Firestarters with Shannon Watts

“So I am silenced. I do not own my own truth. I do not own my own reality. I've had movies and miniseries made about me. I couldn't participate. I can't even tell you if they're accurate. I may never own my own voice, but I am going to make sure that other people do.”

Gretchen Carlson is a renowned journalist, a bestselling author, and now an internationally recognized advocate for women's rights in the workplace. Gretchen's life has taken so many twists and turns from youth violinist to Miss America, to journalists, to women's empowerment advocate.

I'm really interested in learning more about how she navigated that non-linear journey. What is it inside her that has propelled her forward? Not just from accomplishment to accomplishment, but how has she kept going despite the difficulties she's endured along the way? What obstacles has she faced internally and externally, and how has she had to work to overcome them? What wisdom can she share with all of us about how to find our spark and to protect it?

What you’ll find in this conversation:

An incident in kindergarten which was her first introduction to injustice and standing up for herself.

How she believes her spark has been cultivated.

Her experience with being a Miss America contestant and what threatened to put out her spark.

The stereotypes she experienced in television after being Miss America.

Her experiences with sexual assault.

When she filed a complaint against Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes and the retaliation as well as support she received.

She co-founded Lift Our Voices to fight NDA’s in workplace contracts.

What she feels most makes her come alive now.

Regrets that she has and what she wishes she could change.

What she’s planning next.

For more inspiring conversations like this one, be sure you’re a subscriber to my Substack, Playing With Fire.

"Take seriously the fact that there's something in the world that you need to do and then do it now. Don’t wait — we don't know how long we have."

Rabbi Sharon Brous is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, a leading edge Jewish community based in Los Angeles, and the author of the national bestseller, The Amen Effect, Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts and Mend Our Broken World. She's been named to the list of the most influential rabbis in America, and was recognized by the Forward and Jerusalem Post as among the most influential Jews alive today.

Rabbi Brous’ work has been featured in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and her 2016 TED Talk, Reclaiming Religion, has been viewed by over 1. 5 million people. Her commitment to building bridges across divides, her anecdotes about how we can all find meaning in our lives, and her belief in our common humanity are inspiring and thought provoking.

Join us for a conversation about how to join or build a community, how to stay centered in your humanity while the world’s turbulence roils around you, and why you should never delay fulfilling your desires.

In this conversation you’ll find:

Her own spiritual journey,

How she’s building a community of those who have been disaffected by religious institutions,

Her take on the ways social media is keeping us apart,

How her book landed at the perfect moment for the state of the world,

The ways in which we’re all struggling with loneliness and isolation,

How the loss of a friend gave her much needed clarity

What she hopes she’ll leave as her legacy

This full video interview is available for paying subscribers of Playing with Fire. The audio version of this conversation will be available on all podcast players on January 16, 2024.

“So I am silenced. I do not own my own truth. I do not own my own reality. I've had movies and miniseries made about me. I couldn't participate. I can't even tell you if t...

“I tell people you don't have to say, ‘I'm just a drop in the bucket.’ Well, take care of your drop. Your drop affects so many other people and whenever you speak or are in contact with people, you're shaping and changing every day.”

Sandra is a prolific poet, author, and artist, perhaps best known for her book The House on Mango Street, originally published in 1984, which has gone on to sell over six million copies and is required reading in schools across the world. Recently, Sandra published her first book of poetry in 28 years called Woman Without Shame, a brilliant collection of songs, elegies, and declarations.

She has received a number of awards and honors including the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowships in poetry and prose. Sandra has also founded the Macondo Foundation, an association of socially engaged writers, and the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation, a grant-giving institution that served Texas writers for fifteen years.

Join us for a conversation about the ways in which we all have a gift to give, how invested teachers can really change a life, taking darkness and transforming it into a path out, and being courageous enough to taking the next step.

In this conversation you’ll find:

Being the only girl with six brothers

Her struggles in school to stay engaged and reign in her imagination

Growing up sensitive, and later realizing it was a gift

Writing in secret out of shame

The power dynamics and damage of an affair with a married professor

A 20 year “overnight” journey to success

Learning more from disasters than accolades

Having exactly what we need to make change

Not wasting our time in life

“One of the things I hear from women about running for office is, ‘I don't want to be criticized.’ And I say ‘They’re going to criticize you if you do it. They're going to criticize you if you don't do it. And wouldn't it be better to be doing something and to have them talk about you? To be making change and have them talk about you? To be passing bills that are going to do good and have them talk about you?’”

A’shanti Gholar is the president of Emerge, an organization dedicated to recruiting and training Democratic women to run for office in America. For over 15 years, A’shanti has been a grassroots organizer and an activist on behalf of women and communities of color and progressive causes. She is a nationally recognized political strategist and worked as a political appointee in the Obama administration and also for the Democratic National Committee.

A’shanti is also the founder of the Brown Girls Guide to Politics, an award winning podcast that was featured as one of the top political podcasts by Time Magazine, Teen Vogue, and Vanity Fair.

What you’ll find in this conversation:

She talks about how she was interested in politics as a little girl, and why she chose CSPAN over Sesame Street.

The teacher she credits with encouraging her to use her voice.

A standoff with a politician when she was a high school senior and how that turned her into to volunteer.

The impact of not being seeing women who look like her in politics.

What she counsels women running for office to do about criticism — internal and external.

Her experience leading Emerge and the work that she does to put women in office.

How she handles racism and sexism; her bizarre experience being on the hot seat on CSPAN.

How she looks to the shine theory as a way to strengthen sisterhood.

For more inspiring conversations like this one, be sure you’re a subscriber to my Substack, Playing With Fire.