Women's Liberation Radio News

WLRN's Jocelyn Crawley sits down with Esmée Streachailt of Medusa Rising to discuss the ever elusive concept of feminist love. Thanks for tuning in to feminist community-powered radio, WLRN.

First up, be greeted by Cat Bradfield, WLRN's World News Coordinator who announces a music show project she is heading to count down the top 100 songs chosen by WLRN listeners just in time to celebrate ten years of WLRN's stellar podcast hitting the Femisphere. Next, hear Cat deliver the world news with stories from the USA, Iran, Uganda, Australia and France. After the world news, enjoy an excerpt of the song Gole goldune man by Simin Ghanem, an Iranian artist. The song means "You are my flower who has gone" and was chosen by our guest this month, Fariba Amini. Next, stay tuned for an interview Lola did with Fariba, an Iranian-American journalist and freelance writer who discusses the strides and setbacks of the women of Iran and what American women can do to support them. Finally, hear commentary from Lola about the nuanced nature of women's progress in Iran and her anti-war stance. Thanks for tuning in to WLRN, feminist-powered community radio since 2016!

Wishing you a Happy Galentine's Day season, this episode is dedicated to a thorough look at the concept of feminist love with Esmée Streachailt and Jocelyn Crawley. First up, hear Thistle deliver the podcast greeting before the world news segment with Cat Bradfield featuring stories from the Gambia, Chile, Indonesia and the United States. Next, take a listen to the interview Jocelyn did with Ms. Esmée Streachailt of MedusaRising.org, a wonderful radical feminist organization that engages and inspires young women to join the movement. Esmée and Jocelyn explore patriarchal concepts of love in order to highlight the need for a radical feminist love that uproots and heals. Finally, take a deep dive into the concept of feminist love with Jocelyn's commentary she leaves us with after the interview. Stay tuned 'til the very end for Margaret's explanation of this month's cover art reprinted below. From WLRN's resident graphic designer, Margaret: "I started with the idea of light representing love. Light flowi

Dive in to a refreshing newly inspired podcast as we collectively move forward into the new year! First up, hear Cat Bradfield deliver the world news with a variety of stories from China, Iran, Brazil and other countries that demonstrate the systematic discrimination women face everywhere in all walks of life. Next, WLRN member Lola Bessis takes the reigns this month offering up an interview she did with Cynthia Enloe about "feminist curiosity" and how to stay alert and active as we monitor and work to end male violence. Lola delivers riveting commentary after the interview to complete this show focused on waking women up and taking ourselves seriously as political actors instead of pawns in men's games. Thanks to the team at WLRN for their years of service to our feminist movement WLRN will celebrate ten years of being in your ears this year. Carry on! Below, find Margaret's artist's statement about the artwork she designed for today's edition. "For WLRN’s Edition 117 which focuses on Feminist Cu

Happy Winter holidays to all of our listeners! We hope you are warm and cozy as you listen to this, our 116th handcrafted, collectively created podcast. In this month’s edition, Freda interviews Wendy Murphy, an experienced impact litigator working fiercely to gain equal protection for women under the law. Wendy has won numerous cases setting precedent and leading to changes in the law for women regarding sexual assault and protecting the constitutional and civil rights of victimized women and children. To listen to Wendy Murphy bring her case to court on December 16th at 2pm Eastern time you can use the following website. It is possible to register two days in advance. https://forms.mad.uscourts.gov/courtlist.html You can read Wendy’s Constitutional Terrorism article that details the Equal Rights Amendment, its herstory, and its importance in more detail than she had time to provide in her interview here: https://8fdaf192-a63f-4cc1-ba48-30c5727fb699.usrfiles.com/ugd/8fdaf1_b95d74efe47e437abcf29301af7a10b

Edition 115 starts with Freda greeting the listener before handing the mic to Cat Bradfield for WLRN's World News segment featuring stories from France, Michigan, England, and Australia. Enjoy the song "Like a Gift" by Samia Malek before hearing Thistle's commentary and snippets of audio from the FiLia conference ending in the song "Spinning & Weaving." Thistle's commentary is followed by Aurora's take, in which she examines the treatment of war at FiLia and encourages us to look more deeply at what causes conflict in the movement and not avoid it. Stay tuned to the very end for Margaret's explanation of the cover image for the month and Lola's synopsis of the show coming out in December. Thanks, as always, for staying tuned to WLRN! Artist's statement: "To create the image for the 115th Edition of WLRN, I used a photo of Freda, aurora and Thistle taken at the FiLia conference. I also included a satellite image of Brighton. I took words from a couple of essays related to the conference and put them into

Edition 114 of WLRN is here! Aurora Linnea kicks things off before handing it over to Cat Bradfield for the world news segment, featuring updates from Afghanistan, Argentina, and South Korea. Then, enjoy “Wishing Well” by Jamie Wyatt, followed by a powerful interview Thistle conducted with Brianna Pressley and Elizabeth Watson of WDI USA. Brianna (State Contact for Illinois) and Elizabeth (Minnesota) share how they connected with women in prison, what motivates their advocacy, and the critical work they’re doing to support incarcerated women. Stick around ‘til the end for Sekhmet SheOwl’s no-nonsense commentary on the urgent issue of men being housed in women’s prisons—and why it needs to be front and center in feminist activism. Thanks for listening to WLRN!

Today's edition starts off with a greeting from Thistle, our resident singer/songwriter and founder of WLRN before diving into our world news segment with Cat Bradfield. After the news, hear Ani DiFranco's song, Atom, in its entirety to get an idea of the enormity of the problem and its root in male dominion and madness. Next, stay tuned for an interview Thistle did with Professor Cynthia Enloe of Clark University about the global nature of the nuclear problem and the different responses, actions and solutions of governments and peace activists. Cynthia emphasizes the work of ICAN, the International Campaign to End Nuclear Weapons https://www.icanw.org/and the book Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy by Ray Acheson. Then, hear riveting commentary delivered by aurora linnea in which she discusses the phallic nature of the Bomb and the absurdity that all of human history, culture and life could end in a moment of males punching in codes to blast off large penis-shaped bombs. Aurora explores the anit-nu

Welcome to the 112th edition of WLRN's monthly handcrafted and collectively created podcast! This month features four Dianic Priestesses who speak with Thistle about the Red Tent they set up at National Women's Music Festival (NWMF) in Madison, WI every year. Harvest Brown is an ordained Dianic Priestess of the Red Tent. She and her Red Tent clan have set up and worked within the Red Tent space at NWMF for ten years. Holin Blackmoon is a Dianic High Priestess and Land Witch. She has been reading the cards for over 50 years. She is happiest among plants and animals, especially her beloved hens. Rain Foster is an ordained priestess, practicing in the Dianic tradition for 24 years. She is a member of the Red Tent clan in Madison, WI, offering sacred, women born women-only spaces. FireHawk is an ordained priestess of transformation and transition in the Dianic tradition. She has been a practitioner of wicca for over 30 years and a steward of mother earth and her creatures great and small since she was a small

July 3rd, 2025 MADISON -- First up, be greeted by WLRN's founder, Thistle Pettersen before she hands the baton to WLRN's newest member, Ms. Cat Bradfield, who delivers the world news segment. After enjoying Tracy Chapman's song "The Promise", hear Arianne of LGB Alliance USA speak with Thistle about Pride 2025 just before Arianne hopped into the woods for a RadFem summer camp in the Pacific Northwest this June and July. Then, hear a rendition of aurora linnea's first piece she turned in to WLRN in 2021 that April Neault loved so much, she made into this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiJGYYpXhWo After the reading of aurora's essay entitled "Pride: Corporate Patriarchy's Celebration in the Streets", we end our show by thanking our guest, Arianne of LGB Alliance USA, and signing off. This month's artwork is by WLRN's graphic designer and artist, Margaret Moss. Edition 111 Artist's Statement : "I started the featured image with an oil sketch Berthe Morisot created in 1885. The drawing/painting s

First up, hear Thistle greet the listener with an appeal for support to get the team at WLRN over to England this Fall for the FiLia conference. Learn more here: https://wlrnmedia.com/2025/03/28/filia/. Next, stay tuned for WLRN's world news segment written and delivered by aurora linnea in which she features stories from the UK, France, Mexico and the USA. The world news is followed by the song "Goodbye Mississippi" by Jess Hawk Oakenstar, a song suggested by our guest this month, Dianne Post. It's a beautiful and sad song with heart-felt lyrics about a mother and daughter trying to escape male violence. Following the song, hear the interview Thistle did with Ms. Dianne Post about the male bias present in the law in the United States and what feminist women need to do to combat it. Finally, stay tuned for the replaying of Sekhmet's brilliant commentary about female sexuality in the face of the commercial sex industry that seeks to exploit it for male gain. Thanks for tuning in to feminist community po

Happy Nine-year anniversary to WLRN! That's right! We have been bringing you a free, volunteer-produced feminist podcast for nine whole years since our humble beginnings in 2016. We couldn't have done it without YOU, dear listeners, so please consider a "happy anniversary" donation to help with our costs to attend the FiLia conference. You can learn more about that fundraising campaign here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f09AG_mmgw&t=9s First up, hear WLRN's Mary O'Neill deliver the world news segment for the last time until further notice. Email info@wlrnmedia.com with your resume and cover letter if you are interested in taking over Mary's job of collecting and reading the world news every month. We love having new members join the team! Thank you, Mary, for your two years of service to the collective! After the world news, enjoy the song "And Leave" by Solely before hearing an interview Freda did with two women who exited prostitution and contribute to the podcast Red Light Expose. Red Light Expose h

Welcome to the 108th edition of WLRN's monthly podcast! First up, hear aurora greet the listener before handing the mic to Mary O'Neill who delivers WLRN's world news featuring stories from Louisiana, Russia and Iran. After the world news, stay tuned for the song "Mother Rage" by Kathy Fire, an anarchist feminist songwriter who released this gem in 1978. Next, hear the interview Thistle did with Lierre Keith about the significance of the re-release of Andrea Dworkin's Right Wing Women by Picador in February of 2025. Lierre Keith (www.lierrekeith.com) is a writer, small farmer, and radical feminist activist. She is the author of six books including, The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability, which has been called “the most important ecological book of this generation.” She is also coauthor, with Derrick Jensen and Aric McBay, of Deep Green Resistance: Strategy to Save the Planet. She’s been arrested six times for acts of political resistance. Finally, stay tuned 'til the very end for commen

Continuing our exploration of ecofeminist theory and practice, March's edition puts an emphasis on ecofeminist practice and actions we all can take to put women in places of power to (re)generate the healing changes and salves we need in society to work together to overcome greed and land grabs, and work for a future of sane decision making in the direction of catastrophe prevention, including in the rebuilding of LA. Hear from Ava Park, Priestess of the Temple of the Goddess of Orange County, tell us a bit about her women-only organization and a bit about her philosophy and then go on to tell us about how members of her community were impacted by the fires, including a member who called her in the middle of the night because she had lost everything, except the clothes on her back. At the end of the interview with Ava, she makes an appeal to WLRN listeners to write to Mayor Karen Bass at mayor.helpdesk@lacity.org and let her know that you support the reinstatement of lesbian fire chief Kristin Crowly. Be

Welcome to the 106th edition podcast of Women's Liberation Radio News. First up, hear aurora linnea greet the listener before handing the mic to Mary O'Neill for women's news from around the world. Next, enjoy the song "Heaven is a Place on Earth" an old 80's pop favorite re-imagined by Allison Lorenzen. After the song, stay tuned for excerpts of a LIVE round table discussion the WLRN team held on January 11th with aurora to discuss her book, Man Against Being: Body Horror & the Death of Life. Finally, enjoy this month's commentary from WLRN team member Margaret Moss who speaks to us about how human society is organized around serving the alpha males, something we should have left behind long ago in our journey here on earth. To learn more about ecofeminism, aurora has put together a list of books and articles to explore published below. AN ECOFEMINIST READING LIST This list does not claim nor attempt to be comprehensive; instead it is meant as a primer for readers keen to delve into ecofeminist the

Happy New Year from the team at WLRN! This month, Lola Bessis takes the reigns and offers up an interview she did with an 18 year-old UN Women nonprofit organizer who wishes to remain anonymous. They have a lively discussion about what it means to be a globally minded feminist and the work our guest does for women and girls and how it feels to be from the global south and to usually be the youngest member of the panels and organizations she participates in. First up, hear the greeting from WLRN founding member, Thistle. If you would like to apply to be WLRN's new Business Manager, please reach out to us at info@wlrnmedia.com. We need a new volunteer to manage WLRN's finances, fundraising and website as we transition to becoming an LLC. If we are unable to fill this position by the end of February, we may not be able to continue the good work of WLRN so please apply! No experience is necessary! After the greeting, stay tuned for WLRN's world news segment with Mary O'Neill in which she reports on the impact

First up, hear the greeting by Thistle before listening to Mary O'Neill deliver WLRN's world news segment. Then, enjoy Thistle's original song Sticky Red Egg before tuning in to aurora's commentary on the US Presidential Elections cycle. After aurora shares her views, it's on to Lola and her take on the American electoral political scene. Finally, our oldest member Sekhmet SheOwl weighs in with her powerful words before our special guest, Katherine Acosta gives us her analysis of this last election cycle and what it means for women. You can check out more of Kathy's work at https://katherinemacosta.substack.com/. Thanks for tuning in to feminist community powered radio, WLRN! #WLRN #presidentialelections #Kamala #Trump #elections

This month's edition is packed with women's voices from around the USA as the nation braces itself for the new regime led by president-elect Donald Trump. First up, hear aurora linnea greet the listener before Mary O'Neill offers up news stories and information about women around the world. Then, enjoy the song "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" by Taylor Swift before listening to Thistle, aurora, Mary and Lola describe what led them to radical feminism and why they joined the WLRN team. This show is dedicated to our future feminist endeavor of meeting up with likeminded feminists in person at the FiLia conference 2025 in the UK. https://www.filia.org.uk/tickets Please consider donating to our FiLia fundraiser by clicking on the donate button at wlrnmedia.com OR by going to the totally excellent radical feminist period products company GARNUU.COM and typing in "WLRN" at checkout. Thanks sisters! Be sure to share with your female friends and family! #WLRN #GARNUU #RadicalFeminism

Dear Listeners, Thanks for your patience as we get used to working without the stellar strengths and abilities of our former sound engineer and producer, Ms. Jenna DiQuarto. We made the call-out for new sound engineers and producers, dear listeners, and she came! Please welcome our two newest members to the team, Freda Bear and Ann Castile. Ann took up the reigns this month and worked into the wee hours last night to finish up the production of this show. Great job, Ann! Thistle too, is unsure about how much longer she can keep it up with the WLRN collective, so stay tuned for some big changes around here, sisters! Thankfully, the younger generation is pickin' up the slack and Ms. Lola Bessis took the reigns this month on the topic, the interview and even the commentary! Lola's is a compelling voice clamoring for critical and free thought in a world full of an apocalyptic din. Thank you, Lola, for your work! Dr Dina Siddiqi is a distinguished feminist anthropologist whose work delves into critical d

Greetings! Thanks for tuning in to our 101st show. Thistle, here! It feels surreal to post this month due to the imminent departure of our beloved sound engineer and producer, Jenna DiQuarto. Jenna has been with WLRN for 8 years and diligently produced our monthly show with care and craft. You leave some big shoes to fill, dear Jenna. Thank you for your years of service and dedication to the collective, to the station, and to our archives. You will be sorely missed by all of us! Today's show begins with an announcement about our partnership with Garnuu.com/WLRN. Tune in to learn more about this exciting opportunity! Our World News segment is written and delivered by Mary O'Neill with fill-in from Jenna DiQuarto. Caroline Parks was our editor this month and Jenna delivers her commentary about her experiences at this year's Fest as a shuttle driver and general volunteer around camp at the festival. The interview segment is directly from the Land on a quiet morning before the mass haul out. Thistle got