Intersectionality Matters!

When a Cornell student known as Jane Doe came forward alleging she was assaulted by seven fellow students, the "Cornell Seven", it ignited a national firestorm. It also resurfaced an old pattern of institutional betrayal that universities, police, and the legal system have repeated for decades when women report sexual abuse.

In this episode, host Kimberlé Crenshaw is joined by philosopher Kate Manne and journalist Kirsten West Savali to examine the Cornell case alongside that of Kendall Francis, a Black student at LSU whose story received a fraction of the attention. Together, they trace the through line from Anita Hill to Tarana Burke, interrogate the "bro code" and himpathy that shield perpetrators, and ask why the public still struggles to side with the most vulnerable.

This episode includes clips from:

Mickey Atkins

CBC News

ABC News and ABC News

Kendall Francis via Jess Francis 101

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

Host Kimberlé Crenshaw

Sr. Producer Nicole Edwards

Associate Producer Aniah Francis

Cover Art Ashley Julien

Research from The African American Policy Forum

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Host Kimberlé Crenshaw launches Intersectionality Matters' 2026 election series with philosopher Jason Stanley (How Fascism Works) and journalist Kirsten West Savali. Together they connect three headlines: the raid on Rep. Ilhan Omar's home, the plan to live-stream a public execution, and AOC's remark that "woke 1.0 was crazy", into a unified portrait of a democracy under fascist threat.

New episodes drop weekly on Fridays through November 3rd.

This episode includes clips from:

MS NOW

⁠CNN

Riverside Church Livestream

Guardian News

France 24 English

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

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Order Kimberlé Crenshaw's book, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Backtalker: An American Memoir⁠⁠⁠

Honouring the life and legacy of Gloria Steinem, host Kimberlé Crenshaw is joined by scholars Beverly Guy-Sheftall and Salamishah Tillet for an intimate conversation about the ways Steinem touched their lives, and affected history.

This episode includes clips from:

Yahoo News

Time Magazine

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

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Order Kimberlé Crenshaw's book, ⁠⁠⁠Backtalker: An American Memoir⁠⁠⁠

Host Kimberlé Crenshaw and author Jamilah Lemieux reflect on how it feels to release their first memoirs.

On the heeels of the release of Backtalker: An American Memoir, author Kimberlé Crenshaw embarks on a series of conversations with fellow Backtalkers — those who speak truth to power and habitually challenge injustices that others deem unfixable. This is episode two. For the inaugural episode of the series, go back to episode 79 with Cheryl Harris.

In this episode, you'll hear abou the reclamation of “baby mama,” how popular culture and respectability politics shaped perceptions of Black families, and Lemieux’s shifting understanding of how we define family. The conversation traces the Moynihan Report’s lasting influence across Black political thought, and connects it to debates about Black solidarity across genders, accountability for harm to Black women, and policy priorities in inititiatives like My Brother’s Keeper. Lemieux also discusses what motivates her to keep Backtalking, despite backlash.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions.

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Order Kimberlé Crenshaw's book, Backtalker: An American Memoir

America turns 250—the momentous milestone comes to us cloaked in surreality. Anniversaries usually ask us to remember. This one asks whether we are willing to remember everything.

This episode explores why, after two and a half centuries, our national narrative still clings to the anti-Blackness embedded in the nation’s founding, all while insisting that this bleak history no longer deserves our attention.

How do we commemorate a republic built by people whose lives, labor, knowledge, and testimony are continually erased from the stories we tell about America? 

Host Kimberlé Crenshaw is joined by Sarah Lewis, Clint Smith, Mark Rosenbaum, and Ibram X Kendi.

Music by Blue Dot Sessions

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Order Kimberlé Crenshaw's book, ⁠Backtalker: An American Memoir⁠