In this episode, we sit down with the brilliant Anouska Bhattacharya, VP of Programs at YW Boston, for a conversation that somehow ties together the imperialist history of the gin and tonic, the absolute barbarism of mammograms, and the future of equity work in a post-DEI world.

Anouska shares her origin story as a "recovering academic" who traded the ivory tower for community organizing, and explains how her neurobiology background helps her understand why systems can, and must, be unlearned. We get into how DEI work is evolving (spoiler: call it civility, call it employee engagement, the work continues), what it means to find joy as fuel for sustainability, and why she's currently tap dancing in her Watertown basement while performing in a burlesque reimagining of the Nutcracker.

Plus: ice shipped from Massachusetts to India, dense breasts, and a love story between Pluto and its moon. You know, the usual. 😂

Chapters:

• [00:00] Intro & Workshop Promo: Reimagining the Future of Work Together
• [09:19] Meet Anouska: A Recovering Academic's Origin Story
• [14:07] Why History of Science? Drawing Lines Between Normal & Abnormal
• [17:30] The Three Pillars: Leadership, Community & Joy
• [21:13] How Felicia & Rachel First Met Anouska
• [22:01] The Imperialist History of the Gin & Tonic
• [28:06] Ice Ships from Massachusetts to India
• [33:36] The Mammogram Rant
• [38:37] Hard Pivot: The State of DEI Work
• [43:40] Renaming the Work: Civility, Employee Engagement & Beyond
• [49:52] Did Companies Ever Really Care? Risk Mitigation vs. Real Change
• [53:11] Finding Balance: Tap Dancing, Plants & Pluto's Love Story
• [56:22] The Slutcracker & the Radical Power of Art
• [60:35] Colonialism, Modesty & Reclaiming Our Bodies
• [61:14] Station Eleven: Survival Is Insufficient
• [64:05] Building Community in Hard Times
• [66:10] Where to Find Anouska & Slutcracker Performance Dates

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