Beyond Borders – s2e5 – At Aunties’ Table, When God Was a Woman ’til Now

Judy Talaugon, Martha Cinader

Season 2 Episode 5
February 26, 2026

At Aunties’ Table

Judy and Martha invite you to Auntie’s early morning table as we explore each other’s state of mind, origin stories and societal norms which leads to Merlin Stone, who collected goddess stories from around the world, emphasizing the divine feminine and the sacredness of womanhood, and the Witches’ Hammer, an instrument of erasing all that, and we bring it forward to today, particularly in relation to motherhood.

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Martha brings out her copy of “Two Old Women” by Velma Wallis, which tells a profound women’s story. Judy shares a personal experience on the Dan Ranch, watching her elder chop kindling during a blizzard. Martha also talks about the book “Tsunami” an anthology of women writers in Mexico who question traditional definitions of femininity and motherhood. Judy affirms the wisdom of traditional knowledge and we talk about the need for a deeper understanding of spiritual reality and the feminine embodiment, which is often overlooked in favor of dogmatized religions and belief systems.

We also talk about “Tribunal Rising,” which Judy is an editor of. The book documents the 1992 campaign to dismantle the myth of discovery and challenge the New World concept. It highlights the role of women and their allies in the indigenous movement, particularly in the context of the 500th anniversary of Columbus’ arrival. The book serves as a testament to the ongoing struggle for community building, sovereignty, and women’s rightful place within the movement.

CREDITS– HOSTS: Martha Cinader, Judy Talaugon. Sound Design: Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra. Theme Music: Mana Luca, arranged by Hernán Ramiro Rodriguez Sierra.


YOUR HOSTS
  • Judy Talaugon -Land Protector, Storyteller

    Judy Talaugon is a Chumash and Filipina Land Protector from the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. She is the daughter of farmworkers and immigrant leaders. Growing up among Mexican and Filipina communities in California, she has been a long-time activist in numerous struggles, ranging from human rights to housing, land rights, and the fight…

    Read more: Judy Talaugon -Land Protector, Storyteller
    Judy Talaugon -Land Protector, Storyteller
  • Martha Cinader, Author, Performance Artist

    Martha Cinader is a poet and author living in Harlem, NY. Her young adult novel, Marq and the Queen Fish, is forthcoming in 2026 from Atmosphere Press. Cinader is the founder and Director of the Listen & Be Heard Network, where she hosts and produces The Listen & Be Heard Hour, and Beyond Borders, both non-commercial podcasts and syndicated radio shows…

    Read more: Martha Cinader, Author, Performance Artist
    Martha Cinader, Author, Performance Artist

VIDEOS
CD’s AND BOOKS
  • When God Was A Woman

    How did the shift from matriarchy to patriarchy come about? In fascinating detail, Merlin Stone tells us the story of the Goddess who reigned supreme in the Near and Middle East. Under her reign, societal roles differed markedly from those in patriarchal Judeo-Christian cultures: women bought and sold property, traded in the marketplace, and inherited…

    Read more: When God Was A Woman
    When God Was A Woman
  • Two Old Women by Velma Wallis

    Based on an Athabascan legend passed along from mother to daughter for many generations on the upper Yukon River in Alaska, this is the tragic and shocking story–with a surprise ending–of two elderly women abandoned by a migrating tribe that faces starvation brought on by unusually harsh Arctic weather and a shortage of fish and…

    Read more: Two Old Women by Velma Wallis
    Two Old Women by Velma Wallis
  • Malleus Maleficarum – Sprenger / Kramer

    Early Christian authorities initially dismissed witchcraft as a delusion, though belief in demons and exorcism created a framework that later justified harsher responses. In the late fifteenth century, Heinrich Kramer authored Malleus Maleficarum after failing to secure convictions and facing criticism from church officials, using the text to legitimize aggressive witch-hunting and reinforce gendered suspicions…

    Read more: Malleus Maleficarum – Sprenger / Kramer
    Malleus Maleficarum – Sprenger / Kramer
  • Heather Cleary and Gabriela Jauregui – Tsunami

    Featuring personal essay, manifesto, creative nonfiction, and poetry, Tsunami gathers the multiplicity of voices being raised in Mexico today against patriarchy and its buried structures.

    Read more: Heather Cleary and Gabriela Jauregui – Tsunami
    Heather Cleary and Gabriela Jauregui – Tsunami
  • Edited by Judith Talaugon and Angela Marino, Tribunal Rising

    Tribunal Rising commemorates the 1992 International Tribunal movement in the city of San Francisco to dismantle the legacy of Christopher Columbus and the Myth of Discovery. In 1990, “[a]t the culmination of the Special International Tribunal on the Human Rights Violations of Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War in the US, the American Indian Movement…

    Read more: Edited by Judith Talaugon and Angela Marino, Tribunal Rising
    Edited by Judith Talaugon and Angela Marino, Tribunal Rising
  • Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood

    This collection of ancient images of women as goddesses and heroines brings together legends, rituals, and prayers from China, Celtic Europe, South America, Africa, India, North America, Scandinavia, Japan, and elsewhere.

    Read more: Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood
    Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood

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