Unsilent Women
Welcome to the Unsilent Women podcast!
Join hosts Poorva Misra-Miller and Nashina Merani Miranda on a courageous and heartfelt journey through the multifaceted world of gender, race, heritage, and feminism.
As proud brown women navigating predominantly white spaces, they forge paths and break barriers. Their conversations encompass everything from the ancient art of tattooing as a means of self-expression to how food shapes our culture and collective identity, from ancestral trauma's haunting echoes to the relentless drumbeat of late-stage capitalism and hustle culture.
With a blend of robust research and empathy, fueled by strong coffee and unbreakable bonds, Poorva and Nashina create a rich tapestry of thought-provoking dialogue. They aim to discuss, heal, educate, and connect.
Unsilent Women is a platform to build bridges, spark inspiration, and foster a global sisterhood among women of color everywhere.
Tune in, and be part of a conversation that transcends labels and builds understanding.
Episodes
23 episodes
Foster Your Care Web - A Physician's Perspective with Dr. Sheila Wijaysinghe
In today's episode, we're honored to have Dr. Sheila Wijaysinghe, a renowned advocate for equitable healthcare, joining us in a vital discussion that resonates with many.In this Episode:Unpacking the Legacy of COVID...
A Journey Into the “Label-less” Self
Welcome back to the second season of Unsilent Women! This season, host Poorva returns with a fabulous new co-host Nashina Merani Miranda, to have an impactful conversation on a topic that resonates deeply with women of color around the globe.
Swipe left to find someone right
We are in the era of swiping left to find the right person. An endless digital scrapbook of options for every taste, interest, physical, social or lifestyle preference. But what does this era of dating through a portal mean for finding love. Po...
A container just for you — establishing healthy boundaries with Dr. Tracy Dalgleish
Where is the line where you end and another person begins? Why do we struggle to identify our limits? And how do we establish effective and healthy boundaries with the people we love, in personal and professional relationships, and even with ou...
Once upon a time, you heard it in a nursery rhyme — with Maria Vicente
Did the Sweet Valley series inform a young girl's ideas of dating and romance? Does Harry Potter have anything to do with how we think about elite education? Is Bella Swan, a love-obsessed teen really an accurate portrayal of a teenage girl?
The unsilent majority — with Zahra Siddiqui
Representation and diversity have become major talking points over the last year. Phrases like “if you can see it you can be it,” are popular platitudes of support, offered at diversity seminars and plastered in Millennial pink quote back...
Diversity in the stack — with Lauren Washington
The tech world is full of upstarts and startups, and might look something like — a young, college dropout, disproportionately white and male. Those are the stories that make the news, the tech darlings that get funded. But what about the ...
Write your wishes — writer discipline, stick-to-it-ness and a little magic, with Marissa Stapley
The writer's journey is long, serpentine and lonely. No one really becomes a writer. You simply write. If you love it and you write long enough there might be a future in the books. But what happens when rejection is name of the game, boo...
Go big or go bigger — dauntless entrepreneurship with Veronica Kirin
In our pandemic world where work is digital, people are stretched, and job security feels like a thing of the past, entrepreneurship is exploding. In a world of tech-lords and big business, we are seeing the rise of a new kind of “nation-...
Welcome to the jungle — high vibes in Costa Rica
Welcome to the jungles of Costa Rica! This is a first solo episode where host Poorva talks about moving to Costa Rica and early observations on what makes this Central American country such a happy and peaceful place. She explores topics like t...
Win like a woman with Mariam Qizilbash
What does winning look like? The abundance mindset has become a popular phrase to encourage people to view their lives from a place of plenty instead of scarcity. Yet our systems make it so that the feeling of scarcity and the need to compete a...
My body, my gaze with Camila Kater
What are women's bodies? In this episode, Poorva talks to Brazilian screenwriter, animator and director Camila Kater about her animated short Portuguese language film, Carne or Flesh. The film, told in vignettes shares five personal stori...
Unifying the world one voice at a time with Sophie Beren
In Episode 11 Poorva talks to Sophie Beren, the founder and CEO of the Conversationalist, a Gen-Z platform dedicated to amplifying Gen Zers voices and helping them break out of the echo chamber. They talk about what it means to be in an echo ch...
Closing the funding gender gap with Jessica Gaffney
In this episode, Poorva talks to Jessica (Jess) Gaffney, CEO and Executive Director of Beam (formerly Women in Austin) a not-for-profit that aims to close the venture capital funding gap for women-owned businesses. They talk about the imp...
"Being in the room doesn't change the walls" with Jasmine Sharma
What does it mean to be complicit in your own oppression? What does racial assimilation or performing "whiteness," look like? What does it mean to be an artist of color in our world today? Poorva explores these themes and more with actor, write...
Creative activism for social entrepreneurship, with Naomi Porter
Rule breakers, gender fluid, tech natives and social entrepreneurs are all words we can use to describe Gen Z. In this episode Poorva talks with Naomi Porter, a 16 year old serial entrepreneur and Girl Scout who is passionate about helping youn...
Does language speak, with Catherine Eaton
In this episode, Poorva talks to writer, actor and filmmaker Catherine Eaton about her directorial debut, The Sounding. An exquisite meditation on the meaning and subjectivity of language and its importance in how we relate to each other, the f...
It's not just their problem, it's ours too — learning who we are from pandemics, with Kari Nixon
In this episode Poorva talks to Kari Nixon, a medical humanist, author and assistant professor at Whitworth University about how pandemics shape us and our culture. They talk about the cognitive dissonance in accepting the threat of the pandemi...
Don't be you, be perfect, with Elizabeth Su
In this episode Poorva talks about perfectionism in the workplace with writer and self-care guru Elizabeth Su. They explore the many ways in which women and BIPOC women in particular conform, repress and pretzel themselves to fit into spaces th...
Life in lockdown for those at risk, with Lene Andersen
This final episode of the year encapsulates everything 2020 has been about. Poorva talks to writer and disability advocate Lene Andersen about the fear and anxiety of being someone who is high risk in the pandemic. They discuss the many ways in...
Power, privilege and #MeToo in the corporate world, with Cecilia Lyra
In this episode, Poorva talks to literary agent Cecilia Lyra about her new book The Faithfuls and navigating the tricky conversations around power, privilege and #MeToo. In a world where the language of money, power, whiteness and male...
Level up in a global pandemic, with Katie Ferriter
In this debut episode Poorva talks tech with Katie Ferriter, Head of Technology Research and Innovation at the Bank of Montreal, about emerging technologies like quantum and AI. They examine technological disruption, especially in the light of ...
