We Can Do Hard Things

Pod Squad Family Meeting! To see each other’s rage and grief, talk about how we got here, renew our resolve to fight forward and to take tender care of each other as we do, and to share four concrete steps we can all take to join the fight for reproductive justice. Because what got us here is not going to get us out of here.

1. How Billie Jean could not live as her full authentic self until age 51.

2. The moment Billie Jean knew that Abby was not okay after her USWNT retirement. 

3. How to visualize a reality that doesn’t yet exist – so you can be it, even when you don’t see it. 

4. How Billie Jean numbed herself through an eating disorder and how she recovered by not being a “good girl.” 

5. Why Billie Jean does not regret her pre-Roe abortion, and the degrading process she endured to access it. 

CW // eating disorders discussion

About Billie Jean: 

Named one of the “100 Most Important Americans of the 20th Century” by Life magazine and a 2009 recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Billie Jean King is the founder of the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative, founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and the Women’s Sports Foundation and part of the ownership group of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Angel City FC and the Philadelphia Freedoms. King also serves on the board of the Women’s Sports Foundation.

In her legendary tennis career, King captured 39 Grand Slam singles, doubles and mixed doubles titles, including a record 20 Wimbledon championships. Her historic win over Bobby Riggs in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes, is one of the greatest moments in sports history. In 2017, Fox Searchlight released the critically acclaimed film, Battle of the Sexes, which depicts the cultural and social impact of the groundbreaking match. 

In September 2020, King became the first woman to have an annual global team sports event named in her honor when Fed Cup – the women’s world cup of tennis – was rebranded as the Billie Jean King Cup. Her memoir, ALL IN: An Autobiography, is available now.

TW: @BillieJeanKing

IG: @billiejeanking

1. How Heidi ruined Glennon’s life with a jarring new identity–and why it’s a powerful moment for G to embrace her newfound sign.

2. How we each have a Sun, Moon, and Rising sign–and what each tells us about ourselves.

3. Heidi breaks down the 12 astrological signs–and astrology as a tool for self revelation.

4. Why we keep saying “Mercury’s in retrograde” and what the hell it means.

About Heidi:

Heidi Rose Robbins has been a professional astrologer for 25 years, helping thousands of clients all over the globe live with more authenticity and clarity. She hosts two podcasts, THE RADIANCE PROJECT, featuring poetry, astrology, and good company, and CHART YOUR CAREER, with co-host Ellen Fondiler. Twice a year, she leads Radiant Life Retreats, for people wishing to take a deeper dive into her work.

Heidi has written two books of poetry, This Beckoning Ceaseless Beauty and Wild Compassion, and has been a featured poet at two TedX events. Last year, her 12-book series The Zodiac Love Letters, was published by One Idea Press, and this upcoming fall, her new book, Everyday Radiance--based on her daily Instagram offerings--will be published by Chronicle.

Heidi grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, learning the zodiac with her A, B, C’s, and calls herself “a poet with a map of the heavens in her pocket.”

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two kids, Kate and Dylan.

IG: @heidiroserobbins

1. Answers to fascinating sex questions from Pod Squaders–including how to get real in the bedroom after regularly faking orgasm.

2. Concrete mindfulness strategies to get out of your head and into your body, which have been proven to increase arousal and satisfaction.

3. Busting the myth about how long it should take to orgasm. 

4. Why talking about sex (including fantasies!) before having sex leads to more satisfying intimacy–and why that feels fun for Abby and impossible to Glennon and Amanda.

5. Where to start if you’ve never discussed pleasure with a partner–and Dr. Brotto’s advice to Glennon for retiring her reign as Silent Sex Queen.

About Dr. Brotto

Dr. Lori Brotto is a Professor in the UBC Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Women’s Sexual Health. She is also the Executive Director for the Women’s Health Research Institute—one of only three institutes in Canada devoted to advancing research in women’s health, and maintains an active practice as a Registered Psychologist. Dr. Brotto was recently featured in the Netflix series The Principles of Pleasure, and is the author of Better Sex through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire and forthcoming The Better Sex through Mindfulness Workbook: A Guide to Cultivating Desire.

TW: @DrLoriBrotto

1. The shocking revelation that many women experience physical arousal but can’t reach orgasm because we are so “stuck” in our heads that we don’t even register it.

2. Glennon and Abby share about their periodic sexual droughts – and Dr. Brotto gives them (us) advice.

3. The biggest predictors of sexual problems for women – including stress/compulsive multitasking – and how to address them.

4. How to know if you are disconnecting from your body during sex, and how to reintegrate to increase your pleasure. 

About Dr. Brotto

Dr. Lori Brotto is a Professor in the UBC Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, where she holds a Canada Research Chair in Women’s Sexual Health. She is also the Executive Director for the Women’s Health Research Institute—one of only three institutes in Canada devoted to advancing research in women’s health, and maintains an active practice as a Registered Psychologist. Dr. Brotto was recently featured in the Netflix series The Principles of Pleasure, and is the author of Better Sex through Mindfulness: How Women Can Cultivate Desire and forthcoming The Better Sex through Mindfulness Workbook: A Guide to Cultivating Desire.

TW: @DrLoriBrotto

In this beautiful conversation–in which Glennon names Cole’s book “This Here Flesh” the Next Right Book–we discuss: 

1. What we learned from Cole’s insight that, “If you’re not in your body, someone else is.” 

2. A mind-blowing revelation about all of our own faces that we will never stop thinking about. 

3. Why the phrase “If you don’t believe you’re beautiful, no one else will” is horseshit.  

4. Why dignity is the bedrock to being alive–and how to find it when we haven’t been loved well. 

5. The connection between fear and awe–and how to practice wonder as a cure for despair. 

About Cole: 

Cole Arthur Riley is a writer and poet. She is the author of the NYT bestseller, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us. Her writing has been featured in The Atlantic, Guernica, and The Washington Post. Cole is also the creator and writer of Black Liturgies, a project that integrates spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black literature, and the Black body. 

TW: @blackliturgist

IG: @colearthurriley @blackliturgies

Abby’s former USWNT teammates–and dear friends–Ashlyn Harris and Ali Krieger are here for a double date discussing:

1. Ashlyn and Ali’s wedding, their vision for queer marriage visibility, and Glennon’s top moments of their magical day.

2. Ashlyn and Abby’s friendship–why Ashlyn pulled Abby’s final game captain’s band out of the trash and what she plans to do with it.

3. Who made the first move, which one “knew” first, and how Ashlyn and Ali’s love story started with friendship and mixtapes.

4. Their hardest night with their newborn, how Ali neutralizes mom guilt, and what they want most for Sloane as she grows up.

About Ashlyn: 

Ashlyn Harris is a two-time World Cup Champion, two-time CONCACAF Champion, and three-time SheBelieves Cup Champion. She currently plays for Gotham FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and leads the NWSL with most saves as a goalkeeper.

A champion of self-expression and self-love, Ashlyn is known for her style and her extensive tattoo artwork. 

TW: @Ashlyn_Harris

IG: @ashlynharris24

About Ali: 

Ali Krieger is an Olympian, two-time World Cup Champion, and two-time SheBelives Cup Champion. She was a key part of the defense that held opponents scoreless for 539 consecutive minutes during the 2015 World Cup.

Recently, Ali was named #7 Most Marketable Athletes in the World and currently plays for the NWSL’s Gotham FC.

In 2019 Ashlyn and Ali married and in February 2021, they welcomed their new baby Sloane. They are also parents to two puppies – Logan and Storm. 

TW: @alikrieger

IG: @alikrieger

1. The inspiring pep talk Bozoma gives herself in the mirror – and why we might all want to start using it to rally ourselves.  

2. How to navigate the tightrope of corporate expectations for women: to be both self-assured and humble; both hard and soft. 

3. The revolutionary realization that you don’t have to be the savior of others – you can save yourself, too. 

4. How to know when to dig deep, and stay and fight for change – and when to stop digging and go – and the moment Bozoma knew it was time to leave Netflix.

5. Why our inability to forgive ourselves for wrong decisions keep us in bad situations – and how Boz’s “it’s not you, it’s me” philosophy can guide us out. 

About Bozoma: 

Bozoma Saint John is a Hall of Fame inducted Marketing Executive, author, entrepreneur, and general badass. Boz has led Global Consumer Marketing at Apple Music & iTunes; she was Chief Brand Officer at Uber; and Global Chief Marketing Officer at Netflix. Boz is currently named #1 Most Influential CMO in the world by Forbes, and has been named one of Billboard’s Most Powerful Women in Music for 10 consecutive years.

In 2021, Harvard Business School published a multi-media case study on her career, titled “Leading with Authenticity and Urgency”; through which she developed and taught a program at the University aptly named “The Anatomy of a Badass.” Boz was named as an Ambassador for the African Diaspora and Special Envoy to the President of Ghana. In the Spring of 2023, Penguin Books will publish her memoir, “The Urgent Life.” Boz counts her highest achievement as being a mother to her 12 year old daughter, Lael.

TW: @badassboz

IG: @badassboz

1. Content warning: Discussion of suicide.

2. Jenny puts words to her experience of ADD – "being a kitten on cocaine" – and her anxiety – seeing "rainbow fire.” 

3. How Jenny felt guilty for years about a way her mental illness impacted her mothering – only to later learn it was her child’s favorite memory.

4. The moment she decided to be honest about her struggles – and how sharing our awkwardness can save the world and cure our loneliness.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

About Jenny:

Jenny Lawson is an award-winning humorist known for her great candor in sharing her struggle with mental illness. She's written four NYT bestsellers, including Let's Pretend This Never Happened (a mostly true memoir), Furiously Happy (A funny book about terrible things), You Are Here (An owner's manual for dangerous minds) and Broken (in the best possible way), which recently won the Goodreads Choice award for Best Humor of 2021. One of those books is a coloring book but she insists it still counts. She lives in Texas with her husband and child and would like to be your friend unless you're a real asshole.

TW: @TheBloggess

IG: @thebloggess