The Power of Investing in Women Entrepreneurs, and a New Way to Grasp the Meaning of Work

Our Body Politic

This week, Farai Chideya and her guests dissect political news across the country, from the Senate races in Georgia to the violence in our nation’s capital. And we welcome new contributor and legal analyst Tiffany Jeffers. Impact investor Nathalie Molina Niño takes on the exclusion of women of color in finance. Business reporter Ruth Umoh takes stock of corporations’ promises to invest in racial equity. Former journalist Carla Murphy tells Farai about her mission to understand why other journalists of color leave newsrooms. Plus, the leaders of the Guild of Future Architects on what work will look like decades from now.

EPISODE RUNDOWN

0:45 Farai Chideya asks supporters of President Trump why they came to DC on January 6th.

2:41 Legal analyst Tiffany Jeffers breaks down the different legal and ethical questions behind Trump’s call to Georgia’s Secretary of State.

4:46 Political contributor Errin Haines and Tiffany Jeffers dissect what the insurrection means for democracy in America.

6:16 Jeffers explains how white supremacy is baked into the country’s legal systems.

10:00 Haines describes what the group of reluctant Trump supporters will mean for the incoming Biden-Harris administration.

13:09 Impact investor Nathalie Molina Niño talks about her background in tech, and her increasing interest in political financing.

17:45 Niño explains the importance of investing in women of color, one the most entrepreneurial and innovative groups of businesspeople across the globe.

19:37 In order to get more money in the hands of women business owners, we have to invest, loan, and buy from this same community, Niño says.

22:27 The Covid update looks at the upward trend of confirmed cases and deaths due to the coronavirus, as well as the implication of the newest variant of the virus.

26:11 Our Body Politic contributor and business reporter, Ruth Umoh, looks into corporations’ promises to invest in racial equity.

28:07 The mechanism behind diversity initiatives differs from company to company, leaving it up to reporters to hold them accountable, Umoh says.

30:17 Umoh suggests that companies should first define what they mean by diversifying their company, before trying to hit unknown targets.

32:38 Carla Murphy, a former journalist, has stepped out of the profession and now focuses on why others are leaving the industry.

34:56 The reckoning in journalism is being shaped by the social movements of the last few years, Murphy explains, like Occupy Wall Street and #MeToo.

36:32 Murphy says it’s very difficult to succeed in the media industry without having independent financial support as an early career journalist.

37:24 Organizing for a living wage is imperative in the journalist world, Murphy says.

39:55 The SPEAK platform records callers’ voicemails and gives a prompt for listeners to participate in Our Body Politic.

41:46 Sharon Chang and Kamal Sinclair of The Guild of Future Architects return to examine how we can better understand the role work plays in our lives.

45:50 Sinclair suggests society should invest in unlocking human potential by not only valuing people’s work output, but by valuing the creativity and passion within their work.

49:30 Chang explains why she thinks the word retirement should be abolished altogether.