The MATRIARCHITECTS

Carmen Maria Machado—Writing In The Dream House

Carmen Maria Machado [https://carmenmariamachado.com] is the author of In the Dream House [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781644450031] and Her Body and Other Parties [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781555977887], which was a finalist for the National Book Award and winner of the National Book Critics Circle’s John Leonard Prize. She lives in Philadelphia with her wife. Jillian Bessett: [https://www.jillianbessett.com/] The voice in the intro and outro belong to songwriter Jillian Bessett. Jillian Bessett is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose evocative lyrics and welcoming stage presence have endeared her to audiences throughout the southwest music scene. Jillian is currently writing music and gigging with her new favorite instrument the Boss RC-505 Looping Station. Mentioned in the Episode: Machado's essay in Guernica: "The Trash Heap Has Spoken [https://www.guernicamag.com/the-trash-heap-has-spoken/]" Keven Brockmeier's The Human Soul As A Rube Goldberg Device [https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/13507032] Toni Morrison: "“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.” Machado's essay on Medium ; "Gaslight Nation" [https://medium.com/wordsthatmatter/gaslit-nation-b528ce36e22d] Gaslight [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036855/], 1944 film featuring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer Machado's story "Especially Heinous: 272 Views of Law & Order SVU [http://theamericanreader.com/especially-heinous-272-views-of-law-order-svu/]" "Voices Carry" song and video by 'Til Tuesday [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uejh-bHa4To] The Grand Guignol [http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20190304-why-the-grand-guignol-was-so-shocking] Writers: Yōko Ogawa [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/12/books/yoko-ogawa-memory-police.html] Toni Morrison [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/06/books/toni-morrison-dead.html] (The Pieces I Am, phenomenal documentary on her life now on Netflix [https://www.tonimorrisonfilm.com/]) Karen Russell [https://karenrussellauthor.com/] Kelly Link [https://kellylink.net] Shirley Jackson [https://bookriot.com/2019/10/03/shirley-jackson-books/] Patricia Highsmith [https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/tip-sheet/article/63724-10-best-patricia-highsmith-books.html] Angela Carter [https://usa.angelacarter.co.uk]

adrienne maree brown—Pleasure Activism

adrienne maree brown [http://adriennemareebrown.net/] is the author of Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds [https://www.akpress.org/emergentstrategy.html] and Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good [https://www.akpress.org/pleasure-activism.html], and is the co-editor of Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction from Social Justice Movements [http://octaviasbrood.com/]. She is a writer, social justice facilitator, pleasure activist, healer and doula living in Detroit. brown has been facilitating professionally for over fifteen years, and has worked with hundreds of organizations at all levels of scale including informal collectives, foundations, national networks and more. She is the cohost of the How to Survive the End of the World [https://www.endoftheworldshow.org/] podcast. Jillian Bessett: [https://www.jillianbessett.com/] The voice in the intro and outro belong to songwriter Jillian Bessett. Jillian Bessett is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose evocative lyrics and welcoming stage presence have endeared her to audiences throughout the southwest music scene. Jillian is currently writing music and gigging with her new favorite instrument the Boss RC-505 Looping Station. Mentioned in the Episode: Beyoncé [https://beyonce.com] Lizzo [https://www.npr.org/2019/07/29/732097345/lizzo-tiny-desk-concert] A Little Juju Podcast: “OK, So Beyonce is a Witch." [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-little-juju-podcast/id1444197888] Audre Lorde, “Uses of the Erotic” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFHwg6aNKy0]

Sonya Passi—FreeFrom Violence, Freedom to Thrive

Sonya Passi [http://www.freefrom.org/sonya-passi] is the founder and CEO of FreeFrom [http://www.freefrom.org/], a national organization on a mission to create pathways to financial security and long-term safety for survivors of gender-based violence. Sonya has been a domestic violence activist since she was 16 years old. Before founding FreeFrom, she launched the Family Violence Appellate Project [https://fvaplaw.org/] while earning her law degree at UC Berkeley. For her work with in the field, Sonya was listed in** Forbes' 30 Under 30 Class of 2017 For Law and Policy [https://www.forbes.com/profile/sonya-passi/], and she is an Ashoka, Roddenberry [https://roddenberryfoundation.org/blog/fellow/sonya-passi/]**, and New America CA Fellow [https://www.newamerica.org/our-people/sonya-passi/]. Jillian Bessett: [https://www.jillianbessett.com/] The voice in the intro and outro belong to songwriter Jillian Bessett. Jillian Bessett is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose evocative lyrics and welcoming stage presence have endeared her to audiences throughout the southwest music scene. Jillian is currently writing music and gigging with her new favorite instrument the Boss RC-505 Looping Station. Mentioned in the Episode: The Survivor Wealth Summit [http://www.freefrom.org/survivor-wealth-summit-2019] (to be held July 24-25, 2019) is a groundbreaking two-day summit to explore the concept of survivor wealth and develop a deeper understanding of financial trauma and healing. Attendees will build new skills and tools to support your own financial security as well as that of your clients and the gender-based violence movement as a whole. Amnesty International [https://www.amnestyusa.org] works both at home and abroad to tackle the most pressing human rights violations. Edgar Villanueva [https://www.edgarvillanueva.net/] is the author of Decolonizing Wealth: Indigineous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance [https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781523097890]. He is a nationally recognized expert on social justice philanthropy. He has consulted with numerous philanthropies on advancing racial equity. He is an enrolled member of the Lumbee Tribe and resides in New York City. Saundra Davis [http://sagefinancialsolutions.org/about/saundra-davis/] is a financial coach, educator, consultant and motivational speaker who is nationally recognized for her work with community-based organizations that focus on asset building for the working poor. She is the executive director and founder of Sage Financial Solutions [http://sagefinancialsolutions.org/], an organization dedicated to helping communities develop comprehensive financial education programs. Chani Nicholas [https://chaninicholas.com/] is a writer and astrologer. She has been a student of astrology for the past 30 years and a counseling astrologer for over 20 years. She aims to make astrology practical, approachable, and useful. She believes the personal is political, art is magic, and that all should have access to the healing practices that we need. Writing horoscopes is her way of creating a free, communal, online space where healing can occur. Family Violence Appellate Project [https://fvaplaw.org] is the only nonprofit in California dedicated to helping domestic violence survivors and their children by appealing dangerous trial court decisions on their behalf, for free. We help survivors of abuse get the safety and justice they deserve.

Julie Schwietert Collazo—Immigrant Families Together

Julie Schwietert Collazo [http://collazoprojects.com/] is the co-founder and director of Immigrant Families Together [https://immigrantfamiliestogether.com/] (IFT), an organization founded in response to the zero tolerance immigration policy initiated in 2018 that has resulted in the separation of thousands of immigrant parents and their children at the U.S./Mexico border. She brings her background as a bilingual journalist and former social worker to bear on her work with IFT, which raised more than a million dollars in just over six months, posting bond for more than 73 detained parents, grandparents, and older siblings who were separated from children. The ongoing work of IFT involves providing support to these families— housing, legal counsel, medical/dental/mental health care, and other necessities— as they proceed with their immigration cases. She is currently writing a book with one of the mothers affected by the zero tolerance policy. The book will be published in English and Spanish editions by HarperOne. Mentioned in the episode: The first mom bonded out Yeni González. [https://talkpoverty.org/2018/07/02/inside-crowdfunding-campaign-reunite-family-separated-border/] Art installations of bronzed baby shoes in Oregon [https://www.facebook.com/bronzeshoesinstallationproject/] and of audio projected from chainlink cages in **New York City (#nokidsincages) [https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/12/new-york-city-no-kids-in-cages-protest-family-separations]**in response to family separation and kids held in detention camps. Julie Schwietert Collazo: Woman of Distinction [https://www.nysenate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/michael-gianaris/senate-deputy-leader-gianaris-announces-julie-schwietert] and honor for Women’s History Month. [https://www.qgazette.com/articles/simotas-maloney-celebrate-womens-history-month-2/] “Why Are Separated Families Told They Must Use a Tiny Georgia Travel Agency to Reunite?” [https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/southwest-key-separated-migrant-families-copacabana-reunite/] in the Texas Monthly by Katy Vine **“‘An Angel From God,’ and Border Agents Took Her: Trump’s cruel separation of immigrant families continued after he declared he was ending the practice.” [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/09/opinion/sunday/family-separation-border.html]**in The New York Times by Nicholas Kristof TIffany Cabán [https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/26/opinion/tiffany-caban.html], expected winner of the primary for District Attorney in Queens, NY Kristen Bell [https://hellogiggles.com/news/kristen-bell-birthday-immigrant-families-together/]

Amy Irvin—Abortion Access, Reproductive Justice, & Story Sharing to End Stigma

Amy Irvin [https://www.neworleansabortionfund.org/staff] is the executive director of the New Orleans Abortion Fund [https://www.neworleansabortionfund.org/] and served as the first intake coordinator. She has worked at abortion clinics in New Orleans and Atlanta, and was recognized as the Volunteer of the Year by Planned Parenthood of Kentucky in 2006. She earned her Master of Science in Social Work at the University of Louisville where she researched the impact of parental consent laws for minors at the ACLU of Kentucky Reproductive Freedom Project, and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Agnes Scott College. After undergraduate school she taught English as a Second Language, coordinated World Refugee Day activities, and developed a refugee childcare program at the International Rescue Committee. She's also a former union organizer with the United Food and Commercial Workers, organizing grocery store workers in Arizona and Indiana. The New Orleans Abortion Fund [https://www.neworleansabortionfund.org/] challenges the inequalities of class, gender, race, and immigrant status by providing financial help to people who cannot afford the full cost of an abortion. NOAF affirms a person's right to control their body and work to ensure that everyone has access to quality medical care. Jessie Nieblas [https://www.neworleansabortionfund.org/board], co-founder of the New Orleans Abortion Fund, received her Master of Public Health from Tulane University in the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Science and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Santa Barbara in Women's Studies. In her 10 years of work on sexual violence prevention and intervention, reproductive health and rights, and health care access, Jessie has designed, implemented, and evaluated programs; conducted outreach and engagement efforts with diverse communities; and raised funds through direct appeals, grants, and events. She has served as co-chair of Take Back the Night at UCSB, volunteered on RAINN's Online Hotline, and currently works at an anti-sexual violence organization. The mission of Women With A Vision [http://wwav-no.org/] is to improve the lives of marginalized women, their families, and communities by addressing the social conditions that hinder their health and well-being. We accomplish this through relentless advocacy, health education, supportive services, and community-based participatory research. The People's Assembly [http://peoplesassemblyneworleans.org/] Protesters stage a 'die-in' over proposed abortion bill in Louisiana [https://wjactv.com/news/nation-world/protesters-stage-a-die-in-over-proposed-abortion-bill-in-louisiana] Maternal Mortality in Louisiana [https://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/news/article_a1c8a1e0-e200-11e8-a3d9-53ed16320b00.html] Sex Education in Louisiana [https://www.theadvocate.com/gambit/new_orleans/news/article_1db9b66a-ff59-5e49-87f2-78a43e418b43.html] Shout Your Abortion [https://shoutyourabortion.com/] is a decentralized network of individuals talking about abortion on our own terms and encouraging others to do the same. Following the U.S. Congress’s attempts to defund Planned Parenthood in 2015, the hashtag #ShoutYourAbortion became a viral conduit for abortion storytelling, receiving extensive media coverage and positioning real human experiences at the center of America’s abortion debate for the very first time. SYA quickly evolved into a grassroots movement, which has inspired countless individuals to share their abortion stories through art, media, and community events all over the country. Lindy West [http://www.lindywest.net/] is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and the author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman (2016, Hachette Books) as well as the upcoming essay collection The Witches Are Coming (2019, Hachette Books). In 2018 she adapted Shrill as a half-hour comedy for Hulu, set to air in 2019. Her work has also appeared in This American Life, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Vulture, Jezebel, The Stranger, and others. She is the founder of I Believe You, It's Not Your Fault, an advice blog for teens, as well as the co-founder of the reproductive rights destigmatization campaign #ShoutYourAbortion. Open Access [https://www.neworleansabortionfund.org/news/2018/8/5/open-access] is a bi-weekly web series produced by the New Orleans Abortion Fund, aims to engage advocates from local and statewide organizations about their work through casual conversation. Exploring the role of women in leadership, the possibility of collaboration between issue groups, and how reproductive rights fits into a larger framework, Open Access explores activism and advocacy in our community, and invites community members to become involved. ProFrequency on WHIV [https://www.neworleansabortionfund.org/news/2018/8/5/catch-dj-vjj-on-whiv] The New Orleans Abortion Fund's OutLoud [https://www.neworleansabortionfund.org/noaf-outloud] is a new initiative that seeks to amplify experiences with abortion. From patients who have undergone the procedure to clinic escorts on the frontlines of anti-choice propaganda, abortion stories are everywhere.NOAF OutLoud aims to bring these narratives to the surface and ignite discussion about abortion by sharing stories at small house parties of friends. These informal gatherings utilize video, writing and conversation to explore our personal and professional experiences with abortion, and enlighten our understanding of reproductive health, rights and justice. Louisiana Abortion Stories Project [https://www.neworleansabortionfund.org/news/2018/8/5/louisiana-abortion-stories-project]: In conjunction with NOAF OutLoud, the Louisiana Abortion Stories Project seeks to address abortion stigma at the individual and community levels through recording first-person narratives. The project explores decision-making about abortion care; experiences with sex education; and the impact of community values and religious perspectives on reproductive health, education, and public policy, as well as a deeper examination of the social, logistical, and financial barriers in accessing abortion care. “1 in 4 U.S. woman will have an abortion by age 45.” [https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/5/17/18629279/youknowme-hashtag-twitter-women-abortion-stories] Shrill [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyUr_-jxWZA] is an American comedy web television series, based on the book Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West and starring Aidy Bryant, that premiered on March 15, 2019, on Hulu. Our Bodies, Our Doctors [https://ourbodiesourdoctors.com/] “tells the story of a rebellion in the field of medicine as a cohort of physicians faces abortion stigma within their own profession and confronts religious control over health care decisions. Their fight takes them into a larger struggle over the heart and soul of American medicine.”