VBB Episodes

Jennifer Arthurton was once a high-functioning Fortune 500 Corporate Executive with ten consecutive years of outstanding performance reviews. Confident and established in her role, Jennifer chose to believe that ageism against women in the workplace...

Rissa Miller is a fearless advocate for the term 'witch,' and she has faced her fair share of prejudice. Recognizing the longstanding stereotypes and misconceptions surrounding witches, Rissa delves into how the label has been reckless, insensitive,...

Our guest, Kristen Donnelly (MSW, M.Div, Ph.D.), is an award-winning, four-time TEDx speaker, international empathy educator, and researcher with two decades of experience in helping people understand the beauty in our differences and the power of...

Christopher and Heather welcome back ghostwriter and editor Juliane Bergmann, author of an influential article in Huffington Post titled "So I thought parents who forgot their kids in their cars were monsters. Then I did it!" It's an emotional, even...

David Jurasek is a father, husband, Sensei, and Registered Psychotherapist working with boys and men for over 20 years. He's worked within a clinical context, in a communal setting, and within various men's groups. However, despite his expertise and...

In this episode, Christopher & Heather continue our conversation around the book "The Creation of Patriarchy" by Gerder Lerner. Her groundbreaking work peals back history to see the origins and evolution of patriarchal systems. We lament how a...

Patriarchy has never been a secret; it's in our faces from birth to death. Maybe that's why we don't talk about it. Most men hear the word Patriarchy and associate it with women's liberation or feminism and summarily dismiss it as irrelevant to their...

Is it true? It is literally impossible to be a woman. Are you beautiful and smart but still think you're not good enough? Do you need to be extraordinary but still feel you're doing it all wrong? Is staying young, pretty, and thin the expectation,...

Kathy Caprino is no movie critic, but her critique of the Barbie movie and the power of the patriarchy inspired us to search her out. We found someone who was once a corporate executive, but even with career success, she struggled inwardly to feel...

We have no reason to be obsessed with Barbie, but since seeing the movie, we’ve been finding deeper and deeper messages between the lines. The latest is good boys vs bad boys. Is there a lesson to be learned from women choosing bad boys like Ken —...

How might your partner, or potential future partner, react if you asked him to see the Barbie movie with you? Since the movie's debut, women have used the "Barbie ask" as a litmus test for evaluating compatible partners. A Yes can be an insight into...

“It is literally impossible to be a woman.” So begins the monologue that breaks the women of Barbieland out of their patriarchal trance and back into power over a world they created. That dialogue reminds Christopher and Heather of why we created VBB...

She didn't create Barbie but was hired to help revive and diversify the image of the world's most iconic toy. Long before the blockbuster movie, VBB welcomed cultural expert Jess Weiner to take us on tour through the boardrooms of global brands like...

Dana Killion is an accomplished author and a skilled storyteller known for her captivating mystery novels, but in her powerful debut memoir, Where the Shadows Dance, is where she lays bare the slow drip of the trauma she fought through to save the man...

Gina Cloud is a deeply devoted teacher, author, speaker, and advocate of all things women. Gina is a rebel and a revolutionary determined to free women from the societal, biological, and personal prisons they have endured for millennia. Using her...

Nichole Crawford is a U.S. Army veteran with combat service in Iraq post-9/11. Like many veterans, Nichole believed that coming home not wearing a body bag or suffering a debilitating injury made her one of the lucky ones. War was something she could...

Kate Brookes (a.k.a. Transister Mom) is an award-winning TV reporter/anchor turned producer/filmmaker who, as field produced for The Discovery Channel, has interviewed celebrities like Beyonce to Barbara Walters. She's written for Today.com, and...

Laurin Mayeno wrote a children's book to help nonbinary children like her own escape the loneliness, isolation, and mistreatment she felt as a minority. Shortly after the book's release, it was banned in schools for being age-appropriate. Laurin's question is why.

Juliane Bergmann's credentials are impressive. She's a technical writer, book coach, ghostwriter, and editor. However, Juliane also has a common issue that most adults face: an identity crisis that began in childhood.

Stephanie Clarke is a most amazing woman. Her fiery red hair is a hint to her temperament as a speaker, facilitator, author, sacred ceremony hostess, Law of Attraction life coach, and a spiritual leader self-ordained as the Irreverent Reverend. As an...

Lee Wind (he/him) is an Author and the Founder of the award-winning Blog I'M HERE. I'M QUEER. WHAT THE HELL DO I READ? Lee's Blog has over 3 million page loads from over 100 countries! Lee holds a master's degree in education from Harvard and writes...

Dr. Maria Rothenburger is a fertility therapist and coach who has been through the harrowing journey of infertility. For over six years, Maria and her husband tried in vein to start a family but it only brought depression, anxiety, and intense...

Katie Nave is a freelance writer; she's penned articles for Newsweek, Huffington Post, and other top-notch publications. She works at being effective as a mental health advocate; she's a successful professional pediatrician in one of the world's...

Melissa Leon is a 20-year corporate finance professional, small business owner, bestselling author, mother of three, and the self-proclaimed Efficiency Bitch. Melissa uses the word B.I.T.C.H. as an acronym to define the five areas she focuses on for...