The Intertwined Legacies of Gloria Steinem and Dolly Parton

About this episode

<p>Gloria Steinem, the feminist icon and co-founder of Ms. magazine, died on Wednesday at her home in Manhattan. Her death came as many were still grieving the loss of another iconic woman: Dolly Parton.</p><p>On paper, the connections between the two women seem superficial, but for the Times Magazine writer Susan Dominus, the relationship between their lives and impact is inescapable.</p><p>Guest:&nbsp;</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/susan-dominus" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Susan Dominus</strong></a>, a staff writer at The New York Times Magazine.</li><li><a href="https://www.lettycottinpogrebin.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Letty Cottin Pogrebin</strong></a>, a writer and pioneer of the feminist movement who was part of the team that founded Ms. magazine with Gloria Steinem.</li></ul><p>Background reading:&nbsp;</p><ul><li>In “9 to 5,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/27/magazine/dolly-parton-9-to-5-feminism.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dolly Parton put a friendly face on feminism</a>.</li><li><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/us/politics/gloria-steinem-dead.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gloria Steinem</a>, the personification of the women’s movement, died at 92.</li></ul><p>Photo: Robin Platzer/Getty Images</p> <p><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily"><strong>nytimes.com/thedaily</strong></a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p><p> </p><p>Subscribe today at <a href="http://nytimes.com/podcasts">nytimes.com/podcasts</a> or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher">https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher</a>. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.</p></p><br/> <p>Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.</p>