Trigger Warning: Suicide

In July, my friend Ahmed Best revealed that in his darkest days he contemplated taking his own life. The pendulum of his career has been nothing short of extraordinary. He got his big break performing in the cast of Stomp The Musical which led to an offer to play a first-of-its-kind character in the Star Wars prequels. His character, Jar Jar Binks, would lead the way for the development of motion capture technology in film, but he would also become the punching bag for everything fans didn't love about the movies. Ahmed was in the precarious position of being associated with a character who both was and wasn't him. He took the hit, but not the accolades, until a generation of Star Wars fans had kids who LOVE Jar Jar. The part no one seems to address is how racism played a huge role in the blowback. After years of trying to pivot away from discussing the toll it took on him, Ahmed is now developing a one man show to dig in to the dark and the light. You can follow this evolution here. We had such a great talk that I'm bringing you two episodes with Ahmed!

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call 1-800-273-TALK.

Our burst of enthusiasm comes from Laura Higgs. She's loving the book How To Raise An Adultby Julie Lythcott-Haims. Please tell me about the things igniting your enthusiasm. You can send emails or voice memos to theenthusiasmenthusiast@gmail.com.

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@ahmedbest

@katiefward

Are you addicted to your phone? Do you want to sleep better? How much of your joy or pain is related to social media? These are the questions Thrive Global is aiming to help you navigate. Callie Schweitzer is the Chief Content Officer for Thrive Global, Arianna Huffington's new company. I loved hearing about the behind the scenes of a company that strives to improve our lives. I also wanted to hear about how a woman who is a CCO, an award-winning journalist, and has been included on multiple top 30 under 30 lists keeps herself organized. Spoiler alert: she makes lists! Callie even shares the area of her life that is still a work in progress.

Here's the link to my Panda Planner. Use PANDAFAM for a 10% discount.

Chat with us on twitter:

@cschweitz

@katiefward

Dan and Tommy from The Curiosity Hour Podcast were kind enough to invite me on their show! They asked me all about what inspires me (Beyoncé), the evolution of my religious beliefs, and so many deep things. If you haven't yet heard their show, I highly recommend it.

Don't forget to send your women's health questions for Dr. Sherry Ross, M.D. to TheEnthusiasmEnthusiast@gmail.com. She'll be answering them in our 3 part series coming up in January. If you'd like to host a listening party to discuss Dr. Sherry on the show, email me! The first 10 RSVPs will get a free copy of Dr. Sherry's book.

Here are some great podcasting resources:

https://www.earbudspodcastcollective.org

http://www.audiblefeast.com

http://podcastbrunchclub.com

Follow us on social media:

@katiefward

@Curiosity_Hour

Keah Brown is not here to inspire you. What she is intending to do is be a beacon of self love, professional success, and next level cuteness. She's also willing to call out people who don't respect the intersectional experience of disabled people of color. By starting the hashtag #DisabledAndCute on twitter, she's giving a platform for the disabled to celebrate themselves. The writer just released a delicious profile of feminist powerhouse Roxane Gay for Harper's Bazaar. She's trying to get the opportunity to dance on Ellen. Her movement is beautiful and inclusive. Get on board.

Follow us on twitter: @Keah_Maria @katiefward

Joey Slamon is a lot of things. She's a tv writer and producer (Arrested Development, Those Who Can't, I'm Sorry). She's a co-creator of the wildly successful live show Public School. She's one of my best friends. She's a Syrian-American. The recent Muslim ban and general climate toward refugees has both terrified and activated her. We got together to discuss our experiences at the Women's March in L.A., what we're doing to make good on the promises we made that day, and how we handle the stress of the current administration in VERY different ways.

Janna Barber isn't your typical preacher's daughter from the South. She's a woman who got a tattoo to mark the loss of two pregnancies. She's an understated warrior who has battled depression off and on for almost 20 years. While she doesn't always have it all figured (hooray for telling the truth!), she's winning the war with compassion, humanity, therapy, medicine, and faith. To read some of Janna's writing, check out http://rainbowdull.blogspot.com/. This is the last episode of the year, but I'll be back in 2017 to deliver more enthusiasm!

In a decade, how does one go from being a teenager with little to no options for the future to being an invited guest of the White House? This is the story of D'Jamel Young. He's a trans activist, model, and actor. He's also a former military intelligence officer for the Army. As someone who's learned from his mistakes and open about his experiences, he shares how he got to this place in his life which he describes as his best yet.

Check out his community website: http://transl8tion.us/

Actor Wendi McLendon-Covey is all heart and 0 effs. This special mix is why she's compelling as a person and a performer. She was about to abandon acting altogether when she booked the job (Reno 911) that would transform her career and life forever. She told me all about the joy of being in your 40s and gave me some great advice for my birthday.

Did you know in 1970 the first all-female class-action lawsuit was brought about by employees at Newsweek? Some of the brightest voices in journalism had been working and stagnating at the magazine for years - Nora Ephron, Susan Brownmiller, and Lynn Povich just to name a few.

Povich wrote about her experiences with Newsweek and the lawsuit in a book titled The Good Girls Revolt: How The Women Of Newsweek Sued Their Bosses And Changed The Workplace.

The feminist heavens have smiled upon us, and turned the book into an Amazon series loosely based on those events. You can watch the pilot here.

I've been excited about this show since I became aware of it, and I was even more excited to find out one of my buddies, Jaime Andrews, is playing Dottie.

Jaime and fellow cast member, Hannah Barefoot (who plays Diane) were sweet enough to sit down and chat with me about how working on the show has influenced their own feminism and how there's still so much we can learn from the women who came before us.

The thing I find myself most inspired by and passionate about is sharing the stories of women. So, while I'm definitely not "enthusiastic" about pregnancy loss, I am very fired up about making women feel less alone when they experience it. It's an honor, truly, to share these two stories. First, I spoke with my friend and neighbor, Lauren Koenig. She miscarried her baby at 10 weeks. I love how Lauren is so honest and raw about her experience.

Next, I talked with Maribeth Ayers Stickel about giving birth to a stillborn baby at 40 weeks and 2 days. It's a heartbreaking story, but Maribeth and her husband survived the unimaginable and are stronger than ever. I hope you'll learn as much as I did from these stories and share them with people who may be helped by hearing them.

In 2015, 104 (76D, 28R) women held seats in the United States Congress, comprising 19.4% of the 535 members; 20 women (20%) serve in the United States Senate, and 84 women (19.3%) serve in the United States House of Representatives. How do you think that affects policy? How do those policies affect our daily lives? At the rate we're going, the United States won’t reach gender parity in public office for at least another century. I can't wait that long, and neither can Sara Guillermo. Sara works for iGNite, a non-profit organization building a movement of young women to become political leaders.

Can you be nice and be funny? Can you be nice, female, and funny? Can you be nice, female, funny, and SUCCESSFUL? Lauren Pritchard and Kelly Vrooman can and are doing that very thing. Their duo, Laurelly, is dominating the L.A. improv scene by giving each other unyielding trust and support. Week after week, these two are teaching everyone that nice ladies finish first.

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If you haven't already, take the time to listen to Part 1 of my discussion with my sister, Dr. Mary Furlong Minkoff about American Slavery. She's an archeologist on staff at President James Madison's home, Montpelier. In part 2, we dig (archeology humor!) a little deeper into the lives of female slaves and how misconceptions still affect black lives today. We also talk about representations of enslaved people in the media.

I've often said my sister, Dr. Mary Furlong Minkoff, is the coolest person I know. Case in point: She runs marathons. She cooks like a champ. She's incredibly smart yet she's very effortless about it. Everyone likes her, especially me. So, I'm really excited to be able to talk with her about her passion, American archeology and changing the context of what we know about the lives of American slaves. Dr. Rudi, as she is known to me, is an archeologist at President James Madison's home, Montpelier, in Virginia. In her work, she's redefining what we know about the lives of slaves, and it is both awe-inspiring and devastating.

By now, their story has reached millions of people. You've probably read or heard about how 3 women (Sonia Ulrich, Monica Kenyon, and Marla Saltzer) worked together along with the staff of Fig restaurant to save another woman whose dinner date was trying to drug and (likely) assault her. I was lucky enough to sit down with one of the heroes, Sonia Ulrich, and talk not just about their good deed but about how it feels to be a viral sensation, how women protect each other, our premature sadness about Michelle Obama leaving the White House, and so much more.

Make no mistake. I LOVE WEDDINGS! I love every little bit of wedding planning and details. This summer, for the first time, I'm officiating a wedding, and I'm pumped up! I love the couple very much and feel incredibly honored to be included on their big day. This has me thinking a lot about marriage and keeping the promises you make on your wedding day. So, I wanted to talk with another couple I know who are doing just that. Marian and Heatherlynn Gonzalez have made it through the ups and downs of any long-term marriage. They also figured out the best ways to support each other and stay together through Marian's gender transition. There's been a lot of discussion about transgender people lately. So much of that talk is heading in the wrong direction. For me, it's important to re-focus the conversation around the most important element of humanity - LOVE.

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They're also fostering a cat who needs a permanent home. She's 7 yrs old, and her name is Tilly. For more info, tweet @TheGonzalez.

Kim Evey has been at the forefront of modern entertainment for almost a decade. She was a YouTube pioneer and producer of one of the biggest web series of all time, The Guild. So, trying to figure out how and when to become a mom was not an easy decision. Fertility issues and a long adoption process made it even more challenging. We talked about all of this and how motherhood can turn what you thought you wanted completely upside down.

Also, check out some of the work Kim and Greg do with Prank It Forward!

I met Celia Finkelstein when she shot the photos for the podcast. We're both from Florida, have a ton of friends in common, and share lots of the same political and social beliefs. So, it was love at first sight for me. She's just so damn honest that I thought she'd be a good fit for discussing heartbreak. I was so right, and you'll hear why. Also, she had to put her kitty to sleep the day before we recorded. So, we dedicate this episode to Simon.

How does one go from surviving a childhood of abuse, multiple foster homes, and the loss of a younger brother to running a hugely successful business in a fickle industry? Determination. Jacqui Pitman has so much of it, she simply radiates determination. Learn how one powerful decision at age 12 changed her life forever.

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Girls Leadership Co-Founder and Executive Director Simone Marean

One of the traits I most admire in someone is resiliency. I really got to thinking about it as a woman and as a mom after I took a workshop called Raising Resilient Girls from Girls Leadership co-founder and Executive Director Simone Marean. She was kind enough to make time to talk with me about how social media is working positively for girls (say what?!), why it's time to retire the term "mean girls," and why the princess phase doesn't mean the end of feminism as we know it.

Also, check out my guest blog on bursting the princess bubble for Chocolate Milke! Listeners get 10% off any order with the promo code ENTHUSIAST10 for the next month.

Hair extension goddess and doting mother Monique Hale

Monique Hale is not what you think. Unless you think she's a total badass wife, mother,and queen of a hair empire built on extensions. Monique gave me her vulnerable story about coming back from addiction to create the family she never had growing up, and a business she was born to dominate.

You know what I love? A gift with purchase. That's what my chat with Kelsey Scott was.  You may know her work on How To Get Away With Murder, 12 Years A Slave, Treme and on and on. What you may not know is that her bestie is a guy, but he's not just any guy.

His name is Malik Middleton, and he's a firefighter and paramedic in Chicago. He just so happened to be visiting when we sat down, so he joined the sesh. I loved talking with them about their friendship, her career, and whether we're sure if Prince is hot or not. Thanks Kels, for chatting me up, and Malik for being the gift with purchase!