The Belly Cast

This episode features Ahri Golden, award-winning public radio maker, photographer, songwriter, and mother. She co-created Shades of Gray (2004), an hour-long public radio mosaic about abortion in the US. Shades of Gray was proceeded by the birth of Golden's first child, inspiring Birth (2006) and Born (2009), nationally distributed public radio documentaries about pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period in the US. ​After her second child was born in 2009, she unplugged to focus on family life. During this time, Golden's passion for photography became her creative lifeline which turned into an award-winning business. Additionally, she discovered a passion for songwriting, singing, and producing music. Her debut album, Delve (2014), earned awards for Best Jazz Song from The Hollywood Songwriting Contest. Presently Golden has returned to radio as Director of Development for Inflection Point, an hour-long public radio show and podcast about women changing the status quo. You can learn more about Ahri's work on her website, http://www.ahrigolden.com/

Here’s our long awaited conversation with Monnie Reba Efross, veteran activist, birth worker, and labor and delivery nurse of 34 years. Monnie ran the Volunteer Doula Program at San Francisco General Hospital and shares with us her journey to doula work, and learning the power and politics of birth. For more information on workshops with Monnie, visit the Facebook page BirthMatters Doula Training (https://www.facebook.com/birthmattersdoulatraining).

We're kicking off the first episode of the podcast with a conversation with our dear friend Vicki Macchiavello - CEO and Founder of Swiss Cheese Child Care Collective and mother of two. She spoke with us about her experience with the midwifery model of care and how the themes of Doubt and Surrender came up during her two home birth experiences. Check out more about Swiss Cheese Child Care Collective at http://www.swisscheesechildcare.com/