HERsay Podcast

In April, Springtime has arrived, and with warmer weather comes our desire for creativity and a re-focus on physical and mental health. Join Caroline and B&N's Sara LaFaro for this fun and informative discussion our book picks for April. Each month, the HERsay Podcast partners with Barnes & Noble to select books that speak to what's on the minds of women. This month's picks: Remarkably Bright Breatures by Shelby Van Pelt; Mating In Captivity by Esther Perel; The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine; Emily Dickinson's Gardening Life by Marta McDowell; Born A Crime by Trevor Noah (for it's amazing female characters); and The Pepper Thai Cookbook by Pepper Tiegen.

February is an especially great month for hunkering down with a good book. This month we're sharing four titles we think you'll love, as we also celebrate Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day and Black History Month. In today's episode, host Caroline Elliott talks with Barnes & Noble's Clare Hilton about this month's picks: Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman, and Kindred by Octavia Butler.

The path to pursuing our goals and dreams is rarely a smooth, easy, or linear one. When we know what we want and have the passion, plan, and tools to achieve it, it feels like nothing can stop us.  But when unforeseen challenges and obstacles test our resilience, we need to take a moment to re-calibrate and create a new plan for achieving our goals.

For many of us, 2021 has been a year of regaining our footing after the uncertainty of lockdowns, perhaps riddled with stops and starts, and getting back to a new sense of normal in a world that seems to be evolving faster than ever. If this sounds familiar to you, you may be looking to get back on track in 2022 to pursue the goals, passions, and dreams you’ve had to put on hold, maybe even defining new goals to pursue and achieve in the coming year.

In this episode of our series She Succeeded (and You Can, Too!), we’re talking with Dr. Dravon James, author of Freedom is Your Birthright and host of the Everyday Peace radio show, who shares tangible steps we can take every day to re-focus, re-ignite our drive, and make our goals and dreams a reality in the new year. Let's do this!

Song: Borough by Blue Dot Sessions

During National Native American Heritage month, the HERsay Podcast is shining a spotlight on a trailblazing woman who, for over 40 years, has been sharing the stories and spirit of Indigenous people in a most unique way - through modern dance. Daystar Rosalie Jones is the founder and Artistic Director of Daystar Contemporary Dance Drama of Indian-America, recognized as the first native modern dance company in the United States.

Daystar was born on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, and in 2021 is celebrating 41 years of the Daystar Dance Company “Making Spirit Visible”. She is a choreographer, dancer, teacher, author, and winner of the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Learn more and purchase tickets to the gala performance of Daystar Contemporary Dance-Drama of Indian America’s Stories from Turtle Island in Rochester, NY from December 3-5.

Song: Borough by Blue Dot Sessions

This one is for our book lovers! Each month, the HERsay Podcast partners with Barnes & Noble Booksellers to assemble a list of books we think women will love, informed by what’s happening in our lives and in the world right now.

Our lists feature empowered and empowering women characters, women authors sharing unique stories, and books to help us get things done, help us be our best selves, and inspire the happiness we all deserve.

In this episode, we’re sharing Caroline’s fun and SPOOKY conversation with Barnes & Noble’s Kasia Zubrzycki about our October selections, featuring spine-tingling fiction, literary fantasy, Halloween crafts, decor, and even trivia to share with kids. Be sure to listen ALL the way to the end to get the clue you need to enter our book giveaway at the end of the month!

Song: Borough by Blue Dot Sessions

In a world filled with influencers today, it would be hard to name one person with more enduring influence and impact on the aspirations of young girls than the Disney Princess. But we, and Disney Animation, have come a long way since the first Disney Princess, Snow White, graced the big screen in 1937 singing “Someday My Prince Will Come” and keeping house for the seven dwarves while they went off to work. Today’s Disney princesses are embarking on their own “hero’s journeys”, saving their kingdoms from destruction, and learning valuable lessons along the way.

In this episode in our HERsay Today series, we’re talking with Osnat Shurer, producer of Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, released earlier this year, and also of Moana, released in 2016. Osnat shares how Disney’s newest princesses and role models, 18-year-old Raya and 16-year-old Moana, were created and how Osnat herself rose to be the ideal leader for these films.

Song: Borough by Blue Dot Sessions

Song: Borough by Blue Dot Sessions

And we’re back! But…We’ve made it to the finish line of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while we’re working toward creating a new sense of “normal”, things are definitely not as they were before March 2020.

We’re kicking off Season 2 of the HERsay Podcast with the series “So, Now What?” to help us all figure out how best to move forward after the many changes and challenges that the last year and a half brought on for women.

Barb Klein is a certified life coach, addiction recovery coach, and author of 111 Invitations: Step Into the Full Richness of Life.

In today’s episode, Barb shares her advice for moving forward after career changes, mothering changes, and changes in our own mental health, so that we can reconnect with our own happiness, get unstuck, and step confidently into our next new chapter.

An early-bird registration discount is available now for Barb’s next Women’s Renewal Retreat until July 31st.

Song: Borough by Blue Dot Sessions