Note to Self

Security technologist Bruce Schneier, author of “Data and Goliath,” says you should stop feeling guilty about skimming the Terms of Service. Get mad instead.

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Is your phone listening a little too closely to what you have to say? Author Walter Kirn tells us why you'd be crazy NOT to be paranoid about your phone.

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Author and academic Andrew Moravcsik dives into why he and his wife decided he would be their family’s "lead parent," how they came up with that term, and how that decision has affected his marriage, his kids, and ultimately his career.

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In the final chapter of our four-part series about women and work, co-founders Rachael and Leslie hear a tough critique of their pitch and make a tough decision. Plus, New America CEO Anne-Marie Slaughter explains how she thinks the culture around work and caretaking has shifted since she quit her job as Hillary Clinton’s right-hand woman at the State Department. Anne-Marie’s husband, Andrew Moravcsik, wraps it up with the male perspective... and why he feels so strongly that the conversation about work/life balance is really about the new role of men in society.

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After tapping into their kids' college funds, Rachael and Leslie join a startup accelerator to compete for a cash prize. But as they prepare for the competition, the business partners feel pressure to choose between selling investors on their app's feminist mission or its projected revenue. How they decide to present their final pitch surprises Manoush... so much so, that she inserts herself into the story.

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In episode two of our 4-part series, the two moms-turned-entrepreneurs beta test their app on 20 local mothers (including Manoush). But as they get deeper into start-up life, personal differences begin to surface. Leslie, whose husband is her family's primary parent, is ready to put in the long hours required of a typical tech company founder. Rachael, though, wonders whether she can manage start-up life and school pickup. Things get meta as the working moms wonder: Is playing by Silicon Valley's rules the only way to win over investors? Can Leslie and Rachael create a new model of feminist entrepreneurship that makes money, has social value, and doesn't cost them their own work/life balance?

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Welcome to the first episode of our 4-part series: Taking the Lead. This is the story of two working moms, Rachael and Leslie, who have a big idea (a tech idea) to help more women get some work/life balance and "lean in." But before they can launch a company, they'll need to overcome their own work/life issues and deal with some broader questions: can women find a place in the tech economy? Is society ready to radically redefine gender roles in the home? What really has to change in our culture to get more women into the C-Suite? 

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Rachael and Leslie are two working moms in Brooklyn, building an app to help more women on their quest to 'have it all.' Manoush follows them on their journey as they confront the same struggles many women face as they try to reconcile profession with parenting. Along the way even more questions arise: Do women have a place in the tech economy? Is society ready to radically redefine gender roles in the home? Can women REALLY have it all?

Special guest Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of The Atlantic article "Why Women Still Can’t Have it All," also stops by during the series to talk about work/life balance, lead parents, and the career advice every millennial needs.

Putting down your phone and letting yourself get bored can jumpstart your creativity. Tens of thousands of you helped us prove this in 2015 with our week-long project: Bored and Brilliant. Now, just in time for summer, try out the bootcamp version with three easy behavior changes. They're fun AND proven to get you rethinking your brain, all those notifications, and how we spend our time. 

NPR's Eleanor Beardsley, Elise Hu and Gregory Warner share their insider knowledge regarding how people in other countries use tech.