She's Got Nerve

By Martha Piper and Indira Samarasekera

"She’s Got Nerve" was created to assist women in leadership positions and those who aspire to lead in the future.

The podcast explores themes first examined in the hosts’,

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FAQs about She's Got Nerve:

How many episodes does She's Got Nerve have?

The podcast currently has 23 episodes available.

She's Got Nerve episodes:

May 01, 2025Nerve And Fear Go Together With Anne-Marie Slaughter
In this episode Martha and Indira speak candidly with Anne-Marie Slaughter, a woman who has demonstrated “nerve” throughout her entire life. Currently CEO of the think and action tank New America, Anne-Marie is a global leader, scholar, and public intellectual.
She was the J. Sinclair Armstrong Professor of International, Foreign and Comparative Law at Harvard Law School. From 2002 to 2009, she was Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Politics and International Affairs and Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
In 2009 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appointed her as the first woman Director of Policy Planning in the U.S. State Department. She has authored or edited nine books covering a wide range of topics including global network design and leadership, gender equality and American renewal.
She revived a national debate over gender equality in the 21st century in an article in The Atlantic titled “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All”. She has truly been a trailblazer!
Episode Resources
Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021. www.nerve2021.com
Slaughter, Anne-Marie. Renewal. Princeton University Press, 2021.
Slaughter, Anne-Marie. Unfinished Business: Women Men Work Family. New York: Random House, 2015.
Slaughter, Anne-Marie. "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." The Atlantic (July/August 2012). theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
53min
March 27, 2025Can Women Have It All Special Live Recording With Elite Athlete Jill Moffatt
In this special live recorded episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Jill Moffatt, an elite woman athlete and 2X Olympic rower - an individual who has demonstrated “nerve” throughout her entire life.
As co-founder of MOMentum, an initiative to advance gender equity in sport and the support of motherhood in women athletes, Jill is passionate about creating a more inclusive future for women in sport. If that isn’t enough, she is currently pursuing her PhD degree at Laurentian University and conducting research on mothers who are elite athletes and how their stories are represented in the media.
Jill discusses her own experience as an elite athlete and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there.
Please note this live recording took place on March 13, 2025 at the ‘Breakfast with Champions’ hosted by She’s Got Next at the UBC Alumni Centre, Vancouver.
Episode Resources
Breakfast-with-champions
https://www.momentumcan.ca/
Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021. www.nerve2021.com
Slaughter, Anne-Marie. "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." The Atlantic (July/August 2012). theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
48min
March 13, 2025You Bloom Where You Are Planted With Mary Wells
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Mary Wells, a Canadian materials engineer who is highly regarded for her research advances in the processing of advanced metallic alloys.
She currently serves as Dean of Engineering at the University of Waterloo, the second woman to assume this position. Prior to her appointment at Waterloo, she was Dean for the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Guelph. A consistent advocate for women in engineering, she chaired the Ontario Network for Women in Engineering from 2013-2018.‌
Episode Resources
• Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021. www.nerve2021.com
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
1h 2min
February 27, 2025The Importance Of Curiosity With Susan Hockfield
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Susan Hockfield, an American neuroscientist and the first woman to serve as president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 2004 to 2012. Prior to becoming president, Dr. Hockfield served as Dean of Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Yale’s Provost.
As the first life scientist to be appointed president of MIT, her scholarship involved the use of monoclonal antibody technology in brain research.
Episode Resources
Hockfield, S. (2019). The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution. W. W. Norton & Company.
Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021. www.nerve2021.com
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
57min
February 13, 2025Sometimes Girls Only Get To Do The Job When Boys Don’t Want To With Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell, who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada – the first and only female prime minister of Canada. She was the first young woman president of her high school student council, the first woman president of UBC’s freshman class, the first woman to serve as minister of justice in Canada and the first woman to become minister of defense in a NATO country, to name a few.
She has served as Secretary-General of the Club of Madrid, an organization she helped found, which includes former heads of government and attempts to enhance democracy. A Companion of the Order of Canada, she is recognized internationally as a trailblazer and a leader of leaders!
Episode Resources
Campbell, Kim. Time and Chance : The Political Memoirs of Canada’s First Woman Prime Minister. Toronto ; New York, Doubleday Canada, 1996.
Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021. www.nerve2021.com
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
1h 4min
January 30, 2025Vision Without Execution Is Hallucination With Elizabeth Cannon
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Elizabeth Cannon, a leading geomatics engineer, served as the eighth president and vice-chancellor of the University of Calgary from 2010 to 2018. Prior to her appointment as president, she was dean of the Schulich School of Engineering at the University of Calgary.
Appointed as an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Member to the Alberta Order of Excellence, she has worked tirelessly to raise public awareness about science and engineering careers for women.
Episode Resources

Elizabeth Cannon M. Enhancing Your Higher Education Presidency: Fifteen Lessons on Leadership. RENSAR Publishing; 2020.
Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021. www.nerve2021.com
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
1h 3min
January 16, 2025Being Underestimated Is Like A Stealth Weapon With Drew Faust
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Drew Faust, an American historian who was the first woman to serve as president of Harvard University from 2007 to 2018.

She received her bachelor’s degree with honors in history from Bryn Mawr College and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history from the University of Pennsylvania. As a scholar she specializes in the study of the South in the antebellum period and the Civil War, authoring seven books, including her most recent memoir entitled Necessary Trouble: Growing Up at Midcentury.
Drew discusses her own experiences in the position and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there.

Episode Resources
Drew Gilpin Faust. (2023). Necessary Trouble. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021.
www.nerve2021.com
Sommers, Christina Hoff. "A Necessary Option." The New York Times (September 6, 2016). nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/10/17/single-sex-schools-separate-but-equal/a-necessary-option.
Slaughter, Anne-Marie. "Why Women Still Can't Have It All." The Atlantic (July/August 2012). theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women-still-cant-have-it-all/309020/.
Indiana University. "Men Do Hear--But Differently than Women, Brain Images Show." Science Daily (November 29, 2000). sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/11/001129075326.htm.
Coats, Cari H. "Grit and Grace: A Power Combination for Women Leaders." Forbes (August 12, 2019). forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2019/08/12/grit-and-grace-a-power-combination-for-women-leaders/?sh=5b111428404a.
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
1h 1min
December 10, 2024Answering The Call To Lead with Alison Richard
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Alison Richard, a distinguished anthropologist who is widely known for her research on the evolution of complex social systems among primates, was the first woman to be appointed Vice-Chancellor (President) of Cambridge University.

Before arriving at Cambridge, she served as the Provost of Yale University. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and has received numerous honorary degrees from universities in the UK, China, Madagascar, Canada, Korea and the US.
Alison discusses her experiences in the positions and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there.
Episode Resources
Bateson, M. C. (1990). Composing a Life. Plume.
Darwin, C. (2013). The Voyage of the Beagle. Simon and Schuster.
Richard, A. (2022). The Sloth Lemur’s Song. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226817576.001.0001
Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021.
www.nerve2021.com
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
51min
November 26, 2024The Importance Of A Creative Outlet with Anne Giardini
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Anne Giardini, a Canadian business executive, journalist, lawyer and author who served as the 11th Chancellor of Simon Fraser University. She was president of Weyerhauser Company Ltd. and has written two novels, The Sad Truth About Happiness and Advice for Italian Boys. She is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a member of the Order of British Columbia.

Anne discusses her experiences in the position and how she had the 'nerve' to get there.

Episode Resources
Giardini, A. (2010). Advice For Italian Boys. HarperCollins Canada.
Giardini, A. (2011). The sad truth about happiness: A Novel. Harper Collins.
Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021.www.nerve2021.com
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
52min
November 12, 2024Be Your Best Self with Susan Christoffersen
In this episode, Martha and Indira speak candidly with Susan Christoffersen who is currently serving as the first woman to be appointed Dean of the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.
Susan discusses her own experiences in the position and how she had the ‘nerve’ to get there.

Episode Resources

The Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at the Rotman School of Management https://www.gendereconomy.org/
Babcock, L., Zackman, G., Peyser, B., Vesterlund, L., & Weingart, L. R. The No Club: Putting a stop to women’s dead-end work. New York, NY Simon & Schuster, 2022. https://www.thenoclub
Hewlett, Sylvia. Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor: The New Way to Fast-Track Your Career. Boston: Harvard Business Review Press, 2013.
Kennedy, Pagan. “How to Cultivate the Art of Serendipity.” The New York Times (January 2, 2016). nytimes.com/2016/01/03/opinion/how-to-cultivate-the-art-of-serendipity.html.
Piper, Martha and Samarasekera, Indira. Nerve: Lessons on leadership from two women who went first. Toronto, Ontario ECW Press, 2021. www.nerve2021.com
Contact She's Got Nerve

Email [email protected]

Visit our website https://nerve2021.com/

Follow us on Instagram @nervebook2021 and LinkedIn @she'sgotnerve

A special thanks to our team:
Marketing Manager & Producer | Orla McErlean
Show Manager | Eilis Courtney

Thanks for listening to She's Got Nerve!
...more
54min

FAQs about She's Got Nerve:

How many episodes does She's Got Nerve have?

The podcast currently has 23 episodes available.