The Conversationalist Podcast

For our season finale, our founder and podcast host Anna Lind-Guzik reads " The Strange Hopefulness of Growing a Human While the World Burns ", an essay reflecting on her experience as a first-time expectant mother, and the surprising surge of hopefulness she experienced while pregnant with her daughter. You can read Anna's original essay—a part of our Hope Week series—on the site here: https://co...

Conversationalist Contributing Editor Kovie Biakolo sits down with food writers Alicia Kennedy ("On Eating: The Making and Unmaking of My Appetites") and Bettina Makalintal (Senior Reporter at Eater.com) for a conversation on the ways we express care through food.  Brought to you by The Anti-Nihilist Foundation, a 501(c)3 and publisher of The Conversationalist .  Host and Founder: Anna Lind-G...

Conversationalist Executive Editor Gina Mei reads " Who Throws a Shoe, Honestly? ", an op-ed from our Soapbox column on why throwing shoes as a form of protest is due to make a comeback. You can read Gina's original story on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2025/06/27/soapbox-shoe-throwing-shoeing-muntadhar-al-zaidi-george-w-bush-iraq-united-states-war-crimes-international-criminal-cou...

Conversationalist Contributing Editor Kovie Biakolo speaks with educator and writer Lisa Sibbett ( The Auntie Bulletin on Substack ) and activist, speaker, and author Prisca Dorcas Mojica Rodríguez (" Tías and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us ") about all things aunties, including who they are, how they show up, and why they're so important to our lives.  Brought to you by The...

Writer Ana María Betancourt Ovalle reads her essay " Emergency Contact ", exploring why friendships between immigrants often develop differently than friendships at home. You can read Ana María's original story on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2025/08/01/immigrant-friendships-migrant-friends-relationships-home-emergency-contacts-shared-language-culture-latin-america-immigration-pers...

Author, speaker, activist, and founder of RAFT (Resilience for Advocates through Foundational Training) Indrani Goradia joins Anna Lind-Guzik for a conversation about healing from generational trauma and breaking the cycle of abuse. You can learn more about how Indrani and RAFT are fostering human-centered, anti-violent workspaces within the gender-based violence advocacy ecosystem at raftcares.or...

Journalist and longtime Conversationalist contributor Katie Dancey-Downs reads " Meet the Anti-Fracking Nanas ", her longform reported piece on why older women around the world are dedicating their golden years to leaving a better world behind. You can read Katie's original story on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2023/11/17/anti-fracking-nanas-nannas-older-women-protesting-activism/...

Dr. Sophia Yen (co-founder of Pandia Health) returns to the podcast for an informative conversation about all things perimenopause and menopause, including the symptoms no one talks about, the frustrating lack of menopause education in medical schools, and everything else you need to know to advocate for yourself and your care.  This episode is sponsored by Pandia Health, the only women-founded an...

Journalist Sara Cincurova reads her article " Motherhood on the Frontlines ", sharing stories of the single mothers raising Ukraine's most vulnerable children amidst the ongoing war with Russia. You can read Sara's original story on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2025/06/12/single-mothers-ukraine-russia-war-conflict-frontlines-violence-motherhood-widows-vulnerable-children/ Brought t...

We're kicking off a new season of The Conversationalist Podcast! In this episode, founder Anna Lind-Guzik sits down with Chandy Eng of Gender and Development for Cambodia and Judith Dembetembe of The Girls' Legacy in Zimbabwe for a hopeful conversation about how global nonprofits are combatting gender inequality around the world. You can learn more about The Girls' Legacy here (https://www.girlsle...

The Conversationalist Podcast is coming back March 24!  This season will feature inspiring, original interviews on everything from perimenopause to chosen family to fighting fascism, as well as some of our favorite articles from the Conversationalist archives, read by the writers themselves: stories about anti-fracking nanas, immigrant friendships, and more. While our founder Anna Lind-Guzik is on...

Our host and founder Anna Lind-Guzik reads her essay, " Why Do So Many Men Destroy What They Can't Control? ", mapping the direct connection between domestic and authoritarian violence, and why we will never be able to have equality so long as violence at home is ignored. You can read her original essay on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2023/02/10/domestic-abuse-family-annihilation-g...

In the second installment of our two-part series on reproductive rights, Anna sits down with Dr. Sophia Yen (co-founder of Pandia Health), Carey Jones (writer, editor, and fundraiser), and Nikki Muller (writer and multi-disciplinary performer) for a panel discussion on reproductive healthcare, covering everything from contraception to abortion rights to promising research on morning sickness.  Thi...

Author and screenwriter Alanna Bennett reads her Conversationalist essay " The Healing Power of the Friendship Retreat ", making the case for why a group trip might just be the cure for the ache of long distance friendships. You can read her original story on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2022/08/31/the-healing-power-of-the-friendship-retreat-culture/ Brought to you by The Anti-Nihi...

In the first installment of our two-part series on reproductive rights, writer, performer, and storyteller Nikki Muller discusses the importance of destigmatizing miscarriage, and reads her Conversationalist essay, " We Need to Talk About Our Miscarriages ". You can read her original essay on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2025/05/20/miscarriages-pregnancy-reproductive-rights-bodies-...

Palestinian multimedia journalist Dalia Hatuqa reads " The 'Monsters' Behind the Wall ", an essay by writer Lailah Radhiya reflecting on her experience growing up in the West Bank, and the significance of the "separation barrier" erected in the early 2000s. You can read Lailah's original essay on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2024/12/13/monsters-wall-israel-occupied-west-bank-palest...

What does life look like when you're living on a five year plan? This week, Anna chats with Babs Daitch, the octogenarian "lesbian Forrest Gump", about why she never stays anywhere for too long—and the life lessons she's learned along the way.  If you want to learn more about Babs, check out THANKS, BABS , co-directed and co-produced by Jen Rainin and Rivkah Beth Medow. https://franklyspeakingfilm...

Writer and Conversationalist contributor Vanessa Hsia reads her essay, " If Clothes Make the Man ", about how her grandmother dressed her grandfather throughout their marriage, and how this seemingly small act of domestic labor functioned as both a point of pride and an expression of love. You can read Vanessa's original essay on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2024/06/12/clothing-nai...

Journalist and Conversationalist contributor Aliya Bashir discusses her anti-nihilistic approach to climate reporting, and the importance of finding hopeful narratives when things are feeling bleak. Brought to you by The Anti-Nihilist Foundation, a 501(c)3 and publisher of The Conversationalist .  Host and Founder: Anna Lind-Guzik Executive Editor: Gina Mei Executive Director: Erin Zimmer Str...

Writer, journalist, CUNY professor, and Conversationalist Contributing Editor Kovie Biakolo reads her piece, " Is Anyone, Anywhere Having a Good Time? "—and shares more about how the story came to be. You can read Kovie's original story on the site here: https://conversationalist.org/2025/02/03/is-anyone-anywhere-having-a-good-time/ Brought to you by The Anti-Nihilist Foundation, a 501(c)3 and pub...

In this episode, Anna speaks with Leila Nazgül Seiitbek, a lawyer from Kyrgyzstan who's currently living in exile, and Tom Mayne, a research fellow at the University of Exeter, about the growing threat of global kleptocracy and their ongoing work to combat it. You can learn more about their work at freedomforeurasia.org , follow Leila on LinkedIn here , and read the report Tom mentioned in the epi...

We're back! After a long hiatus, season 2 of The Conversationalist Podcast (formerly known as Unbreaking Media) is coming back October 14. This season, we're also doing something new: half our episodes will feature some of our favorite articles from the archives, read by the writers themselves. The other half of the season will feature original interviews with folks working on the front lines of t...

Thank you to everyone who's listened to the Unbreaking Media podcast so far! We are beginning a fall break and will return with a new season of fascinating conversations soon! In the meantime, read more transformative and solutions-oriented journalism from the Conversationalist at the newly-revamped conversationalist.org! Read more transformative and solutions-oriented journalism from the Conversa...

Anna talks with her friend Bridget Bailey, a teacher and student of Tibetan Buddhism, about how 'wellness' is conceptualized in modern society, about what is useful and problematic about how that term is applied, and about Bridget's own path to studying meditation through her Buddhist practice. Learn more about the Open Heart Project at their website at openheartproject.com . You can also learn mo...

Anna talks with Natalie Nudell, fashion historian and the co-principal investigator of the Ruth Finley Collection, about Natalie's recently-released documentary 'Calendar Girl.' In the documentary, and in today's episode, Natalie shows how Ruth Finley, through her publication the 'Fashion Calendar,' helped establish New York City as the hub of global fashion in the 20th century. Anna and Natalie a...