The legacy Gloria Steinem leaves behind

**Dawn Hurdle** (0:01)
WBUR Podcasts, Boston.

**Gloria Steinem** (0:06)
It's the kind of blue collar working woman who needs these reforms the most, I think, and also poor women and welfare women. But I think it really is going forward on all levels at once.

**Chris Bentley** (0:18)
Remembering feminist icon Gloria Steinem. It's Thursday, September 3rd, and this is Here & Now Anytime from NPR and WBUR. I'm Chris Bentley.
Today on the show, President Trump's executive order aimed at restricting mail-in voting is causing headaches for some state election officials.

**Dawn Hurdle** (0:46)
We just anticipate law changes last minute. We have to be ready to pivot.

**Chris Bentley** (0:52)
Also basketball star Giannis Antetokounmpo says he learned how to shoot fadeaways after first practicing them in video games.

**Giannis Antetokounmpo** (1:00)
Sometimes things that you imagine and you do in the game, you go and you try them on the court and it works out.

**Chris Bentley** (1:08)
But first, the trailblazing journalist and feminist activist Gloria Steinem died yesterday at 92 years old. For decades, she challenged gender stereotypes, fought for reproductive freedom and supported equal pay for women. In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Steinem began her career as a journalist, writing about working undercover at the Playboy Club, exposing the sexism and poor working conditions for women there. She went on to serve as a founding editor and writer at New York Magazine, later launching her own publication, Ms. Magazine.
Her work and activism has inspired generations of women, including Amanda Nguyen. Nguyen is an astronaut and author of the sexual assault survivor Bill of Rights. She worked with Steinem on a masterclass about the feminist movement in the US, and today she spoke to Scott Tong.

**Amanda Nguyen** (2:02)
Well, of course, it's a bittersweet day.
I wouldn't be honest if I didn't say I do feel an immense and profound sense of grief. Of course, this loss that I feel made up of the memories that I have of this extraordinary human, is also coupled with the thought of what a gift Gloria has been to our entire world. Of course, to the feminist movement, but to every human being, and I wouldn't be where I am. The survivor rights movement for gender-based violence wouldn't be where it is without her.

**Scott Tong** (2:41)
Together, the two of you taught a masterclass. Can you talk about that class?

**Amanda Nguyen** (2:44)
Yeah, absolutely. You know, actually, that class was because Gloria wanted to share the stage. You know, I think the masterclass actually approached Gloria and saying, you know, would you like to teach? And she said, no, actually, I would do this if I'm able to bring other people along.

**Scott Tong** (2:59)
She wanted to share it with you.

**Amanda Nguyen** (3:02)
And others that were there. And so this is very to Gloria's principles. She believed in movement building. She believed that we are linked and not ranked, that revolutions like trees grow from the bottom up.
So these are quotes by her, by the way.

**Scott Tong** (3:21)
She has so many amazing quotes.

**Amanda Nguyen** (3:23)
I've been reflecting. Yes, you know, at her heart, she's a writer, you know, and groundbreaking Ms. Magazine.
I know she was about to go on a book tour for her memoir that's coming up and about to be published. So, you know, we're obviously looking forward to reading her memoir now in a world that she has no longer in but has created change.

**Scott Tong** (3:48)
Yeah. And just trying to kind of understand, because I find fascinating that, you know, the masterclass that you talk together. Do you remember what she said, what she expressed in the masterclass?

**Amanda Nguyen** (4:01)
The specific principles that she found important was that the most revolutionary act for a woman is to have her own journey.
And she wanted to emphasize that the barrier to entry to creating change is really just when we decide. And one of her quotes is, a movement is only people moving. And the way that she created change is, of course, enormous. That's what we honor her for today and always. But it was also micro on the individual level, on the empathy level. Another one of her quotes is, empathy is the most radical of human emotions. And she wanted to really teach and express that we all can make change, no matter who we are, where we come from. Yeah.

**Scott Tong** (4:52)
Your organization, RISE, advocates for survivors of sexual violence. How do you connect your work today to the work of Gloria Steinem and her generation?

**Amanda Nguyen** (5:03)
I mean, we wouldn't be where we are without her, you know, because she spoke up and showed us what political organizing looks like, you know, because she had such an incredible force in movement building and also in showing us the way that our voices matter. That created the foundation for our generation of activists. You know, for me, she specifically helped in mentoring on the United Nations resolution that we ended up passing. I remember once when we were on another book tour of hers, she had expressed advice on coalition building, how to get decision makers to listen to you, but also more importantly, how to organize our community so our voices are heard. You know, we would not have been able to pass these rights without her.