The Babblery

In this short adaptation of the full episode, “Living within the questions,” women’s healthcare pioneer Merle Hoffman speaks about the importance of trusting women to know their own bodies and....

To call Merle Hoffman the owner of an abortion clinic is only to scratch the surface of her complexity. She's a pianist, a philosopher, an activist, a mother, and an adventurer in the world of spirituality. This is a conversation about courage, conviction, and what happens when we decide to trust ourselves.

Cindy Cohn, retiring executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, speaks about the controversies regarding restriction of online speech. Addressing everything from breastfeeding forums to human rights abuses in Sudan,....

LaDoris Cordell, Denise Miranda, and Cindy Cohn are three very different women who have had three very different careers. But all three have drawn their inspiration from using their legal training to make a difference in the world.

I went into my interview with Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ready to argue my case that anonymity is the problem. I came away with a more nuanced understanding.

Cindy Cohn’s new book, Privacy’s Defender, focuses on three legal cases that formed the basis for privacy and freedom of speech on the Internet. But it’s also a memoir, framing the issues raised by legal battles through personal choices and life events both mundane and momentous. In this unusual conversation, we leave the big legal questions behind and focus instead on our modern lives on the inte...

Denise Miranda is New York State's top civil rights official, the head of an agency that is charged with monitoring and promoting civil rights in the state. She's also a proud native of the Bronx, daughter of Puerto Rican-born parents, and a mother. On the Babblery, we discuss the passion for justice and rights for all that drives her work.

What happens when women's fight for long-delayed justice collides with our legal tenet of due process? In this Minibabble, host Suki Wessling speaks with retired judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell about the #MeToo movement and how she reacted when she heard some women insist that we should "believe all women."

This month’s guest on the Babblery podcast is retired judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell. I first interviewed LaDoris about her work with the African American Composer Initiative. In both interviews, she gives a passionate defense of what she calls today’s “dirty word”—DEI. In this Minibabble, producer Suki Wessling reflects on what it means to hold the door open for others. Read the full text on Babbl...

Retired judge LaDoris Cordell is known for her groundbreaking career as a judge in Northern California and then her stint as Independent Police Auditor for the City of San Jose. Join us in a wide-ranging conversation, from a segregated childhood, an unusual education, and an unlikely acceptance to Stanford Law School, to retired judge, community activist, musician, artist, and grandmother.