Breaking Down Patriarchy

Amy is joined by an anonymous guest, a former U.S. Navy SEAL, to discuss his experiences joining, training, and deploying in a specialized military unit, all while exploring patriarchy in our armed forces and questioning the nature of violence.Donate to Breaking Down Patriarchy

Amy is joined by Dr. Marina Warner to revisit her book, Alone of All Her Sex, getting expert insight into the history of the Virgin Mary, her evolution and multitude of meanings, unrealistic religious standards, and what it takes for a woman to become a myth.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyMarina Warner is an English historian, mythographer, art critic, novelist and short story writer. She is best known for her many award-winning non-fiction books relating to feminism and myth. She has written for many publications, including The London Review of Books, the Sunday Times, and Vogue. She is also a Professor of English and Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London. In 2017, she was elected president of the Royal Society of Literature, the first time the role has been held by a woman since the founding of the Royal Society of Literature in 1820. She is also a Distinguished Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.

Amy is joined by author Meg Stone to discuss her book, The Cost of Fear, digging into the difference between safety through compliance and safety through resistance, plus practical self-defense suggestions and what we can do to stop gender-based violence.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyMeg Stone is the Executive Director of IMPACT Boston, an abuse prevention and empowerment self-defense organization. Her writing has been published in Huffington Post, Newsweek, Washington Post, Boston Globe, Dame, and Ms. She has received numerous awards for her work over the past 30 years. She lives in Cambridge, MA, with her partner Mal and a shockingly large collection of musical theatre cast albums.

Amy is joined by Dr. Jay Zigmont to discuss his book, The Childfree Guide to Life and Money, and better understand patriarchy's impact on our wallets, how parenthood shapes our finances, and the challenges and advantages of veering off the standard life script by choosing a child-free lifestyle.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyJay Zigmont, PhD, MBA, CFP® is the Founder of Childfree Wealth, a life and financial planning firm dedicated to helping Childfree and Permanently Childless people. Childfree Wealth is the first (and currently the only) life and financial planning firm dedicated to serving Childfree people.Jay is also the author of the forthcoming book The Childfree Guide to Life and Money and  the co-host of the Childfree Wealth podcast. His Ph.D. is in Adult Learning from the University of Connecticut. He has been featured in Fortune, Forbes, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Business Insider, CNBC, and many other publications.

Amy is joined by historian and author, Dr. Philippa Gregory, to discuss her newest book, Normal Women, exploring 900 years of women's stories including the origins of the gender wage gap, the history and normality of women loving women, where our abortion laws began, and much much more.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyPhilippa Gregory is one of the world’s foremost historical novelists and non-fiction writers. She wrote her first ever novel, Wideacre, when she was completing her PhD in eighteenth-century literature and it sold worldwide, heralding a new era for historical fiction. Her flair for blending history and imagination developed into a signature style and Philippa went on to write many bestselling novels, including The Other Boleyn Girl and The White Queen.Now a recognized authority on women’s history, Philippa graduated from the University of Sussex and received a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, where she is a Regent and was made Alumna of the Year in 2009.

Sam Rose is joined by artist and advocate, Julia Alora, who shares a brilliant essay on asexuality before digging deep into asexual history, how patriarchy impacts the ace community, and what we can all do to support asexual or questioning family and youth.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyJulia Alora (she/they) is a Portland-based sculptress creating biologically influenced sculptures out of recycled materials. Born and raised in the wilds of upstate NY, her love of the natural world drives her to find beauty in everything, at times expressing this through sharp, fierce grotesqueries, or smooth, living visions of steel and glass. Her creations hearken to the viewers to consider their connection to nature, their responsibilities to the world and to others. She incorporates ethically-sourced bone, junkyard steel, dumpster treasures, and other found objects, into lovingly made monsters and figures.

Amy is joined by advocate Allison Dayton, founder of Lift & Love, to discuss the god-sized holes left behind when LGBTQIA+ people are forced out of their faith traditions, plus how the LDS Church can be changed through love and role modelling to embrace its gay family.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyAllison Dayton started the Lift & Love Foundation to support LGBTQ individuals and their families in the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Allison lost her brother, who was gay, to suicide at the same time her 17-year-old son was coming out. Looking for resources to help her family, she couldn’t find anything that embraced her religious beliefs and her son’s divine identity. Lift and Love has grown to fill that much-needed space supporting thousands of individuals and families as they navigate their unique journeys of protecting their identity or that of their precious children and integrating their new reality into their devotion to Jesus Christ. Allison is a writer, speaker, including at BYU Women’s Conferences. In 2022 she moderated an LGBTQ Conversation Circle at the UN Women’s Conference. Allison and her husband, Kenn, live in the foothills of Salt Lake City, Utah, have three grown children, a son-in-law and a granddaughter, Georgia, who rules their world.

Amy is joined by author Heather Hester to discuss her book Parenting with Pride: Unlearn Bias and Embrace, Empower, and Love Your LGBTQ+ Teen, digging into the coming out process and exploring the best ways we can support queer children through education, self-care, and confronting homophobia.Resources for parents.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyHeather Hester is the founder of Chrysalis Mama which provides support and education to parents and allies of LGBTQIA adolescents, teenagers, and young adults. She is also the creator/host of the Top 1% podcast Just Breathe: Parenting your LGBTQ Teen. As an advocate and coach, she believes the coming out process is equal parts beautiful and messy. She works with her clients to let go of fear and feelings of isolation so that they can reconnect with themselves and their children with awareness and compassion. Heather also works within organizations via specialized programming to bring education and empowerment with a human touch. She is delighted to announce that her first book is out in the world as of May 2024 - Parenting with Pride: Unlearn Bias and Embrace, Empower, and Love Your LGBTQ+ Teen. Married to the funniest guy she’s ever known and the mother of four extraordinary kids (two of whom are LGBTQ) and one sassy mini bernedoodle, Heather believes in being authentic and embracing the messiness. You can almost always find her with a cup of coffee nearby whether she’s at her computer, on her yoga mat, or listening to her favorite music.

Breaking Down Patriarchy producer, Sam Rose Preminger, revisits stories of coming into their transgender identity and answers listener questions about transgender and nonbinary experiences, discussing bathrooms, sports, queer youth, and the fight for LGBTQIA+ liberation.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchySam Rose Preminger (they/them) is an editor and producer on Breaking Down Patriarchy. They live in Portland, OR with their partner and rescue pup.

Amy is joined by married partners - poet Phillip Brown and therapist Andres Brown - for an authentic and heartful exploration of queer identity, queer safety, queer relationships and patriarchy through an exchange of poetry and conversation.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyPhillip Watts Brown is a poet and artist after earning a BA in graphic design from Brigham Young University. He earned an MFA in poetry from Oregon State University. He is the author of Boy with Flowers in His Mouth, which was published by Gold Line Press in February, 2025. His work has appeared in literary journals and anthologies, including Ninth Letter, the Common, Ruminate, Nimrod, Tahoma Literary Review, and others. Phillip lives with his husband in northern Utah, where he works as a graphic designer. He's also a poetry editor for the online literary journal, Halfway Down the Stairs.Andres Larios Brown (They/Elle) is a Utah-based licensed marriage and family therapist dedicated to healing for LGBTQ plus communities. As training director and partner at Simple Modern Therapy and Institute, Andres focuses on trauma, healing, and wellbeing for those who feel marginalized or othered. Andres specializes in identity development and reclaiming healing practices for queer, trans, and BIPOC communities. As a therapist of both lived experience and learned expertise, they are committed to helping LGBTQ+ people thrive.In addition to providing therapy, Andres focuses on creating and facilitating training for therapists and teaches at U of V’s Masters of Social Work Program and U of O’s Couples and Family Therapy Program. They have co-authored a chapter in the Rutledge International Handbook of Couple and Family Therapy, as well as a number of other articles in different academic journals. Through therapy, teaching, training, and advocacy. They seek to bridge the gap between research and clinical practice. They and their husband of eight years live in northern Utah where they spend as much time with family and loved ones as possible.