MADISON – August 6, 2026.

Edition 124 begins with a greeting from Ann, WLRN’s sound engineer and producer, who recently attended the National Organization for Women’s (NOW) National Conference in Arlington, Virginia. Later in the program, Ann shares her reflections on the conference following Thistle’s interview with Peggy Patty, a NOW member since 1977 who remains as passionate as ever about advancing women’s rights.

The world news segment is presented by Cat, and the featured song is “Sing, Sing, Sing” by Melissa Manchester, who performed at this year’s NOW National Conference in Arlington.

In the mid 1970’s Peggy Patty joined the National Organization for Women. At the time, it was considered to be a radical group for southern Illinois. After many ERA Marches and legislative campaigns, Peggy attended law school and embarked on a 35-year career as a domestic violence attorney. She credits her years in the NOW organization as expanding her worldview of the harms caused to women by patriarchy.

Some of Peggy’s pics from the NOW conference this year:

Peggy asked us to publish the info below for sisters interested in getting involved with NOW.

Join us in embracing NOW’s sex-based women’s rights legacy.  We step forward to address the challenges women are facing today. 

Click this LINK OUR PURPOSE STATEMENT HERE. 

Link to our Sign up for Centering Women NOW HERE.

For NOW members who are lesbians, we’ve formed a Listen to Lesbians NOW Task Force  Learn more about this Lesbian Caucus HERE.

We have developed a 2026 Lesbian Survey that lesbians are welcome to fill out.

For more information, contact centeringwomennow@gmail.com

Enjoy the show! ~ Thistle & the Team at WLRN