Feminism, Fascism, and the Future

In this episode of "We Talk to Really Smart People" we speak with author, journalist and fierce feminist Judith Levine about what she's thinking about fascism and how we can resist it. Have a listen, get inspired, and READ Judith.

In this episode of We Talk to Really Smart People, we talk with Maya Rupert, progressive political strategist, author and yes even occasional podcaster. Maya has the experience, the political imagination, and the can-do spirit we need right now. So have a listen, buy her book, and vote. It is not all we have to do, but it is something we must do if we want to create a more just and feminist future.

In this episode, we ask "Is Gender Studies F*d?" and the answers might surprise you. Yes, always, because of the neoliberal university ,because of the anti-gender movement and how much they hate feminism and women and truth, because they are shutting down departments all over the country. And no, we are already here in large numbers and spread out throughout the university. Gender Studies might be vulnerable to fascist attacks, but the experts we spoke to all agreed: even Trumpism cannot kill critical thinking!

In this episode of We Read a Book! we talk to author Jack El Hai about his book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist. The book tells the story of Dr. Douglas Kelley, a US Army psychiatrist in charge of high level Nazis awaiting trial at Nuremberg at the close of WWII. If this sounds familiar it's because the book was made into a movie with the dreamy Rami Malek as Dr. Kelley and the scarily authentic Russell Crowe as Hermann Göring. So have a listen and learn why Dr. Kelley believed that any culture, including the US, could become fascist. Then READ the book to learn more.

Have you met Vermont's progressive Congresswoman yet? Becca Balint is committed, optimistic, and ready to remake this world with a can-do spirit and lots of clear-eyed strategy. Plus she is feisty AF. Have a listen, learn something, and then let's all roll up our sleeves and work with her to create the feminist future we need.

In this episode of We Read a Book! we talk to Amy Littlefield about her new book Killers of Roe. Part whodunnit, part social history, part blueprint for protecting reproductive rights in the future, this is a must read for anyone who cares about feminism in the US and what we need to do to create the future we want!

This is the first in our new series: We Read a Book! In an age of AI summaries, reading is a revolutionary act so we are reading books that can tell us something about this moment we are in and how to build the feminist future we want. In this episode, we talk to Carolyn McConnell, author of Motherhood Discounted: Carework in America Before and After Roe. Have a listen, learn something, and read the book!

We talked to another really smart person! In this episode, Professor Paisley Currah discusses why the current attack on trans rights is an unprecedented breach in the role of the administrative state's control of sex classification. Currah is the author of Sex is as Sex Does: Governing Transgender Identity.A big thank you to Paisley Currah and the Feminism, Fascism, and the Future team for making this episode happen. As always, share with your friends, family, and enemies and follow us on Instagram (@feminismfascismfuture).

Are you losing your ability to resist fascism? Is the thought of making another phone call or showing up at another demonstration feeling more like obligation than inspiration? In this episode we speak with elders who are putting their bodies on the line resisting an ICE surveillance center in Williston, VT and they tell us how to show up and take care of yourself when you can’t. Listen to “Resistance Persistence” and then share it with your comrades because we have to figure out ways to keep on keeping on.

In this episode we dive into the aesthetics of fascism, Mar-a-Lago face, Hegseth’s “no fat generals” speech, and the racialized histories of fatphobia. We interviewed professors Caroline Heldman and Julie Cassiday to explore how fascist regimes past and present use the body as a site of control to enforce ideas about who belongs and who is targeted. The fascist body must be strong, fit, highly gender differentiated, and containing NO FAT, because fat becomes a sign of excess, lack of discipline, and weakness within fascism. But, as we know, these fascist times can also generate spaces of hope and resistance, needed now more than ever.

What starts with watching Nara Smith make bubblegum from scratch can lead you down a dangerous algorithmic rabbit hole. In this episode, we explore how tradwife influencers romanticize 1950s domesticity, why their content is so addictive, and how TikTok's algorithm connects tradwife videos to far-right conspiracy theories and pronatalist movements. Spoiler alert: the gleaming kitchens and perfect hair aren't as innocent as they seem.

In this episode of We Talk to Really Smart People, Carol Anderson, Prof. of African American Studies and author of White Rage explains what white supremacy has to do with the Trump movement and how to avoid believing that fascism is the same as politics as usual. Whether you voted in 2024 or decided to sit it out, listen to this episode! Whether you’ve lost all hope or you look to heroes of the Civil Rights movement for inspiration, listen to this episode! And then like it and share it with friends and enemies.

We all know part of Project 2025 and the Trump regime is trying to increase the birth rate. But it’s not just the far right that wants you to have babies. It’s the tech brogeoisie who run this world. In this episode we talk to researchers who have been unraveling the bizarre connections between  pronatalism, tech billionaires, and the far right.

In this episode we speak with Professors Isis Nusair and Bayan Abusneineh about reproductive justice in Gaza and learn that we can only have reproductive justice in Gaza if we acknowledge the reproductive genocide of the Israeli state, not just against Palestinian reproduction, but the reproduction of non-white Jewish bodies as well. In this episode, we invite you to consider not just the starvation of women and children now in Gaza, but the effect that can have for generations to come. We also invite you to consider how transnational feminism, the kind of feminism that links women dying in parking lots in Texas because they can’t access reproductive care, is linked to the reproductive genocide in Gaza.

In this episode, we talk to activists and academics working in the field of reproductive justice. We're trying to find out how to keep working for the feminist future we want even as the US is increasingly fascist when it comes to the basic right of being able to have- or not have- children.

In this episode, we travel to Argentina to interview the feminist academics, activists, and artists who are fighting fascism and building a future for all of us. Having a fascist autocrat in power is not stopping people there from creating a better world for all of us. So if living in Trump's America is getting you down, take a listen and get inspired to get into the streets and fight like a madre!

Loretta Ross is an acclaimed professor, author, feminist, activist, and founding advocate of reproductive justice. In this interview we delve into Professor Ross’s new book, Calling In: How to Start Making Change with Those You’d Rather Cancel. Learn what it takes to build a better world… and how to have fun doing it! As always, follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you’re listening to this! Instagram: feminismfascismfutureWebsite: https://sites.middlebury.edu/feminismfascismfuture/Keep living, keep loving, and keep learning 💞

Have you been out there protesting? Well...you should be! In this bonus episode, we explore the importance of protest. Participating in a protest isn't just a cute look - it's a statistically effective way to make change. So, let's get out there and fight fascism together!

Tenure is supposed to protect professors to teach what they know. That stops political idealogues like Donald Trump or Joseph McCarthy from controlling knowledge. Unfortunately, it's no protection for professors in this political moment as Moira Finkelstein found out when she lost her tenured job as an anthropologist at Muhlenberg College over an Instagram Story that was critical of Zionism. Zionism is an ideology, not a religion, and many Jews, including Dr. Finkelstein, are critical of it. But that didn’t stop her from being labeled antisemitic.

In this episode we talk about the BIG LIE: that any criticism of Israel is anti-semitism. The GoP and even some Dems have been using this lie to attack professors, often feminist scholars who are themselves Jewish. In this part of the episode, we talk to Nicole Morse, former head of gender studies at Florida Atlantic University, and Jessica Pabon, who taught gender studies at SUNY New Paltz. Both were punished by their institutions for criticizing Israeli policy in Gaza.

This episode is the second part to Episode 4: The Anti-Gender Movement in Mexico City. This time though, we have a lot more hope to offer. Dive into these exciting interviews to learn about the feminist resistance happening in Mexico City and all the ways we can fight back!Note: the interviews for this episode were done in Spanish, so the interviewees you hear aren’t really them - it’s an English voiceover. As always, follow us on instagram @feminismfascismfuture and check out our website.

In this bonus episode, we talk to Suzanne Cope about her new book, Women of War: The Italian Assassins, Spies, and Couriers who fought the Nazis. We get inspired to fight harder by looking back in time at the women who risked their lives to build a better world.

In this episode, Daisy and El ask whether or not the Trump regime is fascism and the answer is... Well you have to listen to hear all the expertise they bring to the question. And in the end, it doesn't matter whether Trump is technically a fascist or fascist adjacent, our rights and our worlds are at risk.The sound quality is not as good as we like it to be because it was done on Zoom and El was out of the US- but we promise it's worth a listen.

In this episode we talk about some new, important research, namely the book Transnational Anti-Gender Politics: Feminist Solidarity in Times of Global Attack featuring an interview with the authors, Tomás Ojeda, Billy Holzberg, and Aiko Holvikivi. Links from the show:​Open access chapter: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-54223-7_1​Beyond Oppositions project: https://beyondopposition.org/​Imperfect Utopias project: https://imperfectutopias.eu/As always, thank you to the FFF team and for YOU, beautiful human, for listening

In this episode we talk to Prof. Clare Hemmings of the London School of Economics. Prof. Hemmings, who helped to start an international research group on the anti-gender movement. Prof. Hemmings puts a lot of what's going on into historical perspective for us by linking white supremacy, transphobia and the colonial imagination together. 

As another term under Tr*mp looms before us, let us turn to a Really Smart Person - none other than Professor JUDITH BUTLER! In this episode we hear about Butler's new book, Who's Afraid of Gender? and all the ways they offer hope, inspiration, and wisdom during these hard times. As fire spreads, literally and figuratively, we cannot give up! Take care of yourself, take care of each other, and keep dancing!For more information, updates, and resources, check out our website: https://sites.middlebury.edu/feminismfascismfuture/ and follow us on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feminismfascismfuture?igsh=MWRxMWxxcmFvYXF3ZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

On this episode of FFF, we travel to see how the anti-gender movement has played out in post-Roe Texas and, of course, how people are resisting! After all, we might all be Texas now…As always, like, follow, and share, and most importantly, keeping living, loving, caring, and fighting! 💞

By now we’ve all heard (cried, screamed, etc.) about the election. So now we ask… what tf is going on??? To some, this was a shock. How could so many people, people who are neighbors, peers. and family, vote for what is clearly a fascist trajectory? To us, however, it’s no surprise. Politicians like Trump are part of a larger global anti-gender movement - and that is precisely what this podcast is focused on. Listen to this bonus episode for a short reaction to the election. Take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and now.. we CONTINUE to organize !!!

By now you’ve heard that Trump and Vance are weird. But are they really? Are they weird or are they just part of the anti-gender movement? Listen to this short and sweet bonus episode to hear our take on it. As always, follow along for more episodes and check out our website and instagram for resources, info, and updates!

Grab your passport and an oat milk latte and join us at the Transnational Anti-Gender Movements and Resistance Conference! This past February, Laurie and Harper travelled to the London School of Economics to engage with other thinkers, activists, academics, and feminists fighting the anti-gender movement across the globe. What a time we had! Hear all about it and maybe learn a thing or two in our first mini episode! As always, more information and resources can be found on our website and social media platforms. @feminismfascismfuture

In this episode we travel to Mexico City, exploring the anti-gender ideology movement on a local level. We encounter a lot hope and feminist joy along the way. Join us in exploring anti-gender politics and queer and feminist resistance in Mexico City.As always, follow along for more episodes (including a part 2 of Mexico City) and head over to our website for more details. https://sites.middlebury.edu/feminismfascismfuture/

Laurie's Feminist Theory class made an episode for the podcast! The students conducted research and interviews to dive into the anti-gender ideology movement in Vermont, Florida, Mexico, and Germany. Hear from their friends, families, teachers, and community members to explore what's happening around the world. For the reading list mentioned in the episode, head to our website! https://sites.middlebury.edu/feminismfascismfuture/resources/

We have to talk about sex if we are going to talk about the anti-gender movement. You see, the anti-gender movement is rooted in the belief that sex is simple - boys and girls, penises and vaginas. But actually, sex has never been that simple and rather than assuming we know what sex and gender are because they're "obvious" we talk to one of the world's foremost authorities on just how messy sex and gender are. In this episode, feminist writer and journalist Judith Levine talks with Rebecca Jordan Young, author of Testosterone: An Unauthorized Biography. We also talk with Julianna Neuhauser about how this right wing belief that sex is easy to understand overlaps with trans-exclusionary feminists' "gender critical" stance. And how sometimes, the politics of believing sex is a binary can make for really strange bedfellows.

In this episode we talk to a variety of experts on the anti-gender ideology movement. They explain its history in the Catholic Church and how it slipped into far-right political movements starting in Russia, but spreading through Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Find out why Vladimir Putin and Ron DeSantis have the same policies and why feminists, LGBTQ activists, and others are fighting back to save democracy itself.

In this episode, we introduce what’s coming for us. It’s fascism, pure and simple and it’s spreading across the globe. But this time fascism is against “gender ideology” as well as the usual suspects (like Jews or migrants). This new fascism blames feminism, LGBTQ activism, and gender studies for everything that’s wrong and wants to make a world without women’s rights and LGBTQ rights. If you aren’t scared of the anti-gender movement yet, you will be after listening to this.