The Lie That Binds

What do racism and the anti-choice movement have in common? EVERYTHING. It all started with a Supreme Court decision, and not the one you’re thinking of. In our first episode, we dig down to the real roots of the movement -- another case decided 20 years earlier, Brown v. Board of Education. This is the story of the early leaders of the Radical Right who tapped into segregationist racism to transform Evangelicals into a terrifying political coalition. We are joined by Stacey Abrams (founder of Fair Fight and Fair Count), Ilyse Hogue (President of NARAL), Ellie Langford (Director of Research at NARAL), Loretta Ross (Author, Professor, and Reproductive Justice activist), Linda Greenhouse (Senior Research Scholar, Yale Law School), and Karen Mulhauser (former president of NARAL)

Alternative facts, otherwise known as lies, aren’t a revolutionary idea. They’re a long term political strategy that the Radical Right set in motion decades ago in order to maintain white patriarchal control in a changing world. Today, their cronies have infiltrated the highest ranks of government, and their propaganda playbook is filled with pseudoscience and disinformation. In this episode, we unpack the Radical Right’s tactical narratives that have come to dominate language, talking points, and debate around abortion on both sides of the aisle. How were the Radical Right so successful at warping both their base and the mainstream talking points around their lies? Join us as we pull back the curtain on the man who started it all -- the Godfather of Anti-Choice Disinformation -- John Willke.

Believe it or not, Trump isn’t the first misogynistic celebrity to move from television to the White House. In 1980, Ronald Reagan was used by the Radical Right as a proof of concept for the power of their newly formed coalition. 40 years later, the Radical Right again united behind a man whose name is synonymous with grotesque wealth and debauchery, this time armed with their self-proclaimed moral high ground. In this episode, we explore the parallels between the rise of these two anti-choice presidents, and the political machine that launched them both.

Since Trump took office, the Radical Right has taken complete control of the US court system, but he didn’t mastermind this himself. The conservative coalition-building that led to this takeover started decades earlier, with the birth of the right-wing extremist Federalist Society. Its members have been whispering in the ear of every conservative president since Reagan, and today, Trump has appointed a record-breaking 200+ of their most devoted judges to sit on our federal court and interpret our constitutional rights. In this episode, we examine where the Radical Right’s takeover of the U.S. court system fits into the Right’s overarching strategy to snuff out reproductive freedom, even if that means overriding what over 70 percent of voters want.

The Radical Right has always had a so-called “fringe” within their base. That fringe consistently wields violence and intimidation to silence their opponents. In the public eye, mainstream conservatives try to maintain distance from these bad actors -- but this week we reveal how in private, these same conservative leaders have actually supported, protected, and encouraged them every step of the way. From bombings at abortion clinics in the 1980s to the GamerGate controversy in the 2010s, the GOP has consistently fanned the flames of extremism. Whether we totally succumb to the inferno is up to progressives working together to combat the lies.

Series Finale! Between COVID-19 and the Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality, a lot has changed in the world since NARAL started recording this podcast. But the Radical Right remains emboldened as the pandemic gives them another opportunity to create a new wedge issue: this time, the act of listening to scientists and public health experts. How do progressives defeat Radical Right extremists in 2020 and safeguard reproductive freedom for the long term? What is our 40-year plan? In this final episode, we talk about how to fight back in November and beyond.