Dina Bursztyn - ArTchaeologist | S6 E04

Dina Bursztyn - ArTchaeologist | S6 E04

Katharine Heller

Exploring the idea of creating an intentional living community for creatives, and the Hudson Valley, led us (Idelisse and Joanne) to the small town of Catskill, NY where we were enchanted to find an "ArTchaeological Museum" in the window of the Open Studio on Main Street. Its owner Dina Bursztyn, 72, is a visual artist and writer. We were transfixed by her gallery filled with whimsical found art assemblages, sculptures, ceramics, art books, drawings and paintings. Dina's work was described in a New York Times review as “original work that defies reigning art world fashions.” Born in Argentina, Dina, a would-be writer, came to New York after college and was surprised to discover that she was a ceramicist who excavated strange creatures at the bottom of the mugs she was crafting. It was just the beginning of her inventive art practice.

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Politics and Possibility | S6 E03

Politics and Possibility | S6 E03

Katharine Heller

How do we respond to this political moment? Pessimism is tempting and optimism may feel foolhardy, yet a sense of possibility fueled by hope makes enduring sense to us. After the Biden/Harris victory, we turned to long-time activists, Lecia Brooks and Lisa Veneklasen to tap into their wisdom and clear-eyed assessment of what we’re facing and what’s possible in the struggle for overdue and drastically needed social and political change. For the past 16 years, Lecia has worked at the well-known Southern Poverty Law Center, a regional and national catalyst for racial justice, most recently as Chief of Staff. She plays a key role in their work to expose and dismantle white supremacy and nationalism. Almost 20 years ago, Lisa founded Just Associates (JASS) and recently stepped down from her role as Executive Director.

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Ilana Landsberg-Lewis - Happily Getting Older | S6 E02

Ilana Landsberg-Lewis - Happily Getting Older | S6 E02

Katharine Heller

With “thousands of grandmothers' voices and stories” in her head, Ilana Landsberg-Lewis, a Canadian labor and human rights lawyer and passionate women’s rights advocate, started the “Grandmothers on the Move” podcast over two years ago. Fifty-three engaging episodes later, she’s already succeeded in her goal to “kick old stereotypes to the curb” through conversations with astonishing older women. Ilana worked at the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) for many years before joining with her father in 2003 to co-found the groundbreaking Stephen Lewis Foundation to partner directly with community-based groups confronting the HIV-AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. She is an ardent mother who sees motherhood as “an emotional reality and a political identity.” (Yes!) And at 55, Ilana is “happily getting older.” Don’t you want to know why?

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Lipstick! | S6 E01

Lipstick! | S6 E01

Katharine Heller

"When I'm wearing matte, it's like 'I dare you to come closer!”

So warns feminist activist Houry Geudelekian in this episode on the joys, power and history of lipstick...at any age. Join us to hear Houry, feminist economist Radhika Balakrishnan and writer Sandra García Betancourt talk about their and our own checkered histories wearing lipstick --or not. People have colored their lips for at least 5,000 years. It began as an emblem of aristocratic status for women and men equally. Over time it became the province of sex workers and then marching suffragists as an act of defiance and solidarity. And today? Our guests make the connections between feminism and lipstick, suggest the best shades as we age, and share many other musings and magic about painted lips. And we finish with some wisdom from the inimitable AOC about how "beauty is an inside job."

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Ruth Strassberg – Stranger in a Strange Land | S5 E10

Ruth Strassberg – Stranger in a Strange Land | S5 E10

Katharine Heller

There are so many colorful threads in the life story that Ruth Strassberg, 76, weaves for us in this episode of Two Old Bitches. Her journey to the U.S. from an Italian displaced persons camp in the 40s, transforming into a beatnik in the 50s, her immersion in psychedelic cultures of the 60s and 70s, and her engagement with new age and human potential movements since the 1980s offer fascinating glimpses into the personalities and networks of those eras. Ruth is a seeker, a learner, a truth-teller and a listener. The different paths she traveled led her to trust the universe with a sense of connectedness and contentment that are re-assuring and inspiring, especially in these times of COVID-19 and global disruption. Our conversation with Ruth ends with her sharing: “The world is what it has to be. It’s not here for us to change. It’s here to change us.” Have a lovely listen, be well and, to Ruth, huge gratitude for sharing your beautiful story!

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Cynthia Madansky - Always Avant Garde | S5 E09

Cynthia Madansky - Always Avant Garde | S5 E09

Katharine Heller

Cynthia Madansky, 58, describes herself as a Jewish, queer filmmaker and artist. For TOB, she embodies what it means to live a creative life. The recognition she has received – a Fulbright, a Guggenheim, the Rome Prize and so much more – has not altered her commitment to a minimalist life where her art always comes first. She follows her curiosity, her politics, her aesthetic voice and her instincts to create award-winning films that are impossible to categorize. They are not documentaries, they are not narratives: they are deeply beautiful, reflective and political. Her bold and creative genius extends to her own life, with frequent re-locations and explorations while living in Turkey, Palestine, Russia, and Italy, and a commitment to always returning to New York City. We caught up with her soon after she came back from living in St. Petersburg Russia, working on her last film entitled ESFIR. She is now in pre-production, planning and fundraising for her next great opus: a film that will portray the nuclear landscape in all 50 states and US territories.

Check out Cynthia’s paintings, films and travels at: http://madansky.com

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What Else Is There but Pleasure? | S5 E08

What Else Is There but Pleasure? | S5 E08

Katharine Heller

What gives you joy, a sense of profound pleasure? What tickles your fancy and makes you feel like you’re in the midst of a magic moment? The sources and varieties of pleasure for the women we interview never cease to enlighten and inspire us. What we love, especially, is the way the old bitches we talk to describe the deep pleasure they experience from what is easily available: laughing over nothing with a friend, a glimpse at the sky while you’re working, a memory of the first symphony you ever heard. Maybe you’re an ecstasy junkie or a wild disruptor who loves challenging what people expect from ‘an old bitch’ or you’re post-menopausal and discovering renewal with the Mona Lisa method? Find your sisters here in this compilation episode. Listen to find out about joining the 'better, deeper, more' club and to take the Two Old Bitches vow: What else is there but pleasure? And send us an email at 2OBPodcast@gmail.com to share even more examples of what gives you pleasure.

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Chiemi Karasawa – Sacred Reciprocity | S5 E07

Chiemi Karasawa – Sacred Reciprocity | S5 E07

Katharine Heller

If you’ve seen Chiemi Karasawa’s award-winning film “Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me,” you already know that Chiemi is a great storyteller. (If you haven’t, put it at the top of your streaming queue!) Chiemi's story is one filled with magic, mettle and a very healthy dose of hilarity. She landed one amazing job after another upon graduating from college: as script supervisor for lauded directors like Spike Jonze, Jim Jarmusch, Stephen Frears and Martin Scorsese, and then as an independent filmmaker and producer at Isotope Films, the company she founded in 2007. We were delighted by Chiemi’s “industry” stories, moved by her narration of her family's experience in and after the WW II Japanese American internment camps, and spellbound by her brief encounter with on-line dating, leading to her first marriage at 50 this past June. Chiemi likens herself to a “pioneer woman” in how she makes her way through life without a roadmap, on her own terms and relying on the cycle of giving with generosity and receiving with deep gratitude that fuels “sacred reciprocity.

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Joanne’s Obsession - An Unforgettable Story of Sexual Harassment at the United Nations | S5 E06

Joanne’s Obsession - An Unforgettable Story of Sexual Harassment at the United Nations | S5 E06

Katharine Heller

TOB listeners probably know that co-host Joanne Sandler worked at the United Nations for nearly 20 years. One of the many UN stories that fascinated her was a famous sexual harassment case.: Catherine Claxton was a fairly junior UN staff member who brought charges against an Under-Secretary General for grabbing her in his office in 1988 and then blocking her career after she rebuffed him. Catherine’s courage and tenacity in the face of profound intimidation (she and her closest friend were shot at, her apartment was broken into, her office was ransacked, senior women in the UN joined together to support the perpetrator) are the stuff of motion pictures. Catherine passed away in 2009. To make sure that her story is remembered and to honor Catherine’s courage and colleagues who supported her, Joanne and Julie Thompson – another long-time UN staffer – interviewed scores of people, including her extraordinary pro-bono lawyers – Mary Dorman and Ellen Yaroshefsky. This episode of Two Old Bitches shares a curtain-opener for the 5-part radio series they hope to launch this Spring. While the story is 25-years old – and despite #metoo and Time’s Up -- the wall of patriarchy and privilege that Catherine confronted is almost as impenetrable today as it was then. (And, if you are (or know) a film producer/director, Joanne and Julie want to talk with you!)

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Julie Cajune – The Sum of Her Stories | S5 E05

Julie Cajune – The Sum of Her Stories | S5 E05

Katharine Heller

"Stories are the way that we make meaning. And so they’re the primary vehicle for all human beings to make meaning of their life and to find their place and relationship with others. All of that is informed through story."

Julie Cajune is an educator, cultural historian, artist and activist who believes that the challenges we face today “demand that which story nurtures: imagination, compassion, creativity and connection.” A member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribe, she was born and lives today on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Northwest Montana where, straight out of college, she developed and taught their first bilingual education program. Julie went on to run the Department of Education on the reservation, train hundreds of teachers in Montana and lead two major educational projects documenting tribal histories and stories in Montana and across the country. Her passion for storytelling is not limited to the classroom. Julie also created and produced Heart of the Bitterroot, an album of Salish and Pend d’Oreille women’s stories that she collected and enlisted poet Jennifer Green to write. This past September, Julie appeared in the New York premiere of her one-woman show, Belief, based on her own life experiences and the true stories of generations of women in her family. You may have missed the show, but luckily you can catch our brilliant conversation with her now.

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Lucero Gonzalez – The Feminist Who Could | S5 E04

Lucero Gonzalez – The Feminist Who Could | S5 E04

Katharine Heller

“Moving from dream to desire to reality.”

That describes the life of our magical friend, activist and photographer, Lucero Gonzalez. At 72, Lucero's feminism, her love of freedom and pleasure, her artistry, her Oaxacan roots, and her profound connection to family and friends all blend, beautifully, into an extraordinary range of creative and social justice initiatives that enlighten and challenge us. These days, she spends her time curating the ever-growing virtual Museum of Mexican Women Artists (MUMA) and producing a documentary about the creation of el Colectivo La Revuelta- a feminist newspaper she started with close friends in the 1970s. We visited Lucero -- and her partner of 30+ years, political cartoonist Gonzalo Rocha -- in Mexico City this summer and marveled at the endless joy and generosity they share so willingly.

We interviewed Lucero in Spanish and so - for another TOB first -- we've produced two episodes. You can listen to Lucero in Spanish below or you can listen to the wonderful Sandra Garcia Betancourt (TOB, Episode #2, Season 1) re-enact our conversation in English here.

One way or the other, here's our invitation to spend some time in the light and love that Lucero offers to the world. And be sure to visit her virtual museum (http://www.museodemujeres.com/en/) and stay tuned for her upcoming documentary.

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Tish and Snooky Bellomo – Aging Disgracefully (Founders/owners of Manic Panic) | S5 E03

Tish and Snooky Bellomo – Aging Disgracefully (Founders/owners of Manic Panic) | S5 E03

Katharine Heller

“Just because we’re older doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. WE always say we don’t want to age gracefully. We want to age disgracefully!”

Sisters, punk rockers and “accidental entrepreneurs,” Snooky and Tish Bellomo agree, ”If you had told us back in 1977 that doing what we loved and sharing our unique style would influence music, art fashion and beauty for the next four decades, we would‘ve thought you as crazy as us!” As teenagers in the early 70s, Tish and Snooky went from clubbing in the downtown punk scene to performing in “some wacky off-the-wall” shows to joining Blondie as backup singers. In just a few short years, they parlayed their trailblazing style to open Manic Panic, the first punk rock boutique in the U.S. The vivid, rainbow color hair dyes (theirs were always vegan and cruelty-free ) that they created in the 1970s sparked a hair care revolution and helped celebrities like Cyndi Lauper, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and Katy Perry stand out in the headlines.

Today Manic Panic is a global, “alternative beauty” business operating in 40 countries. And Snooky and Tish still perform with bands like the Sic F*cks, a punk/glam band they founded with Russell Wollinsky over 40 years ago. Join us to hear about how Tish and Snooky keep paving the path for us to age disgracefully.

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Debbie Zimmerman - Film with Feminism | S5 E02

Debbie Zimmerman - Film with Feminism | S5 E02

Katharine Heller

“I couldn’t do film without feminism. And, I don’t think I want to do the feminism without the film.”

The world needs much more of Debbie Zimmerman, the long-time Executive Director of Women Make Movies. Since 1983, Debbie has been the leading force in taking Women Make Movies from a grassroots production organization to the world’s largest distribution outlet for films by and about women. Now, at 62, Debbie is as fierce, powerful, and determined as ever to make sure that the independent film sector includes and honors the diverse stories produced by women media makers from around the world. A ‘baby feminist’ since high school, a lover of travel and adventure forever, a globally-recognized expert on women in independent film, Debbie observes that she got ‘the trifecta’ of life and career: work that is feminist, culture-changing and entrepreneurial. She also recognizes – in this podcast and always – the amazing women mentors that supported her along the way. Listen to Debbie’s inspiring story and don’t stop there! Check out Women Make Movies website and catalogue (www.wmm.com), support feminist film organizations, and watch independent feminist film. You’ll be glad you did!

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