Kristin Shapiro joins to discuss this month’s IWF’s policy focus: paid leave and the pandemic. As more lawmakers argue that a paid leave entitlement will help “workplaces and communities respond more effectively and equitably” to a pandemic, we discuss whether or not that’s true and also what some of the unintended consequences may be.

Kristin is a Senior Fellow with Independent Women’s Forum. Kristin clerked for Chief Judge Alex Kozinski on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Following her clerkship, Kristin practiced law as an associate at Williams & Connolly where she litigated numerous cases in the United States Supreme Court. Kristin then served as Assistant General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives for three years, and is now an attorney for the federal government.

Janice Dean returns to the podcast this week. She joined last year to talk about her book Mostly Sunny: How I Learned to Keep Smiling Through the Rainiest Days and now she is putting her own advice into practice after the tragic loss of her in-laws due to COVID-19. Janice talks about the bad nursing home policies, issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, that led to this tragedy and how bad policy can affect all Americans.

Janice currently serves as senior meteorologist for the FOX News Channel (FNC). She joined the network in 2004 and during her time, Janice has covered a slew of devastating storms including: Hurricanes Harvey and Huricane Katrina. In addition to her role at the FNC and her book Mostly Sunny, Janice is the author of “Freddy the Frogcaster” a series of children’s books tailored towards teaching the weather.

On this pop-up episode, Jennifer C. Braceras, director of Independent Women’s Law Center, talks with Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley about racial disparities, police brutality, and whether Americans embrace a shared definition of “racism.”

She Thinks is a podcast for women (and men) who are sick of the spin in today’s news cycle and are seeking the truth. Once a week, every week, She Thinks host Beverly Hallberg is joined by guests who cut through the clutter and bring you the facts.

On this pop-up episode Julie Gunlock, director of Independent Women’s Forum’s center for progress and innovation, talks with Laura Fuentes about the topic of schools that are still providing school meals to kids during the Covid shutdowns. This puts school personnel at risk and removes the parent as the main provider of food to kids. During a pandemic, schools should be allowed to fully shut down. For food needs, more money can be provided through increases in already existing food assistance programs. This will help parents purchase needed food for their families while keeping school officials safe and more people home.

She Thinks is a podcast for women (and men) who are sick of the spin in today’s news cycle and are seeking the truth. Once a week, every week, She Thinks host Beverly Hallberg is joined by guests who cut through the clutter and bring you the facts.

In this pop-up episode, Independent Women’s Law Center Director Jennifer Braceras and Independent Women’s Forum Senior Policy Analyst Inez Stepman discuss the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Bostock v. Clayton Cty, how the Court twisted itself into a pretzel to achieve the outcome, and what the ruling means for women’s sports and the Equal Rights Amendment.

She Thinks is a podcast for women (and men) who are sick of the spin in today’s news cycle and are seeking the truth. Once a week, every week, She Thinks host Beverly Hallberg is joined by guests who cut through the clutter and bring you the facts.

Yasmine Mohammed, a Canadian human rights activist, joins to share her personal story of an arranged marriage to a member of Al-Queda and the trauma she faced as a result. She’ll also shed light on the many challenges women in Islamic majority countries face today and what we can do to advance the basic human rights that all women deserve.

Yasmine Mohammed advocates for the rights of women living within Islamic majority countries, as well as those who struggle under religious fundamentalism. She is also the founder of Free Hearts Free Minds, an organization that provides psychological support for freethinkers living within Muslim majority countries- where the state sanctioned punishment for leaving Islam is death. Her book, Unveiled, is a memoir that recalls her experiences growing up in a fundamentalist Islamic household and her arranged marriage to a member of Al-Qaeda. In it, she sheds light on the religious trauma that so many women still today are unable to discuss.