Feminist Hotdog

The news of Derek Chauvin's conviction and the shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant by a police officer in Ohio both hit hard last week; these events have reignited my thinking about how I can take action to improve outcomes for Black and brown and poor people when they encounter police or become ensnared in the justice system. With that in mind, I decided to rebroadcast this interview with Ashley Edwards about why the cash bail system is a ...

Clubhouse has revealed itself to be a place where folks (like me) who have difficulty moderating will quickly run into trouble. Luckily, before I weaned myself off, I had the opportunity to meet Cynthia Wright, a self-described "queer writer and military brat" who also hosts the fabulous recovery podcast Getting Your Sh*t Together. Cynthia's pod offers a unique mix of storytelling, interviews, personal development, social commentar...

Warning: This episode includes discussion of suicide and suicidal ideation.

When Sara and I first spoke about her appearance on Feminist Hotdog, I wasn't entirely clear on the connection between feminism and suicide prevention. However, after this conversation, I realized that suicide is a stigma-laden topic that—like addiction and abuse—often impacts women in unseen ways and must be talked about openly for anything to improve.

In th...

Zillah Eisenstein is an influential scholar, writer, and activist who has engaged in feminist action and inquiry for over 40 years. Her book Abolitionist Socialist Feminism profoundly affected me when I read it last year, so I was thrilled when she agreed to come on the show to discuss her career and the state of the world. Among many other topics, we talked about being a white woman raised as an anti-racist, why protests of police...

Warning: This episode contains disturbing themes and bigoted language. Listener discretion is advised.

This episode may not be a very joyful one, but it is fascinating and urgent—possibly more urgent than ever. My guest is Dr. Heidi Beirich, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at the nonprofit organization Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.

Heidi is an international expert on the far right. Our conversation f...

What do you feel when you hear the word abortion? What words do you associate with it? If you’re Amanda Star Kingsley, those words might be fear or sadness but they might also be strength, purpose, and light.

Amanda is a post-abortion life coach. Her mission is to help people achieve the vision for their lives that compelled them to choose abortion. Through her coaching and her podcast, Speaking Light Into Abortion, Amanda is smash...

It's not every day you get to interview a woman who has inspired you for decades. In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking with feminist icon Loretta J. Ross, activist, writer, and scholar, and a critical voice who has helped shape many aspects of the Women's Movement and the ongoing struggle for human rights worldwide. Over the course of her career, she has worked to center Black women and girls in conversations about sexu...

What is your feminist story? What do you desire from your feminist life? My guest this week, Amelia Hruby (you may know her from the Fifty Feminist States podcast, among other great work), has written a beautiful new book that inspires readers to ponder these questions and process their answers in writing: Fifty Feminist Mantras.

Learn more about Amelia, her feminist vision for 2021, her book (and how to approach it),...

What conditions are necessary for you to practice the kind of feminism you want to practice? This question is at the heart of today's episode featuring Lutze B. Segu, also known as the Social Justice Doula. Lutze specializes in helping people and organizations create conditions that support deep, sustained social justice work. There's no box-checking on her watch: If you're in Lutze's orbit, you're interrogating white supremacy, un...

Meet Robin and Jaimie. They’re lesbian moms (NOT MARRIED TO EACH OTHER) who set out to find LGBTQ parenting stories and ended up starting a podcast—and, now, writing a book: If These Ovaries Could Talk: The Things We’ve Learned About Making an LGBTQ Family. It’s a great read based on a great show. It’s also an important one because stories about how LGBTQ folks become parents are as diverse as each letter of the acronym, yet rarely...

Light some candles and get cozy. This week, I’m featuring a guest who has had a profound personal influence on me: Dr. Kate Tomas, creator of the Spiritual Life Upgrade program and the Money Magic Manifestation course. Kate is a psychic, a witch, and a spiritual empowerment mentor who specializes in helping women and femmes activate their power. She’s also an anti-capitalist who’s ready to hex racists and burn it all to the ground!

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It’s a stressful week for just about everybody. As of when this episode posted, we still don’t know who the next U.S. president will be. It’s time to spend some extra time caring for ourselves, and Jocellyn Harvey is here to help. 

The founder of Soul and Mindset shares some of her favorite techniques for remaining grounded when life feels unbearable, including befriending anger, an emotion most of us try hard to suppress. We a...

Feminist Hotdog is back! In this episode, I had the privilege of speaking to writer Jessica Hoppe about her experience as a first-generation Latina woman with Indigenous roots navigating the recovery landscape. Jessica is using her storytelling skills—and what she learned from getting and staying sober during the Trump era, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the recent uprisings in defense of Black lives—to talk about why recovery communit...

Bailout funds have been in the news for weeks now, but how do they fit into the bigger picture of the criminal justice and cash bail systems? Ashley Edwards of MGM Bailout joins Feminist Hotdog this week to talk about the racism inherent in the cash bail system, the predatory lending practices that surround it, how listeners can work to abolish cash bail, and why we should view this as a feminist issue. 

Things We Talked About ...

Advocates of policing abolition have been pushing to defund the police for years, but the recent explosion of public attention on the Movement for Black Lives has more people than ever talking about what an entirely new system of public safety could look like. In this episode, I summarize what I’ve learned over the last few weeks about community-based alternatives to policing, feminist tensions surrounding the abolitionist stance, ...

This week, Feminist Hotdog is participating in Podcast Blackout out of respect for the memories of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and in observance of the ongoing fight for racial justice that is happening in cities all across the US. Please listen to today's message. It is short but important.

I am also adding my voice to the Women of Color podcast community's Podcasters for Justice campaign. It is in solidarity with th...

Let’s talk about periods! Period poverty affects millions of people all over the world, but we rarely talk about it. Because there’s so much shame and stigma surrounding menstruation, people who can’t afford period products—whether in schools, prisons, or in their daily lives—are often left with nowhere to turn for help. But, thanks to activists and advocates like the guests featured in this episode, that’s changing.

You’ll meet Lea...

Finding it hard to remember the days before COVID hijacked the world? Me too. So, for this episode, I went into the archives and took a trip down memory lane, unearthing some memorable moments from some of my favorite interviews. I chose three guests who all talked about their incredible passion projects and how their work—whether as writers, performers, or teachers—furthers their vision for collective liberation. You’ll hear from ...

Today’s episode is a celebration of the written word in honor of a major milestone—the completion of the Feminist Hotdog book manuscript! (Coming January 2021.)

Since words have been dominating my psyche, I decided to devote this week’s episode to reading (and writing!) for liberation. I spoke with Stef Bernal-Martinez of 1977 Books, poet Angbeen Saleem, and Alana Baumann and Samra Michael of the new podcast She Well Read about the ...