In this special Oscar's edition of the Femtastic podcast, Katie speaks to law partner in civil rights and employment, Kalpana Kotagal , about one of the most Googled terms following last year's Oscars: inclusion rider. Kalpana - one of the co-authors of the inclusion rider - discusses what an inclusion rider is, how it works to increase diversity in Hollywood productions (on-screen and off), and why it comes up in the discussion of #MeToo. We also discuss ways that anyone (including you!) can ma...
Feb 22, 2019•42 min
Have you heard of egg freezing? Katie talks to Jenny Lannon, co-founder of Freeze.Health , a resource that helps women decide if, when, and how to freeze their eggs. Maybe you aren't ready to get pregnant now because you're focusing on your career, or you haven't found the right partner yet, or you have an illness that can affect your fertility. Egg freezing might be an option so that you have a better shot of becoming pregnant when the time is right for you. Jenny explains the reasons people ma...
Feb 18, 2019•55 min
You probably know about the gender wage gap, but have you ever thought about the gender health gap? Katie again welcomes to the podcast Priti Krishtel, co-founder and co-executive director of I-MAK , an organization using patent law to increase global access to medicines. Priti explains the ways in which women (yes, even you!) are disproportionately harmed by the high prices of drugs and healthcare, and what this means for us as we get older and need to rely more and more on the healthcare syste...
Jan 22, 2019•20 min
Katie speaks with Priti Krishtel, co-founder and co-executive director of I-MAK , an organization that uses patent law to fight high drug prices across the globe. Think patent law doesn't affect your life? Think again. Chances are, at some point in your life, you've been prescribed an expensive medication that did not have an affordable, generic equivalent. That's patent law at play. Priti discusses how pharmaceutical companies abuse the patent system to keep drug prices high, how it's possible ...
Dec 12, 2018•38 min
Katie interviews Gerda Larsson, cofounder and managing director of The Case for Her , an impact fund that invests in for-profit companies and organizations that work on women and girl's health. Gerda discusses what an impact portfolio is and how it operates, why she and her cofounders began The Case for Her and decided on an impact investing model, and what types of initiatives the fund is investing in around the globe now. Gerda and Katie discuss the fund's focus areas of menstruation, female s...
Oct 10, 2018•47 min
Katie interviews author Rita Dragonette about her new book, The Fourteenth of September . They discuss the critical but often overlooked role of women in the Vietnam War and its protest, the experience of being a young woman on a college campus during that time, the lessons we have learned as a country because of the Vietnam War, and the parallels we can draw between the 1960s/70s anti-war movement and activism among young people today....
Sep 25, 2018•56 min
Katie interviews Lindsey Pollaczek, Vice President of Programs for the Fistula Foundation . Fistula is a childbirth injury largely eradicated in the developed world, but still devastating women in the poorest countries. It's treatable with life-transforming surgery. Lindsey explains what obstetric fistula is, why it's harmful to mothers and fatal to their babies, and what we can do to stop it. Show Notes: Recommendations from Lindsey for learning more about fistula - Cutting for Stone , a fictio...
Aug 22, 2018•41 min
In this episode, we share the recording of a live interview of our host, Katie Breen, at Parillume's June 2018 SHINE Soirée in Denver, Colorado. Parillume is an organization for survivors of sexual violence, and its founder, Lisa Foster, interviews Katie about privilege, authentic allyship, and activism. To watch the video, find it on YouTube here (Katie's entrance is at 17:25). To learn about upcoming SHINE Soirées in Denver, click here . To learn more about Parillume, click here ....
Aug 15, 2018•36 min
Katie interviews Lindley Ashline, founder of stock photography website Representation Matters . Lindley explains why it's so important that we see representations of diverse bodies in the media, and how she uses her platform to create stock imagery featuring people in all types of bodies - large bodies, brown and black bodies, bodies belonging to LGBTQIA+ folks, aging bodies, disabled bodies, tattooed bodies, and more. Lindley also explains how and why businesses and content creators can and sho...
Aug 13, 2018•58 min
Katie interviews Torey Ivanic, author of the book " No Big Deal ," a tale of surviving and overcoming childhood sexual abuse. In the episode, Torey shares her story of being sexually abused by a trusted gymnastics coach while she was in her teens. She discusses the aftermath of the abuse, her experience bringing her perpetrator to justice, and the lessons for parents and survivors she hopes we can take away from her story....
Jul 13, 2018•1 hr 8 min
Listen to the full recording of Femtastic host Katie's TEDxBoulder talk on privilege, inclusion, allyship, and activism: "What Does Your Activism Look Like?" We all have some level of privilege. What do we do when we are confronted with it? How does that make us feel? And how do we use our privilege to make the world a better place? The video recording of Katie's talk can be found on YouTube at this link . Like what you hear? Supporters of Femtastic and/or Katie Breen can contribute to the GoFun...
Jul 09, 2018•9 min
Katie interviews Brianna Rader, founder of Juicebox , a company whose mission is to get people talking about sex, dating, and relationships. In the episode, they discuss what a sex coach is, who can benefit from working with one (hint: EVERYONE), and the types of topics they help people contend with. As Brianna discusses, you don't need to have a "problem" or be in a crisis to use a sex coach - even if your sex life, dating life, or relationship is great, you can always make it better, improve c...
Jun 23, 2018•30 min
In honor of Mother's Day, we are re-releasing this amazing mother-daughter podcast interview! Get your tissues ready! This episode was originally published as Episode #12, "Mother and Daughter: A Tale of Two Veterans" on March 17, 2017. In this episode, Katie had the privilege of interviewing Debbie Johnson and her daughter, Lauren Halloran. Debbie is a retired U.S. Army colonel who served as a nurse in the Gulf War, when Lauren was just a little girl. Lauren is a former Air Force lieutenant who...
May 23, 2018•1 hr 39 min
Katie interviews Shari and Dakota Hindman, the mother-daughter (respectively) duo behind The Mother's Center . Shari and Dakota discuss the work they do at The Mother's Center to help people honor and stay present for all of the important moments in life (pregnancy included). Specifically, Shari dives deep into the ancient practice of "circle," and how this type of collective communication is used at The Mother's Center as a tool to help people cope with and appreciate whatever life throws their...
Apr 23, 2018•45 min
This episode explores how women farmers are both the most vulnerable to climate change and also the most prepared to stop it. Katie interviews Rachael Cox, CEO of EarthEmpower , a social and environmental enterprise focused on empowering women farmers in rural Guatemala and southern Mexico to use their traditional farming practices to adapt to climate change. Rachael describes her organization's unconventional development approach that empowers indigenous women to use their communities' centurie...
Feb 14, 2018•1 hr 16 min
Katie interviews Rachel Ginocchio , an educator and activist aiming to change the age-old conversation around "where babies come from." Today, less than half of all U.S. families have a married mom and dad raising their genetically related children. Rachel founded an organization called Roads to Family in order to start more inclusive conversations about the many ways that children and families are made in the modern age - whether through divorce and remarriage, adoption, IVF, surrogacy, gay par...
Jan 24, 2018•35 min
Katie interviews Karla Gonzales Garcia, the Policy and Program Director of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR). Karla describes the work of COLOR, the meaning of reproductive justice, and the public policy issues on COLOR's legislative agenda for 2018. She also explains the ways in which public policies that affect us all (such as paid family leave and affordable healthcare access) uniquely impact Latino and immigrant communities. Lastly, Katie and Ka...
Jan 06, 2018•50 min
Katie interviews Chiara Bercu, an expert in menstrual health who has worked on adolescent education programs in developing countries across the globe to help prepare students for puberty and menarche. Chiara describes the obstacles to and impact of menstrual hygiene on girls around the world, including the drastic effects that a lack of menstrual hygiene can have on girls' school performance, self confidence, and overall wellbeing. She discusses effective interventions for improving menstrual he...
Jan 04, 2018•1 hr 3 min
Katie interviews Rebecca Peterso n, a childbirth mentor who helps parents prepare for labor through birth preparation classes and prenatal yoga. Rebecca explains what it means to mindfully prepare for childbirth, how parents can explore their unique desires for the birth of their babies, and why it is important for parents to be solution-focused rather outcome-focused when it comes to childbirth (spoiler alert: your "birth plan" might go awry - and that's okay). In the interview, Katie and Rebec...
Dec 19, 2017•50 min
In this episode, Katie interviews Leslie Foster, President and CEO of The Gathering Place , Denver's only daytime drop-in center that serves women, children, and transgender individuals experiencing poverty and homelessness. In the episode, Leslie and Katie discuss the distinct causes, challenges, and experiences of homelessness among women, mothers, and trans individuals. They also contrast these experiences with those faced by cisgender men experiencing homelessness. Leslie details the ways in...
Dec 05, 2017•54 min
Katie interviews Morgan Hopkins, National Field Manager of All* Above All , a reproductive justice campaign dedicated to lifting bans that deny abortion coverage - so that every woman can get affordable, safe abortion care when she needs it, regardless of her income. Since the passage of the Hyde Amendment in 1976, Congress has withheld coverage for abortion services from women insured through Medicaid and other government insurance programs. Currently, this impacts nearly 29 million women of...
Nov 17, 2017•34 min
Katie interviews Nilima Achwal, a leader in systemic thinking for social change. They discuss what the social enterprise sector is getting wrong, how social media and cultural phenomena like #MeToo play a role in changing the world, and how "systemic change" thinking can be applied to create large-scale, transformative social change. In the discussion, Nilima describes the cultural impetus behind her founding of Iesha Learning, the first comprehensive gender and sexuality education program in In...
Nov 15, 2017•29 min
Katie interviews Zoe Hamilton, a researcher and expert on India’s family planning policies, about the country’s complex relationship with female sterilization and reproductive justice. Zoe and co-director Anne Munger are working in Mumbai on a feature-length documentary called Sterilized , which examines the Indian government's use of sterilization as a means of family planning and population control. In the interview, Katie and Zoe discuss how India's controversial family planning policies affe...
Nov 02, 2017•38 min
If you never imagined an interview about cancer could be funny, you haven't met Elissa Banker. Elissa is a 33-year-old breast cancer survivor and founder of Polite Tumor, an organization that supports young women by alleviating some of the financial impact of breast cancer. Katie and Elissa discuss what it's like to be diagnosed with breast cancer at 31, the unique considerations that women diagnosed under 40 face (such as how to deal with potential infertility), how treatment can impact your se...
Sep 28, 2017•1 hr 1 min
Katie interviews Certified Birth Doula, China Tolliver, about Denver's Black Breastfeeding Week 2017. In a lively conversation covering everything from bleeding nipples to flower crowns (they are against both), Katie and China discuss the origins of the national Black Breastfeeding Week movement, why normalizing breastfeeding among communities of color is so critical, and the unique obstacles people of color face in seeking lactation support and resources. They also offer specific examples of ho...
Sep 21, 2017•1 hr 7 min
Katie interviews an anonymous reproductive healthcare worker and expert on the practice of home-based abortion in the US. They discuss what home-based abortion is, as well as the reasons people may choose to terminate pregnancies at home. They also discuss the complex and often severe legal challenges of the practice in the United States, and the safety of abortions in non-clinical settings worldwide.
Aug 16, 2017•1 hr 16 min
In this episode, Katie interviews Chris Dalton Castillo , a career development coach for professional women. In the episode, they discuss ways that high-achieving women can combat burnout and love their jobs (hint: boundary-setting!!!), how women (AND men) can support other women at work, how we can raise the next generation of strong girls, and what leadership skills men can learn from women in the workplace. Because the world is waking up to the fact that the masculine style of leadership sho'...
Jun 14, 2017•1 hr 9 min
In this episode, Katie interviews Tony Tarbox, a cannabis educator who works in Colorado's legal cannabis industry. Think cannabis is only good for getting high? Think again. You might be surprised to know that not all cannabis products get you high, and can in fact be extremely useful in treating both common and uncommon medical ailments and pain. Katie and Tony cover a ton of topics, including but not limited to: * the difference between THC and CBD * how CBD works to treat pain in the body * ...
May 07, 2017•1 hr 49 min
In this episode, Katie interviews Julia Carpenter, Washington Post writer/editor and creator of daily newsletter A Woman to Know . Every day, A Woman to Know tells its subscribers the story of an impactful woman from history that they've probably never heard of. Katie and Julia discuss why the newsletter was started, some of Julia's favorite unknown women history figures (you know Paul Revere but do you know Sybil Ludington, people?!), recommendations for fantastic books about women, why we've h...
Apr 12, 2017•44 min
In this episode, Katie had the privilege of interviewing Debbie Johnson and her daughter, Lauren Halloran. Debbie is a retired U.S. Army colonel who served as a nurse in the Gulf War, when Lauren was just a little girl. Lauren is a former Air Force lieutenant who served in Afghanistan. Both mother and daughter talk about the difficulties not only of deploying to a war zone, but of reintegrating into civilian life upon their return. They touch on the stigma surrounding mental illness in the milit...
Mar 17, 2017•1 hr 39 min
