: https://www.wellandgood.com/wellness-prison-abolition/