Stark Conversations

Stark Conversations

By Heather StarkSociety & CulturePhilosophy
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Stark Conversations episodes

  • Beauty Conversations with Bops and Z- Makeup

    Join the conversation as host Heather interviews her mother, Bops, and daughter, Z, about the beauty culture topics she writes about in her new book, Her Story- A Heartfelt and Hilarious Conversation About Why Beauty Milestones Are Options and Not Expectations. In today's episode, they discuss their relationships with makeup and why we equate it with professionalism in the workplace. For more information about Her Story, visit heatherstark.me or purchase the book on Amazon or online at barnesandnoble.com

    25 min
  • A Mini- Podcast Series: Beauty Conversations with Bops and Z- An Introduction to Beauty Culture
    Hello! I am taking a break from my regular podcast to do a bit of book promotion. I wrote a book, and it comes out on Friday, November 4th. It's called Her Story: a Heartfelt and Hilarious Conversation About Why Beauty Milestones Are OPTIONS and Not EXPECTATIONS! It's a guidebook for parents and tween girls about the history of beauty culture. 
    In this mini-podcast series, I sit down with my mother and daughter (who are both featured rather prominently in the book), to discuss our relationships with beauty culture. Specifically, how and why we entered into the beauty culture quagmire. I treasure these talks. How often do you get the opportunity to talk with your mom and daughter about the very thing that shapes and shames most women?
    19 min
  • This is Marci, Nothing is Forever
    Meet Marcie Marie. A joyful, wise spirit whose honest stories and insights about her time in a Texas prison have taken TikTok by storm. Marci is blunt, authentic, and determined to use her story as a way to advocate for prison reform. Follow her @marcimarie114.
    55 min
  • Jules and Stace, A Salty Perseverance (Part 2)

    Jules Weldon and Stace Pierce are the Co-Presidents of O.M.E. Gear, an innovative outdoor gear company. They have won multiple awards and competitions, but their story lies beyond the company—it's one filled with entrepreneur angst, hardships, mistakes, misogyny, and triumph. These two inspirational souls are determined to use their success to benefit others. This is Jules and Stace, A Salty Perseverance.

    30 min
  • Jules and Stace, A Salty Perseverance (Part 1)

    Jules Weldon and Stace Pierce are the Co-Presidents of O.M.E. Gear, an innovative outdoor gear company. They have won multiple awards and competitions, but their story lies beyond the company—it's one filled with entrepreneur angst, hardships, mistakes, misogyny, and triumph. These two inspirational souls are determined to use their success to benefit others. This is Jules and Stace, A Salty Perseverance.

    39 min
  • This is Heather, On the Other Side

    May is Mental Health Awareness Month.

    Trigger warming. This episode is about mental illness and we talk about suicide. If you or somebody you know needs help please call the suicide prevention hotline at 800-273-8255.


    Heather Loeb is a mental health advocate and creator of Unruly Neurons, a blog dedicated to eradicating the stigma attached to mental illness. Heather, who struggles with depression, anxiety and an eating disorder, lives in Corpus Christi with her husband, two children and five cats. She also has a mental health column in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and is the Communications Manager for NAMI Greater Corpus Christi. Read more about Heather at www.unrulyneurons.com

    Heather speaks my language. After years of struggle with depression and anxiety, she found she could no longer be silent after the death of Kate Spade. Heather felt angry at the negative stigmas surrounding mental health and how it shames many into an unhealthy silence. Heather has unleashed her voice and speaks her truth. In this podcast, she shares her low points, her experience with Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and how she made it through to the other side.


    22 min
  • This Is Esmé, Layers of a Mask
    Trigger Warning- this episode deals with depression and suicide. If you are struggling and need help, please call the suicide hotline at 800-273-8255.
    Esmé Spock is a married mother of one. She is an animal rescue advocate who loves makeup, painting and horror films. She is a vegan but confesses to horrible cooking skills. I have known Esmé for over a decade but had no idea the story she was living. Esmé confesses to wearing a mask for years as she went through the motions of living, especially when she was volunteering at her son's school. As a mother, her story of mental health resonates deeply. May is Mental Health Month and hosts Mother's Day, which I feel is no coincidence. Esmé's story underscores the space where mental health and mothering intertwine as she continues to peel off the layers of her mask.
    35 min
  • This is Celina

    Celina is the type of woman who fights for the rights of others. She openly accepts that everyone comes with a story, baggage, and the desire to be heard. Celina is a criminal defense attorney who believes that everyone deserves someone in their corner. She shares with me her story of how she came to be the woman who proudly stands up and represents those that society has deemed criminal. This is Celina.

    44 min
  • This is Tina
    This is Tina. She is a fun-spirited feminist that knows how to inspire and uplift. She is here is to change the conversation about victim-blaming and shaming, especially when women do it to each other! 
    Tina is a Podcaster, Interviewer, NLP Practioner, and a Women Empowerment Coach. She got her Psychology degree in 2005. In 2018, she started several coaching training courses, and in September 2020, she became a certified Coach. Her motto is: I guide women from where they are now to wherever they want to go! As a podcast host of her very own podcast show, The Women’s Table, she wants to inspire, uplift, support, and empower women worldwide. Tina was born in Surinam and moved to the Netherlands when she was 10 years old. She is married, and in 2019 she moved from the Amsterdam area to a small town village in Friesland, up in the North of The Netherlands.
    39 min
  • Anya For Short

    Meet Anastacia Olympia D Short, a drag queen and self-proclaimed goddess who desires to live her truth. Anastacia (aka Anya For Short) has autism and struggles with anxiety. She is bisexual, secretly dresses in drag, and still lives at home with very conservative parents. Anya wants desperately to live an authentic life, but is still facing fierce opposition from her parents. She shares her story so others who are still struggling to know they aren't alone and hoping one day she will be unapologetic about who she is.

    29 min

About Stark Conversations

From the publisher's feed

Each week we will explore feminism in all facets of life, from its roots to its present-day perceptions. My goal is to create a community of feminists that are redefining beauty culture, learning to…