In this episode, we talk with Cole and Andee about what it means to escape a high-control religious system — and the cost of choosing freedom.

Cole shares his experience growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness, breaking away in his late teens and early twenties, and losing nearly everything he had ever known: his community, family, friends, job, and identity. He also opens up about the widespread sexual abuse he witnessed within the church and the institution’s failure to protect its members.

Today, Cole is living as his authentic self and helping others who are trying to leave similar systems behind. This is a conversation about courage, grief, and rebuilding your life from the ground up.

In this episode of She the People, Mindy is joined by her cousin-in-law Andy for a wide-ranging, no-BS conversation about apathy—why it spreads, why it’s dangerous, and why “it won’t happen to me” is one of the most costly lies we tell ourselves. Using Jane Goodall’s warning that apathy is the greatest danger to our future, they unpack how comfort, individualism, and political fatigue keep people frozen even as rights erode and propaganda intensifies. From history’s warning signs to the everyday excuses we hide behind (“I’m too busy,” “I don’t like the wording”), Mindy and Andy push one core message: neutrality helps the loudest and worst voices win. They close with an actionable call to get out of your comfort zone—start small, stay consistent, and choose collective action over doomscrolling.

With Shahida out, Mindy talks with her cousin-in-law Andy from Northern Idaho about how abortion bans and political extremism are reshaping everyday life. They cover hospital and OB unit closures, doctors leaving, and the growing dangers and costs of getting basic care in rural communities. They also unpack Idaho’s culture shift—racism, harassment, public school decline, and “freedom” rhetoric that often means unequal freedom—then end with what helps: community, protests, and small actions that build momentum.

Mindy and Shahida do a holiday throwback to their all-women maternal/child health Peace Corps group in Morocco—starting with 2005 training, then being sent to remote sites where travel took days and life was intense but oddly simple. They reflect on Peace Corps’ bigger purpose: cross-cultural exchange, building empathy on both sides (especially during the Iraq era), and how the experience made them more resourceful and confident.

Then they swap classic stories: Shahida’s sister mails her a garden gnome that she has to open in front of an official, and the gnome becomes a running joke the group “kidnaps” with ransom notes. They revisit the time they went surfing in Taghazout and realized their hotel host was stealing from guests—until they confronted it, got most of their money back, and bailed. The episode wraps with favorite holiday memories—Thanksgiving packages, “Christ is bringing rum,” and the legendary inside joke that turned into a surprise recorder performance at a wedding in Wales—ending on how Morocco was hard, hilarious, and unforgettable.

Mindy and Shahida start with a messy group-project story where one teammate does the wrong slide, disappears, and the rest of the group has to pick up the slack—sparking a talk about accountability, “pretty privilege,” and how beauty standards shift by region (Arizona vs California, etc.).

From there, they zoom out into bigger themes: how race and culture shape what’s valued, why “I don’t see color” ignores reality, and why media/podcasts still center white men. The conversation lands on the male loneliness epidemic—how toxic masculinity and social media replace real connection—and then ties it to structural injustice, especially environmental racism (pollution, pipelines, Flint, Cancer Alley). They end with practical action steps (show up locally, demand transparency, protect vulnerable neighbors) plus a joking idea: a “Peace Corps for lonely white men” to build empathy and community.

Mindy and Shahida are joined by their Peace Corps friend Sumona — a lifelong environmental advocate — to unpack how environmental injustice has shaped communities for generations and how today’s explosion of water-hungry data centers is creating new risks for working families. Together, they break down what’s happening, why it matters, and what everyday people can do right now to protect their neighborhoods and demand accountability.

In this raw and unfiltered conversation, Mindy and Alicia break down the mounting crisis in American healthcare—and why the latest education policy changes threaten to collapse the professions holding the system together. From the emotional and physical toll of nursing, to unsafe staffing, to corporate profit replacing patient care, they explore how burnout, violence, and moral injury are driving nurses and advanced practice providers out of the field in record numbers. They also unpack the new federal loan caps that strip nursing, therapy, and social-work students of affordable education, disproportionately harming women and people of color. This episode connects the dots between privatization, Project 2025, and the broader attack on essential caregiving professions—while calling listeners to stay informed, stay grounded, and keep fighting back.

In this emotional episode of She The People, Mindy and Shahida sit down with their longtime friend Alicia — fellow Peace Corps alum and psychiatric NP — for a raw conversation that moves from women’s sports bars and Midwest charm to the Pope’s unexpected Vatican rave.

The heart of the episode centers on grief: Mindy and Alicia share their experiences of losing their fathers within the same year, talking openly about shock, caregiving, guilt, trauma, and the unpredictable ways grief shows up. They discuss what it means to witness someone’s grief, the failures of bereavement policies, and why major life transitions leave so many women unsupported.

The conversation also widens into collective grief — the grief women carry amid ongoing attacks on their rights, labor, autonomy, and representation. The hosts talk candidly about political rage, reproductive injustice, and the rising threat of white Christian nationalism.

Blending humor, heartbreak, politics, and friendship, this episode moves from rollerblading dads to Versailles gardens with ease. It’s a testament to women grieving, resisting, laughing, and fighting for a better world together.

In this episode of She The People, Mindy and Shahida talk with their friend Jen—who works in global policy in the U.K.—about the stark differences between British and American politics. Jen breaks down the U.K.’s multi-party spectrum, the parliamentary system, and how prime ministers are chosen, while the hosts compare this with the deeply polarized two-party structure in the U.S. They explore how American far-right influence and Christian nationalist funding are now shaping U.K. politics, and reflect on issues at home including declining public education, rising misinformation, and the privatization of healthcare. The trio contrasts the U.K.’s NHS with the U.S.’s poor health outcomes, discusses democratic backsliding and Project 2025, and ultimately underscores that democracy is fragile—and staying informed and engaged is essential.

In this episode of She, The People, Mindy and Shahida welcome their longtime friend and fellow Peace Corps volunteer Jen, self-proclaimed “Queen of Weird,” to talk about the magic of leaning into your goofy side and the urgency of fighting for women’s rights. They start with hilarious stories from their Peace Corps days in Morocco—sleeping-bag worm dances, swim caps in the Uffizi, dead-hand hugs, and why being proudly weird forges the deepest friendships.

From there, the conversation shifts into how their all-women Peace Corps cohort “trauma bonded” through hardship, grew up together abroad, and managed to stay fiercely connected more than 20 years later. Jen then shares her journey from Capitol Hill to global reproductive health and advocacy work in London, explaining why foreign aid, soft power, and reproductive justice matter for women and girls worldwide.

It’s an episode about weirdness as a superpower, Peace Corps sisterhood as lifelong fuel, and why now is the time to hug longer, get louder, and fight harder for women everywhere.