Host Rafa Kidvai is joined by Ashley Sawyer, an advocate and attorney focusing on the criminalization of young people in schools. They discuss the pervasive nature of the school-to-prison pipeline, how trauma intersects with the experiences of marginalized students, and the importance of dismantling oppressive structures in education. If you have q…

In this episode, host Rafa Kidvai is joined by Shanelle Matthews, founder of the Radical Communicators Network and a distinguished lecturer at City College at the City University of New York. Shanelle discusses the critical role of narrative power in social movements, the importance of centering marginalized communities, and how storytelling can ch…

Sahar Pirzada, the director of movement building at HEART, an organization working to advance reproductive justice through sexual health and education in Muslim American communities, joins host Rafa Kidvai to discuss reproductive justice and liberation. They explore the impact of state violence, the importance of cultural change work, and how globa…

Kylee Sunderlin, a judicial bypass attorney in Michigan and the legal services director at If/When/How, joins host Rafa Kidvai to discuss the complexities and challenges of the judicial bypass process for young people seeking abortions. They delve into the emotional and bureaucratic hurdles, the systemic flaws, and the need for policy changes to su…

Rafa Kidvai is joined by Fariha Róisín, author of Who Is Wellness For? and Being In Your Body, about her own abortion and the complexities of bodily autonomy and self-care. Fariha discusses the limitations of wellness culture, the importance of addressing trauma, and the necessity of healing on both individual and collective levels. If you have que…

Leigh Goodmark, director of the Gender, Prison, and Trauma Clinic at the University of Maryland Carey School of Law, speaks with host Rafa Kidvai about the intersections of intimate partner violence and abolition feminism. They discuss Leigh's journey from advocating for carceral solutions to embracing abolition, the impact of state violence on sur…

Diala Shamas is a senior staff attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. She joins host Rafa Kidvai to talk about the impact of state surveillance on Muslim communities and some of the unseen harms that come from the criminalization of a people based on their identity. The discussion highlights the intersection of surveillance with the repr…

Ma'ayan Anafi, Senior Counsel for Health Equity and Justice for the National Women's Law Center, joins host Rafa Kidvai to share the disturbing reality of forced sterilization laws still active in the majority of U.S. states. They discuss the historical roots of these laws, their impact on disabled people today, and opportunities for reform. Ma'aya…

Journalist and author Victoria Law joins host Rafa Kidvai to discuss the harrowing experiences of incarcerated pregnant people, exemplified by the story of K. Winston, who was denied an abortion in an Ohio jail. They delve into the systemic barriers to reproductive care in prisons, the intersection of incarceration and reproductive justice, and the…

Jared Trujillo, policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and a former sex worker, explains their campaign to decriminalize sex work. Jared shares how decriminalizing sex work would make it safer and why sex workers should be entitled to the same legal protections and workplace rights as any other worker. He discusses with host R…

Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi joins Rafa Kidvai to discuss the challenges faced by abortion providers in the wake of a post-Roe reality–and how her Texas-based practice has had to navigate barriers to care even before the Dobbs decision. Dr. Moayedi shares the impact of abortion bans she experiences first-hand on both providers and patients, and the strateg…

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg joins host Rafa Kidvai to explore the connection between abortion and her Jewish values. Rabbi Ruttenberg shares her perspective on the role of faith in empowering individuals to control their own reproductive health. Visit Repro Legal Defense Fund to learn more. Follow Rabbi Ruttenberg on Twitter @TheRaDR. If you have questi…

Renee Bracey Sherman wants to shift society’s idea of abortion by sharing real abortion stories. As founder and executive director of WeTestify, an organization working to change the conversation surrounding abortion, she empowers individuals to talk about their decision on their own terms. She speaks with host Rafa Kidvai about her mission and why…

Harper Keenan, the Quartermain Professor of Gender & Sexuality in Education at the University of British Columbia, thinks a lot about how we support children to navigate their bodies. He talks to host Rafa Kidvai about how important educators are, since our kids spend so much time at school, and how instilling the values of bodily autonomy and self…

From navigating parental notification laws to being under state supervision, Oriaku Njoku, executive director of the National Network of Abortion Funds and co-founder of Access Reproductive Care Southeast (ARC), shares with Rafa Kidvai the various factors that can make accessing abortion care difficult and how abortion funds can help. Oriaku discus…

Sophia Gurulé, an immigration defense attorney and policy advocate, explains “crimmigration”–the intersection of the criminal legal system with the U.S. immigration system. Sophia shares with host, Rafa Kidvai, how even very brief encounters with the criminal punishment system can lead to detention and how state surveillance using these two systems…

Nora Carroll is a public defender at the Legal Aid Society, and cofounder of the Parole Preparation Project. When host Rafa Kidvai asks her to apply a reproductive justice lens to her experience in the criminal legal system, Nora explains how difficult it is for folks in prisons or jails to exercise their right to exert control over their own bodie…

Pilar Weiss, founder and director of the Community Justice Exchange, shares with host Rafa Kidvai how the bail process robs entire families and communities of freedom and safety–particularly in the immigration detention system. Also founder of the National Bail Fund Network, Pilar challenges listeners to imagine a world beyond reform–and towards ab…

Chase Strangio, the Deputy Director for Transgender Justice with the ACLU’s LGBT & HIV Project, and host Rafa Kidvai of the Repro Legal Defense Fund at If/When/How know that their movements’ path to freedom depends on one another. They go deep on the interdependence of transgender and reproductive justice, and explore what true liberation should be…

In each episode of this series, Rafa Kidvai of the Repro Legal Defense Fund at If/When/How interviews experts about how policy in the U.S. is used to control and surveil the decisions people make about their own bodies. From the way parole limits someone’s access to their family, to the impact education has on how children learn about bodily autono…