On The Issues With Michele Goodwin

In the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee, the role that women are playing in this election is clearer than ever. Now under two weeks out from election day, we’re aware that so much is at stake for the entire nation, and for women in particular.

This week, as we continue our coverage of the lead-up to the November elections, we’re exploring the role of women and gender in this election. What are we seeing in terms of the gender gap? How will abortion policies impact the outcome of the presidential election? And how are media narratives addressing all of these issues, and influencing voters?
 
Joining us to discuss these pressing issues is our very special guest:

Fatima Goss Graves. Fatima Goss Graves is president and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center, president of the National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, and a co-founder of the TIME’S UP Legal Defense Fund.

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 bringing back a very good friend of ‘On the Issues’ to talk about a topic that will profoundly influence the outcome of this fall’s elections: voter suppression. As voters head to the polls, officials and activists on the ground in states like Georgia are sounding the alarm about rules and voting restrictions that could significantly impact peoples’ ability to vote. What are the biggest threats to voting rights today? How will voter suppression impact the outcome of the 2024 November elections, from down-ballot races to the presidential contest—and how can we fight back against it, before election day gets here?

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

Prof. 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 episode, we dive into a topic that’s more relevant than ever this election season: masculinity. White men are mobilizing to support Kamala Harris and we unpack why.  Polls are showing a growing gender gap, this election season—with women favoring Harris, while men favor Trump—but is the polling accurate? If so, what can we learn from this? How have the election’s gender politics changed, in the wake of Vice President Kamala Harris running for president? How does Trump continue to influence American masculinities years after leaving political office—and how will masculinity influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election?

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

Jackson Katz: Jackson Katz, Ph.D., is a regular Ms. contributor and creator of the 2020 documentary The Man Card: White Male Identity Politics from Nixon to Trump, which was just rereleased in a newly revised and updated version. He is also a member of the Young Men Research Initiative working group and founder of Men for Democracy.

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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On this week’s episode, we’re thinking about the return to school and Congress with Michigan Rep. Hilary Scholten. As we return to both, many things are top of mind: issues like gun safety, policies that benefit mothers and families, and much more are all things that matter at home, in schools, and in Congress. These are also major issues this election season. How can we ensure that our children and families aren’t just safe—but can thrive?

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

Rep. Hilary Scholten: Congresswoman Hillary J. Scholten serves Michigan’s Third Congressional District. She began her career as a social worker, working with people affected by issues of housing and homelessness, and she is the first woman and mother ever to represent Michigan’s Third District in Congress.

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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Every year on On the Issues, we bring you a Supreme Court term in review with a live studio audience. This year, for the first time we’re bringing you one from Washington, DC—we’re going to discuss the most important rulings of the 2023-2024 term, unpacking issues from abortion rights to presidential immunity—while we prepare for what’s coming next as the Supreme Court begins its new term this week.

Joining us to discuss the term are some very special guests:

Mark Joseph Stern: Mark Joseph Stern is a senior writer at Slate.

Moira Donegan: Moira Donegan is a U.S. columnist at The Guardian.

Jamelle Bouie: Jamelle Bouie is an opinion columnist at The New York Times.

Madiba Dennie: Madiba Dennie is deputy editor and senior contributor of Balls and Strikes.

Chris Geidner: Chris Geidner is the founder of the Law Dork Substack and an MSNBC columnist.

 

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 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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