RedFem

Comedian and actor Russell Brand's trial for three counts of rape and other sexual assaults against a total of six women began in London a fortnight ago. We discuss the allegations, the women's testimonies in court, and the tactics that Brand's defence team are using to defend him. Plus, whether Christianity and history of being simply a 'cad' are cover stories, Brand's time on the political left from 1999 to the 2010s, and what will happen if he's found guilty.

Gloria Steinem, a key figure of the feminist second-wave, died last month. We are joined by Australian academic and feminist philosopher Kate Phelan to discuss Steinem's work and whether she had a moderating, liberalising effect on the women’s movement. Plus, menstrual leave, hobosexuals, feminist revolution, porn as free speech, women becoming more radical as age, and Steinem’s CIA connections.

We discuss whether the defeat of transgenderism in the UK could be reversed? Specifically under our incoming new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who is to the left of Keir Starmer. How are sexual politics going to fit in to Burnham’s Britain? Will the new Burnham regime embolden the possibility of euthanasia being passed on its second try? And why has the Labour Party never had a woman leader?
Plus, the claim Andy Burnham is in effect the UK’s ‘first female prime minister’, the particularities of the feminised, deep-seated beta male sexism of the left, Starmer's mistreatment of gender critical MP Rosie Duffield, and the uniformity and ruthless conformity amongst women on the left in order to survive politically.

We discuss the recent outcome and wider context of the pivotal Australian legal case Tickle vs. Giggle. Its specifics involve a bloke joining a female-only app, but the case has all encompassing consequences for how single-sex law is interpreted and applied in Australia. With examples from court, such as Sall Grover, Giggle's creator, being fined $10,000 for laughing for 2-seconds and so breaking the tension of faux seriousness in such a ridiculous situation, the case represents so much of the dilemma transgenderism causes for women and institutions. Plus, how the American right came late to care about the trans issue, maternity rights as a break point, why Australia has an advantage over Canada in battling transgenderism, and the backlash to transgenderism as a contributing factor to the rise of populism.

The Labour Party is in termoil and Keir Starmer is hanging on for dear life as PM. We discuss who the next leader will be, the Mandelson scandal taking more scalps, Stella Creasy dancing while Rome burns, the parliamentary Labour party’s ‘chumocracy’ of former third sector wonks, and why Reform will win big on May 7th.