Inflection Point with Lauren Schiller

What happens when teachers are given the freedom to inspire a lifelong love of learning? In this episode, I talk with Gabrielle Howard, who recently retired as the head of the Lower School at Saint Ann’s School in Brooklyn, where she worked for 35 years.

We’ll talk about why she dedicated her life to fostering a love of learning in young children, why she let them swear in her office, how a school without grades can produce high-achieving graduating classes time and time again, and the deep value of listening to kids.

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Now and then a “girl power” book pops up that is truly inspiring and, better yet, timely. And even better, written by actual feminists, parents, and educators who want to use their books to incite change by creating role models our daughters and sons can relate to.

Sounds pretty rad right? That’s actually the name of a book series...”Rad Women”...”Rad Women A to Z”; “Rad Women Worldwide”, and now, those women Kate Schatz and her co-author/illustrator the rad Miriam Klein Stahl are out with a third book called “Rad Girls Can.”

I talked with Kate and Miriam at a benefit for children's literacy hosted by Reading Partners, an organization that mobilizes communities across the Bay Area to help students read at grade level by fourth grade.

Join me for a special on-stage discussion with the authors of RAD Girls Can, Miriam Klein Stahl and Kate Schatz. The book is available now.

Daniela Petruzalek is an accomplished software engineer from Brazil, who started working with computers at the age of 14. She’s always tried to fit into the male dominated field, but it was in direct conflict with who she really was, even growing up.

The thing is, Daniela has lived most of her life as a male. But three years ago, she took the leap to transition to her true female self and had to fight her own internal prejudices. And not only that, she was now competing in that same very male field, but as a woman.

Daniela has made it her mission as a trans woman, to make the white, cisgender male dominated tech industry truly inclusive.

Join the conversation when you join our “Inflection Point Society” Facebook Group— for everyday activists who want to make extraordinary social change through everyday actions.

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When radio journalist Sarah Delia heard a story about the sexual assault of one of her station’s listeners, “Linda” (not her real name), she knew it was a story that needed to be told. It’s also a story about how one survivor took matters into her own hands when the police department she turned to for help seemed to be failing to help her. And it’s a story about how our criminal justice system handles sexual assault cases nationwide--and what needs to change to make violence against women the exception rather than the status quo.

Sarah turned Linda’s story into a new investigative podcast series called “She Says”. Listen to our conversation about the courage it takes to tell your story of sexual assault--and keep telling it---until you are heard by someone who can help you get justice. And also--what it takes to be the person who takes on the “second-degree trauma” of listening to and reporting on stories of sexual assault.

Join the conversation when you join our “Inflection Point Society” Facebook Group— for everyday activists who want to make extraordinary social change through everyday actions.

Thank you to our sponsors:

Banish skin care (Get $10 off at banish.com for a limited time with code INFLECTION)

Commonspace podcast

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Empathy is often seen as the magic bullet against intolerance. But when we take on too much empathy for others it can be difficult to create emotional boundaries when it comes to our own needs. At the same time, when we put up emotional walls, we’re judged as being selfish, cold or “bossy.”**  **

Emily Abad is someone who was raised to always put others’ needs ahead of her own and not speak up for herself. She’s always struggled to find that perfect balance between empathy and assertiveness. When her religious father refused to accept her after she came out as gay, she was at a loss as to what to do.

Then she began working with kids at the Mosaic Project, an experiential education program addressing issues of diversity, empathy, and conflict resolution. Hear how teaching kids the power of speaking their truth from a place of love helped Emily to find her own voice.

This episode is brought to you in part by Banish skin care. Get $10 for a limited time when you use the code INFLECTION.

And, Commonspace, a podcast featuring live storytelling and conversation. Season two is rolling out right now.

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.

Support Inflection Point with a monthly or one-time contribution at inflectionpointradio.org to keep women’s stories front and center.

What's so monumental about turning 40 that women need their own Facebook group? Turns out--pretty much everything. From discussing fashion to friendship to feminism, work and health Nina Collins has created an "environment that's a little like Vegas...our special place to talk about what's really going on in our lives..." But why don't real life friends fill that need? Collins turned what she learned from the group--and her own experience with hitting 40–into a book, "What Would Virginia Woolf Do?" Hear it all, including a foray into chin hairs and Botox on this week’s episode.

Can you find compassion in your heart for the haters in your life? Should you? CNN political commentator and first-time author Sally Kohn says if we keep on hating the haters, the cycle of hate will never end. She’s believes compassion to be one of the keys to breaking the cycle of hatred that pervades our culture in today’s divisive world.

The question is, how can compassion defeat a system fuelled by hate?

Listen in on my conversation with Sally Kohn, author of "The Opposite of Hate" on what she’s learned from her own missteps as a former school bully and, paradoxically, as a well-meaning liberal, breaking the cycle of hate, and cultivating compassion for her perceived enemies.

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Sarah McBride made history as the first transgender person to speak at a national political convention in 2016. As of 2018, more than half of LGBTQ people live in states that don’t protect them from discrimination or are even actively hostile towards them. In the most challenging moments--the 2016 election results, everyday sexism and misogyny and the death of her young husband--even then she fights to update our laws to protect and include LGBTQ people.

Her vision and focus on achieving a more equal world, where everyone is seen and accepted for who they are, is so clear that it almost seems simple. So why does it have to be so hard to get to that point?

Listen to my conversation with Sarah McBride, LGBTQ activist and author of the new book, “Tomorrow Will Be Different”.

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.

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For many girls today, the relentless pursuit of accomplishment is fueled by harsh self-criticism and an acute fear of failure. Rachel Simmons has been researching young women for two decades, and her research plainly shows that girl competence does not equal girl confidence—nor does it equal happiness, resilience, or self-worth. As an educator and author of "Enough As She Is: How to Help Girls Move Beyond Impossible Standards of Success to Live Healthy, Happy and Fulfilling Lives", Rachel teaches girls and women skills to build their resilience, amplify their voices, and own their courage so that they—and their relationships—live with integrity and health.

Your support is the nutrient that keeps us marching! Please support the program at inflectionpointradio.org/contribute.

For the past decade, 96-year-old Betty Reid Soskin has served as the nation’s oldest Park Ranger, where she gives talks at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park. But the triumphant story of the now ubiquitous feminist icon, Rosie the Riveter, is not Betty’s story. While Rosie was breaking barriers for twentieth century white women in the workforce, Black women like Betty and her slave ancestors had been serving as laborers “outside the home” for centuries. In our live talk at INFORUM at the Commonwealth Club, Betty offers a clear-eyed perspective on the untold stories of the American narrative and the ever-rising spiral our country is making toward equality.

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