Two Old Bitches: Stories from Women who Reimagine, Reinvent and Rebel

What happens when a woman decides she will no longer be quiet—on stage or in life? That question is at the heart of our conversation with Alison Buchanan, an internationally respected soprano, teacher, and the Artistic Director of Pegasus Opera Company. Alison has spent decades building a career in spaces that were never designed for her, and she's done it by refusing to shrink, soften, or be anyt...

Ai-jen Poo is a woman who cares. That caring shapes her activism as a next-generation labor leader, a gifted organizer, campaigner, advocate and author. Ai-jen is also faithful. At the threshold of the second half of life –she just turned 50— she has spent the last 25 or more years dedicated to growing a domestic workers' movement. Always crucial yet routinely undervalued, family caregivers are mo...

Meenu Vadera greets the world and all it has to offer with curiosity and buckets of ideas and inspiration. We met Meenu in Delhi more than 10 years ago.  A friend wisely advised us to hire newly-trained women chauffeurs to drive us around the city. These inspiring and fierce young women had graduated from the program that Meenu founded and led – Sakha Cabs for Women and its sister organization, Az...

When the world is too much to bear, we go shopping. When we celebrate, we also go shopping. When we're bored or in search of distraction...you guessed it: we shop. Conflicted feminists suffering from rampant consumerism? Perhaps, but it's also our form of meditation and imagination, of reconnecting with ancient rites of hunting and gathering. This episode about shopping – in New York City and Sant...

TOB followers know that we are obsessed with discovering positive and powerful roles for older women in movies and TV. That's why we lure our sister Screen Bitches -- Debbie Zimmerman ( Women Make Movies ), Malaga Baldi ( Baldi Literary Agency ) and Aruna Rao ( Gender at Work )  – onto the podcast at least twice a year to schmooze about what we're watching and how TV and movies challenge (or regre...

True confessions: as Two Old Bitches, we fully expected the Golden Bachelor to be the height of cringey, old-people porn. Watching 22 women in their 60s and 70s compete for the affections of one old man threatened gladiator-level, fury- induced female feuds. And were we ever wrong!  Kathy Swarts , one of the most memorable of the contestants, set us straight in our delightful conversation with her...

American sculptor Jeanne Silverthorne, 73, is an "artist's artist" known for cast rubber pieces and installations drawn from her studio, turning everyday objects and people into "metaphors for the inevitability of age and decay, …tempered with humor, hope and humanity." (For photos of a favorite work of ours, Banshee: Self-Portrait at 73, see our website and social media.) She has showed her work...

Who Are You? It's a simple and profound question that we ask (almost) every guest on Two Old Bitches. And given that most of our guests are women over 60, we were curious if a review of their answers might reveal some patterns or insights into how we identify as we age. What we found: for some people, it still changes daily. Others had epiphanies early in life and still identify with that early no...

If you were deeply enmeshed in the 'womyn's' music scene or romped topless through the Michigan Womyn's Music Festivals in the 1970s and 1980s, then you will pulsate with memories of the amazing, kick-ass all-women's rock group,  Fanny.  Even if you missed it, we hope you can imagine how revolutionary and transgressive Fanny was in its heyday in the early 70s. Which is why we were thrilled to find...

We couldn't resist. We were way too curious about ChatGPT to let all of the controversy and (rightful) concern about the dangers of AI deter us from asking it about our favorite topic: the experiences of women in our second half of life. So we asked Chat to take on the persona of an older woman, "dive into the muddy waters of gender and ageism" and share "wisdom that only comes from years of livin...

Two Old Bitches love a good reinvention story. By her count at 73, MaryJane Fahey is on "her 5th reinvention! " (But who's counting?) She was a designer, published author, now an editor, writer, future playwright, future sculptor –and the list goes on . A few years ago, she started Glorious Broads , a media platform that encourages "women of all ages, younger ones especially, not to be scared of a...

Branca Moreira Alves, 82, is absolutely certain about a lot of things: that her primary identity is 'feminist', that life is a lot of fun, and that moments matter.  A key leader in launching the second wave feminist movement in Brazil -- during its brutal dictatorship from the mid-60s to the mid-80s -- Branca shares vivid memories and poignant reflections on feminist awakenings, political evolutio...

You know those "aha" moments, those flashing lights of clarity, the thundering realization that you've met your passion? We realized that so many of the women we've talked with on TOB have had these at different points in their lives. And these epiphanies, turning points and serendipitous happenings continue throughout our lives. So, as we start 2023, we went back to different conversations with t...

Gifted ceramic artists Rosanne Ebner , 67, and Liberty Valance , 73, have worked with clay for five or six decades. They say laughing that "it just happened," yet it is clear that their art is an irresistible and abiding calling. It surfaced for Liberty in preschool where she created her first works–an elephant and ashtray she still has— and for Rosanne in high school. Liberty and Rosanne are also...

Donna Uchizono is the first and only American-born choreographer of Asian ancestry to receive notable national and international recognition in the history of modern dance.  She's received a Guggenheim and a "Bessie," been commissioned by the likes of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Oliver Sachs, and toured her eponymous dance company around the world. We mention this first because – as you will hear in o...

Gutsy, vital, creative Jody Oberfelder is committed to a life of 'becoming,' recognizing that becoming older is also about learning to trust your voice and continue to advance. This New York-based choreographer, director and filmmaker – leading Jody Oberfelder Projects (JOP) -- considers herself 'mid-career' at 68. She continues to challenge herself to create live performances that are inclusive a...

"I have to create, because that is an extension of my breath," is just one of the many insights into living deeply and meaningfully as an artist that 62-year old director and choreographer extraordinaire Marlies Yearby shared during our illuminating conversation in this episode. The multiple honors she's received include Tony and Dora-award nominations for her choreography of RENT, the Drama Leagu...

What are you streaming these days? Two Old Bitches always wants to know, especially if you find shows that feature pithy, provocative and stereotype-busting roles for women of a certain age. Luckily, we're seeing some uptick in those (though not nearly pithy and provocative enough and mostly white women....). That's why we're back with two of our three magnificent Screen Bitches -- Debbie Zimmerma...

As soon as we learned we landed an interview with Judy Gold , stellar comedian, actor and writer, Two Old Bitches started grinning and giggling. What a coup! Once we actually began talking with her, we laughed out loud, and often, at her insightful zingers. Judy, whose comedic heroes are Joan Rivers and Phyllis Diller, makes you laugh, and think. Approaching 60, her many credits include: countless...

Fifteen years ago, Ayesha Pande, a successful editor with top publishers (e.g. Farrar Straus and Giroux) struck out on her own to build a mission-driven literary agency with an antiracist focus based in Harlem. Ayesha Pande Literary has flourished and is known for launching an award-winning, bestselling and inclusive list of authors, scholars, and emerging writers. Its team of almost all BIPOC wom...

What does it take to be a man whom we interview on Two Old Bitches? Stephen P. Williams , 64, only the second man on our show in five years, is an excellent example of just what it takes. A journalist, author, visual artist and the creator of Stephen's People , a newsletter on aging, he is as fascinated by getting old as we are. (Full disclosure: his piece on Old Men sex dolls in his newsletter al...

How do we respond to this political moment? Pessimism is tempting and optimism may feel foolhardy, yet a sense of possibility fueled by hope made enduring sense to us when we spoke with Lecia Brooks and Lisa Veneklasen in 2021. After the Biden/Harris victory, long-time activists Lecia and Lisa tapped into their wisdom and clear-eyed assessment of what we're facing and what's possible in the strugg...

Maya is a nationally renowned racial justice and equity activist and advocate who ran for mayor of New York City in 2021. She should have won! In our conversation with her in 2018, she shared that she was no longer an optimist, but hadn't given up hope. She has "a passion for the possible" combined with a laser focus on fighting for our democracy. If you watch TV news (MSNBC), you likely saw her s...

Our conversation with activist historian and organizer, Leah Wise, now 75, originally aired in 2017 . She spoke with us about the threat to democracy then which has only worsened now. She challenged 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 th...

In honor of Mother's Day we are bringing back this classic from season 4. " Two of my heroes are mother and my grandmother…My mother taught me to be a woman. She was the strongest person I've ever met. And someday I'll be the woman she wants me to be " - Tracy Hyter-Suffern It's complicated. Mothers. They're sometimes cast as heroes and role models, often as victims or villains. In almost 40 conve...