In this episode, host Michele Goodwin speaks directly to students, young scholars, and the next generation of leaders, and of course, the people who love them.  As she remarks, they are coming of age in a world that is complicated, challenging, and often unfair. This talk is about standing up when it's easier to look away, holding your ground when the crowd moves in a different direction, and acting with empathy and accountability in a world that often forgets what those values actually mean. 

This episode is a rebroadcast of a keynote Michele Goodwin delivered at the Law and Society Association's graduate student Early Career Workshop in 2025.

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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Trump has been in office for 200 days. In those 200 days, important institutions core to democracy have been dismantled. The rule of law has been challenged in countless ways—increasingly violent ICE raids and disappearances, dismantling of important agencies, canceling of funding for public broadcasts, significant rollbacks of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)  initiatives, draconian cuts to healthcare and social services, executive orders singling out queer and trans people, and much more.

But we’ve also seen a coordinated effort to resist him, with millions across the country taking to the streets again and again to protest on behalf of the rights of their neighbors, their families, and themselves. Attorneys and advocates are also stepping up, demanding courts to defend our rights. Two hundred days in, what have we learned—and what’s  the playbook for the next four years?

Helping us to sort out these questions and set the record straight is our very special guest, 

Skye Perryman: Skye L. Perryman is President and CEO of Democracy Forward, a nonpartisan, national legal organization that promotes democracy and progress through litigation, regulatory engagement, policy education, and research. She previously served as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. 

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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Not even a year into the second Trump administration, it’s clear that people are struggling for hope. But there’s hope to be found in so many places, including in the wisdom of the women who took on Trump—and won. 

E. Jean Carroll and her lawyer Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan made headlines in 2023 and 2024 for winning a significant legal battle against Trump, with a jury finding him guilty of sexual abuse and defamation, and awarding Carroll $5 and then later an $83.3 million verdict. What can we learn from E. Jean Carroll’s case to fuel our fight forward?

Helping us to sort out these questions and set the record straight are our very special guests, 

E. Jean Carroll: E. Jean Carroll is an American journalist and author. In 2023, she won a legal battle against Donald Trump after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Her latest book, Not My Type: One Woman Against a President, was released in June of 2025. 

Roberta Kaplan: Roberta “Robbie” Kaplan is a renowned civil litigator and trial lawyer. On behalf of her client, E. Jean Carroll, she became the only lawyer to have taken the deposition of President Donald J. Trump twice, and to have obtained two separate unanimous jury verdicts against him of $5 and later $83.3 million. She is the author of the book Then Comes Marriage: United States v. Windsor and the Defeat of DOMA. 

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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Everyone’s been asking: what’s up with men these days? From high rates of gun violence and domestic violence, to the “manosphere,” Andrew Tate, and the "male loneliness epidemic," it’s clear that (white) men are hurting. But why is this happening—and what can be done to change things?

Joining me to discuss these important issues are our special guests: 

Jackson Katz: Jackson Katz, Ph.D., is a regular Ms. contributor and creator of the 2024 film The Man Card: 50 Years of Gender, Power, and the American Presidency. He is also a member of the Young Men Research Initiative working group and founder of Men for Democracy. Katz’s new book, Every Man: Why Violence Against Women is a Men’s Issue, was published Feb. 20, 2025 by Penguin Random House U.K.

Gary Barker: Gary Barker, PhD is the CEO and co-founder of Equimundo Center for Masculinities and Social Justice, a major contributor to international activism on male allyship in gender equality. He was the first Executive Director of Instituto Promundo in Brazil and led its pioneering work on healthy masculinities. He is co-founder of MenCare, a global campaign in more than 50 countries to promote men’s involvement as caregivers, and co-founder of MenEngage, a global alliance of more than 700 NGOs. He co-created the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), the largest survey of men’s attitudes and behaviors related to violence, fatherhood, and gender equality. He leads Equimundo’s State of the World’s Fathers reports, which has become a major advocacy platform for the global care economy. He advises the UN, the World Bank, national governments, international foundations and corporations on strategies to engage men and boys in promoting gender equality.

Cody Thompson: Cody Thompson is a program coordinator with the Center on Addiction and Public Policy (CAPP) and the Center for Community Health Innovation (CCHI) at the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. Thompson is committed to contributing to and supporting work that serves people, especially communities disproportionately affected by chronic diseases, including but not limited to HIV/AIDS, substance use disorders, and mental disorders. Prior to joining the O’Neill Institute, Thompson interned for Faces and Voices of Recovery, supporting their advocacy team and planning for National Recovery Month. 

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.

(Get Ms.’s Special Report on Men—guest edited by Jackson Katz—for just $5!)

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This is a preview of the first episode of Looking Back, Moving Forward, the latest podcast from Ms. Studios. The full first episode is out now—subscribe to Looking Back, Moving Forward wherever you get your podcasts, or head to MsMagazine.com to learn more!

What would a truly representative democracy look like — and why don’t we have one?

Looking Back, Moving Forward launches with a focus on women’s growing political power and how feminists can, and must, shape the future of government, policy, and lawmaking. 

Our democracy is under attack, and a more representative democracy is the answer. This week, Carmen explores how we can strengthen our democracy by lifting up women and other marginalized groups in politics, and why representation in politics and power matters so much. Featuring Celinda Lake, Aimee Allison, Angel Charley, Julie C. Suk, Cynthia Richie Terrell, and Jennifer M. Piscopo.

Since its founding, Ms. has named the difference women can make as voters and in the halls of political power — and demanded a more representative democracy. This episode traces the history of women’s fight for political representation and participation, including how Ms. has shifted the electoral and political landscape — and showcases how much work is left for a fully equitable democracy to take shape in the US.

Looking Back, Moving Forward is produced by Ms. Studios. Executive producers are Michele Goodwin and Kathy Spillar. Supervising Producer, Writer, and Host is Carmen Rios. Episode producers are Roxy Szal and Oliver Haug. Every episode is edited by Natalie Hadland. Art and design are by Brandi Phipps.

Stay in touch with Ms. at msmagazine.com and on Facebook @msmagazine, Instagram and Threads @ms_magazine, and @msmagazine.comon BlueSky.

Stay in touch with Carmen at carmenfuckingrios.com and @carmenriosss on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, BlueSky, and Threads.

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A new podcast from Ms. Studios, hosted by feminist superstar and Ms. consulting editor Carmen Rios, will trace the intertwined history of Ms. magazine and the feminist movement it has given voice to for over 50 years — and explore where the fight for gender equality must go next. 

By examining the legacy of America’s longest-running feminist magazine, Looking Back, Moving Forward explores how we got to where we are now — and how our shared histories illuminate the path forward, toward an intersectional feminist future.

Subscribe to Looking Back, Moving Forward today wherever you get podcasts so you won’t miss a second of the conversations and revelations to come! The first episode launches on the Fourth of July. 

Looking Back, Moving Forward is produced by Ms. Studios. Executive producers are Michele Goodwin and Kathy Spillar. Supervising Producer, Writer, and Host is Carmen Rios. Episode producers are Roxy Szal and Oliver Haug. Every episode is edited by Natalie Hadland. Art and design are by Brandi Phipps.

Stay in touch with Ms. at msmagazine.com and on Facebook and Twitter @msmagazine, Instagram and Threads @ms_magazine, and @msmagazine.com on BlueSky.

Stay in touch with Carmen at carmenfuckingrios.com and @carmenriosss on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, BlueSky, and Threads.

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Welcome to “The Magazine,” our mini-pod, which gives a peek into Ms. magazine’s forthcoming and current issues. In this episode, take a glimpse inside our Summer 2025 issue, which includes a special report on the state of American manhood—from the "bro-casts" and the silence around men's mental health, to the clinicians and scholars challenging toxic masculinity with a feminist lens. Get the magazine delivered right to your mailbox!

Joining us to discuss is our very special guest: 

• Kathy Spillar is the executive director and a founder of the Feminist Majority Foundation, a national organization working for women’s equality, empowerment and non-violence, and the publisher of Ms. since 2001. She has been a driving force in executing the organizations’ diverse programs securing women’s rights both domestically and globally since its inception in 1987. She is also the executive editor of Ms. where she oversees editorial content and the Ms. in the Classroom program, and editor and contributor to 50 Years of Ms: The Best of the Pathfinding Magazine that Ignited a Revolution.

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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Happy Juneteenth! In this episode, we commemorate Juneteenth with a special focus on Henrietta Lacks, and an exclusive interview with her grandson Alfred Lacks Carter, Jr.  From the polio vaccine to IVF and COVID-19 vaccines, we owe so many of our medical developments from the past 50 years to one woman—a woman whose cells were taken and used without her permission, let alone compensation. In this riveting episode, Lacks Carter shares an intimate family portrait of his grandmother, turning pain into purpose.    

Joining us in this Juneteenth commemoration is a very special guest: 

Alfred Lacks Carter, Jr.: Alfred Lacks Carter, Jr. is the grandson of Henrietta Lacks and the son of her second daughter Deborah Lacks. Alfred is the Founder and President of the Henrietta Lacks House of Healing, a non-profit dedicated to providing transitional housing for men in order to combat homelessness and recidivism as well as re-entry into the community after recent release. He also serves as Senior Advisor to the Lacks family-led HELA100: Henrietta Lacks Initiative, and as a World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Cervical Cancer Elimination.

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 emergency episode, we're ringing the alarm bells: We just learned that in the state of Georgia, a woman named Adriana Smith who was declared brain-dead in February, is being forcibly kept on a ventilator due to the state’s strict abortion ban, against her family's wishes. It's been over 90 days. Her mother, April Newkirk has said, “It’s torture for me."

Dr. Michele Goodwin breaks down Adriana Smith's case, and the cases of other women who, like Smith, have been disrespected and desecrated in death thanks to abortion bans and pregnancy exclusion 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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Over the past few years, many of us have noticed some (bad) vibes coming from the Supreme Court: sketchy decisions on a number of fronts, from presidential immunity to abortion, agency authority, and more. Today, we take a look at those vibes with one of our favorite guests: Professor Leah Litman, who is the author of the new book Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes. Professor Litman joins us to talk about the Court’s “Ken-surrection,” what another Trump term means for the Court, and her fabulous new book. 

Joining us is our very special guest: 

Leah Litman: Leah Litman is a professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School, where she teaches and writes on constitutional law, federal post-conviction review and federal sentencing. She is the co-founder of “Women Also Know Law”—a searchable database of women and nonbinary people who have academic appointments in law—and is one of the co-hosts and creators of the popular Strict Scrutiny podcast, which focuses on the Supreme Court.

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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