*Thank you to special guests, including: Joel Silberman, Founder of Media Talent 2.0 Inc;  "Dr. Goddess," Kimberly C. Ellis, Ph.D., Scholar of American and Africana Studies, an Artist, Activist and Entrepreneur; Dana Singiser, a Vice President at Planned Parenthood Action; Leslie Kantor, Vice President of Education at Planned Parenthood Federation of America; Maria Teresa Kumar, President and CEO at Voto Latino.

On this show, we're joined by authors, experts, economists, and hard-hitting analysts as we ask the key question: If the media portrayed women's real issues instead of focusing coverage mainly on objectifying women's bodies, then would that impact what policies actually move in Congress? Would we, for example, have better educated leaders and fewer candidates doing things like dismissing 47% of our population, many of whom are women, working parents, seniors and veterans?

*Special guests include: Tamara Draut, Vice President of Policy and Research at Demos; Jessica Valenti, found of Feministing.com and author of many books, including her most recent, Why Have Kids?; Elaine Maag, Senior Researcher at the Urban Institute; Melissa Silverstein from Women and Hollywood; and Tiffany Dufu who is CEO of the White House Project.

It’s time to take back the word “mom.” In the wake of the lovefest for the word “mom” at both the Democratic National Convention and Republican National Convention, it’s time to get real about what the word “mom” really means in our nation.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg ignited a firestorm of controversy with his recent policy to make breastfeeding support a priority in NYC hospitals that made headlines across the nation.

What could possibly be controversial about breastfeeding?  On this show, we explore breastfeeding, the controversy, and the reality. 

But first, hold on to your hats for some stats to ground us in this conversation: Over 80% of American women have children by the time they’re forty-four years old.  And of those women, 75% start out breastfeeding, but only 13% end up nursing exclusively when their babies are 6 months old as doctors universally recommend. 

That’s a big gap.

This show goes beyond the hyped up tabloid style controversies about breastfeeding, and uncovers the real deal about where this gap is coming from, what can be done to close it, and why it matters in a lively conversation with doctors, moms, and advocates.  

*Special guests include: Dr. Lorraine Boyd, Medical Director for the New York City Health Department’s Bureau of Maternal, Infant & Reproductive Health; Dr. Kathleen Marinelli, the USBC Chair Elect US Breastfeeding Committee; Kimberly Seals Allers, blogger, activist and founder of mochamanual.com; Ashley Foxx, MomsRising Mom; Wendy Fery, Kaiser Permanente.

The race to the Presidency. With the election fast approaching, things are heating up. And while talking about federal budget proposals can be like a cold, wet blanket on any conversation.  This year, these conversations are blazing hot.  In fact, one federal budget proposal is at the very center of the race to the Presidency. 

That budget has been called, “The Path to Prosperity.”  It's also been called the “Reverse Robin Hood" budget, “The Path to Poverty,” “The War on Families budget,” the "blueprint for dismantling the American middle class," and much more.

Why's it at the center of the race to the Presidency?  The author of this highly controversial federal budget proposal, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, has been selected as the Vice Presidential candidate to run alongside Mitt Romney.

During this show we talk about what this budget proposal tell us about where these candidates really stand on a wide variety of public policies that impact us all. And we also talk about the history of the Vice Presidency, including asking the critical question of: Are we going backwards because neither party has a woman on the ticket this election cycle?  Not-to-be-missed are also lively conversations about how you can make a difference and be sure your vote counts; what it's like to serve with Rep. Paul Ryan in the House. 

*Special guests include: Joan Entmacher, National Women's Law Center; Congresswoman Donna F. Edwards; Barbara R. Arnwine, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law; Ilyse Hogue, author and Friends of Democracy; and Dr. Kathleen Hall Jamieson, author and Elizabeth Ware Packard Professor of Communication at the Annenberg School for Communication and Walter and Leonore Annenberg Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.