Her Voice, Trump's Favor, and a Fight for Rights: Summer Kicks Off with Power and Pushback

May 21, 2025

In today’s newsletter:

• Subscribe to Sonali Kolhatkar’s Show!

• Her Voice, Her Power: The Story of Hira Anwar.

• Trump’s Gift from Qatar.

• Supreme Court OKs Transgender Military Ban.

• Summer Pledge Drive Starts June 2nd.

Sonali Kolhatkar, host of Rising Up With Sonali, has been producing her show under the auspices of YES! Media, a long-running solutions-journalism outlet. YES! Media winding down operations in June, and Sonali is embarking on a campaign to independently sustain her show. 

 At a time when white supremacist ideology is silencing speech, particularly of marginalized communities, Sonali’s voice is more important than ever. A self-described “loud, proud, Brown immigrant,” she continues to produce solutions journalism for social justice. 

 Each week on Rising Up With Sonali, she interviews movement leaders, social justice activists, academics, visionaries, and authors to explore how ordinary people are rising up to make the world better, safer, and more just.

  Subscribe to Sonali’s new show and keep the spirit of YES! alive. You’ll get exclusive online access to extended cuts of the interviews you see on Free Speech TV – conversations that will leave you filled with inspiration, not despair. Sonali is offering a special code for FSTV viewers right now to get the first month free using this link: https://risingupwithsonali.com/yeswecan

Please note: You can watch Rising Up with Sonali on Thursdays at 1:30 pm PT/4:30 pm ET.

In this powerful episode of Generation Girl Code, host Meikko Love confronts the harsh reality of control, violence, and the global systems that silence women. From the tragic murder of 14-year-old Hira Anwar to ongoing attacks on bodily autonomy and online expression, we explore what happens when a girl’s voice becomes a threat. This is not just about one country or one tragedy—this is a global pattern of punishment and the abuse of power. Whether through “honor” killings, doxxing, reproductive oppression, or cultural silencing, women are being targeted for daring to live freely. 85,000 women and girls were intentionally killed in 2023 alone,  mostly by someone they knew. This episode is a call to awareness and action. Because her voice is her power, and no one should die for using it.

Malcolm Nance joins Stephanie Miller live from Greenland to break down the latest bombshell: Donald Trump’s new luxury plane, allegedly gifted by Qatar. Nance warns that this could ignite a global bidding war over who gets to keep Trump in their pocket, raising serious concerns about foreign influence and national security. What happens when a former president makes backdoor deals for extravagant gifts? And how could this impact U.S. democracy moving forward?

This Week on Gay USA, we break down the Supreme Court’s decision to allow Donald Trump’s ban on transgender service members to go into effect. What does this mean for active-duty troops, and how are LGBTQ+ advocates responding? Hosts Andy Humm and Ann Northrop unpack the legal, political, and human impact of this controversial ruling. Hosts discuss how this decision fits into a broader rollback of LGBTQ+ rights under the Trump administration, examine reactions from the military community and civil rights groups, and discuss what this could signal for the future of equal service under the law.

The Time to Resist is Now – Summer Pledge Drive Starts June 2nd!

Our democracy is under siege, and history is watching. From June 2-13, FSTV’s Summer Pledge Drive calls on you to take a stand against rising fascism, MAGA extremism, and the silencing of truth-tellers. This isn’t just a fundraiser – It’s a frontline of resistance.

We believe in real free speech - not hate speech masquerading as “debate,” not disinformation cloaked in patriotism. FSTV is one of the last independent platforms for voices that challenge power, uplift justice movements, and defend democracy. 

With MAGA’s all-out assault on public media and “non-profit killer” legislation being fast-tracked through Congress, we’re staring down an existential threat - not just to FSTV, but to the idea of truth itself.  Independent voices like ours have never been more essential, or more endangered. 

Let’s resist boldly.