Breaking Down Patriarchy

Amy is joined by advocate and influencer Paige Connell (@sheisapaigeturner) to discuss the slew of household work which women still disproportionally manage for our families, the mental load of motherhood, plus ways we can change the culture and make this invisible labor visible.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchyPaige Connell, a working mom of four, shares her insights about motherhood and careers, the mental load, and relationships. She's a fierce advocate for affordable childcare and paid leave, she’s been featured in Scary Mommy, The Today Show, and more!

In our first episode of Season Five, Amy is joined by Sharon McMahon to discuss her book, The Small and the Mighty, honoring the histories of overlooked but world-changing women in America's history and discussing how we can all gain wisdom and take heart from their bold examples.Donate to Breaking Down PatriarchySharon McMahon is a #1 New York Times bestselling author, educator, and host of the chart-topping podcast Here’s Where It Gets Interesting. McMahon became known as "America’s Government Teacher" during the 2020 election for her viral efforts to combat political misinformation. Her knack for breaking down complex topics with clarity, humor, and a steadfast commitment to facts has attracted a community of one and a half million followers—affectionately called the “Governerds.” McMahon's newsletter, The Preamble, is one of the largest publications on Substack, providing historical context and non-partisan insights to help readers navigate today’s political landscape. Her debut book, The Small and the Mighty, has been celebrated as one of the year’s top reads by Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and Goodreads, highlighting the unsung heroes who shaped America.Beyond education, Sharon McMahon has led philanthropic initiatives that have raised over $11 million to address critical needs, from medical debt relief to disaster recovery. She inspires audiences with a message of hope: history shows us that even small actions can create powerful change.

Welcome to Season Five of Breaking Down Patriarchy. This season we'll be talking with incredible guests who will give you all kinds of ideas of things you can do right now to deconstruct patriarchy in your own life and to make a positive difference in your community. Donate to Breaking Down Patriarchy

In this updated episode, originally aired in Season Two, Amy is joined by Dr. Kristin Neff to discuss the generative power of anger, the danger of rote gender roles, and the radical power of self-compassion.Kristin Neff (she/her) received her doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley, and is currently an Associate Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Texas at Austin.During Kristin’s last year of graduate school she became interested in Buddhism and has been practicing meditation in the Insight Meditation tradition ever since. While doing her post-doctoral work she decided to conduct research on self-compassion – a central construct in Buddhist psychology and one that had not yet been examined empirically. Kristin is a pioneer in the field of self-compassion research, creating a scale to measure the construct almost 20 years ago. She has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential research psychologists. In addition to writing numerous academic articles and book chapters on the topic, she is author of the book Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself, and her latest Fierce Self-Compassion: How Women Can Harness Kindness to Speak Up, Claim Their Power and Thrive.In conjunction with her colleague Dr. Chris Germer, she has developed an empirically supported training program called Mindful Self-Compassion, which is taught by thousands of teachers worldwide. They co-authored The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook as well as Teaching the Mindful Self-Compassion Program: A Guide for Professionals. She is also co-founder of the nonprofit Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.