Inflection Point with Lauren Schiller

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. Support the Inflection Point Campaign for Action. Donate today: bit.ly/inflectionpoint

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. 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. Subscribe to “Inflection Point” to get more stories of how women rise up right in your feed.

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. Subscribe to “Inflection Point” to get more stories of how women rise up right in your feed.

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.' **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.

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! *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.