Gloria Steinem, CIA Asset?
Summary
This episode investigates the 1975 Red Stockings press release accusing Gloria Steinem of being a CIA agent, a claim rooted in her early work for a CIA-funded student organization. Host Kristen Conger contextualizes the allegation within the broader 1970s feminist splintering, highlighting tensions between liberal and radical wings and the impact of FBI surveillance on movement solidarity. The narrative traces Steinem’s media rise and the subsequent legal threats that led to the censorship of the Red Stockings’ anthology, illustrating how personal jealousy and conspiratorial thinking fractu…
Topics discussed
Sponsor: Citizens Bank
1975: The state of the women's liberation movement
The Red Stockings press conference and CIA allegations
Context: CIA domestic spying and Operation Chaos
The Red Stockings' specific accusations against Steinem
The Independent Research Service and Steinem's 1959 work
Clay Felker, New York Magazine, and the rise of Ms.
Evaluating the conspiracy: Truth vs. Conflation
Sponsor: Citizens Bank
Gloria Steinem's background and media celebrity
Ms. Magazine's initial response to the accusations
Steinem's lengthy statement and critical reception
Reactions from Betty Friedan and other feminists
Legal threats and the censorship of 'Feminist Revolution'
FBI security clearance and the radical vs. liberal divide
Ellen Willis's perspective and the movement's fracture
Conclusion: Surveillance, purity tests, and Steinem's legacy
Outro and call to action
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