You Might Like: Women & Politics Recommendations from The Persistent

Welcome to You Might Like, a new recommendations column from The Persistent. Every Friday we’ll send you a short list of things like great books, compelling podcasts, exhibitions and albums, that Persistent staff, contributors, writers and illustrators are loving—things we think you might like, too.

This week, on the heels of U.S. Election Day, we are sharing our recommendations around women and politics: Organizations, books, podcasts and Substacks, even pins and T-shirts that celebrate our hard-earned right to vote, plus a little escapism TV along the way.

While the political landscape has been a difficult place for women and women’s rights in the last few years, women won big in some important races this week. Detroit voters elected the city’s first woman mayor, Mary Sheffield, Virginia elected its first women governor, Abigail Spanberger, and Mikie Sherrill will become New Jersey’s second woman governor, to name a few.

We have a long way to go (women still only make up about 30% of elected seats both state- and nationwide) but we think these recommendations will help you keep hope alive.  

Read: Shirley Chisholm was the first Black candidate for a major party nomination for president of the United States. She ran in 1972. One of the reasons I admire her so much is that she knew her chances of victory were microscopic, but she ran anyway. She was a fearless, "unbought" and "unbossed" catalyst for change. Ultimately, she showed us that in politics and beyond, losing does not mean defeat. Sure, a victory can supercharge progress, but not winning? That can actually be just as powerful. If you want to learn more about Shirley Chisholm, her book "Unbought and Unbossed"—which is part memoir, part social criticism, part manifesto for change—is a great place to start.
— Josie Cox, Founding Editor & Writer

Listen: Julia Gillard became the prime minister of Australia in 2010, the first—and still only—woman to hold the role. Jacinda Ardern became the prime minister of New Zealand seven years later. The two former world leaders trade stories and compare experiences (and so much laughter) in this delightful episode of Gillard’s podcast, “A Podcast of One’s Own.” They talk door knocking, childhood passions, characterizations in the media of women politicians, children (having them and not), their constituents, ambition, and the role of gender which, in Ardern’s case, she constantly tried to overlook while in office: “My gender was not my dominant experience of my time in leadership.” 
— Francesca Donner, Editor-in-Chief & Founder

Wear: It’s only been 105 years since women won their hard-earned right to vote. I think about that every year on Election Day, when I make sure to cast my ballot in every election, no matter how small. Honor the sacrifice of the women who came before us to fight for this right by proudly wearing suffragist merch to the polls! The History List has a whole page of items dedicated to suffragists including authentic replicas of suffrage pins. Or shop the small Brooklyn-based women-owned shop Love and Victory for “Vote For Women” pins, totes and T-shirts .
– Kathleen Davis, Executive Editor 

Read: If you have kids in your life I highly recommend Sofia Valdez, Future Prez by Andrea Beaty. It’s an inspiring story about a 2nd Grade girl who battles City Hall to transform the town garbage dump into a park. I read it to my daughter’s Girl Scout troop this year as they worked to earn their "democracy for daisies” badge.
– Kathleen Davis, Executive Editor 

Listen: I love Julia Louis Dreyfus’ amazing podcast Wiser Than Me. She always manages to humanize larger-than-life personalities through her intimate and vulnerable conversations. I especially loved her interview with the activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta, now 95, which inspired me to do better and reminded me that it’s never too late.
– Cat Willett, Illustrator 

Support: We know that any organization is more successful when women and men are given equal footing at the top. The British charity 50:50 Parliament is seeking just that: equality of representation in the British government. This week, it dropped figures showing that as of the next election, if we don’t take action, women MPs could drop from 41% to 26%. You can help the charity prevent that by buying a limited-edition 'Seat at the Table' T-shirt from its collaboration with the fashion brand House of Kind.
— Emma Haslett, Managing Editor

Follow: New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's Gen Z-friendly social media presence has been credited with helping reach a new generation of voters. For that, you can thank a team of savvy social media managers, including Gabriella Zutrau. Her pitch to include Manychat, the service that automatically DMs you on Instagram, didn't just help people get involved with Mamdani's campaign, it also changed the way politics works on social media. Read Rachel Karten's interview with Zutrau on her substack Link in Bio.
– Han Goldstein, Social Media Editor 

Watch: "Hostage," a Netflix series. While I chose this fictional thriller for the purpose of escapism, I got fully pulled into its universe! How can you not when the protagonist is the female prime minister of the U.K.?
— Melanie Winer, Advisor

Subscribe: My current favorite political Substack is Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American. As a professor of history, Richardson always manages to put today’s political events, no matter how insane, into some kind of context. (Hmmm. This has happened before!!) I find that dose of context comforting.
– Paula Derrow, Features Editor

What are you obsessed with right now? Send your recommendations to hello@persistent.com and we might feature them in a future edition of You Might Like. We’ll be back with more next Friday!