Leah Wise – The Perfect Balance | S2 E01

Leah Wise – The Perfect Balance | S2 E01

Katharine Heller

"Having been raised and trained as a historian...I already had the notion of generations and the responsibility of each generation to carry people forward in the time you’ve had. It wasn’t that hard for me to say that I’ve made my mark and to let go to the younger folks who now need to come and take over."

At 71, activist historian and organizer, Leah Wise, challenges us to think deeply about the responsibility of generations to carry young people forward as they step up and take over. Our conversation with Leah was rich in history and wisdom, her life reflecting the intersecting struggles and gains for racial, gender and economic justice in the Southeast of the United States and worldwide over the past 40 years. Leah offers us feisty commentary on the sexism that infused (and continues to) so many progressive movements, on the legacy of “polio personality”, and on her odyssey from civil rights activist to low-wage steel worker to leader of Southerners for Economic Justice and a network of similar groups across the Southeast. She offers heartfelt insights into the joys of paying attention to things that slipped by earlier: gardening, the feeling of the sun on your face, starting a sewing crafts business in your 70s, and the pleasures of grandchildren. And she leaves us with a resounding call: to join together to re-build the infrastructure of democracy.

Read More

Dodo Berk - Age Is A Number, and Mine is Unlisted | S1 E10

Dodo Berk - Age Is A Number, and Mine is Unlisted | S1 E10

Katharine Heller

"My husband, when I married him, was a very shy man. He always got third billing. He would always say, “Dodo, you have the talent of an amateur and the temperament of a star!”

Dodo Berk is 102 years old and a “star” to everyone who knows her. She is the vibrant matriarch of a large and loving family, the doyenne of the condominium where she lives on Lido Beach in Long Island and the unofficial Recreational Director at the Florida assisted living center where she spends the winter. In our conversation with her, Dodo broke out into song at the drop of a hat, told stories artfully, and shared raunchy jokes with the panache of a vaudeville comedian. She is the grandmother of a good friend, James Jacoby, and we’d heard about her escapades for years. Launching Two Old Bitches was a great excuse for us to travel to Lido Beach and spend the afternoon with Dodo and her daughter, Sandra. Dodo describes herself as strong, direct but “not bossy.“ We found her to be generous, loving, and downright incorrigible. A child of the Great Depression, she appreciated every change and every gift that her life brought her way and made the most of it. For Dodo, when you don’t get what you want, you have to remember, “There’s always a substitute menu.”

Read More

Radhika Balakrishnan - I Want To Know What They Know | S1 E09

Radhika Balakrishnan - I Want To Know What They Know | S1 E09

Katharine Heller

We joined Radhika Balakrishnan, 58, for a conversation about politics, economics and bitchcraft right before Christmas. Radhika is an activist, a to-the-bone feminist and an economist. In fact, she was part of the small group of women who first coined the term and established the field of feminist economics just decades ago. A professor at Rutgers University, Radhika ran their Center for Women’s Global Leadership for about six years, before recently assuming the role of Faculty Director. She travels the world working with women’s organizations, training activists and even advising some more enlightened governments. Here in the States, Radhika was appointed by New York Mayor Bill De Blasio to serve on the City's Commission for Gender Equality. Radhika’s passion, optimism and outrage blend beautifully into her activist and academic lives. She is irrepressible. We know that you’ll feel as inspired as we do by her courage and insights in these challenging times.

Read More

Alta Starr - Everything Is Already All Right | S1 E08

Alta Starr - Everything Is Already All Right | S1 E08

Katharine Heller

“There is so much toxicity in ‘bitch’ --all the misogyny, all the hatred of women. And then to add ‘old' to it. It’s everything terrifying and awful. All the more reason to glorify it!"

Alta Starr, 65, is a coach, trainer and writer who has a dazzling way with words and an exuberant sense of humor. A former teacher, radio news and music producer, and grantmaker, these days Alta only does the work she loves now. Rather than worry about making lots of money, she trusts that “everything is already all right,” a Black Southern saying. Alta is a skilled practitioner of somatics, a holistic change theory for individuals and groups to embody new ways of being and action that align with their values and longings. She has a private coaching practice for individuals, many on a pro bono basis, and trains groups such as BOLD (Black Organizing for Leadership and Dignity). Listen to how this wise woman composes her life and reveals her secret for fully enjoying being alive.

Read More

Carol Jenkins – Serial Adjustments | S1 E07

Carol Jenkins – Serial Adjustments | S1 E07

Katharine Heller

“The women in my family kept working, never saw any kind of deadline –‘Oh well, now I’ll retire and not do anything.’ I think that’s what I’ll do as well, and hope I’ll get a few more things done before it’s over.”

Carol Jenkins, 72, award-winning news broadcast journalist, author, and “always an agitator” has “retired” many times only to find herself moving on to the next new thing. After 25 years at NBC as a news anchor and correspondent, she hosted a talk show, Carol Jenkins Live on WNYW, and then went on to become a farmer –yes, that’s right a farmer. When Gloria Steinem, a close friend, called one day and casually asked her what she was doing, Carol answered, “Right now? I’m herding turkeys.” She was also caring for her aging mother and writing a book with her daughter Elizabeth Gardner Hines: Black Titan, about her millionaire and civil rights activist uncle, A.J. Gaston. Life after the farm? Carol was Founding President of The Women’s Media Center for years and then retired, to help rear her grandchildren and begin writing another book on her family’s long experience in journalism as a window on gender and racial bias in media. Last year she came out of retirement –again-- to return to New York television as host of Black America, a new TV series on CUNY-TV about what it means to be Black in America today. Hope you’ll listen to our joyful conversation with this deservedly well-known storyteller and unflagging social justice activist.

Read More

Elaine Finsilver – The Cracked Plate | S1 E06

Elaine Finsilver – The Cracked Plate | S1 E06

Katharine Heller

“If you stay removed from life, you don’t get anything. If you get involved in life, you get everything back!”

At 85 1/2, Elaine Finsilver is – and has always been – determined to fill her life with art, politics and love in all their fullness and complexity. Her long life is full of those moments you stand up for your own convictions and justice, no matter the price. From reveling, in the 1950s, in being what her mother called a “fallen woman” because she moved in with a crew of bohemians on 103rd Street (including Andy Warhol); to pursuing the love of her life despite major marital complications; to gifting herself the joy of a painting career in her 70s and 80s, Elaine seamlessly radiates the joy and rewards of standing up for your beliefs and yourself. And, despite her mother’s best efforts to send her to finishing school, our conversation with her reveals, beyond a doubt, that she is anything but finished! Hope you’ll listen and love Elaine’s spirit and stories as much as we do. (And, if you want deep indulgence, follow up with our conversation with Elaine's daughter, Jane Summer, about writing and returning home).

Read More

Noeleen Heyzer – Through the Eyes of Experience | S1 E05

Noeleen Heyzer – Through the Eyes of Experience | S1 E05

Katharine Heller

In these challenging times, we need wise women more than ever! For the last 40 years, Noeleen Heyzer, 68, has been a courageous and influential thinker and advocate for women’s rights, workers’ rights, climate justice and so many other issues. Until 2015, she was the United Nations Under-Secretary General for the entire Asia-Pacific region and, from 1994 to 2007, she was the Executive Director for the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Noeleen’s leadership, writing and actions have inspired many thousands of men and women – including her two phenomenal and talented daughters, Pauline and Lilianne -- to stand up, speak up and make a difference in the world. She now lives in Thailand and Singapore, so we were thrilled to catch up with Noeleen when she visited New York in September 2016 and to hear what she’s been thinking about since her retirement from the United Nations. Find out more about Noeleen at her website. In the meantime, hope you’ll find Noeleen’s words as inspiring as we did!

Read More

Jane Summer - Finding Her Story | S1 E04

Jane Summer - Finding Her Story | S1 E04

Katharine Heller

Jane Summer, 62, describes herself as a writer and as "the most downwardly mobile person" she knows. Writing is her passion and affliction. At 55, she transformed her life and returned to school for an MFA. Searching for her story, she remembered a precious friendship: While working at Women's Wear Daily in the late 1970s, Jane's colleague, Kay, boarded Air New Zealand flight 901 to Antarctica, never to return. Jane's book, Erebus, is an homage to memory, mystery, love and loss. Visit Jane's website to learn about Jane's other books and articles. And spend 30 minutes with Jane and Two Old Bitches as we explore finding your story, life without a plan, and the many gifts of family.

Read More

A Very Special Holiday Message From The Bitches

A Very Special Holiday Message From The Bitches

Katharine Heller

Meet Ruth “Dodo” Berk who – at 102 years old – lives life on her own terms and is never bored, frustrated or at a loss for words. Two Old Bitches will release our full-length interview with her later in January. She regaled us with life lessons, torch songs and dirty jokes. For now, we're posting the joke she shared with us at the end of our conversation. Dodo is a gift to the world and her joke is our holiday offering to our listeners. Best wishes to all for 2017!!!

And please tune in, next Tuesday, January 3, for our conversation with Jane Summer, the author of Erebus.

Read More

Sandra Garcia Betancourt – I Am the Point | S1 E02

Sandra Garcia Betancourt – I Am the Point | S1 E02

Katharine Heller

Sandra Garcia Betancourt, 60 years old, is a writer whose work appeared most recently in Abriendo Caminos, an anthology of Puerto Rican women writers in New York. She is currently the Director of the Sugar Hill Children’s Museum of Art and Storytelling in Harlem. She was the founding Director of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance (NOMAA) in Washington Heights, a high-heeled union organizer, a poet and women’s rights activist. From her first spontaneous trip from Puerto Rico to California in her 20s to her unplanned transition to arts administrator in her 50s, Sandra’s free-spirited life and story show us how staying attuned to the moment delivers a steady stream of surprises, even when you’re sitting on a couch with a broken ankle watching TV.

Read More

Mallika Dutt - The Bitch and the Bag Lady | S1 E01

Mallika Dutt - The Bitch and the Bag Lady | S1 E01

Katharine Heller

Mallika Dutt, 55 years old, is a leading innovator in human rights, multimedia, and culture change. She is the founder, president, and CEO of Breakthrough and shares her cutting-edge approach to transformation through speaking, writing, commentary and game-changing multimedia campaigns. Born in India and based in the U.S. since she was 18 years old, Mallika is now forging a new path on her life journey: she’s been exploring energy medicine and healing as a way to transform individuals and the old myths that constrain us. As Mallika says, her passion is to work with others to create entirely new stories that dream new worlds into being.

Read More

Load More