For @conversationalist.org, I wrote about how eugenics never left us, and the role it's playing in political conversations right now. My unsurprising conclusion is that to dismantle eugenics, we need to dismantle empire.

“We published some of our most ambitious stories yet in 2025.” The Conversationalist team’s picks for stories, art, and more in this week’s newsletter. Read it here ➡️ mailchi.mp/conversation...

What was your favorite Conversationalist article this year?

Staff Reads from Founder @alindguzik.bsky.social: "We mostly learn about epigenetics (changes to our gene expression) as it relates to trauma, but there are other trends as well. Long-lasting friendships aren’t just good for our emotional well-being; they also support our bodies at the DNA level!"

Palestinian journalist @daliahatuqa.bsky.social reads "The 'Monsters' Behind the Wall", an essay by writer Lailah Radhiya reflecting on her experience growing up in the West Bank, and the significance of the "separation barrier." Listen here ➡️: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

"The fight had come to her, and it was impossible to ignore." Meet the older women who are dedicating their retirement to leaving a better world behind: the Anti-Fracking Nanas. Story by @katiedd.bsky.social.

Staff Reads from Newsletter Editor @mrsslrss.bsky.social: "I felt deeply moved by writer and artist Hannah Black's recent essay about choosing to become a parent after years of ambivalence—a beautiful ode to decision, regret, fear, love, and the expansiveness of time."

Our top 3️⃣ stories of the year! Starting with this piece about travel by Kovie Biakolo. After going to at least 15 countries, Kovie kept encountering a universal sentiment of doom and gloom no matter where she went. "Is it just me, or is anyone, anywhere having a good time?”

In Sindhudurg, India, women fisherfolk have become champions in linking their livelihoods of crab farming with environmental conservation. Meet the Guardians of the Mangroves 🦀: conversationalist.org/2025/12/17/c...

Foster more hope, empathy, and community. Support global feminist journalism today with a donation to The Conversationalist! Your contribution helps: 📝 Pay writers + artists equitably 🌍 Support global voices ✨ Fund an internship program More here: support-the-conversationalist.raiselysite.com

In our final season two podcast episode, host and founder @alindguzik.bsky.social reads her essay, "Why Do So Many Men Destroy What They Can't Control?", mapping the direct connection between domestic and authoritarian violence. Listen here ➡️: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

“We have been persecuted, harassed, silenced, [but] the truth cannot be killed." How women play a crucial role in the Venezuela’s struggle against dictatorship.

Fibroids are common, about 70-80% of women develop them by age 50. But the first time dealing with them can be alarming. For writer Raina Lipsitz, it resulted in a pool of blood under her desk. “Was the ceiling weeping blood, like something out of a horror movie?"

Staff Reads from our Social Media Manager: "I loved this article about why Bolivia wants to show the world that coca is for more than cocaine. From tea to ice cream, Andean communities for a millennia have been using coca. Yet in the U.S., it has been criminalized and labeled for only one purpose."

I'm obviously biased, but also super proud of this new season of The Conversationalist podcast. The show has range, depth, and balances seriousness with a sense of humor. You have so many choices for what to listen to while walking the dog or prepping dinner, but I hope you'll check us out.

Have you caught up on The Conversationalist Podcast? Group trips, lifelong marriages, climate justice, political corruption: These are but a few of the subjects we’ve covered so far in the second season. Read more in our newsletter here ➡️ mailchi.mp/conversation...

India, with its countless festivals and year-round celebrations, generates a significant amount of solid waste, including an estimated 800 million tons of flower waste per year. But what if there was a way to give this flower waste a second life? One company in Kanpur is doing just that.

Fascinating how the Americans in the comments manage to make a story that is entirely about women dissenters in Venezuela, and has nothing to do with the Trump regimes’ murders or threats of invasion, about our domestic problems. You’ll be shocked to learn not everything is about the US.

This was a compelling conversation to be a part of and a thoughtful antidote to RFK’s gross fixation on misinforming people about reproductive healthcare.

It's been over 100 years since the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) was first introduced to the U.S. Congress. Despite being recognized as the law of the land, it has yet to be officially published in the U.S. Constitution. A look back at its history and why we’ve never needed it more.

New podcast alert! 🚨 @alindguzik.bsky.social sits down with Dr. Sophia Yen, Carey Jones, and Nikki Muller for a panel discussion on reproductive healthcare, covering everything from contraception to abortion rights. Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

"I’ve gotten exhausted with the ways that convenience culture has shifted what we find acceptable when it comes to waste." @marianneeloise.bsky.social on littering and its cost.

“We have been persecuted, harassed, silenced, [but] the truth cannot be killed." How women play a crucial role in the Venezuela’s struggle against dictatorship.

"Our time, now, is a kind of summer camp, an adult friendship retreat." Listen to our latest podcast episode with @alannabennett.bsky.social on why a group trip might just be the cure for the ache of long distance friendships here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

“When artists are priced out of any given city, the consequences resonate far beyond the neighborhood in which they can no longer afford to live." On gentrification’s canary in the coal mine, and the cultural cost when affordable cities cease to exist.

This Giving Tuesday, consider supporting The Conversationalist to elevate feminist voices around the world. 🌎 We represent over 100 writers and artists from over 40 countries! Your donation makes a big difference for our small, nimble organization.

To oppose colonialism can never just be ideological or intellectual. In their art and in their lives, these five musicians contend with that duality and create as an act of resistance.

"I won't sugarcoat it. Miscarriage sucks." Listen to our latest podcast episode with Nikki Muller on the importance of destigmatizing miscarriage here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

To oppose colonialism can never just be ideological or intellectual. In their art and in their lives, these five musicians contend with that duality and create as an act of resistance.

New podcast alert! 🚨 In the first installment of our two-part series on reproductive rights, Nikki Muller discusses the importance of destigmatizing miscarriage, and reads her Conversationalist essay, "We Need to Talk About Our Miscarriages". Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

Thousands of mothers in Ukraine are raising their children alone as a direct result of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine. As the fighting continues, it is mostly women who care for the country’s children. Meet the mothers caring for Ukraine’s most vulnerable children.

Knitting and crochet clubs have found new meaning amongst Gen Z and Millennials, who have turned to the age-old practice as a means of bringing back the “third place” and reconnecting with their peers.

for @conversationalist.org wrote about something that i cry about regularly: littering conversationalist.org/2025/11/18/s...

"There is a certain type of person who sees a hole and perceives it to be a trash can, where others have seen the potential for a garden." The latest by @marianneeloise.bsky.social on littering and the cost of convenience culture.

New podcast alert! 🚨 Palestinian journalist Dalia Hatuqa reads "The 'Monsters' Behind the Wall", an essay by writer Lailah Radhiya reflecting on her experience growing up in the West Bank, and the significance of the "separation barrier.” Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

“I didn’t know how to grow home-grown food. It felt like a dream." Meet the women creating new life from arid land in India.

Staff Reads from our Contributing Art Director: “Though most music touches on love and heartbreak, we often forget that these people we idolize go through the same heartbreak and pain as us normal people do. This was a nice reminder to feel less alone.”

New podcast episode alert! 🚨 This week, @alindguzik.bsky.social chats with Babs Daitch, the octogenarian "lesbian Forrest Gump", about why she never stays anywhere for too long—and the life lessons she's learned along the way. Listen now: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/l...

"The growing anti-trans narrative wasn’t just a culture war skirmish, it was a symptom of something deeper and more dangerous: a coordinated effort to undermine democratic norms by turning vulnerable groups into political targets." The latest by Jen Rainin of Frankly Speaking Films.

Biological or chosen, mother figures come in many forms. Here’s how one friendship helped guide a writer home to herself.

“Because once we’ve lost press freedom, it’s only a matter of time before we lose everything it protects.” @katiedd.bsky.social on the growing restrictions of press freedom around the world.

Staff Reads from our Social Media Manager: “I am buzzing from Zohran Mamdani’s win! This roundup is a helpful look at how he dominated. One my favorite takeaways is how Mamdani is the first mayoral candidate since 1969 to win this many votes.”

New podcast episode alert! 🚨 Contributor Vanessa Hsia reads her essay, "If Clothes Make the Man", about how her grandmother dressed her grandfather throughout their marriage and continued even after death. Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/i...

"Queer relationship visibility isn’t good enough if all it does is replicate heteronormative approaches." Delilah Saul on why LGBTQ+ reality TV could be more queer.

“Running is an individual activity, but watching (and, of course, participating in) a marathon feels like a community endeavor.” In honor of the NYC Marathon this weekend, we look back on this story by @mrsslrss.bsky.social.

"Supermarkets are rapidly displacing other retailers to become the place of choice to buy food." How grocery chains have done more harm than good for the small farmers in Kenya and beyond. Story by @alexcpark.com.

Now, more than ever, we need art to do the heavy lifting of defining our values. This is Cultural Currency is a bi-monthly romp through the intersection of art and capital with writer Cara Marsh Sheffler.

New podcast episode alert! 🚨 Journalist @aliyabashir.bsky.social discusses her anti-nihilistic approach to climate reporting, and the importance of finding hopeful narratives when things are feeling bleak. Listen here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The Conversationalist Podcast, hosted by alindguzik.bsky.social, brings candid chats with frontline changemakers and audio stories from conversationalist.org. Experience journalism as conversation and storytelling as resistance, free from corporate agendas.

"When people don’t see, feel, and taste the whole flavor of produce, they also feel less encouraged to eat it." How over-processed produce is disconnecting us from where food comes from.