Popaganda

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Popaganda: Puff, Puff Progress Aug 29, 2019

Show notes

This week, Popaganda's HEAT season heads away from the fire—and marches directly toward the smoke. In this week's episode, host Carmen Rios talks to a slew of "puffragettes" fighting to end the drug war, foster a more equitable cannabis industry and forge a feminist future in weed.

2019 has already heralded in a whole lot of victories in the fight for laws that decriminalize and legalize cannabis possession and distribution—and studies show that more women are lighting up than ever. When marijuana business boomed, the number of women in leadership positions in the industry fell, and the national patchwork of drug laws leaves people of color at risk for criminalization and incarceration every day. But women aren't surrendering to the patriarchal and corporate forces threatening the future of cannabis. Instead, they're organizing at the state and national level for comprehensive marijuana laws, building networks for women in the business of bud, and creating space for marginalized communities to reclaim and redefine weed culture.

Carmen talks to policy experts, business leaders and community-focused stoners in this episode—digging into the importance of comprehensive drug laws with Karen O'Keefe from the Marijuana Policy Projects, talking shop with The Incubator founder Amy Margolis and Ellementa co-founder Aliza Sherman, envisioning queer cannabis culture with 420 Queer co-founder Irene Urias and appraising the landscape of the sector with Mary Janes: The Women of Weed filmmaker Windy Borman.

Carmen came to every interview with the same question: What does a feminist weed culture look like? She came away with the knowledge that there are a lot of moving parts — and a lot of work ahead — in the fight to create equity in cannabis. But she's hopeful, like the women she talks to, that the future of weed is feminist — and that together, we can take down the capitalist stoner bros trying to convince us it never was.

HEAT: Feminism Beyond Burnout" Aug 15, 2019

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Popaganda's HEAT season is back—and as burnt out as ever. Through conversations with feminist writers Feminista Jones and Tiana Clark, FRIDA Young Feminist Fund Senior Advocacy and Communications Officer Ledys Sanjuan, Feminist Oasis founder Crystal Paradis and feminist academic Rosemary Clark-Parsons, host Carmen Rios explores the challenges of building a sustainable movement for gender equality and forges a path toward a feminism beyond burnout.

Popaganda: Let's Talk About (Talking About) Sex Aug 01, 2019

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Popaganda's HEAT season marches on this week—and walks right into the bedroom. In the second episode, host Carmen Rios talks to "Wordslut" author Amanda Montell, sex educator and former rape crisis counselor Mala Munoz, Playboy features editor Anita Little and Yes Means Yes co-editor and What You Really Really Want: The Smart Girl's Shame-Free Guide to Sex and Safety author Jaclyn Friedman about what it will take for us to rewrite the script on sex and instigate a feminist sexual revolution. Along the way, she looks back on her own feminist awakening and coming-of-sluttiness—and realizes just how necessary sexual liberation is to smashing the patriarchy.

HEAT: Spice Girls Jul 19, 2019

Show notes

Welcome to Popaganda's HEAT season! In the first episode, host Carmen Rios looks back on the impact of the Spice Girls as they enter into their reunion tour. 20 years after girl power became a global phenomena, she investigates the legacy of the band in pop culture and the messages they impressed on an entire generation -- talking to feminist writers Jill Gutowitz and Sady Doyle about the promise of girl power and re-watching Spice World with comedian Brittani Nichols in order to wade back into the debate that rages on today about marketplace feminism and fauxpowerment.

Popaganda: Body Positive Beach Times Jun 21, 2019

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This episode originally aired on August 3, 2017.

The beach is supposed to be a place of relaxation. But, as we all know far too well, it's also a place of high anxiety. Nothin' puts body positive feelings to the test quite like slipping into what's essentially colorful underwear and parading around in the midday sun in front of a bunch of strangers. This episode of Popaganda, "Beach Bodies," takes listeners from the sandy sun to the woods, to the pool, and back again, all while having conversations about how we feel about our bodies and how to deal with the anxieties people have around having their bodies being on display outside.

We talk with Unlikely Hikers creator Jenny Bruso about diversifying outdoor-industry media, hear from model Sawyer DeVuyst about telling visual stories from trans perspectives, and dish on fat-positive fashion with style blogger Jessica Torres. We also share oral histories of a 1930s resort called Dreamland, which catered to African Americans living in the segregated Jim Crow South.

And bonus: interviews from a nude beach. Tune in!

Popaganda Revisited: Raising Feminist Kids Jun 06, 2019

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Originally broadcasted on November 10, 2016

We are here to make the future less terrible.

This episode features guidance on talking to kids about all kinds of complicated issues. Writer and photographer Margaret Jacobsen explains how she speaks frankly with her kids about pretty much everything, including her open relationship. Everyone is Gay co-founder Kristin Russo shares ideas for discussing queer identities with kids of all ages. A dozen Popaganda listeners call in with stories of one thing they each do to help raise a future generation of feminists. Oh, and host Sarah Mirk phones her parents. Tune in.

Popaganda: Fear May 23, 2019

Show notes

This episode originally aired on October 23, 2015.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself? Give me a break. What about being afraid of murder? Indefinite detention? Stand-up comedy? On this episode, we explore some of the many things that make us afraid.

The show begins with a story from filmmaker Assia Boundaoui, who grew up in a mostly Arab American neighborhood that was under FBI surveillance. Then, we have two perspectives on feminism and horror films: Writer Leela Ginelle discusses how films like Funny Games and Panic Room tie into real-life fears of domestic violence and film buff Sara Century looks at the history of queer women in horror (bring on the lesbian vampires!). We end the show with comedian Jenny Yang, who explains how the only way to get beyond your fear of getting onstage is to actually get onstage.

Popaganda Revisited: Queering Family Values May 09, 2019

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This episode was originally released on April 27, 2017. "Family values" has been co-opted by right-wing folks. But what the hell! Feminists have strong values, and we have strong families, too. On today's episode, we're queering family values. For a lot of queer folks, the traditional concept of family is wrought with complicated feelings—a lot of blood families refuse to accept or celebrate queerness, so LGBTQ people have in many ways redefined "family" for themselves. I talk with two queer feminist activists about what the word "family" means to them and which "family values" they try to live by and teach. Writer and photographer Margaret Jacobsen and writer Yasmin Nair are two awesome feminist thinkers who have different ideas on what it means to have a family, what it means to get married, and how our ideas of family shape our ideas of the world.

Popaganda Revisited: FEMBOTS Apr 25, 2019

Show notes

From Metropolis to Westworld, female robots have always played out complicated power dynamics onscreen. While the term "fembots" conjurs up the image of killer mechanical sex-kittens from Austin Powers, cinematic stories about female robots often deal with much darker and deeper dynamics. In this episode, filmmaker and professor Allison de Fren walks us through the history of female robots onscreen in movies like The Stepford Wives, Ex Machina, and Her and how their stories revolve around issues of power and control. Then, for you Westworld obsessives, poet and scholar Margaret Rhee discusses the race and gender dynamics of hit HBO series Westworld. But, of course, robots are all around us in real life, too. Feminist researcher Miriam Sweeney delves into the world of virtual assistants that have female voices and bodies, from the modern Siri to the old-school Ms. Dewey.

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