POWER UP WOMEN!

Fighting for the Future of Girls

Girls throughout the world face urgent and unique challenges to living healthy and fulfilling lives. Michelle Nunn, President and CEO of CARE USA updates Anne on current trends and facts about the current state of girls globally, including lessons from the crisis in Afghanistan, key issues disproportionately impacting females, from access to education and climate change to gender-based violence, as well as why it is so important for more women to run for public office.

Women in Sports Management

Sports is one of the most gender lopsided arenas in the professional world. Women make up close to 40% of global sports fans, providing billions in revenue. Female participation has exploded since 1972 Title IX legislation unlocked doors of athletic opportunity. Yet women working in sports management roles are still rare trailblazers, such as Kim Ng of the Miami Marlins and Cynt Marshall of the Dallas Mavericks, and usually the only woman in the room. Guests Kellie Fischer, CFO of the Texas Rangers Baseball Club and Jhonika Hawkins of the NBA's Detroit Pistons say it's an exciting career path, ripe with possibility.

Ending Period Poverty: A Big Idea Whose Time Has Come

The drive to end "period poverty" by making sanitary products for women more affordable is building momentum. It's a problem shared by girls and women, throughout the world, experiencing homelessness, fleeing domestic violence or enduring poverty. In the U.S., one in five girls miss school because of the cost of tampons or pads, which are taxed in 34 states.  It was Australian Rochelle Courtenay, founder of Share the Dignity, who begn the global drive to end the gender-based "tampon tax" abd tackle the stigma around menstruation. Courtenay talked about her Big Idea whose time has come with Anne Doyle for the Game Changers podcast of the International Women's Forum. Click her for info on organizations and efforts to tackle this problem. 

The Poisoned City: Flint‘s Water and the American Urban Tragedy

A fascinating conversation with investigative journalist Anna Clark, author of the definitive book on the lead contamination crisis that poisoned the water in Flint, Michigan. Clark's powerful storytelling skills reveal the structural racism entwined with this perfect storm and bring to life the courageous citizens who rose up to fight for their lives against city, state and federal government officials who insisted their coffee-colored water was "perfectly safe."

Through the Dark: Finding Joy After Sudden Blindness

Can you imagine suddenly losing your sight in the prime of your life? That's exactly what happened to Yolanda Nava, a successful, multi-lingual, Latina broadcast journalist who learned how to reclaim her joy and recreate her life after what she describes as "the death of my old self." Her new book, THROUGH THE DARK, and this conversation with Anne are full of wisdom and inspiration about the resiliency of the human spirit and the power each of us holds within to continuously grow, even through traumatic, life-changing experiences. 

Healing from Sexual Assault; There is No Time Limit

The crisis of sexual assault has is not limited to USA gymnastics. One in six women and one in 30 men experience sexual assault in their lifetimes. Nor is it new; it has been going on for centuries. And the trauma of sexual assault, often committed by someone the victim knew, scars a human spirit for decades. Guests Trinea Gonczar, a former gymnast who was "treated" for years by imprisoned predator Dr. Larry Nasser, and Kimberly Hurst, Founder and Executive Director of the Avalon Healing Center, are courageous advocates for victims and "sister survivor" experts in what it takes for suffering individuals to truly heal and the leadership required, as demonstrated recently by Simon Biles, for complacent cultural attitudes to change. 

Exploring the World Through Sailing & Science

French sailor Alexia Barrier, who grew up beside the sea in the south of France, recently completed a solo, nonstop, around the world yacht race. The Vendée Globe is considered the ultimate challenge in ocean racing; she is the first woman to complete the race for the benefit of science. I interviewed Alexia for the Game Changers podcast of the International Women's Forum.  In our conversation she shares: her experience spending 111 days alone at sea; how we can each play a role in protecting our oceans; the challenges that women still face to achieve opportunities to hone and test their sailing skills at the highest levels, and the scale at which plastics are negatively impacting the environment of planet Earth. 

Healing & The Holocaust -- Through the Eyes of a Child

Bending Toward the Sun: A Mother and Daughter Memoir is a powerful story of survival, healing and the generational impact of trauma. The story begins with the memories of Rita Lurie, who was only five years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and she and 14 members of her Jewish family hid for two years, often freezing and starving, in a small farmhouse attic. Very few children survived the Nazi genocide of Jews and the grueling refugee years following World War II, let alone found their way to America to become an inspiration to their children and grandchildren.  Lawyer and human rights activist Leslie Gilbert Luri, who co-authored this memoir with her mother, joins Anne to share her Mother's remarkable story, insights about generational trauma and inspiring lessons about the strength and resilience of the human spirit. 

New World, New Rules: A Latina Ambassador's View on Democracy, the USA and Women's Political Power

The current state of Democracy and the challenges facing our interconnected and inter-dependent countries and continents look quite different from outside the United States. Roberta LaJous, a seasoned diplomat who has been the Mexican Ambassador to Spain, Cuba, Austria and Bolivia, as well as serving at the UN, shares what she perceives as the greatest threat to democracy today, how the world views the USA in light of the citizens' attack on the Capitol, and how women in Mexico are dramatically increasing their political power. 

Race Relations in 2021 America

Confederate statues are coming down, Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, and a 14-year-old girl makes history as the first African American to win the National Spelling Bee. Yet, voting restrictions are being tightened, tempers are flaring over the teaching of Critical Race theory and atrocities continue.  What's the state of U.S. race relations? Detroit Champion of Justice award winner Shirley Stancato, an expert on race relations and long-time advocate for building relationships across differences, shares her perspective and ways each of us can be social justice allies.