14. Interview Episode with Salvador Pérez Jr.

Explicit content warning

05/03/20 • 63 min

Film fans listen up - we were lucky enough to interview Hollywood costume designer Salvador Pérez Jr., President of the Costume Designers Guild and costume designer on The Mindy Project, Never Have I Ever, The Pitch Perfect Trilogy, Four Weddings and a Funeral and many, many more. We had a wonderful chat about how Salvador has been supported by incredible women throughout his entire career and how he loves working with women such as Mindy Kaling, Elizabeth Banks, Charlize Theron and many others. As president of an industry that is 85% women, Salvador sheds some light on the gender politics at play here and how his guild is fighting for pay equity. A must-listen for Mindy Kaling fans and those who are loving Never Have I Ever on Netflix to get the creative thought process behind the beautiful designs that grace our screens.

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13: The Immortal Woman & The Pilot: Henrietta Lacks & Niloofar Rahmani.

Julia presents us with the heartbreaking moral dilemna of Henrietta Lacks, the first immortal human. Though she died in 1951, trillions of her cells are still in existence today and being used for medical research for all sorts of conditions. The problem? At no point did she consent to this and died having no idea of her lasting legacy. With the well-documented medical exploitation of Black women and femmes throughout history, this issue is as important now as it ever was. Anna introduces us to Captain Niloofar Rahmani, the first woman from Afghanistan to ever fly a plane. After a childhood displaced by war under the rule of the Taliban, Niloofar leapt at the chance to join the Afghan military. Despite the new found freedom she discovered, she has been targeted by extremists who want to stop her flying. If you're looking for bravery and nerves of steel, look no further.

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15.The Dancer & The Band Leader: Isadora Duncan & Ivy Benson.

In our first remotely recorded episode, Julia introduces us to Isadora Duncan, a woman who changed modern dance and was not short on self-belief. Born in San Francisco in 1877, Isadora was adored by European audiences for her unique style, despite ending each performance by ranting about how shit ballet was for half an hour. Anna tells us about Ivy Benson, the most popular British musician of World War 2 you've never heard of. Ivy mostly recruited working-class Northern teenagers for her brass band, which caused quite the scandal when they toured Europe making their own money and doing as they pleased. Audiences loved them and they were even appointed as the BBC house band, which - spoiler alert - enraged the male musicians who usually secured that gig...