Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

Episode: How MAHA Is Coming for Women

Crooked Media | September 25, 2025

Guests: Emma Goldberg (NYT Reporter), Kate Glavin (Content Creator, Podcaster)

Main Theme & Purpose

This episode examines the rise of the "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) movement—a right-wing health and wellness trend merging traditional wellness culture with far-right ideology. Host Stacey Abrams unpacks how health misinformation, social media algorithms, and a newly politicized wellness industry are being used to recruit women into right-wing politics, erode trust in public health, and promote anti-feminist ideals. She is joined by reporter Emma Goldberg and wellness influencer Kate Glavin to explore why this is happening, how it works, and what can be done to push back.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Wellness-to-Right-Wing Pipeline (06:19-09:33)

• Historical Context:

  • Wellness skepticism of Big Pharma and Big Food began on the left, but has been rapidly appropriated by the right, especially since the pandemic and the emergence of MAHA.
  • RFK Jr.'s appointment as Health Secretary in the Trump administration accelerated this ideological merger.
  • “MAHA is becoming for them a gateway to MAGA… a bridge to the broader political right.” — Emma Goldberg (07:48)

• Tactics:

  • Wellness influencers start with benign advice (organic food, clean beauty) and gradually introduce anti-vaccine, anti-government, and conspiratorial messaging.
  • “It gets into the anti-vaxx stuff. Then it gets into the anti-government stuff. So I think it’s very nefarious because it’s feeding into this… do your own research ideology.” — Kate Glavin (09:54)

2. Social Media Algorithms and Radicalization (11:44-18:35)

• Algorithmic Acceleration:

  • Women are often targeted through lifestyle and health content; men are recruited through fitness and manosphere content.
  • “Young women are not interested in reading the news... but they will watch it through a lifestyle influencer that packages this ideology in a very cute Pilates type of way.” — Kate Glavin (12:06)

• Fertility & Health Misinformation:

  • TikTok and Instagram especially amplify misleading messages about birth control, vaccines, food additives, and more.
  • “Who am I without birth control?”—a viral TikTok trend full of misinformation leading to real-world consequences (e.g., unexpected pregnancies) and increased doubts about contraception.
  • Soundbites and extremism go viral; nuanced, evidence-based health messaging is suppressed or ignored.

• Algorithmic Suppression and Rightward Drift:

  • Proposed TikTok ownership changes may further bias the algorithm toward right-wing content and suppress left-leaning or public health messaging.
  • “It’s much harder to talk about… research study and get it into a 15-second TikTok video than to say something… ‘birth control is evil.’” — Kate Glavin (18:37)

3. Political Impact on Young Women and Voting Behavior (23:10-27:56)

• Changing Demographics:
  • Traditionally left-leaning young women are shifting rightward, especially after the 2024 election.
  • Right-wing women influencers (e.g., Alex Clark, Ali Beth Stuckey, Katie Miller) blend lifestyle advice with political messaging to subtly recruit and reinforce conservative beliefs.
  • “They wanted to talk about their lives… but of course, all of it was suffused with the political.” — Emma Goldberg (25:10)
  • At conservative women’s events, lifestyle and traditional gender roles are framed as empowerment while steering women toward reactionary politics (e.g., “Every hand in the room should go up” when asked if their daily purpose was finding a husband).

4. Pronatalism, Surveillance, and Authoritarianism (27:56-33:28)

• Project 2025, Tradwife Content, and Pronatalism:

  • Far-right pronatalist policy pushes for reversing declining birth rates and promoting white women’s fertility.
  • Conspicuous lack of women at pronatalist events—most planners are men, women are mainly cast as mothers or caretakers.
  • “The role that they see for women is to be out there having children… there was definitely a far right sphere within that room.” — Emma Goldberg (29:05)

• Bodily Autonomy & Surveillance:

  • Right-wing rhetoric co-opts “my body, my choice” logic to oppose birth control and vaccines, while encouraging period tracking and supplement use—despite the risk of data surveillance and criminalization.
  • “This move to take care of your own individual well-being… there’s a lot of sinister forces in the back.” — Kate Glavin (30:45)

• Collapse of Official Public Health:

  • Dismantling of CDC/HHS and replacement of research-based public health with influencer-driven, anecdotal advice.
  • “You’re seeing the total dismantling of [public health agencies] and people just taking to their own account to optimize their own health.” — Kate Glavin (32:46)

5. Combating Conspiracy Theories and Restoring Trust (37:55-43:48)

• Finding the Grain of Truth:

  • Many conspiracies start with real issues (e.g., side effects from birth control), but twist them into widespread distrust and blanket rejection.
  • “There’s all kinds of truths wrapped up in this misinformation… what doctors and experts are seeing is the need to slow down, recognize the ambivalence and uncertainty, and reply with a conversation that honors people’s concerns.” — Emma Goldberg (38:22)

• Racialized Medical Harm and Wellness Industry Exploitation:

  • Wellness spaces are dominated by white women, but historical distrust is much greater among women of color due to racism in healthcare.
  • The supplement industry (unregulated by the FDA) preys on health anxieties, sometimes with harmful results (e.g., supplement-drug interactions).
  • “If you’ve had a bad experience with birth control, that doesn’t mean you go on the Internet and say that no one else should take birth control…The internet is not this perfect solution for issues you might have had with your doctor.” — Kate Glavin (41:21)

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• “MAHA is becoming for them a gateway to MAGA… it becomes a very appealing way for them to rethink their political worldview.” — Emma Goldberg (07:48)
• “First, they’re selling you something… then it gets into the anti-vaxx stuff. Then it gets into the anti-government stuff.” — Kate Glavin (09:54)
• “You can’t have a lukewarm take on TikTok.” — Emma Goldberg, quoting a creator (16:24)
• “You should try this supplement, you should sleep more, eat more vegetables, go to Pilates… That’s not equal to a public health response.” — Kate Glavin (31:38)
• “Anyone can have a platform. It’s a great thing, but it’s also created so many problems in the public health space.” — Kate Glavin (33:28)
• "Supporting accountability journalism in this moment... is just critical." — Emma Goldberg (45:48)
• "Self care was actually coined by the Black Panther movement, and now it's been totally co-opted in different ways." — Kate Glavin (44:25)

Actionable Steps – What Can Listeners Do?

• Be Curious:
  Read histories like Backlash (Susan Faludi) and works by Andrea Dworkin to understand the cycles of anti-feminist backlash and women’s rights struggles.
• Support Accountability Journalism:
  Subscribe to and read ProPublica, Stat News, KFF Health News, The New York Times, etc., especially reporting on health, wellness, and right-wing disinformation.
• Join & Support Activist Orgs:
  Organizations like Reproductive Freedom for All and immunize.org work to spread accurate public health information and protect reproductive rights.
• Educate Yourself & Others:
  Stay informed about the origins of wellness trends, reproductive justice, and the corporate forces shaping the supplement and wellness industries.
• Combat Misinformation:
  Use your own platforms to share thoroughly vetted, evidence-based information. Engage critically with trends, and don’t amplify harmful content—even when “debunking” it.
• Demand Public Solutions, Not Just Personal Ones:
  Don’t confuse wellness influencer advice with evidence-based public health responses.

Resources Mentioned/Recommended

• Books: Backlash by Susan Faludi, writings by Andrea Dworkin.
• Media Outlets: ProPublica, Stat News, The New York Times, KFF Health News.
• Nonprofits: Reproductive Freedom for All, Immunize.org.
• Further learning: Stacey Abrams’ Substack (assembly notes) and the 10 Steps Campaign (10StepsCampaign.org).

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 06:19 — Origins of wellness radicalization
• 09:54 — How influencer advice feeds the pipeline
• 12:06 — TikTok algorithm, gender, and radicalization
• 13:24 — Misinformation on birth control & real-world impact
• 18:35 — Suppression of left-wing/health content on social media algorithms
• 23:10 — Rightward voting shift among young women
• 27:56 — Pronatalism and the Project 2025 agenda
• 30:45 — Surveillance and data concerns for women’s health
• 32:46 — Collapse of public health for influencer narratives
• 38:22 — How to respond to conspiracy-laden health questions
• 41:21 — Racialized dynamics and wellness industry exploitation
• 43:48 — Actionable steps to combat misinformation
• 45:48 — Trusted resources for health and wellness info

Closing

Both guests agree: understanding the origins and power structures behind wellness messaging, seeking out solid investigative journalism, and supporting public-facing activism are crucial to combating the weaponization of health and wellness for right-wing authoritarian goals.
“Just reading, I feel like that's my one biggest piece of advice right now when you feel powerless.” — Kate Glavin (44:25)