Aspire – The I Have The Right To Podcast
Aspire - The I Have The Right To Podcast
Podcast Description
Join the I Have the Right to team and thought leaders as we Aspire to eradicate sexual assault. Inspired by Co-Founder Chessy Prout’s courageous voice and memoir, I Have The Right To- A High School Survivor’s Story of Sexual Assault, Justice and Hope, co-authored by investigative journalist Jenn Abelson, our mission is to create an ecosystem of respect, education, and support for all students! Aspire is meant to be a beacon of hope and opportunity for growth -- by offering a forum for dialogue - about issues affecting our culture and the way we live, interact, love, learn and grow. Real Men, Real Conversations: Aspire touches on both sides of the coin; Co-Founder of I Have the Right To and father of Chessy Prout, Alex Prout, and High School Student Leaders and Co-Hosts, Hugh Eastman and Gabriel Viscogliosi, share their voices with discussions about what it means to be a man- does it mean being aggressive, stoic, and not taking no for an answer? Or giving your buddy a hug and telling him you love him? Alex, Gabriel, and Hugh share how, across generations, common masculinity tropes impact us all, and how we can inspire the future to act with "aspirational masculinity". They interview guests to get their perspectives, while discussing how rigid gender norms can create harmful barriers for all. All this, and more, in “Real Men, Real Conversations”. Survivor Advocacy: In the “Survivor Advocacy” segment, Co-Founder and mother of Chessy Prout, Susan Prout, and Executive Director of I Have the Right To, Katie M. Shipp, highlight the power of survivor voices in driving meaningful change. These episodes —deeply inspired by Chessy’s unwavering courage to speak out despite attempts to silence her— amplify powerful survivor stories, engage with experts, and explore the path forward in the fight for justice and safety. Listeners will gain insight into where we’ve been, where we need to go, and how we can collectively create lasting impact. Together, we’ll explore diverse perspectives to drive meaningful, lasting advocacy and build a safer, more just future for all. We amplify survivors’ voices and address the root causes of sexual violence by creating open dialogue around its causes. Each episode features a variety of guests discussing survivor experiences, the aftermath of sexual assault, healthy masculinity, and the future we envision - free from sexual assault. Let’s explore, learn, and aspire together.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast centers on themes of sexual assault advocacy, healthy masculinity, and survivor empowerment. Episode highlights include discussions on aspirational masculinity, societal pressures around failure, the emotional journeys of survivors, and the impact of rigid gender norms. Specific episodes cover topics like the redefinition of masculinity following trauma and the significance of open dialogue among young men.

Join the I Have the Right to team and thought leaders as we Aspire to eradicate sexual assault. Inspired by Co-Founder Chessy Prout’s courageous voice and memoir, I Have The Right To- A High School Survivor’s Story of Sexual Assault, Justice and Hope, co-authored by investigative journalist Jenn Abelson, our mission is to create an ecosystem of respect, education, and support for all students!
Aspire is meant to be a beacon of hope and opportunity for growth — by offering a forum for dialogue – about issues affecting our culture and the way we live, interact, love, learn and grow.
Real Men, Real Conversations: Aspire touches on both sides of the coin; Co-Founder of I Have the Right To and father of Chessy Prout, Alex Prout, and High School Student Leaders and Co-Hosts, Hugh Eastman and Gabriel Viscogliosi, share their voices with discussions about what it means to be a man- does it mean being aggressive, stoic, and not taking no for an answer? Or giving your buddy a hug and telling him you love him? Alex, Gabriel, and Hugh share how, across generations, common masculinity tropes impact us all, and how we can inspire the future to act with “aspirational masculinity”. They interview guests to get their perspectives, while discussing how rigid gender norms can create harmful barriers for all. All this, and more, in “Real Men, Real Conversations”.
Survivor Advocacy: In the “Survivor Advocacy” segment, Co-Founder and mother of Chessy Prout, Susan Prout, and Executive Director of I Have the Right To, Katie M. Shipp, highlight the power of survivor voices in driving meaningful change. These episodes —deeply inspired by Chessy’s unwavering courage to speak out despite attempts to silence her— amplify powerful survivor stories, engage with experts, and explore the path forward in the fight for justice and safety. Listeners will gain insight into where we’ve been, where we need to go, and how we can collectively create lasting impact. Together, we’ll explore diverse perspectives to drive meaningful, lasting advocacy and build a safer, more just future for all.
We amplify survivors’ voices and address the root causes of sexual violence by creating open dialogue around its causes. Each episode features a variety of guests discussing survivor experiences, the aftermath of sexual assault, healthy masculinity, and the future we envision – free from sexual assault.
Let’s explore, learn, and aspire together.
In this episode of the Aspire, Advocacy in Action, Chessy Prout and Ray Epstein are joined by student co-hosts Amyra Basu and CJ La Mar, for another conversation with Meg Stone. Meg is the executive director of Impact Boston and author of The Cost of Fear, and recently released Don’t Fight Back And 10 Other Myths About Crime, Personal Safety, and Gender-Based Violence. Together they explore empowerment self-defense, survivor-centered advocacy, and the evidence-based strategies that challenge fear-based myths about safety.
Meg explains how years of teaching self-defense and working as a court advocate showed her that many common “safety tips” are based more on stigma and control than on research. The conversation covers myths about intuition, victim-blaming, resistance, and how media narratives often erase survivors’ agency.
They also dive into the dangers of fear-based advice online, and why fact-checking matters in prevention work. Throughout the conversation, Meg reinforces her principal message: that safety should be grounded in evidence, agency, and community, not fear.
For Meg's books, visit https://megstone.org/books
To learn more about Impact Boston, visit https://impactboston.org/
To join I Have The Right To's fight for a world free of sexual violence, visit https://ihavetherightto.org/take-action/
Aspire is produced by BenHudakProductions.com

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