The FMUS podcast

Vanessa Daniel is the author of the just published Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone about Winning. The founder and CEO for 17 years of the Groundswell Fund, a leading funder of WOC-led grassroots and electoral organizing, Vanessa worked as a labor and community organizer for over 25 years. She and Françoise discuss the obstacles to WOC leadership in social movements in the US and the often perplexing dynamics in those movements, what “superpowers” WOC bring to the struggle for justice and equity and what we all can do to support WOC leaders, so we can all win.

Pregnant persons in the US face increased criminalization for their pregnancy decisions and outcomes, even in so-called “blue” states that guarantee the right to abortion. Denise Tomasini-Joshi, the co-CEO of If/When/Now: Lawyers for Reproductive Justice, discusses this worrying trend with Françoise, and outlines the actions her organization is taking to protect reproductive rights and bodily autonomy.

The Trump Administration is pulling out of the World Health Organization, reneging on the Sustainable Development Goals, and no longer participating in the ongoing negotiations for a global pandemic treaty. Nina Schwalbe, CEO of public health think tank Spark Street Advisors, discusses with Françoise the implications for global health of these destructive actions.

Françoise speaks to Monica Oguttu of Kenya about the catastrophic cuts to USAID by Elon Musk’s so-called ‘DOGE,’ and their dire impact on the lives and health of women and girls on the ground. Monica is a nurse-midwife, a health advocate, and the Executive Director of KMET, the Kisumu Medical and Education Trust in Western Kenya. 

Dr. Angel Foster is a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa and held the 2011-2016 Endowed Chair in Women’s Health Research. Francoise speaks to her about making medical abortion care available to women who need it an era of increasing restriction. 

In this episode, Françoise interviews Jodi Jacobson, the Founder and Executive Director of Healthcare Across Borders, as well as Founder and Editor of Rewire News. Françoise and Jodi describe the challenges of maintaining  access to sexual and reproductive health  in the face of rising attacks from the authoritarian right. 

In this episode, Françoise interviews Beth Schlachter, Senior Director of US External Relations MSI Reproductive Choices. They discuss the ongoing dismantling of USAID by the Trump administration and its harmful impact on millions worldwide.

Fred Rioux discute avec Françoise Girard, fondatrice de FMUS de l'histoire derrière la fondation de FMUS. Les sujets abordés comprennent la façon dont le féminisme apporte plus de justice, de liberté et de bonheur dans le monde. Françoise évoque également la tendance des mouvements autoritaires à tenter de contrôler l'autonomie corporelle des femmes et des jeunes filles. 
 

In this pilot episode, Tony Babinski interviews Françoise Girard, founder of Feminism Makes Us Smarter (FMUS.) She speaks about her journey, and the importance of feminism in the lives of women, girls, and those who support them. Among the topics she covers are the improved social outcomes in justice, freedom and happiness in places where feminism thrives, and the threat to women and girls from the rise of authoritarian movements that seek to control bodily autonomy.