We’re so pleased to share the Very First Episode of our new podcast, out today. You can listen right here in Substack, or follow these links on over to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and iHeart!
Meet Estelle.
Once a Parisian expat and professional singer, she used her experience resettling WWII refugees–and her social status as a privileged white woman–to force the United States Supreme Court to examine laws that were preventing women from getting birth control.
How did she do it? By setting up an illegal family-planning clinic in New Haven, CT, and inviting the cops to come arrest her.
Researching Estelle’s life was a thrilling undertaking. We found out that there was an oral history archive, with a multi-hour interview she gave in 1976, still on actual tape! First we got a digitized copy of the typed-up transcripts, about 57 pages, and the stories she told looked incredible. We requested having them digitized, and while that process took months, they did not disappoint. So you’ll want to hear her tell her story in her own words.
3 fun extras for your amusement & edification:
1) More Estelle
There was more fun material than we could fit in the episode. So here’s an extra clip, of Estelle describing her first sojourn to Paris as a young woman:
You can also see Estelle and her co-conspirator, Dr. Lee Buxton of Yale University, in this video on C-SPAN
2) Catherine Roraback
Catherine Roraback litigated Estelle’s case—no small feat when she was the only woman to graduate from her law class at Yale in 1948. She later defended Black Panther member Ericka Huggins. Her story deserves its own biopic!
3) Phineus Taylor Barnum
Another sub-plot we didn’t have enough time for was about P.T. Barnum, as in Barnum & Bailey Circus. Besides his circus shenanigans, his much-less-known but even more damaging legacy was his legislative contribution to the state of Connecticut. That’s right, he was a state senator, too. And in 1879, he introduced a bill which made it illegal for married couples to use contraception.
For a deep dive into all his villainy, including a look at his awful “mermaid” exhibit, check out this salty Dirtbags Through the Ages post, or this Smithsonian article.
Though we released Episodes 1 and 2 on the major platforms today (for the binge-listeners among you), we’ll save our episode 2 companion-email for next week. We’re on a biweekly schedule and I don’t want you to forget about us! [Insert gif of Judd Nelson walking to the tune of Don’t You (Forget About Me)” here.]
With you in hope & action,
Carolyn
Estelle Griswold show notes
00:00 The Overturning of Roe v. Wade
01:19 The Inspiration Behind the Podcast
03:06 Estelle's Early Life
04:39 Estelle's Journey to Planned Parenthood
09:06 The Legal Battle Begins
18:25 Griswold v. Connecticut: The Supreme Court Case
22:16 The Legacy of Griswold v. Connecticut
25:29 The Lasting Impact of Contraceptive Access
27:26 Next Episode Preview
Transcript available here.
Guest
Martha Bailey is a Professor of Economics at UCLA and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Bailey’s research focuses on issues in labor economics, demography and health in the United States within the long-run perspective of economic history. Her work has examined the implications of the diffusion of modern contraception for women’s childbearing, career decisions, and the gender gap in wages.
Estelle Griswold’s voice comes to us thanks to the Schlesinger Library at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
Resources
Learn about the idea of Reproductive Justice: https://www.sistersong.net/about-x2
Donate to abortion funds: https://abortionfunds.org/
General resources about abortion: https://www.ineedana.com/
Find Us Online
Credits
- Host & Producer: Carolyn Silveira. Website: www.carolynsilveira.com, Instagram: @cmoneycmonster Substack: https://rhymeschemes.substack.com
- Producer: Jennifer Bassett, Big Din Productions Website: www.bigdinproductions.com
- Editor: Carolyn Silveira & Jennifer Bassett
- Mixing: Max Liebman - Theme music: Katrina Zemrak
- Cover art: Mauricio Diaz
About Us
Extra+Ordinary is a despair-free podcast about abortion & reproductive justice that looks to the past – to fuel our fight for the future.
Join host Carolyn Silveira, a writer and social justice advocate, for inspiring stories of the people and moments that changed history, giving women (and all people) more control over our bodies and lives. From an evangelical doctor who became an abortion provider to “nice housewives” who risked jail time to help other women, we’ll learn how ordinary people can do extraordinary things.
#1: How Estelle Griswold broke the law to change the law