All Ears with Abigail Disney - Ellen Pao: If I Had a Hundred Billion Dollars, I Could Send Anybody into Space

Ellen Pao: If I Had a Hundred Billion Dollars, I Could Send Anybody into Space

10/14/21 • 33 min

1 Listener

This week on All Ears, Abby is joined by Ellen Pao. Pao made headlines in 2012 when she sued venture capital firm Kleiner-Perkins for gender discrimination. In 2015 she lost the lawsuit, but it sent shockwaves throughout Silicon Valley and got people talking about the rampant bro-culture, sexism and bad behaviors that had gone unchallenged there for so long. She went on to become the interim CEO of Reddit, where she banned revenge porn and shut down some of the worst subreddits. Now she runs Project Include, a non-profit that is focused on increasing diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. In this week’s conversation with Abby, she talks about the impact of her lawsuit, her brief but influential time at Reddit, Silicon Valley’s obsession with 26 year-old white, cis men in hoodies, and her hope for the future of the tech industry. Tune in for a thoughtful discussion on what can go right and what does go wrong in Silicon Valley.
EPISODE LINKS
Ellen Pao's Website
Project Include Website
Reset: My Fight For Inclusion and Lasting Change by Ellen Pao
The Pao v. Kleiner Perkins Gender Discrimination Lawsuit
The Guardian, 'They don't think it's important': Ellen Pao on why Facebook can't beat hate, 2020
New York Times, Ellen Pao Disrupts How Silicon Valley Does Business, 2015
New York Times, Ellen Pao Loses Silicon Valley Bias Case Against Kleiner Perkins, 2015
New York Times, Lawsuit Shakes Foundation of a Man’s World of Tech, 2012 VOX, A Who’s-Who of the Kleiner Perkins-Ellen Pao Trial, 2015
The Verge, Ellen Pao shifted hiring practices at Reddit to improve diversity, 2015
The Guardian, Reddit chief Ellen Pao resigns after receiving ‘sickening’ abuse from users, 2015
The Verge, Timnit Gebru was fired from Google–then the harassers arrived, 2021

Previous Episode

E. Jean Carroll: Let's Salute Old Women

This week on All Ears, Abby is joined by E. Jean Carroll. Carroll is a journalist, memoirist, and the author of America’s longest running advice column. She’s also one of the many, many women who have come forward with sexual assault allegations against former President Donald Trump. When Trump denied the allegation Carroll sued him for defamation, and oral arguments are set to begin on December 3rd. Here, Carroll tells Abby her side of the story in vivid and exacting detail. What follows is a personal narrative in the hands of a master storyteller: E. Jean spins a web of drama, dry wit, and boundless vivacity as she recounts her childhood in Indiana, her lawsuit, the road trip that makes up the contents of her memoir, and what exactly it is that we need men for.
EPISODE LINKS
E. Jean Carroll's Substack
Askejean.com E. Jean Carroll v Trump
E. Jean Carroll on America's Talking (1995)
The Cut, Hideous Men by E. Jean Carroll, 2019
The Atlantic, 'I Moved On Her Very Heavily' The E. Jean Carroll Interviews, 2020
New York Times, Why E. Jean Carroll, the 'Anti-Victim,' Spoke Up About Trump, 2019
New York Times, What Happened Between E. Jean Carroll and Elle Magazine? 2020
The New Yorker, There's A Lot More to E. Jean Carroll's Book Than Trump, 2020
NPR, Biden DOJ Plans To Continue To Defend Trump, 2021
The Cheerleaders, by E. Jean Carroll
What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal
Hunter: The Strange and Savage Life of Hunter S. Thompson

Next Episode

Imara Jones: Masculinity Can Be A Fragile Thing

This week on All Ears, Abby is joined by Imara Jones. Imara is an activist, journalist and the creator of TransLash Media, a cross-platform journalism, storytelling and narrative project. She’s also the host of the TransLash podcast, a show that centers trans narratives and experience. Imara’s and Abby’s conversation was so rich and varied, we decided to split it up into two episodes. In this week’s conversation, she discusses the love and acceptance she found in her family after transitioning, the immense and intractable power of storytelling, and what went wrong in Dave Chappelle’s most recent Netflix special, ‘The Closer.’ Tune in for a compelling and insightful conversation about why we should all be invested in the fight to protect black trans women.

TransLash Media
Translash, Episode 3: Family Matters
Time, Imara Jones: Why Black Trans Women Are Essential To Our Future
The Guardian, Trans black and loved: what happened when I returned to the deep south after transitioning
NPR, Amid Wave Of Anti-Trans Bills, Trans Reporters Say 'Telling Our Own Stories' Is Vital
New York Times, Dave Chappelle's Brittle Ego
IndieWire, Dave Chappelle’s Last Netflix Special Is a Season Finale With Nothing New to Say
New York Times, Netflix employee who criticized Dave Chappelle’s comedy special is among three suspended
New York Times, Netflix workers plan a walkout as fallout over Dave Chappelle continues

All Ears with Abigail Disney - Ellen Pao: If I Had a Hundred Billion Dollars, I Could Send Anybody into Space

Transcript

All Ears with Abigail Disney
Season 3 Episode 5: Ellen Pao
If I Had a Hundred Billion Dollars, I Could Send Anybody into Space
Air Date: October 14, 2021

ABIGAIL DISNEY: How thick is your skin, I mean, you took a beating.

ELLEN PAO: Yeah, and I think everybody who speaks up on these issues takes a beating. What drives me and I think what drives a lot of the other mostly women who have spoken up is just this idea of right a