Firestarters with Shannon Watts

“I fell into flying as a flight attendant. And it was probably the best thing for me at that time, my love for travel, my love for other cultures, and ethnicities. And it's the best training ground for the work that I do now.”

After hearing your enthusiasm about the first three episodes of the Firestarters Podcast, I’m excited to tell you that I’ll be continuing to share one new episode of the podcast per month.

And today I’m talking with my friend Lucy McBath, a gun violence survivor, former Moms Demand Action spokeswoman, and three-term Georgia Congresswoman. Since 2019, Rep. McBath has advocated for bipartisan solutions to end gun violence, uplift small businesses, protect veterans, and lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs.

What you’ll find in this conversation:

* What growing up was like as the daughter of a civil right’s activist and a nurse

* How being a flight attendant prepared her for her current career

* The ways in which she’s gained confidence in herself to go after what she wants

* External obstacles she’s faced in running for office

* How her son Jordan’s murder made her completely change course to protect other families

* The women that helped push her to new heights

For more inspiring conversations like this one, be sure you’re a subscriber to my Substack, Playing With Fire.

“One of the things I hear from women about running for office is, ‘I don't want to be criticized.’ And I say ‘They’re going to criticize you if you do it. They're going to criticize you if you don't do it. And wouldn't it be better to be doing something and to have them talk about you? To be making change and have them talk about you? To be passing bills that are going to do good and have them talk about you?’”

A’shanti Gholar is the president of Emerge, an organization dedicated to recruiting and training Democratic women to run for office in America. For over 15 years, A’shanti has been a grassroots organizer and an activist on behalf of women and communities of color and progressive causes. She is a nationally recognized political strategist and worked as a political appointee in the Obama administration and also for the Democratic National Committee.

A’shanti is also the founder of the Brown Girls Guide to Politics, an award winning podcast that was featured as one of the top political podcasts by Time Magazine, Teen Vogue, and Vanity Fair.

What you’ll find in this conversation:

* She talks about how she was interested in politics as a little girl, and why she chose CSPAN over Sesame Street.

* The teacher she credits with encouraging her to use her voice.

* A standoff with a politician when she was a high school senior and how that turned her into to volunteer.

* The impact of not being seeing women who look like her in politics.

* What she counsels women running for office to do about criticism — internal and external.

* Her experience leading Emerge and the work that she does to put women in office.

* How she handles racism and sexism; her bizarre experience being on the hot seat on CSPAN.

* How she looks to the shine theory as a way to strengthen sisterhood.

For more inspiring conversations like this one, be sure you’re a subscriber to my Substack, Playing With Fire.

“One of the metaphors that I use is imagining guilt is a faulty check engine light on your car dashboard.  Your car has just been serviced, the oil is changed, everything's fine, but the stupid light just keeps going off. It doesn't actually give you any meaningful information, so you can ignore it. You can just say it's broken. Guilt is not a moral compass.”

Dr. Pooja Lakshmin is a clinical psychiatrist in Austin, Texas, specializing in women's health. She's also an assistant professor of psychiatry. During our discussion, we talked about how she differentiates between faux self-care and real self-care, including the obstacles women face internally and externally, and to overcome them. We also discuss how real self-care can help women live lives that are more authentic and more audacious. And Pooja shares her insights about how self-care can help women find their spark and protect it throughout their lives.

What you’ll find in this conversation:

* She talks about her disillusionment with the practice of psychiatry and mainstream medicine.

* Being raised in a patriarchal society.

* How she identifies her spark.

* How toxic and “faux self care” from the wellness industry actually harms us.

* The four principles of real self care.

* How guilt stops women from setting boundaries.

* How to practice real self care.

For more inspiring conversations like this one, be sure you’re a subscriber to my Substack, Playing With Fire.

“So I am silenced. I do not own my own truth. I do not own my own reality. I've had movies and miniseries made about me. I couldn't participate. I can't even tell you if they're accurate. I may never own my own voice, but I am going to make sure that other people do.”

Gretchen Carlson is a renowned journalist, a bestselling author, and now an internationally recognized advocate for women's rights in the workplace. Gretchen's life has taken so many twists and turns from youth violinist to Miss America, to journalists, to women's empowerment advocate.

I'm really interested in learning more about how she navigated that non-linear journey. What is it inside her that has propelled her forward? Not just from accomplishment to accomplishment, but how has she kept going despite the difficulties she's endured along the way? What obstacles has she faced internally and externally, and how has she had to work to overcome them? What wisdom can she share with all of us about how to find our spark and to protect it?

What you’ll find in this conversation:

* An incident in kindergarten which was her first introduction to injustice and standing up for herself.

* How she believes her spark has been cultivated.

* Her experience with being a Miss America contestant and what threatened to put out her spark.

* The stereotypes she experienced in television after being Miss America.

* Her experiences with sexual assault.

* When she filed a complaint against Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes and the retaliation as well as support she received.

* She co-founded Lift Our Voices to fight NDA’s in workplace contracts.

* What she feels most makes her come alive now.

* Regrets that she has and what she wishes she could change.

* What she’s planning next.

For more inspiring conversations like this one, be sure you’re a subscriber to my Substack, Playing With Fire.

Look for the launch of my new Firestarters podcast in January 2024. During the course of writing my new book (out in 2025), I’ve had some incredible conversations with women who are living on fire, and I wanted to share a few of these conversations to you in January. Why? Because think we could all use some fiery women to help us ring in the New Year!