Katie interviews Rachel Ginocchio, an educator and activist aiming to change the age-old conversation around "where babies come from." Today, less than half of all U.S. families have a married mom and dad raising their genetically related children. Rachel founded an organization called Roads to Family in order to start more inclusive conversations about the many ways that children and families are made in the modern age - whether through divorce and remarriage, adoption, IVF, surrogacy, gay parents, foster care, single parents, transgender families, or some other arrangement. Katie and Rachel discuss why it's time we update how we teach our kids about human reproduction, and how we can start doing so.
Katie interviews Karla Gonzales Garcia, the Policy and Program Director of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR). Karla describes the work of COLOR, the meaning of reproductive justice, and the public policy issues on COLOR's legislative agenda for 2018. She also explains the ways in which public policies that affect us all (such as paid family leave and affordable healthcare access) uniquely impact Latino and immigrant communities. Lastly, Katie and Karla offer a call to action for listeners to get involved in their state and local politics during this very important year in American politics.
Katie interviews Chiara Bercu, an expert in menstrual health who has worked on adolescent education programs in developing countries across the globe to help prepare students for puberty and menarche. Chiara describes the obstacles to and impact of menstrual hygiene on girls around the world, including the drastic effects that a lack of menstrual hygiene can have on girls' school performance, self confidence, and overall wellbeing. She discusses effective interventions for improving menstrual health and hygiene of girls in developing nations, as well as how taboos surrounding women's periods differ in various countries around the world. Lastly, Katie and Chiara discuss ways in which we can all combat stigma surrounding periods, regardless of where we live.