Heather Denton has worked with Jill Soloway, Quentin Tarantino, and many other filmmakers. She gives me the skinny on how she has managed motherhood with her career behind the camera. Here's her amazing resume: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0219831/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Christy Lamb is a producer and the Director Of Strategy & Development for http://momsinfilm.org. MIF was responsible for the Wee Wagon day care for attendees of the SXSW Film Festival. They also started the #MakeThemMoms campaign - https://www.buzzfeed.com/momsinfilm/what-if-there-were-more-movies-about-moms-2t0n1?utm_term=.qcwGLLO0K#.gxRKYYLm6.

Check out this clip of Tiffany Haddish that Christy and I discuss: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2PneBztZ3g

Subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform, and find me on social media:

Twitter/IG: @katiefward

https://www.facebook.com/TheEnthusiasmEnthusiast/

http://www.theenthusiasmenthusiast.com

Nicole Blades is many things - journalist, author, podcaster, and mom. She's a bundle of talent and insight partnered with the gentle spirit we've come to expect from Canadians. Luckily for the U.S., she lives here now, and is coming out with her 3rd (!!!) novel this fall. I wanted to get her take on so many things, so we covered a lot in our talk. Black Panther, Wonder Woman, Game of Thrones, Hawaii 5-0, and Rachel Dolezal. Oh my!

Also, please please please forgive me, Ijeoma Oluo, for not knowing the pronunciation of your name off the top of my head. Here's the article she wrote that we reference: http://www.thestranger.com/features/2017/04/19/25082450/the-heart-of-whiteness-ijeoma-oluo-interviews-rachel-dolezal-the-white-woman-who-identifies-as-black

You can read a lot of Nicole's work & order her books here: https://www.nicoleblades.com

Follow Nicole on social media:

@nicoleblades

@heysispodcast

Find me too:

@katiefward

http://www.theenthusiasmenthusiast.com

Subscribe now via iTunes, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, TuneIn, or SiriusXM via the Spoke app. You can also get the show at http://www.rockettewomen.com. Check out that awesome site!

The Netflix series GLOW is a delicious feminist masterpiece and a certified smash. Kimmy Gatewood and Rebekka Johnson play comedy duo Stacey and Dawn. Britney Young plays Carmen aka Machu Picchu. Each of them makes such a splash in these break out roles. Find us on social media:

https://twitter.com/kimmygatewood

https://www.instagram.com/kimmygatewood/?hl=en

https://www.kimmygatewood.com

https://twitter.com/HelloRebekka

https://www.instagram.com/hellorebekka/

http://www.theapplesisters.com

https://twitter.com/ItsBritneyYoung

https://www.instagram.com/britneyyoung/

https://twitter.com/katiefward

https://www.instagram.com/katiefward/

http://www.theenthusiasmenthusiast.com

Find us now on I Heart Radio https://www.iheart.com/podcast/53-The-Enthusiasm-Enthu-28220539/, and send me feedback at http://www.theenthusiasmenthusiast.com.

Jennie Palmer has been a sculptor, a muppet maker, a parade float designer, and is now an author/illustrator of a children's book coming August 15th. She managed to draw and write this book while raising 3 kids. Somewhere along the way, she also became one of my best friends. As a parent, we want to read books with our kids that come from a thoughtful, inclusive, and fun place. The Wompananny Witches Make One Mean Pizza does just that. Books make the best gifts! You can find Jennie and her work here: 

http://www.jenniepalmer.com

on Twitter @imjenniepalmer

on Instagram @jenniepalmerstudio

on Tumblr https://jenniepalmer.tumblr.com

I'm on twitter and Instagram @katiefward

RuPaul's Drag Race changed both the landscape of television and mainstream gay culture. One of the biggest stars to come out of the show is Detox. One of my favorite moments in all the seasons of Drag Race was seeing Detox perform with her sister Heather, a friend of mine since we were kids. Not only did they win the challenge, they won the hearts of fans. The connection between the two of them was a wonderful example of what happens when families are truly built on unconditional love. Detox and her mama Patty took some time talk with me about work/life balance, getting her start at Orlando's Pulse Nightclub, and why family is everything. #OrlandoStrong

Facebook/Twitter/Instagram: @TheOnlyDetox

Christine Lakin was the first child star I met as an adult. Like a lot of kids of the 90's, I spent every Friday watching ABC's TGIF lineup including Step By Step, the show that launched her career. When we first met about 15 years ago, I remember being surprised by how NOT crazy she was (and is). Christine is instantly likable and self-aware. She knows what you think of child stars, and she's happy to help you get over it. In her new show, Hollywood Darlings, she teams up with Jodie Sweetin (Full/Fuller House), and Beverley Mitchell (7th Heaven) to both mock and celebrate this season of their lives. The ladies are so funny, and there are some great cameos from your favorite 90's stars. Check it out!

Follow:

@yolakin

@hollywooddarlings

The cancer with the highest and fastest rise since 1970 is thyroid cancer. It is disproportionately affecting women. According to the American Cancer Society, about 56,870 new cases of thyroid cancer (42,470 in women, and 14,400 in men) are diagnosed each year. In 2010, I was one of those patients. The disease is a bit of a mystery, so, I spoke with Dr. Naifa Busaidy, an Associate Professor in the Department of Endocrine Neoplasia and Hormonal Disorders at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. I became aware of her work through a great talk she gave for ThyCa (http://thyca.org/). Dr. Busaidy gave me some great info, which proves even 7 years into the disease, there are still things to learn. Share it with some who needs it.

Dr. Busaidy's ThyCa presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljVS_c1wsuU

To my knowledge, Ilana Levine is the only actor who learned she could sing AFTER she was cast in a Broadway musical. Her path as a performer has been anything but typical, and in her latest incarnation as the host of her own podcast, Little Known Facts With Ilana Levine, she's doing things differently again. Guests Cynthia Nixon, John Slattery, Molly Ringwald, and the like give her the real tea. So, I wanted to hear from Ilana about her inspiration (Gloria Steinem!!), experiences on stage, and how we both ended up in the fraternity of actors who've performed You're A Good, Man Charlie Brown.

Follow @ilanalevine on Twitter, @littleknownfactspodcast on Instagram, and http://www.littleknownfactspodcast.com/.

People have so much judgement about parenting, from what to feed your kids to where they sleep. There's also incredible judgement about how people become parents. I was shocked to find out how controversial surrogacy is not only in people's minds, but in the laws of countries all across the world and even in certain States in the U.S. It never really occurred to me people would actively oppose surrogacy, but I guess that was naive given the incessant focus on controlling women's bodies especially with regard to fertility, birth, abortion, etc. Part of the reason I wholeheartedly support surrogacy is my relationship with Erica Schroepfer, a friend of mine who has successfully birthed twins as their surrogate. In this episode, Erica tells me all about her experience carrying children who aren't her own and how she's doing it again for a different family. If you'd like to continue to follow Erica's journey after our talk, check out https://www.facebook.com/groups/storkdiaries/.

Dr. Anna Fisher gave birth to her first daughter on a Friday and was back at NASA for a work meeting on Monday. Let that sink in for a moment. Dr. Fisher is exceptional in so many ways. She was one of the only women in her medical school class at UCLA. She was in the first class of female astronauts at NASA. She also took 7 years in the middle of her career to stay home with her daughters. She's been a pioneer, mentor, and friend to all of the astronauts (and cosmonauts), but especially to the female ones. She's retiring next month, so it was a huge honor to speak with her before she goes on to the next chapter of her extraordinary life.