Founding Feminists: 250 Years of an Unfinished Revolution (With Janell Hobson)

On The Issues With Michele Goodwin

On The Issues With Michele Goodwin
Founding Feminists: 250 Years of an Unfinished Revolution (With Janell Hobson)
Mar 04, 2026

Two hundred and fifty years ago, a small group of men declared that “all men are created equal,” casting a vision of liberty that has shaped the American imagination ever since. But even as they debated freedom in Philadelphia, women were writing, organizing, governing, resisting and insisting on their place within the nation taking form. 

As Ms. launches a new series on our country's Founding Feminists this month, Dr. Michele Goodwin is joined by the series' editor, Professor Janell Hobson, to discuss what America's 250th anniversary means for women and the feminist agenda. 

Joining us to discuss these issues is a very special guest: 

Janell Hobson: Janell Hobson is professor of women's, gender and sexuality studies at the University at Albany. She is the author of When God Lost Her Tongue: Historical Consciousness and the Black Feminist Imagination. She is also the editor of Tubman 200: The Harriet Tubman Bicentennial Project.

Check out this episode’s landing page at MsMagazine.com for a full transcript, links to articles referenced in this episode, further reading and ways to take action.

Support the show

Episode Artwork Founding Feminists: 250 Years of an Unfinished Revolution (With Janell Hobson) 16:17 Episode Artwork Special Episode: Remembering the Late Rev. Jesse L. Jackson 14:10 Episode Artwork Why Menopause Belongs in Democracy Conversations (with Omisade Burney-Scott) 24:15 Episode Artwork You’re Not Alone: Normalizing Pregnancy Loss (with Dr. Jessica Zucker and Chari Pere) 34:25 Episode Artwork The Magazine: What’s in the Winter Issue of Ms.? Mifepristone Beyond Abortion, Epstein Survivors and More 8:55 Episode Artwork Fifteen Minutes of Feminism: Mifepristone May Treat Fibroids, Endometriosis and Cancer. Why Is Access Being Obstructed? (with Carrie Baker) 23:35 Episode Artwork Checking in on the State of America’s Kids: Hunger, Censorship and Fear (with Becky Pringle) 38:58 Episode Artwork Fighting for the People: Attorneys General on the Front Lines Against Trump (With AGs Dana Nessel and Andrea Campbell) 47:48 Episode Artwork On Surviving Epstein—Part II (with Moira Donegan) 37:57 Episode Artwork On Surviving Epstein—Part I (with Jess Michaels) 54:48 Episode Artwork Shattering the Silence on Domestic Violence (with Lauren Schuster and Chris Negri) 43:29 Episode Artwork Supreme Court Term in Review: What the Court Burned Down Last Year 1:04:52 Episode Artwork The Supreme Court is Back in Session. What Fresh Hell Awaits? (With Steve Vladeck) 41:55 Episode Artwork Fifteen Minutes of Feminism: What's In The Epstein Files? Republicans and Democrats Want to Know (with George Conway) 33:43 Episode Artwork New Back-to-School Anxiety: ICE Raids and Family Separation (with Kevin Johnson) 32:47 Episode Artwork To Young People Facing This Moment: Hold On to Your Values 35:18 Episode Artwork Fifteen Minutes of Feminism: 200 Days of Trump 2.0 (with Skye Perryman) 24:54 Episode Artwork 'Not My Type': How Two Women Took Down Trump on Sexual Assault (With E. Jean Carroll and Roberta Kaplan) 1:00:59 Episode Artwork What's Up With (White) Men? (with Jackson Katz, Gary Barker and Cody Thompson) 40:55 Episode Artwork Episode Preview: How Feminists Have Redefined Democracy (with Celinda Lake, Aimee Allison, Angel Charley, Julie C. Suk, Cynthia Richie Terrell, and Jennifer M. Piscopo) 8:43 Episode Artwork Trailer: Introducing Looking Back, Moving Forward with Carmen Rios 1:19 Episode Artwork The Magazine: Ms. reports on the state of American manhood 12:35 Episode Artwork Fifteen Minutes of Feminism: Dead, Pregnant and Imprisoned in Georgia—The Adrianna Smith Case 26:13 Episode Artwork No Law, Just (Bad) Vibes: at the Supreme Court with Leah Litman 30:50 Episode Artwork Black Women in Power: Firsts, Onlys and Always Watched 54:44