Elizabeth Banks and Phyllis Nagy on ‘Call Jane’ and the sisterhood of abortion activism
Next Question with Katie Couric
Katie Couric Media
4.4 • 4.7K Ratings
🗓️ 27 October 2022
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The new movie “Call Jane” is a period piece about abortion and reproductive activism in the years before Roe vs Wade was enacted. But given our post-Roe world and the very real consequences of abortion bans across the country, the plot — about a suburban housewife who desperately needs an abortion but can’t get one in her state — sounds like it could be ripped from our 2022 headlines. What can a story about our past struggles teach us about our present circumstances? Why is levity a convincing tool in the fight for bodily autonomy? Can a movie like “Call Jane” affect the fast-approaching midterms? On this episode of Next Question with Katie Couric, Katie talks with the movie’s director, Phyllis Nagy, and its star, Elizabeth Banks, about the movie’s poignancy, some of its blood-boiling scenes, and why the movie’s not just preaching to the choir. “Call Jane” is in select theaters starting Oct. 28.
For more information about abortion access in this country, check out Katie’s six-part podcast series on the subject, Abortion: The Body Politic. Some of the real life Janes are featured in Part Two. You can stream the documentary “The Janes” on HBO Max now.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | My name is Joshua Topolsky and I have a new podcast called What Future. |
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| 0:12.6 | And maybe you're not interested in internet culture and the future of life on planet Earth. |
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| 0:20.6 | You may just want to listen to a podcast about, I don't know, sports or whatever Joe Rogan talks about. |
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| 0:40.4 | Hey, I'm Joel Stein. |
| 0:42.0 | I want you to close your eyes and imagine a pocket watch. |
| 0:45.6 | It's moving from side to side. |
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| 1:05.0 | Listen to story of the week on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 1:10.2 | Hi, everyone. I'm Kitty Curric and this is next question. |
| 1:15.6 | In a new movie, a woman finds herself in desperate need of an abortion. |
| 1:20.0 | The problem is she can't get one. |
| 1:22.0 | Her doctor isn't allowed to perform the procedure. |
| 1:25.2 | The hospital won't even grant her a medical exemption. |
| 1:28.8 | Now if she can't find an alternative, she may very well die. |
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