Inflection Point with Lauren Schiller: Recent Episodes
Inflection Point with Lauren Schiller
Inflection Point with Lauren Schiller is one of the only nationally syndicated radio shows and one of the first podcasts ever dedicated exclusively to featuring conversations with women about how we build power, what we do with it when we have it, and what still stands in our way.
In every episode you’ll hear incredible stories from activists, entrepreneurs, and authority-busters about how they build power and lead change for an equal, just, and joy-filled world. You’ll come away from every conversation with context, hope and inspiration. Plus, you’ll get expert advice and the tools you need to take action on the issues that matter to you–at home, at work and in the world. Produced in partnership with KALW 91.7FM in San Francisco and PRX. inflectionpointradio.org
On Inflection Point, we’ve documented the changes for women between two major milestones here in the US: From right before we thought we’d see our first woman President with Hillary Clinton, to today, when we might see our first VP woman of color, with Kamala Harris.
Inflection Point is one of the only nationally syndicated radio shows and one of the first podcasts ever dedicated exclusively to featuring conversations with women about how we build power, what we do with it when we have it, and what still stands in our way. This August, we’re making a change too. Listen to find out more or go to our website for the transcript.
Watch the video with photos!
In Love and Action,
Lauren
An awkward conversation with her white mother about “good white people” inspired Ijeoma Oluo to take on the unenviable task of writing one of the most user-friendly books on race of our time: “So You Want To Talk About Race.” In plain language, Ijeoma has confronted deeply uncomfortable questions surrounding racial injustice from the school-to-prison pipeline to the Black Lives Matter movement to white feminism and intersectionality.
In our conversation recorded in 2018, Ijeoma wakes me up to the fact that solidarity between all women cannot happen until white cis women hold themselves accountable to the ways they have benefitted from systems of oppression. Most importantly, Ijeoma offers practical, everyday actions that you can do today to help dismantle the system of racism.
Is the body positivity movement a good thing or a bad thing in the quest for equality? Ruth Whippman joins Lauren to uncover the debate.
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And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Could the Covid-19 pandemic be the inflection point that marks the end of the gendered division of labor at home? Now that we are all tethered to our homes, you may be doing more laundry,
dishes, cooking, cleaning (did I say dishes?), nose wiping, bottom wiping and emotionally tending to your kids and teens. So it seems super timely for us to talk to the woman who has emerged as a leader in the movement to end the gendered division of labor at home and how to divvy up that labor as equitably as possible.
Eve Rodsky has spent almost a decade surveying women and men about who does what at home to understand how and why we divide up labor along gender lines--and how to shift it--she’s talked with Economists, Psychologists, Historians, Neurologists and more.
And she wrote a book that details exactly how to divide and conquer with your partner, the unending duties at home. It’s called "Fair Play: A Game-Changing Solution For When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life
to Live)".
If you’ve been listening to Inflection Point, you may have also caught my conversation with Eve at INFORUM last year. I wanted to hear how her system is working in the Covid-19 world.
We spoke live (on Zoom, of course) for The Battery in San Francisco about how to make changes that are a win for everyone in your home and in society.
I think we can all agree, it’s been a rough spring with COVID-19 taking over our lives. You may know someone who’s sick, or who’s lost a loved one or their livelihood, or any number of awful things. But as this all goes down, we don’t always know what to say, or do, for someone who’s hurting, let alone asking for the help we might need ourselves. My guest Kelsey Crowe wrote a book, “There is No Good Card For This. What to Say and Do When Life is Scary, Awful, and Unfair to the People You Love” and founded a whole community called Help Each Other Out, to help us help each other. We spoke in 2017 and I thought we could all use a bit of what she calls “whiskey for the wounded.”
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And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Marathon Swimming Hall of Famer Kim Chambers is only the sixth person ever to complete the Ocean’s Seven challenge... solo. That's seven open water channel swims. Think summiting Mount Everest in a bathing suit x 7... hours upon hours upon hours of swimming in critter-filled, often quite cold water. Kim is also the first and only woman in the world to solo swim the 30 miles of shark inhabited waters from the Farallon islands to the golden gate of San Francisco. We spoke at the kickoff of Women’s History Month at The Battery in San Francisco (right before everything shut down!) about taking risks, jellyfish and body image--as well as how important having a team who believes in you is for "individual" success.
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Meet the woman who helped develop The Green New Deal--and how you can make a difference in the climate crisis. Rhiana Gunn-Wright is the former policy director for New Consensus and Abdul El-Sayed’s 2018 Michigan gubernatorial campaign. She warns that without a shift in our policies and systems, we could become a nation of "fortresses" and "sacrifice zones". We’ll hear where she came from and how can the way she thinks about solving problems, can solve the biggest crisis of our time.
A 2013 Rhodes Scholar, Gunn-Wright has also worked as the policy analyst for the Detroit Health Department, was a Mariam K. Chamberlain Fellow of Women and Public Policy at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, and served on the policy team for former First Lady Michelle Obama. She graduated magna cum laude from Yale in 2011 with majors in African American studies and women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.
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And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Learn what you can do right now to make a difference on climate and energy.
Heather was the first African-American, first female and youngest mayor of Greenville, MS and is now field director for Moms Clean Air Force.
Special thanks to our friends at Bioneers, producers of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature podcast, for production assistance.
Support our production with a monthly or one-time donation.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Meet Heather McTeer Toney, the National Field Director at Moms Clean Air Force, which fights for climate safety to protect our children's health. She shares how her two terms as the first African-American, first female and youngest mayor of Greenville, MS helps her be an even more effective activist, and what one thing motivates people to make big changes.
Special thanks to our friends at Bioneers, producers of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature podcast, for production assistance.
Support our production with a monthly or one-time donation.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Isha Clark is a high school senior and a youth organizer with Youth vs. Apocalypse, a Bay Area youth climate justice organization. In this toolkit we learn three actions we can take right now to reverse the climate crisis and... how to put pressure on a power holder.
Special thanks to our friends at Bioneers, producers of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature podcast, for production assistance.
Support our production with a monthly or one-time donation.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Isha Clarke is an activist with Youth vs Apocalypse. You may know her from a viral video where she asked California Senator Dianne Feinstein to move the Green New Deal forward; she helped organize the youth Climate Strike in San Francisco that attracted 30,000 students, during the international "week of action" when Greta Thurnberg sailed to America. She is a high school student working every day to reverse the climate crisis because as she says..." we have this power and responsibility to make this radical change. And I hope that everyone listening will get involved and know that they have the power to do something."
Special thanks to our friends at Bioneers, producers of the Bioneers: Revolution from the Heart of Nature podcast, for production assistance.
Support our production with a monthly or one-time donation.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
In this episode we’ll hear how Amber Tamblyn went from being an actress to being an activist--defining her own role in the feminist movement--and how we can all play a role in leading change. Amber's book is called "Era of Ignition: Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution." It's part memoir, part manifesto, part call to action. We sat down together in San Francisco while she was in town as part of the release of her book in paperback.
Back in 2017, Amber wrote an OpEd for the NYTimes, called "I'm Done With Not Being Believed" in which she tells what happened when a well-known actor almost as old as her dad tried to pick her up when she was 16, and then called her a liar when she outed him on Twitter. This was before the Weinstein revelations, before the #MeToo movement caught fire and before Times Up, which Amber went on to co-found.
Support our production with a monthly or one-time donation.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Seane Corn helps people who are committed to social change understand that to dismantle the systems that create oppression, you've got to dismantle the systems that exist within yourself. This world-renowned yoga instructor, activist and author of "Revolution of the Soul" shares how to dismantle those systems and learn where we can each be most of service for a better world.
Support our production with a monthly or one-time donation.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
A’shanti Gholar is the founder of the Brown Girl's Guide to Politics and the national political director for Emerge America--a national organization devoted to getting more Democratic women into office. You'll hear how A’shanti went from watching CSPAN as a kid, with her mom, to working for President Barack Obama, the DNC and the NAACP before joining Emerge America. And she'll share what it's going to take to get more women of color elected to office.
Support our production with a tax deductible donation at inflectionpointradio.org/contribute.
A new scientific study shows that men are funnier than women. In this Feminist Detective segment, special guest, author and journalist, Ruth Whippman and Lauren get to the bottom of this finding and seize the means of humor production!
Jane Fonda. Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Nancy Pelosi. Elizabeth Warren. Maxine Waters. Are "older" women taking over? By 2034 there will be more people 65 and older than there are people under 18. And by and large, women are outliving men. So what might all these older women mean in terms of a possible power shift, historically speaking? Listen to my conversation with Gail Collins, New York Times columnist and the author of the new book, “No Stopping Us Now. The Adventures of Older Women in American History” We explore how attitudes toward older women have shifted in America over the centuries – from the Plymouth Colony view that women were marriageable if "civil and under fifty years of age," to quiet dismissal of post-reproductive females, to women’s role as perpetual caretaker (even when she might need caretaking herself), to the first female nominee for president.
Lauren spoke with Gail on stage for the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco in October of 2019. Support our production with a tax deductible contribution at inflectionpointradio.org/contribute. Thank you!
Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of Pod Save America, former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama and author of the book, "Yes We (Still) Can: Politics in the Age of Obama, Twitter and Trump", shares how he got into politics and what it's going to take to get America out of the political plight we find ourselves in today. This conversation was recorded on stage, presented by Cal Performances at UC Berkeley.
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When Eve Rodsky found herself sobbing on the side of the road over a text from her husband about blueberries, she knew something had to change. Hence began her seven year quest to create a more equitable division of labor at home. Her book is called "Fair Play. A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do (and More Life to Live)" and her solutions are based on extensive research with experts, from sociologists to neuroscientists to behavioral economists and conversations with couples all over the country. Hear how you can develop a more efficient household, with less nagging using Eve’s system of cards.
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Journalist and author Ruth Whippman joins me to seek out sexism in all its tiny guises so we can make big changes. This week we dig into why women are dinged for apologizing too much.
This segment premiere is presented ad-free. Support Inflection Point with a tax deductible contribution.
Tiffany Shlain is the author of "24/6. The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week". She is also the founder of the Webbys, Character Day and the creator of a number of films. In today's episode Tiffany brings it all together. You'll hear how taking time off from technology and taking time to reflect helps fuel your creativity and activism.
Support our production with a tax-deductible contribution at inflectionpointradio.org/contribute
Introducing a NEW Inflection Point segment called “Feminist Detective” in which journalist and author Ruth Whippman joins me to seek out sexism in all its tiny guises so we can make big changes. This week we dig up the original crowdfunding page of the mega-hit show Fleabag from back in 2013, and discuss how the tone of it shows us the crazy lengths women have had to go to reassure and placate men that equality is not threatening.
This segment premiere is presented ad-free. Support Inflection Point with a tax deductible contribution at bit.ly/inflectionpoint and help fund production of more of them!
Candace Bushnell gave us a reason to sit on our couch every week to soak in the stories of the women--and men--of the 90s television culture-changer "Sex and the City". Candace has written a number of books since then and her newest book is called "Is There Still Sex in the City?"
This October I teamed up with Women Lit of the Bay Area Book Festival to have an on-stage conversation with Candace Bushnell, hosted by INFORUM at The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco.
Bushnell kicked off the evening with an update about what she’s been up to lately, and then we got to sit down and talk--friendships, love, loss and dating over 50.
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Jessica Reaves, the Editorial Director at the Center on Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League shares tools for parents, educators and law enforcement and HR professionals on how to identify and respond to misogyny.
Support our production and help us meet our crowdfunding goal with a tax deductible donation at bit.ly/inflectionpoint
We're hearing more from and about American extremist groups lately, like white supremacists and Incels. One thing their members have in common is misogyny. Today's guest is Jessica Reaves, the Editorial Director at the Center on Extremism at the Anti-Defamation League. She and her team monitor extremists across the ideological spectrum. In today's episode you'll hear what she's learned about these groups, why she thinks misogyny should be treated as another form of extremism, and how we can put a stop to it. Be sure to check out Jessica’s Toolkit in the feed on ending misogyny.
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In this toolkit we learn how personal change can lead to positive societal change. Featured guest: Stephanie Lepp, the creator and host of Reckonings. If you find this toolkit helpful, be sure to listen to our full conversation, in the Inflection Point podcast feed right now.
Stephanie Lepp is the creator and host of a podcast about how people change their hearts and minds-- it’s about people who decided on their own to completely change their world views. It’s about people who took a look in the mirror, and realized they did not like what they saw. How do you do that?
Her show is called Reckonings...and it sure feels like our society could use a reckoning right about now. But do things need to change on an individual level first?
I invited Stephanie to share what she’s learned about how personal change can lead to positive societal change.
Former Chief of Staff for EMILY's List, Kate Black, just published her first book, written with the actress June Diane Raphael. It’s called “Represent The Woman's Guide to Running for Office and Changing the World.” She shares the attributes of successful candidates, the stories of women who rose to office against all odds, and how to respond when you hear someone say this country isn’t ready for a woman president. Plus, how to determine if you have the time to get out there and run.
Check out the companion "Toolkit" episode in the feed right now.
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Hear what Kate Black, co-author of “Represent The Woman's Guide to Running for Office and Changing the World” says are the most important things you need to know before you run for office, what you must know when you run and how to support someone who is, all right here in a tidy little package. And check out our in-depth conversation in the podcast feed right now. She shares what attributes a successful candidate has, the stories of several women who rose to office against all odds, and how to respond when you hear someone say this country isn’t ready for a woman president.
Support the Inflection Point Campaign for Action. Donate today: bit.ly/inflectionpoint
Meet the women taking charge and leading change on issues like putting more women in office, voting rights, reproductive rights, white supremacy and misogyny, and the climate crisis. And look for our shorter form “toolkit” episodes that break down the issues and offer targeted ways to make a difference.
Join our Campaign for Action at bit.ly/inflectionpoint
The next generation of working mothers is not going to accept the status quo. Unpaid labor, the mental load, and harsh self-judgment could be a thing of the past. But only if we stop feeling guilty and start getting angry, says Katherine Goldstein, creator and host of The Double Shift podcast. We debated these issues and more with Hana Baba, of The Stoop podcast and KALW in this live audience taping from the Betabrand Podcast Theatre on the Bay Area Stop of the Fuck Mom Guilt World Tour.
Plus! Lauren shares her 9/11 story.
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And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
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In the first half of 2019, State legislatures across the South, Midwest and the Plains enacted 58 abortion restrictions, 26 of which would ban some, most or all abortions--even before most people know they’re pregnant. On the brighter side, 93 new laws that expand reproductive healthcare were enacted, including 29 that expanded access to abortion, including NY, Vermont, Maine and Nevada.
In the midst of this maelstrom, in June, 2019 I attended a panel put on The Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health--about the threats against Roe v. Wade and what it means for patients.
I found the speakers and the content really helpful in wrapping my arms around the state of affairs and wanted to share it with you---so the Bixby Center gave me permission to do just that.
The speakers you will hear include Stephanie Toti (who successfully argued Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt in front of the Supreme Court) and now runs the Lawyering Project whose mission is to strengthen protections for reproductive rights under U.S. law and promote reproductive justice), Erin Grant (of the Abortion Care Network, an organization that supports independent abortion providers) and Renee Bracey Sherman (of the National Network of Abortion Funds which works to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access).
This panel discussion, “meeting the needs of patients post-Roe v. Wade” was moderated by Dan Grossman a professor at UC San Francisco and the director of their research program Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health, which you will hear referred to as ANSIRH.
The Bixby Center is part of University of California San Francisco, and they research, train and advocate to advance reproductive health policy and practice worldwide through an evidence-based approach. For those of us who use birth control, let’s give them a shout out. Their researchers have played a part in testing every contraceptive method currently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Links to the resources and information shared in the panel and more on this topic, at my website, inflectionpointradio.org.
Support the production of Inflection Point with a monthly or one-time contribution!
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
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This is a special re-airing in recognition of the 5th anniversary of the Ferguson, MO protests.
When Michael Brown was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, MO in August, 2014 and the protests began, Sabaah Folayan felt the media’s coverage was overly focused on the looting, rioting and property damage, and not nearly enough on the stories of the people who rose up. So she dropped everything and went to Ferguson to see for herself what was happening on the ground and to talk with the people who live there. The result is her documentary film “Whose Streets?” She shares what it was like to be there and how she made her film in such extraordinary circumstances. We spoke in 2017 when "Whose Streets?" first debuted.
On the podcast “Reckonings” host Stephanie Lepp posed the questions: “what does it sound like for a survivor of sexual assault to get her needs met?” “What does it sound like for a perpetrator to take responsibility for his sexual abuse of power?” To answer these questions, Stephanie spoke with a sexual abuse survivor and her perpetrator, who managed to work through it using restorative justice. It's an amazing story, and as part of the Inflection Point summer swap series, here is that Reckonings episode, right here in your feed. For more Reckonings episodes, go to http://www.reckonings.show/episodes/21.
And for more on this topic, listen to my conversation with Eve Ensler, activist, author and Tony award winning playwright, about her new book The Apology, in which Eve imagines her father (who has been dead for 31 years) writing a confessional letter to her, seeking forgiveness for sexually and physically abusing her from the time she was 5 years old.
Eve hopes that other survivors will find it a release to write apologies as their perpetrators to themselves. And she hopes that the men who recognize themselves in this book will be inspired on their own to begin to come forward in life...'In writing this apology, I moved him from monster to apologist…and in doing that, he lost power over me.'
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Welcome to a summer season episode swap featuring Katherine Goldstein of The Double Shift podcast.
Earlier in the season, I shared my conversation with Katie Bethell, the founder of Paid Leave for the US--or PLUS, an advocacy group working to win paid leave for everyone--whether you need to care for yourself or others.
While Katie and I were talking, another podcast that I follow, hosted by Katherine Goldstein, called “The Double Shift” about working mothers...also did a story--with a woman who decided that the paid leave policy at her workplace was good....but not good enough. I want you to hear what happened when she took matters into her own hands, and how the management team at the New York Times, where she worked, responded.
But wait, there’s more! You’re invited to a live taping with me and Katherine Goldstein of The Double Shift when we appear together live in San Francisco August 15th as part of her “F*ck Mom-Guilt.... World Tour”. She will also be in Oakland, August 14th. Click here for tickets!
Support the next season of Inflection Point with a tax deductible contribution, click here!
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I am so glad you’re catching our current season about “radicals”-- Radical actions, radical system change and the people who are making it happen right now:
In the workplace--if you’re still catching up, check out my conversations with Katie Bethel of Paid Leave for the US & Morgan Mercer who is using Virtual Reality to end sexual harassment...
Or if government policy is your thing—you’ll love hearing from the team experimenting with Basic Income in Stockton, CA...and don’t miss Shannon Watts the founder of Moms Demand Action whose gun sense movement used the power of moms to go from from Facebook Page to front page news...
And don’t miss my live conversations with activists—Gloria Steinem, and with Eve Ensler about the radically transformative power of apology.
Plus hear from Jennifer Weiner, whose new book “Mrs Everything” asks who’s really making women’s choices? Are we--or our system?”
All that is in the feed right now!
Coming up I have a couple of special summer-swap episodes from podcasters I admire who have covered topics that tie in with what I cover here on Inflection Point. They’ll appear in your feed on the same schedule as always--every other Wednesday morning!
I have 3 things to ask of you to keep us all rising up: 1) Thinking about women rising up, social change and the quest for equality....What or who do you want to learn about in the next season? How can we help you be the change? Let me know on my contact page at inflectionpointradio.org.
Second thing...We are an independent production out of KALW in San Francisco and PRX. That means that MOST of the funding for this show comes from you, my dear listeners. So I’m asking for your support right now to help me produce the next season of Inflection Point with as much as you can give--whether it’s $10 or $100 or $1000. Here’s how: just go to our support page and give what you can. As a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, your donation is now tax deductible and covers hard costs like studio time, transcripts and editing. If you are already contributing, thank you!
If you have a donor-advised fund or employer match, we can accept those contributions too!
Third... Not in a position to give money? I get that....Support the show with a review on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or where ever you listen.
And last but not least, for the readers out there...I have a whole page on my website featuring the books of people who have been on Inflection Point this season and all seasons past. If you are looking for a good read, you will find it at inflectionpointradio.org/books.
With all that teed up for you, it’s time for me to take a wee break to reflect on everything we’ve heard so far, to work on the next season for you--and yes to try and relax for a minute in this crazy time we live in.
As always, thanks for listening! This is Inflection Point and this is how women rise up.
Thank you to our sponsors!
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The times, they are a’changin’. This week on Inflection Point, I talk to author Jennifer Weiner about her newest bestselling book “Mrs. Everything”. The story is loosely based on Jennifer’s own mother, Fran, who got married, had 4 children and ultimately came out as a gay woman after Jennifer and her siblings were out of the house. Spanning two sisters’ lives from the 1950s to the night of the 2016 political election, the book raises questions about who is really making women’s choices about our own lives...are we? Or our system? How did we get where we are, and how do we move on from here? Jennifer shares the facts behind her fiction, what it takes to write a good sex scene, what hasn't changed since #metoo started, and how the personal becomes political. We spoke at Women Lit, a program of the Bay Area Book Festival on June 22, 2019 in Berkeley, California.
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Meet Shannon Watts, the author of Fight Like a Mother, and the founder of Moms Demand Action, a group that uses research, data, and a little bit of “nap-tivism” to throw their weight and money behind political candidates who are willing to put better gun control laws into action. The kicker? They’re winning. In the last election, they outspent even the NRA.
Join us this week for a look at why our kids are subjected to violent and traumatizing active shooter drills, and what it takes to pass sensible gun legislation. We talk about the root cause of gun violence, who takes the brunt of the violence when background checks get lax, “losing forward” and the very real and positive change that is starting to take place as we come up to the 2020 elections.
Support the production of our next season! It’s tax deductible. Click to support here.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Subscribe to “Inflection Point” to get more stories of how women rise up right in your feed.
Thank you to our sponsors!
NATIVE Deodorant: 20% off your first purchase. Go to nativedeodorant.com and use promo code INFLECTION during checkout.
Spotlyte: Spotlyte is your destination for curated, expert content helping you discover how beauty, skincare, and medical aesthetic treatments may fit into your routine.
YOU! Become a supporter today—it’s tax deductible and you can help us make our next season of episodes. Support here.
This week on Inflection Point, I talk with Eve Ensler, award-winning playwright of The Vagina Monologues, about her new book “The Apology”, in which she writes in the voice of her father to apologize to herself--from him--for the years of sexual and physical abuse he perpetrated upon her.
Stress warning: This episode contains conversation about sexual assault and violence.
You will be blown away by Eve’s resilience, by her self-knowledge, by her strength of character, and by her deep well of compassion and empathy. Her ideas for political and social reform, as well as her profound insights into the human soul, make her a true radical, and radically empathetic.
This week, we discuss the anatomy of a true apology, and the transformative power that apologies hold for the apologists themselves and their recipients. We discuss why punishment never leads to rehabilitation. We discuss the roots of abuse, and how we can start shifting the paradigm.
A must-listen for anyone frustrated at the lack-luster apologies precipitated by the #MeToo movement. A must-listen for anyone infuriated by the Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford cases. A must-listen for anyone who needs to apologize for something. A must-listen for anyone who has ever needed an apology, but hasn’t yet gotten one.
PS I also spoke with Eve in October of 2016, about a year before the #MeToo movement took off. Her words were prescient and I encourage you to listen to that conversation too. Just scroll down the feed.
If this conversation is important to you, please support our independent production with a tax deductible donation. Inflection Point is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.
America is one of only two countries in the world where you can be fired for taking a day off in order to give birth (let that sink in for a moment). As it stands, paid leave policy varies from company to company, state to state, but on a national level, there is no policy in place, no minimum requirements or baseline standard that applies to everyone.
And it’s not just about moms—this lack of policy also has greater repercussions for how we define a family, in a political sense, and the relationship between the family and the workplace—men included. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand are both bringing attention to these issues, running on platforms of universal childcare, and paid medical and family leave.
Katie Bethell, founder and executive director of Paid Leave for the US (PLUS), joins us this week to give us the alarming stats, talk nerdy government logistics, and offer some extremely practical advice on how we can use this particularly potent moment to push for political change. Join us this week on Inflection Point for a look at radical change in action, one decision at a time.
We are independently produced and supported by listeners like you. Make a tax deductible donation to support our production today at inflectionpointradio.org/contribute. Thank you!
In 19th Century San Francisco's Chinatown only 1 in 10 people were women, and most of them were forced into prostitution, trafficked by criminal tongs. In today’s episode, meet the Scottish sewing instructor Donaldina Cameron and the women she collaborated with and helped escape from sex slavery between 1870 and 1930. This week, Julia Flynn Siler talks with Lauren about her new book “The White Devil’s Daughters: The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Francisco’s Chinatown”. Prepare yourself for bomb scares and bubonic plague quarantines, court cases and crowdfunding efforts. Join us in what is, ultimately, a conversation about standing up to a broken society, and how women can help women rise up.
Recorded at the Bay Area Book Festival in May 2019 as part of their Women Lit programming.
This week, we hear about a radical idea to end poverty: Universal Basic Income. Lauren talks to the team behind an experiment with Guaranteed Income taking place in Stockton, CA the one-time foreclosure capital of America where 1 in 4 people live below the poverty line. Featuring conversations with Mayor Michael Tubbs, Natalie Foster of the Economic Security Project, and the co-principal investigators on this experiment: Dr. Amy Castro Baker of the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Stacia Martin West of the University of Tennessee.
Guaranteed Income and Universal Basic Income—where money is given with no strings attached represents a radical shift in the way we think about the social contract. Could this be what a Feminist Economy looks like?
Special thanks to Mia Birdsong for providing voices of Stockton residents, from her “More Than Enough” Podcast. Additional thanks to First Lady of Stockton, Anna Tubbs and Sukhi Samra, Executive Director of SEED.
Learn more about the Stockton Demonstration.
In the post-#MeToo era, men who would never consider saying a harassing word or venture a grope are now asking themselves “can I hug a co-worker anymore?” ****
“Can I put my arm around someone in a photo?”
“Can I have dinner with a female co-worker...alone?”
For the most part, workplace sexual harassment training includes the same rote video, awkward role-playing scenarios or yawn-inducing speaker, and is not remotely equipped to end a culture of enabling harassers or dismissing claims.
What kinds of training tools will create a true change in workplace culture? The kind that helps workers and supervisors comprehend the nuances of what sexual harassment looks like and how the power dynamics of workplace sexual harassment can damage the careers and well beings of those harassed?
Morgan Mercer, CEO of enterprise training platform Vantage Point, believes the answers to these questions, as well as more nuanced insights about the nature of workplace sexual harassment, lies in virtual reality.
Listen to my convo with Mercer as we discuss why corporate sexual harassment training has for the most part failed women, and how immersive experiences like virtual reality may be the key to unlocking empathy, action and change.
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Last season on Inflection Point, we explored the concept of empowerment for women. And one of the many things we learned is that we can’t hope to achieve equality if only one gender is doing the work. Since I recorded that episode a new report came out from the American Psychological Association about the harms of ‘traditional masculinity.’ Yet not everyone is ready to accept this finding. So... what else needs to change in our culture, to enable boys and men to see women as their equals, and for women to see men as our allies?
My guest today is Dr. Michael Reichert, a psychologist with a specialty in work with men and boys, author of the new book, “How to Raise a Boy” and the co-founder and Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Boys' and Girls' Lives, which is connected to the University of Pennsylvania.
The study of gender--especially masculinity--as a social construct is "radical" because it challenges the entrenched belief that “boys will be boys.” Then again, it was considered radical to study the earth's orbit around the sun because it challenged entrenched belief that the earth was the center of the universe.
But it turns out that boys--like most humans--are just really really good at adapting to their environment...an environment we adults create for them.
So...while we are spending lots and lots of time and energy ‘empowering’ women---are we writing off the good that men are capable of because we believe ‘that’s just how they are’ or can we help empower men as well--but in a new way? That will take a radical shift in thinking.
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Times like these call for radical ideas.
But is being a radical a positive thing? And if so, why are so many radicals seen as dangerous?
In the first episode of the new season of Inflection Point: RADICALS, we’ll define what it really means to be a radical, look at some of the lasting change radicals have made throughout our history, and examine how those ideas went from unthinkable to mainstream.
I invited Rad Women book series’ creators Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl to talk about how to spot a radical, because if anyone knows what a radical looks like and what it takes to be one, it’s them.
We’re celebrating our 4 year anniversary of elevating women’s voices! Support the production of Inflection Point by clicking this link here. Thanks!
This special episode features my live conversation with activist, writer and feminist organizer, Gloria Steinem and Oakland-based artist and activist Favianna Rodriguez.
The legendary Gloria Steinem is the author of several best-selling books, was a founding editor of and political commentator for New York Magazine and a founding editor of Ms.
Favianna Rodriguez’s art and collaborative projects address migration, economic inequality, gender justice, and ecology. Favianna is also the Executive Director of CultureStrike, a national arts organization that engages artists, writers and performers in migrant rights.
Gloria, Favianna and I spoke on stage at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco on February 21st, 2019 as part of Women Lit, a program of the Bay Area Book Festival. Gloria’s book of essays--now in its third edition--and the occasion for our conversation--is called “Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions”--and there is no better or more timely theme! In this conversation we talked about the ongoing fight for equality, how much has changed--or not--since Gloria wrote those essays between the 1960s and the 1990s...and how to create the future we envision!
This live event was made possible in part by EO essential oils bath and body care products and of course, my home station KALW in San Francisco, and PRX.
Giving is a radical act. Help keep these podcasts coming:inflectionpointradio.org/contribute.
This season I’m introducing you to the radical geniuses who are reshaping the systems as we know them. But according to today’s guest, we can all be radical geniuses by embracing a mindset of flexibility and resilience.
Katie Goodman is a professional improviser and a comedian. Over the last twenty years her team has taught about 10,000 people from individuals to corporate groups how to use the tools of improv comedy in everyday life.
Today, we’ll talk about how the powers of imagination, collaboration and “yes, and” can give us a new way of responding to problems the world throws at us.
Subscribe to “Inflection Point” to get more stories of how women rise up right in your feed. Here’s a radical idea: contribute to Inflection Point and help us keep telling more stories! inflectionpoint.org/contribute.
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This season Lauren introduces you to the “radical” people who are reshaping the systems as we know them--to get us closer to an equal society.
New episodes every other Wednesday.
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As we finish up the first month of 2019 and embark upon the rest of what will no doubt be a tumultuous year, let’s hear some words of wisdom from a couple previous guests on how to be more intersectional in our feminism and what small, radical acts women and men can take to accelerate change.
I’m revisiting advice that will give us hope and motivation in our march toward our goal of equality, while I work on my next season for you.
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Khalida Brohi was a teenager when she learned that her uncle had murdered her cousin to restore his family’s honor. Her cousin’s crime: falling in love with a boy who she wasn’t betrothed to marry.
Since 2008, Khalida Brohi has been working to end honor killings and domestic violence in the indigenous communities of Pakistan. Her work has led to raising awareness abroad and at home and pressuring the Pakistani government to close loopholes in the law that allowed men to get away with the murder and violence against women in the name of honor.
She also works in the villages to change the mindsets of men like her uncle and women like her grandmother. People whose dignity she must respect while helping them loosen the grip honor has had upon their sense of worth.
Listen to my conversation with Khalida Brohi, author of I Should Have Honor in a special episode, recorded at the Women Lit event in San Francisco.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
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Fox News has paid out hundreds of millions of dollars to silence women who were sexually harassed and assaulted while working there. The story of former Fox News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes’ rise to power and eventual downfall is the story of enablers: people who are willing to look the other way when a predator abuses people, and who are willing to step in and muzzle the victims he leaves in his wake. This story is still happening every day.
How do tyrants win such undying loyalty from others? And what will it take to refuse to stand by and let powerful men get away with anything they want?
Listen to my conversation with Alexis Bloom, the filmmaker behind the award-winning documentary, Divide & Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes.
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Join The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists making extraordinary change here.
After asking the question all season: "Does all this female empowerment we’re striving for really lead to actual power?" The kind of power that puts women in charge of our bodies, our workplaces, our laws, and our futures... And asking people working in politics, business, tech and media who have a lot to say about empowerment to weigh in on these questions, I have an answer--sort of! Spoiler alert: the answers they gave led to more questions. But really, really important questions. Listen to this season wrap-up to find out what needs to happen next in the quest for equality.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Subscribe to “Inflection Point” to get more stories of how women rise up right in your feed on Apple Podcasts, RadioPublic, Stitcher and NPROne.
(Please note, this episode was marked explicit because there are three unbleeped swear words.)
What’s going on with men? Why is it so hard to negotiate the gender power dynamic in everyday situations, like work meetings? Can masculinity exist without its more toxic forms? And why can men get away with sexual misconduct---and even end up seeming like the “real” victim when they’re accused?
While I’ve taken this season of Inflection Point to focus on what women can do to rise up and have more power, John Biewen and Celeste Headlee of the podcast Scene on Radio - MEN have been examining how the patriarchy that we’re rising up against was formed in the first place--and what to do about it.
Today we’re taking a look at the conversations we’ve had over the past seasons of both shows and comparing notes to see if we can find some answers--together.
After you’ve listened, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
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Author Ruth Whippman has been studying the self-improvement industry for years. She’s come to the conclusion that empowerment feminism is, well, BS.
According to Ruth, systemic change doesn’t come from trendy girl-power t-shirts or aspirational Instagram quotes. In fact, Ruth thinks the conceit that women could make equality happen if we just...empowered ourselves more shifts the blame for a system of injustice to individuals with the least power to effect change.
So how women are supposed to get power if we can’t simply take it for ourselves? I sat down with Ruth to gain some perspective on this whole question of empowerment---and what exactly needs to change for empowerment to lead to power.
Ruth Whippman is the author of "America the Anxious. How Our Pursuit of Happiness Is Creating a Nation of Nervous Wrecks."
After you’ve listened, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
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Dr. Safiya Noble was studying Library Science when an academic colleague suggested she google ”black girls.” The top search results were images that perpetuated negative stereotypes, misogyny and exploitation. That discovery was the beginning of an investigation that eventually became Safiya’s book, “Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism”.
Immediate access to powerful search engines is seen as an empowering force in this world, but what if our reliance on search engines is perpetuating oppressive ideas and hateful ideologies--even swaying elections? Find out in this episode.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
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There’s a reason that women are angry. Since the founding of this country, we have been faced with men in power who are set on shutting us down, and shutting us out.
Revolutionary fury isn’t just for the founding fathers. And ladies, even though we’ve been stewing in our ever-growing anger for the past 242 years, we have just begun to fight.
Listen to my conversation with Rebecca Traister, author of the New York Times Bestseller, Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger.
This conversation was recorded live in Berkeley, CA on October 10th, 2018 as part of Women Lit, a program of the Bay Area Book Festival.
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At age 32, Minnesota State Representative Erin Maye Quade is positioned to be at the forefront of a wave of progressive political leaders representing a new generation of voters.
She made history while running in the Twin Cities suburbs as a deeply progressive, biracial, openly queer, anti-gun violence, anti-racist, pro-social justice candidate.
There’s no doubt she’ll rise high and go far. The question is: as an unprecedented amount of women run for office and have a good chance of winning, will the powers that be yield to the kind of change politicians like Erin will bring to office? Or will they double down and fight dirty?
Organizational psychologist Dr. Barbara Adams says there is transformational power for everyone in diversity and inclusivity, but initiatives like employee training days and inclusive hiring aren’t enough.
What we need, says Dr. Adams, is a fundamental shift in mindset about our implicit biases and how they affect every aspect of organizations, from what’s on the walls, to hiring practices and beyond. And the goal shouldn’t be to eliminate biases, but to acknowledge them and to do the work to ensure that there’s more than one kind of bias in the room when decisions are being made.
Listen to my conversation with Dr. Barbara Adams, author of the new book “Women, Minorities and Other Extraordinary People” to see what’s broken about current organizational diversity initiatives and what we can do to create a workplace that works for all of us.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
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Ask any woman who’s sat through a long meeting surrounded by men, and she could tell you how exhausting it can be: we struggle to make ourselves heard while carefully avoiding accusations of being ‘bitchy,’ ‘strident,’ or ‘shrill.’ We rarely have the kind of permission to fail that our male counterparts get. We want to take ownership of what little power is tossed our way, yet we’re always at risk of being punished for wielding such power.
Which is why Julia Rhodes Davis decided to form an all-women board for the non-profit, Vote.org. The question is, can the empowerment that takes place in an all-women board meeting translate into actual, world-changing power once they step outside the boardroom?
Listen to my conversation with Julia Rhodes Davis, Chair of Vote.org and Director of Partnerships The Partnership on AI. Find out what Julia has to say about turning empowerment into power, and also shaping the future so women and minorities don’t need to be “empowered” anymore. (All views are her own. As they should be!)
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
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It’s 2018 and women are more empowered than ever. But how do we turn that into actual power?
We’re living in the era of the Women’s March, #MeToo, the surge of women in politics and t-shirts proclaiming “the future is female.”
Then again, Roe vs Wade is under threat of being overturned, confessed sexual harassers get standing ovations at comedy clubs, and female political candidates of all parties are threatened and harassed on a daily basis.
This season, the podcast Inflection Point with Lauren Schiller is taking a journey into the whole “empowerment” thing and how that turns into actual power. Lauren will go way past the buzzwords, asking questions like:
How did we get to the double standards women live with today?
Are women-only spaces preparing women for leadership... or are they keeping women cloistered?
Is there a place in the world where women, especially women of color, genuinely have power without living on the margins?
And explore what’s possible when women are really in charge…
And what can go wrong…
Check out the new season of Inflection Point with Lauren Schiller from KALW and PRX. And subscribe!
inflectionpointradio.org
After Brief But Spectacular creator Steve Goldbloom filmed 94-year-old retired English teacher Flossie Lewis and “Black Girl Magic” poet activist Mahogany L. Browne, their short segments on PBS NewsHour went unexpectedly viral. Although they come from entirely different backgrounds, the two women share a deep passion for language and an appreciation of its power to heal and to harm. Join our live conversation, recorded at the Commonwealth Club to learn how, despite our differences, we can find connections that bring us together.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
Subscribe to “Inflection Point” to get more stories of how women rise up right in your feed!
At age 35, Stitch Fix founder Katrina Lake became the youngest female founder and CEO to take a company public in 2017. Stitch Fix is now worth over two billion dollars. She has not only changed the way many of us shop for clothes, but she’s also changing how we think about leaders. Find out how she learned to embrace her history-making role as the youngest woman to take a startup to IPO, in this conversation at INFORUM at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco.
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What happens when teachers are given the freedom to inspire a lifelong love of learning? In this episode, I talk with Gabrielle Howard, who recently retired as the head of the Lower School at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn, where she worked for 35 years.
We’ll talk about why she dedicated her life to fostering a love of learning in young children, why she let them swear in her office, how a school without grades can produce high-achieving graduating classes time and time again, and the deep value of listening to kids.
Support Inflection Point with a monthly or one-time contribution at inflectionpointradio.org/contribute.
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Now and then a “girl power” book pops up that is truly inspiring and, better yet, timely. And even better, written by actual feminists, parents, and educators who want to use their books to incite change by creating role models our daughters and sons can relate to.
Sounds pretty rad right? That’s actually the name of a book series...”Rad Women”...”Rad Women A to Z”; “Rad Women Worldwide”, and now, those women Kate Schatz and her co-author/illustrator the rad Miriam Klein Stahl are out with a third book called “Rad Girls Can.”
I talked with Kate and Miriam at a benefit for children's literacy hosted by Reading Partners, an organization that mobilizes communities across the Bay Area to help students read at grade level by fourth grade.
Join me for a special on-stage discussion with the authors of RAD Girls Can, Miriam Klein Stahl and Kate Schatz. The book is available now.
Daniela Petruzalek is an accomplished software engineer from Brazil, who started working with computers at the age of 14. She’s always tried to fit into the male dominated field, but it was in direct conflict with who she really was, even growing up.
The thing is, Daniela has lived most of her life as a male. But three years ago, she took the leap to transition to her true female self and had to fight her own internal prejudices. And not only that, she was now competing in that same very male field, but as a woman.
Daniela has made it her mission as a trans woman, to make the white, cisgender male dominated tech industry truly inclusive.
Join the conversation when you join our “Inflection Point Society” Facebook Group— for everyday activists who want to make extraordinary social change through everyday actions.
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When radio journalist Sarah Delia heard a story about the sexual assault of one of her station’s listeners, “Linda” (not her real name), she knew it was a story that needed to be told. It’s also a story about how one survivor took matters into her own hands when the police department she turned to for help seemed to be failing to help her. And it’s a story about how our criminal justice system handles sexual assault cases nationwide--and what needs to change to make violence against women the exception rather than the status quo.
Sarah turned Linda’s story into a new investigative podcast series called “She Says”. Listen to our conversation about the courage it takes to tell your story of sexual assault--and keep telling it---until you are heard by someone who can help you get justice. And also--what it takes to be the person who takes on the “second-degree trauma” of listening to and reporting on stories of sexual assault.
Join the conversation when you join our “Inflection Point Society” Facebook Group— for everyday activists who want to make extraordinary social change through everyday actions.
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Empathy is often seen as the magic bullet against intolerance. But when we take on too much empathy for others it can be difficult to create emotional boundaries when it comes to our own needs. At the same time, when we put up emotional walls, we’re judged as being selfish, cold or “bossy.”
Emily Abad is someone who was raised to always put others’ needs ahead of her own and not speak up for herself. She’s always struggled to find that perfect balance between empathy and assertiveness. When her religious father refused to accept her after she came out as gay, she was at a loss as to what to do.
Then she began working with kids at the Mosaic Project, an experiential education program addressing issues of diversity, empathy, and conflict resolution. Hear how teaching kids the power of speaking their truth from a place of love helped Emily to find her own voice.
This episode is brought to you in part by Banish skin care. Get $10 for a limited time when you use the code INFLECTION.
And, Commonspace, a podcast featuring live storytelling and conversation. Season two is rolling out right now.
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Support Inflection Point with a monthly or one-time contribution at inflectionpointradio.org to keep women’s stories front and center.
What's so monumental about turning 40 that women need their own Facebook group? Turns out--pretty much everything. From discussing fashion to friendship to feminism, work and health Nina Collins has created an "environment that's a little like Vegas...our special place to talk about what's really going on in our lives..." But why don't real life friends fill that need? Collins turned what she learned from the group--and her own experience with hitting 40–into a book, "What Would Virginia Woolf Do?" Hear it all, including a foray into chin hairs and Botox on this week’s episode.
Can you find compassion in your heart for the haters in your life? Should you? CNN political commentator and first-time author Sally Kohn says if we keep on hating the haters, the cycle of hate will never end. She’s believes compassion to be one of the keys to breaking the cycle of hatred that pervades our culture in today’s divisive world.
The question is, how can compassion defeat a system fuelled by hate?
Listen in on my conversation with Sally Kohn, author of "The Opposite of Hate" on what she’s learned from her own missteps as a former school bully and, paradoxically, as a well-meaning liberal, breaking the cycle of hate, and cultivating compassion for her perceived enemies.
Like what you hear? Support the show at inflectionpointradio.org and join our Facebook group The Inflection Point Society.
Sarah McBride made history as the first transgender person to speak at a national political convention in 2016. As of 2018, more than half of LGBTQ people live in states that don’t protect them from discrimination or are even actively hostile towards them. In the most challenging moments--the 2016 election results, everyday sexism and misogyny and the death of her young husband--even then she fights to update our laws to protect and include LGBTQ people.
Her vision and focus on achieving a more equal world, where everyone is seen and accepted for who they are, is so clear that it almost seems simple. So why does it have to be so hard to get to that point?
Listen to my conversation with Sarah McBride, LGBTQ activist and author of the new book, “Tomorrow Will Be Different”.
And when you’re done, come on over to The Inflection Point Society, our Facebook group of everyday activists who seek to make extraordinary change through small, daily actions.
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For many girls today, the relentless pursuit of accomplishment is fueled by harsh self-criticism and an acute fear of failure. Rachel Simmons has been researching young women for two decades, and her research plainly shows that girl competence does not equal girl confidence—nor does it equal happiness, resilience, or self-worth. As an educator and author of "Enough As She Is: How to Help Girls Move Beyond Impossible Standards of Success to Live Healthy, Happy and Fulfilling Lives", Rachel teaches girls and women skills to build their resilience, amplify their voices, and own their courage so that they—and their relationships—live with integrity and health.
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For the past decade, 96-year-old Betty Reid Soskin has served as the nation’s oldest Park Ranger, where she gives talks at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park. But the triumphant story of the now ubiquitous feminist icon, Rosie the Riveter, is not Betty’s story. While Rosie was breaking barriers for twentieth century white women in the workforce, Black women like Betty and her slave ancestors had been serving as laborers “outside the home” for centuries. In our live talk at INFORUM at the Commonwealth Club, Betty offers a clear-eyed perspective on the untold stories of the American narrative and the ever-rising spiral our country is making toward equality.
Listener support is the engine that keeps us rolling! Consider supporting at inflectionpointradio.org/contribute.
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An awkward conversation with her white mother about “good white people” inspired Ijeoma Oluo to take on the unenviable task of writing one of the most user-friendly books on race of our time: “So You Want To Talk About Race.” In plain language, Ijeoma has confronted deeply uncomfortable questions surrounding racial injustice from the school-to-prison pipeline to the Black Lives Matter movement to white feminism and intersectionality.
In our conversation, Ijeoma helps me to understand the insidious nature of white supremacy in our world. She also wakes me up to the fact that solidarity between all women cannot happen until white cis women hold themselves accountable to the ways they have benefitted from systems of oppression. Most importantly, Ijeoma offers practical, everyday actions that you can do today to help dismantle the system of racism.
Listener support is the engine that keeps us rolling! Consider supporting at inflectionpointradio.org/contribute.
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Conversations with women rising up and making history—and how you can too.
It’s time for some tough conversations about what women are up against right now and what to do about it.
So how can everyday women and men rise up and make true equality happen?
On Inflection Point I’m joined by experts and policy makers; authors and activists who are pounding on doors and breaking them down...And calling it out when something’s not right.
These are the tough conversations women are having, but everyone needs to hear.
On Inflection Point you’ll hear honest, powerful stories that will help you see the world with a little more promise.
And you’ll come away with ideas you can apply to your own life.
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There are girls all around the globe addressing tough issues that no young person should have to deal with--but must, by the luck of where and when they were born. Things like child marriage, sex trafficking, limited access to education, and poverty. Over 100 of these girls who have decided to do something about the problems in their community are featured in a new book called "Wonder Girls: Changing Our World." It was written by photojournalist Paola Gianturco and her 11 year old granddaughter, Alex Sangster who interviewed and photographed girl activists from fifteen girl-led nonprofit groups across the world...Girls who have managed to take their outrage and turn it into action.
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Why should biology decide when--or how--you'll have a baby? And what do advances in medical science mean for the feminist movement? As journalist Rachael Lehmann-Haupt investigated new reproductive technologies, she was faced with her own, personal 'ticking biological clock.' She tells us how she came to her own decision about having a child, and shares the pros and cons of having a baby on your own. Her book is “In Her Own Sweet Time”.
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What can women refugees teach us about how to rise up? Christina Psarra, head of mission for Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian aid organization, bears witness to their sacrifice and resourcefulness, giving everything she has to help them. Along the way, she's discovered that refugees are not victims--they are survivors and it's her job to help them survive.
If there was ever a time when we need to consistently keep our souls replenished for the fight against injustice, it would be now. Hear how Women’s March artistic director, Paola Mendoza and strategic advisor and national organizer Sarah Sophie Flicker use the power of art and culture in activism, and what they learned in documenting The Women’s March for the newly released book, "Together We Rise." As national organizers for The Women’s March and leaders of The Resistance Revival Chorus, these artist activists see their purpose as connecting fellow members of The Resistance to the moments of joy and transcendence that come with being a part of history in the making.
As more and more women graduate from college and even surpass their male peers in levels of education, men are finding other means for achieving career success. Nancy Niemi, Director of Faculty Teaching Initiatives at Yale questions the conventional wisdom that college is a path to gender equality. Women now need more degrees than ever just to compete because in spite of all this education, institutional sexism is still prevalent. Her book is called, “Degrees of Difference.”
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When Bonny Simi was 14 years old, she made a list of life goals--to be a pilot, go to college, be a TV broadcaster, be an Olympic athlete and to build a log cabin. Today, she's achieved 4 of the 5 of them and she founded JetBlue Ventures to massively improve the travel experience. She may be the 'most interesting woman in the world.' And I wanted to know how she did it.
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From her childhood as a self-confessed gaming nerd to her career as an engineering-inspired artist (or is it art-inspired engineer?), Suz Somersall has made a life of her own design. She's now the founder of KiraKira, a learning program that makes girls feel confident and excited about creating new products using 3D printing, design-thinking and STEAM concepts.
We’ll hear how while living as on a remote Japanese island with her husband fighting halfway across the world, Suz redefined her role from military wife to entrepreneur.
This week on "Inflection Point," Suz shares how, despite a career full of pivots, one's life can ultimately lead in the same direction all along.
Inflection Point is brought to you by FreshBooks—spend less time dealing with invoices and expenses, and more time changing the world. Get your first 30 days free with no obligation at freshbooks.com/inflection and enter “Inflection Point” in the how did you hear about us section.
Tired of the patriarchy? This will perk you up! Become an Inflection Point monthly Patron (er, Matron!) today! Thank you!
Cristi Hegranes wanted to be a foreign correspondent since the time she was six years old. Within days of achieving her dream job, after all the traditional training, she realized she was the wrong person for the job. The right person? The women who actually live in the countries usually covered by outsiders. So she decided to train women journalists and give them a platform to tell the stories of their own communities. As she says, "To change the story, you have to change the storyteller."
Inflection Point is brought to you by FreshBooks—spend less time dealing with invoices and expenses, and more time changing the world. Get your first 30 days free with no obligation at freshbooks.com/inflection and enter “Inflection Point” in the how did you hear about us section.
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This fall, I was invited to moderate a panel for a conference put on by Women In Product, a non-profit formed to create a strong community of women builders and leaders in the tech industry. My panel included four female founders of technology companies: Cheryl Contee of Fission Strategy, Heather Fernandez of Solv, Selina Tobaccowala of Evite and Gixo and Aarthi Ramamurthy of Lumoid.
You’ll hear what surprised each of them about starting a company, the pros and cons of running a company while female, from leadership style to sexual harassment and gender bias--and ultimately as business-people what it takes to scale.
Inflection Point is brought to you by FreshBooks—spend less time dealing with invoices and expenses, and more time changing the world. Get your first 30 days free at freshbooks.com/inflection and enter “Inflection Point” in the how did you hear about us section.
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More women than ever are raising their hands to run for office. But what does it actually take to to win? And what will be different when they do? Kate Black, now at the FCC, recorded with me in August when she was Chief of Staff for EMILY's List, an organization that helps pro-choice, Democratic women run for office. And she has her own story of awakening to the fact that we need more women in office.
In part 2 we hear the personal story that started it all for sexual consent and internet abuse lawyer, Carrie Goldberg. And it begins with the usual, "I met him on the internet..." Carrie shares how she fights back against perpetrators of revenge porn and other sexual misconduct, as well as how victims may actually come out the other side with more power.
Inflection Point is brought to you by FreshBooks—spend less time dealing with invoices and expenses, and more time changing the world. Get your first 30 days free at freshbooks.com/inflection and enter “Inflection Point” in the how did you hear about us section.
And—Women’s voices have never been more vital. Your monthly support will make them be heard. Become an Inflection Point patron today. Thank you!
With the Harvey Weinstein tsunami of sexual misconduct allegations, it has everyone asking, will this be the moment when everything changes? And if it is, what will it take to balance the power between harassers and their victims? And what about the enablers--Is this all one big conspiracy? I talk with sexual harassment and internet privacy lawyer Carrie Goldberg to find out.
Inflection Point is brought to you by FreshBooks—less time dealing with invoices and expenses, and more time to change the world. Get your first 30 days free at freshbooks.com/inflection and enter “Inflection Point” in the how did you hear about us section.
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Jennifer Brea was an avid traveler, a Harvard PhD student and a Princeton grad. She was engaged to be married to the man she loved. Then one day she couldn't get out of bed with an illness that went undiagnosed for over a year. Until finally she started to meet other people--mostly women--who had the same problem: a misunderstood illness, generically described as "Chronic Fatigue Syndrome" or what used to be called "hysteria." To take control of her life--and to be taken seriously, she started to film herself, others like her and the few experts there are. Her film is called "Unrest."
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Whitney Bell got tired of receiving unwanted sexually explicit photos from men, and decided to do something about it: She gathered 200 of these images and put them on display in an art gallery show entitled "I Didn't Ask For This. A Lifetime of Dick Pics." This is “Part 1” of our convo. Be sure to listen to Part 2 for more about her feminist activism.
Part 2 of our conversation…To hear about Whitney Bell’s gallery show “I Didn’t Ask For This: A Lifetime of Dick Pics” please check out “Part 1.” In this episode, we move onto the response Whitney got from an article she wrote about abortion for Teen Vogue; why she posed for Playboy and how she handles the backlash from her feminist activism.
Most of us don’t know what to say when we are grieving or how to reach out when the people we love go through something awful. Dr. Kelsey Crowe’s own experiences with grief helped her realize that so many people suffer alone because the people around them don’t know what to do or say. So Kelsey actually shifted her career focus to understand what grieving people want, and what they don’t. She surveyed 900 people about their experiences with grief, founded Help Each Other Out to provide empathy bootcamps, and wrote a book about what she learned. The title of her book sums it up: There is No Good Card for this: What to say and do when life is scary, awful and unfair to people you love.* Lauren talks with Kelsey about what she learned and how we can all help each other out.
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Ashton Applewhite is on a mission as old as humanity itself -- to change our attitudes about age and ageing. Her book is "This Chair Rocks. A Manifesto Against Ageism," and her Ted Talk received a standing ovation. She's onto something. This week on Inflection Point, she talks with Lauren about how she plans to end what she calls "the last acceptable prejudice."
When she was young, Jeannette Walls wanted nothing more than to escape her crazy, chaotic family. She grew up in poverty, in a crumbling home, where her parents couldn’t always put food on the table. They moved from place to place and school to school. After putting her past behind her to become a successful journalist and author, Walls finally revisited her upbringing in her memoir, “The Glass Castle.” Now it’s been adapted into a film, and this was my chance to talk with her about how she rose out of a seemingly impossible situation.
When Michael Brown was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, MO in August, 2014 and the protests began, Sabaah Folayan felt the media’s coverage was overly focused on the looting, rioting and property damage, and not nearly enough on the stories of the people who rose up. So she dropped everything and went to Ferguson to see for herself what was happening on the ground and to talk with the people who live there. The result is her documentary film Whose Streets? She shares what it was like to be there and how she made her film in such extraordinary circumstances. Whose Streets comes out August 11th, 2017.
“The biggest trick is how do we teach women at any stage to keep knowing what they want and asking for that,” says Leanne Meyer, Program Director of the Carnegie Mellon Leadership and Negotiation Academy for Women. Meyer’s work focuses on two main components that inhibit women’s progress in the workplace: the environments at work and school, and the habits of women themselves. Meyer educates women on the stereotypes and biases holding them back; teaches them to network; how to seek out and make use of the support of sponsors and mentors; and how to understand their environments and not sell themselves short in negotiation.
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What if the root of all the world’s problems is the imbalance of masculinity and femininity in our leadership? Nina Simons, co-founder of Bioneers has spent over twenty years investigating the power of femininity to solve some of humanity’s greatest challenges. We discuss how she discovered that leading with the feminine can help anyone–male or female–find their purpose and their passion.
Thank you to our sponsor:
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Laura Weidman Powers is co-founder and CEO of Code2040, an organization focused on ending structural racism in America by smoothing the pathways into tech for people of color. She shares her ‘aha’ moment, how she got involved in this work and why it’s critical for companies to rethink their current approach to diversity.
What if the thing you really love to do makes you so anxious it gets in the way of doing your job? For Patti Niemi, a percussionist, her first experience with anxiety cropped up while in her second year at at Juilliard, causing her hands to shake uncontrollably. Niemi wrote a memoir called “Sticking It Out. From Juilliard to the Orchestra Pit.” In this episode, hear how she rose to the top of the music world and above her anxiety.
As one of few female executives in technology, Deb Liu is working to address the challenges that women in tech are facing-- both on day-to-day basis and through a non-profit she co-created called "Women in Product."
Samantha Miller is leading the only pharmaceutical company whose mission is to bring the birth control pill over the counter-- with their product "Kate." This has never been attempted before. Although men's birth control has been available at pharmacies for years.
Deb Liu, VP of Platform and Marketplace at Facebook challenges all of us to think about the words we use every day.
Jessica Jin led the protests against the campus carry gun law at University of Texas at Austin last fall by, as she says, "fighting absurdity with absurdity."
Joann Lublin is the management news editor at the Wall Street Journal and the author of the new book "Earning It. Hard-Won Lessons from Trailblazing Women at the Top of the Business World." Her finding? Gender bias is alive and kicking. Hear how these women addressed and navigated their unique situations.
We're back! The National Resources Defense Council has signed on as a partner to the Women's March on Washington. The president of the NRDC, Rhea Suh talks with Lauren about about why the Women's March matters for the environment and what's at stake with the new administration.
Ruth Whippman's new book is "America the Anxious. How The Pursuit Of Happiness Is Making Us A Nation of Nervous Wrecks." How's all the meditation and yoga working for you? Our conversation was recorded live at the 2016 Berkeley Festival of Ideas.
Donna Jaffe and her team at Peaceable Kingdom develop cooperative games for kids. We discuss what her games could teach the adults, too.
Tiffany Shlain's new film "50/50" shares the story of what the world used to look like and can look like with true equality. Tiffany has been nominated for an Emmy for her filmmaking, she's founder of the Webby Awards, and Newsweek called her one of the women shaping the 21st century. "50/50" is part of Refinery 29's Shatterbox Anthology film series which explores the dynamics of women and power.
Eve Ensler, the creator of The Vagina Monologues, VDay and One Billion Rising shares her work to end violence against women, and what the rise of Trump means for the movement.
Dr. Alison Dahl Crossley is the Associate Director of Stanford's Clayman Institute for Gender Research. She has a book coming out this spring called "Finding Feminism: Millennial Activists and the Unfinished Gender Revolution."
Jess McIntosh has worked to get pro-choice female Democrats elected while at on the team at Emily's List. She was the spokesperson for Al Franken's senatorial campaign and at the time of this interview, the Director of Communications for Hillary for America, she's on the front lines working to get Hillary Clinton elected as the first female president of the United States.
James Beard Leadership Award winner Anna Lappé has spent most of her career as a sustainable food advocate. We talk big food and marketing to kids--and the implications for the health of our planet and people.
Arlie Hochschild has been called "one of the most imaginative and productive feminist sociologists of the last thirty years." Lately she's been spending her time trying to understand the rise of the American Right–the only way that she could do that was to leave her Berkeley bubble and go to Louisiana to meet the real people of the Tea Party, not the caricatures. She shares her five year journey in her new book "Strangers in Their Own Land. Anger and Mourning on the American Right".
The Stanford Peace Innovation Lab says there is a way to achieve world peace by 2037 using persuasive technology and 'behavior design' techniques that incentivize collaboration over conflict and peace over destruction. Co-Director Margarita Quihuis shares how this vision is playing out.
MoveOn.org co-founder and liberal activist, Joan Blades has teamed up with Republican John Gable on an initiative called AllSides for Schools to bring civilized conversations about controversial topics to the classroom. We talk about why students need these tools now and what these conversations were like in high school for Joan and John.
Meet the author of "Rad Women Worldwide," Kate Schatz. She tells us why she is vocal about being a feminist, and we discuss how her books are changing perceptions about who gets to go down in history as extraordinary.
How do you change the face of technology? Roz Hudnell is VP of Corporate Affairs at Intel, and President of Intel Foundation. She is also one of the few senior African-American women at the company. She tells us why building a diverse workforce has been her life's work--and why it matters to tech.
How do we make space for innovation in our personal and professional lives? Move from a productivity-based metric to one that makes room for other measures of success. Amy Whitaker has written the book "Art Thinking. How to carve out creative space in a world of schedules, budgets and bosses." She tells us how a major shift in her personal life led her from business school to art school--and ultimately to write this book.
Vivien Labaton founded advocacy organization "Make It Work" to influence policies in support of paid family leave, equal pay and affordable childcare. She shares her story of growing up with a single dad, and what she experienced when the time came to care for her own child.
Building communities up through a lending network started during the Civil Rights Movement. Nancy Santiago Negrón of the Opportunity Finance Network shares why it took three calls from the White House for her to join the Women's Bureau at the Dept. of Labor and what her current organization is doing to help grow underserved communities.
Simine Vazire is a founder of the Society for the Improvement of Psychological Science. She shares why the methods and practices in psychological science need to change--and what she is doing about it.
When it comes to girls who code must it be "perfection or bust"? Only about a quarter of computer professionals are women--and that's actually down from 1990 when it was 36%. Girls Who Code is a non-profit organization whose mission is to change all that by closing the gender gap in computer science. And we'll need them--without girls, we will literally not have enough people to fill coding jobs in the US.
Award-winning historian Dr. Amanda Foreman argues that a history that pushes women to the margins is an untruth that must be challenged. To this end, she created the four-part documentary series "The Ascent of Woman" with the BBC.
Will the debate over reproductive freedom ever end? Ilyse Hogue, the President of NARAL Pro-Choice America joins Lauren to discuss why we continue to have a clash of world-views.
Filmmaker Shannon Cohn says after breast cancer, endometriosis is "the last great health taboo" and has made a film called "Endo-What?" to change the narrative--and help women and healthcare practitioners understand and treat the disease.
Birds do it. Bees do it. But we definitely don't want to think about our teens doing it. But eventually, do "it" they will. For her new book, "Girls and Sex. Navigating the Complicated New Landscape" Peggy Orenstein set out to find out how porn, pop culture and popular attitudes about sex influence the way our girls make their way in the world.
The central tenet of today's women's movement is equality--in wages, treatment, opportunity. But what about in love and sex? Antonella Vitale is a PhD candidate at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and she is studying the practice known as fuitina, a Sicilian term used to describe the kidnapping of a woman for the purpose of rape or elopement--a practice that continues to this day, worldwide. The bottom line? It's complicated.
What does the future look like for how audio content gets distributed--and heard? And what will it take to make podcasting and broadcasting a sustainable business for producers? Kerri Hoffman, who has been with PRX since their early days, has just been named CEO. She shares her vision.
What's the secret to successfully developing the next generation of women leaders? The President of Women Unlimited, Inc. Dr. Rosina Racioppi has spent her career sharing the answer.
The goal of fundraising is to raise funds right? Fundraising expert and non-profit leader Jennifer McCrea says "money is just gas in the car."
Why is everyone so gung ho on having an optimistic attitude? It turns out that pessimism can be a good thing. Find out why. Julie Norem is a Professor of Psychology at Wellesley College.
Conversations about Autism are often focused on what people can't do. But joy and fulfillment and meaning come from what you're good at and not obsessing on your deficits. Diana shares her work on helping autistic kids, including her own triplets, become fulfilled adults. Diana O'Brien is the Founder of Impact Autism and CMO of Deloitte.
We may be staying in touch more frequently thanks to technology, but what are we missing out on by not writing more letters? Sabrina Moyle, the founder of Hello Lucky! And Tess Darrow, the founder of Egg Press are determined to bring back letter-writing, with their Write_On campaign.
Dr. Dava Newman is the Deputy Administrator of NASA. She is ushering in the next mission to Mars. Will this be one giant step for women... And a giant leap for womankind?
Have you ever thought about climbing the Golden Gate Bridge untethered, for fun? Caroline Paul has. In her latest book, "The Gutsy Girl: Escapades for Your Life of Epic Adventure" she not only documents her adventures, but shares what she's learned from them to inspire more adventures for all. PS she was one of the first female firefighters in San Francisco.
Crisis Text Line has processed over 14 million messages to date with trained volunteers who support people in crisis who text the word "start" to 741 741. Nancy Lublin is the Founder of Crisis Text Line. She also founded Dress For Success, and was CEO of the teen volunteer organization Do Something.
Professor Boaler is challenging the notion of "being gifted" at math. Her most recent book is "Mathematical Mindsets," and she recently founded a math resources website, youcubed.org.
What's all that screen time doing to our childrens' brains? Lauren's guest Delaney Ruston is a primary care physician and filmmaker who explores these questions with her own daughter in the new film "Screenagers."
In her world exhibition, "Women:New Portraits" Annie Leibovitz updates the photos from the book she published in 1999 with Susan Sontag, called "Women." The new collection reflects the changes in the roles of women today. Lauren sat down with Annie Leibovitz at the opening of her show in San Francisco.
Why would you open your door to a stranger with an armful of clothing? Diane Loviglio, the co-founder of Boon + Gable, is attempting to address the dressing challenge with a new business she describes as 'Style. Ordered in.'
There is a STEM teacher shortage in K-12 education--resulting in an education gap that may leave many students under-prepared for our increasingly tech focused economy. Talia Milgrom-Elcott has taken this challenge to heart--and created a non-profit organization aptly called "100kin10".
In the trades, most workers--carpentry and otherwise, are still men. Lauren's guest Maria Klemperer-Johnson thinks that this state of affairs can and should change--so she's opened a carpentry school for women called "Hammerstone" in Trumansburg, NY.
Kango was founded on the premise that it's perfectly logical to outsource your kids' transportation, along with childcare. She shares how they go the extra mile to ensure a safe experience, and why you don't have to be 25 and single to start a business.
Many groups still feel excluded from the feminist movement. Teresa shares how feminism can be a value everyone can share--across races, sexuality, economics.
What does it mean to be an 'agent of change'? Lauren talks with Laura Walker, the President and CEO of New York Public Radio about their expansion from city-owned WNYC to running multiple stations, a performance space, and her podcast initiative to include 50% female hosts.
Parisa Rouhani is the co-founder of the Center for Individual Opportunity and is studying the intersection of neuroscience, technology and design at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
It turns out that at least 80% of cut flowers sold in the US are shipped from overseas. Christina Stembel, the founder of Farmgirl Flowers thinks the flower industry could use a re-fresh.
You might think from your mailbox that letter-writing is on the wane. But a new memoir by Mary-Louise Parker may just revive the art.
Meet Alison Levine, one of the few Americans to complete the Adventure Grand Slam--climbing the 7 highest peaks in the world, and skiing to both the North and South Poles. She's written a book about leadership with lessons learned called "Life on the Edge."
On Why Having It All Is Bad for Self-Esteem--and how women can reach leadership parity by 2025.
Founder of Broadway Angels, an all-women investing group, and named one of Worth Magazine's 2015 100 most powerful people in global finance--one of fifteen women to make that list this year. She is also the founder of Project Glimmer which provides gifts to underserved women and girls.
Lina Nilsson is a bio-chemical engineer, and was the Innovation Director for the Blum Center for Developing Economies at UC Berkeley. She wrote an Op-Ed in the NYTimes called "How to Attract Female Engineers" and in our conversation, she shares some of the letters she received in opposition to this idea.
On her new book, the influence of her dad on her life, and the best retort she ever learned. Plus she shares her advice on how to start a movement, and hypothesizes on why it's been so hard for some to picture a woman in the White House.
The poverty level for American families has hovered at 25% for decades, in spite of billions of dollars spent. Mia Birdsong of Family Story, offers a new perspective--redefine the definition of a 'traditional family.'
Pam Scott is a philanthropist who brings her corporate experience to sub-Saharan Africa: using human-centered design to reduce unwanted teen pregnancy from 50% to a 'new normal.'
Meet the co-Creator and Executive Editor of Reveal, the investigative radio show from the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR).
Sarah Silverman--standup comedian, writer and TV star--has shocked many an audience with her outrageous humor. Now she stars in the new dramatic film "I Smile Back," in which she plays a tragically troubled housewife.
The causes of cancer seem to be everywhere. From makeup products, to the clothes we wear, and the furniture we buy. And even if it has a pink ribbon on it to support breast cancer awareness, Karuna Jaggar of Breast Cancer Action says it's very possible that the contents are cancer-causing.
The Atlantic article author of "Why Women Still Can't Have It All" continues the conversation in her new book "Unfinished Business." She says that for true equality, "men's roles really have to change, they have to be care-givers as well as breadwinners."
Simone Marean, Executive Director and Co-Founder of Girls Leadership shares how to set your daughter up for success--without burdening her with a fear of failure.
Claire Herminjard, the founder of Mindful Meats, who left a career in tech to address the problems she saw with Factory Farmed meat.
Meet Susan Griffin-Black, the founder and co-CEO of EO Products, a trailblazer in the mainstreaming of natural and organic body care products
Allyson Hobbs, an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at Stanford University and the author of "A Chosen Exile. A History of Racial Passing in American Life." Hobbs argues that what is missing from our society is a deep understanding of the lives of others.
What it takes to become a judge--and what it takes to keep order in the court. Alameda County Superior Court judge Noel Wise.
In this episode Lauren talks with Brandi Chastain of World Cup fame about how sports can affect girls and their lives.
Anya Fernald started Belcampo Meat Company to raise the quality and locality of the meat we eat.
Host Lauren Schiller talks with Mariam Naficy, Founder and CEO of Minted, a marketplace of independent artists.
Kara Goldin started Hint Water to replace 'sugar-free' beverages and encourage more water consumption.
Missy Park, founder of Title Nine shares how sports can affect outcomes for girls in life and in business.
Erin Ganju of Room to Read is a social entrepreneur breaking the cycle of poverty for millions.
"Inflection Point" host Lauren Schiller talks with Revolution Foods co-Founders Kristin Richmond and Kirsten Tobey.
Women hold only 9% of management positions, and account for only 14% of senior management positions at Silicon Valley startups. Meet the Editor-in-Chief of CNET.com, Lindsey Turrentine.
"Inflection Point" host Lauren Schiller talks with Alex Bernadotte, Founder of Beyond 12 who shares how she is helping underserved students succeed in college.
Leilah Janah founded Samasource to connect the poorest people in developing countries to digital work through a pioneering approach she calls “impact sourcing.” We spoke in 2015 and we’re re-releasing this episode now because she’s written a book based on her experiences called “Give Work.”
Women hold only 9% of management positions, and account for only 14% of senior management positions at Silicon Valley startups. Meet the co-founder of Flickr and Findery, Caterina Fake.