The Magazine: Reexamining America 250 Through a Feminist Lens

In this special episode of On the Issues: The Magazine, host Dr. Michele Bratcher Goodwin and Ms. executive editor Kathy Spillar preview Ms.’ latest issue. The Summer 2026 features Ms.' FEMINIST 250 project—an ambitious effort to reclaim women’s place in America’s history and imagine what a truly inclusive democracy could look like. From indigenous women’s early models of democratic governance and the overlooked contributions of enslaved women during the Revolution, to more than five decades of feminist organizing and journalism, Spillar argues that understanding women’s history is essential to understanding the country itself.Goodwin and Spillar also turn to the urgent challenges facing women today, including attacks on voting rights, cuts to Medicaid and food assistance, the lack of paid leave and affordable childcare, and the broader targeting of women under the Trump administration. Looking ahead, they discuss bold proposals featured in the issue—from using the Equal Rights Amendment to advance reproductive and maternal health justice, to Supreme Court reform and LaTosha Brown’s proposal for a federal Department of Democracy—and what it will take to build a democracy grounded in equality and social justice.Support the show