The Electorette Podcast

Last fall I had the chance to sit down for a conversations with Congresswoman Barbara Lee at the She The People conference. We discussed the then upcoming midterms and whether voters are connecting our power at the ballot boxes to the changes we want to see in our individual lives. We also discussed her time in Zimbabwe where she observed the election of Nelson Mandela; she describes how driven th...

Canadian comedian Allison Dore founded a record label, Howl & Roar, which focuses on making recordings for women and other artists from under-served groups. Allison is hilarious and we have a fun conversation, we touch on the unique professional needs of women comedians, political tensions between Canada and the US, and of course, the controversy surrounding comedian Louis C.K. Follow Allison Dore...

Christine Grimaldi is a journalist and writer in Washington, D.C., who often covers reproductive and LGBTQ policy in Congress and under the Trump administration. Her reporting has appeared in Rewire. News, DAME Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, and The Rumpus, and her essays in The Washington Post, The Toast, and The Morning News. In this episode, we discuss how the new Democratically cont...

Activist and Journalist for Media Matters, Parker Molloy, explores the social science explaining why Fox News wants viewers to believe masculinity is under threat. We discuss the Gillette Ad and other cultural events, and the negative response from the conservative media. The conversation centers around Molloy's piece titled, The social science explaining why Fox News wants you to believe masculin...

Christina Reynolds, Vice President of Communications for Emily's List, discusses the #2020 Primary Race, the challenges that face the women seeking the Democratic nomination, how best to support women running for office, and how not to repeat the mistakes from 2016. We also discuss the newly elected women to Congress including Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Lucy McBa...

Dr. Tressie McMillan Cottom discusses her new book of essays "Thick: And Other Essays." Dr. Cottom is an assistant professor of sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her work has been featured by the Washington Post, NPR’s Fresh Air, The Daily Show, the New York Times, Slate, and The Atlantic, among others.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode we discuss the experiences of US asylum seekers from all over the world, the conditions they face and our broken asylum process. Joan Hodges-Wu Founder & Executive Director of the Asylum Seekers Assistant Project (A.S.A.P.) and immigration attorney Anam Rahman who is also on the board of the Asylum Seekers Assistant Project join to discuss the asylum cases they've seen through thei...

Sylvia Chan-Malik, Rutgers University professor, scholar of Race, Women's and Gender Studies, and author of "Being Muslim: A Cultural History of Women of Color in American Islam" discusses Muslim womanhood and feminism, from a historical perspective to modern times. She explains how women of color throughout history, viewed Islamic traditions as acts of resistance and a way to express their agency...

Thank you for listening, subscribing and supporting the Electorette in 2018. Please listen to this special, holiday mini-episode to close out the year. And so we can bring you a better Electorette in 2019, please drop Jenn a line at Electorette.com/email and give her your feedback! And until next year, keep up the good fight! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Fiona Vera-Gray is join Electorette to discuss her study titled Women on Porn, the largest ever study solely focused on  women's experiences and views of mainstream pornography in the United Kingdom. She launched the survey in 2016 and closed it after 3 months, she got 2000 responses from women and of those carried out a further 100 in-depth interviews. We discuss the study's findings as well...

On this episode, Amy Stanton and Catherine Conners, authors of the book "The Feminine Revolution," join me to discuss how feminine traits, such as sensitivity, intuition, and showing emotion, are often painted as weaknesses in women; while the same traits are lauded in men. We discuss the value in seeing these traits as strengths and how our real power lies in our authenticity and in embracing our...

In this episode I discuss the Russia's and Putin's history of launching cyber-warfare and espionage campaigns including the one against the US during the 2016 presidential election. My guests are Laura DuBois and Marley Clements, producers of the documentary Active Measures. We discuss how Russia successfully compromised the 2016 election as well as Trump's connections to Russia dating back to the...

Public Sexual Harassment with Dr. Fiona Vera Gray, Sarah Myhre & Emily May This episode explores public sexual harassment and cat-calling, a.k.a. "wolf-whistling" in the UK, with Dr. Fiona Vera-Gray, a Research Fellow in the Durham Law School and author of the new book "The Right Amount of Panic: How Women Trade Freedom For Safety." Over the course of 5 years, Dr. Gray spoke to women in the UK abo...

Do you ever wish that there was a guide to help you navigate and understand our new gender culture? Do you find yourself wondering which pronoun to use and when? Or have you ever wanted a guide on how to be an effective ally to the LGBTQ and transgender community, especially given the recent attacks on those communities by the Trump administration? This episode explores the book "Gender: Your Guid...

In this episode, Nicole Fleetwood, an Associate Professor in the Department of American Studies at Rutgers University and Graduate Faculty in the Department of Women's and Gender Studies, discusses her moving essay titled "Raising a Black Boy Not to Be Afraid: On the Casual Street Violence of Whiteness." The essay explores an experience her son had while walking to school alone in New York City. W...

Who are the new women elected to the House of Representatives? We've elected a chamber full of history makers and in this episode, I'll explore a few powerhouses, the women who are going to DC to shake things up, including Lucy McBath, Sharice Davids, Rashida Tlaib. We take a look at their lives and what may have inspired their run for office and explore how their experiences may shape their roles...

After years of disinvestment, highways are rebuilt, old buildings demolished, and new skyscrapers erected. All that rubble has to go somewhere, and its destination isn’t a landfill—it’s a pair of vacant lots in a predominately black, working-class neighborhood called North Lawndale. The man behind this operation is a white guy sporting a Cosby sweater and underworld connections. What follows is a...

In this episode, Nathalie Crowley from the Family Tree Clinic in MN joins to discuss the anti-transgender memo uncovered by the New York Times, which revealed that the Trump administration could be seeking to narrowly redefine the concept of sex as an " immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth." The Family Tree Clinic offers sexual health services for under-served communities and a lar...

In this episode, Christy Hall and Megan Peterson discuss the anti-transgender memo uncovered by the New York Times, which revealed that the Trump administration could be seeking to narrowly redefine the concept of sex as an " immutable condition determined by genitalia at birth." If adopted, this would be the most dramatic government-wide move to roll back recognition and protections of transgende...

This episode brings together three previous interviews with voting experts to cover all aspects of voter suppression and voting rights, including the history of the Voting Rights Act, the landmark Supreme Court Case Shelby County vs. Holder, the GOP redistricting plan - Project RedMap, and voter ID laws. Interviews With: Carol Anderson, Professor & Author of “One Person, No Vote” Kira Lerner, Thin...

Sara Wachter-Boettcher discusses her book "Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech," which reveals how tech industry's biases and blind spots are baked into digital products and ultimately harm us. Technically Wrong: Sexist Apps, Biased Algorithms, and Other Threats of Toxic Tech https://amzn.to/2yGOzEC http://www.swingleft.org/electorette Learn more abou...

Rebecca Minkoff is a fashion powerhouse, and each week she sits down with the women who shape our culture, change the world, and lift each other up along the way. First up? Michelle Lee from Allure, who is challenging the status quo and changing the conversation around inclusion in beauty and fashion. Subscribe to Superwomen with Rebecca Minkoff today. www.wondery.fm/superwomen Learn more about yo...

This is a special early episode featuring a conversation with Neera Tanden, the CEO of The Center for American Progress Action Fund. We discuss the Brett Kavanaugh nomination, the incoming votes from Jeff Flake, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski. We also discuss the crucial work needed to win back the Senate and House in the November midterms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/ad...

She The People Conference & Summit: Last month, the inaugural summit of the She the People initiative, was held in San Francisco. She the People is a network and initiative which elevates and amplifies the voices and leadership of women of color and establish women of color as a transformational voting block. This episode features Electorette’s coverage of the summit including interviews with thre...

This week's episode explores the #MeToo Movement and how the redemptive pathway for men has overshadowed the needs of victims. Three guests discuss the comeback attempts by several high profile men and the process of male redemption by looking at the cases of Brett Kavanaugh, Louis C.K., Jian Ghomeshi and others. >> Chapter I: Shannon Koyano, a stand-up comedian, talks about what the stand-up cult...