Breaking Down Patriarchy

Amy is joined by guest Susannah Harmon Furr to discuss A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. Topics include the importance of personal space, privilege, accessibility, and learning to listen to yourself. Susannah Harmon Furr is a designer and art historian with a research focus on the Dutch Baroque period. She founded a women’s clothing line inspired by her research of intricate embroidery Dutch women found the time to painstakingly render on their otherwise prescribed uniforms—details often hidden to all but the wearer—and its significance in their daily lives. She lives in Paris with her husband and three of her four kids and their yellow lab, Cosi. Susannah and her husband, Nathan, have co-authored a book on the possibility that comes from facing uncertainty: www.uncertaintypossibility.com (forthcoming from Harvard Business Review Press in Summer 2022.) Another project close to her heart is The Earnest Project. On Instagram @theearnestproject.

Amy is joined by the show’s first male guest, Eric Allebest, to discuss men’s questions and concerns about Breaking Down Patriarchy. Questions include whether patriarchy is a natural construct, if masculinity and patriarchy are connected, and what’s wrong with patriarchy in the first place?

Amy is joined by guest Courtney McPhie to discuss the speeches “Morality and Birth Control” and “The Case for Birth Control” by Margaret Sanger. Topics include marriage as ownership, modesty rules, and sex education. Courtney McPhie grew up in Colorado, and while she loves the rolling hills of Virginia, she misses the Rocky Mountains. Courtney is a high school English teacher outside Washington, DC, where she fights for equity and representation in the classroom. Another highlight about Courtney is she loves podcasts! Her favorite is NPR’s Code Switch. She has loved participating in Breaking Down Patriarchy because her undergrad offerings of women’s studies courses was extremely limited, so she feels like she is getting the solid education in feminist lit she always wanted.

Amy is joined by guest Dr. Amy Osmond Cook to discuss the speech “The Fundamental Principle of a Republic” delivered by Anna Howard Shaw. Topics include white prejudice in the suffrage movement, arguments against the right to vote, and work-life balance for mothers. Dr. Amy Osmond Cook was born and raised in Provo, Utah, the daughter of musicians (her mother was an opera-singer; her father was one of the original four Osmond brothers). She obtained a bachelor’s and master’s degree at BYU, and a PhD from the University of Utah in Organizational Rhetoric. She works as the CMO of Simplus, an Infosys company, and founder of Osmond Marketing. She lives in Southern California and loves spending time with her husband and five kids.

Amy is joined by guest Shauna Rensch to discuss The Awakening by Kate Chopin. Topics include structural inequity, the panopticon of patriarchy, and contemporary feminist awakenings.Shauna Rensch is a wife and mother of four kids ages 15 to 5. She grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago but moved to Arizona with her family at the end of high school. She started at ASU but took time off to get married and have her first child. She went back to school in order to complete a bachelor’s degree at NAU and started teaching kindergarten. She has taught from kindergarten up through sixth grade and completed a master’s in elementary education from NAU in 2015. She has taken the last two years off from teaching but looks forward to more work within the education field in the future. Shauna loves reading, long walks with beautiful views, and road trips with her family.

Amy is joined by guest Shannon Hyatt Johnson to discuss The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Topics include hysteria, gaslighting, and the ideology of separate spheres.Shannon Hyatt Johnson grew up in the Western U.S., graduated from BYU, and is currently working and studying at Stanford. She likes watching tv that provokes impassioned family discussions with her husband and four daughters. Lately, that includes Derry Girls, Cobra Kai, and Ted Lasso. She loves the f-word. Both “feminist,” and the other one.

Amy is joined by guest Kayleen Asbo to discuss The Gospel of Mary Magdalene. Topics include the history of gnostic texts, the gender of the Holy Spirit, and the value of self-knowledge. Kayleen Asbo is a passionate scholar: a cultural historian, musician, writer and teacher who weaves myth, music, psychology, history and art with experiential learning. A faculty member of the Pacifica Graduate Institute and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Kayleen also teaches regularly for the Osher Life Long Learning Institutes at UC Berkeley, Sonoma State University and Dominican University. Her classes on a wide array of topics ranging from Depth Psychology to Dante to the History of Classical Music have been hailed as “inspirational”, “fascinating and compelling”, “transformational” and “truly life changing” . Her favorite description came from an event producer who introduced her as a cross between Joseph Campbell, Leonard Bernstein and Wonder Woman. In 2020, Kayleen joined the faculty of Ubiquity University where she will be offering online courses for both graduate students and lay learners on the wisdom traditions of the world, with a focus on the Sacred Feminine.

Amy is joined by Franceskay Allebes to discuss The Subjection of Women by John Stuart Mill. Topics include the burden of proof for equality, the veil of ignorance, and complementarianism. Franceskay Allebes is a first generation American, born to parents who immigrated to the United States from the Netherlands after World War II. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a Master’s in education from UCLA, and has worked as an Art teacher and Art therapist. She loves her husband, her three amazing, creative children, learning, and adventuring in the outdoors.

Amy is joined by Rayna Clay MacKay to discuss the speech ‘Ain’t I A Woman?’ by Sojourner Truth. Topics include the history and multiple versions of this speech, microaggressions, and the legacy of racism in America.Rayna Clay MacKay is a wife, mom, and Obstetric Anesthesiologist. She married a dreamy Scotsman for much more than his accent and gained two fantastic bonus kids as a result. They added three more kiddos to the mix, including identical twin boys, and a daughter. They also have the best Cavoodle in the world named Hamish. She is a firm believer that differences are what make us great, and they should be applauded and supported. As she’s gotten older and wiser, She’s found her voice becoming louder championing for the injustices in the medical system, and society as a whole. Her hope is that the future is more glorious with a rainbow of differing people and opinions that are equally acknowledged.

Amy is joined by guest Courtney McPhie to discuss speeches from the Seneca Falls Convention. Topics include how to recruit men as feminist allies, key arguments for suffrage, and the complex relationships between Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, and Frederick Douglass. Courtney McPhie experienced a typical awakening to social justice in high school, but took until college to call herself a feminist. A voracious reader and podcast-listener, Courtney lives in Northern Virginia, in the DC Metro area. She completed her graduate studies at George Mason University and holds a masters degree in education, which she uses as a high school English teacher in Fairfax County. She works largely with English Language Learners, mostly asylum-seekers who have come from Central America in the last three years. Courtney lives with her husband and three cute kids in a Colonial house on a hill.