The Women's Current

Never Forget - The Holocaust - it really happened. Ariana Neumann uncovered the secrets that her father held tight. She put together the pieces of a puzzle he left behind. Ariana is the author of the When Time Stopped, A Memoir of My Father’s War and What Remains, a New York Times Bestseller.

Ariana tells a family memoir, a love story and the unbelievable heroism that members of her family had taken. Her father had actually hidden ‘in plain site’ during the Holocaust to escape the Nazis. Among her discoveries are family members that she had not known anything about.

Watches were something that her father collected. While hiding he would crack open his watch to make sure that time had not stopped. As Ariana write: ‘I realize that without having meant to search for them in particular, I finally have found my family.”

Mia Dillon made her Broadway debut in Hugh Leonard’s Da in 1978 and never looked back. Her work has included Once Upon a Catholic, Crimes of the Heart (Tony Award nomination), Agnes of God, The Corn is Green and Our Town. There are of course her screen and television credits throughout her career.

I had the pleasure of an interesting and fun conversation with Broadway actress Mia Dillon. What drew me to her? The story of a 10-year-old with a flute, a passion, positive attitude, and drive. Put that all together, add some realism and you have a Tony nominated Broadway actress. Oh, and did I mention, she is also a licensed acupuncturist with a Masters in Oriental Medicine. As Mia says...Life doesn't end at 40. Sometimes it's just getting started.'

Peter H. Reynolds is my guest on this week’s episode of ‘Sylvia & Me.’ That’s right, a MAN! You see, Peter is a New York Times bestselling children’s book author and illustrator. I received an advance copy of his latest picture book ‘Our Table’. Within five minutes of reading it, I realized that this book needs to be read to children because the adult reading it needs to learn what it offers. And then I went back and read Peter’s other books, including his award winning ‘The Dot’.

Dystopian and The Pandemic

What do they have in common? The word ‘dystopian’ comes to mind: ‘relating to or being an imagined world or society in which people lead fearful lives.

The difference: The last year and a half - real and full of fear. Matched was imagined. Ally's message to her audience, young and old: it's okay to not be okay.

Matched, a dystopian young adult novel has been read by a wider readership than the young adult population. The first in a series of three, it has been compared to ‘The Hunger Games’ and ‘Twilight’.

It's that time again - coming up on Thanksgiving. Yes, we're on hiatus but as promised, you've asked and we're re-airing some of our extraordinary women. And right now who better than Ida Morris, CEO of the Morris Family Kitchen. She's MacGuyver and Mary Poppins rolled into one amazing lady.

An inspiration for bringing food and family together, Ida is the perfect episode for right now. We originally aired this episode over a year ago during the height of the pandemic.

Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy.

A year ago we aired a conversation with Harriet Shugarman about the climate crisis and children. The COP26 climate conference has just taken place. What better time re-air this episode?  Known as 'ClimateMama' Harriet spoke about children and the crisis.

Abortion and a women's right to choose. Harmful legal decisions in Texas have brought a women's right to choose front and center. What will the Supreme Court decide? Can we save Roe vs Wade?

 

 Dr. Diana Greene Foster, PhD headed the Turnaway Study, a ten year study. She is the author of Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having - or Being Denied - an Abortion.

Abortion and a women's right to choose. Harmful legal decisions in Texas have brought a women's right to choose front and center. What will the Supreme Court decide? Can we save Roe vs Wade?

I had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Greene Foster last year. Our conversation is even more relevant today.

This week I’m Sylvia and I’m ‘Me’. Two years ago I spoke to an extraordinary woman. Since then, I’ve spoken to over 100 women. 100 ordinary women doing extraordinary things. I didn’t set out with a specific goal in mind. But it turned out that as smart as I may have thought I am, I learned something new and different from each of these women.

Women entrepreneurs and business owners, and the pandemic. For insight, we turned to an expert in the field, Elizabeth (Liz) Sara. Liz currently serves as the Chairperson of the National Women’s Business Council, having been nominated for the position by President Trump in 2018.

The Council is a non-partisan federal advisory committee serving as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the President, the U.S. Congress and to the Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration on issues of importance to women business owners and entrepreneurs.