In this episode, we're looking at the upcoming midterm elections, the role of women playing in national politics, and the attacks on the women who are running for office. In Ohio, we recently saw an example of this—an unreasonably cruel and debasing attack ad from gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, directed at his Democratic opponent Amy Acton, who has said she was sexually abused as a child by her stepfather who was charged with rape and fled the state. The ad includes her estranged mother, claiming that Acton lied about the traumatic events in her childhood.

What do attacks like these say about our current political climate, and how will they influence voters? How is our cultural climate around gender impacting the midterms? Moira Donegan joins Dr. Michele Goodwin to unpack these important questions, just one week out from the election.

Moira Donegan: Moira Donegan is a feminist writer and opinion columnist with the Guardian U.S., as well as a writer in residence for the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University.

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In this episode, we unpack the state of the world. It's been five since the United States exited Afghanistan. How are women doing? The exit process followed the a 2020 Doha Agreement signed by the Trump administration and the Taliban. Gains for women's rights were immediately under attack. As reports show, the Afghan government collapsed as the Taliban seized Kabul five years ago, on August 15, 2021. While the drama of the mass exodus and airlifts are still visible in the minds of many, have the plight of women and girls been left behind. Joining Dr. Goodwin to unpack these issues is Dr. Sima Samar. She served as Afghanistan's first Minister of Women's Affairs and as Vice President/Deputy Chair of the Interim Administration.

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What's the deal with tradwives? From Turning Point to Instagram, the movement has found a strong following—and built a commercial empire. It's even hit the runways, marketing "traditional" clothing to women as the next wave of what's fashion forward. But what's behind the curtain? Beyond the idyllic images of returning to the prairie and a slower pace of life, there's discontent, abuse and women who want out.

Joining us to unpack the movement is a very special guest:

• Madeline Peltz is a writer, journalist and researcher, born in Chicago. Over the last decade, her reporting has appeared on Media Matters for America, MS Now, Newsweek, and elsewhere. She is the author of Good Girls and Alpha Males: How the Conservative Media Is Recruiting Gen Z.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

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