Sian Norris: Q&A with the author of Bodies Under Siege

While we might think the anti-abortion movement is rooted in religious or moral debate, the groups behind it are much more sinister. Sian Norris investigates how today’s anti-abortion movements are being funded and planned by far-right extremists.

The rise of far-right extremism has been an issue of great concern in the US for many years, but it’s since been bleeding gradually across the Atlantic to reach Europe. Investigative journalist Sian Norris digs into the world of the European far-right, looking into how extremists have used attacks on abortion to introduce broader fascist politics across the continent.

We’ll touch on the different ways the far-right movement disperse fascist ideas through attacking abortion rights, whether it’s on the dark web, incel chat boards or fringe organisations. In her research for her new book, Bodies Under Siege: How the Far-Right Attack on Reproductive Rights Went Global, Sian Norris went undercover in these spaces, tracking the different channels far-right fascist groups are using to influence mainstream politics and societal belief systems.

Why have we overlooked this funding and organising network? Why has it been missed by today’s feminist and left-wing groups? We’ll be asking all these questions and more as we investigate the role the anti-abortion movement has played in facilitating these damaging fascist manifestos.

0:05: What's Bodies Under Siege all about?

0:56: What was your first cultural experience?

1:52: What is the book, film, show, painting or song that you want to recommend to everyone?
Middlemarch by George Eliot: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11279/97800...
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11279/97817...
Deborah Levy's Living Autobiography Series:
Things I Don't Want To Know: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11279/97802...
The Cost of Living: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11279/97802...
Real Estate: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11279/97802...

2:39: What's the best piece of advice you have ever received?

3:37: What keeps you up at night?

4:19: What makes you hopeful?

Bodies Under Siege: How the Far–Right Attack on Reproductive Rights Went Global by Sian Norris: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/11279/97818...

Presented by Bristol Ideas: https://www.bristolideas.co.uk/