Welcome to the 112th edition of WLRN's monthly handcrafted and collectively created podcast! This month features four Dianic Priestesses who speak with Thistle about the Red Tent they set up at National Women's Music Festival (NWMF) in Madison, WI every year.

Harvest Brown is an ordained Dianic Priestess of the Red Tent. She and her Red Tent clan have set up and worked within the Red Tent space at NWMF for ten years.

Holin Blackmoon is a Dianic High Priestess and Land Witch. She has been reading the cards for over 50 years. She is happiest among plants and animals, especially her beloved hens.

Rain Foster is an ordained priestess, practicing in the Dianic tradition for 24 years. She is a member of the Red Tent clan in Madison, WI, offering sacred, women born women-only spaces.

FireHawk is an ordained priestess of transformation and transition in the Dianic tradition. She has been a practitioner of wicca for over 30 years and a steward of mother earth and her creatures great and small since she was a small child.

To learn more about the National Women's Music Festival, visit this link: https://nwmf.info/

The World News segment is brought to you by Cat Bradfield and our show is produced with tender love and care by Ann Castile. WLRN commentary this month is by Freda Bear. Thanks for tuning in to WLRN!

July 3rd, 2025 MADISON -- First up, be greeted by WLRN's founder, Thistle Pettersen before she hands the baton to WLRN's newest member, Ms. Cat Bradfield, who delivers the world news segment.

After enjoying Tracy Chapman's song "The Promise", hear Arianne of LGB Alliance USA speak with Thistle about Pride 2025 just before Arianne hopped into the woods for a RadFem summer camp in the Pacific Northwest this June and July.

Then, hear a rendition of aurora linnea's first piece she turned in to WLRN in 2021 that April Neault loved so much, she made into this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiJGYYpXhWo

After the reading of aurora's essay entitled "Pride: Corporate Patriarchy's Celebration in the Streets", we end our show by thanking our guest, Arianne of LGB Alliance USA, and signing off.

This month's artwork is by WLRN's graphic designer and artist, Margaret Moss.

Edition 111 Artist's Statement :

"I started the featured image with an oil sketch Berthe Morisot created in 1885. The drawing/painting she made is a self-portrait that includes a portrait of her daughter. All loosely rendered.

I kept the background of Berthe Morisot’s oil sketch, and I digitally sketched an image of our guest Arianne of LGB Alliance USA, and Tracy Chapman, whose song, ‘The Promise’ is included in this month’s podcast.

I included purple and green because I especially like those colors - and I appreciate that they have a connection to (British) suffragists.

I enjoyed interacting with Berthe Morisot’s artwork. Even though she created her painting in 1885, it has a modern feel. I expect that Morisot had a greater influence on Modern Art than she is given credit for.

I appreciate women such as Berthe Morisot, all the suffragists, Arianne, and Tracy Chapman for their contributions to our culture. And I appreciate WLRN for lifting up women so their voices can be heard more widely."

First up, hear Thistle greet the listener with an appeal for support to get the team at WLRN over to England this Fall for the FiLia conference. Learn more here: https://wlrnmedia.com/2025/03/28/filia/.

Next, stay tuned for WLRN's world news segment written and delivered by aurora linnea in which she features stories from the UK, France, Mexico and the USA.

The world news is followed by the song "Goodbye Mississippi" by Jess Hawk Oakenstar, a song suggested by our guest this month, Dianne Post. It's a beautiful and sad song with heart-felt lyrics about a mother and daughter trying to escape male violence.

Following the song, hear the interview Thistle did with Ms. Dianne Post about the male bias present in the law in the United States and what feminist women need to do to combat it.

Finally, stay tuned for the replaying of Sekhmet's brilliant commentary about female sexuality in the face of the commercial sex industry that seeks to exploit it for male gain.

Thanks for tuning in to feminist community powered radio, WLRN! #prostitution #DiannePost #WLRN

Happy Nine-year anniversary to WLRN! That's right! We have been bringing you a free, volunteer-produced feminist podcast for nine whole years since our humble beginnings in 2016. We couldn't have done it without YOU, dear listeners, so please consider a "happy anniversary" donation to help with our costs to attend the FiLia conference. You can learn more about that fundraising campaign here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f09AG_mmgw&t=9s

First up, hear WLRN's Mary O'Neill deliver the world news segment for the last time until further notice. Email [email protected] with your resume and cover letter if you are interested in taking over Mary's job of collecting and reading the world news every month. We love having new members join the team! Thank you, Mary, for your two years of service to the collective!

After the world news, enjoy the song "And Leave" by Solely before hearing an interview Freda did with two women who exited prostitution and contribute to the podcast Red Light Expose. Red Light Expose highlights the voices of women who have exited prostitution and combats the growing acceptance and endorsement of "sex work" ideology. redlightexpose.com

Finally, Sekhmet SheOwl rounds off the podcast with her compelling commentary about women, sex and sexuality. SheOwl emphasizes that it is not sex that is the problem, rather it is male dominance and violence that ruins sex for women. She encourages us to explore our sexuality away from all the hype of the male gaze and to base our encounters on love and care.

Thanks again for tuning in to WLRN. #WLRN #feminism #radicalfeminism #redlightexpose

On Exiting from Commercial Sexual Exploitation: Insights from Sex Trade Experienced Persons

Written by Andrea Heinz (interviewee on edition 109)

https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/dignity/vol5/iss1/8/

redlightexpose.com A new platform for critical voices of the sex industry

https://nordicmodelnow.org/ The Nordic Model approach to prostitution (sometimes also known as the Sex Buyer Law, or the Swedish, Abolitionist, or Equality Model) decriminalises selling sex, provides support services to help those involved to exit, and makes paying for sex a criminal offence, in order to reduce the demand that drives sex trafficking

womensliberationfront.org Working to restore, protect, and advance the rights of women and girls

https://rights4girls.org/ Defending the dignity and human rights of young women and girls who experience gender violence and exploitation

https://www.epikproject.org/ Men working to disrupt the demand for commercial sexual exploitation

https://clementine-megalodon-86hj.squarespace.com/ The organization Wake Up Brother seeks to mobilize men to create a society free from prostitution and sexual exploitation

Welcome to the 108th edition of WLRN's monthly podcast!

First up, hear aurora greet the listener before handing the mic to Mary O'Neill who delivers WLRN's world news featuring stories from Louisiana, Russia and Iran.

After the world news, stay tuned for the song "Mother Rage" by Kathy Fire, an anarchist feminist songwriter who released this gem in 1978.

Next, hear the interview Thistle did with Lierre Keith about the significance of the re-release of Andrea Dworkin's Right Wing Women by Picador in February of 2025.

Lierre Keith (www.lierrekeith.com) is a writer, small farmer, and radical feminist activist. She is the author of six books including, The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability, which has been called “the most important ecological book of this generation.” She is also coauthor, with Derrick Jensen and Aric McBay, of Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet. She’s been arrested six times for acts of political resistance.

Finally, stay tuned 'til the very end for commentary from WLRN member aurora linnea in which she aptly compares Trump to Ronald Reagan and ties it all together for us regarding the force of right wing politics in the United States. She also, however, rightly points out, as did Ms. Dworkin, the misogyny and cruelty toward women on the left, and how women don't have a viable option for dignity and respect in general in American life.

Thanks for tuning in to another WLRN monthly handcrafted podcast. We would love to hear from you so please listen, like, comment and share widely! #WLRN #AndreaDworkin #RightWingWomen #LierreKeith #auroralinnea

Continuing our exploration of ecofeminist theory and practice, March's edition puts an emphasis on ecofeminist practice and actions we all can take to put women in places of power to (re)generate the healing changes and salves we need in society to work together to overcome greed and land grabs, and work for a future of sane decision making in the direction of catastrophe prevention, including in the rebuilding of LA.

Hear from Ava Park, Priestess of the Temple of the Goddess of Orange County, tell us a bit about her women-only organization and a bit about her philosophy and then go on to tell us about how members of her community were impacted by the fires, including a member who called her in the middle of the night because she had lost everything, except the clothes on her back.

At the end of the interview with Ava, she makes an appeal to WLRN listeners to write to Mayor Karen Bass at [email protected] and let her know that you support the reinstatement of lesbian fire chief Kristin Crowly. Below, find the template letter Ava suggests you work with.

Dear Mayor Bass:

Please reconsider the termination of Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. The circumstances of our recent fires here in Southern California were extreme and unusual. Many respected community leaders support Fire Chief Crowley, believe she has done a fine job, and that this may not be the time to make a drastic change. Crowley has the experience needed; she can learn from this past fire season and doubtless handle matters better with that knowledge. A new fire chief will have a big learning curve. Even if she has made mistakes, let our community benefit from the experience Crowley has now gained.

Please reinstate Fire Chief Crowley and meet with her to design a plan for facing our coming fire season next year with all that you, your staff, the fire department and other Los Angeles leaders have learned from our recent disaster. Give Crowley the budget she says she requires to run the department properly. Nothing could be more important. See how she performs in the coming year. If you feel she is not competent, you can terminate her then and no one would question your judgment. Thank you.

- (Your name and any title or location info you want to put to validate you are a real person)

After the interview with Ava, stay tuned for Thistle's interview with comedian and actor Goldie Hoffman who reports that when she returned home there was a gray dust covering her yard, "...the bushes, the trees, the grass, everything." She describes touching it and going on to tell about the possible toxic content she and others likely have ingested and may continue to be ingesting. These are scary times and real stories coming from women on the front lines of ecofeminism in the sense of staying alive as the world burns around them, and aiding in a spirit of cooperation and community when possible.

Finally, hear Sekhmet SheOwl's poignant commentary about how the number of homes destroyed in the fires really impacts how people are handling the aftermath and that men are raping and trafficking women in increased numbers due to their destitution, vulnerability and homelessness. Sekhmet calls for us to build our female friendships and community as the human ship goes down.

Finally, on an up note, Freda invites us to learn more about WoLF Summer Camp for Radfems and to sign up here: https://womensliberationfront.org/2025-summer-camps

Welcome to the 106th edition podcast of Women's Liberation Radio News.

First up, hear aurora linnea greet the listener before handing the mic to Mary O'Neill for women's news from around the world.

Next, enjoy the song "Heaven is a Place on Earth" an old 80's pop favorite re-imagined by Allison Lorenzen. After the song, stay tuned for excerpts of a LIVE round table discussion the WLRN team held on January 11th with aurora to discuss her book, Man Against Being: Body Horror & the Death of Life.

Finally, enjoy this month's commentary from WLRN team member Margaret Moss who speaks to us about how human society is organized around serving the alpha males, something we should have left behind long ago in our journey here on earth.

To learn more about ecofeminism, aurora has put together a list of books and articles to explore published below.

AN ECOFEMINIST READING LIST

This list does not claim nor attempt to be comprehensive; instead it is meant as a primer for readers keen to delve into ecofeminist theory.

Jane Caputi

The Age of Sex Crime (1987)

Gossip, Gorgons & Crones: The Fates of the Earth (1993)

Goddesses and Monsters: Women, Myth, Power, and Popular Culture (2004)

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (1962)

Andree Collard with Joyce Contrucci, Rape of the Wild: Man’s Violence Against Animals and the Earth (1989)

Irene Diamond, Fertile Ground: Women, Earth, and the Limits of Control (1994)

Francoise d’Eaubonne, Feminism or Death: How the Women’s Movement Can Save the Planet (1974)

Greta Gaard, Ecological Politics: Ecofeminists and the Greens (1998)

Susan Griffin

Woman and Nature: The Roaring Inside Her (1978)

Pornography and Silence: Culture’s Revenge Against Nature (1981)

The Eros of Everyday Life: Essays on Ecology, Gender and Society (1995)

Susan Hawthorne

Wild Politics (2002)

Vortex: The Crisis of Patriarchy (2020)

Marti Kheel, Nature Ethics: An Ecofeminist Perspective (2007)

Freya Mathews, Reinhabiting Reality: Towards a Recovery of Culture (2005)

Carolyn Merchant

The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology and the Scientific Revolution (1980)

Radical Ecology: The Search for a Livable World (1992)

Reinventing Eden: The Fate of Nature in Western Culture (2003)

Val Plumwood, Feminism and the Mastery of Nature (1993)

Rosemary Radford Ruether, New Woman, New Earth: Sexist Ideologies and Human Liberation (1975)

Ariel Salleh, Ecofeminism as Politics: Nature, Marx and the Postmodern (1997)

Vandana Shiva

Staying Alive: Women, Ecology and Development (1988)

Monocultures of the Mind (1993)

Oneness Vs. the 1%: Shattering Illusions, Seeding Freedom (2018)

Vandana Shiva and Maria Mies, Ecofeminism (1993)

Charlene Spretnak, The Resurgence of the Real: Body, Nature and Place in a Hypermodern World (1999)

Karen Warren

Ecofeminism: Women, Culture, Nature (1997)

Ecofeminist Philosophy: A Western Perspective on What it Is and Why it Matters (2000)

ANTHOLOGIES

Reclaim the Earth: Women Speak Out for Life on Earth, eds. Leonie Caldecott and Stephanie Leland (1984)

Healing the Wounds: The Promise of Ecofeminism, ed. Judith Plant (1989)

Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism, eds. Irene Diamond & Gloria Orenstein (1990)

Ecofeminism and the Sacred, ed. Carol Adams (1993)

Ecofeminism: Women, Animals, Nature, ed. Greta Gaard (1993)

Animals and Women: Feminist Theoretical Explorations, eds. Carol Adams and Josephine Donovan (1995)

Ecofeminism: Feminist Intersections with Other Animals and the Earth, ed. Carol Adams (2014)

Happy New Year from the team at WLRN!

This month, Lola Bessis takes the reigns and offers up an interview she did with an 18 year-old UN Women nonprofit organizer who wishes to remain anonymous. They have a lively discussion about what it means to be a globally minded feminist and the work our guest does for women and girls and how it feels to be from the global south and to usually be the youngest member of the panels and organizations she participates in.

First up, hear the greeting from WLRN founding member, Thistle. If you would like to apply to be WLRN's new Business Manager, please reach out to us at [email protected]. We need a new volunteer to manage WLRN's finances, fundraising and website as we transition to becoming an LLC. If we are unable to fill this position by the end of February, we may not be able to continue the good work of WLRN so please apply! No experience is necessary!

After the greeting, stay tuned for WLRN's world news segment with Mary O'Neill in which she reports on the impact the Cass Review is having in the UK, the Taliban and the plight of Gisele Pelicot. After the news, you'll hear the street song "El violador eres tú" from five years ago when women in Latin America took it to the streets and it went viral worldwide.

After the song, hear the interview Lola did with a young UN Women organizer who talks about what it's like to be young and a feminist organizer, and who shares her views on the importance of solidarity in our movement.

Finally, both Lola and Sekhmet chime in with commentaries on the subject before we sign off. Thank you, as ever, for tuning in to WLRN!

First up, hear the greeting by Thistle before listening to Mary O'Neill deliver WLRN's world news segment. Then, enjoy Thistle's original song Sticky Red Egg before tuning in to aurora's commentary on the US Presidential Elections cycle. After aurora shares her views, it's on to Lola and her take on the American electoral political scene. Finally, our oldest member Sekhmet SheOwl weighs in with her powerful words before our special guest, Katherine Acosta gives us her analysis of this last election cycle and what it means for women. You can check out more of Kathy's work at https://katherinemacosta.substack.com/. Thanks for tuning in to feminist community powered radio, WLRN! #WLRN #presidentialelections #Kamala #Trump #elections

This month's edition is packed with women's voices from around the USA as the nation braces itself for the new regime led by president-elect Donald Trump.

First up, hear aurora linnea greet the listener before Mary O'Neill offers up news stories and information about women around the world. Then, enjoy the song "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" by Taylor Swift before listening to Thistle, aurora, Mary and Lola describe what led them to radical feminism and why they joined the WLRN team.

This show is dedicated to our future feminist endeavor of meeting up with likeminded feminists in person at the FiLia conference 2025 in the UK. https://www.filia.org.uk/tickets Please consider donating to our FiLia fundraiser by clicking on the donate button at wlrnmedia.com OR by going to the totally excellent radical feminist period products company GARNUU.COM and typing in "WLRN" at checkout. Thanks sisters! Be sure to share with your female friends and family! #WLRN #GARNUU #RadicalFeminism