Explore every episode of the podcast Fifty Feminist States: Interviews with Feminist Activists and Artists Across the U.S.
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Episode 57 - Farewell for now, friends | 10 Sep 2021 | 00:18:48 | |
In this episode, Fifty Feminist States host Amelia Hruby shares the bittersweet news that Fifty Feminist States is ending, and this is the final episode. Listen as she explains how and why she came to this decision, looks back to the very first episode of the show, and shares her reasonings, reflections, and gratitude for this journey. The archive of episodes will live on and be available for feminists in generations to come to learn and be inspired. There are costs associated with keeping the podcast archive online, so if you’d like to support our ongoing costs, you can donate to our Glow.fm page. We're forever grateful for your support of this show & hope to be back in your earbuds in new formats in the future. In the meantime, we'll see you on the road, wild ones. | |||
| Episode 56 - Reproductive Health as a Social Justice Issue with Regina Townsend | 03 Sep 2021 | 00:35:35 | |
In this episode, Fifty Feminist States Fellow L’Oreal Thompson Payton interviews Regina Townsend, aka @brokenbrownegg. Regina shares her infertility journey and why she created The Broken Brown Egg, “an infertility advocacy blog and source of connection for individuals seeking a personal story of infertility written from the African-American viewpoint.” L’Oreal and Regina also chat about what it’s like being Black women navigating infertility, why reproductive health should be considered a social justice issue and how this is all about much more than babies. | |||
| Episode 47 - Decolonizing Yoga with Susanna Barkataki | 20 Oct 2020 | 00:48:12 | |
Welcome to season six! Fifty Feminist States is back for a mini-season with three very special conversations about healing, white supremacy, and voting this fall. In this episode, Amelia interviews Susanna Barkataki, a speaker, teacher, author, and yoga unity activist living and working on unceded Seminole land in Florida. They discuss what it’s like to be an Indian woman practicing and teaching yoga in the U.S., the ways in which yoga succeeds and fails as a feminist practice, and the necessary steps for decolonizing yoga in the West. It’s such a powerful conversation and a beautiful sneak peek into Susanna’s upcoming book. | |||
| An Update, A New Book & 20,000 Downloads! | 06 Oct 2020 | 00:12:33 | |
It's been too long, Fifty Feminist States fam! This week Amelia is back from hiatus with an update about the podcast, news about her brand new book Fifty Feminist Mantras, and a BIG THANK YOU for helping us hit 20,000 downloads! | |||
| Episode 46 - Illustration for intersectional liberation with Kaile Akina | 17 Jun 2020 | 00:35:08 | |
It’s the end of season five! In this episode, Amelia speaks with illustrator Kaile Akina about her journey as an artist, her experience as a woman of color in Utah, and the role and status of feminism there. Tune in to learn more about Kaile’s work and to hear what’s next for Fifty Feminist States. | |||
| Episode 45 - Harm reduction in Las Vegas and needle exchange during COVID-19 with Chelsi of Trac-B Exchange | 12 Jun 2020 | 00:32:13 | |
What is harm reduction and how do needle exchanges help communities? In this episode, Amelia speaks with Chelsi Cheatom of Trac-B Exchange in Las Vegas, Nevada. They discuss the many programs the Exchange offers including syringe vending machines and sex worker outreach and training, as well as how harm reduction work has shifted to respond to COVID-19. | |||
| Episode 44 - Exploring what we’re born into with Gina Giordano and Tara Brooke of Doula Trainings International and Born Into This | 29 May 2020 | 00:41:01 | |
Learn about the role of full-spectrum doulas in our reproductive lives and how doula work is transforming during COVID-19 with Gina Giordano and Tara Brooke of Doula Trainings International (DTI) and Born Into This. In their conversation with Amelia, they discuss why they founded DTI, what a doula is, how their commitments to reproductive and social justice led them to start Born Into This, how birth disparities connect to health disparities, and more. This is an amazing conversation for anyone who’s been born (that’s all of us!), and we hope you’ll tune in. | |||
| Episode 43 - Bringing her hair and her Latina heritage to her art with Rosemary Meza-DesPlas | 22 May 2020 | 00:46:48 | |
Today we’re sharing two special episodes from two special feminist artists in New Mexico! Hear from Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, a visual and performance artist living in Farmington, New Mexico who brings her Latina heritage and her hair to her mixed media work and her poetry performances, and Sarah Stolar, an interdisciplinary artist living in Santa Fe who paints monumental portraits of survivors and creates intricate film and video installations about girlhood. Tune in to both episodes to hear them reflect on their artistic practices, their feminist practices, and what brings the two together. | |||
| Episode 42 - Unpacking the role of the feminist artist and the healing power of portraiture with Sarah Stolar | 22 May 2020 | 00:43:14 | |
Today we’re sharing two special episodes from two special feminist artists in New Mexico! Hear from Sarah Stolar, an interdisciplinary artist living in Santa Fe who paints monumental portraits of survivors and creates intricate film and video installations about girlhood, and Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, a visual and performance artist living in Farmington, New Mexico who brings her Latina heritage and her hair to her mixed media work and her poetry performances. Tune in to both episodes to hear them reflect on their artistic practices, their feminist practices, and what brings the two together. | |||
| Episode 41 - Supporting immigrant communities and fighting detention centers with Allegra Love of the Santa Fe Dreamers Project | 15 May 2020 | 00:34:47 | |
Learn about the work of Santa Fe Dreamers Project as they nurture immigrant communities, fight detention centers, and support trans migrants in New Mexico. In this interview, Executive Director Allegra Love talks about how hard her team works to protect their clients from the depravity of ICE and the American immigration system, the ways COVID-19 has impacted her work, and how much we have to learn from the resilience of immigrants. | |||
| Episode 40 - Tattooing and/as feminist practice with Amy Shapiro-Esswein | 08 May 2020 | 00:32:14 | |
Learn about tattooing and the visual practice of Denver artist Amy Shapiro! In her conversation with Amelia, they discuss how Amy learned to tattoo, the status of women in the industry, her photo and music projects, and how being a parent has shifted her practice. | |||
| Episode 39 - Fly fishing for equity with Erica Nelson | 01 May 2020 | 00:40:17 | |
Learn about fly fishing for equity from Brown Folks Fishing ambassador and self-taught angler Erica Nelson! In her conversation with Amelia, they discuss how Erica learned to fish, how being Native shapes her relationship to the land she fishes on, and why all feminism needs to be intersectional. | |||
| Episode 55 - Starting to Remember the Real You with Mary L. Chang | 15 Jun 2021 | 00:20:39 | |
In this episode, 2021 Fifty Feminist States Podcast Fellow Mary L. Chang discusses how to get started in recognizing and understanding your authentic self. She encourages all listeners to take the time to be honest with themselves about the things in their world that are no longer in alignment with the person they are today. Mary shares important realizations about long-held beliefs that she absorbed from outside influences, how they affected her self-esteem and career path, and how saying goodbye to these beliefs has given her newfound freedom to make her own choices and live her best life. Mary also talks about the importance of identifying the passions that light you up, as they hold the key to your happiness. | |||
| Episode 38 - Body sovereignty, indigeneity, and learning to pronounce Łush Kumtux Tumtum with Shilo George | 28 Feb 2020 | 00:39:25 | |
In this episode, Amelia speaks with Shilo George, a Southern Cheyenne-Arapaho woman, Queer SuperFat Activist, and founder of Łush Kumtux Tumtum Consulting. They discuss body sovereignty, Native culture, and healing historical trauma. | |||
| Episode 37 - Creating an app for plus-sized folks to know if we can ALL GO with Rebecca Alexander | 27 Feb 2020 | 00:36:23 | |
In this episode, Amelia speaks with Rebecca Alexander, the founder of AllGo, a review app where plus-size people rate the comfort and accessibility of public spaces. Tune in to hear her discuss why she started this company, challenges she’s faced securing funding, and the many creative endeavors her team’s launched to bring this project to life. | |||
| Episode 36 - Forgotten feminists and Japanese-American culture in the Pacific Northwest with Mayumi Tsutakawa | 20 Feb 2020 | 00:39:29 | |
In this episode, Amelia speaks with Mayumi Tsutakawa, a Japanese-American writer and curator from Seattle. They discuss her family’s influence on the art world, her career as a journalist and curator, and her new lecture “Washington’s Undiscovered Feminists” that tells the stories of five remarkable, but often unsung, women from Washington. Mayumi also reflects on the past and present of the feminist movement, and shares about her family’s history at Japanese internment camps through the story of her maternal grandmother. | |||
| Episode 35 - Food as family and how restaurants support and are supported by immigrant women with Bini Pradhan of Bini's Kitchen | 13 Feb 2020 | 00:22:40 | |
Welcome to season four, Fifty Feminist States fam! This season we’ll be visiting the West Coast, and in this episode, Amelia travels to San Francisco to visit Bini Pradhan of Bini’s Kitchen. Tune in to learn about why Bini immigrated from Nepal to the US, how her Nepalese restaurant supports the lives of womxn and immigrants across the Bay Area, and to hear more about La Cocina, the restaurant incubator that made her work possible. | |||
| 25 states celebration! | 12 Dec 2019 | 00:23:40 | |
In this very special bonus episode, Amelia celebrates hitting the halfway milestone of this fifty state project! Tune in to hear the story of how it all started AND to learn what guests from the first three seasons are up to now. | |||
| Episode 34 - Poetry as power and how spaces shape lives with Hannah Drake | 21 Nov 2019 | 00:41:49 | |
In this second episode from Kentucky (and the final episode of season 3!), we hear from Hannah Drake, an author and activist from Louisville who writes poetry about race, gender, and social justice. She talks about how she started writing, shares her experiences in spaces not made for her, and reads one of her most-requested poems for us. She also reminds listeners of the problems with White Feminism and why social justice work isn’t just about “resisting our way back to comfort.” | |||
| Episode 33 - Feminist community, family, and art in Louisville, KY | 19 Nov 2019 | 00:41:07 | |
In this first episode from Kentucky, we hear from visual artist Laurie Blayney and small business owner Hannah Jones in our very first mother-daughter interview! They discuss what they love about Louisville, the struggles the city faces, and the feminist activism happening there. And at the end, they share one thing they’ve learned about being a feminist from each other. | |||
| Episode 32 - Spoken word poetry, discourse & resilience with Dr. Alix Olson | 14 Nov 2019 | 00:30:31 | |
In this second episode from Georgia, Amelia interviews Dr. Alix Olson about her past as a spoken word poet and her present-day position teaching Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Emory University. They talk about how spoken word poetry and queer theory have changed since the 90s, Alix’s journey from activist to academic, and the challenging implications of the discourse of resilience. | |||
| Episode 31 - Women’s colleges and global citizens with JLP Prince | 12 Nov 2019 | 00:26:07 | |
In this episode, Amelia catches up with JLP Prince, the Director of Community, Civic and Global Engagement at Agnes Scott College. They talk about the strengths of women’s colleges (Amelia and JLP went to the same one for undergrad!), how to empower women to become global citizens, and even a bit about queer, feminist geek culture. | |||
| Episode 30 - Podcasting for the feminist revolution with Adrienne van der Valk of Feminist Hotdog | 07 Nov 2019 | 00:37:14 | |
In this special podcast crossover episode, we hear from Adrienne van der Valk of Feminist Hotdog about what it’s like to be a feminist in Alabama and how podcasting can be a tool for the feminist revolution. | |||
| Episode 54 - Introducing...Fifty Feminist States Podcast Fellow Angie Yglesias | 20 May 2021 | 00:19:31 | |
In this episode, Amelia speaks with Fifty Feminist States podcast fellow Angie Yglesias! Amelia & Angie talk about Angie’s activist experience, why diversity & representation are so important in storytelling, and accessibility and empowerment through media. | |||
| Episode 29 - Cultivating wellness for BLK PEARLs and seeing the South clearly with Tori Wolfe-Sisson | 05 Nov 2019 | 00:45:22 | |
In the first of two episodes from Alabama, Amelia speaks with Tori Wolfe-Sisson in Birmingham about BLK PEARL, a learning and leisure alliance that cultivates wellness through visibility and economic development with Black, Brown, Indigenous, Transgender & Queer Women. They spend the first half of the interview discussing Tori’s organizing work, and then have a really candid conversation about the stories people tell about Alabama and how to look beyond stereotypical narratives of the South. Plus Tori gives us an audio tour of forgotten and destroyed monuments in Birmingham and Montgomery. | |||
| Episode 28 - Exploring the past and present of women in aviation with the 99s | 31 Oct 2019 | 00:21:19 | |
In this episode, Amelia visits the 99s Museum of Women Pilots in Oklahoma City to speak with Shaylyn Sawyer, the museum manager. They discuss the global history of women in aviation, how the 99s has empowered women pilots for 90 years (!!), and why the field is still so male-dominated. | |||
| Episode 27 - Visiting the only queer feminist bookstore in Mississippi with Jaime Harker | 29 Oct 2019 | 00:36:11 | |
This episode takes Amelia to Water Valley, Mississippi to talk to Jaime Harker, the owner of Violet Valley Bookstore, the only queer feminist bookstore in MS. They talk about feminist presses, how books create community, and why it’s so important to cultivate queer spaces in the South. | |||
| Episode 26 - Learning from the first and only reproductive justice organization in Memphis, TN with Cherisse Scott | 22 Oct 2019 | 00:47:17 | |
In the second of two episodes from Memphis, TN, Amelia speaks to Cherisse Scott the founder of SisterReach, Tennessee’s first and only reproductive justice organization. Tune in to hear Cherisse’s story including her crisis pregnancy center experience, the path that led her to found SisterReach, and how she was recently silenced by the Tennessee Senate. | |||
| Episode 25 - Design for social change and business for better communities in Northwest Arkansas with Marty Lane & Hannah Withers | 17 Oct 2019 | 00:57:56 | |
In this second episode from Arkansas, Amelia visits Fayetteville, AR and talks to Marty Lane, a graphic design professor and activist, and Hannah Withers, a local business owner and organizer, about their community work for social change. Tune in to learn more about feminist pedagogy and designing with marginalized communities and to hear one of our most candid conversations about feminism yet. | |||
| Episode 24 - Transnational Trans organizing from Arkansas to Latin America with inTRANSitive | 15 Oct 2019 | 00:42:12 | |
In Little Rock, Arkansas, Amelia speaks with Diego Barrera, one of the cofounders of inTRANSitive, a collective founded in 2017 to uplift Trans voices in Arkansas through community building, organizing, and political education. Tune in to hear their conversation about Trans migrant stories, transnational actions for Trans liberation, and what it means to call a place home. | |||
| Episode 23 - A physician’s perspective on abortion access in Kansas and Missouri with Dr. Valerie French | 10 Oct 2019 | 00:32:16 | |
In this Kansas City episode, Amelia speaks to Dr. Valerie French about her life in Missouri and her work as an OBGYN in Kansas. They talk about abortion procedures, patient care, and issues around recent bills in the Missouri legislature that restrict abortion access. | |||
| Episode 22 - Supporting and empowering Trans Women of Color to live their best lives in Memphis, TN with Jasmine Tasaki | 08 Oct 2019 | 00:35:50 | |
In the first of two episodes from Memphis, TN, Amelia speaks to Jasmine Tasaki, the founder and executive director of WeCareTN, a non-profit organization that works to support and empower Trans Women of Color through job-readiness programs, direct financial support, and a variety of mutual aid programs founded on healing justice principles. Tune in to learn about Jasmine’s life and work, as well as the community that has supported and uplifted her. | |||
| Episode 21 - Rethinking binaries through food and/as feminist art with S. E. Nash (Missouri) | 03 Oct 2019 | 00:25:37 | |
S.E. Nash is an artist and educator in Kansas City, MO. In this second episode from Missouri, hear Amelia talk to Sean about how he integrates food and fermentation into his art practice to challenge binary ways of thinking about gender and life. | |||
| Episode 20 - Writing as a way to make sense of Mixed Feelings with Alyson Thompson | 01 Oct 2019 | 00:35:06 | |
In the first of two episodes from Missouri, Amelia interviews Alyson Thompson, a St. Louis activist and writer. They chat about Alyson’s work with The 4A Project and her new organization Mixed Feelings, as well as how her writing practice has helped her better understand and create community around her experience as a mixed race person. | |||
| Episode 53 - Introducing...Fifty Feminist States Podcast Fellow L'Oreal Thompson Payton | 19 May 2021 | 00:20:39 | |
In this episode, Amelia speaks with Fifty Feminist States podcast fellow L’Oreal Thompson Payton! Amelia & L’Oreal talk about L’Oreal’s book project on “trusting your dopeness,” her background as a freelance writer, how she deals with imposter syndrome, and their favorite Beyonce songs. | |||
| Welcome to season three! | 17 Sep 2019 | 00:08:58 | |
Welcome back to the Fifty Feminist States podcast! In this season three preview, hear Amelia’s reflections on traveling over the summer and learn more about what's coming up on the podcast this fall. | |||
| Episode 19 - From concerned community members to outraged activists—environmental grassroots organizing against coal ash in Northampton County, NC | 30 May 2019 | 00:45:33 | |
In the third of three special episodes from northeastern North Carolina, Amelia speaks to Joyce Buffalo, Wanda Flythe, and Deborah Ferruccio about their successful grassroots campaign to keep a coal ash storage facility out of their county. | |||
| Episode 18 - Listening to rural voices and combatting classism in Woodland, NC with Ashleigh Phillips | 23 May 2019 | 00:47:25 | |
In the second of three special episodes from northeastern North Carolina, Amelia speaks to Ashleigh Bryant Phillips about her hometown of Woodland, NC, how her writing has developed there, and why we should be listening to and cultivating the creativity of rural voices. | |||
| Episode 17 - Building women-owned businesses in rural North Carolina with Danielle Baker and Caroline Stephenson | 16 May 2019 | 00:34:30 | |
In the first of three special episodes from northeastern North Carolina, Amelia interviews Danielle Baker of Bakers' Peanuts in Roxobel, NC and Caroline Stephenson of Cultivator book store in Murfreesboro, NC. | |||
| Episode 16 - New modes of seeing and being seen with Alexandra Thomas | 11 Apr 2019 | 00:40:06 | |
In this final episode of season two, Amelia travels to Connecticut to talk to activist, academic + museum educator Alexandra Thomas about her research on Black studies + visual culture and her fat feminist politics, including her call for feminist groups to eat cupcakes together and go be loud in museums. | |||
| Episode 15 - Defending Alisha Walker and decriminalizing sex work with Red from Support Ho(s)e | 04 Apr 2019 | 00:52:24 | |
In this episode, Amelia travels to back to New York to talk to Support Ho(s)e organizer Red about their work organizing for the defense of Alisha Walker and what it really means to support sex work and sex workers. | |||
| Episode 14 - Fatventuring in Rhode Island with Samantha Puc | 28 Mar 2019 | 00:30:48 | |
In this episode, Amelia travels to Providence, RI to speak with Samantha Puc, the co-editor of Fatventure Magazine about what it means to make a magazine about fatness that rejects diet culture and the process of coming out as fat. | |||
| Episode 13 - Witching the vote + decolonizing white witchcraft with Lakshmi Ramgopal and Witch the Vote | 21 Mar 2019 | 00:48:51 | |
In this episode, Amelia travels to Massachusetts to learn a whole lot about witchcraft and political resistance from artist + academic Lakshmi Ramgopal and Paige + Cheryl of Witch the Vote. | |||
| Episode 12 - Finding work and community aligned with feminist values in seacoast New Hampshire with Crystal Paradis | 14 Mar 2019 | 00:18:25 | |
In this episode, Amelia travels to New Hampshire to speak with Crystal Paradis, founder of Feminist Oasis. They chat about the challenges of finding work that’s aligned with your values and what takes to build feminist community. Crystal also shares a few fun (and not so fun) facts about New Hampshire politics. | |||
| Episode 11 - Refugee resettlement in the whitest state in the US with In Her Presence | 07 Mar 2019 | 00:25:39 | |
In this episode, Amelia travels to Portland, Maine and speaks to Claudette Sara Ndayininahaze and Abusana Micky Bondo about their organization In Her Presence which provides resources for refugee and immigrant women in Maine. | |||
| Episode 52 - Introducing...Fifty Feminist States Podcast Fellow Mary L. Chang | 18 May 2021 | 00:21:38 | |
In this episode, Amelia speaks with Fifty Feminist States podcast fellow Mary L. Chang! Amelia & Mary talk about how Mary got into music writing, common misconceptions about Mary and her work, the importance of empathy amidst diversity, and a few of Mary’s heroes. | |||
| Episode 10 - Apothecaries and climate change in Vermont with Emma Merritt and Lucia Green-Weiskel | 28 Feb 2019 | 00:30:37 | |
In this episode, Amelia travels to Vermont to speak with herbalist Emma Merritt of Railyard Apothecary in Burlington, VT + PhD candidate Lucia Green-Weiskel, an academic and mother living in Johnson, VT. Together, we think about how we can reshape our relationship with plants and the planet through cooperative + domestic labor. | |||
| Episode 9 - Organizing for Palestinian liberation with Dr. Ashley Bohrer | 21 Feb 2019 | 00:35:28 | |
In this episode, Amelia travels to Syracuse, New York to speak with Dr. Ashley Bohrer about her work with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. We learn a lot about Palestine, Israel, and contemporary Jewish identity in the US. | |||
| Episode 8 - Queer family + native identity in Centre County, PA | 14 Feb 2019 | 00:32:13 | |
In this episode, Amelia travels to Pennsylvania and speaks to Brooklyn and Sarah -- two activists and artists from Chicago who are living in Centre County, PA. Tune in for a conversation about trans + queer identity, native + indigenous politics, and what it means to make a home in a place that isn’t particularly welcoming to you. | |||
| Season two trailer & introducing our theme song! | 12 Feb 2019 | 00:05:15 | |
We're back! Tune in for a preview of what's coming up this spring and to hear the premiere of the Fifty Feminist States theme song by Danielle Sines + Jessica Neria! | |||