The Broadcast biweekly

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Post-Election Reflection: Why We Do This

Issue No. 20 | November 18, 2016

A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS

You could say this newsletter started because of Mellody Hobson.

Our discovery of her Vanity Fair profile in April 2015 sparked a habit of sending each other stories of women breaking barriers, forging new paths, and generally exuding excellence. After exchanging our fair share of links, we realized that our mental roster of female icons was far too limited — and that the thoughtful profiles and interviews introducing us to new names were far too hard to find.

Looking back through our notes from when the “The Broadcast Biweekly” was just a fledgling enterprise, we’re reminded of why we decided to turn our initial frustration of this shortage into a celebration instead. Women are underrepresented in just about every industry and position of influence, but stories of women who are changing these statistics are perhaps even rarer. By scouring the internet for profiles and interviews that spotlight the exceptions, we want to start conversations about these audacious people and create space for others to join them.

These conversations, and these stories, matter to us now more than ever. To take a line from journalist Adrienne LaFrance, “Women represent about half the global population, and yet they’re dramatically underrepresented in stories meant to help people understand much of the complexity in the world.”

In the face of a President-elect known for insulting, belittling, and sexualizing women, we need a counterweight. We’re choosing to respond, in part, by meeting this destructive and divisive rhetoric with recognition of how women (of all races, sizes, sexualities, nationalities, and beliefs) are contributing to and shaping society. We’ll keep spreading stories about the strength, intelligence, hard work, resilience, and confidence of women we admire. This week includes: model Ashley Graham introducing a Barbie doll whose thighs are finally touching; set designer Hannah Bleacher recruiting more black women in Hollywood; restaurateur Jessica Koslow explaining her undying love for jam. It’s a small thing, but it’s something.

Before we started this newsletter, the women you’d find on our list of role models were somewhat obvious choices — writers, actresses, CEOs. Ask us about our icons today? In addition to famous and influential women beloved by many, we’ll mention a transgender crime scene cleaner, a midwestern pumpkin farmer, and a teenage monster truck driver. The common thread is female ambition, and thanks to this little passion project, we’ve discovered just how many different kinds of doors this ambition can open (or, rather, knock down entirely.)

If anyone knows Mellody Hobson, please send her our thanks.

xx Kate and Maia

WORDS

“Are her thighs touching? HER THIGHS ARE TOUCHING!”

— Ashley Graham commenting on the Barbie version of herself at Glamour’s Women of the Year awards

ART

Champ | Zoe Buckman

READS

"Yes, The Same Woman Dreamed Up The Visuals For Lemonade & Moonlight " | Refinery29 For a production designer with a resume that includes Creed, Beyonce’s Lemonade, and Oscar contender Moonlight, the most critical moment of Hannah Beachler’s career was surprisingly during the filming of a crappy Lifetime television show: "I did the production design for this really tiny horrible show and I was like yeah, I want to do this forever." From there, she toiled away on small indies and horror movies and then Fruitvale Station, where she “immediately clicked” with director Ryan Coogler. It seems no coincidence that Hannah has been involved in creating some of the most important art of the last decade, and she wants more black women to join her: “I’m hoping that maybe I change some minds on the Hollywood side, and also maybe introduce aspiring professionals to this idea as an option. Like hey, everyone! In case you didn't know, there's a really great craft in production design!"

"The Writer Who Was Too Strong To Live" | Deadspin She sounds like a character in a novel: A wild, hard-drinking, hard-living female sportswriter who amazes colleagues and bosses with her skill and stamina. But Jennifer Frey was a real-life whiz kid. She got a top job at the New York Times at age 24, followed by an even more prestigious gig at the Washington Post. She threw epic annual Derby parties and wrote incisive profiles of athletes every other week. She confronted chauvinist baseball players and won. So, what ever happened to Jennifer? Well, for her, drinking wasn’t just a hobby. Dave McKenna has written a deeply reported story about Jennifer, her alcoholism, and how her friends and family were at a loss to save her.

"California Dreaming" | Eater Jessica Koslow has a “jams-to-riches” story. The owner and chef of L.A.’s Sqirl got her start turning California produce into quirky marmalades and jams for a farmer's market stand. Four years later, she’s become the face of modern Californian cuisine. Writer Marian Bull captures Koslow’s charm just as well as she captures the problematic allure of what her ventures represent (“It’s almost vulgar, and I hate how much I adore it, or at least covet it, or at least covet what it’s trying so hard to sell me, which is the idea that I could somehow be a rich happy tan person who never gets melanoma and feels completely satiated after eating a salad.”) That said, you get the sense that Koslow isn’t just trying to capitalize on a trend — she’s genuinely excited about prunes, and wants you to be, too: "These are really delicious foods that are being forgotten about. Those are the things I’m interested in."

"The Life and Example of Gwen Ifill" | The New York Times We had never imagined a world without Gwen Ifill. It just seemed like she would always be here, moderating debates and bringing a sense of joy to stodgy ol’ PBS. So when she passed away this week, it was an unexpected blow. And for columnist David Brooks, it was also personal, since Gwen was a close friend. (The kind of friend who emails you, out of the blue, to say: “For some reason you have been on my mind. Are you well?”) He writes beautifully about what she brought to the world, as a friend, as an advocate, and as a journalist. This is a loss that will be felt by many, for a long time.  

"The Blues Superstar Who Created A Gay Nightlife Scene 100 Years Ahead Of Its Time" | BUST “Before her time” couldn’t be more of an understatement when it comes to the life of Gladys Bentley. She left home at 16 and made her way to Harlem in 1923, playing at parties and small clubs until a friend mentioned a notable club was looking for a pianist. The only problem? They wanted a boy — to which Bentley responded: “There’s no better time for them to start using a girl.” By 1930, she was a bona fide star known for her risque lyrics, pounding piano, and gender-bending signature white tuxedo. This profile chronicles her rise to fame, the backlash of a world that didn’t know what to do with her loud, proud self, and her sudden embrace of societal norms at the end of her life. We could read an entire book about Gladys.

Read a story about a woman who should be our first female president? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the Pumpkin (Farmer) Queen of America 🎃

Issue No. 19 | October 28, 2016

WORDS

“I just do it by vibration. Different strokes for different folks. Do your thing your way.”

— The late Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor on the title of her cooking book, Vibration Cooking

ART

Rider-Waite Tarot Deck | Pamela Colman Smith Rider-Waite tarot cards, first issued in 1909, is the most widely used tarot deck and the first to be mass-marketed in English with original art. The unsung artist behind them was Pamela Colman Smith, a Brooklyn-born early 20th century illustrator. (Now you can go get your future predicted with a dose of history.)

READS

"America’s Pumpkin Queen Has a Request: Don’t Carve, Cook" | The New York Times It’s Halloweason, which means there’s a 80 percent chance you’ve purchased a pumpkin and a 120 percent chance you’ve thought about it. (Yes, we made up these numbers, but are 96.5 percent sure they are right.) Either way, you’ve likely come into contact with the fruits of farmer Sarah Frey’s labor. She is the self-made “undisputed pumpkin queen of America” who now owns millions of dollars in farmland, and wants you to think outside of the jack-o’-lantern box: “I was over orange pumpkins 15 years ago,” she says. “That’s a terrible thing to say, because our biggest percentage of acreage is jacks. But it’s just not where I’m at with pumpkins.” If this quote doesn’t make you immediately want to buy a pumpkin, try this: “Those same young people who are going to take over the world and make it better are the ones who are going to cook with pumpkin.” Sold? We thought so.

The Pieces of Zadie Smith | T Magazine

Calling Zadie Smith “one of this generation’s most vital literary voices,” as this profile does, is hardly an overstatement. In fact, it might be an understatement. Writer Jeffrey Eugenides, tasked with profiling Smith, is almost up to the task of conveying her importance, and exploring why she writes how she writes. In her new novel, Swing Time, Smith uses the first person — the first time she’s done so — and says it wasn’t an easy decision. This piece delves into why she did it (“therapy”) and how Smith faces her doubts about writing with an “authority” that doesn’t always feel natural.  

"Talking Books, Plays, and Kindness With Mary-Louise Parker" | Lenny Letter We both saw Mary Louise Parker (of Weeds, The West Wing, and now Heisenberg) speak in conversation with writer Mary Karr a year ago, and immediately afterwards purchased her debut memoir Dear Mr. You. Her memoir is really a series of letters to all the men in her life, from friends to family to passing fancy. But it turns out that Parker has a seductive, lyrical way of writing, so these letters read almost like poems. All of this is to say, Parker is no one trick pony, and we’re fully on the bandwagon. If you like this interview, we highly recommend you go ahead and buy her book. (Or see her new play! Pick your poison. Or both! Have your cake and eat it too. Did we fit enough clichés in this description?)

"The Afterlife of a Ballerina" | Elle Alexandra Ansanelli was considered a ballet prodigy at 16. She danced with the New York City Ballet for eight years, and the Royal Ballet in London for three. Then, three years ago, after 12 years of dancing, she retired with a final performance in Havana — perfectly healthy, at the height of her career. Why? This profile examines the life of a ballet dancer, focusing on Ansanelli but also illuminating the intense single-mindedness required for life in ballet. As admitted ballet noobs, the piece gives us a peek into dance industry through the mind of Ansanelli, a woman who’s trying to navigate life on the outside after 20 years of nothing but ballet.

"Aparna Nancherla on Sad Girl Twitter, Period Tech, and Vocal Fry" | New York Magazine BCBW editor Kate saw Aparna Nancherla live this week and she was *crushingly* funny (s/o to friend and subscriber Lauren Scherr for sharing this gem of a human with us). Many of her jokes are about her struggles with anxiety and depression, but she’s also aware that there’s a fine line between creating room for conversation and making “sadness” into a comedic trope. “The challenge is — if you actually deal with those issues — finding new ways to talk about it,” she says. This interview captures her thoughtfulness and her wit not only when it comes to mental health, but identity and *womanhood* (which is also the name of her web series) too. INSTRUCTIONS: After reading, follow her on Twitter stat.

Read a story you would recommend to your Uber driver? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the Brilliant Brain Behind "2 Dope Queens" 👑

Issue No. 18 | October 14, 2016

WORDS

“That's the wonderful thing about writing, you can take things you haven't done properly in your own life and make it better in fiction.”

— Marcy Dermansky, author of new novel Red Car

ART

Frida Kahlo: An Illustrated Biography | Illustrator Nina Cosford and writer Zena Alkayat "At six, Frida fell ill with polio. She was confined to her room for nine months and her right leg withered. To help her gain strength, her father encouraged her to take up sports that were usually reserved for boys."

READS

"The World Better Get Ready For Phoebe Robinson" | Buzzfeed You can be nothing but appreciative of someone who describes herself as “if Solange were a Maxxinista.” That’s Phoebe Robinson. She may not be a household name, but she’s well on her way: She’s a comedian with two successful podcasts ("2 Dope Queens" and "Sooo Many White Guys"), a book (You Can’t Touch My Hair (and Other Things I Still Have to Explain)), a web series, and a bunch of other gigs. She’s diversified her career portfolio so she doesn’t have to accept type-casted roles as a “sassy” fill-in-the-blank black woman, and it’s paid off. “I’m in a place where I don’t make my living acting in other people’s stuff, so I can be like, ‘This is gross. This is not feminist to me and I don’t want to be a part of it.’” It’s not easy to make that kind of statement — especially when you’re still making your way — but Robinson makes it sound like the only possible choice. Props.

"Fran Lebowitz Doesn’t Have a Cell Phone, But Knows Everything That Happens on Social Media Anyway" | W Magazine Oh, to be a professional talker! Author and speaker Fran Lebowitz somehow makes a living as one, and there are so many good quotes in this interview that you'll understand why. Fran on her most recent outings: “The last thing I’d seen at Madison Square Garden before Adele was the Pope... The Pope was fantastic, I have to say, and Adele was also very good.” On reading dead writers: “The great thing about writers who are not alive is that you don’t meet them at parties.” On her budget for buying art as an essayist: ”I once went to a museum with a very rich man who told me he hated museums because things weren’t for sale. In fact, I would say he was angry that the museum wasn’t a store, and to me, even stores are museums.” In addition to being insanely quotable, Lebowitz comes off as both crotchety and optimistic in this interview, and most importantly, utterly true to herself.

"Taking a Long View" | Guernica Homegoing is one of those epic books — spanning families, continents, and generations — that you’re bound to see on every best-book list of of the year. Its author, 26-year old (!) Yaa Gyasi, discusses her inspiration for the narrative, and why she felt compelled to write it: “Homegoing felt like I was trying to give voice to a group of people who don’t get to tell their side of the story as often.” Despite her age and relative inexperience, it never occurred to her that she couldn’t accomplish what she set out to do with the novel. “It was never an issue for me. I never felt like I couldn’t do it just because I was young. I don’t have that bone in my body that says I can’t do something because of whatever limitation people want to place on me after the fact.”

"How a Little-Known Black Pioneer Changed Fashion Forever" | Racked Ann Cole Lowe designed Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress, and yet you’ve likely never heard of her (sadly, we hadn’t either). Thank god for Danielle Kwateng-Clark, who — taking a cue from the new National Museum of African American History and Culture — gives us a closer look into Lowe’s incredible life in this article. She was a design prodigy who created four ball gowns for the First Lady of Alabama, Lizzie Kirkland O'Neal, at the age of 16. Her creations at design school were often used an example to other students — all while she was made to sit in a different room due to her race. She was friends with Christian Dior, and ensured that her clientele was of similar social status: "I love my clothes and am particular about who wears them… I am not interested in sewing for cafe society of social climbers. I do not cater to Mary and Sue. I sew for families of the Social Register." Lowe’s story is one of pure talent and grit, rising to the top under impossible circumstances. We can’t wait to see her work in person in DC (watch out for le tweets).

‘This Is How I Feel’: The Photographer Documenting Her Bipolar Mother | Broadly Be prepared for a gut wrench and some moral dilemmas with this one. Melissa Spitz is a photographer who has spent years documenting the daily life of her mother — who suffers from varying mental illnesses and substance abuse — in a project titled “You Have Nothing to Worry About.” As she puts it, “Everyone says their mom's crazy. And I remember being like, 'No. My mom is crazy.'" Her photographs reflect a life (both her's and her mother's) that is anything but easy, but by documenting these moments, Spitz says she’s engaging in tough questions about exploitation and power.

Read a story you would like to immortalize on your tombstone? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the First Black Woman to Direct a $100M Film 💰

Issue No. 17 | September 30, 2016 

WORDS

“It doesn’t matter that I’m a girl or that I’m small. My heart is big and strong and I can be as good as or even better than the boys or even big people.” — Sky Brown, an 8-year-old pro skater (yep)

ART

What Plant Are You? | Mari Andrew We had a really hard time deciding which illustration to feature for Mari, because she is so damn clever and talented. Feel free to check runners-up "The People Worth Impressing" and "In Search of My True Self" for further entertainment. Actually, just follow her for the whole shebang on Instagram, it's worth it.

READS

In Conversation: Ava Duvernay | New York Magazine Filmmaker Ava Duvernay, best known for Selma, talks about her career, her upcoming documentary on the criminal justice system (on Netflix October 7th!), and the power of art to change mainstream narratives in this interview. “You put the title ‘history’ on it and it’s supposed to be cemented,” she says. “I’ve wanted to get in and deconstruct that.” Whether she’s working on documentaries, feature films, or book adaptations (she’s currently developing a feature based onA Wrinkle in Time), she’s similarly bent on challenging our assumptions about the world. Ava admits to some nerves about the reception to her work — quoting Erykah Badu “I’m an artist, and I’m sensitive about my shit” — but she’s still ready to break the rules and forge new paths as both an artist and as a black woman: “I don’t need permission — that’s my thing!”

Issa Rae and Melina Matsoukas Break Barriers — Casually — on HBO’s Insecure | Vanity Fair Issa Rae is getting more popular by the second — this is just one of about three dozen recent profiles on her — and yet she still feels underexposed. Part of this is that her amazing, low-budget, and majorly hilarious web series, “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl,” still hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves. But her new show “Insecure” premiers on HBO on October 9th, and fingers crossed it gets many more millions of views. This profile features both Rae and her executive producer Melina Matsoukas, and their top-notch banter makes us incredibly hopeful for the success of the series.

Deborah S. Jin Dies at 47; Physicist Studied Matter in Extreme Cold | The New York Times When a Nobel prize winner in physics calls someone else’s experiment “a lot, lot harder” than their own, you know they’re telling the truth. Deborah Jin was well on her way to her own Nobel Prize, thanks to her groundbreaking work on cold matter, before she died last week. Her work was on very elemental science, but findings derived from her research could one day help scientists develop new materials, like room-temperature superconductors, which could convey electricity more efficiently than it is today. While we don’t understand two-thirds of what she was doing, we do know that in losing her, we lost one of the greatest scientific minds of our era.

An Interview with Marisha Pessl & Jami Attenberg | Marisha Pessl This short, sweet conversation gets a little inside-baseball on the world of writing, but as we’re assuming you’re all readers, it’ll hopefully be pretty interesting! Marisha Pessl (who wrote the successful debut novel Special Topics in Calamity Physics) talks to Jami Attenberg (who wroteThe Middlesteins, Saint Mazie, and has a new book coming out in a few months) on her blog. They discuss what it’s like to be a female fiction writer, how that affects the process and business of writing, and throw a little bit of shade on white male “aging literary genius” types who just don’t know when to stop.  

Media Wunderkind Noor Tagouri Makes a Forceful Case for Modesty | Playboy Yes, this is a profile in Playboy. It’s actually the first profile of a female Muslim to ever appear in Playboy. And no, her clothes do not come off. Playboy actually does some substantive journalism, and this profile (along with some very cool photographs) is a fantastic introduction to rising media star Noor Tagouri. Tagouri is only 22 (!), but she’s already given a popular TEDx talk, launched a successful Youtube channel, and delved into some controversial topics for her day job as a news anchor at Newsy. After reporting one such article, she says, “It was comical seeing people telling me to ‘go back home’ when in fact, I was born in West Virginia.” It seems fair to say we’ll probably see a lot more of Tagouri in her hijab/hoodie combo for years to come.

Read a story you want to discuss with Rebecca Traister? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the First Female Boxer to Win an Olympic Gold Medal

Issue No. 16 | September 16, 2016 

WORDS

“It’s the responsibility of people like me to tell these stories, so that other people can see that this is normal. The black experience isn’t exclusively slavery/civil rights/Obama. There are certain stories that are automatically on the trajectory, and anything that’s not on that is hidden in the shadows. Meanwhile, most people live their lives between those dots.”

— Margot Lee Shetterly in an interview on her new book, “Hidden Figures”

ART

Street Fashion | Agata Wierzbicka Designer Agata Wierzbicka's illustrations are making us excited for seasons. To our East Coast friends, gather round your scarves and sweaters. To our West Coast friends, enjoy your September summer... winter will come around next June. 

READS

“I Wish I’d Told Muhammad Ali He Was the Reason I Wanted to Win Gold” | The Guardian Reading this profile will make you want to pick up a pair of boxing gloves and hit the gym with a big grin on your face. Professional boxer Nicola Adams’ charisma is contagious, and combined with her two Olympic Gold medals, it’s no wonder the British public loves her. Adams, arguably the most accomplished amateur boxer in the country, has no small number of “firsts” to her name: the first female boxer to represent England, the first openly LGBTQ boxer to win an Olympic medal, the first woman to win an Olympic boxing gold medal, and the first woman to win a second Olympic boxing gold medal. Outside of her many accomplishments, she’s known for her “trademark smile” and non-negotiable breakfast choice of frosted flakes. She credits Muhammad Ali as her inspiration in the ring: “He was an entertainer, and I’ve taken a lot of that into my boxing. I like to see the crowd enjoying themselves. If they’re happy, I’m happy.”

"What Former Presidential Candidate Shirley Chisholm Said About Facing Discrimination" | PBS Shirley Chisholm was a straight-up revolutionary. First of all, when she ran for president in 1972, she was the first major party African-American to run for president. (And some powerful African-American men were none too happy about that.) But her platform wasn’t just about being African-American, or being a woman. She wanted to end the war in Vietnam, get equal pay for women and minorities, and achieve housing equity. PBS ran a mini-documentary about her this week, and it’s worth a watch. If you check out the clip in this piece, you’ll see some primo ‘70s fashion, along with commentary from former Chisholm staffer Robert Gottlieb. (Fun fact: he’s the uncle of Broadcast editor Maia.)

"An Interview with Debbie Stoller of BUST Magazine” | The Spinoff Debbie Stoller, founder of BUST Magazine, found success because she recognized a truth that other women’s magazines failed to acknowledge: women are humans, and therefore, multifaceted. She started BUST in 1993 with the not-so-simple goal of redefining feminism based on this idea. While the decades before had done much to advance the role of women in society, the years had also been marked by extreme judgment: “In the ’70s, the pressure on women to get out of the house and into careers was so much that there were traditional things that women weren’t ‘supposed’ to enjoy anymore, like knitting and craft,” she says, “We thought, hold on, are we throwing the bra out with the bathwater here?” The result was a magazine that aimed to celebrate women with a diversity of looks, interests, and thoughts — something many (many!) other publications are still struggling to do.

“The Natural Order of Monique Péan's Studio” | Surface Magazine Jewelry designer Monique Péan doesn’t design simply for aesthetics — her work also attempts to tell a story. Her collections are inspired by place, literally, because her main materials are fossils. Yes, including actual dinosaur bones. “I love working with fossils because a picture captures a moment in time, but the fossils are capturing tens of thousands of years at a time, if not hundreds of millions of years at a time,” says Péan. She’s traveled to all seven continents — designing collections based on the paleontology and topography of everywhere from the Arctic Circle to the Mayan ruins to Utah — and she’s dedicated to sourcing sustainable and devastation-free materials in all of her work. Ooh and ahh at her jewelry here. Granted, it’s (very far) out of our price range... but hopefully, one day.

"Selena Wanted Her First Modeling Gig So Badly, She Removed Her Own Braces" | The Cut Selena Forrest is “cool” personified. She models for Proenza Schouler, Chanel, Fendi, Louis Vuitton, you name it, and she’s honest about the downside of modeling: “It can be pretty degrading. You can be treated like a nonhuman, but you just gotta think of the money.” (We hearRihanna playing in the background.) She appreciates the chance to support herself without her parents, but she’s still very much teenager — especially when it comes to paparazzi. “I get a little awkward when they’re like, ‘What are you wearing?’ and I’m like, ‘Clothes,’” she says.

Read a story you want to frame on your desk? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the Pianist Who Thinks Mozart Is a Party Animal 💃

Issue No. 15 | September 2, 2016

WORDS

"The one thing I wish I could go back and tell younger me is that if you're in a room of all guys, it doesn't mean there's something special about you. It means there's something wrong with the room." - Alexandra Petri, “How I Got My Own Humor Column at the Washington Post”

ART

Untitled | Leah Reena Goren Happy LDW, friends. We're soaking in every last bit of summer we can. You might recognize the colorful, lively style of Brooklyn-based illustrator Leah Goren. She's got an impressive roster of clients — from Aldo to Anthropologie to Lenny Letter.

READS

"Yuja Wang and the Art of Performance" | The New Yorker For wunderkind pianist Yuja Wang, fashion is as much a part of her performance as the music itself — to the chagrin of many critics (who have called her dresses “stripper-wear”), but to the delight of others (including the writer of this profile, Janet Malcolm, and Times reviewer Zachary Woolfe, who once wrote that her clothing “creates drama. It turns a recital into a performance.”) It probably comes as no surprise that Yuja is feisty and funny — she thinks “Mozart is like a party animal” and she plays him better “hungover or drunk” — but she is surprisingly reflective, too. “I’ve been doing this for twenty-nine years,” she says. “Do I want to go on doing it, or is there something else waiting for me?” You’ll get equal parts defiance, humor, and deep thought in this piece, and when you’re done, we highly encourage you to go down a rabbit hole of YouTube videos of her recitals.

"IBM's First Female CEO on Why Bob Dylan is Talking to A Computer" | Bloomberg Ginni Rometty is IBM’s first female CEO, but this is no softball interview about “leadership.” Sample question: “IBM’s revenue has declined for the past 17 quarters. Does that bother you?” The agility with which she answers this question, and numerous others like it (including one question that almost blames her, and IBM, for not curing cancer) is awe-inspiring. At one point, she makes a job offer from IBM sound equally, if not more, enticing than one from Google or Facebook. If this interview is any indication of her skills as a CEO, IBM’s revenue may not be declining for much longer. 

"I Ran Away from My Husband and Became a Stuntwoman" | BBC On the go? Need a quick read packed with resilience and grit? Meet Geeta Tandon of Mumbai, who was married off at fifteen into an abusive relationship and escaped with her two kids to become a successful Bollywood stuntwoman. The article explores how she got there, but be sure to watch the video too — Geeta’s charisma is evident even through the language barrier. It seems like only a matter of time until she succeeds at her next goal: becoming India’s first female stunt director. 

"Tama Janowitz" | Interview Magazine This interview between two women who stumbled upon fame — and the sharp criticisms that accompany it — at a young age, touches on everything from the cult of celebrity to the importance of unlikeable books. Molly Ringwald interviews Tama Janowitz, who came into the spotlight after the success of her collection of short stories, Slaves of New York, in 1986. At the time, she was living the ‘80s NYC dream: Friends with Andy Warhol, eight-time guest of Letterman, frequent magazine cover girl. But as Janowitz says, fame is a fickle thing — particularly when it comes to the isolation of writing: “You've just, like, torn your skin off to try to get your words down the best you can. And then you go out, and it's like, ‘Well, who does she think she is?’” But after 30 years, she’s learning to write for herself first — and even takes someone throwing her book against a wall as a compliment. (“It’s very hard to get somebody to throw something.”)

"Cindy Gallop Doesn't Care What You Think" | Ad Age Have you heard of Cindy Gallop? She’s new to us, but she has quite a following (see Twitter). She is an extremely quotable, extremely intelligent woman — with an admirable agenda. A former ad agency bigwig, she’s now travelling the world with the aim of making things better for women in the advertising industry and beyond. Every woman she’s ever worked with, managed, or even met has something nice to say about her. When one of her female coworkers turned down a promotion, Gallop got her the support she needed to accept it. Oh, and “paying women more is another key part of her strategy.” After all, if one woman gets paid her fair share, she’s establishing a powerful precedent for other women. Turns out, getting what you deserve is sometimes the right thing to do for others, too. 

Read a story you want to peruse on the dock of the bay? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the Journalist Using Twitter to Report on Terrorism from the Inside

Issue No. 14 | August 19, 2016

WORDS

"Well, people can get advice almost anywhere, but they can't find a companion almost anywhere.And far more than being an advice-giver or somebody who just plays sappy love songs, I really am a companion on the radio at night."

- Delilah Rene Luke on NPR's Morning Edition

ART

Untitled | Lisa Congdon Portland-based artist and illustrator Lisa Congdon focuses on colorful abstracts and intricate line drawings. She's working on a new collection of personal essays from different authors, and created this illustration for a piece on letting go of hair dye and embracing the gray. We just want to be wrapped in this image of wisdom and beauty and held ever so close.

READS

"How One Journalist Uses Social Media to Get Inside the Minds of ISIS" | WIRED The lede of this story says it best: “Rukmini Callimachi is arguably the best reporter on the most impor­tant beat in the world.” Covering terrorism for The New York Times, Callimachi spends her days immersed in the digital communities of the world’s most covert terrorist organizations—joining chat rooms and combing through multiple social platforms for information, including Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr. Callimachi’s beat means she is often a witness to horror: Two years ago, ISIS tweeted a video of journalist James Foley’s beheading directly at her, and this spring, she uncovered ISIS’ use of birth control to sustain systemic rape. But with her finger on the pulse of terrorism, she can also help dismantle the horror. As she says, “The approach where we don’t listen to their side at all is, in my opinion, why so many people, so many officials, missed the rise of ISIS." We just need to pay attention.

"D.C. Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier Steps Down to Work for the NFL" | The Washington Post This story is more than just a news piece—it’s a balanced look at Cathy Lanier’s career, and a testament to the fact that there are no easy answers in the police force. Her resilience is something to admire: After dropping out of high school because she was pregnant, Lanier earned her GED, a bachelor’s degree, and two master's degrees. And while she’s by no means politically infallible—she’s faced criticism from Black Lives Matter activists, peace activists, and others—she’s also shown real commitment to her community as part of the D.C. Metro Police Department over the past 26 years. “She was willing to be part of the solution instead of slow-rolling or being obstructionist,” said activist Denise Rucker Krepp. “She said, ‘Talk to me. I want to talk to you.’”

"Pat McGrath Is the Most In-Demand Makeup Artist in the World" | New York Magazine While world-class makeup artist Pat McGrath is barely quoted in this profile, her many fans—including Naomi Campbell, Amber Valletta, and Grace Coddington, among others—praise her to the skies. She’s especially known for her ability to use just the right amount of foundation: “She makes sure you always see the skin, and that’s not easy to do,” says Campbell. Another colleague marvels that “she has 30 different ways of doing red.” As the writer of this piece, Linda Wells, sees it, “Pat McGrath is perhaps the only makeup artist who lives up to the second word in the job title, the Velázquez of the beauty world.”

"Breaking Into Baseball’s Ultimate Boys’ Club" | The Atlantic Jessica Mendoza is the first female analyst for Major League Baseball on national television. As a Stanford softball all-American, USA Softball Athlete of the Year, and winner of an Olympic gold medal, she’s not just a baseball fanatic—she knows her stuff. Of course, as a woman, she’s never played professional baseball, and that’s led some people to reject her expertise right off the bat. (Get it?) We’ll let tennis legend Billie Jean King speak to that criticism: “I know what they say—‘Oh, you never played baseball.’ Uh, really? Well, if you didn’t keep us only being able to play softball, then we would have.”  The same applies to sports broadcasting, and we can't wait to see Mendoza on the air for years to come.

"Jessamyn Stanley on Body-Positive Yoga" | The Guardian When Jessamyn Stanley started posting photos of herself practicing yoga on Instagram in 2012, she was looking for advice on her form and technique. Today, 200,000 followers and a book later, she’s become more than a yoga enthusiast—she’s a symbol of body positivity for others who never thought they could engage in an activity like yoga. While the online popularity came as a surprise to Stanley, the sentiment of body positivity aligns closely with the practice of yoga. She’s quick to point out, however, that there’s more work to be done than striking a pose: “My belly is there, and I’m still strong... There’s a major disconnect in our society between what people can do and what we show people that they can do.

Read a story you want to print out and send in a bottle? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the Woman Who Designed Digital Solitaire ♠♥♣♦

Issue No. 13 | August 5, 2016 

WORDS

"To say that women should switch careers or companies or be stronger or more powerful in order to escape [sexual harassment] implies that it’s their responsibility to avoid harassment. But in fact, it’s the responsibility of every company—including the Trump Organization—to provide a safe workplace for all employees." - Phoebe Lett, New York Times writer (and friend to the BCBW!) in "What Donald Trump Gets Wrong About Sexual Harassment" 

ART

"Untitled (Woman and Phone)" | Cultured Magazine Carrie Mae Weems tackles stories of class, power, race, and gender through her art. This photograph was part of her Kitchen Table Series in 1990, a career-making project that, in many ways, put Weems on the map. 

READS

"Behind the Icons" | Lenny Letter Ever wonder who designed the ⌘ symbol on your command key? Or the famous (infamous to some) Solitaire game on early Windows computers? As this interview unfolds, it’s like an Easter Egg hunt—you’ll uncover more and more ways that Susan Kare invented modern computer design. She tells the stories behind the symbols, along with sharing what it was really like to work at Apple in the early days. Now at Pinterest, she’s a living design legend, and proof that it might not be a bad idea to get a PhD in Art History.

"The Philosopher of Feelings" | The New Yorker Settle in for this one—it’s a long one. But if you’ve ever wanted to dive into the mind of someone who has devoted her life to moral philosophy—including the idea that emotions are not useless, but in fact, essential—this is for you. She’s applied this theory not only to individual interactions, but also to societal ones: “For a society to remain stable and committed to democratic principles… it needs more than detached moral principles: it has to cultivate certain emotions and teach people to enter empathetically into others’ lives.” Still, that really just scrapes the surface. Martha Nussbaum is what you could easily call “a force of nature." Prepare to be blown away.

"The Woman Who Wrote Michelle Obama’s DNC Speech:  Sarah Hurwitz" | The Washington Post In light of Michelle Obama’s incredible, inspirational speech at the Democratic National Convention last week, it’s only fair to take a closer look at the person who wrote her speech: Sarah Hurwitz. A Harvard Law grad, Hurwitz has a history of writing memorable speeches: She was also the voice behind Hillary Clinton’s “18 million cracks in the... glass ceiling” concession speech in 2008. The Obama campaign recruited her shortly thereafter, and Hurwitz developed a close bond with Michelle Obama. Eight years of high-impact speechwriting may sound stressful, but clearly, Hurwitz hasn’t lost her mojo.

"Diana Gordon Breaks Down Lemonade Songs—and What's Next for Solo Career" | EW The songwriter behind Beyoncé’s "Sorry" and "Daddy Lessons" has a new album of her very own coming out. But despite an early hit ("Dirty Talk" in 2004, under the name Wynter Gordon), she has not had the easiest road to success. In this profile she talks frankly about stress—“I had a breakdown a year and a half ago,” before working with Beyoncé, whom she calls a “scientist of songs”—and what it’s like reintroducing herself to the world, under her real name.

"Emma Watson Interviews Persepolis Author Marjane Satrapi" | Vogue For anyone who’s ever read or heard of Persepolis, the graphic novel about a teenage girl living in Iran, it’s not hard to believe that the author, Marjane Satrapi, is someone to watch. Her interview here (yes, with the one and only Emma Watson) reveals her to be delightfully foul-mouthed, outspoken, and unafraid of offending anyone. 

Read a story you want to paper your walls with? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the Woman Writing Starz' Latest Hit Show 🌟

Issue No. 12 | July 22, 2016

WORDS

"These conversations must be between men and women, they cannot happen in a silo." - Sara Clemens, Chief Operating Officer of Pandora, at a panel on gender diversity titled "Women Deserve an Equal Chance (to F*ck it Up)"

ART

"Silhouettes" | Erica Deeman San Francisco artist Deeman's latest project, "Silhouettes," focuses on portraits of women from the African diaspora. Her work is currently in the permanent collection at Pier 24 Photography in SF. 

READS

"The Heartbreak That Inspired Courtney A. Kemp's Power" | Cosmopolitan We’ve never watched the Starz show Power (or um, any show on Starz), but after reading this profile of the showrunner Courtney Kemp, we’re super tempted. Kemp started as a magazine writer for Mademoiselle and GQ, but as she says, “In my case, God intervened like, 'You are not going to be the first black editor-in-chief of Vogue, no matter how hard you tried.'" Instead, she transitioned into writing for television—first for The Bernie Mac Show and then for The Good Wife—and it just clicked. The death of her father inspired Kemp to write her own show: Power. "You spend a lot of time curled up over your laptop [as a writer]," she says. "Then all of a sudden you have a good idea and they say, 'OK. Now be the boss of 400 people.' What? I don't know how to manage people." Despite her doubts, it seems like she's doing pretty damn well as both a boss and a creative force.

"Modern Marvel" | Buzzfeed The debate over racial representation in movies isn’t an abstract question of equality—it has a real effect on the black actors and actresses who land the few parts available. For actress Tessa Thompson of Creed and Selma, the idea that she receives parts because she is "more palatable" is difficult for her to accept. At the same time, she’s certainly receptive to what she calls the "validity" of the notion that Hollywood is more open to light-skinned black actors. Throughout the interview, Thompson muses eloquently about her career, race, and identity. It’s easy to imagine sprawling across your bedroom floor with her, talking about the big stuff in life. (And if one of you ever gets to do that… please tell us about it.)

"The GE Executive Pulling Women Up the Ladder with Her" | Lenny Letter Lenny Letter is venturing into branded content, and GE is one of their first (seemingly incongruous) partners. But this interview by Lena Dunham with GE’s first female vice chair, Beth Comstock, pulls it all together. GE is actively courting women to join their team, and if Comstock is any indication, they’re headed for success. She discusses encouraging women from different spaces to connect with each other—not just about work, but about "who they are." The proof is also in the pudding: As Comstock shares, "In the last 18 months, we've doubled the number of women tech executives across GE."

"This Is the Woman Behind the Man Who Runs Airbnb" | Backchannel It’s easy to compare Belinda Johnson to Sheryl Sandberg. Like Sandberg, she’s the de facto numero dos to a young male tech founder (in her case, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky). And like Sandberg, she’s generally known for "getting things done"—even going above and beyond her normal role to serve as interim Chief Financial Officer at one point. Until recently, she’s been very behind the scenes, doing her best to smooth over Airbnb’s rocky regulatory path. Her style is conciliatory—she prefers conversation to confrontation, and actively says that Airbnb isn’t about disruption (blasphemy in Silicon Valley!). The catch? It’s working.

"A Tender Hand in the Presence of Death" | The New Yorker As a hospice nurse, Heather Meyerend’s life is full of death. She cares and comforts people during a time the writer aptly describes as “long and bewildering, lonely and painful, frequently undignified.” She plays the roles of caretaker, therapist, spiritual guide—helping both patients and families cope by caring for the whole person. This beautifully—really beautifully—written profile offers a glimpse into why Meyerend chose to work in hospice, and how she does it day after day. She withholds judgment, and offers love: "Whenever Heather enters a patient’s home for the first time, she knows that she is walking into a long, long, complicated story that she understands nothing about, a story that is just then reaching its final crisis."

Read a story you want to shout from the mountaintops? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the First Woman to Summit Everest Sans Oxygen 🗻

Issue No. 11 | July 8, 2016

WORDS

"We can learn to see each other and see ourselves in each other and recognize that human beings are more alike than we are unalike." - Maya Angelou

ART

"I Just Want to Go Home and Read My Book" | Maja Säfström We can relate. See more of Maja's drawings on her website and Instagram.

READS

"The First Female Climber to Summit Everest Without Oxygen Is After a New Record" | Shape When Melissa Arnot reached the summit of Everest in May, she set not one but twogroundbreaking records: the first woman to complete the climb without oxygen, and the American woman with the most Everest summits overall. The record came as somewhat of a public surprise: Before the trip, Arnot asked herself, "If I could do this and no one knew I did it, would I still do it?" The answer was yes, and it’s part of the reason only a few people knew she was climbing until the day she summited. Of course, instead of sitting back with a drink to celebrate, she’s off to set another record with fellow climber Maddie Miller: climb the highest peak in every state in just 50 days.

"Neri Oxman Is Redesigning the Natural World" | Surface Magazine MIT Media Lab professor Neri Oxman is changing the way we interact with our surroundings—literally. As the leader in a design movement known as "bio-informed design," she imagines a future in which "machine and the organism can ultimately be integrated and form a world that doesn’t see them as opposites." With a background in medicine and architecture, Oxman’s work stands out as both scientifically sound and beautiful to behold. From microbe-based clothing to 3-D printed exoskeletons to biodegradable grocery bags, she’s willing to push boundaries and explore new possibilities, particularly when it comes to taking her research out of the lab and into the world. "If it will end up being a noble failure," Oxman says, "then let it be."

"How Samantha Bee Crashed the Late Night Boys Club" | Rolling Stone Samantha Bee's show will have you peeing your pants in laughter, while simultaneously prompting an internal dialogue along the lines of "WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE WORLD." Not only is the late-night comedy host spotlighting oft-ignored issues of sexism and racism, she’s building a staff from the sidelines, too. For example, her blind hiring process led to a writers’ room that actually resembles America: "I have literally filled my office with people who have been underestimated their entire careers… It is so joyful to collect a group of people who nobody has ever thought could grasp the reins of something and fucking go for it."

"Audra Mulkern and the Female Farmer Project" | UC Food Observer One day at her local farmers market, Audra Mulkern realized that all of the summer interns were women. It was an "aha" moment that led her to create the Female Farmer Project, a photography series featuring women in agriculture around the world. From cheesemaking to hydroponics to cattle ranching, her project has captured the rise and influence of women in food. "I’m trained for nothing, but I’m qualified to do it because I’m doing it… If you feel compelled to tell a story, tell the story," says Mulkern.

"The First Woman to Win the Brutal 4,000 Mile Trans Am Bike Race" | Jezebel After biking 235 miles a day for 18 days with just three to five hours of sleep per night, Lael Wilcox became the first woman to win the Trans Am Bike Race last month. Her response to congratulations? "Thank you! Yeah, it was really long!" That might be the understatement of the century, but Wilcox isn’t one to glorify her win. The final result, she says, came down to consistency, efficiency, and focus over strength or power: "I’m not this superhuman, and I won. And I feel like people can relate to that and believe in themselves."

Read about a woman who gives you hope for the future? Email us at [email protected]

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Talking Gender Equality in Leadership with the LedBetter Founders

Welcome to Issue No. 10 | June 24, 2016

WORDS

"I think there are a lot of women whose nobility has nothing to do with suffering. They're winning."

- Cynara Vetch, Kenyan journalist and co-founder of She Shapes the City, a multimedia campaign celebrating the women of Nairobi and beyond

ART

"Glory Be to God" | Georgiana Houghton This painting is from 1868. Yeah, we did a double take, too. Houghton's intricate "spirit drawings" were way ahead of her time, and are now on display at the Courtauld Museum in London. 

READS

A BCBW Original... 

"Meet the Duo Ranking Your Favorite Brands by Female Leadership" | The Broadcast Biweekly

Women make up 80% of the purchasing power in the United States, but only around 19% of the corporate leadership. Let that sink in: The majority of companies marketing to women are run by men. Last week, journalist Iris Kuo and marketer Camille Ricketts launched research groupLedBetter to spotlight gender inequality in the boardroom and executive suite, and help consumers make more informed choices on which brands to support. Bonus: You’ll love how they met. We talked with Kuo and Ricketts about their friendship, initial inspiration, and future plans.

What We’re Reading....

"Constance Wu Doesn’t Want to Be Your 'It' Girl" | Vulture Constance Wu, who stars in "Fresh Off the Boat" on ABC, isn’t your average actress, and this isn’t your average interview. She goes down to the bone on every question, and some of them are damn tough. She’s no longer content to audition for the one slot allotted to non-Caucasians or to "be the sprinkle of diversity in a really cool, star-studded cast." She has the financial freedom, and the emotional wherewithal, to be totally fearless about her acting choices and her words. As she puts it, "Obviously I don’t want to make my career a totally political thing, but I care about young Asian-American girls growing up thinking they can never be the stars of their own stories."

"Pat Cleveland: Early Supermodel and Author With Many Tales" | The New York Times The fashion scene of the '70s was pure glamour and excess, and Pat Cleveland, a skinny biracial girl from Harlem, was often at the center of it. Palling around with Halston and Richard Avedon and Mick Jagger, Cleveland lived a life you can only imagine. But her new memoir—"I wrote this book myself, honey"—isn’t all rock stars and stimulants. She also discusses racial discrimination—"It’s still out there, my darling"—and how she came to live in suburban New Jersey with a bunch of peacocks.

"If Diversity Means Giving White Men More Work Writing About Black Women, We've Failed" | The Guardian Screenwriter Misan Sagay, best known for period drama Belle, describes herself as a wrinkle that refuses to be ironed. She’s been told there’s no audience for black female leads, and she has (thankfully) ignored the unsolicited advice. As she says, "I am fighting for the right for black people to be ordinary….There can’t only be room for the Oprahs." As a member of the Wolfe pack, a guild of the top 50 female screenwriters working in Hollywood, she’s also working to invite more black women into the industry as a whole. 

"How This Female Cardiac Surgeon Remains Cool as Ice in the OR" | Lenny Letter Dr. Kathy Magliato got into cardiac surgery—a tough, male-dominated specialty—due to pure grit. "The inspiration to be a cardiac surgeon honestly was: the more people told me I couldn't do it, the more I wanted to do it." People told her to go into pediatrics or plastics, more traditionally feminine specialties, but once she "fell in love with the human heart" during surgery, there was no going back. In this interview, she dives into the confidence and laser focus it takes to succeed in the "time vortex" of the operating room.

Brexit, Shmexit. Any stories you'd love to share internationally? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet Hollywood's Original Gossip Girl 💋

Welcome to Issue No. 9 | June 10, 2016

WORDS

“Space is an attitude. It’s a set of capabilities, an acceptance of risk-taking activities to uncover potential breakthroughs and endless possibilities. That is precisely why we love it.”

- Patti Grace Smith, a federal aviation official who helped make private space travel possible and died last week at 68

ART

"Trench" | Ella Kruglyanskaya Could also be appropriately titled "Queen." Kruglyanskaya is known for her cartoonish paintings of exuberant, full-figured women in splashy colors, standout patterns, and absurd situations. 

READS

"Sister, Sister" | Interview Magazine Olsen nostalgia got you down? Cipriani and TK Quann are the twins to lift your spirits. The identical duo are models, bloggers, musicians, volunteers, advocates for natural beauty, and currently working on a soon-to-be-announced "online presence" about food and drink—truly multi-hyphenate businesswomen for the modern world. As the writer puts it, these two have "it"—it being the "conviction and comfort that it takes to piece together two careers from all manner of risky creative interests, and to consistently speak out about race in a fashion industry that is never super keen on hearing about it." Read for inspiration, sisterhood, and the name of the best vintage store in NYC.

"The First Female Rabbi Isn’t Done Yet" | The Washington Post Imagine being so monumental that time is described as “before” and “after" with you as the dividing line. For female rabbis, there is time "before Sally" and "after Sally." She was the first woman to become a rabbi, ordained 44 years ago. But she’s more than just a cultural icon; she’s a private woman who chose a public profession, a nurturing personality who never had a family. When asked about challenges she’s faced, she responds by saying, "Let me turn it the other way and say what I think we have learned." What a mensch.  

"Audrey Marrs Took the Riot Grrrl Road to the Oscars" | Elle Audrey Marrs was in a riot grrrl band in the '90s. She got her first job in film—as a producer’s assistant—through Craigslist. She’s an Oscar winner. And now, she’s produced a documentary on climate change, narrated by Oscar Isaac. She’s also a perfect example of "shine theory" (h/t Ann Friedman), where women build each other up through their friendships with other successful women—in her case, with people like artist Carrie Brownstein, writer Miranda July, and singer Kathleen Hanna. Added bonus: The interviewer is hilarious ("Climate change is like the Kanye of world issues" and "Oscar Isaac is my husband"). Worth a read for her questions alone.

"Gossip Girl" | Buzzfeed One of the first “gossip” columnists got her best dirt the way we all do: overheard at parties. The difference? Rona Barrett was at parties in the mid-1950s with stars like Frankie Avalon and Nancy Sinatra, and later with Cary Grant and Frank Sinatra. And she was willing to tell the truth—a rare quality for a gossip columnist in those days. When she moved to TV, she kept her honesty with her. Her ethos: "There are only three things in life that people are interested in: money, sex, and power, and not necessarily in that order."

"What Ever Happened to 'The Most Liberated Woman in America'"| Longreads To close your Friday reading, consider delving into the world of free love, as experienced by Barbara Williamson. Her path from lonely, small-town Missouri girl to successful saleswoman ("Word was out: Don’t fuck with Barbara Cramer!") to "evening sessions of group nudity and partner-swapping" to establishing a full-blown commune of sexual "utopia" with her husband to retiring to a small town in Nevada has to be read to be believed. Where is she now? At age 78 she lives alone with Peggy Sue, a Siberian lynx. As the author writes, "Even though she is nearing 80, the level of risk she is willing to live with is higher than that of almost anyone I know."

Have a story you want to read out loud to your cat? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the First Woman Running for President in Somalia

Welcome to Issue No. 8 | May 27, 2016

WORDS

"Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign. But stories can also be used to empower, and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people. But stories can also repair that broken dignity." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie 

ART

"Thursdays" | Sally Nixon The women in Nixon's work aren't smiling, posing, or even doing anything that interesting—which makes her art utterly refreshing. "They don’t have perfect bodies or perfect habits and that makes them relatable," says Nixon. "The scenes I create around them are everyday places: a bathroom, a restaurant, a messy bedroom." You can see more of her work here. (Shout out to Sophia Newman for the find!)

READS

“The Somali Woman Who Would Be President” | Newsweek In a 2011 survey, Somalia was ranked the fifth worst place to be a woman. Presidential hopeful Fadumo Dayib is willing to risk her life to change that. In 2014, she announced her decision to run for President if the popular elections moved forward and, amidst death threats from al-Shabab, has maintained her position. A refugee herself, Dayib aims to make her country a safer place—in part by negotiating with the same militant group threatening to kill her. Where does she find confidence against such odds? Somali women are already supporting their households, feeding their families, and running businesses. “If a woman can do all of these things, she has every right to lead the country because she is already leading the country on so many fronts. We will no longer negotiate for our existence.”

“How Jen Agg Is Smashing the Food-World Patriarchy One Plate at a Time” | Elle Restaurateurs are notoriously prickly, and Jen Agg, who owns three places in Toronto, is no exception. She describes herself as “vigilantly pro-conflict” and Toronto Life recently dubbed her the city’s most loved and loathed restaurateur. But restaurateur is not what she wants to be known for—instead, she hopes her tombstone will read something like “feminist icon." She’s a fierce advocate for women and actively speaks out against the pervasive sexism in the food world. You might not like her, but why do you have to? This piece raises important questions about the double standard imposed on women like Agg who don't strive to be likable. As Helen Rosner, executive editor of Eater, says, “Considering the context in the restaurant industry, I think she's approaching this in exactly the right way.”

“A Full Revolution” | The New Yorker At the age of nineteen, Simone Biles is already transforming Olympics. She’s the first female gymnast to win three straight World Championships, and is on track to become the most successful American gymnast of all time this summer in Rio de Janeiro. While known for her almost effortless presence while performing, Biles doesn’t sugarcoat the physical process: She describes getting into shape for competitions as “repeatedly convincing yourself you aren’t going to die.” Emotionally, the stakes aren’t small either: As Paul Zierts, the publisher of International Gymnast, admits, “I feel absolutely terrible saying this, but if she doesn’t win five of the six Olympic gold medals it would be a disappointment.”

“What It’s Really Like to Be a Storm Chaser” | Flare Helen Hunt in Twister is probably the most famous female storm chaser. And turns out, that movie was actually pretty accurate—at least according to Jaclyn Whittal, a storm chaser for the Weather Network. After experiencing one of the most devastating tornadoes in history, Whittal became enamored: “It’s the power that these storms have… When I look at model data and forecasts, I report things like 120km/h winds. It’s one thing to say it, but another thing to feel it.” After four years of storm chasing, Whittal’s not just doing it for the thrill—she chases storms to learn more, and help people prepare for what’s coming their way.

“Even the World's Top Life Coaches Need a Life Coach. Meet Martha Beck” | Bloomberg A career of “life coaching,” or basically giving solid advice for a fee, has become legitimate thanks mostly to one person: Martha Beck. She earned her PhD in sociology from Harvard, and went on to teach a business development class at Arizona State University where her life advice became so popular that she decided to start charging for it. Oprah’s support soon followed and Beck has now developed a business that grossed $3.5 million last year alone. It may seem like fluff, but don't be fooled—she’s good at what she does.

Have a story you want to share with the mansplainers? Email us at [email protected]

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Meet the Duo Ranking Your Favorite Brands by Female Leadership

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

What do Barbie, Costco Pizza, and Beyoncé’s fragrance line have in common? Too many dudes running the show.

Women make up 15% or less of the boards and executive teams at all three of these products’ parent companies—Mattel, Costco, and Coty. And in Coty’s case, by “less” we mean zero. These stats come from the recently launched LedBetter—a research group focused on spotlighting the gender makeup of leadership at the world’s most popular brands—and provide a snapshot of just how many companies frequented by female consumers are, in fact, led by men.

Founded by journalist Iris Kuo and marketer Camille Ricketts, the idea for LedBetter was sparked in 2013 when Kuo read an interview with Wall Street veteran Sallie Krawcheck. In the article, Krawcheck says, “I’ve had numerous groups of women say to me they would stop buying from a company if they understood what their gender makeup was. That information’s not available.” Nearly three years later, thanks to Kuo and Ricketts, it is.

The call to close the gender gap isn’t just for show—it’s smart. Multiple studies have shown that having women in the top ranks contributes to greater business success, including higher profitability and better stock growth. While the gender ratio in leadership is far from the only gauge of equality, the LedBetter Index is a step toward greater transparency.

We talked to Kuo and Ricketts to learn more about their dynamic friendship, why visibility matters, and their future plans for LedBetter.

---

Your friendship is a great example of Ann Friedman’s “shine theory”—powerful women bring out the best in each other. How did you meet?

IK: Our story starts in 2005. Camille and I both started our careers in journalism. We just happened to intern for the same editor at what was then the Knight Ridder Washington bureau. [He was] an amazing mentor, one of the best people I’ve ever worked with. He introduced us thinking that we might get along—because we actually worked for him at different periods of time—and we just started talking a lot over Gchat and email.

CR: We were both aspiring journalists, had been editors at our college newspapers, and were trying to scope out what a career in journalism might look like. We became regular pen pals—it’s probably the most regular pen-pal relationship I’ve ever had. I think literally five years went by before she and I even met each other in person and when it happened we were like “Uhh...are we actually friends? Yes? Yes.”

IK: It’s been an amazing friendship. I mean it’s 10 years old at this point, which is really hard to believe. After we both worked at Knight Ridder and the Wall Street Journal, we also worked for VentureBeat. We just have a lot in common. We share a profound love for cured meats...

CR: And wine.

IK: Yes wine, bourbon, all of those things. We learned all of this stuff about each other when we met in person and were just like, “I think we’re twins.” We look absolutely nothing alike, but we have a running joke about it.

Iris, when you read that quote from Sallie Krawcheck, was Camille the first person that came to your mind?

IK: Absolutely. Right away, I fired off an email to her. I remembered a comment from my days at the Wall Street Journal, when someone who worked in the luxury and makeup industries told me how a lot of the companies that sell to women are actually led by men. I mentioned that to Camille and said, “Don’t you think we can make this data available to people?” She wrote back right away.

From there we just started brainstorming. One of the things I love about Camille is that she’s so open to ideas, helping refine those ideas, and making them into a reality. That’s what makes her such an amazing partner. I think we really lucked out in being both really good friends and two people who can work together on a common cause.

We also wanted to talk about the name. LedBetter. Lilly Ledbetter. Was that an a-ha moment?

CR: We both admire Lilly Ledbetter, obviously. She’s an incredible crusader when it comes to women’s professional lives. The terminology kept coming up over and over again as we discussed it. We really thought the world could be led better. The fact that it had that secondary meaning seemed too perfect for us not to pursue it.

We noticed that zero companies managed to reach a 50/50 gender split across the board and executive team.

IK: There are a couple that came really close. There’s a 49.8% for H&M. So close, but it’s not fifty.

Were you surprised by that?

CR: We were initially surprised by how many brands market predominantly to women, and have no women in their top leadership ranks. The ones that we’ve called out, generally, are L Brands, which owns Victoria’s Secret, and has extremely few women at the top. There’s also Coty—which is a lesser known company name, but makes a lot of recognizable brands like Sally Hansen and Rimmel cosmetics—they have absolutely zero women on their board or executive team.

In our own careers, oftentimes we’ll work with a CMO who’s a woman, but very rarely do we work with a CEO who’s a woman. Do you think it matters what titles women have on the executive board in terms of gender parity?  

CR: There’s a lot of conversation about women becoming CEOs—and of course we hope that more women become CEOs—but you hardly ever hear anyone talk about the importance of women becoming CFOs or CTOs, or taking on other positions in the C-suite that make a difference in company decision making.

It’s a poorly worn path if you think about it. It’s very unclear what experience you need to get there, and there are very few mentorship connections. I think the more we can do to spotlight women in those positions, the more women you’ll end up seeing. Everybody says you can’t be what you can’t see, and it tends to be a true phenomenon. We’re hoping that if more young women see somebody like themselves in these roles, they’ll set their career paths accordingly.

Visibility is important, but what comes after visibility? One of us went to get our nails done recently, and actively chose not to get an OPI nail polish. Is that something you’re aiming to achieve? [Editor’s Note: OPI is a Coty brand.]

IK: It makes me really happy to hear that you made a purchasing decision based on our data. The whole genesis of LedBetter is based on this idea that women have tremendous economic power. When we started looking into this, we discovered that women actually control 80% of the buying power in the United States, and their representation on boards is somewhere around 19 or 20%. [Editor’s Note: According to Catalyst, women made up 19.2% of board seats in the S&P 500 as of October 2014].

So you have 80% and you have 20%. We wanted to make the issue of women’s scant representation in corporate leadership more quantifiable and understandable. We hear these general numbers about “Oh there’s not very many women on boards,” but there was no way for people to really look into specific companies or specific industries. One of our main goals is to make this data available, actionable, easy to understand, and easy to visualize.

Have either of you changed your own purchasing habits after going through this process?

CR: For me, it’s Sally Hansen. I have been a Sally Hansen user of various products and I will never buy Sally Hansen again—unless there’s some distinct change that occurs.

IK: It definitely made me feel better about some of the companies I buy from. H&M and Gap in particular. On a smaller level, there's Sally Hansen, OPI, Victoria's Secret—I have maybe one thing from Victoria's Secret, and now I'm like, never again. 

We loved [read: loathed] the visual of all the naked models at the top of the Victoria's Secret website, and then there are just men on the board. 

CR: I think they should have to have their pictures on the site, too!

Have you heard from any of the companies that now have the "harsh glare" of this data on them?

CR: We haven’t heard from any of the Coty or L Brands, but we’ve had companies contact us wanting to be added to the database, which is encouraging. I think it’s not only about casting the harsh glare on people, but also getting people to understand that this is something exciting and incentivizing for their consumers.

Obviously executive representation is important, but it’s also just one part of larger company operations. How do you see this data fitting in with other gender equality issues, such as equal pay, more health benefits for women, or family-friendly policies?

CR: We’re excited to be joining a community of other people focused on [gender equality], but no one is really laser focused on quantifying the gap in leadership. In order to make change in an area, it requires a lot of specific focus. At the same time, once we’ve been able to build out that part of the site, we want to think about other things that have allowed women to succeed in these positions.

What’s next for LedBetter?

IK: This is something Camille and I have been talking a lot about lately, because we’ve been so excited by the feedback that we’ve gotten. We’ve had researchers reach out to us and say, "Your data is so cool, can I help in any way?" We’ve had people from other countries contact us and ask if we would expand into covering more companies in the EU, for instance. We do have an international group of companies in our database, but it’s a little more US-centric. We want to keep growing the database, and looking at other ways we can present the data.  

CR: We’re thinking about educational institutions and government agencies—other areas that are very much involved in shaping culture. It’s not just about companies creating products. It’s the fact that many products end up creating culture, which means it’s even more important for the right people to be leading these companies.

LedBetter is a volunteer-run organization. If you want to volunteer or donate, you can reach the team at [email protected].

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This Journalist Found Gender Bias in Her Own Work. What Next?

The Atlantic writer Adrienne LaFrance’s regular beat is technology—from self-driving cars to robots to the history of email—which means she’s well aware of the industry’s bias towards male voices. But unlike her peers, she doesn’t just analyze how tech companies are doing in terms of diversity—she analyzes her own work as well. In 2013, and again in 2016, she examined how often she quotes or mentions women in her articles. We asked her what inspired her self-analysis, why she cares, and how her findings are influencing how she plans to report stories from now on.

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Beyond an ongoing interest in equal representation, was there anything in particular that originally led you to analyze your own work?

AL: I’ve written a lot of stories about corporate diversity, and that made me wonder how the principles I was writing about held up in my own work.

We loved this explanation in your piece for why representation matters: “Women represent about half the global population, and yet they’re dramatically underrepresented in stories meant to help people understand much of the complexity in the world.” We imagine it would be hard to “quantify” the impact of more female representation in media would have, but what do you see as the major, concrete benefits that would result from closing this gap?

AL: There are several major concrete benefits. For me as a journalist, cultivating more sources who are women means improving my work because I’ll have access to more smart people doing more interesting work. Beyond that, making a concerted effort to include more women’s voices will reinforce the fact that there are many brilliant, qualified women working in the fields I cover (robotics, astronomy, computer science, etc.). I also like the idea that being quoted by an organization like The Atlantic (in a story about groundbreaking research, for instance) might help women gain prominence in their professions and help their careers—the same way such attention can be beneficial to men.

What kind of response have you gotten to your self-imposed call for increased female representation in your work? Has the reaction been different from media peers, readers, and possible sources?

AL: My friends in media have been supportive and empathetic. They understand firsthand the factors that contribute to a relative lack in diversity of sourcing (not that that's any excuse!); and many of them want to improve representation in their work, too. I’ve also been inundated with encouraging emails from people—almost all women—who are grateful for the analysis, and who have offered suggestions of smart women I should get to know in my reporting. The response has been overwhelming in the best possible way. I’ve received dozens such emails from women since February; and maybe three or four from men. The negative responses I’ve received, on the other hand, have been almost all (though not exclusively) from men. A lot of that feedback was pretty vitriolic, and showed up in our comment section. People criticized me for being overly concerned with meeting quotas, called the article a “useless waste of time,” and told me, “You're not changing anything. You're not really helping your gender. You're just whining.” In one comment, someone said: “Since you are incapable of fixing your biases I demand that you retire and turn your position over to woman immediately.” I got a kick out of that one, and liked the response it elicited from another reader: “Well, this is awkward. Adrienne LaFrance is a woman.”

In both your original piece and your follow-up, you explored how you could actively try to feature more women—you’ve acknowledged that it will take extra effort on your part, and that sometimes, it’s more important to find the “best” source you can (regardless of gender). But gender representation in your reporting didn’t improve after your original investigation—how are you planning to revamp your process this time?

AL: Last time, I wrongly assumed that doing the analysis in the first place would be enough to keep this goal top of mind for me. What I realized this time around is that I need to take the time to cultivate new sources on key beats before I’m in the thick of working on a story, or facing deadline. It’s really time consuming but it’s so, so worth it. For example, I was reporting a big feature about robots recently, and I reached the point at which I’d normally feel finished reporting and ready to write. But I had only interviewed one woman compared with more than a dozen men. So I took the time to reach out to several women roboticists and ended up getting some remarkable and valuable perspective that ultimately shaped (and really improved) the piece I would have written otherwise. (Here’s a link to the final story.)

Even for your analysis of gender diversity, you worked with a male PhD. Two years ago, you acknowledged that Matias is a man, but he was the most relevant expert. This year, did you consider trying to find a female expert?

AL: The decision to work with Nathan Matias is a good example of why it doesn’t make sense to ignore a great source just because he’s a man. The fact that we’d worked together on the first analysis meant a level of familiarity with the project (and how our methods changed over time) that was ultimately really important to me. Matias is brilliant, really focused on improving gender diversity, and has volunteered a lot of time to help me think through these issues; while it’d be great to find more women to collaborate with on various projects, it’d be foolish to choose not to work with someone wonderful on the basis of gender alone.

Do you follow any writers, or publications that you think are making a concerted effort to increase female representation? Any recommendations?  

AL: Oh, this is a great question! The Atlantic as a whole is working really hard on this problem, and I’ve been particularly impressed by the strides made in our business coverage, led by Becca Rosen. She’s also a great thinker on issues of gender equality, and someone who I recommend following on Twitter (@beccarosen.) BuzzFeed News has a pretty good track record in terms of hiring diverse reporters and writers, which I believe contributes to a good mix of voices in much of their work. I’ll have to keep thinking about this—and will try to think more critically about representation in others’ work (in addition to my own!)

[thebroadcastbw-blog]

“Anthem of Freedom: How Whitney Houston Remade the ‘Star Spangled Banner’” | The New Yorker

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“Knitting, and Talking Jessica Jones, With Krysten Ritter” | Vulture