FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | DECEMBER 2, 2025
The episode is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and MsMagazine.com.
On the Issues with Michele Goodwin is a popular, issues and policy-focused podcast featuring feminist analysis, insightful conversations and exciting guests. This is the first podcast from Ms. magazine, a legacy feminist publication. In each episode, host Dr. Michele Goodwin and special guests will tackle the most compelling issues of our times, centering feminist concerns about rebuilding our nation and advancing the promise of equality.
Two special new episodes—On Surviving Epstein Part I (with Jess Michaels) and Part II (with Moira Donegan)—are available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and MsMagazine.com.
Over the past several months, the Epstein files have been extensively covered by the media. But too often, the voices of actual survivors are missing.
In our “On Surviving Epstein” episodes, Dr. Michele Goodwin is joined first by Jess Michaels, a sexual assault awareness advocate and Epstein survivor. Dr. Goodwin speaks with Jess about her experience as a survivor of sexual assault, her work as an advocate, and what she wants the public to know about sexual violence as news about Epstein and his connections to powerful men and women continues to come to light. And in Part II, Dr. Goodwin is joined by journalist Moira Donegan to discuss the implications of the files, and what needs to be done in order for his victims to receive justice.
This episode is part of an ongoing series at On the Issues on the Epstein Files. Joined by special guests including survivors, survivor advocates, and political experts, Dr. Goodwin unpacks the record, combs through the emails, speaks with reporters, and asks the fundamental question: what will it take for men in power to treat women and girls with dignity and respect?
You can find full transcripts for Part I and Part II, as well as a few excerpts below:
“He took advantage of a lot of people that were aspiring and hopeful, and he was giving them connections.” —Jess Michaels
“This is how grooming looks. It’s not just the individual person that does the abuse. There are enablers around them, there are people that are enabling it, and there are people that are a part of the grooming pipeline that help that predator get their fixation.” —Jess Michaels
“The impact of being disbelieved will be used to discredit you further. It’s a Catch-22. You’re driven crazy by how nobody believes you, and then nobody believes you because you seem kind of crazy. It’s a cycle, and I’ve seen it play out too many times.” —Moira Donegan
“There’s a persistent trivialization of sexual violence and a persistent granting of permissiveness and impunity for particularly the wealthy elite.” —Moira Donegan
Meet the Host of On the Issues: Dr. Michele Goodwin is a prolific thought leader on matters of constitutional law and health policy. In addition to Ms. magazine, Dr. Goodwin’s commentary can be read in The Atlantic, The New York Times, the Nation, CNN and The L.A. Times, among others. She holds the Linda D. & Timothy J. O’Neill chair in constitutional law and global health policy at Georgetown Law School and serves as the co-faculty director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. She is the executive producer of Ms. Studios.
About Ms. Magazine: Co-founded by Gloria Steinem in 1971 and published by the Feminist Majority Foundation since 2001, Ms. magazine has been a trusted, popular source for feminist news and information in print and online for over 50 years. Ms.’s time-honored traditions of an emphasis on in-depth investigative reporting and feminist political analysis have never been more relevant, bringing a new generation of writers and readers together to share news, analysis, research and strategies for fighting back and moving forward, for shaping the future.
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If you would like more information on the On the Issues with Michele Goodwin podcast, or to schedule an interview with Host and Executive Producer Michele Goodwin or Executive Producer & Ms. Executive Editor Katherine Spillar, please email press@msmagazine.com.
