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.

On this show we cover the Super 8: The 8 new free women's preventative health services that started on August 1st of 2012.  Services like access to free well-woman visits, free screening for gestational diabetes, free birth control, free breastfeeding support, free domestic violence counseling, and more. 

We unpack what's in these new services, how can you (and yours) can get access, and what's next in healthcare policy.  Joining us in that lively conversation are doctors, experts, and policy makers.  

• Special guests include: Lisa James, Futures without Violence; Cindy Pellegrini, March of Dimes; Dr. William Jordan, National Physicians Alliance; Nita Chaudhary, UltraViolet; J. Nadine Gracia, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Minority Health.

• On this show we talk about the Olympics -- and about the triumphs, the failures, and the benefits of sports for women and girls--with female athletes, moms, Olympic medal winners, girls, and advocates.  And we're also going to learn how to make our own Olympic torches and gold medals to wear as we cheer on the athletes.