New Legacy Radio

Implicit bias toward people who are unmarried and do not have children is pervasive throughout medical education, protocol, and practice. Models of healthcare based on a presumed family structure are neither inclusive nor safe when patients have different experiences and outcomes based on marital status. Healthcare access, hospital release requirements, post-procedure care, and treatment are designed for those with specific social and familial structures and relationships. The dangers posed throughout the medical field can leave patients to navigate on their own, amidst these unrecognized barriers. How does this impact the quality of healthcare an unmarried person receives? Today's guest is Joan DelFattore, a professor emerita at the University of Delaware. She has researched, written, and spoken widely on singlist bas in medical care. She will share how this bias can significantly affect cancer treatment and the ways medical authors justify the disparate treatment of married and unmarried cancer patients who are otherwise similar. We will discuss what can be done to reduce these adverse outcomes, and the urgent changes we need now. Tune in live to learn more about what you can do to create change amidst healthcare inequity impacting our demographic.

In several ways, akin to the growing collective demographic of people who don't have children, the overlooked value of voter relevance & influence is too often dismissed by dominant political narratives. Tune in for this timely conversation with Matthew Ferrence, author of I Hate It Here, Please Vote for Me: Essays on Rural Political Decay (West Virginia University Press, 2024). In 2020, Matthew Ferrence ran for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, in a deeply-red district, and lost quite badly. In his newest book, he reflects on this experience to explore how American political narratives refuse to recognize the existence and value of nonconservative rural Americans, and how losing offers insight into the political morass of our nation. In I Hate It Here, Please Vote for Me he offers a counter-narrative to stereotypes of monolithic rural American voters and emphasizes that the ways stories are told about rural America are a source for the bitter divide between Red America and Blue America. Tune in live or on-demand to learn more about the underpinnings of the US political landscape and the need to recognize overlooked nonconservative voters in rural America.

Reproductive healthcare remains a divisive issue in the United States, and once again, abortion is on the ballot in an election nearly one month away. In 2022, the Dobbs Decision took away the constitutional right to privacy and bodily autonomy and gave states increased rights to limit and even outlaw abortions. (Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Supreme Court Decision) The impact of this decision on women and girls resulted in forced births, preventable deaths, and legal prosecution for experiencing miscarriages and crossing state lines to seek necessary reproductive healthcare services. Due to the ever-present need for urgent response to these life-threatening and often life-ending policies, historical perspectives of women's reproductive healthcare may not always be at the forefront of the abortion debate. Today will learn from the life of a prominent 19th-century icon who offered reproductive healthcare services to women for forty years. Nicholas Syrett has written a brilliant portrayal of one of the most famous abortionists of this time in his book, "The Trials of Madame Restell: Nineteenth-Century America's Most Infamous Female Physician and the Campaign to Make Abortion a Crime" (The New Press 2023). Nicholas will share the profundity of her work amidst the scandals and consequences of the time. We will also discuss how this relates to the current state of women's reproductive rights.

Abortion on the ballot is not an unfamiliar phrase in the United States. This issue has been a polarizing one for US voters, and the threat of revoking women's reproductive rights. At the heart of this issue is the extraction and weaponization of a single issue. Women do not have full autonomy we do not have bodily autonomy. The hyper-focus on controlling the reproductive aspect of women's lives and bodies most poignantly reveals how women are valued and not. Fragmenting reproductive medical needs from healthcare, not only endangers those who want or need to have access to abortion, the impact is far-reaching. We have seen this time and again since the Dobbs decision, from medical patients being denied necessary procedures and medication, to girls who have been forced to give birth. Today we will discuss why the election matters, and why your vote must be counted. We will be in conversation with Karen Mulhauser, a powerful advocate for abortion rights and community organizer, and her colleague Lindy Shapiro, who is committed to engaging youth. They are working to ensure women's freedoms now and for future generations.

Today we will discuss self-identity in the context of not knowing one's birth origins. How do social and familial circumstances shape our identities when we enter the world, and throughout our lives? In particular, what is the potential impact of not knowing the origins of your DNA, and the person who embodies it? Nuclear families, parents, guardians, and other immediate people in a child's life, often well-intentioned have withheld knowledge of children's birth identities. While it is more common for this to be a matter of paternity, children who are adopted, whose parents have died, or who otherwise live not knowing the origins of their birth, may also not know the identity of who gave birth to them. What are the reasons for this, and how does this ultimately impact the self-identity of children and adults? David Tereshchuk, author of A Question of Paternity: My Life as an Unaffiliated Reporter, will share his insight and intimate experiences, seeking to find the identity of his father. His story is heartrending and one that will be deeply resonant for so many.

Warning: This episode may contain words and imagery that could be activating to survivors and others who condemn the practice of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). It is an honor to have Angela Peabody on the show today. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Global Woman® P.E.A.C.E. Foundation (GWPF), a nonprofit focused on ending gender-based violence and empowering women and girls through education. With her leadership, GWPF has made significant strides, including organizing the first Walk to End FGM in the U.S., securing legislation to criminalize FGM in the state of Virginia, and advocating for FGM education in Virginia schools. Angela also trains law enforcement and school personnel on FGM and supports survivors through specialized workshops. Angela Peabody is the first Liberian woman to pen and publish a full-length novel. She is the author of the fictional book When the Games Froze, which was republished in May 2023. This book is a heart-wrenching story about everyday people who come together by fate and are destined to help others in need. Tune in to learn about the history of the practice of FGM on infants and young girls and the lifelong impact on survivors. We confront the practices of FGM as it is often a missing conversation in reproductive rights and health education, initiatives, and practices. We are grateful for the work of the Global Woman® P.E.A.C.E. Foundation (GWPF) and all who act to end FGM practices. We highlight the realities of FGM to recognize, remember, and honor all survivors globally.

On today's show, we are honored to have the founder of World Childless Week, Stephanie Joy Phillips as our guest! Last year, Stephanie was awarded the 'Together' Make A Difference Award from BBC Hereford and Worcester. We continue to celebrate Stephanie and all she has done in service to those who are childless. We will discuss the upcoming World Childless Week events and learn more about how to participate in and support this meaningful week! World Childless Week will be held from 16-22 September this year, and as always there will be new and familiar voices, creative expressions, webinars, and much more for you to connect in ways that matter most to you right now. We will also assess the recent vitriol aimed at childless people and the varied responses to these verbal attacks. How has this been addressed, and who has been centered in response to these false narratives? Tune in live for these topics and much more!

What opportunities and access do international organizations create for professional changemakers and the communities and populations they serve? How can we assess the most effective pathways toward the change we seek to influence? Joining us today, is Dr. Emiliana Vegas, a professor of practice at the Harvard Graduate School of Education who has been highly recognized for her career working to inform education policy in the so-called Global South. She has been a leading economist at the World Bank, division chief of education at the Inter-American Bank, and co-director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution. She is the author of the soon-to-be-released book, Let's Change the World: How to Work within International Development Organizations to Make a Difference (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers). Dr. Vegas draws on her more than 20 years of international development experience, and her passion for the power of education in Let's Change the World. Tune in live for this dynamic conversation on education, policy, and pathways to making a difference!

Policy steeped in systemic discrimination and privilege continues to prioritize legal unions and the nuclear family. Too often, the presence and history of those who live outside these patriarchally contrived units, have been excluded or suppressed. Further, current policy does not reflect the world as it is today. Unmarried individuals and people without children have not only been present throughout history, we are a growing demographic, globally. However, we remain without the same legal protections and benefits in multiple domains, where marriage and reproduction are upheld as privileged statuses. Our guest today is the author of Moving Past Marriage: Why We Should Ditch Marital Privilege, End Relationship-Status Discrimination, and Embrace Nonmarital History. Dr. Jaclyn Geller is a writer and associate professor of English, at Central Connecticut State University and specializes in Restoration and eighteenth century-studies. In today's conversation, we will explore nonmarital history and the impact of nonmarital and pronatalist discrimination, today. You will not want to miss this conversation with Dr. Geller as she shares her profound insight, expertise, and solutionist approach to nonmarital disenfranchisement!

On this episode of New Legacy Radio, we will be joined by Dr. Jane van Dis. Dr. van Dis is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Rochester and lectures internationally on the intersection of the climate crisis and women's maternal health.

Dr. van Dis will share her breadth of knowledge and experience, including the climate crisis and the carbon footprint of medicine, the presence and impact of microplastics, and ecological and population overshoot.

We will discuss the current state and impact of national and global crises, the changes required to disrupt these exponential realities, and why dismantling patriarchy is imperative for urgent, forward movement toward resolving the climate crisis.

Tune in live to learn more!