On The Issues With Michele Goodwin

In this episode, we unpack the chaos of the Trump years.  Breaking news took on  new meaning during Donald Trump’s term in the White House—one that was quite different from prior presidential administrations.  A ban on Muslims from entering the United States, known as the “Muslim Ban” quickly went into effect after his inauguration.  The world saw the United States lock children in cages at the border and defend its policy to deny those children soap and toothpaste.  The Trump years set in motion the end of Roe v. Wade, the dismantling of agency authority, the elimination of important environmental protections, and chaos regarding the pandemic. There was also the rise in domestic terrorist groups—white nationalist supremacist groups grew 55% during his term.  After the now convicted former president's defeat in the 2020 presidential election, the “Stop The Steal” campaign took off—leading to more than sixty lawsuits challenging election results and the January 6th insurrection. Notably, he appointed more federal judges than any other president save George Washington—including three to the U.S. Supreme Court.  

To unpack the Trump era, the civil and criminal lawsuits, and much more, Dr. Michele Goodwin is joined by very special guests: Webby Award winning #SistersInLaw podcasters Jill Wine Banks and Kimberly Atkins Stohr.  

 -Jill Wine-Banks served as one of the Watergate prosecutors, and is the author of The Watergate Girl. She was first female general counsel in the U.S. Army and first female Executive Director of the American Bar Association. She is also an MSNBC legal analyst.

 -Kimberly Atkins Stohr is a senior opinion writer at The Boston Globe and a regular contributor to MSNBC. She served as the first Washington, D.C.-based news correspondent for WBUR and as the Boston Herald's Washington bureau chief. 

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In this episode, we continue our series: The Trump Indictments.  On May 30, 2024, Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 counts by a New York jury.  In this episode we unpack the criminal charges that Donald Trump engaged in illegal business, electoral, and campaign activities. This week, we’re rejoined by Moira Donegan to discuss why the New York trial was about more than about “hush money" and how the case marks the first time a former president has stood trial for criminal prosecution and been convicted .

Joining us to discuss this is our very special guest:

Moira Donegan. Moira Donegan is a feminist writer and current opinion columnist with the Guardian U.S., as well as a current writer in residence for the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University. 

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In this episode, taped in front of a live audience at Georgetown Law in Washington, D.C., a panel of health and legal experts unpack what's happening around the world—from Gaza, to Afghanistan and beyond. How can governments and NGOs best act to preserve health, enforce legal norms, and protect humanity in times of conflict, and what can we learn from the doctors and human rights advocates who have been on the ground in these situations?

Joining me to discuss these issues is a panel of very special guests:

Lawrence Gostin: Larry Gostin is co-director of the O'Neill institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown, and the director of the World Health Organization's Collaborating Center on National and Global Health.

Dr. Houssam al-Nahhas: Houssam al-Nahhas is a Middle East and North Africa researcher at Physicians for Human Rights, leading the organization's work on documenting attacks on healthcare, and a Syrian physician.

Dr. Sima Samar: Sima Samar is a doctor, activist and human right defender. She is currently a visiting scholar with Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Karen Joy Greenberg: Karen Greenberg is the Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School.

Saman Zia-Zarifi: Sam Zarifi is the Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

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In this episode,  we're joined by the indomitable Lizz Winstead with a live studio in Washington,  D.C.  She bares all as we talk about the new documentary featuring her and Abortion Access Front (AAF), No One Asked You.  From her childhood to her own abortion story,  she tells it all, including what led her to found AAF. 

In a time when the news is increasingly dire—especially with regard to reproductive health care—do comedians have a role in sharing the news? Winstead, who forever changed the way people get their news when she co-created The Daily Show, knows better than anyone that the answer to this question is a resounding yes.

Joining me to discuss these vital topics is a very special guest:

Lizz Winstead is the co-creator and head writer of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, as well as the founder and chief creative officer of Abortion Access Front.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

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The fight to enshrine gender equality in the U.S. Constitution is more urgent than ever. The Equal Rights Amendment could prove pivotal in securing not just the promise of equal protections in the eyes of the law, but by providing crucial protections when it comes to reproductive rights in the wake of Roe’s overturn. 

Nobody knows this better than Susan Frietsche—who recently secured an incredible victory for women in the state of Pennsylvania in terms of then power of the Equal Rights Amendment as it relates to reproductive freedom. In this episode, we delve into how Susan’s work sets an important precedent for protecting women’s rights—and how it relates to the fight to secure the federal ERA in the Constitution. 

This episode is a part of the latest installment of Ms. Magazine’s Women and Democracy platform, "The ERA Is Essential to Democracy."

Joining us to discuss these crucial topics is a very special guest:

Susan Frietsche is the co-executive director of the Women’s Law Project, for which she founded the Western Pennsylvania office in 2002. She provides direct representation for the 17 freestanding abortion facilities in Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the Women’s Law Project she was the Deputy Director of the Pennsylvania ACLU.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

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This week, we’re continuing our series, “The Trump Indictments,” which unpacks the litigation and criminal charges levied at former president Donald Trump. In this episode, Dr. Goodwin brings us up to speed on the Supreme Court’s decision to reinstate the former President on the Colorado ballot. Professor Anthony Michael Kreis also returns to discuss what’s been happening in Washington, D.C. and what comes next in at least one of Trump’s trials.

Joining us to discuss these crucial issues is our very special returning guest:

Prof. Anthony Michael Kreis. Anthony Michael Kreis is a professor of law and political science with Georgia State University. His research examines the relationship between social change and the law, focusing on the relationship between American political history and the development of law over time.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

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This week, we’re continuing our series unpacking the litigation and criminal charges levied at former president Donald Trump: The Trump Indictments. In this episode, Dr. Goodwin is joined by Professor Anthony Michael Kreis as they discuss the status of the Georgia criminal prosecution against Trump and the allegations facing Fulton County DA Fani Willis.   

Joining us to discuss these crucial issues is our very special returning guest:

Prof. Anthony Michael Kreis. Anthony Michael Kreis is a professor of law and political science with Georgia State University. His research examines the relationship between social change and the law, focusing on the relationship between American political history and the development of law over time.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

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In this special episode, Dr. Goodwin is on the road, broadcasting from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.  She's joined by Dutch physician and reproductive rights activist and pioneer, Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, founder of Women on Waves—an organization that took to the seas to provide women abortions and reproductive healthcare.  They unpack victories and the horrors—including Dr. Gomperts' boat being seized, chained, and crew being held by gunpoint.  They also unpack what comes next for abortion, including self-managed abortion and telehealth.

Joining us for this episode is very special guest:

Dr. Rebecca Gomperts. Dr. Gomperts is a Dutch physician and an activist for reproductive health, rights, and justice. She is the founder of Women on Waves, a Dutch organization that brings reproductive health services, and particularly non-surgical abortion services and education, to women in countries with restrictive abortion laws.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

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Report after report has shown that sexual harassment and assault are pervasive throughout the U.S. armed forces: at least 15.7 percent of military personnel and veterans reported military sexual trauma, a number that is likely smaller than the actual total due to shame and fear around reporting. What’s more, perpetrators are rarely if ever held accountable: according to a recent ProPublica investigation, more than half of the 900 soldiers who were allowed to leave the Army in the past decade rather than go to trial were accused of violent crimes.

But in the face of a culture that silences and disenfranchises women and survivors, some women are speaking out—and demanding change. One of them is our very special guest,

Melissa McCafferty: Melissa McCafferty is a former Lieutenant with the United States Coast Guard, where she served for 12 years. After being sexually assaulted while in the Coast Guard Academy, she has since become an advocate for military sexual assault victims, including testifying in front of Congress earlier this year. She recently received her JD from Georgetown University Law Center, and serves as a Young Lawyer Representative at the American Bar Association Section of Antitrust Law.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. 

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In this episode, we continue our Collateral Damage series—where we’re thinking about women during wartime, and the unique price they pay. As various wars and conflicts continue to mount around the world, from Ukraine to Gaza, to Sudan and beyond, we’re wondering: where are the women at the negotiating table? The number of women and girls living in conflict-affected countries continues to mount, reaching 614 million people in 2022—a 50-percent increase from 2017. What do governments and NGOs need to do to make sure that women’s needs do not fall through the cracks?

Joining us for this episode is a very special guest:

Dr. Yael Braudo-Bahat: Dr. Yael Braudo-Bahat is the co-director of Women Wage Peace, an Israel-based organization with the goal of empowering women from diverse communities to build trust across divides, leading in turn to a unified demand for diplomatic negotiation, with full representation of women, to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. 

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

Tips, suggestions, pitches? Get in touch with us at [email protected]. 

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