Terrifying Weather Events, Part 1: Climate Changes Lives
September 2024
Nearly 20 years ago, Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Hear how that impacted Lisa Dyson of Air Protein. Bernadette Woods Placky talks extreme weather.
Sign up for our biweekly newsletter!
The Story Exchange’s award-winning podcast features the stories of entrepreneurial women doing incredible things to make this world a better place. While our focus was initially on women running small businesses or social enterprises, we expanded our coverage area a few years ago to include influential women doing cool, innovative, inspiring stuff – whether that’s building a movement or imparting wisdom on Instagram or even running for office. Is there an amazing women you’d like us to profile on our podcast, or are you one yourself? Drop us a line at [email protected].
The podcast is written and hosted by Colleen DeBaise and executive produced by Sue Williams and Victoria Wang. Our sound editor is Nusha Balyan. We record at Cutting Room Studios in New York City.
Nearly 20 years ago, Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans. Hear how that impacted Lisa Dyson of Air Protein. Bernadette Woods Placky talks extreme weather.
Activists, ordinary citizens and luminaries like Jane Fonda want action – and accuse governments and big corporations of failing to manage the climate crisis.
We visit Wild Harmony in Exeter, Rhode Island, where owners Rachael Slattery and Ben Coerper use regenerative farming techniques to raise their Berkshire pigs. Listen to our 16-minute podcast.
We talk to Utah dust expert Kerry Kelly, who has a plan for countering the impact of hazy skies on our health — and on our kids’ health. Listen to our 18-minute podcast.
Thanks to party music and dance memes, this OB-GYN is reducing menopause stigma and imparting science-backed tips. Listen to our 14-minute podcast.
Atlantic Sea Farms works with lobstermen to farm kelp in the winter months. It’s a superfood that’s climate-friendly, too. Listen to our 10-minute podcast.
In this podcast episode, we talk to the longtime PBS NewsHour host about her career and next steps.
We speak to women who fled Afghanistan – as well as some who are still there. Our goal is to give Afghan women visibility at a time when the Taliban seeks to erase them from public life.
In this podcast episode, we visit the award-winning Owamni Restaurant in Minneapolis, which serves up Native foods on its decolonized menu.
Just in time for Stress Awareness Month, we sample anxiety tech — all the new gadgets that promise to chill you out.
Got 19 minutes? Learn about the water crisis and how innovative women are fighting back. Paige Peters treats wastewater at lightning speed while Brittany Kendrick pulls moisture from the sky.
Yes, we sampled edible insects while recording this podcast. We talk with Claire Simons of 3 Cricketeers about this sustainable, highly nutritious protein.
We share the story of Jacquie Berglund of Finnegans, a craft beer brewing company whose motto is “Beer that gives back.”
We tell the story of Karen Washington by sharing a series of incredible moments that established her influence and position as a food activist.
Ruth Alvarez-DeGolia helps women artisans tap international markets through her social enterprise, Mercado Global — allowing them to earn critical income.
As more young people pursue degrees in public health, we ask Dr. Roseanna Means about her long and widely admired career in the field.
An hour south of Boston, Debra White is helping animals (and people) heal at her 17-acre Winslow Farm.
Meet the former New York City Sanitation Department employee who found a way to salvage the fashion industry’s textile scraps.
Listen to the inspiring story of BioNTech’s Kati Kariko, who may just win the Nobel Prize for her heroic effects despite years of setbacks.
Vice president Kamala Harris traveled to Guatemala and Mexico this week to better understand the migrant crisis. We’re re-releasing our 2019 podcast featuring Kate Curran, whose nonprofit gives families a reason to stay in Central America.
…and it’s up to us to listen. We talk with innovative women leading AI startups about the obstacles they’re facing. (Part 2)
Yes, artificial intelligence has incredible potential. But it’s also reproducing all the gender bias and inequality that currently exists in the world. (Part 1)
Lynn Hummer started Pregnant Mare Rescue to offer a peaceful sanctuary to unwanted, abandoned and often abused horses.
In 2020, six diverse women run for president, and Nancy Pelosi takes the House. With experts Molly Ball, Kelly Dittmar, Ronnee Schreiber and Glynda Carr.
From Eleanor Roosevelt to Shirley Chisholm, women begin to win control over their lives and bodies. With historians Susan Ware and Gina Luria Walker and advocate Nell Merlino.
How Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton led a rancorous fight, at times at odds with Lucy Stone and Sojourner Truth. With historian Ellen DuBois.
We’re working on a special 3-part podcast series to mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment.
Around the world, 45 million amputees lack access to a prosthetic limb. At UMass-Lowell, plastics engineer Erin Keaney is designing a solution.
Paty Funegra is the founder of La Cocina VA, a social enterprise that helps unemployed Latino immigrants find jobs in the food industry by teaching them food and language skills.
After witnessing shocking conditions at a maternity ward in Nigeria, Dr. Laura Stachel decided to take action. We Care Solar’s solar suitcases have lit over 2 millions births in over 30 countries.
We talk to Dianne Berkun Menaker, who turned a passion for music into the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. Today, she’s helping New York City kids find their voices and power in a confusing world.
At a time when there are serious health concerns about the pesticides we spray on crops, Pam Marrone of Marrone Bio Innovations specializes in natural alternatives to toxic chemicals.
Our thanks to the Newswomen’s Club of New York for honoring us with a Front Page award for this podcast on Norine Hill of Mother Nation.
Once upon a time, Sherri Franklin was a successful (but uninspired) hairstylist. To find purpose in life, she began volunteering at the SPCA…and an old dog named Heidi captured her heart. Today, Franklin runs Muttville, a $4 million social enterprise that specializes in rescuing senior dogs.
Childhood trauma is on the rise in today’s world of school shootings, natural disaster and terrorist attacks. Art With Heart helps kids cope, in a surprisingly simple way.
Lost in the politics of “build the wall” is how to help families in Central America. In this inspiring podcast, we talk to Kate Curran of Boston, whose School the World builds schoolhouses in Guatemala and Honduras.
In this podcast, we explore the plight of the bee and talk to Kristy Allen, a beekeeper and advocate who is running a thriving business, The Beez Kneez, in Minneapolis.
Did you know that opening a book for the joy of it floods us with good feelings? Rana Dajani created We Love Reading to foster a love of reading in young people.
In our latest podcast episode, we talk with Celeste Mergens, who created Days for Girls to empower girls and women around the world by providing reusable sanitary products and health education.
In Seattle, Norine Hill, who is a member of the Oneida Nation of the Thames, has founded Mother Nation to help women out of abusive situations and bring them culturally appropriate services so they can rediscover their strength.
Kelly Peeler of NextGenVest has developed a text-based platform to educate Generation Z on the perils of student loans.
Jennifer Bolstad of Local Office Landscape and Urban Design is taking on the challenge of rising sea levels.
Amy Hagstrom Miller of Whole Woman’s Health is on a mission to make abortions safe and stigma-free. The journey has taken her to the Supreme Court.
A girl’s self-confidence peaks when she’s 9 years old. Ret. Lieutenant Colonal Dianna Flett is using her military training to run leadership workshops, dubbed Girl Smarts, for girls in 4th and 5th grades.
The women behind U Konserve and My Sister’s Closet are doing their part to minimize waste and protect the environment.
Angie Lozano started Angie’s House to give people in need a place to lay their head at night — and reminded us all that just one person can make a real difference.
Chelsea Harden’s horses create magical spaces where kids with special needs can connect and learn. In this podcast episode, hear how she manages the unusual business assets at the core of The H.E.A.R.T. Center.
Tatiana Garcia Granados started The Common Market to bring farm food to her Philadelphia neighborhood. Now she’s taking on the nation’s broken food distribution system.
MIT-graduate Tish Scolnik is using the power of business to give people with disabilities a new sense of freedom.
Iran-born Fif Ghobadian created San Francisco fashion brand Road Twenty-Two to provide jobs for women released from prison.
With her nonprofit One Simple Wish, Danielle Gletow is bringing the joy of childhood to the lives of foster kids, one wish at time.
Kathy Brough and Anita Saville created Budget Buddies to help homeless women break free of poverty, aided by a sisterhood of volunteer personal-finance coaches.
Hear how Houston pool-builder Kryshon Bratton has used the entrepreneurial “pivot” to stoke growth and create the work-life balance she wants.
How Angelica Garcia-Dunn went from struggling to feed her kids to building a booming Texas-sized trucking company.
How Danae Ringelmann got the idea for the crowdfunding platform that spawned a new industry.
A company is born after Felena Hanson suffers a near-fatal car crash and resolves to add meaning to her life.
Meet Donna Peel and Stacy Ratner, two very different women taking on two very different social missions — both with inventive, entrepreneurial nonprofits.
Our latest podcast episode features Toronto retailer Melissa Austria, who has created thriving menswear stores that appeal to guys who hate to shop but want to look good.
Delia Viader may make “liquid cashmere,” but it took more than fine wine to restore her winery after a devastating setback.
Jan Erickson was hounded by vivid dreams about a jacket — so she decided to start an outerwear company. It was a prescient move.
For Anne Dowling, a former member of the U.S. Ski Team, successful entrepreneurship means having the flexibility to live a life she loves.
Traci Phillips recycles dead cellphones, washed-up computers and old dot-matrix printers so they can’t clog landfills and release toxic substances into the environment.
Kristine Jones started a business on a whim in an obscure, cutthroat industry. Then she got serious about building a strong company.
How San Diego entrepreneur Lucy Postins turned “human-grade” pet food into a multimillion dollar business.
Hear how two Boston chefs, Jody Adams and Ana Sortun, overcame bias to rise the ranks — and what they learned along the way.
How Kimberly Crupi Dobbins turned a corporate sabbatical and kitchen dream into a snack company and new career.
These three women are thriving in the technology industry by offering innovations that serve other women.
Alison Chung parlays a phenomenal gift for numbers into a successful computer-forensics firm.
Showcasing the stories and strategies of entrepreneurial women from San Diego to New York and beyond.
A new podcast from The Story Exchange