American Women Making History and Culture: 1963-1982

  • Mendola Report: Mary Mendola and Francis Clayton interviews

    Interview with Mary Mendola, author of “The Mendola Report: A New Look At Gay Couples” [Crown, 1980] and Dr. Frances Clayton, lesbian psychologist and therapist, about Mendola’s survey of gay couples and interviews with and about gay couples. Mendola talks about her use of the word “marriage” to describe committed same-sex relationships and Clayton discusses…

  • Karen Cosden interviewed by Eileen Zalisk: March 21, 1979

    Eileen Zalisk interviews Karen Cosden[sp?] about women and sex hormones. “Fighting the Crisis of Sex Hormones” will be the theme of an upcoming conference covering the drug DES (banned in 1973), which was prescribed to pregnant women to prevent complications during pregnancy but was shown to have numerous debilitating side effects, including cancer and birth…

  • The Lesbian Show: July 15, 1980 – Third World Lesbian Writers Conference (2nd annual)

    The Lesbian Show, produced by Donna Allegra, features readings from the 2nd Annual Third World Lesbian Writers Conference in April 1980, sponsored by the Azalea collective and Salsa Soul. Audre Lorde opened the night reading “Need.” The following readers are Imani, Joan Gibbs, Anita Cornwell, Isis, Arisa Reed, Candice Boyce, Chirlane McCray, and Jabu reading…

  • Masters and Johnson. (Part 2 of 2)

    William H. Masters (1915 – 2001) and Virginia E. Johnson (1925 – 2013), the St. Louis-based sexologists better known as Masters & Johnson, discuss sex and religion, sex facts and fallacies, the aging factor in sex, approaches to sex, and misinformation about sex, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque in December, 1973. A…

  • Interview with Jean Stein, author of Edie: An American biography

    David Rothenberg talks to Jean Stein (b. 1934), author of “Edie: An American Biography” about the life of actress/socialite Edie Sedgwick, and Stein’s daughter Wendy vanden Heuvel.

  • Well, the words have changed anyway (Part 1 of 4)

    In this first program in the series “You must go home again: 1970,” Marcia Tompkins introduces this new series, reads a bit of her recent writing, then plays the first program “Some voices of the town” from her 1965 “You must go home again” series That recording is followed with interviews with her family and…

  • New York Radical Feminists’ talk about the 1971 Rape Speakout

    This is a February 1985 rebroadcast of a 1971 episode of Womankind, hosted by Nanette Rainone. Rainone interviews four members of the New York Radical Feminists (not introduced) about the Rape Speakout they are organizing for January 24, 1971 at St. Clements Episcopal Church in Manhattan. The speakout will consist of testimony by women on…

  • Adrienne Rich: an interview and reading / interview by Susan Howe (Part 2 only)

    Poet Adrienne Rich (1929 – 2012) is interviewed by Susan Howe and reads from her book of poetry, “Dream of a Common Language.” The program was funded by a grant from National Endowment for the Arts. Produced by Susan Howe and recorded by Camilla Kirby. Archives only has part 2 of 2. Note: End credits…

  • Erica Jong reads her poetry

    Erica Jong reads her poems. Included are Mother, at 2:47 Paper Cuts, at 5:14 The Evidence, at 10:13 For Marriage, at 11:47 The Sendoff. Some of these poems were published in her book of poetry “Half-Lives” in June 1973. This recording may be from that time. Contains sensitive language.

  • Vanessa Redgrave: candidate for Parliament / Paul McIsaac

    Vanessa Redgrave, campaigning for a seat in Parliament for the Worker’s Revolutionary Party (Redgrave is a Marxist and a famous actress), canvasses council housing, or low income houses, in Great Britain and is recorded doing so and defending her politics to a reporter in this program by Paul McIsaac (WBAI reporter) during his visit to…