For our second episode of 2025, SOMB sought to hear from alumnae from across the Academies. For this episode, we posed two questions to our fellow sisters:

First, how are you being impacted by current events? And second, what does your experience teach you and what can it teach us? How have you handled challenging situations or hostile leaders in the past?

We asked for volunteers to join the podcast recording and provided an email address for any who wanted to share asynchronously, so this podcast is the result of that conversation. Please note that we do not introduce anyone with last name or affiliation - we only used first names. But all who joined are female alumnae.

We're also providing a list of books recommended by some of those who joined us. They are here for reference:

1. It's My Country Too: Women's Military Stories from the American Revolution to Afghanistan by Jerri Bell (2017)
2. No Coincidences: Reflections of the First Black Female Graduate of the United States Naval Academy by Janie Mines ('80)
3. Robert E. Lee and Me: A Southerner's Reckoning with the Myth of the Lost Cause by BG Ty Seidule, USA (Ret) (2021)
4. Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson (2020)
5. Be Bold: How a Marine Corps Hero Broke Barriers for Women at War by Tom Sileo (2022)
6. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brene Brown (2018)