Meenu Vadera greets the world and all it has to offer with curiosity and buckets of ideas and inspiration. We met Meenu in Delhi more than 10 years ago. A friend wisely advised us to hire newly-trained women chauffeurs to drive us around the city. These inspiring and fierce young women had graduated from the program that Meenu founded and led – Sakha Cabs for Women and its sister organization, Azad Foundation, which trains low-income women to become drivers. It continues to grow with more than 5,000 women in Delhi and other Indian cities prepared to work as private chauffeurs, taxi drivers, bus drivers and now in the newest initiative –as long-haul tractor trailer drivers! Meenu is both creating opportunities and safety for women, as well as challenging and changing the transport industry. That’s Meenu. She makes the impossible possible. Which is why she has received numerous awards for being a groundbreaking social impact entrepreneur, a feminist inspiration to activists everywhere and a champion of women’s and young people’s leadership. As she enters her 60s, we wanted to hear about how she is thinking about what’s next in her work (if any feminist angel investors are reading this blurb, Meenu wants to hear from you!)], what she thinks about ‘later daters' and pursuing pleasure, and how she interjects so much joy and generosity into the world. We are so thrilled that you get to share a part of the amazing energy that Meenu shared with us!

------------------------------

Visit www.twooldbitches.com

Follow us on Instagram @twooldbitches, Twitter @TwoOldBitches, Facebook @TwoOBPodcast

Created, Produced and hosted by Joanne Sandler & Idelisse Malavé

Edited by Jeyda Bicer

Social media management by Loubna Bouajaj

When the world is too much to bear, we go shopping. When we celebrate, we also go shopping. When we’re bored or in search of distraction...you guessed it: we shop. Conflicted feminists suffering from rampant consumerism? Perhaps, but it’s also our form of meditation and imagination, of reconnecting with ancient rites of hunting and gathering. This episode about shopping – in New York City and Santa Fe – is a tribute to women. Firstly, the women who taught us to shop: our mothers. And it is a celebration of all the women artists and shopkeepers who valiantly – and we deeply value their vision and courage – immerse themselves in the beauty, the fabrics, the designs and personal expression that goes into stocking and staging their stores. We feature interviews with three NYC iconic owner/founders who have had their stores for 30 to 40 years: Luxor Tavela (who sadly passed away 2 years ago and whose artist husband, Jeffrey, is keeping it open!), founder of Paracelso in Soho; Vici of Muleh in Chelsea, NYC; and Rene of Rene on the Upper East Side of NYC. We also visit with Guadalupe Goler of Goler Shoes in Santa Fe. All of these women are artists, steeped in passion, creativity and care for their clients. All are immigrants who brought their love of fashion and their dreams to the U.S. All have had clients for many decades who are now bringing their daughters and granddaughters to these temples of style. We also include some tips on shopping New York City’s iconic department store – Century 21 (which Idelisse calls ‘the mother ship’) and give listeners a quick rundown of some of the best older-women-fashionista sites and influencers. So let us take you with us to some of our favorite boutiques and shopping experiences and – whether you’re bored, celebrating, looking for distractions or actually need clothes – please visit these amazing stores and artist-owners.

And we’d love to know about any special boutiques that you treasure – anywhere in the world – and also hope you take our style quiz to explore, a bit more, what you’re saying when you get dressed. Enjoy!!

Visit these stores and be completely wow’ed! -

In New York City:
Muleh
500 W 22nd St (W 20th St)

Paracelso
510 Broome Street
(between 6th Ave and West Broadway)

Rene
927 Madison Avenue
(between 73rd and 74th)

Century 21 Department Store
22 Cortlandt Street

In Santa Fe:
Goler Shoes
125 East Palace Ave

------------------------------

Visit www.twooldbitches.com

Follow us on Instagram @twooldbitches, Twitter @TwoOldBitches, Facebook @TwoOBPodcast

Created, Produced and hosted by Joanne Sandler & Idelisse Malavé

Edited by Jeyda Bicer

Social media management by Loubna Bouajaj

TOB followers know that we are obsessed with discovering positive and powerful roles for older women in movies and TV. That’s why we lure our sister Screen Bitches -- Debbie Zimmerman (Women Make Movies), Malaga Baldi (Baldi Literary Agency) and Aruna Rao (Gender at Work) – onto the podcast at least twice a year to schmooze about what we’re watching and how TV and movies challenge (or regrettably affirm) stereotypes of older women in popular media. This time, we were kind of gobsmacked. For three reasons. First, because Debbie was inducted into the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences (Oscars!) this year --so this episode features her firsthand account of an Academy newbie, walking the (other) red carpet. Second, because we actually found at least one film and a dramatic series with really superb portrayals of older women. If you haven’t seen Slow Horses (Apple TV) or Nyad (Netflix), stop what you’re doing right now and tune in. We thought that Annette Bening and Jodie Foster were extraordinary in the way they portrayed 60-year old Diana Nyad and her best friend Bonnie Stoll in Nyad's swim from Cuba to Florida. (Only three of us loved the movie.) And while they are not main characters, three —not one, but three!— powerful and pivotal women over 50 in Slow Horses – Sophie Okonedo, Saskia Reeves, and Kristin Scott Thomas -- epitomize characteristics you rarely see attributed to women of a certain age.

And third, we were so inspired – especially by Slow Horses – that TOB is now launching a screening tool to let movie and TV makers know we’re watching. You know how Alison Bechdel brilliantly coined The Bechdel Test as a set of three simple criteria to measure the active presence (or absence) of women in film? Well, we love that test – and appreciate the influence it’s had on generating more and better roles for women -- so we’re introducing The TOBies, a set of 5 criteria to measure the quality of presence of OLDER women in TV and film. And they are that the older women are: 1) NOT solely defined by their age; 2) integral to the plot; 3) making independent choices (e.g., they have agency); 4) NOT seeking a man as ‘the prize’; 5) there are at least two older women (e.g., no tokenism). We’d love to know what you think! And to know if you see any films or TV shows where you think the portrayals of older women meet these criteria. Wouldn’t you love to join us on Screen Bitches this year?

------------------------------

Visit www.twooldbitches.com

Follow us on Instagram @twooldbitches, Twitter @TwoOldBitches, Facebook @TwoOBPodcast

Created, Produced and hosted by Joanne Sandler & Idelisse Malavé

Edited by Jeyda Bicer

Social media management by Loubna Bouajaj