The Femtastic Podcast

If you thought Title IX was just about sports, get ready for an interesting discussion. In this episode, Katie interviews seasoned campus violence educator and advocate, Tara Misra. Katie and Tara discuss the prevalence of sexual assault and relationship violence on college campuses, how survivors of campus sexual assault and other gender-based violence can use Title IX to seek justice (even after leaving school), and how the conversation around campus sexual assault has changed over the years. They also discuss why a survivor may not go to the police following an assault, the impact that trauma can have on academic performance, and some advice on how to support a friend who has survived a traumatic incident.

Katie interviews sex educator Melanie Lucash - the sex ed teacher you wish you had. Melanie teaches modern sex education that is consent-based, trauma-informed, LGBTQ-inclusive, pleasure-positive, and completely shame-free. Katie and Melanie discuss the shortcomings of American sex ed, the importance of erasing shame from the sex ed classroom (and how she does it), the hilarity and importance of demystifying sex for young people (Can I masturbate too much? Is porn sex like real sex?), and why it is so crucial that educators come at sex education from an angle that is as inclusive and intersectional as possible - taking into account ALL life experiences, races, cultures, gender identities, sexual orientations, socioeconomic classes, and past traumas.

Katie interviews Julia Burke, a public defender in Queens, New York. They discuss what the life of a public defender is like, how patterns of domestic violence play out in the criminal justice system, and why someone may plead guilty to a crime they didn't commit. They also touch on the unique challenges of marginalized communities in actually receiving justice within the criminal justice system.

In the wake of #MeToo and several high-profile sexual harassment cases in the news, many of us are left wondering...what can we do if we think we're the victim of sexual harassment or gender discrimination at work? What options do we have? How do we protect ourselves AND our careers? Attorney Vince White joins Femtastic Podcast to help guide us through these questions. White is a partner at a NYC law firm specializing in sexual harassment and gender discrimination in the workplace. In an interview with Femtastic host Katie Breen, White details what sexual harassment and gender discrimination may look like, what options victims have for both non-legal and legal recourse, and what they may expect from the process. White also talks about how #MeToo and Trump's election have changed the makeup of the clients that seek his help, and how his field of law still has a long way to go in terms of the gender makeup of its attorneys and adequate representation of transgender clients.

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 India. The program, which reached 15,000 classrooms across India, sought to address taboos surrounding gender, menstruation, and sex. Nilima explains the incredible impact of the program, and why the approach of Iesha Learning ultimately did not go far enough to create broad change in the context of gender in India. She provides recommendations for how cultural change initiatives should be undertaken, and some encouragement for those of us feeling weary about the state of our world today.