(Upbeat music) - Welcome, hello.

Welcome, we're so glad you're here, as you can see, we have something very special today.

These are special ladies, and you're special out there as well.

We have all of our Inspire hosts here in the studio.

We're gonna have great fun.

It's our season review show, so stay with us.

(upbeat music) (air whooshing) - [Announcer] Inspire is sponsored by Kansas Furniture Mart, using furniture to inspire conversation.

And by the Blanche Bryden Foundation.

(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to Inspire.

Ladies, these are aww and ladies, everybody watching we're so glad to be here.

This is our last episode of the first season of Inspire, and we have come such a long way, and we've loved every single minute of it.

So we're getting together for this show because we're gonna kinda relive a few things.

And maybe if you missed something, you might go back and check out that show at KTWU.

So we're about to dive right in.

Are we ready?

- Yeah.

- Danielle - Yes.

- Let's go to you first.

Oh, but you know, before we do that, how about Amy, Danielle, Betty Lou, Leslie.

And let's see, we have a professor over here named Amber.

So, you know, you're right there too, so here we go.

What was your most impactful show of the first season of Inspire?

- I'm going to say Charlie Tebow.

- Yes.

- Absolutely loved them, and just the story that they told about being in the sex industry and being sold as a slave and it just hit too close to home for me.

In terms of being in Western Kansas, and she was looking for love and esteem and she got into it through her boyfriend and then that ended up being a whole thing.

But now they're out and married and working to make sure that other people don't get involved in the sex industry so, very impactful.

- And I remember Leslie, you asked a question during that, exactly what is human trafficking?

So let's take a look in case you don't know exactly what human trafficking is, here's the description.

- What does that mean exactly?

- Yeah, so the federal definition is anything, it's force, fraud or coercion, any act or service.

So for me, what it looked like was I was taken to a group of people, forced to provide sexual services and for a payment.

And so just those three combined makes it human trafficking in my experience.

And then of course there were there more and more issues that occurred.

It looks like prostitution.

It looks like pornography.

It exists in service industries with labor trafficking, there's trafficking that occurs in the Western Kansas areas where there's a lot of feedlots and restaurants.

That's kind of a roundabout way of saying it's modern day slavery.

- If I may ask.

- I tell you they impacted us all.

And if you haven't seen that again, go back to ktwu.org and take a look at it because you're going to learn a lot.

And I think one of the things that impressed me by what Charlie said was that if there would have been a person in their life that cared about them, that listened to them, that guided them and they have a good relationship with their dad now.

And the dad has even said, I wish I'd have visited with you longer.

I wish we had talked about it longer and getting the parents involved is just so impactful.

Okay, so Leslie, I think I know the answer to this one and several of us really like it, what was your favorite topic?

- Well, I love the whole hemp versus cannabis discussion, right?

And the fact that medical marijuana actually heals as opposed to masks your illnesses right?

And so here we are, people are being prescribed opioids, which does nothing to help you it just masks the pain, plus you get addicted, plus you end up dying because you get addicted.

When we could have been using medical marijuana all along, and we still don't have the ability to make that available to the citizens right here in Kansas.

Missouri has it, Nebraska has it, Texas has it.

- Oklahoma.

- Oklahoma has it, we don't have it.

And I think that is wrong.

And I don't think our lawmakers really get it.

And I think we need to do more to help educate people about it.

And I did go back and watch "Reefer Madness."

(laughing) That was cray-cray.

(laughing) It is my new favorite movie.

(laughing) You can watch it on Amazon prime $2.99.

- And for those who haven't heard... - Shameless plug in.

- Yeah, for those who haven't heard of Reefer Madness will you give us a synopsis?

- Sure, so when we had the show that day, they mentioned that there was a whole propaganda going on in the United States that to stop people from wanting to use marijuana.

And they did that by producing this movie called "Reefer Madness" back in 1936.

And so that really set up the whole thought about marijuana, being a violent, horrible, terrible thing that people should not do.

And you should make sure that your children don't do it it starts off in a school classroom.

I mean the whole thing is just amazing.

You really need to watch it and see how propaganda was done back in those days.

And somehow it's scarily close to what's going on today.

- I was just about to say I bet the mirror of today's society it's not that far off.

- It's not that far off.

- In the same show we talked about hemp and off-camera Amy you told us a lot about how hemp can cure the world.

- No hemp is an incredible product it's a plant that can be used so many different ways.

I mean, and it because it is a plant we can grow it unlike like petroleum or something where we'd have to dig that up from the ground and it can be used, you know, 25,000 different products can come from hemp.

One of them is also marijuana, which it reaches out at a different point during the gestation period of the plant.

But before you get there, it's a fantastic product.

And it's a shame that we can't harness it more.

And they're trying to, in order to grow hemp, you have to have all these different regulations to make sure that it's the chemical stays a hemp and doesn't become marijuana because if it gets contaminated, you've lost the whole crop and you can't burn it at that point.

- I would like to know how many regulations are in place for hemp growing versus how many regulations are in place to make opioids?

- Right, yeah.

- Because that hemp has more.

- [Betty] A little bit, probably.

- And I think the other thing that was amazing about it is right.

So hemp and correct me if I'm wrong, hemp could be used in the farming industry to help with growing our crops right?

And so I think we are doing some of that, but we could be doing more.

And I think that has an impact on climate change as well.

- Right, less of a carbon imprint.

- Yes.

- Footprint.

- Yeah, so let's do another show on marijuana cannabis.

(laughing) - You know that made me think of what were you were talking about we actually had a concierge.

- Yes.

- [Betty] Our guest talked about that.

- Yes, I'm so excited to get with her as soon as we can, as soon as it becomes legal in Kansas, because you just don't want anybody behind the county, like, girl, I got something for you no, no.

I need you to have a medical background to be able to prescribe different things to help me because what was it she'd been in three car wrecks within a short period of time.

And she ended up basically healing herself with hemp products.

And so why wouldn't we take advantage of that?

And I did a 180, cause I was coming in as Ms. Pentecostal like, oh, I think I could be talking about hemp we're all going to hell.

And it's like, no, no, it is not what I thought it was.

And I could have been on "Reefer Madness," I guess the first part.

But by the time we did all the conversation, I'm like the first one trying to be in line, please sign me up for some hemp I'm all about it.

- Perhaps our state leaders need to watch this episode of Inspire.

- Perhaps they do.

- So that they can understand there's nothing to be afraid of.

- [Betty] Exactly - You know, I think that's a big part of it is tackling that taboo, right?

Is this idea that we have this preconceived notion about the kind of people that use these products.

- [Danielle] Exactly.

- In reality, that's not the case at all.

And I think you really, you hit on something in particular with these opioid deaths, I've personally experienced this in my life.

And I think man, we could say, have saved so many people had this been something that was readily available and it all goes back to that taboo and misunderstanding what these products are.

- And you know, speaking of opioids and deaths.

So another one of the shows that was interesting, I thought was the caregivers show and thinking about what it's like when you actually go through hospice and palliative care and all of that.

And if that didn't tug your heart strings, I don't know what could have, I mean, that was a really meaningful show.

And I think so many of us have experienced loss and hospice has become a really important part of our lifestyle as Americans these days.

It was not something that people thought about many, many years ago.

But now when it gets to be that time, it is really the humane thing to do the beautiful thing to do for someone as they're getting ready to leave.

- You know, and we have a little bit of that show actually telling, cause I think the question was how do you know when to seek help?

And our wonderful guests gave us some guidelines of what you need to do.

What's going on with the person to help them and help you know when it's time to seek help.

At Midland care when someone needs you how does somebody know that they need you?

- I always say if things are just getting more difficult from day to day and you're finding yourself feeling, I think more of a toll on your own health, try not to let it get that far.

But if you're finding from day to day, that at an individual you're caring for is just needing more of your energy, your time, your attention, then it's time to call for help okay.

- I say kind of the same thing, a similar thing I say when the bad days outnumber the good days, that's kind of a good sign for when caregivers need to get more help.

I also believe in having those conversations with your loved one.

If your loved one has like dementia and you notice that they're forgetting more, then that's kind of a good sign that they're forgetting more, maybe we need to really start looking at more care in the home or a higher level of care outside of the home.

- I tell you, like they said, when the bad days outnumber the good days, that's a wonderful way to tell what needs to go on next in your family and for your loved one.

And Danielle, when I found out about you, I knew that your grandmother had raised you, but then you actually became the caregiver.

- Absolutely, and that was an interesting transition to say the least.

So I certainly related to a lot of what was talked about in that particular episode and then making sure that the people who are doing the caregiving get attention as well.

'Cause it's not just about the person you're caring for it's also about the person who's actually caregiving.

And so it was a really great way to just have some of those thoughts that I had about it put out there and hopefully brought attention to it for such a pivotal time, because we're going to be seeing that more and more.

The baby boomers are getting even older and so we need to be prepared for those things to happen even more so, you know, and as passionate as I am about caregiving, Amber, I know that you were totally passionate about women and voting that show that we did you were on fire girl talk about that.

- Well I think one of the beautiful things about living in America is that we have the opportunity to voice what we want and what we need.

And I think when we watch what these individual states are doing, it's taking people's voice away from them is disgusting and it's really tearing down what we truly value in this country.

And I think in particular, it's hurting marginalized portions of our population that need their voice heard more than anyone else.

Because if you don't have these people that are, have the opportunity to vote for what they want and need, then they're going to continue to be oppressed, just like they always have been or opportunities that they might look forward to or need in their life aren't going to be there for them because they don't get to vote for the people that are looking out for them.

And I think, a particular portion of the population that really needs to protect their right to vote, in addition to the minority population is women.

Because if women do not have the opportunity to voice their opinion, they're gonna lose out on opportunities.

They're gonna lose out on their place in society that they've worked so hard to get right?

And it makes me think of the discussion in the women in the military.

And so I want to toss this over to you because I know that you were really excited about that same way.

- That is exactly you said it exactly right, that they lose their voice and they're there and they're talking and they're screaming and they're active, but they can't be heard, which is exactly what happened to women in the military.

We had a history professor from Washburn and we had a Lieutenant Colonel who retired and how they had women back in the American revolution, were active participants in there and then act took on more male like roles through the many different conflicts through war of 1812, in the Spanish American War and the Civil War.

And it continued on and it wasn't until World War II.

World War II, when they started getting some recognition, Harriet Tubman we had a great conversation about Harriet Tubman and how what she did for the military.

And she got a widow's pension because they would not acknowledge the role that she played and we're still fighting this.

I mean, it's uncertain unreal, and I think that the military and the voting thing are just they go absolutely hand in hand.

- And we were asking more women I think you even said that and asking more women, write down your stories, ask if it's not your story, ask your mother, your grandmother, your aunt asks somebody what their story was in the military, because it needs to be told it needs to be revered.

That person needs to be revered.

- About the women who were left behind.

- Right.

- Raising the families.

- [Betty] Right.

- 'Cause their stories are just as important to you know, having to raise the kid and some cases the husband did come back and some cases the husband didn't come back.

And then it's a whole new role for them within the family and some of the sacrifices that they had to make in terms of trying to keep their family solid and what they had to do in terms of work in a very sexist society.

So, I mean, there's a lot of stories that I wish that I really would have listened to with my grandmother and my great-grandmother that it's was just like, oh, it's just old people talking.

No, it's our history.

And I wish that I had actually picked up on that and learn more about it.

- Or even those women whose husbands did come back and now they're dealing with a husband who is not the same husband that went to war and how do they now care give that into that individual while they're raising their family.

So I think, I just think that these stories and the amount of credit that we don't give women for their role in these things is astonishing.

- Women are strong.

- Women are strong and I think what's really upsetting too, about women in the military is the percentage of women in the military is so low and it could be so much higher.

And why?

Because they don't feel like they belong they haven't been welcomed in.

- And it's not a safe place for them in some instances.

- And it's not a safe place.

- We had a great clip and we will show you that clip in just a second.

There was a great clip when I asked the Lieutenant Colonel, how do you address a young woman who's interested in the military dealing with knowing that there's a lot of sexual discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault.

How do you encourage them to go into that field?

And she had the best response.

- And I'll be very honest the military isn't for everyone male or female.

I would have to say that it's just like any other corporation or business.

You have good people and you have bad people and you have good systems and bad systems.

The military has those systems in place for reporting, whether it's sexual harassment, equal opportunity, you name it.

But just like a corporation it's dependent on the people.

And so if you don't have a good person in that position to facilitate growth and reporting and correction and justice, then it won't happen.

So you have to really, really want to do it.

- Some people follow the rules, some people don't follow the rules.

So in that regard, it really is no different than being in... - Corporate America.

- [Amy] In corporate America.

- And that was another show that I thought was a really good show, was our women in the workplace.

We had an opportunity to actually see two forms that I think in 20 years ago, we wouldn't have had, which was a female entrepreneur and a female executive senior vice president in corporate America.

I mean, how fabulous was that seeing the growth of what's going on in America in terms of women getting ahead with regard to business.

So the military is one place, corporate America and business another, but I totally was Inspired by both of those shows.

- And I think one of the funniest parts about that was when Michelle Cuevas-Stubblefield was trying to tell us, we were trying to equate how the mad men mentality, the program, the mad men mentality, and she so eloquently shared her thought.

I need to just go right quick.

If I may, Michelle coming from the advertising field, as long as you and I were in it, it's like kind of not that far removed from the mad men days.

- No, it's not.

(laughing) Would you elaborate on that a bit.

- You know, when I first got into the industry, they said if you wanna make your way into the industry, look at the obituaries.

Because people stayed in those positions for a long time.

And a lot of the time it was mad men so leadership was CEOs or men in general.

And that type of position especially in advertising is kind of very ego oriented.

It's creative, very gregarious and all those things that you might envision.

So a woman who would come in can't necessarily, I would say if they came in that way they would probably be termed, and framed a little differently than them just being a confident man.

So a woman comes in, they're not probably gonna be deemed as confident, however.

- What a delicate way to put that.

(laughing) - Most know yeah, we that that's probably you know probably not the way I would have framed it.

(laughing) - I just remember us cracking up when she said that, I mean, how funny is that?

And we all know how it is.

(laughing) - We absolutely cannot go any further until we talk about menopause.

(cheering) - You got it in there.

- Yeah, that was one of our favorites.

And I think what I appreciated about it so much is that we are sort of taught as women, that there are certain things that we should not discuss and menopause is one of them.

And I think that's ridiculous because it's something that happens to every single woman.

And it's something that we've got to talk about and prepare for and especially embracing this idea that your life doesn't end, which is the sort of somehow what we've come to think about menopause as the end to our womanhood.

And that's just ridiculous.

And I loved having these women telling us not only that that's not correct, but then giving women the tools to take control of their sex life or take control of their health.

And I think that's just something that we should get more comfortable talking about.

- We spend a lot of time talking about puberty and young girls starting their period and what that's like, and they're changing the body and there's books and classes and a tremendous amount of support for that.

But there's nothing that is the comparable on the other end.

And granted the menopause experience differs from person to person.

I mean it is as unique as a fingerprint, but at the same time, there's some commonalities around it.

And it's very helpful when we share these conversations.

So some people can say, oh my gosh, I had the same thing.

Well, this is something I did, or this is something that helped me.

Are you also getting so angry when your kid knocked over something stupid and you just went off the rails for that?

And you're like oh my goodness, this is completely out of proportion what is going on with me?

And yes, yes everybody's like, yes, yes I had that too okay.

- I sure can't relate but go ahead.

(laughing) - Speaking about couldn't relate was that hysterical when we did that show on child bearing.

- Yes maybe we should throw to a clip of that, cause that was really interesting too, with the three ladies who have never had kids talking about maternity and the early years, it's like, yeah, we got nothing for y'all.

(laughing) I'm sorry.

- And nannies, how do you hire a nanny?

(laughing) - Let's take a look at that, let's take a look at that.

Thank you Janet Thompson Jackson, for those helpful tips to keep us moving.

And ladies pregnancy seems to be something none of us know about.

(laughing) But through our guests, we're learning about it.

- You know, you got to a proper provider who has good education and you feel safe leaving your baby with.

And it would be hard for me to walk away from my baby.

- Trust somebody with it.

- Exactly.

- I'm sure there's a lot of you out there going, oh, those women have no idea.

(laughing) And we don't.

(laughing) - That was crazy, I mean what do we know girls?

(laughing) We are clueless about children.

But that reminds me of when you did the other show and you had a bit of a blooper that nobody knew, but you.

- Okay, it wasn't a blooper it's just my inner ear piece fell out.

So Marci Penner is talking via Zoom and I can't hear a thing she said, and my inner ear piece is like continually moving down and I'm like trying to move with it and still beyond looking cute on the screen.

And literally it was not working at all, but I just played it off like everything was perfect.

So yeah, that was my particular, how would you say it?

Piece of TV history?

That's exactly what I'm gonna say thank you.

(gentle music) Needless to say, ladies, we could go on forever about some of our favorite shows, but Inspire, also included segments, featuring some powerful women in our community.

And I want to start out by saying, I love Barbara Waterman-Peters, what an amazing, amazing artists.

And she is just as amazing as her artwork is.

So I'm glad that she was featured in one of the segments right here on Inspire.

Because maybe not everybody knows who she is, and so now she's got some spotlight to show off her work, and I know that you love her as much as I do.

- I did and what I was really inspired by truly I was, was how she has spent her whole life doing various other things so that she could still remain what was true to her heart, her passion of doing art.

And I was blown away by that.

She said, I knew from such a young age that this is what I wanted to do.

And she's still doing it to this day, inspiring other people to come on along and be part of the next generation of Topeka artists.

- [Betty] And I love the shots that she showed about the national parks and so forth.

And so we have our own girls who love parks, who love the outdoors, Dirty Girl Adventures.

- I thought that was so fun in particular right now, when we're all trying to find things the way we feel comfortable doing things, not in big crowded places, I thought it was super timely and amazing to see these opportunities to get out in nature and be with your girlfriends or meet new girlfriends and have these adventures.

There's this idea that the best thing for your mental health is to get out in nature.

And this is such a great way to see another opportunity because not everybody just wants to go jump into the woods.

(laughing) And so this was such a good way to sort of like ease into that.

What was your favorite.

- Oh, I have to say I love the habitat for humanity.

I loved, I love that.

As women often, we feel ill-equipped to handle some of the basic maintenance in our home, and our house is an asset and you should care for it.

Maybe you won't actually perform those duties that they show, but at least, you know what it entails, what is the P-trap underneath the sink that needs to be cleared?

How do you do, how do you fix, you know sheet rock when there's a hole in it?

So how do you do those things inspiring and empowering?

- We totally had that problem, we had a dog that chewed through one of our walls.

So that habitat for humanity segment was right on for us.

(laughing) - And when you're finished with that, you need to meditate with Janet Thompson Jackson, and you need to have some moments of Zen with Sarah Starr.

(upbeat music) And we hope we've provided some of that for you guys watching and we hope you'll join us in the next season.

So on behalf of all of us, I mean here we go, let's go reverse order.

We've got Amber this time, we have Leslie, we have me Betty Lou, of course we have Danielle and we have Amy and we have you.

And thank you so much for watching, keep being Inspired.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] Inspire is sponsored by Kansas Furniture Mart using furniture to inspire conversation.

And by the Blanche Bryden Foundation.