Strong Opinions Loosely Held

S4E5: The Problem With Perfect Dec 22, 2018

Ballet, figure skating and gymnastics are sports with some of the most vigorous physical and psychological training regimes and yet they’re often dismissed because the star athletes are young women in leotards with big smiles and sparkles, striving for perfection. What does our lack of respect for these athletes say about how our culture treats young women? To get some answers, I talk to award winning sports journalist, Joan Ryan, and American Ballet Theater principal dancer, Isabella Boylston.

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S4E4: WTF Is A "Good Sport"? Dec 22, 2018

There was one event this year in particular that put the topic of what it means to be a "good sport" into the cultural conversation: the women's singles final at the US Open between Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka. The match put the question of women’s anger and specifically, black women’s anger, on the national stage. I talk to Louisa Thomas, New Yorker sports contributor, to unwrap what happened and how the story of Serena and Naomi impacts all female athletes.

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S4E2: The State of Pay - Part 1 Dec 22, 2018

Despite bringing in more money and winning more games (including four Olympics and 3 World Cups), the U.S. women's national soccer team was paid nearly four times less than the men’s team. But two years ago, the team made headlines when they started a very public fight for equal pay. Since then, they’ve emerged as a role model and a valuable resource for other women’s teams like US Hockey and the WNBA. Why are female athletes paid less, even when they perform better? And how much better could they be if they had basic accommodations like extra leg room on flights to games (especially for players over 6 feet tall?). I asked sports writer Britni de la Cretaz and WNBA icon, Swin Cash.

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S4E3: State of Pay - Part 2 Dec 22, 2018

Here's my conversation with soccer legend Abby Wambach on how the US Women's National Soccer Team became fair-pay role models and the unique terror female athletes face when they retire.

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S4E1: Future of the Fan Dec 22, 2018

College football has everything: devoted female fans, camaraderie and game day rituals. But the players aren’t paid, the coaches make millions and there’s a pattern of disregard for sexual assault allegations. Why do young women gravitate to college football and what feelings are they negotiating in order to stay fans? I talk to Burn It All Down co-host and investigative reporter, Jessica Luther and 3 female fans of college football to find out.

Hey BTW: Welcome to Season 4 of Strong Opinions Loosely Held! This season is dedicated to professional female athletes and how they've survived and thrived in a sports-loving country that doesn't always love them back.

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S3E5: Mind Behind The Meme: Quinta Brunson Mar 30, 2018

Quinta Brunson became obsessed with comedy as an undergrad at Temple University. She initially felt like the internet wasn't for her until her friend uploaded what would be Instagram's first viral video, "Butt Won't Clap". From there, she went on to BuzzFeed to make memes on a large scale. Quinta tells us what it's like when your face is a meme- and how she's crafting a career out of it.

Follow Quinta:

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/quintabvideos

Instagram: @quintab

Twitter: @quintabrunson

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S3E4: The Great Firewall of China Mar 30, 2018

Memes in China are silly, they're based on puns, and they're driving the government crazy. Chinese memes are flourishing under the country's censored internet and, despite the risks, memes are used to communicate political dissent. Harvard researcher and technologist An Xiao Mina explains how the more censored the internet is, the more important the meme, and how the internet in the US isn't that much different than China's.

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S3E3: Minds Behind The Meme: Woke Charlotte Mar 30, 2018

Chelsea Fairless and Lauren Garroni run the very popular Every Outfit on Sex and the City Instagram account. But after rewatching SATC for the clothes, they realized how the show focused mainly on the stories of privileged white women. So they created Woke Charlotte - a meme within a meme account that allows Charlotte to call out the problematic moments in the iconic show. The duo pair real scenes with re-written dialogue from Woke Charlotte, so that whenever Carrie, Miranda or Samantha say something offensive, Woke Charolette is there to hilariously point out how behind-the-times they are. Carrie referring to her jewelry as "ghetto gold"? Yeah, not cool.

Follow Woke Charlotte:

Chelsea and Lauren:

@everyoutfitonsatc

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S3E2: Peaches On Fleek Mar 30, 2018

Peaches, a young woman of color, uploads a video of herself to Vine. She's impressed with her eyebrows. They're on fleek. The Vine goes viral. Everyone from Ariana Grande to Kim K starts using the word. IHOP uses it to sell pancakes. Denny’s uses it to sell hash browns. Peaches doesn’t make a cent. She doesn't hear from beauty companies. In an era of influencers, Peaches has to start her own Kickstarter to fund a cosmetics line. Who determines who makes money off of memes? And if memes are meant to be remembered, will anyone remember Peaches? Elisa talks with Wired reporter and digital producer, Emma Gray Ellis to find out.

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S3E1: Digital Black Face Mar 30, 2018

Even though Tiffany Pollard's appearance on VH1's Rock Of Love was 12 years ago, GIFs of her grandiose reactions are still used to respond to everything from an email about the broken copy machine at work to a group text about bad Tinder dates. GIFs that feature the reactions of black women from reality TV shows seem to be especially popular with white and non-black users. Elisa talks with cultural critic Lauren Michelle Jackson and UC Berkeley Center for Technology Fellow, Kate Miltner about why that might be.

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Welcome to Season 3! Mar 30, 2018

Welcome to the world of memes. Where nuance means nothing and images are everything! This season, we find out what happened to Peaches Monroee after she coined On Fleek, dive into the reaction GIFs selection on Giphy, and talk to meme maker Quinta Brunson. In this trailer, Elisa talks with UC Berkeley Center for Technology Fellow, Kate Miltner, who fills us in on some history and tells us why memes are pretty, pretty, pretty cool. Special shout out to our Season 3 sponsor, Spotify. We love you and use you all the time!

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S2E10: Why Male Bosses Don't Get It Sep 11, 2017

You #LeanIn. You #AskForMore. You #SideHustle. Yet you still feel like an imposter, even though you're pretty sure you know more than your male boss. How do you survive being manterrupted, passed over, and side-eyed at work when even Senator Kamala Harris and Arianna Huffington have to put up with it at the office? Elisa talks to “Feminist Fight Club” author and New York Times journalist, Jessica Bennett about how to combat subtle sexism and why being a bitch is A-OK. Director and Head of Product at Wirecutter (and feminist husband) David Bloom provides a male boss' perspective. Bennett's book is now out in paperback.

This is our last episode of the season. *crying emoji* We’d love to come back for a season 3!

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A Conversation with Aubrey Plaza Sep 11, 2017

Elisa talks with comedian and actress Aubrey Plaza about her latest film and how Instagram has influenced her in her newest role and in real life. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience after the LA screening of Plaza's latest film, "Ingrid Goes West".

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S2E9: When Your Pop Culture Doesn't Match Your Politics Sep 05, 2017

What do you do when you love the beat but the lyrics aren't quite....liberating? If you're ashamed of your music choices, don't be. Elisa talks with "Trainwreck: The Women We Love to Hate, Mock, and Fear, and Why" author Sady Doyle and "Call Your Girlfriend" podcast host Aminatou Sow about enjoying problematic popular culture.

This is our second to last episode for season 2! We'd love to come back for another season if you'll have us.

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S2E8: Why Are We Still Not Happy? Aug 28, 2017

The main consumer of self-help products in the US are women living in coastal cities. So how have decades of encouragement to "find our best selves" and "live our best lives" affected us? And why are we still looking for happiness in self-help books when the world’s happiest countries don’t sell all that many of them? Elisa talks with lawyer-turned-journalist Jill Filipovic about her new book, "The H-Spot: The Feminist Pursuit of Happiness." In it, Filipovic suggests that our biggest roadblocks could be toppled by a feminism and politics that focus on women’s happiness and pleasure.

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S2E7: How HGTV Explains America Aug 21, 2017

HGTV is known for its unique audience that reaches millennials, feminists, queers, conservatives and Christians. That’s because the one thing we can all agree on is homeownership. But while HGTV’s homeowner-focused programming unites us, it also plays a role in dividing us. Elisa talks with “No Place Like Home” author and Georgetown professor, Brian J. McCabe to get to the bottom of how and why HGTV explains America.

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S2E6: Selling Squad Goals Aug 14, 2017

Can you sell female friendship after you've put women down? Who did Taylor Swift vote for? Did she vote? Why does she represent our general distrust in well-intentioned white women? Elisa talks to "Stuff Mom Never Told You" podcast host Bridget Todd and BuzzFeed's senior culture writer Anne Helen Petersen to track the evolution of Taylor Swift from putting women down to embracing them. Petersen's book,"Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud: The Rise and Reign of the Unruly Woman" can be found wherever you get your books.

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S2E5: Teenage Girls Are Magic Aug 07, 2017

Historically, young women have set all the trends: the Beatles, Instagram, and Snapchat just to name a few. But they are always discounted as silly, cute, or frivolous. Why do we discount young women but embrace "early adopters"? Elisa talks to Muhlenberg College professor Dr. Francesca Coppa and New York Times journalist Amanda Hess to unpack how teenage girls have all the power in the world... but simultaneously, no power at all.

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S2E4: Little White Lie Jul 31, 2017

How do we come to terms with the lies our families tell us? Are we really an extension of our parents? How do we define our identities if we aren't? This week’s episode is dedicated to finding personal truth, inspired by the film "Little White Lie" by director Lacey Schwartz. The film is a personal documentary about the legacy of family secrets, denial, and the power of telling the truth. Schwartz was accepted to college as a Black student, a decision based solely on a photo she submitted with her application. Lacey didn’t openly acknowledge her black identity with her white family until her biological father's death forced her to confront her mother about the past. Elisa talks with Lacey about family secrets, dual identities, and the power of being honest with yourself and those around you.

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S2E3: Please Exit Through the Feminist Gift Shop Jul 24, 2017

Hold onto your pussy hats. Tuck in your Future is Female T-shirts. We are doing a deep dive into the buying and selling of feminism! Beyoncé, Emma Watson and Taylor Swift have all come out as feminists in a time when feminist themes sell everything from wireless plans to cigarettes. Are these empty signifiers of "empowerment" or are they helpful reminders that women are actually human? What happens when shopping becomes a political act? Elisa talks to "We Were Feminists Once" author Andi Zeisler about the mainstreaming of feminism and what it means, if anything, for us.

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S2E2: Why the F*$% Are We Still Having Kids? Jul 17, 2017

Having kids seems like the worst career move a woman could make: the US lacks paid parental leave, working moms are less likely to be hired. And when they are, they make 4-6% less than women without kids. The motherhood penalty is real. But don't worry, what's lacking in social and political support is made up for in platitudes. After all, it's still the "most important job". Elisa talks to sociologist Dr. Kathleen Gerson, Senators Gillibrand and Heitkamp and "Why Have Kids" author Jessica Valenti to ask: why are we still doing this?

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Too Good to Cut: More with Ashley Ford Jul 10, 2017

There was so much in Elisa's interview with Ashley Ford that we couldn’t let it go to waste. Here is their full conversation on Ashley's love of Roxanne Gay, her best full-time job, and how her mentee mindset failed her.

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S2E1: Famous on the Internet, Broke IRL Jul 10, 2017

Welcome to Season 2! The creative entrepreneurs we see across social media may have a ton of followers, but are they making any money? Should they? How do you maintain your creativity while still supporting yourself? Is selling out such a bad thing? Elisa talks to popular YouTuber and podcaster Gaby Dunn, "Art Thinking" author Amy Whitaker and senior features writer-with-a-huge-following, Ashley C. Ford to get answers to these age-old questions.

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Celebrity (Activist) Industrial Complex: SOLH @ SXSW May 06, 2017

Who's woke and who's just an opportunist trying to stay relevant? How can we tell and where's the line? And who did Taylor Swift vote for? It's our 1 year anniversary and to celebrate, we are airing Elisa's conversation with Medium's Bridget Todd, NPR's Glen Weldon, and BuzzFeed's Anne Helen Petersen about celebrity culture and activism at this year's SXSW. Season 2 returns on July 10.

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Surviving a Post-Election Thanksgiving: Easing Out of the Bubble Dec 05, 2016

This election opened deep-seated wounds in ourselves and our country. Add family and the holidays to that open wound and it can be a recipe for disaster. Elisa Kreisinger talks to "Man Enough" author and pioneer of gender violence prevention education in sports culture and the military, Jackson Katz, to unpack WTF happened two weeks ago and how we can proceed sharing a table with people whose strong opinions aren't so loosely held. Also, who are the women who voted for Trump? Glad you asked. Elisa talks to a few who explain their perspectives in an effort to ease us out of our collective bubble.

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S1E10: Lipstick Isn't a Sign of a Declining Mind Jul 11, 2016

Fashion is often dismissed as frivolous, superficial, shallow, and in the age of global warming, even irresponsible. Yet when we look in the mirror, we still want our outside to reflect what's inside. Refinery29's co-founder Christene Barberich talks about how clothing connects us- when you find your style, you find yourself.

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S1E9: Childish Games Jul 05, 2016

How far would you go to be a kid again? And why do we miss the '90s so much? Our special report on nostalgia dives into what Dream Phone taught us about dating and why some memories aren't worth reliving. This is our second to last episode of this season. Next week will be our final episode.

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S1E8: Faith Filled Feminist Jun 27, 2016

How do you negotiate feminism and faith? Linda Sarsour talks about being a Muslim feminist and how the two aren't mutually exclusive.

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S1E7: No Shame in a Selfie Jun 20, 2016

Selfies were responsible for more deaths in 2015 than shark attacks. And 75% of those deaths were men. So why are selfies seen as an inherently narcissistic, overly feminine activity, and generally met with disgust? Can you find yourself in a selfie? Amy Jones, a therapist who knows Elisa very, very well weighs in.

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S1E6: Picking Up A Pick-Up Artist Jun 13, 2016

Angela Washko is a feminist artist who tried to find common ground with the internet's most infamous misogynist. To say they occupy different corners of the world would be an understatement. How do you find commonality with someone who is the antithesis to your beliefs? And if you needed another reason to love Denmark, we have one.

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S1E5: Shiny Happy People Jun 06, 2016

Is virality a science or a spiritual connection? And what role do women play in it? Leading virality scholar and Wharton associate professor Katherine Milkman, PhD, and Soul Pancake’s Correy Stoner O'Neal offer two different perspectives. Does positivity go viral because we want to seem like good people or because we actually are?

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S1E4: Worst Place To Be A Woman May 31, 2016

Michelle Byrom was on death row for 15 years. Hours before her execution, her conviction was overturned. Refinery 29’s Vanessa Golembeski talked with Byrom weeks after her release to question the bias baked into a system that’s supposed to protect women.

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S1E3: Just Shut Up May 23, 2016

Vocal fry. Upspeak. Overuse of qualifiers — it seems like we can’t open our mouths without being criticized. Elisa Kreisinger talks to public radio journalist Sally Herships and politics writer Amanda Marcotte and asks: if a woman is saying something intelligent and all you hear is the way it’s being said, is that her problem or yours?

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S1E2: Instagram Insecurities May 17, 2016

Women are now more likely than men to have bachelor's degrees. And childless women in their 20s currently out-earn men. So why are our Instagram feeds filled with images of date nights, engagement rings, cat eyes, cupcakes, and waist-trainers? Are we becoming Betty Draper 2.0, or are we using the illusion of perfection to escape the reality that relationships are hard? New York Times Journalist Hannah Seligson and Stone Fox Bride founder Molly Guy weigh in.

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S1E1: The Kardashian Industrial Komplex May 09, 2016

Sales are down on magazine covers that bear their faces. Ratings are low on their reality TV show. Seemingly no one cares about the Kardashians. So why are they everywhere, including our site? Ann Helen Peterson uses her Phd in celebrity to explain and dig into the role celebrity plays in post-modern American popular culture.

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