Welcome to Call Your Girlfriend, a podcast for long distance besties everywhere.

I'm Amina Tussaud and I'm Anne Friedman.

Hey Anne Friedman, what's up this week?

Um, wow, today's guest is... well I was gonna say an icon, but that almost feels too superficial

for the debt that we collectively owe Dr. Anita Hill.

If you're not familiar with that name, Anita Hill made history in 1991 when she testified

before Congress about the sexual harassment that she experienced while she was in aid to

Clarence Thomas.

He had been her supervisor at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and at the time in

91 was a nominee to the Supreme Court.

You know, back when it was fairly novel that we nominate predators to the Supreme Court,

but I digress.

Anyway, she came forward because she was like, you know, maybe the United States Senate

and the American people want to know about the fact that the Supreme Court nominee is abusive

to his employees.

And even that act of wanting to come forward is exceptional, knowing what we know both

then and now about how survivors are treated.

And here's how it played out.

So at the time, now President Joe Biden was head of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

And he was one of a group of exclusively white men on that committee.

And it's pretty clear in hindsight people who have looked at the record and the number

of other potential witnesses who came forward that Biden seriously, seriously, mishandled

...