[[link removed]] Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | December 13, 2025
Dear John,
The Heritage Foundation—the architects behind Project 2025, the policy agenda that has shaped many of the Trump Administration’s actions this year—have released their policy agenda for 2026. What’s on the menu? "Restor[ing] the nuclear family to the center of American life.” Shrinking the federal agencies that regulate health, safety, and labor protection. Increasing voting restrictions and eliminating efforts like ranked choice voting that increase representation for women and people of color. Further crackdowns on immigration. And so much more. The agenda is exactly what you’d expect from the Project 2025 authors: a playbook of further ways to restrict democracy, curtail the rights of women and minorities and prop up Trump.
Heritage’s leaders are now openly celebrating what they are calling “Heritage 2.0,” complete with national advertising campaigns and promises to “dismantle the deep state”—which includes the very agencies charged with enforcing civil rights for women and marginalized communities.
As I write in the article below, their message is unmistakable: They are coming for reproductive freedom. They are coming for voting rights. They are coming for LGBTQ+ equality. They are coming for the federal protections that women rely on every day.
But Project 2026 is not destiny. It is a warning—and one we must answer with the full force of a movement that has never accepted a future written for us by someone else.
Whenever I feel our fight for equality couldn’t get any harder, I think about Iranian human rights activist Reza Khandan. This week marks one year since he was arrested for standing up for Iranian women’s rights to appear in public without the mandatory hijab. On Dec. 14, 2024, Reza was arrested at his home and taken away without having a moment to say goodbye to his family. He is now facing another two and a half years in the foul and overcrowded Evin Prison, the same facility that held his wife, internationally acclaimed human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, for over half a decade. Political prisoners in authoritarian regimes are meant to disappear into hopeless silence, but Reza has become a force to be reckoned with. “Leaders of authoritarian governments do not want to hear anything except praise. They always deem themselves to be an exception to the lessons of history,” he told TIME in May. “But they should know, history doesn’t have any exceptions.”
Whether it’s from inside a prison cell or on the streets of U.S. cities, in classrooms or in courtrooms, our battles against authoritarianism are all a part of the same fight. The coming year will test our resolve. But we have marched before. We have organized before. We have voted in record numbers before. And we will do it again—because women’s rights are not a “radical ideology,” they are the foundation of a free and democratic society. And we intend to keep it that way.
Onward,
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Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor
P.S. — I wanted to make sure you saw the very important letter from Gloria Steinem included below. In this holiday season when families and friends gather, Gloria reminds us of the isolation of women in prison, and the importance of letting them know they are seen and valued. A generous donor has pledged a challenge grant of $10,000 if we can raise $20,000 for the Ms. Prison and Domestic Violence Shelter Program. Please give today so that we can secure this important opportunity. [[link removed]] And be sure to ask if your employer has a Matching Gifts Program—it’s an easy way to double the impact of your support at no additional cost to you.
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
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Project 2026 Declares Open War on Women’s Rights [[link removed]] Reza Khandan: A Year in Prison for Supporting Women’s Rights [[link removed]]
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For Women Spending the Holidays in Prison or a Shelter, You Can Make a Difference [[link removed]] ‘Ms. Does Not Flinch’: Why Independent Feminist Journalism Matters [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on
Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
In July, the Justice Department released a controversial report about Jeffrey Epstein. Now with the release of over 23,000 files associated with Epstein, questions are being raised about the scope and scale of this sex trafficking ring and its connections to power. The House Oversight Committee has yet to hear testimony from Epstein survivors, despite urging by Rep. Ayanna Presley and others. In this episode, Dr. Goodwin is joined by journalist Moira Donegan to discuss the implications of the files, and what needs to be done in order for his victims to receive justice.
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U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For over 50 years, Ms . has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you [[link removed]] . We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity .
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