Two Old Bitches: Stories from Women who Reimagine, Reinvent and Rebel

Fifteen years ago, Ayesha Pande, a successful editor with top publishers (e.g. Farrar Straus and Giroux) struck out on her own to build a mission-driven literary agency with an antiracist focus based in Harlem. Ayesha Pande Literary has flourished and is known for launching an award-winning, bestselling and inclusive list of authors, scholars, and emerging writers. Its team of almost all BIPOC women agents represent acclaimed authors such as Ibram X. Kendi (How To Be An Antiracist), Danielle Evans (The Office of Historical Corrections), Jean Chen Ho (Fiona and Jane) and Lisa Ko (The Leavers). Ayesha is on the board of the AALA (Association of American Literary Agents) where she founded the Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and helped launch the non-profit Literary Agents of Change. Entering her 60s, she is a "woman who has not yet peaked." We are delighted to introduce you to Ayesha and her charming Jack Russells, Milo and Lola, whose occasional barking enlivened our conversation.

What does it take to be a man whom we interview on Two Old Bitches? Stephen P. Williams, 64, only the second man on our show in five years, is an excellent example of just what it takes. A journalist, author, visual artist and the creator of Stephen's People, a newsletter on aging, he is as fascinated by getting old as we are. (Full disclosure: his piece on Old Men sex dolls in his newsletter also captured our imagination!) Stephen has written that as a boy growing up in Kansas, he "leaned back under a cottonwood and felt wind, the sky and the leaves, all connected. That pure sensation guided everything that followed." He has written a number of nonfiction books --Blockchain: The Next Everything is the latest-- and six as-of-yet unpublished novels. In the midst of the pandemic, he set off on a road trip captured in his video, art and word project, Postcards from Pandemic. With curiosity, thoughtfulness and wit, he brings a fresh and realistic take on aging to Stephen's People --and did we mention he gives damn good dating advice? Listen to our conversation with Stephen and then subscribe to his weekly newsletter.

How do we respond to this political moment? Pessimism is tempting and optimism may feel foolhardy, yet a sense of possibility fueled by hope made enduring sense to us when we spoke with Lecia Brooks and Lisa Veneklasen in 2021. After the Biden/Harris victory, long-time activists Lecia and Lisa tapped into their wisdom and clear-eyed assessment of what we're facing and what's possible in the struggle for overdue and drastically needed social and political change. For the past 16 years, Lecia has worked at the well-known Southern Poverty Law Center, a regional and national catalyst for racial justice, most recently as Chief of Staff. She plays a key role in their work to expose and dismantle white supremacy and nationalism. Almost 20 years ago, Lisa founded Just Associates (JASS) and recently stepped down from her role as Executive Director. JASS is a transnational feminist movement building organization that strengthens the voice, visibility and collective power of women to transform the world. Lisa and Lecia's analysis and insights about these times -- including the power of older women to make change happen -- galvanize and provoke us to think differently about this political moment.

Learn more about this episode here!

Maya is a nationally renowned racial justice and equity activist and advocate who ran for mayor of New York City in 2021. She should have won! In our conversation with her in 2018, she shared that she was no longer an optimist, but hadn't given up hope. She has "a passion for the possible" combined with a laser focus on fighting for our democracy. If you watch TV news (MSNBC), you likely saw her share her sharp analysis on the assault against our country's values and heard her wise counsel on priorities for collective action, including activism on the upcoming census. Now 58, she has litigated, lobbied the U.S. Congress, and developed programs to transform structural racism in the U.S. and in South Africa. Maya recently served as Counsel to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, chaired the New York City Police Department's Civilian Complaint Review Board, founded and led the Center for Social Inclusion, and is now Senior Vice President for Social Justice at the New School. Maya's guidance, struggle and compassion in these perilous times are enough to turn these Two Old Bitches into possibilists as well. And you?

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Our conversation with activist historian and organizer, Leah Wise, now 75, originally aired in 2017. She spoke with us about the threat to democracy then which has only worsened now. She challenged us to think deeply about the responsibility of generations to carry young people forward as they step up and take over. Our conversation with Leah was rich in history and wisdom, her life reflecting the intersecting struggles and gains for racial, gender and economic justice in the Southeast of the United States and worldwide over the past 40 years. Leah offers us feisty commentary on the sexism that infused (and continues to) so many progressive movements, on the legacy of "polio personality", and on her odyssey from civil rights activist to low-wage steel worker to leader of Southerners for Economic Justice and a network of similar groups across the Southeast. She offers heartfelt insights into the joys of paying attention to things that slipped by earlier: gardening, the feeling of the sun on your face, starting a sewing crafts business in your 70s, and the pleasures of grandchildren. And she leaves us with a resounding call: to join together to re-build the infrastructure of democracy.

In honor of Mother's Day we are bringing back this classic from season 4.

"Two of my heroes are mother and my grandmother…My mother taught me to be a woman. She was the strongest person I've ever met. And someday I'll be the woman she wants me to be" - Tracy Hyter-Suffern

It's complicated. Mothers. They're sometimes cast as heroes and role models, often as victims or villains. In almost 40 conversations with other old bitches, mothers emerge as essential to the fabric of so many parts of our histories, our present and our futures. Drawing from those conversations, we've pulled together a few clips to share with you, from Inca Alexandrina Mohamed or Joy Kane talking about their mother's dreams for them or Maya Wiley talking about her fears for her teenage daughters. So, on this Mother's Day, take a minute to listen to this episode of Two Old Bitches with a mother, a daughter or someone else who you can talk to about the place of mothers in our lives. And, consider supporting the mothers and families who have been separated at the border. Check out www.familiesbelongtogether.org and the "Until Every Family Is Reunited" campaign.

This episode features: Dodo Berk (Season 1, Ep. 10), Elaine Finsilver (Season 1, Ep.06), Tracy Hyter-Suffern (Season 4, Ep. 8), Renata Joy (Season 4, Ep. 5), Joy Kane (Season 3, Ep. 10), Inca Alexandria Mohamed (Season 2, Ep. 9), Hendrica Okondo (Season 3, Ep. 8), Diane Scanlon (Season 2, Ep. 10), Hrag Vartanian (Season 4, Ep. 9) and Maya Wiley (Season 3, Ep. 7). We thank them and all of the Old Bitches who have shared their lives on our show!

We have long marveled at Ellen Bravo's ability to balance the demands of being a feminist activist and author. Her books are driven by the same social change values and objectives that have fueled her many decades of organizing for justice and equity for women and families. She is the former director of 9to5 –yes, the group that inspired the movie– and co-founder of Family Values @ Work, a successful network of state coalitions working for family-friendly policies that have secured locally mandated paid family and medical leave for over 55 million people across the country. While working more than full-time leading these groups, she also wrote five books! Her most recent novel is Standing Up: Tales of Struggle, co-authored with her husband Larry Miller. In it they share enlivening stories about "regular people" who work hard while "caring for kids, holding relationships together, and wrestling with multiple forms of oppression" and still manage to "stand up, slow down, form unions, leave an abusive relationship, or just stir up good trouble." Ellen, 78, recently chose to dedicate herself to writing full-time and is at work on a new novel. Pick up her latest book –it's a great read!– or one of her earlier ones, and listen to our equally great conversation with this warm, brilliant, funny and big-hearted gender and racial justice champion.

For more information about Ellen, including upcoming book tour appearances, check her website. Standing Up: Tales of Struggle is available on Amazon, as are her earlier novel, Again and Again and her most recent nonfiction book, Taking On the Big Boys: Or Why Feminism Is Good for Families, Business, and the Nation.

What a treat to talk with a fierce feminist who's been a force of nature for more than half a century! At 71, Nadine embodies a lifelong commitment and ever-evolving talent to amplify her passion for social justice. Her volunteer work in 1964 on Shirley Chisholm's campaign for New York State Assembly and at Women Strike for Peace with Bella Abzug immersed her in an understanding that sexism, racism, classism and militarism are inextricably linked. She's been an intersectional organizer ever since. At 60, she left her lifetime home, New York City, and moved to a UNESCO Heritage city in Switzerland, becoming the first woman Executive-in-Residence at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland. Eleven years later, she's still there. Nadine continues to be a "Master Bridge-Builder" as CEO of beCause Global Consulting, and senior advisor of Global Citizens Circle, as noted by her alma mater, Harvard and by Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu in the foreword to her upcoming book, The Power of Connectedness. We celebrate our sister-old-bitch, Nadine Hack, who is acutely aware of "her sacred obligation to carry the torch" as long as possible, and know our listeners will be inspired by her wisdom on voice, aging and the power of the collective.

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Follow Nadine Hack at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nadinehack

Twitter: @nadinehack

Instagram: @nadine.hack

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadinehack

Forbes Councils: https://bit.ly/35rRBOT

beCause Global Consulting: https://www.because.net

Global Citizens Circle https://globalcitizenscircle.org

Stories transport us across time and space, bring us together, help us make sense of our lives and the world, make us laugh and cry, and even change our minds. Stories fuel social change and personal change. Their power drives us, as Two Old Bitches, to collect edgy elder women's stories to share with story-loving listeners of all genders and ages. And to discover and tell our own stories. In this episode, we each share a personal story crafted in a recent storytelling class. Yes crafted, because storytelling is an art, one that can be honed, and it's a joy to hone it in the company of others as we did in our most recent workshop. Joanne shares "What Happens When Your Heart Really Does Belong to Daddy?" a story of gendered power dynamics in the workplace decades ago that still drives her passion for justice today. Idelisse shares "Girdles," a childhood story of the physical and psychological constraints foisted on women and girls that shaped her, in more ways than the obvious.

You can listen to our stories on audio AND – for those who like the combined audio-visual effect – check out Idelisse and Joanne telling their stories to each other. And guess which one of us tried (with partial success) to tell her story and hula hoop at the same time?

We'd love to hear from you! We are going to host a Two Old Bitches storytelling salon/class in the spring. Please let us know if you're interested and have ideas or questions. Write to us at [email protected] and share your brilliance!

What's better than 'talking shop' with a serious and sensational sister traveler? That was the joy that TOB experienced when we interviewed Sari Botton, founder of the recently-launched substack magazine, Oldster. Oldster takes a fresh look at what it means to age at any stage of life, featuring writers of all genders and age groups. It fully reflects the brilliance and wizardry of Sari who, at 56 years old, bring decades of writing, editing and teaching experience including as former Essays Editor for Longreads; editor of the award-winning anthology Goodbye to All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving NY and its New York Times-Bestselling follow-up, Never Can Say Goodbye: Writers on Their Unshakable Love for NY. We met Sari almost ten years ago when she co-directed the upstate New York story-telling initiative TMI Project. She is a storyteller extraordinaire, a musician, a time traveler joyously struggling – like all of us – to figure out what is 'age appropriate' and shoring up future plans by buying lottery tickets! We hope you'll listen in, subscribe to Oldster, listen to the Oldster podcast, and stay tuned to TOB as we continue to explore storytelling in future episodes.