Messy Liberation: Feminist Conversations about Politics and Pop Culture

Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown
  • 4.5 (16)
  • News Commentary
  • Updated Weekly

Join feminist coaches Taina Brown and Becky Mollenkamp for casual (and often deep) conversations about business, current events, politics, pop culture, and more. We’re not perfect activists or allies! These are our real-time, messy feminist perspectives on the world around us. This podcast is for you if you find yourself asking questions like: • Why is feminism important today? • What is intersectional feminism? • Can capitalism be ethical? • What does liberation mean? • Equity vs. equality — what's the difference and why does it matter? • What does a Trump victory mean for my life? • What is mutual aid? • How do we engage in collective action? • Can I find safety in community? • What's a feminist approach to ... ? • What's the feminist perspective on ...?

  1. 2d ago

    Who Gets to Stare? Race, Objectification & Power

    On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day episode of Messy Liberation, Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown start with the “where are you really from?” question and follow it into who gets to look and who gets looked at. Taina, who is Afro-Latina with Taíno roots, explains the difference between race and ethnicity, what separates Latin from Hispanic, and why self-identification is a form of resistance. It’s an intersectional feminist conversation about objectification, colonialism, and letting people name themselves. In this episode, we get into: Why “What are you?” is never okay, and how to tell real curiosity from nosinessTaina’s PT appointment, and a lifetime of being mistaken for Egyptian, Indian, Dominican, and Middle Eastern“Clarity is kindness”: why a blunt question can be better than a covert oneIntent vs. impact: how treating someone as a puzzle to solve strips their dignityBecky’s confession about staring at a trans woman in an airport 30 years ago, and what she’d do differently nowWho gets the privilege to look and who becomes the spectacle, from Shane Gillis’s SNL “spandex” joke to the history of slave auctionsOppositional looking: refusing to look away, and why white women should stare at cops, not at the people they’re harassingJordan Peele, Get Out, and horror that doesn’t center whitenessLatin vs. Hispanic, explained through Brazil, Guyana, Mexico, and Puerto RicoRace as a social construct that still shapes real lives, plus the “file folder” metaphor for identity, gender, pronouns, and reclaimed languageTimestamps 00:00 – Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Hispanic Heritage Month & Filipino American History Month02:42 – Being mistaken for everything: growing up racially ambiguous07:00 – “It’s really none of your business”: lessons from college11:40 – Objectification, intent vs. impact, and human dignity17:47 – Shane Gillis, SNL, and who gets to be the object21:00 – Ways of Seeing, Stuart Hall & oppositional looking25:01 – Stare at power, not at the oppressed26:40 – Jordan Peele, Get Out, and horror that doesn’t center whiteness29:41 – Why travel (or a new neighborhood) can radicalize white folks36:10 – Race as a social construct, from slavery to ICE sweeps40:41 – Latin vs. Hispanic: what’s the difference?47:48 – How perception changes race: New York vs. Florida49:17 – The Hyphenated Life, file folders & gender as a construct53:02 – Capitalism and the myth of limited categories56:50 – Refusing the file folder: queer identity & she/they pronouns1:00:05 – Messy Liberation Circle open house (Oct. 15)Resources mentioned: "Ways of Seeing" by John Berger: https://link.amazon/B05cwPa5S“The Whites of Their Eyes” by Stuart Hall: https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.psu.edu/dist/c/4578/files/2015/04/Hall-Whites_of_Their_Eyes_Full_Text.pdf?bid=4578“The Oppositional Gaze" by bell hooks: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/english/currentstudents/postgraduates/pgmodules/femlit/bell_hooks.pdf"The Hyphenated Life" by Han Ren: https://link.amazon/B03IkAQOrMessy Liberation Circle open house, Thursday, Oct. 15: https://bit.ly/4yjbTVW🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

    Who Gets to Stare? Race, Objectification & Power

  2. Oct 5

    The Cornell Seven and Victim Blaming: Train Your Sons, Not Your Daughters

    Content warning: This episode discusses SA and r*pe culture. Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown of Messy Liberation unpack the Cornell sexual assault case, the group chat of 50-plus men who joked about it, and the rape culture that made it possible. This intersectional feminist conversation covers victim blaming, fraternity culture, consent, and why staying silent when your friends say harmful things makes you complicit. It also covers how misogyny hurts men too. In this episode, we get into:• Taina's trip to Iceland for the Wicker premiere, and why the film's nameless characters make it a feminist fable without being Barbie-style feminism• The pneumonic plague case in Russia: why panic isn't the answer, and why access to antibiotics should be universal• The Cornell case: what to call it, and why "rapist" sounds like a job title• Fraternity culture, hazing, and why consent under duress isn't consent• Kendall Francis speaking out at LSU, and campus-wide warnings to "stay home" instead of telling men not to rape• Why men need to stop talking about "training their daughters" and start calling out their friends• How misogyny hurts men: male sexual assault, shame, and the cycle of harm• The group chat as a permission structure, and complicity in the Nolan Wells case• Asking vs. demanding: liberal feminism, "hearts and minds," and why willful ignorance is violence• White educators, unconscious bias, and why "no one's paying me to learn" is an excuse Timestamps00:00 – Taina's back from Iceland: the Wicker premiere at the Reykjavik International Film Festival07:01 – Pneumonic plague in Russia: why we'll (probably) be okay15:20 – The Cornell case and what to call it (content warning)21:13 – Fraternity culture, hazing, and consent under duress24:09 – Kendall Francis and the LSU case27:05 – Victim blaming: she's allowed to drink, and she's allowed to say no31:35 – Misogyny hurts men: sexual assault, shame, and silence37:15 – The 50 in the group chat: permission structures41:08 – Nolan Wells and why the getaway driver is complicit44:53 – Asking vs. demanding: MLK, Malcolm X, and liberal feminism51:38 – White educators and unconscious bias53:51 – Why we keep having heavy conversations (and a note on consent from the Hasan Piker episode)55:19 – Join us: the Messy Liberation Circle and our free October 15 event Resources mentioned• "More Salt Than Diamond" by Aline Mello: https://bookshop.org/a/93627/9781524871024• Previous episode: "Is Violence Part of Liberation? Breaking Down Hasan Piker, MSNow, and Palestine": https://messyliberation.com/hasan-piker-palestine/• Free October 15 author event with Aline Mello: https://taina-m-brown.myflodesk.com/messy-lib-open-house • Messy Liberation Circle: https://messyliberation.com/community/ 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

    The Cornell Seven and Victim Blaming: Train Your Sons, Not Your Daughters

  3. Sep 28

    Unlearning White Supremacy and Patriarchy: Our Feminist Origin Stories

    On this episode of Messy Liberation, Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown share their feminist origin stories: how each of them came to see the white supremacist capitalist patriarchy, and what unlearning and relearning has looked like since. Taina talks about getting fired from her evangelical church and finding intersectional feminism at a women's college. Becky traces her path from "we don't see color" white feminism to Ferguson, bell hooks, and coming out as pansexual. In this episode, we get into: What "unlearning and relearning" means, and why it looks so different depending on your identitiesGetting fired from a church, and how churches run like any other exploitative workplaceA congregation with "90 nations represented" and white men at the topWhy "my Black friend voted for Trump" isn't a real argument, and how internalized oppression worksTaina's move from evangelical faith to women's studies, and the three readings that gave her language for what she'd livedWhere intersectionality actually came from: Kimberlé Crenshaw's legal scholarshipBecky's mom, colorblind second-wave feminism, and what happened when Becky brought home a Black boyfriendWhite saviorism, campaigning for Obama, and the disillusionment afterwardFerguson, bell hooks, Audre Lorde, and starting a feminist reading groupBeing queer before you know you're queer, internalized homophobia, and no longer feeling like you're co-opting a community that's yoursTimestamps: 01:00 – Origin stories, and why our journeys look different02:53 – Growing up evangelical04:33 – "I didn't think racism was still a thing"07:15 – Holding an identity doesn't protect you from internalizing oppression10:00 – An intense friendship and the first signs of queerness12:30 – The three classes that changed Taina's life16:34 – Leaving the church: "People are flawed, but God isn't"23:21 – Becky's origin story: raised outside religion26:02 – Second-wave feminism and "we don't see color"29:38 – White savior complex and campaigning for Obama32:38 – Ferguson and the murder of Michael Brown36:31 – Our pansexual identities42:37 – You don't need a PhD to belongResources mentioned: Paula Gunn Allen, "Who Is Your Mother? Red Roots of White Feminism"The Seneca Falls Convention and the Declaration of SentimentsThe Combahee River Collective Statement"Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex" by Kimberlé Crenshaw"Feminism Is for Everybody" by bell hooks"Sister Outsider" by Audre Lorde"Pleasure Activism" by adrienne maree brown"White Feminism" by Koa BeckOur interview with Koa Beck 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: https://feministpodcastcollective.com/

    Unlearning White Supremacy and Patriarchy: Our Feminist Origin Stories

  4. Sep 21

    Symone Sanders vs. Hasan Piker: Is Violence Part of Liberation?

    On this episode of Messy Liberation, Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown break down the viral Clock It interview where Symone Sanders Townsend pushed back on Hasan Piker for comparing US police-brutality protests to Palestinian resistance. They dig into what violence actually is, including poverty, discrimination, and state-sanctioned deprivation, why the nonviolence stories we're taught about MLK and Gandhi are incomplete, and how holding a marginalized identity doesn't exempt anyone from upholding the system. In This Episode:01:17 – The viral Clock It interview with Hasan Piker02:41 – Hasan's argument: resistance to systemic violence always gets labeled differently03:47 – Holding a marginalized identity doesn't exempt you from upholding the system04:34 – The role of violence in revolutions and liberation movements07:44 – Taina: "I'm tired of talking about this" (and why she's talking about it anyway)08:20 – State-sanctioned violence becomes invisible because it's normalized11:51 – "Have they never read Freedom Is a Constant Struggle?"12:40 – US cops and campus security trained by the IDF — Taina's grad school at Georgia State13:14 – George Floyd and the knee on the neck we all watched14:55 – Liberal ≠ progressive: corporate media and who funds it15:35 – The Hundred Years' War on Palestine and being done with "I don't know enough" as an excuse17:07 – The disconnect between your identity and your understanding of liberation18:13 – Gandhi, MLK, and the version of history taught inside a tiny bubble19:41 – Respectability politics: be peaceful, be presentable, mind your tone22:26 – Why the powers that be always negotiate with the most moderate voice in the room23:30 – The one-hero narrative and how it dissolves collective action27:16 – The myth of the perfect agitator29:01 – Democrats vs. Hasan Piker, and the all-or-nothing loyalty test35:03 – Ask yourself: what do you actually know about Hamas, and who told you?38:36 – Public education as the system's most reliable tool42:22 – To be clear: this isn't a call to violence, it's a call to understand what liberation involves44:14 – Why "why?" is the most important question you can ask46:35 – The rape-culture parallel: why didn't you fight back, why did you fight back49:06 – Wrap-up and a real question for listeners Resources Mentioned• Hasan Piker on Clock It: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4lZ0SwPDEs• Critique of Clock It episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CX3YshKpjE• "The Hundred Years' War on Palestine" by Rashid Khalidi: https://link.amazon/B0bhg6Uic• "Freedom Is a Constant Struggle" by Angela Davis: https://link.amazon/B029YDKo7• "Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism" by Eve L. Ewing: https://link.amazon/B06y22SH7 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

    Symone Sanders vs. Hasan Piker: Is Violence Part of Liberation?

  5. Sep 14

    There Is No 'Neutral': Macklemore, Pink, Ed Sheeran, and the Cost of Speaking Out

    On this episode of Messy Liberation, hosts Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown break down Macklemore's public firing from Ed Sheeran's tour after he said "Free Palestine" on stage — and use it to dig into celebrity complicity, white feminism, and the real difference between Zionism and Judaism. From Robert Kraft's stadium pressure campaign to AIPAC's grip on Democratic politics to the actual cost of speaking out against genocide, Becky and Taina unpack what it looks like to choose a side when neutrality was never on the table. In This Episode, We Get Into: Macklemore getting pulled from Ed Sheeran's tour after saying "Free Palestine" to 90,000 people, and reading his response statement liveHow Robert Kraft and other venue owners used stadium access as leverage to force Ed Sheeran's handWhy "I don't take sides" is itself a side, and Macklemore's line: "There is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed"Pink's Instagram statement, her US Open outing with Elizabeth Banks and Amy Adams, and why it's a textbook white feminism case studyWhat celebrities and public figures actually owe their audiences, the parasocial relationship and the responsibility that comes with a platformAIPAC money, the Wesley Bell/Cori Bush congressional race, and how Democrats fall in line on Israel fundingUntangling Zionism from Judaism and anti-Zionism from antisemitism, and why conflating them silences criticsThe 5,000-signature Hollywood letter opposing the word "genocide," and who's cashing checks to stay quietMandy Patinkin, Holocaust parallels, and how dehumanization spreads once a society decides it's permissible for one group"Does Israel have a right to exist?", and a reframe (it exists, so now what?) that matters more than the debate itselfA closing tangent on Jasmine Crockett sharing a stage with Chris Brown, and what it says about who we hold accountableTimestamps: 00:21 – Setting up the episode: Macklemore, Ed Sheeran, Zionism, and genocide02:09 – What actually happened on stage: "Free Palestine" and the fallout03:10 – Pink's response and deleted comments04:45 – Reading Macklemore's full statement: "I am not a victim"06:23 – Robert Kraft, Gillette Stadium, and the stadium-owner ultimatum08:27 – "There is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed"11:22 – Power, privilege, and how the GOP consolidates vs. how Democrats splinter12:36 – AIPAC money and the Wesley Bell/Cori Bush race in St. Louis15:44 – Pink at the US Open with Elizabeth Banks and Amy Adams17:20 – Parasocial relationships and what celebrities owe their audience27:28 – The 5,000-signature Hollywood letter denying the word "genocide"30:39 – Mark Ruffalo, Tatiana Maslany, and who's actually showing up33:54 – Holocaust parallels and how dehumanization spreads39:40 – Zionism vs. Judaism: why they're not the same thing41:36 – "Does Israel have a right to exist?" and why that's the wrong question44:39 – Jasmine Crockett sharing a stage with Chris Brown47:27 – Christian nationalism and the same system playing out in the USResources Mentioned:Pink's statement:  Macklemore speaks out at Ed Sheeran concert: https://www.instagram.com/reels/Dc_bH4_N1FN/Pink's statement: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdKPJsVTvtl/?hl=enMacklemore's statement: https://www.threads.com/@macklemore/post/DdRduI8mxy9/mediaThe 5,000-signature Hollywood open letter: https://www.creativecommunityforpeace.com/blog/2026/09/08/rejectlieMandy Patinkin's empathetic plea: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DMJWZHVsXdH/Abdul El-Sayed on "does Israel have a right to exist?": https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1087558473698955🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

    There Is No 'Neutral': Macklemore, Pink, Ed Sheeran, and the Cost of Speaking Out

  6. Sep 9

    Safe Space Is a Buzzword: What Real Community Actually Looks Like

    Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown break down what actually makes a group of people a community — not just a paid membership or "safe space" buzzword. On this episode of Messy Liberation, they unpack why comfort and safety get conflated (especially by white women), why "we don't talk politics here" silences the most marginalized voices in a space, and what harm repair and restorative justice look like when done right. Plus: the stories of the best communities they've ever been part of, from a virtual event where a host let Resmaa Menakem rest mid-talk, to a nonprofit that gave staff the day off after a police shooting, to the friends who took Taina in when she was homeless. Timestamps:0:00 – Intro & follow-up from last episode0:34 – Why "community" became a business buzzword1:14 – Defining community: shared vision & culture-making4:46 – Trust, "ride or dies," and the buzzword of "safe spaces"7:07 – Feeling held vs. feeling safe9:00 – Why community isn't about being safe for everyone9:57 – Privilege, comfort, and what "safe" really means11:23 – True crime, privilege, and the illusion of safety12:06 – White women's tears: confusing comfort with safety14:02 – "We don't talk politics here" and who gets silenced18:19 – Threats to privilege vs. threats to safety18:56 – 2016 & 2020: white coaches shutting down callouts24:29 – Harm repair and restorative justice, set up front28:18 – Communities that got it right: affinity spaces & chosen family33:04 – Taken in when homeless: a story of real community34:52 – Black spaces vs. white spaces: the difference in care38:35 – The Resmaa Menakem story: modeling collective care live43:29 – A nonprofit that gave everyone the day off47:05 – The FEO community: emotional labor, race & accountability54:51 – Recap: discomfort isn't unsafe, and harm repair matters57:25 – Outro • "My Grandmother's Hands" by Resmaa Menakem: https://amzn.to/4r3bsMh• Rooted Global Village: https://rootedglobalvillage.com/ 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

    Safe Space Is a Buzzword: What Real Community Actually Looks Like

  7. Sep 1

    Nepal Floods, Climate Change, Doomscrolling: How Do We Keep Going?

    On this episode of Messy Liberation, hosts Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown get real about climate grief, doomscrolling, and the nihilism that creeps in when disaster feels endless, sparked by the catastrophic Nepal glacier flood and reports of billionaires building bunkers to escape the mess they helped create. Becky and Taina dig into the difference between staying informed and staying trapped in trauma, why our brains keep replaying footage that hurts us, and how community, agency, and joy become acts of resistance when the world feels like it's on fire. They close with a tribute to Dolly Parton and what her life proves about choosing love over hate. In This Episode, We Get Into:• Why the Nepal glacier flood hit so hard, and the "disaster movie" desensitization that makes real catastrophe feel unreal• Billionaires building underground bunkers (complete with jails) instead of fixing the climate crisis they're profiting from• The nihilism spiral: "what's the point" thinking and how it shows up differently before and after having kids• The real difference between being informed and being engaged, and where that line gets crossed into doomscrolling• Why our brains compulsively replay traumatic footage, and what that has to do with control and anxiety• Survivor's guilt vs. privilege guilt, and how proximity to suffering (without living it) shapes our response• The "crazy-making" feeling of watching people deny climate change in real time, and why that's a form of gaslighting• Divesting from harmful systems vs. reducing our reliance on them, and what to do with the time and energy that frees up• Surrender vs. submission: how accepting what you can't control can actually restore a sense of agency• Why joy and grief can coexist, and why withholding joy doesn't prove you care more• A tribute to Dolly Parton: her wealth given away, her quiet support of Black Lives Matter and the trans community, and what she proves about hate being a choice Timestamps:00:00 – Cold open: Becky's Care Bear mug and "which Care Bear are you"02:51 – The Nepal glacier flood and why it feels almost unreal to watch04:16 – Doomscrolling, repeated imagery, and the nihilism it triggers05:14 – Billionaire bunkers (yes, with jails) and what that says about who's "prepared" for collapse07:45 – Becky turns it over to Taina: restoring some faith in humanity08:06 – Taina's approach to news consumption and staying "informed without engaged"09:45 – Unpacking the real difference between informed and engaged11:25 – How having kids changes the emotional weight of climate anxiety12:47 – The compulsion to doomscroll and rewatch disturbing footage16:30 – Why our brains keep seeking control through repetition19:05 – Survivor's guilt vs. guilt born of privilege20:00 – Divesting from harmful systems vs. reducing our need for them21:32 – What you do with the space once you stop doomscrolling22:25 – The "crazy-making," gaslighting feeling of climate denial26:10 – The privilege of being disappointed by people in power27:56 – Community as the antidote: who's in your corner29:03 – Finding agency in the small, controllable things31:07 – Surrender vs. control, and coming back to the present moment33:50 – Acceptance vs. submission — the difference that matters35:13 – Resilience as a practiced, ongoing skill, not a one-time fix35:55 – Giving yourself permission to feel joy without guilt37:52 – Dolly Parton's "rainbows and rain" quote and finding light in the dark41:00 – Dolly's legacy: $600M given away, support for BLM and trans employees decades early44:44 – Why Dolly is proof that hate is a choice45:50 – Closing thoughts and sign-off 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

    Nepal Floods, Climate Change, Doomscrolling: How Do We Keep Going?

  8. Aug 25

    When DEI Gets Dismantled: Callaway, Target & the Cost of Corporate "Values"

    On this episode of Messy Liberation, hosts Becky Mollenkamp and Taina Brown break down two viral advertiser fails (Callaway Golf's domestic-violence "joke" ad and Target's minstrel-show-evoking Halloween costume) to unpack what happens when corporate rooms lack real diversity and accountability. Through an intersectional feminist lens, they dig into DEI backlash, golf's history of racial and gender exclusion, the limits of individual boycotts, and why values that "blow with the wind" were never values at all. In This Episode, We Get Into:• A heartfelt tribute to Dolly Parton and what her life and legacy meant to both hosts• The Callaway Golf ad that turned domestic violence into a punchline — and the immediate backlash from women online• Target's clown/ghost Halloween costume and its uncomfortable echoes of minstrel-show imagery• Why "diverse hires" without power or context don't actually prevent harm• The difference between real values and values that shift with politics or profit• Golf's long, ugly history of excluding women and Black golfers, and what the current participation numbers really show• Whether corporate apology tours ("this doesn't reflect our values") mean anything at all• The limits of individual boycotts vs. collective political power• What small business owners can actually do differently (hint: it's not a fancy DEI program)• Drones, robot armies, and what stripping empathy from warfare has to do with stripping humanity from marginalized people Resources Mentioned:• OpenSecrets.org• Democratic Socialists of America (DSA): dsausa.org• Working Families Party: workingfamilies.org 🎤 JOIN US IN THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE: http://feministpodcastcollective.com/

    When DEI Gets Dismantled: Callaway, Target & the Cost of Corporate "Values"
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Join feminist coaches Taina Brown and Becky Mollenkamp for casual (and often deep) conversations about business, current events, politics, pop culture, and more. We’re not perfect activists or allies! These are our real-time, messy feminist perspectives on the world around us. This podcast is for you if you find yourself asking questions like: • Why is feminism important today? • What is intersectional feminism? • Can capitalism be ethical? • What does liberation mean? • Equity vs. equality — what's the difference and why does it matter? • What does a Trump victory mean for my life? • What is mutual aid? • How do we engage in collective action? • Can I find safety in community? • What's a feminist approach to ... ? • What's the feminist perspective on ...?

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