Gender, Sexuality, Reproduction and the State: Fighting Back Against the So-Called Law (DP x S25)

This episode was recorded live at the 2025 Socialism Conference in Chicago, where we collaborated with conference organizers to host four discussions over the first weekend in July. All four recordings are now available for Death Panel patrons at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod feat. Beatrice, Sophie Lewis, Melissa Gira Grant Session description: As the state intensifies its assault on gender, sexuality, and reproduction—criminalizing abortion, trans care, and pregnancy outcomes, dismantling government functions to fight "gender ideology," and defining "real women" under the guise of protection—how do we endure and resist? Under the shadow of a second Trump administration, the erosion of rights is not a glitch but a feature of a broader regime of privatization and control. Journalist Melissa Gira Grant, and authors Sophie Lewis and Beatrice Adler-Bolton discuss how today's attacks are part of a longer history of state repression, and how we can build resistance in an era of hyper-austerity and rising fascism. Editor's Note: About 8 minutes in, we had to temporarily switch to our local audio backup to restore a piece of the conversation that is absent in the livestreamed version. The audio quality gets better again around the 16 minute mark. Find our Socialism Conference 2025 sessions that have yet to be unlocked here: Dean Spade on Community Care in the Face of Collapse (DP x S25) — Bea, Dean Spade www.patreon.com/posts/134644217 Thanks to Han Olliver for our Death Panel x Socialism Conference 2024 poster image, which is being used as the cover image for this episode on platforms that support it. Find and support Han's work at www.hanolliver.com Find our book Health Communism here: www.versobooks.com/books/4081-health-communism Find Tracy's book, Abolish Rent, here: www.haymarketbooks.org/books/2443-abolish-rent Find Phil's new book, Counting Like a State, here: kansaspress.ku.edu/9780700639687/ Death Panel merch here (patrons get a discount code): www.deathpanel.net/merch As always, support Death Panel at www.patreon.com/deathpanelpod