What Are We Leaving Behind?

Why do women wait until they're exhausted before giving themselves permission to stop? Dr. Beth Ricanati joins Sylvia Beckerman and Molly Wadzeck to talk about stress, guilt, and the simple weekly ritual that she says may have saved her life.

Who was Rose Knox, and how did she become a powerful business leader in 1908, when women were barely welcome in the boardroom? Historian Rachel Greenfield joins Sylvia and Molly to uncover the remarkable woman behind Knox Gelatin, her unconventional approach to leadership, and the contributions of women whose names history has largely forgotten. And when a male executive threatened to resign? Rose accepted his resignation.

Are women waiting to be desired—or asking themselves what they really want? Pamela Madsen joins Sylvia and Molly for a candid conversation about sexuality, pleasure, menopause, aging, and the freedom to explore desire on our own terms.

Author Ruth Franklin joins The Women’s Current to reconsider Anne Frank—not simply as the girl behind the famous diary, but as a young writer who deliberately shaped her words for future readers.

For the Season 2 finale of The Women's Current, Sylvia Beckerman and Molly Wadzeck turn the microphones toward themselves for a conversation about identity, motherhood, visibility, curiosity, and what they've learned from their guests, from each other, and from the lives they're living while these conversations unfold. At four. At thirty-nine. At seventy-four. We're all still learning. We're all still becoming.

Author and journalist Danielle Crittenden joins The Women's Current for a deeply personal conversation about motherhood, grief, identity, marriage, and what remains after profound loss. Drawing from her memoir Losing You, Danielle reflects on continuing bonds, enduring love, and learning to carry grief while moving forward.

What happens when your identity becomes performance? Retired U.S. Navy Captain Jenn Donahue joins The Women's Current for a conversation about fear, self-doubt, leadership, and redefining strength. From Afghanistan to self-belief, this is a powerful discussion about authenticity, resilience, and the women who come after us.

Climate isn’t only about science or politics. It’s also about motherhood, responsibility, fear, hope, and the generations that will inherit what we leave behind. Harriet Shugarman joins The Women’s Current for a conversation about activism, anxiety, community, and how women are helping shape the future.

We didn’t question it. We absorbed it. The quiet rules that shaped how women think about food, sex, and desire—long before we had language for them.

We weren’t taught. Not in school. Not in doctors’ offices. Not even by the people we trusted most. And yet—we were expected to know.