Red Sauce and Reproductive Rights

This is Eating Out Loud, where Jessica Valenti talks with leading activists about the intersection between politics and food. Here, she’s in conversation with the president of Planned Parenthood Cecile Richards.

Leaders in political movements are so often treated as if their work is the whole of who they are, and I’ve seen this happen to Cecile Richards — the president of Planned Parenthood — more than most.

Over the years, I’ve gotten to know Richards as more than just an incredible leader for women, but as a funny and warm force of nature. Because of the work Planned Parenthood does, Richards and women’s health leaders like her often get dehumanized — flattened in the same way that political issues do. I want everyone to know this incredible woman for who she really is, and all she’s doing for women like me every single day.

Producers: Pelin Keskin and Mariya Pylayev
Special thanks to Butter & Scotch in Brooklyn, NY