Great Stories: City Arts & Lectures

Great Stories is a series featuring positive and inspiring storytellers that I’ve encountered over the years.

In honor of International Woman’s Day yesterday, I want to share this specific City Arts and Lectures podcast, a conversation with Gloria Steinem which aired on January 12, 2020.

Steinem founded Ms. Magazine in 1971. She is a writer, activist, and feminist organizer.

I’ve enjoyed City Arts and Lectures programming in person when I lived in San Francisco, before they released their shows on podcast. They talk to leading figures in arts and ideas, speaking with writers, scientists, performing artists, and cultural figures from around the world.

I decided to mention Steinem, not just because of International Women’s Day, but also because I appreciated her call to arms during her talk which took originally place on November 13, 2019.

She pointed out the harm of waiting until everyone is on board and heading in the same direction.

As Steinem stated, “It’s not about bringing people along. We are the majority.”

From around 50:00:

“I worry that we as women, if we were in a situation where we have 400 people on this side of the room who are ready to go and act and there were 100 people on that side of the room who were saying ‘no, I don’t want to do that, it’s the wrong thing,’ I fear that we would try to go over and try to convince the 100 instead of moving with the 400… Since we have the majority at this time, I would put more emphasis on moving forward, than conversion.”

Of course, her interview shares many more thoughts on where we’ve come from and where we are going.

 

Check out her interview here: In Conversation with Gloria Steinem

Or on Stitcher: City Arts & Lectures on Stitcher, Gloria Steinem

And for more episodes and to learn what is coming up, you can visit their website: City Arts & Lectures

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The Art of Listening

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Poetic Storytelling, notes from the Berlinale Forum50