On The Issues With Michele Goodwin

In the year since the Trump administration returned to office, there have been hundreds of executive orders, many of which district courts have ruled unconstitutional and illegal. As judges have noted, these actions have caused direct harm to Americans all across the country. And hard-hitting attorneys general have fought back. There are now over 450 lawsuits against the Trump administration, and in many of them district courts hav...

Content warning: this episode contains discussions of sexual assault. 

In July, the Justice Department released a controversial report about Jeffrey Epstein. Now with the release of over 23,000 files associated with Epstein, questions are being raised about the scope and scale of this sex trafficking ring and its connections to power. The House Oversight Committee has yet to hear testimony from Epstein survivors, despite urging by R...

Content warning: this episode contains discussions of sexual assault. 

Over the past several months, the Epstein files have been extensively covered by the media. But too often,  the voices of actual survivors are missing. In this episode, we’re filling that gap and shifting the focus to where it belongs: to the survivors and what justice means to them. Dr. Michele Goodwin is joined by Jessica Michaels, a sexual assault awareness ad...

As we mark Domestic Violence Awareness month this October, we know there’s a long way to go when it comes to addressing the domestic violence crisis in our country. From pandemic-era spikes in violence to the Trump administration’s recent budget cuts and their impact on support for women and girls experiencing domestic violence, how are advocates and policy experts addressing the ongoing crisis? 

Helping us to sort out these questio...

As the Supreme Court opens a new term this week, we take a step back to ask: What did the last term tell us about this Court? About its values, its power, and its vision for American democracy?

Because make no mistake: Every decision, every ruling, every case the Court chooses to hear—or not to hear—signals something about who we are becoming as a nation.

In this Ms. Studios special, we bring you our 2024-2025 Sup...

This last Supreme Court term was harrowing—from momentous merits decisions about the First Amendment, parental rights, trans rights and more, to the stream of shocking “shadow docket” decisions and its enabling of many of the Trump administration’s executive actions. What does the 2025-2026 term have in store for our nation? What do we think will advance through the Court? What do we think will come up, when it comes to the shadow ...

In this episode, at a time where unprecedented news stories break every day, we’re re-elevating the Jeffrey Epstein files. As victims continue to come forward, and new evidence continues to emerge, the questions and demands for justice grow louder. What can we learn from the information that has been released? What will it take for the full files to be released? And how will Trump respond?

 Joining us to discuss these issues is a ve...

As families prepare to send their kids back to school this year, some parents must face a new worry: will their children make it home safely, or will they be there to greet them, at the end of the day? 

Trump’s immigration crackdown is taking a toll on families across America, particularly under new guidance that allows ICE to arrest people in places where they were formerly prohibited from doing so—like schools, healthcar...

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 accountabi...

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, exe...

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 Carr...

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 cre...

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 fe...

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...

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 ...

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...

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. Profess...

Despite persistent obstacles—from intergenerational pay inequity and earning just 63.7 cents for every dollar made by a white guy for the same work, to constant surveillance and doubt—Black women consistently excel in their chosen fields and rise to leadership positions. In this episode, we’re joined by powerful Black women in leadership to discuss the glass ceilings, glass cliffs, pink ghettos, and other obstacles they’ve faced—an...

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 Spring 2025 issue—which delves into the story behind anti-abortion extremists’ successful attempt to shut down a Beverly Hills clinic. Get the Spring issue here!

Featuring: 

• Kathy Spillar is the Executive Director and a founder of the Feminist Majority Foundation, a national...