How RePROs Fight Back uses podcasting to turn reproductive justice news into practical action.

Jennie Wetter, host of the multi-award-winning podcast RePROs Fight Back (an initiative of the Population Institute), breaks down what reproductive justice actually means, far beyond the narrow “abortion-only” framing. We dig into how the show functions as a real, strategic tool for nonprofit work: keeping people informed, spotlighting community partners, and ending every episode with clear ways to fight back.

We talk about building a podcast as a public resource, why “success” isn’t just downloads, and how to stay grounded when the issues feel like a constant fire hose. You’ll also get practical ideas for becoming a resource in your own community without burning out.

Note: The first ~15–18 minutes include a ranty current-events catch-up recorded in late July 2025. I LOVE this part (it's cathartic!) If you prefer to jump to the self-care + strategy portion, skip ahead to around minute 18.

Listener action list

Pick one and do it this week:

1. Wear your values: grab merch that sparks conversations (tinyurl.com/reproFBmerch).
2. Be the friend with receipts: bookmark accurate resources so you can point people to real clinics/info when needed.
3. Check your state’s grade: explore reportcards.reprofightback.com and identify one area to push on locally.
4. Support direct services: donate to or volunteer with local practical-support networks (transportation, childcare, clinic escorting, etc.).
5. Go local: show up where policy becomes real—school board meetings, city council, state reps.

Resources Mentioned:

1. Planned Parenthood
2. Chicago Women's Health Center
3. Population Institute
4. The Money with Katie Show featuring Representative Katherine Clark

Connect With Jennie Wetter

RePROs Fight Back Podcast

LinkedIn

Instagram

Merch! (Including my favorite PodCat Mug)

50 State Report Card

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Okay, true story. Something good came out of the first Trump administration in the US we started.

The podcast during the Trump administration, the first one. And I think I also really love to tell this story because one, I really love my old boss.

And another true story. Podcasting on behalf of your organization's mission is not obvious to everyone.

This was one of those things that came up during a board meeting where, you know, sometimes great ideas get thrown out and you're like, really? And one of them was like, well, why didn't y' all just start a podcast? And I was like that, no, that sounds terrible.

And like a week later, my boss comes into my office and he's like, well, let's talk about this podcast idea that came up and I think that you should do it. And my immediate answer was, I don't think so. That sounds like a terrible idea. I do not want to do this. Welcome.

Welcome to the Creative Imposter. I'm Impact Producer, podcast strategist, and your host, Andrea Klender.

This episode continues our Creativity and Media as Resistance series with Jenny Wetter from the podcast Repros Fight Back. I cannot think of a better example of resistance than this one.

For all of the reasons you are about to hear now in the first 15 minutes or so, Jenny and I are ranting about all the things. Two things about that one, if you don't like ranty stuff, I encourage you to go ahead and skip forward to about minute 18 of the episode.

If your app supports chapters, you'll see the Self Care chapter beginning right at the end of that rant section.

But never fear, there are plenty of more things to rant, resist and fight back about in the category of reproductive health rights and justice, which is what the Repros Fight Back podcast is all about. Reproductive health rights and justice. What does that entail? Well, you're going to learn throughout our.

Conversation that though some folks would have you think it's just about abortion, it's not. And you're going to hear why these issues are personally meaningful to me and why they might be relevant to you.

You're also going to hear exactly how the podcast is built into the strategy of the non profit Work of the Population Institute and how you can fight Back. If you don't like the things that are happening in this area, need a short list of ideas. It's all in the show notes.

And now let me introduce you to Jenny Wetter, producer and host of the multi award winning podcast Repros Fight Back. What is Repro's Fight Back?

Yeah, so Repro's Fight Back is a podcast. We talk about issues related to sexual reproductive health, rights and justice. Anything that falls into that sphere.

We want to make sure that people are aware of what's happening and not just like here's this new terrible thing that's happening.

But it was really important to me as we were doing this that like, yes, it's important people know what's going on, but it is also important that they know here's what you can do to fight back and how you what you can do to make a difference.

Can you tell me what does reproductive justice mean?

Yes, very big thing, but has kind of a really clear, I think definition. It is the ability to decide to have a family or not have a family and to raise them in a healthy and safe environment. Right.

Seems like a really simple concept, but so many things fall under that right. It's not just about bodily autonomy, but when you talk about a healthy, safe environment. Right. That can be things relating to the actual environment.

It can be gun safety.

Like it is a huge concept that covers so many things, but it is really kind of that marrying of reproductive rights and social justice and having this true justice based conversation.

I feel like in this category a lot of times the emphasis is focused so much on the abortion issue.

Like that becomes the centerpiece, that becomes a very controversial and divisive and becomes the political, I don't want to say chess piece because I feel like that's giving dumb people too much credit, but becomes the political chip that's getting moved around the board.

And I was thinking about this, listening to a conversation about Planned Parenthood, for example, as an organization and I was like, you know, everybody, everybody. People often negatively associate Planned Parenthood with abortion. And I personally have gotten so much benefit from Planned Parenthood.

And in Chicago also another local nonprofit called the Chicago Women's Health center, which provides a lot of similar services for my own women's health. That has nothing to do with being pregnant or not being pregnant or having a baby or not having a baby.

Specifically when I was having financial struggles and could not afford health insurance, being a self employed person, I do not get health insurance from anyone. And especially in the pre Affordable Healthcare Act, I could not. I Flat out could not purchase health insurance. I just couldn't do it.

And these organizations were the only places that I could go to make sure that, oh, you have an extremely painful uti, where do you go to get that diagnosed and get antibiotics? Planned Parenthood. Right. Like, oh, I would like to have contraception, because I would not like to have an unplanned parenthood.

So where do I get that in an affordable manner?

And these organizations have been so important to me in that regard as well, that I think some people just have this tunnel vision that it's this one thing only and not just all of the resources that organizations like Planned Parenthood or the Chicago Women's Health center or any of these other reproductive health centers may provide.

Yeah. And I think also that conversation becomes, is abortion legal or not? And it's so much bigger than that. Right.

Because even when it is legal, that does not always make it accessible. The closest clinic may not be close to you. You may not be able to afford it. You just were talking about affordability struggles.

You may not be able to travel to get to it and take time off of work. But this also applies to all of those other services you were talking about.

So when we talk about sexual and reproductive health, we are talking about a whole gamut of issues.

And that's what we talk about on the podcast is kind of this full range of issues, whether that's abortion, birth control, sex education, maternal health, black maternal health. We are in the midst of a black maternal mortality crisis. Restrictions on abortion, slashing Medicaid is only going to make all of that worse.

All of these things are interconnected. It also means talking about sexually transmitted infections, intimate partner violence, or gender based violence.

It's also LGBTQ issues or trans rights issues. This is a huge area that has so many things that we need to talk about. And so it was really important when I started doing this podcast.

We started during the first Trump administration, and there were so many attacks happening around issues that we work on around sexual and reproductive health, that we wanted to create the podcast to kind of fill in that gap, to help people keep up with what was happening, to make sure they were informed and then give them a way to fight back. And that has only become so much worse as, like, Trump won. We talked about everything being on fire all at once.

And normally we were used to putting out, like, a fire here or there, but we never had a chance to catch a breadth. Right. So the end of Trump one was Covid and dealing with all of those things that were happening around Covid.

And then the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade which meant the loss of federal abortion rights. So then that was like this whole new crisis and trying to ensure that people were still able to access the care they need.

And then came the new administration and this all out assault on sexual and reproductive health, but also on so many other areas that we care about. There were so many things that like you can even use the fire analogy anymore, right?

Because like not just was everything on fire but like it was like these new fires that you had no idea how to handle. So there's just so much going on.

And again, sexual and reproductive health is such this broad category of things that need to be talked about that abortion does get the bulk of the attention. But there are so many other things that are important and that we need to talk about at the same time.

Okay, so with this onslaught of issues, it's like, I hate to use this now cliched term of fire hose of issues.

With everything that is happening in this world, harmful policies, res in funding, appointments to judgeships and federal offices, actions, propaganda media coming from the current administration, who is being harmed, who is benefiting and how do we know where to focus? That could take like five hours for you to answer.

But yeah, it's so hard. And I think what it comes down to is you can't focus on everything all at once. Like you are going to burn out that way.

But you need to engage in areas where it is important to you. So I, I'm not always great about. I always feel like I need to do all the things. But you don't need to do all the things.

Pick a couple that are important to you and keep up on what is happening and find ways to get involved. So when I think about what is happening right now, a lot of my attention is focused on the new administration.

Dismantled U.S. agency for International Development USAID. That was our aid assistance program. That was food, water, huge global health programs. They're all gone now.

Mostly there's like a little tiny bit of it remaining. Doing some things. This, this is like life saving care. That was part of. They talk about it as a three legged stool. Defense, diplomacy and development.

And they are all important together and it keeps everything stable because you have this three legged stool. So you need all of it to make sure that everything is safe.

And we just got rid of the development one and like that is going to have huge repercussions. People are already dying. We know this, we know this is going to have huge implications. And when we talk about Sexual and reproductive health.

We know that one year without international family planning is going to lead to over 34,000 preventable maternal deaths. Like that is a choice that we have made. And you know, it was done by Doge saying that this was waste, fraud and abuse, blah, blah, blah, blah.

It's not. It was life saving assistance.

And if you want to talk about waste, fraud and abuse, right now the administration is looking to burn about $10 million worth of contraceptives instead of selling them to other aid agencies or aid recipients who could make sure that those contraceptives got to the people who need them for life saving health care. But instead they are going to burn them, which is the ultimate waste, fraud and abuse. To spend money to burn money that was already spent.

Fact check.

Yeah, I mean they already can't. I think it was like they burned food assistance instead of getting it to people who are starving.

And it was food that was already bought from US farmers. Like this is, this is not just things that are happening and are going to impact people around the world. There are repercussions.

There are companies in the US who are producing products that were being sold and going to these aid programs. US farmers were able to sell surplus to USAID that was then exported.

Like there are going to be huge consequences for this decision to get rid of usaid.

And so who is benefiting from these decisions?

Right? Honestly, I don't know who is benefiting from this because I just cannot imagine they're using it to score political points.

And these are people's lives. And it's devastating. And I think of that through as we were talking about other things that are happening.

The other one that is really sitting heavy on me. One is the attack on trans rights. But I think I want to talk a little bit more instead about the attack on Medicaid. This is absolutely devastating.

The. And I hate saying it because it makes me feel dumber every time I say it, but the big beautiful bill that was passed, I know it hurts. It's like.

But it is the official name and like it hurts really Slashes Medicaid funding. And this is. Could leave 16 million people without health care. 16 million people are going to lose health care.

50% of births in the country are funded by Medicaid. This is going to have huge implications on people's lives and their ability to access health care. And it may impact you as well. Right?

You may not be on Medicaid, but the hospital that you go to sees patients on Medicaid. And that is an important point in, like, keeping the system together and how they cobble their funding to keep the hospital open.

We're going to see particular impacts with rural hospitals where they are not going to be able to stay open if they lose all of the funding that they are getting from Medicaid to see patients with low incomes. As somebody who grew up in a rural area, the hospital that I went to as a kid, the Blight Memorial Hospital, is considered a rural hospital.

It could have huge implications on the hospital that I grew up going to and so many more across the country. And so, you know, people may not think of where I'm from, the city itself, as rural, but it is considered a rural hospital.

So the hospital where you go may also be considered a rural hospital. And it may impact your ability to see providers that you want to see. It may force the clinic to close or close departments.

This is going to have huge implications on everybody. And again, who is this benefiting?

It's benefiting the wealthy who are getting the tax breaks from this slashing of funds for a program that majority benefited those with low incomes, people of color. Like, this is huge. And it is going to, again, it is going to destroy lives.

It's another thing that feels very personal to me because during, you know, part of that time when I was struggling financially and trying to find my footing, and there was a period in which I had a failed business and had to file bankruptcy and I did make use of Medicaid for a period of time. I think there's a stigma sometimes. Like, even when somebody suggested to me that I could apply for Medicaid, I was like, oh, certainly not me.

Certainly that's not for me. Like, I don't need that. And you might not know you're on.

Medicaid is the other thing, because Medicaid is funded by the federal government, but it is managed at the state level. So in Wisconsin, that means if you're on Badger Care, you're on Medicaid.

So that may not be the name of the program that is on your insurance card, but it could be Medicaid, right?

Being funded. Yeah. And I will say that at the time that I was on Medicaid, it did save my life because I had a breast cancer diagnosis.

And I can promise you, I can promise you I would not have been Able to afford those bills if I did not have that coverage, there's no way. So it quite literally is a program that saved my life.

And yeah, it just, it, it hurts because I know how much I have benefited from that and how life saving it can be and quite honestly what a life or death situation it is for people.

And then when you look at the numbers of like how much money we are saving by gutting this program versus how much we are spending on other programs that are completely unnecessary at best and incredibly harmful more accurately, you know, like the ICE budget, et cetera, et cetera, it just is hard to wrap my mind around.

And I'm wondering for you being here doing this work and talking about these issues day in and day out and researching and knowing all about what's happening, how do you do this work without losing your mind?

Well, here comes one answer. I have a cat who is about to show up. She's maybe second guessing this and we'll see.

I focus on the big picture a little bit more than the like thinking about the people who are impacted because you know, I talk about this when I talk about what gives me hope working on abortion.

And if I think of all of the people who are being turned away from the care they want, that is the way that will break me because that is changing their lives forever. Not being able to get the access to the healthcare they need.

So I look at what is being done and so that is looking at the amazing work of abortion funds and what they are doing to ensure that people who need money to be able to access the care they need, who need to travel to access that care, are able to do it.

The amazing work that clinics are doing to ensure that people are able to get the care they need even if it's not at their clinic because they can no longer provide that service. So those are like the work related things that give me hope is seeing that amazing work that is being done.

I read a lot and I generally read kind of all over the like again, massive reader, read all over the place. But I have found as things have gotten more stressful and you know, life happening in ways that are complicated and stressful.

I have been turning more and more to reading romance because that is like it has a happy ending. That is the level of stress I can take in like outside of work because there's all of that work stress. So this book will have a happy ending.

You're the opposite of me, Jenny. When I get stressed and the world is overwhelming, I watch the darkest media and read like I find like the most psychological thriller.

Everyone ends up mad or dead by the dystopia.

Like I will definitely read Dystopia as well. Or watch movies like that.

The other thing, it's like if you hear me say I'm watching the Great British Baking Show, I'm in a dark place and like I need.

That's comfort food.

Yeah, that's the like things are bad. I need, need the happy thing. And then I also bake. So that is my other thing that. And I have cats who like to join calls.

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You've described it as both a podcast, which I have listened to and which folks can listen to in their favorite podcast app of choice and also an initiative. Can you talk a little bit more about why a podcast? Like what can a podcast possibly do?

Yeah, so like I said, we started the podcast during the Trump administration and I the first one.

And I think I also really love to Tell this story, because, one, I really love my old boss, but this was one of those things that came up during a board meeting where, you know, sometimes great ideas get thrown out, and you're like, really? And one of them was like, well, why didn't you all just start a podcast? And I was like, that. No, that sounds terrible.

And, like, a week later, my boss comes into my office, and he's like, well, let's talk about this podcast idea that came up, and I think that you should do it. And my immediate answer was, I don't think so. That sounds like a terrible idea. I do not want to do this.

Because you weren't into the podcast idea or you just didn't want to be a podcast host?

A little bit of both. Like, so another thing about me, one, I work for nonprofit. But two, my mom was a banker.

And so I very much had that, like, upbringing of, like, if you're gonna put all this money in, like, what are you gonn of it? And so my brain was working the like, well, this just seems like we're throwing a lot of money at. And the thought of hosting a podcast.

I'm an introvert, which I think is very common among podcasters, but also, like, I couldn't imagine being the, like, face in person. And my boss was like, no, I really. I think you should do this. I think you'd be amazing. Like, Jenny, you really. You need to do this.

And, like, after so much pushing and pulling, he never wavered in his confidence that I should do this and that he saw me excelling at this and that this is something I should really do. And then he let me run with it and craft the podcast that I dreamed of or envisioned once he convinced me that we needed to do this.

And so I wanted to make sure that we were giving people the information they need so they understood what was happening. Because, again, there were so many things happening all at once. Kind of like now, maybe more so, like, now.

But didn't want to paralyze people with the, like, this is all terrible. And wanted to make sure that once people were informed, they were empowered to take action.

So I always end each episode asking the guests, like, how can our audience get involved? What can they do to fight back in this moment? And we've gotten so many amazing suggestions over the years, big and small.

You know, have conversations with your friends to donating money, to calling your member of Congress, like, a huge slew of ideas.

And I think that is so important to give the power to the audience to one know what is happening and then give them ways that they can fight back at this moment.

Do you have any. I didn't ask you this in advance, so it's a little bit not fair. So if nothing comes to your mind, it's totally fine.

But do you have any incredible moments or feedback or anything that has happened or a connection that has been made as a result of the podcast over the years that feels very meaningful to you?

Yeah, I feel like I've had one. We go every year to a couple conferences that are not podcast conference, but more issue related.

So go the American Public Health Association Annual Conference and the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Annual Conference.

And getting to meet people who listen and are so excited to talk about it and talk about things we've talked about it and meet me is like amazing and surreal and all of those things at the same time.

I've also gotten emails from people who have talked about how important it was to them in shaping their thinking around these issues, somebody who decided that this was going to be their specialty in med school, things that, like, I couldn't imagine happening.

And also getting to talk to people that I wouldn't have imagined getting to talk to one of the people that I could have never imagined reaching out to and being like, hey, would you come on the podcast? I got to talk to Dr. Dorothy Roberts on the podcast.

She wrote Killing the Black Body, but we talked to her about her book Torn Apart, talking about the child welfare system, which was horrifying and amazing and it was so wonderful to get to to speak to her. But I've had so many guests that I just feel so lucky to be able to talk about.

And then the other thing I really love is quite a few of the guests are people I work with day to day.

And I love getting to show off the amazing community that I work with and how smart so many of these people are and the amazing work that they are doing. Like that just makes me happy that I get to show them off as well.

I think that's an often overlooked or underrated value of podcasting is not just the interaction between you and the audience or the end result or the end media product, but actually the connection and relationship building that happens in conversation, in the moment that you are having that dialogue and creating that those, oh my gosh, why is my head so full of cliches today? This is really a curse. And like all those synergies.

But somebody posted something on LinkedIn, not as satire, but in all seriousness, that was, hey, do you ever notice how when your company makes a podcast, you might have low numbers of people watching or listening to the podcast, but you get high numbers on social media of people watching the clips. What if instead of wasting time recording a whole podcast episode, you just got. Together and recorded clips for social media?

Yes, because the clips were. They just came out as clips. It wasn't because of the in depth conversation you had that you could pull a couple.

Correct. And I was like, is this satire? No, this is serious. This is really somebody's brilliant idea.

And you never know where those moments are going to happen.

We did an episode talking about gender based violence, but I also think sexual violence in the indigenous community and the ways that the US Government is not doing enough and not living up to their commitments. I talked to a friend at Amnesty, but before that I talked to a native advocate called Jessica Burkett. Oh, don't quote me on that last name though.

And we had such an amazing conversation that I didn't expect.

And I can tell she works with survivors because she just has this presence and that just like pulled all of this, like, heartfelt conversation from me about, like my experience. And that was something you could have never planned or saw coming. And, you know, you find these moments.

So these are some of the things that have been working for you. And I'm gonna ask you the question that I already know you're still working on defining.

Yes.

Because we have talked about this before. What does success look like for Repro's fight back? Like, what would you like to see? What is your. What is your vision?

There's a part of me that's like, well, the vision would be that you don't need the podcast anymore. Right.

So I definitely took notes and like, had like real thought out answers, but there's currently a cat sleeping on my notes. So let's see what I remember.

I think one of the things of success that was important to me was that we were going to do this podcast, but I didn't want it to be seen as something that my organization was doing.

I wanted it to be a resource for our community, something that highlighted the work of all of the amazing people I worked with, the issues we care about, getting to highlight those organizations and the people I work with and have it be seen as a resource by my community. And from things I have heard from friends and colleagues, I think we have really been successful in that area.

And honestly, there's no better measure of success for me personally than to have people I respect and care about so much see the value in what we are trying to do. And so that makes a huge difference to me. I also hope that. And I know this is not something you can like, necessarily measure.

So, like, is it success if you can't measure it?

But what was really important to me is that we maybe converted people who care about these issues and are learning about these issues into people who are taking action on these issues. That is like where I. I'm hoping the podcast is making a difference.

Each week, these people are learning more about these issues and ways that they can get involved and that is inspir them to take action in some small way. And I think everybody has their place where they can be involved in this moment.

So that does not mean that you have to donate and be at the protests and talking to everybody and making posters or doing these other, like all of these, any million of other things. Everybody has their lane in ways that they can bring things to the movement.

So maybe it's volunteering at a clinic, maybe it is making phone calls, maybe it's donating. Like, maybe it's a couple of those things or something else. You're a graphic designer.

Maybe you reach out to your local abortion fund or clinic and they need somebody to do some designs for them. You know, I think there are so many ways that you can take your current talent and get involved.

And if our podcast can inspire people to find their way to get involved in this moment, that would be amazing.

I have one. Yeah, your new merch store.

Yes, we do have a new merch store. We had an amazing designer that we have worked with. If you're in the repro space, you've probably seen her around Liberal Jane.

She designs really cute, fun designs. We had her design some stuff that we've had for stickers for years and have given them out at conferences.

We finally turned them into, like, T shirts and water bottles and bags and things like that. They say things like, reproductive rights are human rights, fund abortion, fight evil. Abortion is a human right, not a dirty word. So many fun things.

I love our new merch and I hope people can now wear their support for repros.

I mean, that was kind of a corny transition, I will admit.

But the reason why I bring it up as, like, something small that you can do is not only does it support repro's fight back in the Population Institute, but also it's a conversation starter, right?

Because a lot of times we've sort of underestimated what just having conversations as a normal human with other normal humans to normalize certain things. And yeah, like, I can imagine any of these being a conversation.

The importance of fighting stigma is so important in this moment. And I always talk about the importance of being a resource for your community. So that does not mean you need to know all the things. No, no, no, no.

That means your friends know that they can come to you and ask you and you may be able to point them in the right direction. There is so much mis and disinformation out there. If somebody comes to you and wants to know where can I find the closest abortion clinic?

You know you can point them to I need an A or to abortion finder. You didn't need to know that the closest clinic is actually located here.

You know that if you point them to this resource they can get all the information easily and factual and it will help them find an actual abortion clinic and not an anti abortion center. And so things like that, like making sure that you, you know where you can point your friends is is important.

And also if you are comfortable engaging in conversations when you hear mis or disinformation and like gently pushing back. I think this all depends on your level of comfort. Right?

That does not mean you need to engage your most anti abortion or anti reproductive health relative.

But you know, if something comes up and you can gently, you know, correct them or like my mom has come to me with hey, I hear Wisconsin is considering oh trans sports ban for women in sports. This doesn't feel quite right to me. Can you like explain to me like what, what this actually is?

And so being that person who can have that conversation in a way that is helpful is really important for people because there are so many people who maybe just don't have all of that information and just need it clarified for them. And that can make a huge difference of having those kitchen table conversations.

And for anybody who is listening to the audio replay of this episode later, the URL for the merch store is tinyurl.com reprosfbmerch and of course in the audio version this will be in the show notes. No show notes for the livestream.

Sorry guys.

But yeah, I love this idea of being a resource for your community that might even end up being the title of this episode because it is something that feels attainable.

And I think that that all of these conversations have centered around this feeling of being so overwhelmed and the problems are so big on such a massive level.

And the money with Katie show she had understanding the big beautiful bill's repercussions with the highest ranking woman in Congress, Representative Katherine Clark. So the money with Katie show with Representative Catherine Clark.

She had her on the show and she said, you know, this is not going to be a direct quote, this is paraphrasing because obviously my details are all screwy.

But she said, you know, they keep telling us to vote and to show up and to contact Congress and contact our representatives and tell them what we want. And we do that. And yet these things are happening. And I have to tell you, I'm feeling very disillusioned and feeling very not represented.

And I don't know what to do about that when this is the remedy that we're being given is vote, contact Congress, tell them what you want, write letters, show up, make your voice heard. And I have never felt less represented in my life. Being a resource for your community like that feels attainable.

That feels like a choice that you can make that doesn't have any gatekeepers.

Right. That's why abortion funds are great. You are doing direct support.

There are practical support networks where maybe you were funding a diaper bank or something like that, where you are making sure people are getting the care they need. And all politics is local. Right. So also thinking of ways you can get involved with your local school board, right.

That could be have things related to sexual and reproductive health in that what books are being banned? Are there things about with LGBTQ themes that you want to make sure are not being attacked? Sex education.

What kind of sex education is your school district offering? So there are ways you can get super local and care and fight about those things at a local level that are really important.

It's so easy to get caught up in the national politics of it all because this all feels really big and national and important conversations are happening at the national level. But there are absolutely things you can do locally, engaging with the city council, like maybe they are putting in place.

We've seen some cities set up city abortion funds to help people access care or some cities trying to fight and have like their own de facto like abortion ban stuff. So like there are multiple ways you can engage in so many local places and especially talking about sexual and reproductive health policy.

So much of that is happening at the state level versus the national level. And so one of the ways you can see that is by looking at our annual 50 state report card that we do that looks at sexual and reproductive health.

For those of you listening, it's report card.repros fightback.com you can go and see how your state is doing.

We have a really fun new interactive map this year so you can see what your state's overall grade is or if you want to see how they're doing on sex ed, there's like a little toggle on the side. You can click on sex ed and see how your state is faring compared to other states. On sex ed.

It covers everything from like sex ed to does your state require. If you are a victim of sexual assault, go to the emergency room. Are they required to tell you about and give you emergency contraception?

Has your state expanded Medicaid? Does your state have a Medicaid family planning expansion? What kind of abortion restrictions does it have? Or gender affirming care bans for minors?

I think there's like 13 indicators you can look at to see how your state is faring compared to other states. And so no state is perfect. So wherever you are living, there are places you can see where you can push your state to do better.

Come on, Illinois. A B+?!

Hey, I was a straight A student.

In high school and I need A's, not B's.

Okay, but do you see that pink state in front of it? That on top of it? That is definitely an F. That is where I'm from. That would be Wisconsin also.

Can we talk about some of these? Have an F minus. I didn't even know that was possible in school.

Okay, so to be fair, we had give pluses and minuses for things that are not considered in the report card but maybe impact sexual and reproductive health. So let's say a state has a statewide fund that lets Medicaid pay for abortions. That would give a state a plus.

Or let's say the state has a law that says it can't talk about LGBTQ issues. That would get a state A minus.

I see.

So it's not covered in the report card, but it is terrible. So they need to get a ding for it.

So if you're looking at this tool and you're like, my state is doing terribly, what do you do with that information?

Yeah, talk to your state representatives and make sure that they are aware. I mean, there are things where you would be shocked. I am shocked. Every year I do this report card that Massachusetts does not mandate sex ed.

Every year. That just blows my mind. That the state you think of as this blue state actually does not mandate sex ed.

So you can like hover over it and that gives you the overall.

If you click on the state, you'll go directly to that state state's release and you can see all of the information or you can toggle on the indicators.

Okay.

I love this. We've done this for 13 years.

It's, I think, a really great resource that lets you know what is happening in your state and shows you places where your state can improve.

That's incredible. You had sent me that link, and I hadn't actually looked at it ahead of time. Super impressive.

I'm going to fall down a rabbit hole after this conversation.

I think the overall big message is, we're doing bad, y'. All. Like, I think there's 26 states failing. Like, that is not good.

Yeah, there was a lot of pink on that map. Quite a lot. So we talked about how Trump 2 is worse than Trump 1.

Yeah, like, bigger, right? They were just, like, bigger and bolder. Like, how can we break stuff so much worse?

Let's not just defund the United Nations Population Fund or, you know, gut family planning funding. Let's just get rid of usaid. Let's attack DEI at all levels.

And all of the fallout from that, let's completely say, like, transgender people do not exist and get rid of all of their rights.

Like, there are just so many places, and it's really hard to not fall into despair or apathy, but that is a tool that they are using to make you give up. So do not fall into that trap.

Find the areas you care about and take action in those areas and find the joy in the moments where you can and fight back joyfully, because they are trying to take away your joy and they are trying to take away your hope. Because if they get rid of your hope and get rid of your joy, you will not fight back, and you will just accept what is unacceptable.

The podcast, again, is called Repro's Fight Back. The website is reprosfightback.com of course, you can find the podcast in your favorite podcast app.

In all the places you can hear more from Jenny and her colleagues and collaborators and people who are really doing the work to move reproductive justice forward, to provide better health care for more of us, and to push policy in the direction that I personally think, and we all know my opinion is the most important one that matters because this is my show, but that pushes in the direction that we want to see. Jenny, this has been a frustrating and also enlightening and also delightful. I'm like, I.

It's hard for me to say, like, oh, I hope you enjoy my conversation.

This is how I feel at the end of my episodes. Yeah. Thank you for such a great conversation about terrible things.

Correct, Correct. But, no, I. I do. I do not feel like I need to go lay down for an hour after this. So that is.

That is a good sign. Yay. That is a good sign.

Is there any anything else that you want to share with our listeners before we kind of wrap up here?

No, just thank you all for being here today. It was so wonderful to get to talk to everybody about something that I am very clearly passionate about.

I would love if you would like to check out Repro's Fight Back. I think we have really important conversations and again, we'll give you ways that you can fight back and get involved to make a difference.

So what do you think? Everybody has their place where they can be involved in this moment.

Check the links in the show, notes in the episode description in your app for resources and reach out to let us know how you are getting involved in your creative resistance in ways big or small. The Creative Impostor is produced, hosted and edited by me, Andrea Klunder. Our Technical director is Edwin R. Ruiz.

Theme music by JoVia Armstrong The Creative Impostor Studios is a boutique strategy and production agency crafting powerful podcasts for cultural institutions, creative change makers and organizations who influence positive change through inspired experiences. We help you meet your audience where they are.

Book a free call with me me to learn how we can work together at thecreativeimposter.com T420 that's thecreativeimposter.com TE A F O R20 thank you for listening and this week, choose one thing you can do to become a resource for your community.