Hey! Let’s talk about gentle men (not gentlemen) and how they’re subverting patriarchal expectations of masculinity and creating a wider range of possibilities for masculine-type-folks! Here are some links!

• First, in praise of tender masculinity
• Second, a video about how great Karamo Brown is 
• Third, that final scene in Moonlight where Kevin strokes Chiron’s head
• Fourth, the episode of Judge John Hodgman I mention 
• Fifth, Vivek Shraya’s new book I’m Afraid of Men
• Sixth, and last, an interview with Terry Crews who should absolutely have been in this episode about the cult of toxic masculinity

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Follow me @hkpmcgregor, follow Kaarina @kaarinasaurus, and tweet about the podcast using #SecretFeministAgenda.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

We’re getting deep into academic corner this week with academic coach Jennifer Askey. Together we talk about how grad school does or doesn’t prepare you for the work of being a professor (spoiler alert: it doesn’t), the relationship between academic coaching and the neoliberal university, and how to build space for yourself and others from within large institutions. And, because we’re feminists, we also contemplate burning everything to the ground. Here are some links!

• We mention a couple of other prominent academic coaches in this episode, namely Jennifer Polk aka From PhD to Life and Karen Kelsky aka The Professor Is In.
• Our conversation turns to the tension between the perception of universities as liberal enclaves and their actual deeply conservatism, about which the very brilliant Tressie McMillan Cottom has written.
• On the topic of systemic racism in Canadian universities, scholar Malinda S. Smith has compiled a huge reading list on Twitter that you should definitely bookmark.
• Not sure what we’re talking about when we discuss the neoliberal university? Here’s a good starting point, including a handy definition of neoliberalism: “the university as a market-driven system, which employs modes of governance based on a corporate model.”
• You can read a bit more about the complex relationship between race and tenure in this excellent interview.
• If you don’t already know about Zoe Todd’s work, you can check it out here.
• Finally, a non-paywalled piece on David Graber’s new book Bullshit Jobs.

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Jennifer’s theme song is “Das Rehlein” by Hiss.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

Before we get into this week’s topic, I want to make sure you all know that there is an active struggle at the Saskatchewan Legislature right now as Camp: Justice For Our Stolen Children fights to stay in place despite the police attempting to dismantle them. Please read and share articles about this and, if you’re in Saskatchewan, do everything you can to make sure your government knows you support the camp.

This week I’m tackling a timely Twitter topic (ALLITERATION!): the #ImmodestWomen campaign that has been sweeping academic social media as women with PhDs all change their handles to Dr. in solidarity with Dr. Fern Riddell. I’m thinking about what it means for women to claim authority, why the equation of expertise with university credentials makes me a bit squeamish, and why I suspect there’s something particularly white about this form of activism. And now, some links!

• Start by reading Dr. Riddell’s own reflection on these events and then read some other media coverage if you like.
• Here’s the study about men being less likely to acknowledge women’s credentials.
• I mentioned my friend Alyssa being interviewed for a great piece on open access publishing, and here it is!
• Finally, here’s a link to the entirety of Dr. Angela Davis’s “Black Women and the Academy” which, as I mentioned in the episode, offers an important counterpoint to doubling down on expertise and credentials as a feminist intervention into the politics of the university. Read it!

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Follow me @hkpmcgregor, follow Kaarina @kaarinasaurus, and tweet about the podcast using #SecretFeministAgenda.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

Content warning for some discussions of violence.

This week I sit down with filmmaker Alba Sotorra to talk about her newest documentary, Commander Arian (shout out to Hot Docs for setting up the interview!). We tackle being a woman documentarian and what it means to be a feminist filmmaker, as well as the work of the YPJ (the Women’s Protection Unit). Here are some links if you’d like to find out more:

• Read more about the YPJ here and here.
• Alba also wants all of you to learn more about Jineology, so here’s an introduction and here’s a more deep-dive article (paywalled).
• Aw heck here’s another article on Jineology.
• If you want to watch some more feminist documentaries, this list is a good starting point.
• And here’s a little more on feminist war journalism.
• Heck, while I’m at it, I wrote an article once on feminism and documentaries.

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Jes’s theme song is “Risk It All” by Helly Luv. This song and video have a super interesting story behind them that is worth reading about.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

When I sat down to record this episode, I was thinking about travel and family visits and how they take a toll on my mental health. I didn’t know that by the time I finished editing it, Doug Ford would have won a conservative majority in Ontario that threatens the livelihood, health, and safety of many people I love. And in that light, the need for forms of security and tenderness in our own lives feels only more urgent; we’ve got work to do, my friends, but we can’t do that work if we don’t care for ourselves as well. And so, this week, we’re talking about kitties.

• This is where you can see my friend Rosa’s beautiful photos featuring her dog, Emilia!
• Here’s the article I quote from on cats and mental health.
• Oh and if you don’t already follow me on Instagram YOU SHOULD because it’s a lot of pictures of my good good kitties.

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Follow me @hkpmcgregor, follow Kaarina @kaarinasaurus, and tweet about the podcast using #SecretFeministAgenda.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

Content warning for discussions of violence and death.

Satin Denny, Richelle Dubois, Gaylene Henry, and Robyn Pitawanakwat at Camp: Justice for our Stolen Children

This week I had the tremendous pleasure of sitting down in Regina, Saskatchewan with four of the women at Camp: Justice for Our Stolen Children.  Robyn Pitawanakwat, Richelle Dubois, Satin Denny, and Gaylene Henry, along with their communities, are working  to bring attention to the injustices facing Indigenous families in Canada, who are losing their children to violence, an unjust legal system, and child protective services. In this episode, they talk about the work the camp is doing, and why, in the wake of Raymond Cormier’s and Gerald Stanley’s acquittals, they’re demanding justice.

• Contribute to the Haven Dubois Memorial Fund by sending money via PayPal to havenmemorialfund@gmail.com. Contribute to the Camp’s work by sending money to colonialismnomore@gmail.com.
• Learn more about Richelle’s Dubois’s fight for an inquest into her son’s death. 
• Many of the organizers for Camp: Justice for Our Stolen Children were involved in previous solidarity camps that you can read about here!
• For more context on Residential Schools and the mission to “kill the Indian in the child,” read about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.
• Read up about the acquittals of Raymond Cormier and Gerald Stanley and how Canada is failing Indigenous youth.
• I mention Ijeoma Oluo’s book So You Want to Talk About Race, which you should definitely read if you haven’t already.
• Finally, just this week two colleagues of mine at SFU uncovered archival evidence of a key passage that had been elided from Maria Campbell’s iconic 1973 memoir Halfbreed, a passage that is very significant to this episode’s discussions of police violence against Indigenous people. This article is a must-read. Content warning for sexual violence.

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Robyn, Richelle, Satin, and Gaylene’s theme song is “That’s Alright” by Laura Mvula and please promise me you will go watch the video RIGHT NOW.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. This episode was also recorded on Treaty 4 Territory, the traditional territory of the Cree, Saulteaux, Nakota, Lakota and Dakota peoples, and is the homeland of the Métis people.

Content warning for discussions of death and family loss.

HI IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! Listen, I know a lot of adults don’t like to make, like, a THING out of their birthdays, but I am not one of those adults. Let’s just blame it on my Leo Rising, which likes attention. Don’t worry though, this episode isn’t just about me and why everyone should pay attention to me, it’s mostly about this complex business of growing up / getting old(er), and how it intersects with all kinds of other messy things like the normative timelines of adulthood and our shifting relationships to our bodies and the ongoing legacy of family loss. PLUS Kaarina follows up with some strategies for anti-capitalist self-care. Really, this episode is an all-around winner.

• Read this Hyperbole and  Half post about adulting if you haven’t already (or you know what, even if you’ve already read it, read it again).
• Here’s the article on being a queer, ace grad student and “facing the future without a map”.
• Stacy London talks about “grow[ing] up without becoming a conventional grown-up” and how that impacts her style.
• Also I don’t talk about it on the episode but I feel like that “By the age of 35” meme is PRETTY relevant to this discussion so go read about it.

And here’s the episode!

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Follow me @hkpmcgregor, follow Kaarina @kaarinasaurus, and tweet about the podcast using #SecretFeministAgenda.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

Content warning for discussions of diet culture, mental health, and suicide.

This episode is a real Momentous Occassion for me because I have been a fan of Jes Baker‘s work for YEARS. She was probably the first body positive activist who crossed my radar, and her “Attractive & Fat” campaign felt revolutionary to me. So it was a goddamn joy to talk to her about the release of her new book, Landwhale, the ongoing journey of activism, what it means to be an ally, and more. ALSO FEATURED is an invitation to the first ever #SecretFeministAgenda meet-up, in Regina on May 27. Be there!

• In addition to Jes’s new book Landwhale and old book Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls, we also talk about Lindy West’s Shrill and Roxane Gay’s Hunger. These are all good books and you should read all of them! 
• Jes shouts out the influence of Rachele Cateyes aka @radfatvegan who I also love!
• For those of you interested in diversifying your Instagram feeds, here are 135 accounts Jes recommends.
• I talk about threshold concepts with a middling degree of accuracy but you can get a solid definition of the term here and read more about them here.
• You should also read more about SURJ aka Showing Up for Racial Justice and maybe find your local chapter!
• If, like me, you are fascinated by the phrase “infinifats” and want to hear more, here’s an episode of The Fat Lip podcast where you can start learning. 
• Looking for a more scholarly take on fatness and disability and how they intersect, in terms of both medicalization and embodiment? Here is a thing to read! (Paywalled, but hmu if you wanna read it.) 
• Jes and I talk briefly about the violence of discourses of health, and I want to link this incredible piece, “The Unproven Body” by Katie Lew, which tackles just this topic in stunning fashion. 
• As per Jes’s instructions I googled “how to be a fat ally” and one of the first results was this Instagram post from Jes herself! You should also read this Twitter thread about what it looks like when a thin ally uses their privilege to advocate for a fat person’s comfort (and go ahead and read the responses if you want a reminder of what it is like being a fat person). 

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Jes’s theme song is “Secrets” by Mary Lambert which honestly should probably be the whole podcast’s theme song.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

Look at that I dyed my hair

This episode is late because I am so so tired and couldn’t think of anything to talk about and then Fox cancelled Brooklyn Nine-Nine and my task was clear.

• Here’s a short article about why people love the show and whether it might be picked up elsewhere.
• This is the Twitter thread I mentioned about Jake Peralta and toxic masculinity!
• Probably the most important tweet yesterday?

RENEW BROOKLYN NINE NINE
I ONLY WATCH LIKE 4 THINGS
THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS#RenewB99

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) May 10, 2018

•  Did you know Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a Youtube channel and it’s great if you want to waste hours of your life watching clips? DO THAT HERE. Probably start with just ten solid minutes of cold opens:

And here’s the episode!

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Follow me @hkpmcgregor, follow Kaarina @kaarinasaurus, and tweet about the podcast using #SecretFeministAgenda.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.

We’re officially done the “play” miniseries and so it’s time to put away childish things and focus on Very Serious Topics like Poetry jk poetry is hilarious and this episode is very funny. Join Beni Xiao and Tin Lorica as we talk about poetry and feelings and also feelings and also poetry. Oh, and also community and mentorship and genre and, briefly, a cat. Here are some things to read / mostly just a list of poets!

• Most importantly, if you want to buy Beni’s book, Bad Egg, you can do that here. And then go buy everything Rahila’s Ghost has published because poetry chapbook presses are great.
• If you’re Vancouver-based you should definitely know about the Real Vancouver Writers’ Series and Poetry Is Bad For You. If you’re not in Vancouver, tweet at me about your favourite local poetry reading series or venue!
• In addition to small presses and live readings, magazines are a great way to get your poetry fix! Beni mentions being rejected by Poetry is Dead, for example. (Btw anyone else really want this tote to hold their poems and feelings?) But also if you follow the links below you will find so many other excellent sites for poetry-reading!
• Here are some of the poets Beni and Tin recommended. Please note each of these links is to ONE OR MORE POEMS. Read some poems! Samantha Marie Nock, Dina Del Bucchia, Amber Dawn, Billeh Nickerson, Aja Moore, Kayla Czaga, Adèle Barclay, Liz Bachinsky, and Kimmy Walters. Poems!
• And finally, an article on Rupi Kaur because you can’t talk about poetry in Canada with talking about Rupi Kaur.

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The podcast theme song is “Mesh Shirt” by Mom Jeans off their album “Chub Rub.” Listen to the whole album here or learn more about them here. Beni and Tin’s theme song is “Run Away With Me” by Carly Rae Jepsen.

Secret Feminist Agenda is recorded on the traditional and unceded territories of the Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations.