On The Issues With Michele Goodwin

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...

This week, we’re joined by Yamani Hernandez, the chief executive officer of the Groundswell Fund, to discuss the importance of grassroots organizing and reproductive justice in this moment. Ms. has joined forces with Groundswell Fund and Groundswell Action Fund to create a special Gender & Democracy site dedicated to the work of Groundswell partners to highlight their efforts to champion inclusive democracy. You’ll hear their r...

As we reckon with an administration hostile to equal rights, feminists will continue to fight. To help keep hope, we must remember and celebrate recent wins.
 
One of those wins is the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, which took effect on June 27, 2023. This is a landmark piece of legislation that prohibits discrimination and ensures workplace accommodations related to pregnancy for workers. But is the PWFA safe, or will it b...

In this episode, Dr. Michele Goodwin reflects on Trump v. United States.  As Americans adjust to the myriad executive orders, firings of government employees, the gutting of  the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), plane crashes, threats to dismantle the Department of Education, and so much more under the Trump Administration, what can be learned about the Supreme Court's case granting Donald Trump abso...

As part of our Black History Month Rewind at Ms. Studios, we’re revisiting some of our favorite past episodes. In our final Rewind, we're revisiting an episode we recorded in 2021, celebrating Juneteenth with Fritz and Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters. 

In this joyous episode, host Michele Goodwin is joined by music icon Anita Pointer of the three-time Grammy Award-winning R&B group the Pointer Sisters and her brother F...

As part of our Black History Month Rewind at Ms. Studios, we’re revisiting some of our favorite past episodes. Today, we're revisiting an episode exploring racism and police brutality, featuring a cast of all-star guests. 

In this episode, we confront the question at the center of Derek Chauvin’s trial: Who killed George Floyd? Our guests unpack that question as an issue central to police and societal violence. Examining who ki...

As part of our Black History Month Rewind at Ms. Studios, we're revisiting some of our favorite past episodes. First up, we're taking a look of voting rights and voter suppression, revisiting an episode recorded ahead of the 2020 presidential election. 

At the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, voting activist and civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer described the violent injustice she and others had end...

We begin 2025 on 'On the Issues' with special guest Dr. Anthony Fauci. In this episode we discuss some of the most important issues currently confronting the health of our nation and the world—from vaccine skepticism, COVID denialism, and health misinformation and disinformation to the rising tide of violence aimed at medical providers. Dr. Fauci joins us to express his hope for the future, offer insights on the pushback ...

In this episode, we continue to assess and reckon with the 2024 election results.  How did abortion rights prevail, while anti-abortion lawmakers were elected in the very same states? What will a Trump administration mean for women's rights, federal courts, agencies and throughout government?  Are there any safeguards left as a check or restraint on abuse of office?  And, what silver linings can we find among the election resu...

Election administration continues to be one of the most compelling, challenging, and increasingly dangerous jobs at the federal, state, and local levels. A recent survey by the Brennan Center revealed that over a third of election officials have experienced threats, harassment, or abuse just for doing their jobs.

In the face of these fundamental challenges to our democracy and an environment that has increasingly been char...

This week, we’re continuing our coverage of the lead-up to November’s elections by looking at an institution that has become increasingly contentious over the past four years: the U.S. Supreme Court. The specter of the Court has loomed over these elections like never before—from former President Trump repeatedly taking credit for the overturning of Roe v. Wade and thanking the Justices he appointed for doing so, to the next preside...

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 ge...

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 tod...

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...