Episode # 92
We spoke with lawyer Melissa Torres-Montoya of If/When/How last week about the legal landscape for women’s reproductive rights with the appointment of Justice Barrett to the supreme court, the continued assault on Roe v. Wade, and all the other circumstances that add up to shape a woman’s ability to have a child (affordable healthcare, housing, and more).
But those are big issues that sometimes are passed off or pushed aside as issues that don’t affect us. That’s not true. To make sure that we continue to recognize that reproductive rights is an issue that affects every single person in our country (you’re here because of reproduction, and you’ll likely have choices in your life to make about reproduction, or your children, or someone you know will) we bring you back the conversation with abortion provider Dr. Jenn, who puts real stories of real people into context.
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Episode # 91
Abortion.
Whether you’re pro-choice or anti-choice, you’re likely to have some emotions jolt through you when you hear the word. However, with the appointment of conservative Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court and Roe v Wade related decisions on the docket, we want to make sure we all know about the abortion and reproductive rights landscape, which is way broader when you consider what it takes to bring a child into the world - affordable housing, healthcare, and living wages - along with a new program for any lawyers out there who want to get involved.
Promise, it’ll be relevant if you know any women at all.
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Episode # 90
When’s the last time you had a Toni Morrison book read to you? Like, by Margaret Atwood, Tayari Jones (An American Marriage), Brit Bennett (The Vanishing Half), and more?
We are beyond thrilled to highlight a fantastic event put on by Literacy Partners - a Thanksgiving weekend reading of Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon, which is just as relevant now as it was back in 1977.
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Episode # 89
Here’s something we’ve never thought about before, because we’ve taken privacy law HIPAA at face value. What happens with my private medical information if I’m in an emergency room of the hospital, and there is a police presence in that same emergency room?
And importantly, how is this situation even worse for people who aren’t as rich or White as some of us listening to this podcast?
Today we’re excited to have Ji Seon Song return to the podcast to talk about her new research (and soon to be published note in the Harvard Law Review!) regarding the problematic role and presence of police in emergency rooms, and what medical providers - and laypeople - may want to consider about how patients’ information are handled in that setting.
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Episode # 88
Today we spend some time sharing the military history and stories of marginalized groups, including Black Americans, Japanese Americans, Latinos and Native Americans. These groups often were the most decorated in combat, but faced segregation and disparate treatment while part of the active military, and, upon returning home, found themselves the target of racism, persecution, or worse.
If these stories are new to you too, we invite you to listen, so we can stop history from continuing to repeat itself.
Help us celebrate all of our veterans on this Veterans’ Day. Thank you for your service.
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Episode # 87
It’s the day after the election, if you’re listening to this as we roll episodes out. It’s been One Heck Of A Year, and we want to give you this gift of breathwork and a reminder of how to be an ally when we are all still feeling overwhelmed by it all.
This episode is dedicated to pushing through the discomfort, committing to the fight, and includes a special bonus at the end: an anti-racism breathwork experience from Jenny Peni, to help you process, and feel a little more grounded and able to do what you need to do.
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Episode # 86
If you're needing a few tools to cope with election anxiety, we have some tips for you from Dr. Sue Varma today, along with a special meditation with Lisa Guyman on how you can center and ground yourself during these times. Join us!
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Episode # 85
If we want sponsorship, we must remain non-partisan and can’t talk about political affiliation. We’re here to say that we aren’t seeking sponsorship on those terms, and we don’t believe talking about voting for Biden in 2020 means we are partisan – we believe we are voting FOR HUMANITY.
This may be an explicit episode, so if you’ve got kids who can’t hear the f-bomb, maybe put your headphones on.
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Episode # 84
Listen in to the conclusion of our two-part interview with Marcus Bullock, CEO of Flikshop, to hear more truths about the US prison system - and so much more.
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Episode # 83
Marcus Bullock, CEO of Flikshop, joins us in an inspiring conversation regarding incarceration and helping prisoners succeed when they rejoin society. Don't miss the first part of this special two-part series!
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Episode # 82
Jaime Jara and Nikole Parker join us today to share their stories around transgenderism from the perspectives of a white parent and a black transgender woman. Join the conversation for info on the latest advocacy and resources!
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Episode # 81
Motherhood in the United States is intrinsically linked with Whiteness.
It’s time we confront that stereotype and break it down because there are MANY models of motherhood that are normal - and especially given how much this country is in desperate need of love, nurturing, and the willingness to fight for our children, we need to celebrate all of the mother figures in this country.
Listen in for some concrete takeaways and action items to implement right now, regardless of who you are..
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Episode # 80
When you look at social media, and how people portray themselves, do you judge? Even quietly, to yourself? Today we are talking about what’s happening in the fashion industry with regards to Black Lives Matter. Even if you aren’t yourself into high fashion, you’ll appreciate what our conversation partner, fellow biracial woman - half Black half White Hope McGrath has to say about labels - both fashion labels and the ones we put on ourselves and each other when we ask “what ARE you?”.
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Episode # 79
We interview Samantha Neyland, Miss Hawaii USA® 2020, get very personal about the impact Chadwick Boseman had on Misasha’s family, the disappointing decline in interest in Black Lives Matter, and about performative allyship vs real change.
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Episode # 78
Today we’re chatting with Mia Birdsong, a woman whose TED talk has been viewed over 2 million times, and who can best be described as a bright light. She’s also one of those people who shows you how to believe in true change, and what role you can play in doing that within your own spheres.
Listen on to hear us talk about white supremacy, capitalism, trust circles, the role of community (hint: it’s pretty much everything), and so much more. We can’t wait to hear what part most resonates with you.
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Episode # 77
When you work on Kanye’s first album, then for Calvin Klein, and then in ethical kids’ fashion, what’s your natural next step?
If you said designing your own (amazing) dresses, you’d be talking about the owner and creator of mrs. jones, Nichole Moss. This powerhouse woman thinks about EVERY detail of the clothes that she’s designing, from who manufactures them, to the quality of the fabrics that she uses, to the fact that she has POCKETS IN HER DRESSES, people.
But more importantly, she’s changing the viewpoint that Black designers have to either be creating super high fashion or “urban” street style and dropping pearls of wisdom along the way.
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Episode # 76
Here on the podcast, we’ve been focusing on the intentionality of this sustainable lifestyle shift. It can’t be just reading an anti-racism book once to your child and - suddenly - your child is an anti-racist forever. It has to be more than that, and it has to last longer than a month.
That’s where Barbershop Books comes in.
For those of you who may be wondering why this organization exists, it came out of an idea that its founder, Alvin Irby, had while he was getting his hair cut at his local barbershop in New York, and noticed one of his young students there. What Alvin has done is nothing short of amazing in terms of changing the trajectory of Black boys and their relationship with reading - all stemming from the barbershop, which is a Black cultural center in American neighborhoods.
We hope you enjoy this interview as much as we did - and we hope you get involved with this amazing organization.
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Episode # 75
What sort of impact can one person (or two people) have on an existing health crisis that’s largely been ignored for years - and that crisis is happening in the United States, to its citizens?
If you’re Ali Rose VanOverbeke or Brytanie Killebrew, the answer is: you create a product that builds a circular economy - it’s a needed product that employes returning citizens to make it, and resources for the community of Flint, Michigan to get better access to fundamental resources - like WATER - that they should be receiving anyway as a basic right of just being human.
We had so much fun in this conversation because these women are so intentional in their commitment to giving back to their community. You don’t want to miss this one.
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Episode # 74
When you think about luxury shoe designers, who comes to mind? We’re fairly sure you’re not thinking about Natasha Standard from Norie Shoes - but you should be.
This military veteran not only makes amazing shoes that are stylish but walkable, but she also travels to Italy regularly to design and manufacture her shoes.
She met the challenge of COVID by pivoting her shoe design to make military-grade combat boots for women (because, shockingly, those haven’t been made to fit women’s bodies to date - and Natasha’s an expert on that).
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Episode #73
If every person in the U.S. spent just $20 at a woman-owned business, it would drive more than five billion dollars towards female-led companies each month.
You’ve heard us talking on the show about how strongly we believe in the power of voting - both voting voting, which we’ll talk about on a later episode, and with your wallet. And we REALLY believe in women supporting women, all around.
This is where Dough comes in.
Motivated by the tremendous wallet power of female shoppers, and the fact that women influence 80% of consumer spending, Anna Palmer and Vanessa Bruce founded Dough, an online curated marketplace, to make it easy for women-led brands to connect with like-minded shoppers, and for wallet feminists to easily find and support women-owned businesses. And these women-led brands include a whole range of women, all shades, and identities.
Talk about powerful. AND where we should all be planning to do our holiday shopping.
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