Two Old Bitches: Stories from Women who Reimagine, Reinvent and Rebel

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-inc...

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. First...

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...

True confessions: as Two Old Bitches, we fully expected the Golden Bachelor to
be the height of cringey, old-people porn. Watching 22 women in their 60s and
70s compete for the affections of one old man threatened gladiator-level, fury-
induced female feuds. And were we ever wrong!  Kathy Swarts, one of the
most memorable of the contestants, set us straight in our delightful
conversation with her. Kathy, at 70 years old, helped us ...

American sculptor Jeanne Silverthorne, 73, is an “artist’s artist” known for cast rubber pieces and installations drawn from her studio, turning everyday objects and people into “metaphors for the inevitability of age and decay, …tempered with humor, hope and humanity.” (For photos of a favorite work of ours, Banshee: Self-Portrait at 73, see our website and social media.) She has showed her work at leading New York galleries for d...

Who Are You? It’s a simple and profound question that we ask (almost) every guest on Two Old Bitches. And given that most of our guests are women over 60, we were curious if a review of their answers might reveal some patterns or insights into how we identify as we age. What we found: for some people, it still changes daily. Others had epiphanies early in life and still identify with that early no...

If you were deeply enmeshed in the ‘womyn’s’ music scene or romped topless through the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festivals in the 1970s and 1980s, then you will pulsate with memories of the amazing, kick-ass all-women’s rock group, Fanny. Even if you missed it, we hope you can imagine how revolutionary and transgressive Fanny was in its heyday in the early 70s. Which is why we were thrilled to find June Millington...

We couldn't resist. We were way too curious about ChatGPT to let all of the controversy and (rightful) concern about the dangers of AI deter us from asking it about our favorite topic: the experiences of women in our second half of life. So we asked Chat to take on the persona of an older woman, "dive into the muddy waters of gender and ageism" and share "wisdom that only comes from years of livin' and loving." What we found? You b...

Two Old Bitches love a good reinvention story. By her count at 73, MaryJane Fahey is on “her 5th reinvention!” (But who’s counting?) She was a designer, published author, now an editor, writer, future playwright, future sculptor –and the list goes on. A few years ago, she started Glorious Broads, a media platform that encourages “women of all age...

Branca Moreira Alves, 82, is absolutely certain about a lot of things: that her primary identity is ‘feminist’, that life is a lot of fun, and that moments matter.  A key leader in launching the second wave feminist movement in Brazil -- during its brutal dictatorship from the mid-60s to the mid-80s -- Branca shares vivid memories and poignant reflections on feminist awakenings, political evolutions and balanci...

You know those “aha” moments, those flashing lights of clarity, the thundering realization that you’ve met your passion? We realized that so many of the women we’ve talked with on TOB have had these at different points in their lives. And these epiphanies, turning points and serendipitous happenings continue throughout our lives. So, as we start 2023, we went back to different conversations with t...

Gifted ceramic artists Rosanne Ebner, 67, and Liberty Valance, 73, have worked with clay for five or six decades. They say laughing that “it just happened,” yet it is clear that their art is an irresistible and abiding calling. It surfaced for Liberty in preschool where she created her first works–an elephant and ashtray she still has— and for Rosanne in high school. Liberty and Rosanne are also g...

Donna Uchizono is the first and only American-born choreographer of Asian ancestry to receive notable national and international recognition in the history of modern dance.  She’s received a Guggenheim and a “Bessie,” been commissioned by the likes of Mikhail Baryshnikov and Oliver Sachs, and toured her eponymous dance company around the world. We mention this first because – as you will hear in our con...

Gutsy, vital, creative Jody Oberfelder is committed to a life of ‘becoming,’ recognizing that becoming older is also about learning to trust your voice and continue to advance. This New York-based choreographer, director and filmmaker – leading Jody Oberfelder Projects (JOP) -- considers herself ‘mid-career’ at 68. She con...

“I have to create, because that is an extension of my breath,” is just one of the many insights into living deeply and meaningfully as an artist that 62-year old director and choreographer extraordinaire Marlies Yearby shared during our illuminating conversation in this episode. The multiple honors she’s received include Tony and Dora-award nominations for her choreography of RENT, the Drama League Awar...

What are you streaming these days? Two Old Bitches always wants to know, especially if you find shows that feature pithy, provocative and stereotype-busting roles for women of a certain age. Luckily, we're seeing some uptick in those (though not nearly pithy and provocative enough and mostly white women....). That's why we're back with two of our three magnificent Screen Bitches -- Debbie Zimm...

As soon as we learned we landed an interview with Judy Gold, stellar comedian, actor and writer, Two Old Bitches started grinning and giggling. What a coup! Once we actually began talking with her, we laughed out loud, and often, at her insightful zingers. Judy, whose comedic heroes are Joan Rivers and Phyllis Diller, makes you laugh, and think. Approaching 60, her many credits include: countless stand-up comedy perfo...

Fifteen years ago, Ayesha Pande, a successful editor with top publishers (e.g. Farrar Straus and Giroux) struck out on her own to build a mission-driven literary agency with an antiracist focus based in Harlem. Ayesha Pande Literary has flourished and is known for launching an award-winning, bestselling and inclusive list of authors, scholars, and emerging writers. Its team of almost all BIPOC women agents represent acclaimed autho...

What does it take to be a man whom we interview on Two Old Bitches? Stephen P. Williams, 64, only the second man on our show in five years, is an excellent example of just what it takes. A journalist, author, visual artist and the creator of Stephen’s People, a newsletter on aging, he is as fascinated by getting old as we are. (Full disclosure: his piece on Old Men sex dolls in his newsletter ...