Feed the Matriarchy

In this episode, we reflect on our journey through season one of Feed the Matriarchy, exploring themes of women taking up space, authenticity, diversity, and the power of shared stories. We discuss the importance of showing up as our true selves and the exciting plans for the next season!

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , we sit down with writer, Emmy Award-winning creative director, and author Lu Chekowsky (she/they) to explore the powerful intersection of advertising, body image, capitalism, and self-worth. Drawing from her years inside the advertising industry and the experiences chronicled in her memoir, Don't Buy What I'm Selling: On Breaking Up with Advertising and Fin...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , we're joined by some of the most important women in their lives: The Yayas—a group of lifelong friends whose bond spans more than 30 years. Together, we explore the power of sisterhood, loyalty, vulnerability, and the relationships that sustain us through life's biggest joys and hardest seasons. From navigating motherhood and personal growth to working thro...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , we sit down with Blakely Hunze-Austin, LPC—a licensed professional counselor specializing in sex therapy, eating disorders, trauma, OCD, addictions, and work with LGBTQIA+, kink, and poly/ENM communities—for a thoughtful conversation about sexuality, shame, pleasure, and authenticity. Together, we explore what it means to build relationships and intimate li...

In this powerful episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna sit down with Dr. Lulu (Uchenna Umeh, MD she/her)—pediatrician, speaker, bestselling author, identity-affirming coach, veteran, and founder of Dr. Lulu’s Pride Corner and Dr. Lulu’s Angels Haven, Inc.—for an honest conversation about LGBTQIA+ affirmation, parenting, healthcare, and the transformative power of belonging. Together...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna sit down with Breeze (@Breezleweezle) —perinatal mental health therapist, content creator, mother of five, and creator of the Better Boys Project —to talk about raising boys differently in a culture shaped by patriarchy, emotional disconnection, and rigid gender roles. Together, they explore deconstructing evangelical beliefs, navigating...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna dive into the complicated realities of parenting kids around body image while also unlearning the messages we inherited ourselves. Together, they explore motherhood, self-esteem, social media, and the pressures children face growing up in a culture obsessed with appearance. Through personal stories, practical strategies, and honest refle...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna sit down with Penny MacDonell (she,her) to talk about living with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, navigating body image, and learning to see herself as beautiful in a world that rarely reflected bodies like hers. Penny shares her journey through chronic illness, medical procedures, family support, and the emotional impact of societal beau...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Johanna sits down with Rose M., DNP, CRNA (she/her) —a healthcare provider passionate about inclusivity and equitable care—to talk about what it means to choose differently, even when nothing is “wrong.” Rose shares her experience of making intentional pivots, trusting the quiet inner nudge for something more, and navigating the doubt that can come from bot...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna sit down with Tamie Gangloff (MA, MFT / she, her)—therapist, author, and advocate—to talk about what it really means to live with a chronic condition in a world that doesn’t always listen. Tamie shares her personal journey of navigating chronic illness, advocating for herself within the healthcare system, and unlearning the internalized...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna talk about the privilege we hold—white, cis, socioeconomic, etc—and what it means to actually use it. Because naming it isn’t the work. The work is in how we show up, speak out, and create space for those diverse voices. This is an honest, imperfect conversation about responsibility, action, and choosing not to stay silent.

We often spend our lives playing a high-stakes game of 'If/Then'—if I lose the weight, if I stop the habit, if I perfectly manage the household, then I’ll finally be happy. This week on Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna are joined by Jen Butler (she,her), author of Mom Rediscovered , for a raw conversation on what happens when you finally stop trying to 'fix' yourself and start listening i...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , we are joined by Amanda Pyle, a powerhouse leader in disability advocacy, to discuss the radical act of taking up space physically, emotionally, and historically. We dive deep into the exhausting reality of "auditing" our own presence to make others comfortable and explore how to pivot from asking for permission to expecting others to move for us. From navi...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna sit down with Deb Benfield (MEd, RDN/LDN, RYT, she/her) and author of Unapologetic Aging , for a powerful conversation on what it means to age on our own terms. Together, they unpack how diet culture and ageism keep us chasing control, youth, and “relevance,” and how stepping outside of those narratives creates space for something far mo...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Johanna and Heather dig into the ways women’s bodies have been turned into commodities—measured, controlled, and constantly evaluated. We talk about body fascism, the cultural pressure to keep women small and manageable, and how diet culture functions as a tool of the patriarchy. But we also explore the antidote: body autonomy. What happens when women stop...

In this episode, Johanna and Heather bring in special guest Christina Hartmen (she/her) to dig into intuition—how we reclaim it after a lifetime of being told not to trust ourselves. They talk about taking up space, unlearning the scripts around women’s worth, and why self-trust is a radical act. Christina shares her own journey of following intuition, embracing vulnerability, and redefining succe...

In this episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna are joined by sociologist Ignacia Eschelbach (she/her) to unpack how bodies come to be labeled “normal” or “deviant”—and who benefits from those classifications. From “too thin” to “too fat,” “too much” to “not enough,” they explore how the rubric for women’s bodies is constantly shifting, ensuring perpetual failure by design. Together,...

In our first-ever guest episode, Heather and Johanna sit down with Jenn Heettner (she/her) to unpack the profound, often messy, and beautiful transition known as matrescence . Much like adolescence, the shift into motherhood is a total identity overhaul, yet society often expects us to navigate it quietly. Jenn joins them to discuss the radical act of taking up space —emotionally, physically, and...

In this follow-up to our deep dive into the diets, Heather and Johanna explore the quiet, often radical act of rediscovering your own autonomy. Now that we’ve started to dismantle the external rules, we’re asking the big question: What comes next? They discuss the messy, beautiful process of tuning back into your inner voice and learning to trust your intuition after years of being told it couldn'...

In this episode, Heather and Johanna pull back the curtain on the relentless cycle of the diet industry, tracing its history and the ways it has shaped our relationship with food. They get vulnerable about their own years of "experimentation" from the fad diets that promised everything to the quiet exhaustion of constant restriction. They share their personal histories of diets and when they final...

In the first episode of Feed the Matriarchy , Heather and Johanna kick off the podcast by talking about where they learned to shrink-- bodies, voices, and needs—and why unlearning that conditioning matters now more than ever. From diet culture to motherhood to the quiet ways women are taught to disappear, this episode sets the foundation for a podcast rooted in nourishment, nuance, and resistance