Best Ashbrook Podcasts (2025)

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Susan Ashbrook Harvey, "Ministries of Song: Women’s Voices in Ancient Syriac Christianity" (U California Press, 2025) 1:27:31

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21d ago1:27:31

1:27:31

Ministries of Song: Women’s Voices in Ancient Syriac Christianity (U California Press, 2025) is an open access tour-de-force study of the power of women's liturgical singing in late antique Syriac Christianity. Extending women's religious participation beyond the familiar roles of female saints and nobles, Syriac churches cultivated a flourishing b…

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Donna J. Drucker, "Fertility Technology" (MIT Press, 2023) 30:20

16h ago30:20

30:20

A concise overview of fertility technology—its history, practical applications, and ethical and social implications around the world. In the late 1850s, a physician in New York City used a syringe and glass tube to inject half a drop of sperm into a woman’s uterus, marking the first recorded instance of artificial insemination. From that day forwar…

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Ruby Oram, "Home Work: Gender, Child Labor, and Education for Girls in Urban America, 1870-1930" (U Chicago Press, 2025) 57:54

2h ago57:54

57:54

In Home Work: Gender, Child Labor, and Education for Girls in Urban America, 1870-1930 (U Chicago Press, 2025) historian Ruby Oram tells the story of how middle-class, white women reformers lobbied the state to implement various public education reforms to shape the lives of girls and women in industrial cities between 1870 and 1930. Women such as …

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The Left Wants to “Decolonize” Christmas Baking - Best of Variety 1:08:31

4d ago1:08:31

1:08:31

🎙️ Get ready for a whole stack of holiday-flavored chaos. We start with the most deranged “ideology in baking” moment imaginable: a decolonized Christmas cookie pitch that tries to rewrite history through masa, honey, and pure self-seriousness. From there, we’re right into the spirit of the season: the stuff that’s supposed to be wholesome, until i…

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How did we get here? What’s with Holmes ‘stache? - Ruthless Q&A 1:06:20

5d ago1:06:20

1:06:20

🎙️ We kick off our Christmas Day Q&A by answering the burning questions from the audience. We talk through how our careers actually started, how campaign instincts and comms muscle turn into real-world wins, and why the Progrum isn’t just “four guys with microphones,” but four guys who’ve lived the jobs we talk about. ⚡ Then, how the sausage gets m…

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Special Episode: Born American, But in the Wrong Place 1:00:35

1d ago1:00:35

1:00:35

What does it mean to be American? How does one become an American? Join us for this special episode as Peter Schramm, past Executive Director of the Ashbrook Center and Professor of Political Science, discusses his family's flight from Communist Hungary, move to California, and growing up in his adopted home, learning the answers to those questions…

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A Very Ruthless Festivus 1:08:56

2d ago1:08:56

1:08:56

🎁 A happy Festivus to all those who celebrate. Today, the fellas have their a festivus celebration for the ages. Everyone shares their personal and political grievances, plus we review the best feats of strength from the year. ️ 💥 Whether it’s a debate about nachos being a total scam or Donald Trump’s decisive bombing of Iran, you won’t want to mis…

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Tracey Norman and Mark Norman, "Devon's Forgotten Witches: 1860–1910" (The History Press, 2025) 57:41

7d ago57:41

57:41

Witchcraft and witches throughout history have long captured the imagination, yet hidden away in archives are records of long forgotten cases. Many of these are tragic, some are unusual – perhaps even inexplicable – but all are fascinating in their own right. Devon’s Forgotten Witches 1860–1910 (The History Press, 2025) by Mark Norman and Tracey No…

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Liberation & the Literature of the Women’s Movement with Bess Wohl and Honor Moore 56:18

7d ago56:18

56:18

Wednesday, December 17—“The best play I’ve seen this season,” says New York Magazine’s Sara Holdren about Liberation, Bess Wohl’s moving exploration of the women’s movement through the story of an Ohio consciousness-raising group in the early 1970s and a daughter who yearns to understand her mother’s life and her own. To discuss this timely play an…

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Molly-Claire Gillett, "Irish Lacemaking: Art, Industry and Cultural Practice" (Bloomsbury, 2025) 1:04:13

4d ago1:04:13

1:04:13

Following the career of the Irish lace designer and inspector Emily Anderson (1856-1948), Irish Lacemaking: Art, Industry and Cultural Practice (Bloomsbury, 2025) by Dr. Molly-Claire Gillett traces a network of designers, makers, organizations and institutions involved in the late-19th and early-20th-century Irish lace industry and explores their c…

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Democrat Caught in Another Massive lie? And Bill Barr Joins the Progrum 1:22:20

11d ago1:22:20

1:22:20

🎙️ Another democrat political fairy tale collapses in real time. We start with Ilhan Omar’s claim that ICE pulled over her son, then walk through how DHS says it never happened, how the story keeps shifting, and why the media still gives it oxygen. We discuss why this keeps happening and why Minnesota keeps finding itself in the spotlight for all t…

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Danger of Podcast Drama - Candace Owens Attacks TPUSA + Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders 1:24:39

12d ago1:24:39

1:24:39

🎙️ We break down why “just asking questions” turns into an incentive structure for inventing madness. We discuss what this kind of content does to real people who are living through real grief, and the influencers online who are trying to cash in on Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk and the fight with Candace Owens. ⚡ Then we pivot to a brutal week of terro…

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Amy Erdman Farrell, "Intrepid Girls: The Complicated History of the Girl Scouts of the USA" (UNC Press, 2025) 57:52

12d ago57:52

57:52

When eight-year-old Amy Erdman Farrell moved with her family to Akron, Ohio, in 1972, she found herself adrift in a sea of taunting boys and mean girls. Shy by nature, she dreaded her long, unhappy days at school. But a few years later, Farrell found an escape from bullying, the promise of sisterhood, a rising sense of confidence, adventure, and—be…

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Alexandra Ghiț, "Welfare Work Without Welfare: Women and Austerity in Interwar Bucharest" (De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2025) 44:15

12d ago44:15

44:15

Welfare Work Without Welfare: Women and Austerity in Interwar Bucharest (De Gruyter Oldenbourg, 2025) argues that women activists, wage workers, and homemakers in the Romanian capital Bucharest became de facto social workers in the interwar period through their "austerity welfare work". Revealing links and tensions between the performers of differe…

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How Does the Declaration of Independence Influence the Constitution? 34:18

8d ago34:18

34:18

The Declaration of Independence summarizes and defends the most fundamental ideas about America - about our government, the relationship between it and individuals, and how its proper place in public life. If the Constitution is a set of rules and processes, with a 'mission statement' in the Preamble, the Declaration of Independence presents the id…

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Minnesota Fraud Explodes, LA & Australian terror + US Labor Sec Lori Chavez-DeRemer & OPM Director Scott Kupor 1:32:39

14d ago1:32:39

1:32:39

🎙️ The fellas discuss how billions in COVID-era funding vanished through fraud in Minnesota. We walk through how the slush funds were set up, why there was almost no oversight, and how state leadership dodged responsibility while taxpayers got fleeced. We also break down the absurd defenses that Tim Walz continues to offer up. This was not some pap…

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Word and Spirit and Sacrament - Tim Suffield 1:09:08

10d ago1:09:08

1:09:08

Season 6 | Episode 8 In this conversation Jez speaks to Tim Suffield, elder on staff at Harvest church Alton https://harvestchurch.uk/ They discuss reflections on Andrew Wilson's book 'Spirit & Sacrament' available here.By New Ground Churches

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The Grand Delusions of the Democrat Party 1:17:29

18d ago1:17:29

1:17:29

🎙️ Gavin Newsom is spinning his Palisades Fire “hair on fire” story, so we go back to the actual clip and walk through how the hero tale falls apart. Then, Tim Walz now claims Republicans fear him because he can fix a truck. We revisit his shifting image from the campaign till now. Kamala is also declaring herself a “historic figure,” and talking a…

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The Truth About the Economy + Mike Rogers for Michigan 1:25:21

19d ago1:25:21

1:25:21

🎙️ The same people who pushed trillions in spending now act confused that prices climbed. We lay out how democrats got us here on inflation, and the size of the hole that Trump is trying to climb out of. 💵 Then, we look at the actual data — wage growth under Trump’s second term, the collapse of real wages under Biden, and the painful gap between ri…

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Caitlin Wiesner, "Between the Street and the State: Black Women’s Anti-Rape Activism Amid the War on Crime" (U Pennsylvania, 2025) 1:15:08

19d ago1:15:08

1:15:08

Beginning in the 1970s, a series of government agencies established to carry out the federal “war on crime” offered financial and ideological support to the fledgling feminist movement against sexual violence. These entities promoted the carceral tactics of policing, prosecution, and punishment as the only viable means of controlling rape, and they…

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When in the Course of Human Events: Creating the Declaration of Independence 36:53

18d ago36:53

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Summer, 1776: the war for independence is over a year old and the leaders of the 13 colonies have finally decided that independence is their goal. How shall they explain America’s aims and reasons to her own people and to the world? A committee of five was selected to draft the document; the Second Continental Congress debated, revised, and voted o…

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Why the Democrat Establishment is Collapsing + MKH Joins the Progrum 1:29:46

21d ago1:29:46

1:29:46

🔥 Democratic Party CHAOS: The Radical Left Takes Over & Chuck Schumer’s Days Are NUMBERED! + Mary Katharine Ham joins for the lightning round ⚡ The Democratic establishment is COLLAPSING before our eyes. From Jasmine Crockett scaring off “moderate” challengers in Texas to the progressive lunatics running in primaries nationwide, the party of AOC an…

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Peace A. Medie, "Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence Against Women in Africa" (Oxford UP, 2020) 1:02:06

22d ago1:02:06

1:02:06

In Global Norms and Local Action: The Campaigns to End Violence against Women in Africa (Oxford UP, 2020), Peace A. Medie studies the domestic implementation of international norms by examining how and why two post-conflict states in Africa, Liberia and Côte d'Ivoire, have differed in their responses to rape and domestic violence. Specifically, she…

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The Nursing Clio Editorial Collective, "The Nursing Clio Reader: Histories of Sex, Reproduction, and Justice" (Rutgers UP, 2025) 50:31

21d ago50:31

50:31

The Nursing Clio Reader: Histories of Sex, Reproduction, and Justice (Rutgers UP, 2025) brings together essays that examine reproductive health through historical research and personal experience. Featuring both new and classic pieces from the Nursing Clio blog, leading historians of reproductive health, librarians, archivists, public health profes…

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Another Dem Hoax Unravels + Rep. Steve Scalise Joins the Progrum 1:38:41

25d ago1:38:41

1:38:41

🎙️ The latest democrat hoax has fallen apart. The drug boat ‘scandal’ seems to be a big nothingburger. Democrats instantly shifted into defending traffickers once the hoax fell apart. After that, we break down the even stranger week on MSNBC, where Morning Joe skipped town for so long that even their audience noticed. As we looked around for them, …

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Grace Kessler Overbeke, "First Lady of Laughs: The Forgotten Story of Jean Carroll" (NYU Press, 2024) 44:12

22d ago44:12

44:12

Before Hacks and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, there was the comedienne who started it all. First Lady of Laughs: The Forgotten Story of Jean Carroll (NYU Press, 2024) tells the story of Jean Carroll, the first Jewish woman to become a star in the field we now call stand-up comedy. Though rarely mentioned among the pantheon of early stand-up comics su…

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Why are democrats defending criminals? Plus, Sen. John Thune Joins the Progrum 1:13:11

26d ago1:13:11

1:13:11

🎙️ There is absolute rot at the core of the Democratic Party, especially their constant need to defend criminals. We start with Senator Reed's baffling attempt to defend narco-traffickers, trying to paint them as mere "delivery drivers" in a discussion about supply and demand. We followed that with the unbelievably unhinged rhetoric from Debbie Was…

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Anny Gaul, "Nile Nightshade: An Egyptian Culinary History of the Tomato" (U California Press, 2025) 57:57

26d ago57:57

57:57

By the end of the twentieth century, the tomato—indigenous to the Americas—had become Egypt's top horticultural crop and a staple of Egyptian cuisine. The tomato brought together domestic consumers, cookbook readers, and home cooks through a shared culinary culture that sometimes transcended differences of class, region, gender, and ethnicity—and s…

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“If they mean to have a war...”: The Causes of the American Revolution 52:41

22d ago52:41

52:41

The American Revolution, born in the hearts and minds of Americans in response to British tyranny, is one of the most pivotal moments in human political and national history. But what caused it? It’s a lot deeper than taxes or tea, and as we prepare for America’s 250th birthday, it’s a good time to look back, and look deeply at the roots of the rev…

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Massive Democrat Fraud Exposed + Rep. Ashley Hinson 1:42:12

28d ago1:42:12

1:42:12

🎙️ There is an absolute horror show going on in Holmes' home state of Minnesota. We looked into the explosive New York Times story revealing a $1 billion fraud scandal involving the state's social service system under Governor Tim Walz. This wasn't just typical government waste; we dissected how members of the Somali diaspora allegedly stole hundre…

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Carolyn J. Eichner, "Feminism's Empire" (Cornell UP, 2022) 1:22:43

26d ago1:22:43

1:22:43

Feminism's Empire (Cornell UP, 2022) investigates the complex relationships between imperialisms and feminisms in the late nineteenth century and demonstrates the challenge of conceptualizing "pro-imperialist" and "anti-imperialist" as binary positions. By intellectually and spatially tracing the era's first French feminists' engagement with empire…

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Islam, Christianity & Culture - Andy Bannister 1:23:35

25d ago1:23:35

1:23:35

Season 6 | Episode 7 In this conversation Jez speaks to Andy Bannister, author of several books including 'Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?', about Islam, worldview, Christianity and some of the contemporary issues facing the church. To find out more about Andy and his books go here: https://www.andybannister.net/…

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Patricia Anne Simpson, "Early Modern Women's Work: Kinship, Community, and Social Justice" (Routledge, 2025) 59:22

30d ago59:22

59:22

Patricia Anne Simpson joins Jana Byars to talk about Early Modern Women's Work: Kinship, Community, and Social Justice (Routledge, 2025). The book examines the contributions of female writers, artists, scientists, religious leaders, and patrons who engaged in entrepreneurial, intellectual, and emotional labor in German-speaking Europe. Through indi…

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Amanda Parrish Morgan, "Stroller" (Bloomsbury, 2022) 49:22

30d ago49:22

49:22

Among the many things expectant parents are told to buy, none is a more visible symbol of status and parenting philosophy than a stroller. Although its association with wealth dates back to the invention of the first pram in the 1700s, in recent decades, four-figure strollers have become not just status symbols but cultural identifiers. There are s…

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Can Trump Save Hollywood? 1:17:49

27d ago1:17:49

1:17:49

🎙️ The fellas explore the total collapse of Hollywood cinema and what it might mean for the American consumer. We all agree the movies just aren't what they used to be—you can't find a good, simple action flick or comedy anymore. Holmes points out how the shift happened during the Obama years, moving toward terrible, non-English, anti-American awar…

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How to Win Thanksgiving - Your Ruthless Thanksgiving Spectacular 46:25

28d ago46:25

46:25

🦃 It’s our annual Thanksgiving Spectacular! This is the episode that made the Ruthless Variety Progrum famous. A reminder of the basic framework: you want your like-minded relatives excited to arrive, and the libs coming over to be stricken with fear. We dissect a cringe-worthy, anonymous USA Today op-ed from a person who dreads confronting their f…

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Marion Turner, "The Wife of Bath: A Biography" (Princeton UP, 2023) 44:57

1M ago44:57

44:57

Ever since her triumphant debut in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, the Wife of Bath, arguably the first ordinary and recognisably real woman in English literature, has obsessed readers--from Shakespeare to James Joyce, Voltaire to Pasolini, Dryden to Zadie Smith. Few literary characters have led such colourful lives or matched her influence or capacity…

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Natalie Porter, "Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: A History of Badass Women Skateboarders" (ECW Press, 2025) 45:24

1M ago45:24

45:24

A vibrant, meticulously researched celebration of the women and non-binary skateboarders who defied a hostile industry and redefined skateboarding around the world With enthusiasm and empathy, Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: A History of Badass Women Skateboarders (ECW Press, 2025) celebrates the relentless participation of women in skateboardi…

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Karen Weingarten, "Pregnancy Test" (Bloomsbury, 2023) 40:02

1M ago40:02

40:02

In the 1970s, the invention of the home pregnancy test changed what it means to be pregnant. For the first time, women could use a technology in the privacy of their own homes that gave them a yes or no answer. That answer had the power to change the course of their reproductive lives, and it chipped away at a paternalistic culture that gave gyneco…

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What Did Frederick Douglass Think of Abraham Lincoln? 46:39

29d ago46:39

46:39

What Did Frederick Douglass Really Think of Abraham Lincoln? Discover the complex relationship between two of America's most influential figures in this revealing conversation about a groundbreaking new book. Historians John White and Lucas Morel unveil previously unknown letters and documents that transform our understanding of how Frederick Dougl…

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AOC’s Thanksgiving Scam + ICE Director Todd Lyons 1:26:07

1M ago1:26:07

1:26:07

🎙️ AOC appears to be fundraising for her campaign under the guise of a turkey giveaway for the needy, which is beyond the pale. The fellas pointed out that while she has raised money for actual charities in the past, this latest move smells of a massive list-building operation with political transaction fees skimming off the top, leading to local c…

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Yolanda Aixelà-Cabré, "African Women’s Histories in European Narratives: The Afropolitan Krio Fernandino Diaspora (1850-1996)" (Leuven UP, 2025) 44:01

1M ago44:01

44:01

Little is known about the African women who came to Europe from the 1870s onwards, nor do we dare to imagine them as wealthy, elegantly dressed individuals with refined tastes and fluent in several languages. The Krio Fernandino represented a multisited, multilocal, transnational, transcontinental and Afropolitan community that lived between Africa…

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Sarah Hoiland, "Righteous Sisterhood: The Politics and Power of an All-Women's Motorcycle Club" (Temple UP, 2025) 44:53

1M ago44:53

44:53

A righteous sister identifies herself as a biker. She might wrench, or maintain, her own bike, and she prefers to ride with other righteous sisters. Righteous Sisterhood: The Politics and Power of an All-Women's Motorcycle Club (Temple UP, 2025) is Dr. Sarah Hoiland’s insightful ethnography about an all-women motorcycle club (MC). She recounts stor…

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Shatema Threadcraft, "Labors of Resurrection: Black Women, Necromancy, and Morrisonian Democracy" (Oxford UP, 2025) 58:24

1M ago58:24

58:24

Western democracies are haunted. Michael Hanchard suggests that the specter of race is what haunts our democracies, but it may be more accurate to suggest that they are haunted by their own racialized death machines—by racialized premature death. If this haunting is not adequately attended to, democracies cannot fulfill their function. Even W. E. B…

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Julie Dobrow, "Love and Loss After Wounded Knee: A Biography of an Extraordinary Interracial Marriage" (NYU Press, 2025) 44:30

1M ago44:30

44:30

Like any set of star-crossed lovers, Elaine and Charles came from different worlds. Elaine, an acclaimed childhood poet from a remote corner of the Massachusetts Berkshires, traveled to the Dakota Territories to teach Native American students, undaunted by society’s admonitions. Charles, a Dakota Sioux from Minnesota, educated at Dartmouth and Bost…

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This is why the liberal media is failing - DC Journo Scandal Explodes 1:07:35

1M ago1:07:35

1:07:35

🎙️ This might be the biggest, messiest, most custom-produced story for the Progrum: the saga of writer Olivia Nuzzi. There’s a bombshell dropped by her ex-fiancé, Ryan Lizza, and no one expected it. We cover how she left New York magazine, her overly dramatic book, and recent developments. 😘 The fellas discussed the absurdity of the new Mark Sanfor…

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The Truth About the Epstein Files 1:36:23

1M ago1:36:23

1:36:23

🎙️ It’s wild how the mainstream media only got interested in Epstein after they thought it would hurt Donald Trump. The fellas discuss how the entire narrative is a cynical exercise in political partisanship, mirroring the disastrous Russiagate hoax, and not a genuine pursuit of justice for victims. We knew all along that Epstein was a well-known l…

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Can Feminism be African?: A Conversation with Minna Salami 34:01

1M ago34:01

34:01

Transcript of the interview Minna Salami is a writer, social critic, and thought leader on feminism, knowledge production, and the aesthetics and structures of power. She formerly served as Programme Chair and Senior Fellow at THE NEW INSTITUTE, where she led the Black Feminism and the Polycrisis programme. Her work sits at the intersection of idea…

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Emily Callaci, "Wages for Housework: The Feminist Fight Against Unpaid Labor" (Seal Press, 2025) 46:07

1M ago46:07

46:07

Across the globe in the 1970s, a network of feminists distilled their struggles into a single demand: Wages for Housework! Today, it remains a provocative idea, and an unfulfilled promise. In Wages for Housework: The Story of a Movement, an Idea, a Promise (Penguin/Seal Press 2025), historian Emily Callaci tells the story of this campaign by explor…

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The Constitution and the Rule of Law 31:33

1M ago31:33

31:33

Jeff is joined by Justice Sharon Kennedy, Chief Justice of the Ohio State Supreme Court to discuss the Rule of Law - what is it? Why is it so essential to limited, fair government? How is it promoted, protected, and how can we understand it better so as to pass on its value to future generations? Join us as we look at some of the most foundational,…