Justice Archives - KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show · Burt Cohen

Feminism and Philanthropy: Powerful Combination

·1 hr·4 clips

The Stop Terror Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act could create a chill factor for free speech.

1. Justice Archives - KDA Keeping Democracy Alive Podcast & Radio Show focuses on feminism, philanthropy, and U.S. foreign policy. 2. Bert Cohen hosts Christine Ahn, founder and international coordinator of Women Cross DMZ, and fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies. 3. The episode asks whether a feminist playbook can reshape philanthropy and make U.S. foreign policy more democratic. 4. Ahn says modern Western decisions about government and philanthropy have mostly been made by rich, powerful white men. 5. She connects that concentration of power to Trump’s inner circle and to the role of wealthy nationalist men in policy making. 6. Ahn argues that giving money away is an exercise of power because it sits outside formal government policy. 7. She says Women Cross DMZ grew out of education, advocacy, and organizing around the Korean War and anti-war work. 8. Ahn describes the Feminist Peace Initiative, launched with Madre and Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, as a five-year effort to build a grassroots movement. 9. She says the group is creating a feminist playbook and hopes to launch the report in March during International Women's Month. 10. She notes that 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing UN Conference on Women and the anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. 11. Ahn cites a 2020 study of 32 OECD countries and says the most militarized were Israel and the U.S. 12. She says the study found that greater militarization meant less democracy, using civil liberties and free speech as criteria. 13. Ahn says Americans want peace, an end to endless wars, and less surveillance, but those views do not shape budgets or elections. 14. She says the United States is approaching a trillion dollars in Pentagon spending, which she calls obscene and ludicrous. 15. Ahn argues that the Stop Terror Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act could create a chill factor for philanthropy. 16. She says the bill could silence groups that helped change the public narrative about Gaza and could threaten free speech and assembly. 17. The interview stays direct and policy-focused, with Bert Cohen pressing follow-up questions about democracy, war, and money. 18. Ahn’s delivery mixes history, activism, and specific examples from South Korea, Gaza, and North Korea. 19. Best for listeners interested in feminist organizing, philanthropy, and peace policy. 20. Skip if you want a light, entertainment-first conversation.

As heard by us

A sharp look at philanthropy as power, with feminism at the center.

Philanthropy is treated here less as a benevolent ideal than as a place where power gets negotiated. The conversation links women in power, migration, war, democracy, and the institutions that shape policy, and it keeps a measured public-affairs cadence that suits the subject.

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Why you'd press play

Philanthropy, feminism, and democracy collide in one bracing conversation.

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