Feminist TV documentarian is not a title I set out to earn when I started podcasting in 2015. Award-winning TV writer Georgia Jeffries assigned the title spontaneously, during a zoom call . The scores of books read and interviews conducted have led me to threads of untold feminist history.

Last year I wrote that I had undertaken writing a book. Mary B. Trevor is my writing colleague and a legal writing professor. Together we wrestled with the topic’s scope and organization, only to receive an excellent suggestion. An academic author advised that we write at least the first two sections as law review articles. 

Mary has taught legal writing for decades at a Minnesota law school to hundreds of students. She’s a firm believer that legalese (stilted writing) does the reader no favors. We are working hard to make these law review articles accessible for the regular reader as well as law student. As an editor on many legal books and articles, Mary’s got an eagle eye for detail. All this and she’s a true blue friend to boot!

So here we are, six months later, reviewing every line (and extensive footnote). We intend to pitch our first article for publication later this summer. Our call with Georgia Jeffries was part of our research. She observed  that given our inter-disciplinary exploration of context and original research, we are in fact feminist documentarians! 

It just goes to show you never know where your interest will take you! I’ve held many titles in my professional, civic and personal life. I’ll gladly claim feminist TV documentarian!