This was a conversation that made us lose track of time.  Because even if the core conversation about transracial adoption doesn’t capture your attention - which it should because nearly 30% of kids who are adopted are adopted across borders or across cultures or race - the trajectory this conversation takes into why adoption should NOT be positioned as a solution to abortion absolutely is a perspective you don’t want to miss - along with all the other nuggets of wisdom around identity and belonging as well.

Thrilled to be bringing you insights from Patrick Armstrong, someone we don’t just know from the virtual airwaves but now, thanks to some great opportunities to speak together, in real life too. And if you want to hear more about his journey as not only an adoptee, but as an outspoken advocate for adoptees and, due to his lived experience, transracial adoptees in particular, you’re going to want to listen all the way to the end, and then follow him on every platform out there.

Read More

It’s December, the time of year when it seems like regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas or Hannukah or Kwanzaa or anything else or nothing at all, our schedules get busy. And lots of times, this busyness centers around food, be it potluck gatherings at work, holiday parties, big family dinners, or even coffee and treats with friends - because food brings us together as human beings better than almost anything else.

But what happens when the foods you have are scoffed at by the folks around you? How does it feel to be made to feel “different” from the other Americans around you based on your cultural heritage? How do you get kids to try new flavors and learn real history, let’s be honest, at this stage in the melting pot game, what makes something American, anyway? We’re here to talk about all that and more with an award-winning veteran journalist Michelle Li - who also created the Very Asian Foundation after a super shocking (now viral) viewer comment in response to her comment about dumplings on television.

Read More

We’ve been asked a lot about how to have uncomfortable conversations lately - namely, the reality that, yikes, my people are coming over for the holidays and how on earth do I handle it when those uncomfortable, racist, inappropriate comments and jokes come up? (Because let’s be real - they’re coming up.)

While there is no official checklist for success, we DO have quite a number of tips to help guide you and your group into more meaningful, engaging conversations around your holiday table.

If you know our podcast, you know we’re all about action, so we’re re-airing this episode that’s quickly becoming a favorite one for many of our listeners in order to share some of the tips that have worked for us - in order not to avoid these conversations, but to have them in a way that’s authentic, honest, and safe for all of us.

We’d love to hear what’s worked for you too, as you navigate whatever uncomfortable conversations might be coming your way - please drop us a line at hello at dearwhitewomen.com and we might share what’s worked for you on our social!

Read More

For those of you who have been listening to Dear White Women from the beginning, or for those listeners who just joined us (welcome!), you probably understand that this whole platform comes from our own deeply personal connections not only to this work but to the world that we’d like to see in the future, as we find that it’s often that personal connection that leads to intentional, lasting change.

That’s why we loved speaking with today’s guest, Stacy Sawin, who comes to us with her own deeply personal story as to why she created FinAbility, an organization that is changing and enhancing security for so many survivors of domestic abuse – especially from a financial perspective. A huge percentage of survivors are experiencing financial abuse along with other forms of harm, so even if her story has nothing to do with your own lived experiences, it’s likely that someone you know can relate - so please listen, share, and, if you’re listening to this on the day it comes out, financially support on this Giving Tuesday, if you’re able.

Read More

For a lot of the second half of this year, student debt relief and the student loan crisis have been in national news - and there have been a LOT of feelings about it, ranging from joy and happiness that some of this extreme burden to repay what often can amount to predatory lending practices has now been lifted to the other extreme, which amounts to a lot of “well, I repaid my debt. Why should others be getting a handout?” (If you know us, you know where we fall on that scale.)

But there’s so much more to this story than the question of handouts versus the student debt crisis, because, much like so many other things in the United States, student debt and student loans have also been affected by systemic racism. This is why we’re so thrilled to have Briana Franklin as our guest today, to talk about how and why student loan debt disproportionately affects Black women, her own experience with this as a Dartmouth graduate, and why she decided to do something about this - in a big way.

Read More

Hey so remember how last week we were talking about how we have hope? This is another conversation and way of thinking that gives me hope - in particular for anybody who knows children, knows new parents, or thinks they might eventually know folks who might want to stop reading the outdated encyclopedia that we call What to Expect when you’re Expecting and flip over to a more contemporary, inclusive, humane book to learn about parenting.

Misasha got the opportunity to speak with Jelani Memory recently on their Better Grownups podcast and we’re thrilled to bring him back to discuss the company’s newest venture - 100 Diverse Voices on Parenthood.

Read More

If you’re reading this on the day this episode comes out, this is a big, big day in America. It’s Election Day 2022, and we don’t think it’s an understatement to say that this is the most important election that those of us who have the privilege to vote in will be voting in - because this election may determine if you or I even get to be able to vote in the next election. So, if you’re reading this and have not yet voted today - stop reading, and please, please go vote. We need everyone’s voice in these elections, as the alternative may be that our voices no longer matter. And now onto some hope…

This is the first time that we’ve had hope in a long, long time, thanks to the book How We Win The Civil War. In today’s conversation with author Steve Phillips, we’re going to discuss the idea that the Civil War never really ended (yup, get ready…) - and also how we can finally win it, with some very concrete ideas and action items for us all at the end of this episode. This may be the episode you need to hear today, on election day, or tomorrow (and every day past that point), when we need to keep fighting, for all of us.

Read More

If you saw the title and thought “oh, I don’t believe voter fraud impacts me” or “oh, I live in an area where we don’t hear much about that” - you may be very, very wrong. According to a recent analysis by FiveThirtyEight, 60% of Americans will have an election denier on the ballot.

And for those of you who have only heard about election deniers since 2020 - it didn’t start with Donald Trump. Hint: it started with our friend who rhymes with Schmeagan. HA!

THIS episode is one you’ll want to share with your friends & colleagues asap, because you want to make sure you apply the information we’re about to share when you’re filling out your ballot or heading to the polls next week - we’ll tell you just how dangerous and pervasive this trend of alleging voter fraud is, which means *our entire system of democracy is at risk* And THAT will affect all of us.

Read More

Abortion, by all pollster accounts, seems to be one of – if not THE most – hot-button issues for the upcoming midterm elections in 2022. That’s why we thought it was so important for us to dive into why and when abortion became so political - because yes, we can point to a specific political strategy that linked the pro-life movement with the Republican party, and how that is playing out today in extreme ways. Get ready to connect the dots.

Read More

If you asked me (Misasha) at the end of 2021 how long it had been since we published our book, I would have told you 5 years, give or take 3 - because it felt like we had been thrown into this whirlwind of activity and PR and interviews and ALL OF THE THINGS about this book. So it seems impossible that just now marks the one-year anniversary of the publication of Dear White Women: Let’s Get (Un)comfortable Talking About Racism!

In honor of this one-year mark, we thought we’d sit down with each other to talk all things book, based on the questions we’ve gotten from so many of you over the last year: the good, the bad, the really tough, the things we’d like to forget - basically your behind-the-scenes look into our year with this book out in the world. Plus, as a thank you for your support, keep listening for the chance to have us do a special virtual drop-in with your book club or your small group of people!!

Read More

Have you ever had your eyes glaze over when someone hands you a history textbook or walks you through a museum full of facts and dates? But then you hate yourself because you are smart and yet don’t feel like you *know* things? I’ve been that person (it’s Sara here) - which is why I’m absolutely thrilled to share this conversation with the authors of a fabulous historical fiction novel that taught me SO MUCH about American history and the Civil War in particular. We learned so much in reading this book, in particular about experiences that were never taught in school, or were glossed over in favor of a simpler narrative.

The book is The Thread Collectors - go get it from our Bookshop.org page for the Dear White Women podcast - and it was written by two friends, a Black woman, and a White Jewish woman. Think about how much weight there is just in that partnership alone.

This conversation takes us deep into belonging, the lessons we learn from history that are SO relevant today, and the hope we all still have for where we can go from here.

Read More

When you think of physical education, or PE, or gym class - what do you remember? Probably the physical side of it, like jump rope or pull-ups or dodgeball or kickball. But what blew our mind in today’s conversation is all of the seemingly invisible, yet intentional, ways PE class teaches us about social interactions, our own capabilities, deconstructing perfectionism, and more - and frighteningly, how so many schools in the US now don’t mandate PE, as it’s a class that’s having to fight for its right to exist in the education system.

As we kick off the new 2022-2023 school year, listen to what we’ll be missing out on in our next generation if we don’t start thinking about what and how we teach our children.

Read More