What the Anti-Abortion Movement Learned From Abolitionists

What the Anti-Abortion Movement Learned From Abolitionists

On this week’s podcast, Linda Hirschman discusses the problems of activism in a country divided against itself.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

On this week’s episode of the Time of Monsters podcast, author Linda Hirschman joins the show to discuss the problems of activism in a country divided against itself. In the past I’ve described Linda as “the Cassandra of the American left” for her writing on reproductive freedom. She’s warned us of the moment that has now arrived, the end of Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood.

Lincoln said in 1858, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” That was true then, and it’s true now. It makes Linda’s new book on the abolitionist movement all the more relevant. It’s titled The Color of Abolition: How a Printer, a Prophet, and a Contessa Moved a Nation.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

Time is running out to have your gift matched 

In this time of unrelenting, often unprecedented cruelty and lawlessness, I’m grateful for Nation readers like you. 

So many of you have taken to the streets, organized in your neighborhood and with your union, and showed up at the ballot box to vote for progressive candidates. You’re proving that it is possible—to paraphrase the legendary Patti Smith—to redeem the work of the fools running our government.

And as we head into 2026, I promise that The Nation will fight like never before for justice, humanity, and dignity in these United States. 

At a time when most news organizations are either cutting budgets or cozying up to Trump by bringing in right-wing propagandists, The Nation’s writers, editors, copy editors, fact-checkers, and illustrators confront head-on the administration’s deadly abuses of power, blatant corruption, and deconstruction of both government and civil society. 

We couldn’t do this crucial work without you.

Through the end of the year, a generous donor is matching all donations to The Nation’s independent journalism up to $75,000. But the end of the year is now only days away. 

Time is running out to have your gift doubled. Don’t wait—donate now to ensure that our newsroom has the full $150,000 to start the new year. 

Another world really is possible. Together, we can and will win it!

Love and Solidarity,

John Nichols 

Executive Editor, The Nation

x