News and Happenings

Gloria takes a look at what it’s like on the ground in a state with some of the country’s most restrictive anti-abortion laws alongside Project Say Something founder Camille Bennett, whose organization confronts anti-Black racism in Alabama. They discuss how Camille is still able to help women in her state, what else conservative politicians want to enact to make life difficult for women in Alabama, and what made her hire security to accompany her at all Project Say Something events. Plus, Camille gives Gloria an update on a huge child care win she achieved in Alabama after her first appearance on the show.

We rightly celebrated people like health care workers, teachers, and grocery store employees during the heart of the pandemic as the essential workers who kept our country going. But Angela Garbes, author of “Essential Labor: Mothering as Social Change,” tells Gloria that we need to think of parents, and especially mothers, as essential workers, too. They get into why we devalue the labor of mothers and caregivers, how we are in a pivotal moment right now with regards to care in America, and what it’ll take to create the social change we need. Plus, Angela lays out the ways in which the overturning of Roe v. Wade will further stress the already threadbare care system in this country.

Thanks for tawking with me this season. For our final episode, I wanted to introduce you to one of my best friends. As an adult, it’s difficult to balance a career, kids, relationship, and social life. Add long distance to that list and the situation becomes harder to maintain. True friendships go through ups and downs yet still stand the test of time. What kind of friends are there and what purpose do they serve? How do you know when your friendship is worth the effort? Mary Sierra-Cordes and I tawk. But the conversation doesn’t end here.

Gloria unpacks the decades-long struggle for reproductive justice in America with Marcela Howell, president and CEO of In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda. They discuss the barriers to reproductive freedom for Black people, how the Hyde Amendment makes abortion access even harder for low-income individuals, and why we need to focus on state legislative elections to ensure that even more reproductive rights aren’t taken away. Plus, Gloria talks with Daisy Han, founder and CEO of Embracing Equity, about the essential role that equity plays in early education.

As we continue to investigate what life looks like for pregnant people and parents in a post-Roe America, Gloria sits down with an abortion clinic nurse who was in the middle of a procedure when the news broke about the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. They talk about what it was like in the clinic that day, what this decision will mean for the country’s remaining abortion providers, and how it will impact those who already have difficulty accessing reproductive care. Plus, she tells Gloria about some of her most memorable patients, including girls as young as 11, 12, and 13 years old.

I was the face of a reality TV show that was unlike anything we see on Bravo nowadays. There was no cheating, dramatic arguments or face-slapping. In fact, this was a wholesome show about a Jersey girl navigating love in the South. My dear friend and Bravo executive Leslie Farrell was with me through the entire journey. How did I manage to get my pitch picked up by one of the top TV networks? What made this show a “fish out of water” idea? And why wasn’t it enough to bring the show back? Leslie Farrell and I tawk.

By the time we’re adults, most of us have a good sense of how the world works and how we fit into it. But what are you supposed to do if something happens that shakes all you thought you knew to the ground? Psychiatrist Kali Cyrus is a Black, queer, cis woman who all of a sudden felt incredibly unsafe in the world with the rise of Donald Trump and the societal shifts that followed. Kali tells Claire about the moment it all became too painful for her to bear, how she retreated from the world as a result, and how she pulled herself out of the safe but small bubble she created for herself.

Gloria is joined by author and activist Lauren Rankin to outline everything you need to know in the wake of the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Gloria and Lauren talk about what’s happening right now as a result of this ruling, how and why this decision will disproportionately hurt Black and brown people, and what you can do to support those who need help accessing abortion care. Come for the rage, stay for the actionable steps, and leave with some hope.

It’s not easy for anyone to return to work after becoming a mother, and child care is often the hardest aspect for families to figure out. Track and field star Allyson Felix experienced that firsthand and is determined to make things easier for her fellow athlete moms. And when Allyson sets a goal for herself — whether it’s becoming the most decorated U.S. track and field athlete in history or changing the child care landscape for athlete moms — she accomplishes it. Allyson and Olga Harvey of the Women’s Sports Foundation tell Gloria about the challenges athlete moms face, what they’re doing to improve things, and how the lessons they’ve learned along the way apply to moms in and out of sports.

Gloria digs into a devastating report on how the pandemic has affected women and their families with Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center. The numbers in this NWLC report, “Resilient But Not Recovered,” are sobering. There are 1.1 million fewer women in the labor force today than there were in February 2020. More than 2/3 of the net jobs lost since the pandemic began were women’s jobs. Only 41% of mothers who left the workforce during the pandemic have returned to work, compared to 78% of fathers. Fatima tells Gloria why women are emerging from the pandemic in worse economic shape than men, what role child care plays in that, and what needs to happen to make things better for women — at work and at home.