From Frustration to Legacy: Ambition, Speaking for Pay & Making It Without Losing It with Jess Ekstrom

Prevention is the Point: A New Approach to Sexual Assault with Jess Ladd and Kristin Hatcher

Far to often, we hear about sexual assault after it happens. But what if we could stop it before it begins? This week on Roar, Danielle is joined by two women working at the forefront of an effort most people don't talk about nearly enough: prevention. Jess Ladd and Kristin Hatcher are the co-founders of The Fund to Prevent Sexual Assault, an organization with a bold public health vision: to reduce rape in the United States by 70% by the year 2050. They're funding ambitious research, breakthrough prevention ideas, and innovators who are reimagining what safety could look like in terms of sexual assault. We talk about why prevention has been chronically underfunded, what real progress could look like, and why this work has to be led by people committed to sexual safety and agency. We also get into the Epstein files, the role of porn and gaming culture in shaping teen behavior, why a perpetrator-led organization might actually be the most powerful model, and a whole lot more. This episode will make you think. And even better, give you some hope for the future. What we talked about: * Why the field has historically focused on response over prevention, and why that has to change * Why prevention isn't just school assemblies and consent lectures—it's a full public health approach, like what worked for teen smoking * The driver's ed analogy: why we've built so many guardrails around getting in a car, and almost none around a teenager's first sexual experience * The role of porn, TikTok, gaming culture, and the manosphere in shaping teen norms around consent * Why some people—including some in the sexual assault field—believe prevention is impossible and what the research actually says * The Epstein effect: how high-profile cases shape public understanding, and complicate the work * The 5% statistic that should change the way every parent thinks * What you can do right now, from your role as a parent, employer, PTA member, or just a person who ccares The Three Grantees The Fund ran an open call focused on preventing high school-age, peer-on-peer rape perpetration using technology or social media. They received over 100 applications. Here are the three they are currently funding: 1. Teach Us Consent [https://www.teachusconsent.com/ ]: An initiative originally from Australia, now expanding into the U.S. They're using social media to teach young people about consent through the platforms they're already on. 2. The Kaisa Project [https://preventsa.org/cohort-1]: This project is working inside gaming culture—one of the primary spaces where teen boys spend time—by partnering with streamers who already have large followings. 3. Is This Ok? [https://preventsa.org/cohort-1]A standalone web app functioning as an AI-powered coach for young people navigating sexual and romantic situations. Teens can use it to evaluate whether a situation was consensual, what they might do differently, or how to approach something they're planning. Resources & Links Mentioned The Fund to Prevent Sexual Assault [https://preventsa.org/] Donate, sign up for their newsletter, or contact them directly. South of Forgiveness [https://bookshop.org/a/124568/9781510730014] by Thordis Elva & Tom Stranger—a perpetrator and his victim write about the journey of accountability and repair, together. Ted Women Talk [https://youtu.be/gyPoqFcvt9w?si=q3O0wUR3y5ZjqqRY]with Thordis Elva and Tom Stranger Callisto [https://www.projectcallisto.org/]: the survivor platform where Jess and Kristin first worked together Moxie [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6432466/]: directed by Amy Poehler & available on Netflix. A fantastic depiction of female advocacy and male allyship in a high school setting. Highly recommend watching with your teen. The Truth Campaign [https://www.thetruth.com/]- the Anti-tobacco campaign Jess referenced as a model for what culture-level change can look like Alex Robboy, sex therapist in Philadelphia—mentioned in context of this episode; featured in ROAR Season 3 [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/UeDXA19mD3b]and Season 4 [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/sULs4TbnD3b]. Don't Miss a Conversation Follow & Subscribe on Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834 ], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf ], and YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@] Sign up for Danielle's newsletter [https://substack.com/@roarwithdanielledavies?utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page ] Be a guest on Roar [https://www.danielledavies.com/be-a-guest ] Visit the Roar Store [https://www.danielledavies.com/the-roar-store] Connect: Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/roarwithdanielledavies ] LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledaviesmedia/ ] Website [https://www.danielledavies.com/]

What Moms Carry: The Science of Letting Go, Alcohol & Raising Resilient Kids with Jessica Lahey

What if the anxiety you feel for your kids—the urge to step in, fix it, smooth it over—is actually wired into your brain? Andwhat if the wine you pour at the end of that exhausting day is quietly making everything worse? In this episode, Danielle sits down with Jessica Lahey—educator, journalist, author of The Gift of Failure andThe Addiction Inoculation, and a woman nearly 14 years into her own recovery—for a conversation about what the research actually tells us about raising kids who are resilient, substance-aware, and capable of handling difficulty on their own. This isn’t a parenting lecture. It’s part science, partconfession, and part permission slip, for the mother who’s quietly wondering if she’s doing it right, and reaching for something to take the edge off when she’s not sure. In this conversation, we talk about • Why the parental brain reads a child’s struggle as afull-blown emergency, and what to do with that impulse • The “mommy wine culture” problem: what our kids are absorbing when every hard moment ends with“I need a drink” • Why the European moderation myth is just that, and what theWHO data actually says • How competence, mastery, and self-efficacy protect kidsbetter than any single conversation about drugs • What’s different for women and alcohol: metabolism, anxiety, and the breast cancer connection • How to reset the rules in your house, even if you feel like you’ve already “messed it up” Key Takeaways • The single most consistent finding: delay first use aslong as possible. The younger the first use, the higher the lifetime risk. •When you ask parents why kids drink, they say peer pressure. When you ask kids, they say stress and anxiety. • Kids who learn to handle hard things and feel thedopamine hit of real achievement have a genuinely lower risk. • Women metabolize alcohol differently, and drinking to manage anxiety almost always backfires. •It’s never too late to change the conversation. Links Mentioned in This Episode⁠ [https://www.jessicalahey.com/] Jessica's website ⁠ [https://www.jessicalahey.com/](Includesall her videos, books, etc.) ⁠Jessica's substack⁠ [https://jesslahey.substack.com/]⁠ [https://humanup.com/] HumanUp⁠ [https://humanup.com/]⁠ [https://amwriting.substack.com/] Jessica's writing podcast⁠ [https://amwriting.substack.com/] Related Conversations⁠ [https://youtu.be/XLsq59K1WHQ?si=B9H_T1PjH7BOPLIC] Raising Resisters with Renee Niemann⁠ [https://youtu.be/XLsq59K1WHQ?si=B9H_T1PjH7BOPLIC]⁠ [https://youtu.be/hYTLo7yoOQY?si=-b4lgnLMi1Pkw_lu] Why "Doing it All" Is Making Women Sick with Gifty Enright⁠ [https://youtu.be/hYTLo7yoOQY?si=-b4lgnLMi1Pkw_lu] Follow & Subscribe to Roar 🎧⁠Apple Podcasts⁠ [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834] 🎧 ⁠Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf] ⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf]▶️YouTube⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@RoarPod] 📩 ⁠Newsletter⁠ [https://substack.com/@roarwithdanielledavies] 🙋⁠ Be a guest⁠ [https://www.danielledavies.com/be-a-guest] Connect with Danielle⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/roarwithdanielledavies] Instagram⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/roarwithdanielledavies]⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledaviesmedia/] LinkedIn⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledaviesmedia/]⁠ [https://www.danielledavies.com/] Website⁠ [https://www.danielledavies.com/] #RoarPodcast #MidlifeWomen #Parenting#SubstanceUsePrevention #AlcoholAwareness #GiftOfFailure #AddictionInoculation#DanielleDavies #womensvoices

The Unexpected Power of Pie, Memory, and Human Connection with Beth Howard

What if the smallest, simplest things...are the ones that carry us through the hardest moments? In this episode of Roar, Danielle sits down with writer and pie baker Beth Howard for a conversation that starts with something light, and becomes something much deeper. Because at first glance, pie doesn't feel like a serious topic. But in Beth's world, it means more than one thing. What began as baking became something else entirely, including a way to process loss, connect with others, and move through moments that don't always have easy answers. Danielle and Beth explore what it looks like to turn something simple into something meaningful, and how everyday acts can become a form of care, connection, and healing. Together, they talk about: * How something as simple as baking can take on deeper meaning * The connection between creativity and grief * Why working with your hands can help process emotions * The role of ritual in a technological world * Letting go of perfection and focusing on presence * How sharing something small can create connection * The accessibility of simple acts, no expertise required * What it means to do something when there are no words Beth's perspective reminds us that we don't always need big solutions. Sometimes we just need something to do with our hands, our attention, and our care. Key Takeaways: * Simple acts can carry deep meaning * Creativity can be a tool for processing grief. * You don't need expertise to create something meaningful. * Ritual can provide grounding during difficult times. * Connection often comes through sharing small things. Links Mentioned in this Episode: Beth's Website [https://theworldneedsmorepie.com/] (includes her books, Pieowa showing schedule, classes and more) Related conversations: Lisa Field on creative spaces [https://open.spotify.com/episode/4cYnNAdpPkw8dkNbgDdQ8F?si=SJ5LxGXtS1-uDSD74MLIPA] Katherine Center on finding joy [https://open.spotify.com/episode/0mBOic9PTXjWbtLwSuYLdV?si=TqFGTL7XQzmrHywdbDSWMg] Follow & Subscribe to Roar: 🎧 Apple Podcasts: ⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834⁠ [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834] 🎧 Spotify: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf⁠ [https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf] ▶️ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/@roarpod⁠ [https://www.youtube.com/@roarpod] 📩 Newsletter: ⁠https://substack.com/@roarwithdanielledavies⁠ [https://substack.com/@roarwithdanielledavies] 🙋 Be a guest: ⁠https://www.danielledavies.com/be-a-guest⁠ [https://www.danielledavies.com/be-a-guest] Connect with Danielle: Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/roarwithdanielledavies⁠ [https://www.instagram.com/roarwithdanielledavies] LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledaviesmedia/⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledaviesmedia/] Website: ⁠https://www.danielledavies.com/ [https://www.danielledavies.com/] #RoarPodcast #BethHoward #Pie #Grief #Creativity #WomenAndCreativity#Healing #Ritual #DanielleDavies

From Frustration to Legacy: Ambition, Speaking for Pay & Making It Without Losing It with Jess Ekstrom

What happens when frustration becomes a lifelong operating system? In this episode of Roar, Danielle Davies sits down with Jess Ekstrom, an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and founder ofboth Headbands of Hope and Mic Drop Workshop , for a conversation that is equal parts practical, personal, and unexpectedly profound.  What begins with a childhood camping trip and a tangled Walkman cord quickly expands into a wide-ranging discussion about advocacy, economic empowerment, ambition, legacy, and what it really means to build something without losing yourself in the process. What You'll Hear in This Episode•      Why Jess's dad's response to a frustrated middle-schooler became the foundation for everything she's built •      How Jess ended up being the first woman to speak at a conference that had been running for 15 years, and why that's not a compliment •      The moment she asked an event organizer why they booked her, and what his honest answer revealed about the speaking industry •      Why women second-guess their place on stage while men confidently ask for $50,000, and what's actually behind that gap •      Danielle's own experience taking Jess's free course and landing a $2,500 paid speaking gig almost immediately after •       Jess's philosophy on over-delivering vs. gatekeeping, and why she pushed back on advice to hold more back •      The Bernie Madoff connection in Jess's family, and how that trauma quietly turbocharged her hustle •      What happened when Jess accidentally signed up for a death-and-dying silent retreat in Asheville, and how it reframed her entire relationship with ambition •      The shift from checklists to legacy: how Jess thinks about building things that outlive her goals •      Practical speaking tips: the 'spotlight to lighthouse' mindset shift, the 'start button' technique, and why being relatable is your competitive edge in the age of AI •      The 'contribution vss. completion' framework from her upcoming book, and why most of us are exhausted because we keep chasing 'done' •      Her upcoming book Making It Without Losing It (available TODAY!) Links & Resources: 📖 Jess's new book, Making It Without Losing It, available TODAY! https://shorturl.at/DC2bi [https://shorturl.at/DC2bi] 🌐 Jess’s website: www.JessEkstrom.com [http://www.JessEkstrom.com] 🆓 The FREEBIE Class that Danielle took that TOTALLY WORKED: https://micdropworkshop.com/home-free-webinar [https://micdropworkshop.com/home-free-webinar]🎤 Mic Drop Workshop: https://www.micdropworkshop.com [https://www.micdropworkshop.com] 📚 Headbands of Hope: https://www.headbandsofhope.com [https://www.headbandsofhope.com] Related Episodes: Our convo with NYT Bestselling author Katherine Center: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0mBOic9PTXjWbtLwSuYLdV?si=2c46bd9a10934a1a [https://open.spotify.com/episode/0mBOic9PTXjWbtLwSuYLdV?si=2c46bd9a10934a1a] A chat with visibility dynamo Cheldin Barlatt Rumer: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5H8J8d2zKXqpptZG53k2wr?si=b9fd9904efd74f60 [https://open.spotify.com/episode/5H8J8d2zKXqpptZG53k2wr?si=b9fd9904efd74f60] Follow & Subscribe to Roar: 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834] 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf [https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf] ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@roarpod [https://www.youtube.com/@roarpod] 📩 Newsletter: https://substack.com/@roarwithdanielledavies [https://substack.com/@roarwithdanielledavies] 🙋 Be a guest: https://www.danielledavies.com/be-a-guest [https://www.danielledavies.com/be-a-guest] Connect with Danielle: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roarwithdanielledavies [https://www.instagram.com/roarwithdanielledavies] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledaviesmedia/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledaviesmedia/] Website: https://www.danielledavies.com/ [https://www.danielledavies.com/] #RoarPodcast #JessEkstrom#MicDropWorkshop #WomenWhoSpeak #SpeakingForPay #MakingItWithoutLosingIt#WomenInBusiness #WomenInLeadership #DanielleDavies #PublicSpeaking#WomenEmpowerment #HeadbandsOfHope What You'll Hear in This Episode

The Work No One Sees with Rebekah Pierce

Did you ever think of the work you naturally do as a women, mom, and/or teacher, work that holds up the whole system, isn't actually harmless? In fact, Rebekah Pierce uses a different word for it: Destructive. In this episode of Roar, Danielle Davies sits down with educator, author, and womanist, Rebekah Pierce to talk about something that feels specific to classrooms, but isn't. Because while this conversation starts with teaching, it quickly becomes about something much bigger: who is expected to carry people, absorb pressure, and create stability inside systems that were never designed to support them in the first place. Rebekah's work challenges one of the most deeply ingrained assumptions in education—that learning begins with productivity. Instead, she asks a different question: what happens when we center humanity first? And even more importantly: Who is already doing that work, without recognition? Together, Danielle & Rebekah talk about: 🔥Why classrooms often rely on emotional labor more than curriculum 🔥The invisible work teachers do to create safety, stability, and trust 🔥 How "care" becomes an expectation, not a choice 🔥The womanist lens: who is doing the sustaining work, and why 🔥What it means to operate inside systems that were never built for wholeness 🔥 How women internalize the role of "holding everything together" 🔥The cost of constantly choosing humanity inside productivity-driven environments 🔥Why systems don't change This conversation starts in a classroom, but it doesn't stay there. Because once you see it, you can't unsee the ways women hold space, absorb impact, and make things work that were never designed to. Key Takeaways: * Systems often function because of people, not because they work well. * Emotional labor is not extra. It's what makes environments survivable. * Women are disproportionately expected to carry that labor. * Care has been reframed as obligation instead of choice. * Real change would require systems to stop relying on over-functioning individuals. Links related to this discussion: Before the Lesson Begins [https://www.amazon.com/Before-Lesson-Begins-Reflection-Affirmations-ebook/dp/B0G2SNL667] Rebekah's Substacks: https://captainjacknovellaseries.substack.com/ [https://captainjacknovellaseries.substack.com/] https://rebekahlynnpierce.substack.com/ [https://rebekahlynnpierce.substack.com/] Rebekah's website [https://rlpproductions.com/] Marcus Garvey [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garvey-biography/] Sojourner Truth [https://www.pbs.org/thisfarbyfaith/people/sojourner_truth.html]Related Convos: Why Women Are Taught to Be Palatable with Sophie Jane Lee: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2NK45ObtHFc3G9PTgFoiro?si=FcPMySeIRHSvJNX9MYyc4Q [https://open.spotify.com/episode/2NK45ObtHFc3G9PTgFoiro?si=FcPMySeIRHSvJNX9MYyc4Q] The Lie of "Doing it All" with Gifty Enright: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/SPCahSAXG2b [https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/SPCahSAXG2b] 💥 Don’t Miss a Conversation 🎧Follow & Subscribe on: Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834]), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf [https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf]) YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@roarpod [https://www.youtube.com/@roarpod] 📩 Sign up for Danielle’s newsletter [https://substack.com/@roarwithdanielledavies?utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page] 🙋‍♀️ Want to be on Roar? [https://www.danielledavies.com/be-a-guest] 🤝 Want to partner with us? danielle@danielledavies.com 👕 Get your Roar Merch [https://www.redbubble.com/people/roarpodcast/shop] 🔗 Connect * Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/roarwithdanielledavies] * LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledaviesmedia/] ⁠ https://www.danielledavies.com/ [https://www.danielledavies.com/] #RoarPodcast #WomenAndWork #EmotionalLabor #Education #Womanism #InvisibleLabor #Leadership #CareWork #SystemicChange