Jane Fonda on How to Turn Rage Into Hope: On with Kara Swisher
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Thank you.
Hi, everyone. This is Pivot from New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network. I'm Kara Swisher. We're off for the holiday today, but we have something very special for you. My Jane Fonda interview on On with Kara Swisher. We talk about how to fight for democracy and the environment when both are under attack. She breaks down her PACS electoral strategy and explains why the voices of artists matter and how to use action to beat back depression and despair. And she shares a couple of secrets for living well at any age.
I was so depressed. And then I said, fuck it. I said, I'm going to make a difference.
Hi, everyone. From New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network, this is On with Kara Swisher, and I'm Kara Swisher. My guest today is legendary actor and activist Jane Fonda. Over the past five decades, Jane has fought for peace, civil rights, indigenous rights, women's rights, and the environment, among others.
What motivates Jane Fonda to continue her activism?
And Jane is fighting harder than ever. She recently relaunched the committee for the First Amendment. She's been outspoken in her defense of democracy against the threat of Trumpist authoritarianism. And her political action committee, the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, has helped elect over 200 candidates across the country.
How does Jane Fonda's Climate PAC plan to impact midterm elections?
I'm excited to talk to her because I'm exhausted and she's not, and therefore I can't be. One of the things about Jane Fonda is she was very right during Vietnam, and she's very right now. She's always been on the cutting edge of things, and most importantly, as opposed to a lot of people from Hollywood, which you feel kind of is a mile wide and a foot deep, she really walks the talk and does do activism in a way that I think is very effective and is part of the broader culture of people in Hollywood and celebrities doing it, but she's incredibly effective. Our expert question comes from someone else I really like, Chelsea Handler. who Jane did a solid for once, and you can hear about that soon.
Jane isn't just a legend, she's an inspiration. So stick around.
Jane, thanks for coming on on. Thank you for having me, Cara. It's an honor, obviously, for lots of reasons. But we ran into each other in Aspen, I think, correct? At the airport. And we talked about this a long time ago. Yeah, I remember. So let's talk about what you're doing now. You've been an activist for much of your life.
What strategies does Jane Fonda suggest for grassroots activism?
You got a lot of pushback for that. The National Security Agency spied on you. You spent your 82nd birthday in jail, getting arrested for protesting in a climate change protest. Talk a little bit about what's happening now, because now you've Again, you've never stopped, but you've reengaged on these issues around Rene Good and Alex Preddy and federal agents and all these arrests.
Well, I'm going to step back to the macro view of it, I think. We're basically globally, we face two existential crises. climate and democracy. And they're totally interrelated, interdependent, and they have to be solved together. And the clock is ticking on the climate crisis. So after the Fire Drill Fridays, which were the rallies that we had for about five months in D.C. in 2019, and then for a couple of years online during the COVID crisis, when that ended, me and my team looked at each other and said, you know... All of us collectively have been involved in decades of protest and civil disobedience and writing books and articles, et cetera. And we haven't gotten the legislation that we need that's commensurate with what science is saying.
This is during the Biden administration. Right. And so we said, and we know the reason. The reason is because so many of our elected officials take money from the fossil fuel industry. And so we decided to create the Jane Fonda Climate Pack. And we decided strategically to focus down ballot. This was five years ago. This is what the Tea Party did. State legislators, city councils, boards of supervisors, school boards, public utilities. These positions have tremendous power when it comes to decision-making on climate issues. whether a toxic dump has to be taken away, whether a pipeline will come through the town.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:10
2
What motivates Jane Fonda to continue her activism?
1:10–1:27
3
How does Jane Fonda's Climate PAC plan to impact midterm elections?
1:27–2:40
4
What strategies does Jane Fonda suggest for grassroots activism?
2:40–4:46
5
How does Jane Fonda define hope in the context of activism?
4:46–5:54
6
What role do artists play in fighting for democracy?
5:54–8:57
7
How does Jane Fonda view the relationship between climate change and democracy?
8:57–9:40
8
What lessons did Jane Fonda learn from her past activism?
9:40–45:56
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from Pivot
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