Chat In The Commons

Elle Kamihira & Natalie Blundell
  • 5.0 (21)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

Have women truly achieved equality or are we losing all our rights? Colliding narratives tell us on the one hand that women can do anything, while on the other we’re being shackled and shut down. Natalie Blundell and Elle Kamihira chat candidly about how women are actually faring in our cultures and in our lives, and highlight the positive changes being made across the world. See you in The Commons.

  1. 12/04/2025

    Out in The Commons: FiLiA 2025 | 16

    A chat about our trip to FiLiA, the largest grassroots feminist conference in Europe.  Celebrating their tenth anniversary, FiLiA 2025 was held in Brighton, UK and hosted 300 speakers from 75 countries and nearly 3,000 attendants - and Elle was there to soak it all up.  In this episode Elle shares the inside scoop about what she saw and heard - the good, the bad and the ugly. From the powerful panel discussions (see list below), to women’s newfound global connectivity and solidarity, to frictions between feminists of different cultures, getting a 360º view of women’s oppression, and how we stay ahead of the patriarchal onslaught. WE DISCUSS: (00:00:00) Introduction  (00:01:36) Background on FiLiA Conference (00:04:49) Elle travels to Brighton (00:09:31) TERF Island (00:11:41) Opening Ceremony & Brighton’s Suffragette History (00:19:16) Feminism and Militarism Panel  (00:27:18) Beyond the Misogynist Backlash Panel  (00:33:01) Erasure of Women’s History Panel  (00:35:56) Modern Matriarchy Panel (00:38:12) Women and the State Panel  (00:42:22) Surrogacy Panel  (00:47:19) Femicide Panel  (00:54:42) Drama at the Disco (00:59:39) State Violence & Gender Ideology in Brazil  (01:06:20) Importance of Women’s Gatherings EPISODE LINKS FiLiA Mary Clarke Brighton’s Suffragette History Esua Goldsmith Max Dashu Interview | Subject to Power Total Woman Victory Minangkabau Matrilineal Community  Right To Remain Femicide Census Counting Dead Women UK MATRIA CONTACT US Website:  www.chatinthecommons.com Instagram: @chatinthecommons X: @ChatInCommons Email:  https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact

    1h 11m

  2. 11/18/2025

    Man-oh-Manosphere | 15

    A chat about boys and men. Natalie and Elle explore the current state of masculinity - male attitudes, behaviors and culture. And how do men perceive themselves and the challenges they face? In this episode, we highlight both struggles and positive shifts, digging into men’s economic anxiety, loneliness, violence, and the growing manosphere, but also new models for raising boys and young men, and the work of creating healthier masculine narratives and supportive communities in order to redefine what it means to be a man.  WE DISCUSS: (00:00:00) Episode Overview Introduction to the state of manhood and masculinity norms (00:03:53) Equimundo’s State of American Men Research Report on American men, highlighting men’s own perspectives on masculinity (00:05:02) Key issues overview: economic anxiety, restrictive masculinity, loneliness, and time online (00:07:11) Exploration of men’s shifting provider role, economic pressures, and identity (00:11:28) Masculinity becoming more restrictive  (00:13:38) Male loneliness and emotional accountability discussion  (00:16:15) Male Alexithymia and emotional expression  (00:22:08) Manosphere narratives and online radicalization  (00:24:04) Debunking the “Men Are Losing Out” myth  (00:27:19) Overview of online manosphere groups (00:35:13) Recognition of violence as a key issue for men, including self-directed violence (00:40:32) Discussion of how violence is perpetuated and the importance of community for men (00:52:11) Raising boys and young men Discussion of matriarchal models, mother-son bonds, and raising feminist sons (00:55:13) Early education and gender stereotypes  Highlight of Icelandic preschool program combatting gender stereotypes EPISODE LINKS International Men’s Day  Dads For Kids State of American Men Study 2025  Alexithymia | Katie Hanlon TikTok The Other Parent | James Steyer Male Fiction Authors | Tracy Sierra TikTok Gen Z Men & Women’s Outlook | NBC News Triad of Men’s Violence   Jackson Katz | The Spectator  Belonging vs Fitting In | Brenee Brown The Lives of Boys with Michael Conway | Subject to Power Disappointing Men | Solid 7 TikTok Paid Leave For All The Men’s Collective ReMasculine  Mankind Project XY Online How to Raise a Feminist Son | Sonora Jha Why she wrote the book | Sonora Jha Instagram Icelandic Hijalli Model CONTACT  Website:  www.chatinthecommons.com Instagram: @chatinthecommons X: @ChatInCommons Email:  https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact

    1 hr

  3. 11/04/2025

    Not Your Baby Machine | 14

    A chat about babies and birthrates. In our final episode on the 4B movement, Natalie and Elle unpack the many reasons why women across the world are opting out of procreating. It is being proclaimed that the human birthrate is in free fall and that we are in a ‘plummeting population crisis’ - but is the birthrate panic warranted? We look at the environmental, economic, political,  evolutionary and social theories as to why the human boom may be slowing down.  In this jam-packed episode, we also take a critical look at the contradictory messages women receive about our role as creators of new life, and discuss examples of ill-fated government interventions into women’s bodily autonomy - including China, Germany, Romania and the US. We try to wrap our minds around the pronatalism movement and the recent Trump Administration’s incentives for promoting motherhood, and present our own list of incentives that would actually be meaningful to women. We cover the boom-bust theory, evolutionary mate selection theories, DINKS and much more. EPISODE LINKS Martha Ahumuza | X Dr. Jennifer Glass | Paula Ferris Show   DINKS | Nordy on TikTok  DINKS Social The Elephant In The Womb | Grant Wyeth Declining birth rate Boom and Bust Cycle  Climate Apocalypse | Instagram Jen Unhinged Selective Gatekeepers | TikTok  Jen Unhinged 4 Things  | TikTok The Cost of Sexism by Linda Scott Natal Conference   CONTACT US Website:  www.chatinthecommons.com Instagram: @chatinthecommons X: @ChatInCommons Email:  https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact

    1h 11m

  4. 10/21/2025

    Motherhood on Trial | 13

    A chat about mothers and family court. After years of researching and documenting women’s experiences in family court, Elle and Natalie share their observations and insights of what happens in this very hidden and secret world.  Through the lens of “what’s old is new,” we discover that while the tools have changed, the aim is the same - to punish women who dare to defy the patriarchal script for marriage and motherhood. What used to be the scold’s bridle, lobotomy, or being thrown in the psych ward - today looks more like gag orders, criminalization of mothers, forced impoverishment through vexatious litigation, and many other legal instruments that sabotage the mother-child relationship. In this episode, we talk about how the system of family court is used by abusers to maintain their power and control, we talk about the misogyny that permeates the institution, and share the shock most women experience upon discovering the realities of these courts.  We highlight how this is not a court of law, but rather a court of discretion which has no oversight, transparency or accountability.  In Motherhood on Trial, we try to understand why this is happening and what we can do to disengage from, and fight, the damage being done to women through this multibillion dollar industry.  EPISODE LINKS Project 2025 - Fatherhood p.481 Grant Wyeth | Subject to Power WeSpoke Take Care of Maya Mothers Lost | WeSpoke Three Planets Model - Marianne Hester | What Doesn’t Kill Me Joan Meier 2020 Study on Child Custody Outcomes UN Special Rapporteur on VAW&G | Reem Alsalem UN Report on Parental Alienation  Family Court Power and Control Wheel NY Senate Joint Public Hearing on Family Courts 2023 Wendy Murphy on the ERA | Phil in the Blanks CONTACT US Website:  www.chatinthecommons.com Instagram: @chatinthecommons X: @ChatInCommons Email:  https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact

    1h 15m

  5. 10/07/2025

    Sexodus | 12 Part 2

    A continued chat about sex. In this episode we reveal the remaining results of our sex survey and chat about the risks women take when we have sex with men - from STDs to pregnancy to men’s sexual violence. We also cover contraception, revenge porn, candaulism, sexual coercion, sex strikes, the 4B movement in South Korea, and the shape that this movement is taking in the West.   EPISODE LINKS Male Contraception Pill | Dr. Harini Bhat He Chose Porn Over Me | Melinda Tankard Reist The Hellscape Files with Melinda Tankard Reist | Subject to Power Practicing Celibacy | Tera Chantelle TikTok Men Sharing Wive’s Naked Pictures | Psychology Today Resistance Through No Sex CONTACT US Website:  www.chatinthecommons.com Instagram: @chatinthecommons X: @ChatInCommons Email:  https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact

    32 min

  6. 09/23/2025

    Sexodus | 12 Part 1

    A chat about sex. In this third episode of our series on the 4B movement, we explore the various reasons why many women are opting out of sexual relationships with men. Elle and Natalie share some of their own lived experiences, along with interesting new research, and a lot of giggles. In Sexodus Part 1 we talk about the differences between female and male sexuality and sexual pleasure, the pornification of sex and dangerous sexual practices. We also discuss  what women actually want and need in bed. EPISODE LINKS South Korean Pink Map | The Guardian 6B4T Movement Why Women Boycott Men | NPR Colin McEnroe Show She Comes First | Ian Kerner Come As You Are | Emily Nagoski Sex At Dawn | Dr. Christopher Ryan  Dr. Christopher Ryan | The Minimalists Podcast  Masters and Johnson Pornland | Gail Dines Culture Reframed Porn is a Battlefield with Gail Dines | Subject to Power Collective Shout He Chose Porn Over Me | Melinda Tankard Reist The Hellscape Files with Melinda Tankard Reist | Subject to Power Porn Speak | Whitt Marie TikTok Strangulation Report 2024 DV Stroke Report 2022 Strangulation Institute Factsheet CONTACT US  Website:  www.chatinthecommons.com Instagram: @chatinthecommons X: @ChatInCommons Email:  https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact

    46 min

  7. 09/09/2025

    Women in the Wild | 11

    A chat with campers at an all-women’s summer camp.  In this special episode, we take you on a trip into the woods, where you’ll meet women from every walk of life and hear why they made the long journey into the wilderness to gather.  In the midst of what we perceive to be a profound cultural awakening, the women we met spoke from the heart about what is happening around them and the burning issues that are impacting their inner lives, their families, communities and the culture at large. Our chats touch on the importance of female friendships, women’s sex-based rights, what we are teaching NextGen, the impacts of gender ideology on women, lesbian spaces, our relationships to men, pursuing freedom and safety, sexism, radical feminism and political organizing, fighting isolation and the healing properties of women’s gatherings.  EPISODE LINKS WoLF RadFem Summer Camp Irreversible Damage | Abigail Shrier MATRIA | Association of Women, Mothers & Workers of Brazil LGB Alliance The Galavan  FIST - Feminists In Struggle WDI - Women's Declaration International CONTACT  Website:  www.chatinthecommons.com Instagram: @chatinthecommons X: @ChatInCommons Email:  https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact

    1 hr

  8. 07/22/2025

    Endless Work | 10

    A chat about women and work. When talking about labor, we divide paid work from unpaid work, men’s work from women’s work, domestic labor from professional work, and work that is considered valuable versus work that is invisible. In a conversation that goes far beyond the pay gap, we examine what “work” means to women. In this episode Elle and Natalie unpack the man-as-breadwinner myth, the working mother double bind, the varied reasons women exit the paid workforce, the mirage of the stay-at-home-mom life, and women’s true contributions to the world economy. EPISODE LINKS Teetads | Tik Tok Cynthia Enloe Interview | Subject to Power Globalization and Militarism | Cynthia Enloe Gender Pay Gap | Pew Research Why Women Leave Their Jobs | Forbes Women in the Workplace Report | LeanIn Willmar 8 | PBS Willmar 8 | MN Historical Society Penalty of Unpaid Work | UN Women Maternity Leave | World Population Review Working Moms work 2 ½ full time jobs | ABC7 NY Paris Paloma Interview Paris Paloma | The Late Show CONTACT US Website:  www.chatinthecommons.com Instagram: @chatinthecommons X: @ChatInCommons Email:  https://www.chatinthecommons.com/contact  CREDITS Hosted by Natalie Blundell and Elle Kamihira Produced by Natalie Blundell and Elle Kamihira Edited by Elle Kamihira Audio Engineering by Jason Sheesley at Abridged Audio Cover Art by Reda Tomingas Music by Midnight Door Theme Song by Moushumi

    59 min
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5
out of 5
21 Ratings

About

Have women truly achieved equality or are we losing all our rights? Colliding narratives tell us on the one hand that women can do anything, while on the other we’re being shackled and shut down. Natalie Blundell and Elle Kamihira chat candidly about how women are actually faring in our cultures and in our lives, and highlight the positive changes being made across the world. See you in The Commons.

Information

  • Creator
    Elle Kamihira & Natalie Blundell
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    19
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    Chat In The Commons