Next week’s editors’ chat will feature @josiecox.bsky.social and @kathleenedavis.bsky.social talking live about all things hustle culture and burnout. Paid subscribers can join us on October 30th at 12 PM EST to be part of this conversation. You can upgrade and sign up here: buff.ly/8d0XvQv

50 yrs ago, 90% of women in Iceland went on strike. No cooking, cleaning or childcare. Schools closed. Flights grounded. Men stayed home or took kids to work. Today Iceland has smallest gender pay gap in the world & tough equal pay laws. @josiecox.bsky.social www.thepersistent.com/50-years-ice...

10/24/75: 90% of women in Iceland went on strike—“They stopped cleaning &cooking; they stopped doing laundry &they stopped looking after their [kids]….Schools closed, flights were grounded, the telephone systm shut down, &men had to either stay home or take their kids to work” @josiecox.bsky.social

When the first excavator struck the East Wing of the White House this week, it didn't just destroy the architecture. It also began to demolish the legacy of First Ladies throughout the decades. We break down the construction project: www.thepersistent.com/white-house-...

The wedding of Jeff Bezos to Lauren Sánchez is estimated to have cost a cool $45 to $55M. Denouncing billionaire excess seems par for the course, but the criticism Sánchez is being hit with is distinctly more personal. @hollybaxter.bsky.social takes a look. www.thepersistent.com/jeff-bezos-l...

The average wedding in the U.S. now costs a cool $36,000. But @dcopaken.bsky.social discovered that embracing DIY elements for her daughter's wedding not only kept costs down—it brought communities together. www.thepersistent.com/how-to-diy-a...

American mothers are not ok: a new study shows their mental health has declined precipitously. Knowing that is sort of helpful, says @josiecox.bsky.social: "As I sifted through these depressing findings, I also felt oddly comforted," she writes. www.thepersistent.com/mothers-ment...

“The recent pregnancy of Mummy Pig—who, let me be clear, is a cartoon character—has been so hard to stomach,” writes Gabrielle Griffith. Read Gabriella’s take on the arrival of Peppa Pig’s sister, including the gender reveal and its coverage in the news. buff.ly/OSnwDFZ

Photographer Nancy Borowick spent years documenting the effects of grief. Now, she turns her lens to stillbirth and its effect on the women who lose their babies. Read her Q&A with @josiecox.bsky.social and see more of her extraordinary photos here. buff.ly/4FXLbdt

What if a solution to wipe out all mom guilt was a magic pill, so women could unabashedly do their thing without worrying about others’ feelings or perceptions? That’s the premise of a new novel, “The Guilt Pill,” by the author Saumya Dave. www.thepersistent.com/if-you-could...

Will the Catholic church ever be ready for a woman pope? It seems unlikely, but a poll by the Pew Research Center shows that American Catholics’ might be becoming more progressive. Read @josiecox.bsky.social's latest: buff.ly/lMUNLXU

In order for Katy Perry to actually have been part of the first ever all-female crew in space, she would have had to time travel back to the year 1963. Why can't we remember women in history? New from @josiecox.bsky.social:

In order for Katy Perry to actually have been part of the first ever all-female crew in space, she would have had to time travel back to the year 1963. Why can't we remember women in history? New from @josiecox.bsky.social: buff.ly/cdXzb71

Good to see Resolve, the US's biggest infertility advocacy organisation, come out against so-called "ethical" IVF, the Christian right-wing's attempt at taking away choice from those suffering from infertility, which I reported on at the beginning of this month. Link below.

A new report from the National Women’s Law Center has shown women and people of color account for a majority of the federal workers who have been laid off as a result of the sweeping budget cuts ordered by the Trump administration, reports @josiecox.bsky.social:

A new report from the National Women’s Law Center has shown women and people of color account for a majority of the federal workers who have been laid off as a result of the sweeping budget cuts ordered by the Trump administration, reports @josiecox.bsky.social: buff.ly/Wqv1a1p

Britain’s first female professional landscape gardener will finally get her due, with a statue in one of the London parks she designed — more than 70 years after her death. Read @josiecox.bsky.social: buff.ly/eSPAMTC

"Ethical IVF" could solve a dilemma for Donald Trump — and be a total nightmare for families. Read @emmahaslett.bsky.social's full analysis:

"Ethical IVF" could solve a dilemma for Donald Trump — and be a total nightmare for families. Read @emmahaslett.bsky.social's full analysis: buff.ly/pFuJ4lm

We need joy in our lives, Mara Altman writes for The Persistent. But how do we allow ourselves to feel it at a time when everything feels so dire?

We need joy in our lives, Mara Altman writes for The Persistent. But how do we allow ourselves to feel it at a time when everything feels so dire? buff.ly/mKIfy5J

“When I became pregnant with my first and only child, I was genuinely taken aback to find out that I was having a boy,” writes @hollybaxter.bsky.social. “By the look on my mother’s face when I told her, so was she. I could tell she was disappointed for me.” buff.ly/ObcgY8L

Kylie Minogue enters the second half of her fifties as a woman who’s never been married and never had children. She is also the highest-selling Australian-born solo artist of all time, writes @josiecox.bsky.social: buff.ly/kNMg1R6

"A microcosm of glitter and glamor and glee; a universe of disco balls and confetti and megawatt smiles that entirely belied the bleakness of the real world," writes @josiecox.bsky.social of seeing Kylie Minogue in concert. "This was therapy." buff.ly/kNMg1R6

The sexual assault trial of the actor Gérard Depardieu — which took place in Paris earlier this month — has been hailed in the press as a moment of cultural reckoning. But is it? Read @moniqueelfaizy.bsky.social:

The sexual assault trial of the actor Gérard Depardieu — which took place in Paris earlier this month — has been hailed in the press as a moment of cultural reckoning. But is it? Read @moniqueelfaizy.bsky.social: www.thepersistent.com/gerard-depar...

New research suggests women have more negative emotions associated with eating alone than men, but @josiecox.bsky.social feels quite the opposite: buff.ly/JQRa79b

There are some consequences of recessions and financial crises that are less obvious—and, yes, they’re gendered. buff.ly/iyJiMyw

The stories about World War II that shine a light on women rarely mention women of color. Read our Q&A from @josiecox.bsky.social with the actor Ebony Obsidian who starred in Tyler Perry’s 2024 film ‘The Six Triple Eight’.

It's here! Our first starter pack. Follow our writers, editors, contributors, and team! go.bsky.app/H3gPi1v

Trump’s executive order on elections may prevent millions from being able to vote, including married people, those who’ve transitioned genders, and people born during segregation: www.thepersistent.com/voting-right...

Trump’s executive order on elections may prevent millions from being able to vote, including married people, those who’ve transitioned genders, and people born during segregation, reports @josiecox.bsky.social: www.thepersistent.com/voting-right...

“Disabled bodies are here too, and you should see them in all their painful, resilient, beautiful glory,” writes lucywebster.bsky.social: www.thepersistent.com/disability-s...

Trump’s executive order on elections may prevent millions from being able to vote, including married people, those who’ve transitioned genders, and people born during segregation: www.thepersistent.com/voting-right...

Cities are sexist, the writer @lellyk.bsky.social discovered in 1999, while trying to navigate London with a baby and a pram. “I suddenly realized, oh, the city is really trying to tell me, 'You’re a new mom with a baby; you should be at home.’” www.thepersistent.com/urban-planni...

Yes, the way cities are designed can be sexist. But there are ways to fix them, writes @josephineleth.bsky.social: www.thepersistent.com/urban-planni...

An important piece to highlight from today's @emmahaslett.bsky.social post: A 2024 survey showed women “significantly outperform” male counterparts when working remotely, while three-quarters said their productivity had increased since they’d gone remote. www.thepersistent.com/covid-lockdo...

After five years of work from home, return-to-office mandates are everywhere. But research shows that nobody really benefits—not even businesses, reports @emmahaslett.bsky.social: www.thepersistent.com/covid-lockdo...

Generative AI cannot figure out ugly, @emmahaslett.bsky.social warns, and that is having a profound effect on our emotional wellbeing. www.thepersistent.com/beauty-gener...

Two years after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated swaths of Syria and Turkey, lives are still being rebuilt—and women are bearing the brunt of it. Read @ruchikumar.bsky.social's latest: www.thepersistent.com/a-scar-that-...

Two years on, Dicle is part of the a film project , 'Karanlıktan Sonra' (After the Darkness) made by women survivors telling their story. Read Dicle’s full story on @thepersistent.bsky.social www.thepersistent.com/a-scar-that-...

Last month, I had the privilege of meeting Dicle Hayat Dagdeviren, a 16-yr-old musician and filmmaker. She’s also a survivor 2023 earthquake that ravaged Turkey and Syria, to which she lost her mum and her brother, and was left with injuries to her legs. www.thepersistent.com/a-scar-that-...

Over the next 10 or 20 years, we’ll witness the greatest transfer of wealth in history—a changing of hands, by some estimates, of more than $80 trillion. And the majority will flow directly to women, writes @josiecox.bsky.social: www.thepersistent.com/what-is-grea...

Over the next 10 or 20 years, we’ll witness the greatest transfer of wealth in history—a changing of hands, by some estimates, of more than $80 trillion. And the majority will flow directly to women, reports @josiecox.bsky.social: www.thepersistent.com/what-is-grea...

When it comes to medical diagnoses and health markers, period blood is something of a superpower. We should leverage it, argues Gabrielle Griffith.

When it comes to medical diagnoses and health markers, period blood is something of a superpower. We should leverage it, argues Gabrielle Griffith. www.thepersistent.com/menstrual-bl...

“All We Imagine as Light” has captured the world's attention, and women get it. But men are "confused," says the director. buff.ly/357Zwo3

How Payal Kapadia crafted an unassuming story of three working-class Indian women in "All We Imagine as Light" to capture the world’s attention:

Women disproportionately receive requests to give away their expertise for free. @lubakas.bsky.social was one of them. www.thepersistent.com/unpaid-labor...

On National Grammar Day, we're revisiting our conversation with the grammarian Ellen Jovin about what brings Americans together — and drives them apart. (Spoiler alert: one of them is the Oxford comma) www.thepersistent.com/ellen-jovin-...