Back in 2018, Alex Cooper’s Spotify podcast, Call Her Daddy was the ultimate hub for a lesson in all things “locker room talk” and doling out the perfect Gluck Gluck 9000. Though after earning her stripes—and signing a $60 million a year contract with Spotify—the educated and esteemed Cooper retired her “sex girl” dub and now opts for weighty conversations and intimate interactions.

For Cooper, the impulse to “test the waters” comes as second nature. She hit the ground running, with her recent October 5th episode titled “An Abortion Story” steered towards controversial, underlining the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Traveling from Los Angeles to North Carolina, Cooper spent those two weekends studying, listening, and unpacking the raw exchanges between women whose livelihoods have been jeopardized and spent months analyzing the cause and effects of the case. Embarking on a perch of political confrontation, Cooper urges her listeners to self-educate and refix their visions on the future of women’s reproductive rights.

Climate and voting activist Saad Amer had the opportunity to sit down with Cooper to discuss the urgency for women to vitalize their voices and shed light on the demand for political boundaries.

Saad Amer: You have the opportunity to have these long and in-depth conversations about whatever you want. Is there an instance you can think of when you were speaking about an issue that you thought was really important and felt like – ‘Yes, this is why I do what I do?’

Alex Cooper: When Roe v. Wade was overturned, it was a moment of disgust [and] just being so upset and feeling a little hopeless, honestly. I felt defeated, as I think a lot of women did. But, knowing so many people personally that have gotten abortions, it immediately struck a chord of like, ‘it’s time to go to battle’. After getting over the initial shock, anger, and upset, I immediately recognized that I had a huge opportunity.

SA: What was your first reaction to hearing Roe v. Wade was overturned?

AC: It frustrated me because we saw what was happening with the lack of gun control and all the school shootings, and everyone caring so much at the moment, and then it’s over. Then the same thing happened with Roe v. Wade. I saw everyone out fighting, but [I thought] it shouldn’t just be something you repost on your Instagram story and feel like you did something that actually does nothing. If anything, that perpetuates the concept of let’s just keep all pretending we’re going to do something and not do anything. What I wanted to do was pause until no one was talking about it anymore. Then hit them with this episode right before [the] November [election] to be like, ‘wake up, let’s go.’

I recognized that my audience is Millennial and Gen Z. I don’t want to be lectured at. I don’t want to be told what to do. I don’t want to just hear a bunch of facts. So I did it in a way that is Call Her Daddy—hitting them with the emotional facts. Speak to the women that are living it.

SA: With an issue like abortion, which is so tense and controversial and, of course, political right now, you said that all these people were changing their minds after listening to you—what do you think did that? 

AC: I spent two weekends in North Carolina, understanding these women, understanding their stories. I think people could appreciate that and recognize, ‘I don’t feel like I’m getting sold a load of shit. Alex is asking questions that we all want to know.’ By being able to do that, it allowed people to feel like they were given the right to have their own opinion and make their own decision without someone forcing feeding it to them.

SA: That episode got such a powerful reaction and it is empowering. I can see it on your face, the energy and spirit within you. Do you feel like you’re going to carry that same type of energy and activism into other episodes?

AC: When it came to the abortion topic, that was the beginning of me saying, ‘fuck this.’ I could sit in a room with anyone and have a conversation about it educated, I could understand both sides, and I could try to move the conversation forward rather than be a bystander. I hope my audience feels empowered now like they were just educated from watching that. Now, [just] do the research.

SA: How do you bring that type of transformative focus to other issues to get people to even sit down and have a conversation, let alone change their mindset?

AC: It’s not about me telling you what side to vote for. I didn’t tell my listeners who to vote for. I was using it as if we don’t use our voice, then they will continue to make decisions. I know millennials and Gen Z love to bitch, but we’re not allowed to bitch if we don’t vote. If you get out there and vote, then [you can] give me your opinion. You could have your voice partake in one of the biggest decisions that affect this entire country and potentially your reproductive rights.

SA: One of my least favorite narratives in this whole organizing space in the voting world is when people say, “oh, you have to get out and go do this, it is your civic duty.” What do you like to say to people to convince them to go and do this?

AC: My way of going about it is allowing people not to feel shameful if they don’t know everything about it. So it’s accepting [that] there’s a lot of that we don’t understand. But that doesn’t mean you should then not partake in the conversation. If you are a citizen of the United States, you deserve to vote.

 

Midterm Election Day is November 8th!

If you’d like to vote in person for this election, make sure you’re registered and plan ahead so you have the time to go and vote!

Have you reminded your friends? Bring them with you!

Find your polling place, see what’s on your ballot, check your registration, and more at Vote.org!

 

[The t-shirts worn in this latest series of V IS FOR VOTE have been designed by Katharine Hamnett. A portion of sales from each shirt sold helps directly benefit the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). For more information, visit WeAreTheFutureSDGS.com.]