Women's Liberation Radio News

New Zealand feminist Renée Gerlich sent WLRN her copy of this interview. She did it on request for Radio New Zealand - before being told it couldn't broadcast, because it had "simply dropped out of the system". Listen carefully to how the interviewer asks Renée questions and how she responds to them to understand why it is likely this interview was censored. WLRN is committed to giving a platform to women who are silenced and marginalized by other media which is why it is an honor to post this interview. You can also read the transcript on Renée's blog here: https://reneejg.net/2018/05/14/rnz-censored/ And visit Renée's petition against Givealittle's breast binding campaign here: https://www.change.org/p/givealittle-end-campaigns-funding-the-mutilation-of-indigenous-people Photo of breast ironing by Getty Images.

Song List: Background- Moon Chant Aco Takenaka Born of Water Lindie Lila Calling The Moon Dar Williams The Moon Was Blue Cris Williamson Many Sister Moons Carolyn Hillyer Moon's Lament Layne Redmond Talking Drums Ariel Kalma Drumming Circle Professor Trance and The Energisers Think Twice (Henrik Schwarz Remix) The Detroit Experiment Rattlesnakes Emancipator Lihkahusat/Entranced Mari Boine By Night Ayla Nereo Bledsung Live at Kuumbwa Polly Wood This week I have composed a love letter, of sorts, to The Moon with music selected to reflect my feelings toward her steady companionship in my life. I hope you will enjoy this flow of waxing and waning Female lunar energy! Also, just a reminder, I'll be waning my music hour production to one per month this summer starting next month on June 4th. Thanks again for your gyn/affection, support and appreciation!

This week's music hour features the poetry of Pat Parker and Judy Grahn on their 1976 Olivia record, Where Would I Be Without You. Hope you enjoy hearing this treasure of Lesbian Feminist spoken word for the first time or the ten thousandth! "Side one" with Judy Grahn: A History of Lesbianism if you lose your lover in the place where The Marilyn Monroe Poem The Common Woman II. Ella III. Nadine IV. Carol V. Detroit Annie VII. Vera She Who parting on the left the woman in 3 pieces one She Who Increases the many minnows A Geology Lesson the enemies of She Who She Who Continues the most blonde woman the woman in 3 pieces three foam on the rim i am the wall the woman whose head is on fire Plainsong: from an older woman to and younger woman "Side two" with Pat Parker: From cavities of bones When I was a child Fuller Brush Day You can't be sure of anything these days Tour America! In English Lit Brother Have you ever tried to hide? Don't let the fascists speak Pit

Summertime is coming soon, and that means festival season is almost here! Our 25th edition podcast features interviews with the founders of three such events: Michigan Framily Reunion, https://www.michiganframilyreunion.com/ Ohio Lesbian Festival, https://www.facebook.com/OhioWomynsFestival/ and Cinema Systers. https://www.cinemasysters.com/ WLRN would like to welcome our newest member, Maya, who provides headlines for this month. In addition, thanks to Jenna for giving us a complete rundown of over a dozen women's gatherings happening this season. Musical selections include August Moon by Nedra Johnson and Summertime Fling by KD Lang. Thistle and Julia finish up the hour with twin commentaries reflecting on the sacredness and importance of womyn's space. Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks to Anonymous, WLRN was able to recover this documentary that aired on October 26th, 2015 from the studios of Madison community radio station WORT 89.9 FM. Shortly after the airing of this documentary, Thistle Pettersen was banned from the radio station due to complaints from trans activists that she engages in "hateful bigotry." In contrast, the documentary is not about hate at all, but rather highlights and amplifies the thousands of women's voices that came together every year for forty years on the Land. Enjoy this Labor of Love -- especially as we enter a new round of festivals this third season after MichFest ended.

Thanks to Anonymous for sending WLRN this sound file from 2014 when Thistle Pettersen interviewed Sheila Jeffreys, Elizabeth Hungerford and Jane Doe on the Access Hour at Madison's community radio station WORT 89.9 FM. The lead-up to this show and the aftermath were notable since trans activists and advocates complained to the station that this show was "trans misogynistic" and full of "hate speech."

In this interview, WLRN producer Jenna talks with Maria Klemperer-Johnson, founder of Hammerstone Carpentry and School for Women. Having grown up with a woodworking father and grandfather, Maria found her way back to carpentry after going to college for computer science, and later starting a PhD program in geology. She talks about the the empowerment of being physical; using your body to create; knowing your strengths and limits. Being part of a small percentage of wimmin in the trades, and specifically carpentry, she has a unique perspective on the way we work, the baggage associated with being a woman doing "men's work", and the limits we place on ourselves. Ms. Klemperer-Johnson also spent time is Puerto Rico in March of 2018, holding construction workshops for local residents, and doing crucial renovations on one home that had been without a roof since hurricane Maria. Working with her team of women, and the recovery group Rogues on Roofs, Maria made extensive repairs - and also important connections - an

Recently, I've been inspired by hearing 17 year old Emma Gonzalez speak against gun violence. Her confident, passionate and intelligent speeches are so moving to me. I've also been remembering the fires of myself at that age which were made impotent by hetero reality. This week I invite you to join me and the music for a journey of female friendship and reclamation of the fires of those adolescent years of being 'Emotional Creatures" (term borrowed from a young woman interviewed by Eve Ensler). Here are some links to Emma: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/emma-gonzalez-stoneman-douglas-survivor-makes-righteous-speech-10100848 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u46HzTGVQhg Playlist: in background: Ane Brun Headphone Silence 3000 Miles Tracy Chapman Sisters of Avalon Cyndi Lauper Tuuli Hedningarna Drunk Inna Zhelannaya Sistory Ubaka Hill Body Hair Anne Seale F**kin Perfect Pink I'll Stand by You The Pretenders Awaken to your Power Sheila Chandra

WLRN's Julia Beck traveled to Bloodroot Vegetarian Restaurant and Feminist Bookstore in Bridgeport Connecticut in March of 2018. Surrounded by the laughter and ambient sounds of women listening live to this interview, Selma Miriam and Noel Furie tell the story of how they came to be business owners and also share their own personal stories as feminist women and lesbians. http://www.bloodroot.com/

WLRN is celebrating two years of collectively producing feminist community radio! To mark this achievement, Natasha Petrov, WLRN's resident graphic designer, has created some wonderful merch described in this PSA. Please take a listen and consider ordering your Women in Media merch today! https://wlrnmedia.wordpress.com/merch/

Our 2nd year anniversary podcast is here! WLRN has worked collectively for TWO YEARS to bring YOU woman-centered news and music every single month. This month we focus on women creators and supporters of the feminist movement. We interviewed Maria Klemperer-Johnson, the founder of Hammerstone Carpentry School, as well as Selma Miriam and Noel Furie, two of the founding members of Bloodroot Vegetarian Restaurant. We also spoke with Judith Arcana, one of the Janes from Chicago's underground abortion service. Musical selections include "I Come From Women" by Amy Carol Webb and "We Are The Ones" by Sweet Honey In The Rock. Finally, twin commentaries by Sekhmet SheOwl and Jenna DiQuarto round out this month's program on feminist foundations. Check it out! ‪http://hammerstoneschool.com/‬ ‪http://www.bloodroot.com/‬ ‪http://www.juditharcana.com/‬ Our podcasts certainly are "handcrafted" with tender loving care! Thanks so much for all of the time spent on this labor of love!

This week's music hour features music by Barbara Higbie, Teresa Trull and Cris Williamson in honor of their Reunion Tour. They've been gracing various venues along the east coast these last several weeks. I saw them this past weekend! It was great fun to witness powerful women sharing power so reminiscent of how things were done at MichFest and other womyn's music festivals. They really set the bar for that particular Feminist value! I'm so grateful for continued modeling of that Gyn/affection wherever possible, so I offer a musical version of it here in the next hour. Hope you enjoy! Playlist: In background to intro: Playtime Teresa Trull & Barbara Higbie Playtime Tip the Canoe Barbara Higbie Hills to Hollers Flow Teresa Trull Flow Hieroglyphics Cris Williamson The Essential Cris Williamson Sway of Her Hips Teresa Trull & Barbara Higbie Playtime Signs of Life Barbara Higbie Alive in Berkeley Songbird Cris Williamson The Essential Cris

Shortly after holding up a sign at the women's march in Madison on January 21st 2017, Thistle Pettersen was defamed by hundreds of peers and colleagues in her community to the point of losing her regular music show at a neighborhood bar and almost losing her employment. This song was written during that period of backlash that lasted for about 10 weeks after the women's march. It is about taking care of yourself, soothing and guiding yourself towards the default setting of the universe which is love-of-existence and joy-in-being. Thistle's battlefield is media work/songwriting and her sword is the pen she uses to create feminist culture that aims for fierce & compassionate sisterhood and human rights for all. Resting from the battle and from the war on women is essential to our success. Thanks to all of the women who battle our oppressors to the point of needing to take deep pensive time to rest before wielding the sword again. Blessed Be.

After two years, Thistle Pettersen went back into the studios of WORT 89.9 FM, the community radio station in Madison, to interview Meghan Murphy LIVE on the Access Hour and to play a pre-recorded interview she did with Julie Bindel. Thanks to WORT's Access Hour for allowing these interviews to be broadcast from the station. Ms. Pettersen was banned from the station's premises in January 2016 due to transactivist complaints about her previous LIVE interview with Sheila Jeffreys in 2014 and the broadcasting of Ms. Pettersen's radio documentary of the Last Michigan Womyn's Music Festival in 2015. The ban was lifted in February 2016, but she did not feel comfortable going back to the station until 2018. Even now, there are staff and volunteers at the station who believe that what you will hear in this program, and in any of the programs that Ms. Pettersen produces is "hate speech." Thankfully, the mission of the Access Hour slot in particular, allows for differing points of view on women's liberation politics

This week I invite you closer into my personal life to walk through a remembering/honoring of the violent murder of my dog companion, Phoenix, eight years ago to the day. Gun violence is perpetual under male supremacy and this experience brought it to my hearth as it has come to so many women around the world, maybe even yours. I hope that this personal sharing touches and strengthens you and the entire Liberation Movement on the planet. If you want to read more of my personal walk through this experience, I invite you to gently read it at: http://phxlabyrinth.blogspot.com. Thank you for your kind ears. Play List: Wild Wolf (in background) Solitudes Manaus Tellu As Cold as it Gets Patti Griffin Stop Killing Us Lenelle Moise If it were up to me Cheryl Wheeler The Women Gather Sweet Honey in the Rock Howl at the Moon Cheryl Wheeler House of Bones Cris Williamson Song For Mia Liz Wright The Water is Wide Lucie Blue Tremblay Little Roo

On Monday, March 19th, WLRN's Thistle Pettersen will venture back into WORT 89.9 FM's studios in beautiful downtown Madison to play a pre-recorded interview that she did this week with Julie Bindel and to interview Meghan Murphy LIVE! This short clip contains a Feminism 2.0 question generated by a group of radical feminists following the build-up for the show. It will not be included on Monday night's LIVE broadcast. The show on Monday is meant to be a Feminism 101 introduction to what two leading feminists are thinking and doing as we continue on in this journey of the year 2018.

This is a one minute promo Thistle Pettersen recorded at the studios of WORT 89,9 FM in beautiful downtown Madison to get the word out about her interview with Meghan Murphy & Julie Bindel on March 19th, 2018.

WLRN's edition 23 on the #METOO movement and rape culture begins with world headlines presented by Sekhmet She Owl followed by "Hands Clean" by Alanis Morissette, a song about a 14 year old girl who was raped by a music exec . Next, you'll hear an interview clip of Jyssica Schwartz jyssicaschwartz.com/ talking about her new book coming out on March 14th called You Are Not Alone, inspired by the #METOO movement. The book is a collection of 56 stories written by women (and some men) about their experiences of sexual abuse and healing. Next, you'll hear interviews with Shelly Ruzicka & Rocio Caravantes of the organization Arise Chicago Workers' Rights Center followed by the song "Ni Una Menos" by Angela Leiva in Spanish. Rocio talks about her experiences as an immigrant worker and cases of abuse she experienced at work. Here is a video they made called Out of the Shadows www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH9cDcLzAQ0 that sheds light on the discussion of sexual harassment at the workplace. Finally, WLRN's Julia Beck round

Playlist: Cradle song Kitka (In background) Ten Mile Stilts Wailing Jennys Lullaby Dixie Chicks Ooo Child Beth Orton Sweet Wonder Carolyn Hillyer Diamond in the Rough Shawn Colvin Nature Song Sweet Honey in the Rock I Love to Laugh Sweet Honey Bird Song Heather Masse Tuwe Tuwe Sweet Honey Oh My Goodness Look at this Mess Sweet Honey Spring Tracey Chapman Be Careful Cris Williamson Feral Children Beth Orton Motherland Cris Williamson This week on the Music Hour, we'll be celebrating the Divine Girl-Child. While living in rape culture is dangerous for all females, it is especially perilous for our girl babies, toddlers and children, so I wanted to remember them this next hour. Those of us who have survived girlhood and those who are still fighting to survive all over the planet: may these songs move you and radiate out through time and space to protect and comfort all girls, past present and future until male supremacy is eradicated. Blessed be.

You are in for a special treat! Start off the hour with the musical selection “Dandelion” by Heather Maloney and then be intrigued & inspired by the first interview clip featuring Linda Conroy, conference founder, speaking with Thistle Pettersen. After a brief musical interlude of “The Spirit of the Plants” by Lisa Thiel, you’ll hear how YOU CAN WIN A FREE TICKET to the conference followed by interview excerpts with conference keynote speaker, Isla Burgess from New Zealand and author of “Weeds Heal: A Working Herbal” and “Notes from a Biophilic Garden: Reconnecting People, Plants and Inscape” released in 2017. After the excerpt with Ms. Burgess, enjoy Thistle’s song “We Are More” before being reminded again of how to win a free ticket to the conference. After that, hear an interview excerpt with Dr. Tieraona Low Dog, world-renowned doctor & herbalist, in which she talks about her offerings at the conference as another keynote speaker. Then hear the song “Corn Mother” by Lisa Thiel before enjoying the final in