Firestarters with Shannon Watts – Details, episodes & analysis

"Sustainable change requires small, regular, concerted efforts by a lot of people doing the next right thing. All of us working together to change something has far more effect than five of us trying to do everything.”

Sharon McMahon is perhaps better known as America’s Government Teacher. Previously a government, history, and law teacher, she now shares her knowledge through Instagram, where she puts the latest headlines into context for her million-plus followers.

She’s also the host of the award-winning podcast Here’s Where it Gets Interesting, writes the newsletter The Preamble, and she’s the author of the upcoming book The Small and the Mighty: Twelve Unsung Americans Who Changed the Course of History, From the Founding to the Civil Rights Movement, releasing on September 24th.

Sharon is a lifelong teacher who, rather than telling you what to think, gives you the context around an issue that helps you understand it and think more critically. She wants you to be able to make educated choices for yourself.

"I say all of my work comes from pain. I think it's really important to figure out the things that hurt and then work towards making it hurt less for the next person." - Gisele Fetterman

Gisele Fetterman is a Brazilian born activist, philanthropist, and non profit executive. When her husband, John Fetterman, was a mayor and then lieutenant governor in Pennsylvania, she was the first lady of Braddock and the second lady of the Commonwealth. Her husband is now a U. S. senator.

Gisele has helped found several nonprofit organizations that focus on the needs of lower income families. She's also an advocate for diversity and inclusion, pushing Congress to take a more humane and compassionate approach to immigration. Gisele is kind and courageous, she is empathetic and effective, and she is passionate and persuasive.

In this conversation we talk about Gisele’s childhood journey from Rio de Janeiro to America, what brings her joy, her experience of becoming a firefighter at age 40, and her commitment to helping others through her work.

Look for the launch of my new Firestarters podcast in January 2024. During the course of writing my new book (out in 2025), I’ve had some incredible conversations with women who are living on fire, and I wanted to share a few of these conversations to you in January. Why? Because think we could all use some fiery women to help us ring in the New Year!

“I want to see Republican women for gun reform and I want these women to start calling themselves Republicans and trying to exert more influence within their party. I want to see those Republican women step into their political power, for God's sakes, do the work. Your tears will never, ever change the current Republican Party, is really my message.”

Emily Amick is a lawyer, journalist, and political analyst who served as counsel to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. She has taken the knowledge she acquired while working in policy to help women navigate teh political process and show us all how we can take action as citizens. Her new book, Democracy in Retrograde, reframes civic engagement as a source of joy, a form of self care, and an important way to combat hopelessness and cynicism.

Join us for a conversation all about finding your inner political power, advocating for yourself, and building a community of others who are both willing to believe in you and help you. Emily believes the key to curing our loneliness epidemic is through civic engagement.

“The philosophical framework of Buddhism saved me. I was studying Asian philosophy and there was the Buddha saying 'you're suffering in life', and for me, that became, 'you're not so different'. You belong actually.”

Sharon Salzberg is a meditation pioneer, a world renowned teacher, and a New York Times bestselling author. Her books include Real Happiness and her seminal work, Lovingkindness. She has inspired generations of meditation teachers and wellness influencers. Sharon’s popular podcast, The Metta Hour, has amassed six million downloads and features interviews with thought leaders from the mindfulness movement and beyond.

Join us for a conversation on connecting with who we truly are, how we can live more authentic lives, and how we can find joy, even in the difficult times.

In this conversation you’ll find:

* how the experience of living with five different families changed her

* studying Buddhism and meditation in a life changing trip to India

* uncovering the fire inside to begin teaching

* the conflicting messages of happiness

* what self compassion can bring to our lives

* how to find aliveness and inner strength

“I tell people you don't have to say, ‘I'm just a drop in the bucket.’ Well, take care of your drop. Your drop affects so many other people and whenever you speak or are in contact with people, you're shaping and changing every day.”

Sandra is a prolific poet, author, and artist, perhaps best known for her book The House on Mango Street, originally published in 1984, which has gone on to sell over six million copies and is required reading in schools across the world. Recently, Sandra published her first book of poetry in 28 years called Woman Without Shame, a brilliant collection of songs, elegies, and declarations.

She has received a number of awards and honors including the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, two National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowships in poetry and prose. Sandra has also founded the Macondo Foundation, an association of socially engaged writers, and the Alfredo Cisneros Del Moral Foundation, a grant-giving institution that served Texas writers for fifteen years.

Join us for a conversation about the ways in which we all have a gift to give, how invested teachers can really change a life, taking darkness and transforming it into a path out, and being courageous enough to taking the next step.

In this conversation you’ll find:

* Being the only girl with six brothers

* Her struggles in school to stay engaged and reign in her imagination

* Growing up sensitive, and later realizing it was a gift

* Writing in secret out of shame

* The power dynamics and damage of an affair with a married professor

* A 20 year “overnight” journey to success

* Learning more from disasters than accolades

* Having exactly what we need to make change

* Not wasting our time in life

"Take seriously the fact that there's something in the world that you need to do and then do it now. Don’t wait — we don't know how long we have."

 Rabbi Sharon Brous is the senior and founding rabbi of IKAR, a leading edge Jewish community based in Los Angeles, and the author of the national bestseller, The Amen Effect, Ancient Wisdom to Heal Our Hearts and Mend Our Broken World. She's been named to the list of the most influential rabbis in America, and was recognized by the Forward and Jerusalem Post as among the most influential Jews alive today.

Rabbi Brous’ work has been featured in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and her 2016 TED Talk, Reclaiming Religion, has been viewed by over 1. 5 million people. Her commitment to building bridges across divides, her anecdotes about how we can all find meaning in our lives, and her belief in our common humanity are inspiring and thought provoking.

Join us for a conversation about how to join or build a community, how to stay centered in your humanity while the world’s turbulence roils around you, and why you should never delay fulfilling your desires.

In this conversation you’ll find:

* Her own spiritual journey,

* How she’s building a community of those who have been disaffected by religious institutions,

* Her take on the ways social media is keeping us apart,

* How her book landed at the perfect moment for the state of the world,

* The ways in which we’re all struggling with loneliness and isolation,

* How the loss of a friend gave her much needed clarity

* What she hopes she’ll leave as her legacy

“I fell into flying as a flight attendant. And it was probably the best thing for me at that time, my love for travel, my love for other cultures, and ethnicities. And it's the best training ground for the work that I do now.”

After hearing your enthusiasm about the first three episodes of the Firestarters Podcast, I’m excited to tell you that I’ll be continuing to share one new episode of the podcast per month.

And today I’m talking with my friend Lucy McBath, a gun violence survivor, former Moms Demand Action spokeswoman, and three-term Georgia Congresswoman. Since 2019, Rep. McBath has advocated for bipartisan solutions to end gun violence, uplift small businesses, protect veterans, and lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs.

What you’ll find in this conversation:

* What growing up was like as the daughter of a civil right’s activist and a nurse

* How being a flight attendant prepared her for her current career

* The ways in which she’s gained confidence in herself to go after what she wants

* External obstacles she’s faced in running for office

* How her son Jordan’s murder made her completely change course to protect other families

* The women that helped push her to new heights

For more inspiring conversations like this one, be sure you’re a subscriber to my Substack, Playing With Fire.

“One of the things I hear from women about running for office is, ‘I don't want to be criticized.’ And I say ‘They’re going to criticize you if you do it. They're going to criticize you if you don't do it. And wouldn't it be better to be doing something and to have them talk about you? To be making change and have them talk about you? To be passing bills that are going to do good and have them talk about you?’”

A’shanti Gholar is the president of Emerge, an organization dedicated to recruiting and training Democratic women to run for office in America. For over 15 years, A’shanti has been a grassroots organizer and an activist on behalf of women and communities of color and progressive causes. She is a nationally recognized political strategist and worked as a political appointee in the Obama administration and also for the Democratic National Committee.

A’shanti is also the founder of the Brown Girls Guide to Politics, an award winning podcast that was featured as one of the top political podcasts by Time Magazine, Teen Vogue, and Vanity Fair.

What you’ll find in this conversation:

* She talks about how she was interested in politics as a little girl, and why she chose CSPAN over Sesame Street.

* The teacher she credits with encouraging her to use her voice.

* A standoff with a politician when she was a high school senior and how that turned her into to volunteer.

* The impact of not being seeing women who look like her in politics.

* What she counsels women running for office to do about criticism — internal and external.

* Her experience leading Emerge and the work that she does to put women in office.

* How she handles racism and sexism; her bizarre experience being on the hot seat on CSPAN.

* How she looks to the shine theory as a way to strengthen sisterhood.

For more inspiring conversations like this one, be sure you’re a subscriber to my Substack, Playing With Fire.

“One of the metaphors that I use is imagining guilt is a faulty check engine light on your car dashboard.  Your car has just been serviced, the oil is changed, everything's fine, but the stupid light just keeps going off. It doesn't actually give you any meaningful information, so you can ignore it. You can just say it's broken. Guilt is not a moral compass.”

Dr. Pooja Lakshmin is a clinical psychiatrist in Austin, Texas, specializing in women's health. She's also an assistant professor of psychiatry. During our discussion, we talked about how she differentiates between faux self-care and real self-care, including the obstacles women face internally and externally, and to overcome them. We also discuss how real self-care can help women live lives that are more authentic and more audacious. And Pooja shares her insights about how self-care can help women find their spark and protect it throughout their lives.

What you’ll find in this conversation:

* She talks about her disillusionment with the practice of psychiatry and mainstream medicine.

* Being raised in a patriarchal society.

* How she identifies her spark.

* How toxic and “faux self care” from the wellness industry actually harms us.

* The four principles of real self care.

* How guilt stops women from setting boundaries.

* How to practice real self care.

For more inspiring conversations like this one, be sure you’re a subscriber to my Substack, Playing With Fire.