Author and activist Letty Cottin Pogrebin has been immersed for decades in the fight for gender equality and social justice. She co-founded Ms. Magazine, which played a pivotal role in the feminist movement of the 1970s, and served as president of the Authors Guild and as chair of Americans for Peace Now. She’s also authored a dozen books, co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus and the International Center for Peace in the Middle East, and earned an Emmy for her work on “Free To Be… You and Me,” a landmark early 1970s television special and album that encouraged social equality and acceptance between genders.

In this episode, Pogrebin discusses some of the pivotal moments that defined her political thinking, her feminism, and her understanding of Jewish tradition.

Journalist Jenna Flanagan has built a career championing the necessary conversations that drive community progress. She’s worked as a producer for the New York City-based AM radio news station 1010 WINS and WNYC’s All Things Considered, and as a co-host for the PBS show MetroFocus. Recently, she hosted the podcast “After Broad and Market,” which revisits the 2003 murder of 15-year-old Sakia Gunn — one of New Jersey’s first prosecuted queer hate crime homicides.

Here, Flanagan delves into the vital role of local news, the legacy of Black women in media, and her secrets to eliciting great stories from anyone.

Noliwe Rooks is a widely esteemed author and chair of Africana Studies at Brown University. A passionate advocate for education equality, Dr. Rooks has focused much of her work on the challenges that poor and African American communities face, particularly within the American public education system.

In this episode, Dr. Rooks talks about her family’s experiences with education inequality, its broader cultural context and impact, and the role that family and community play in fostering success at school.