Assigned Reading with Becky Mollenkamp: Conversations about Feminist Essays
Assigned Reading with Becky Mollenkamp: Conversations about Feminist Essays
Podcast Description
Assigned Reading is a feminist podcast for anyone who wants to go deeper into feminist theory—without needing a PhD or a damn dictionary. Each week, host Becky Mollenkamp (feminist business coach, writer, and intersectional loudmouth) and a guest read and discuss a powerful feminist essay. Think: bell hooks, Angela Davis, Zadie Smith, Lindy West, Adrienne Rich, Donna Haraway, Robin Wall Kimmerer, Roxane Gay, and other brilliant feminist thinkers past and present.
Together, they unpack the essay’s big ideas, messy emotions, and real-world relevance. What made them cry? What confused the hell out of them? What does it all mean for feminism, identity, liberation, and how we show up in the world today?
This isn’t academic. It’s not polished. It’s not homework.
It’s real talk about feminist texts—with rage, laughter, swearing, and no gatekeeping.
If you’re into intersectional feminism, social justice, anti-capitalism, queer liberation, racial equity, decolonization, or just trying to be a better human, this show is for you.
Whether you read the essays or not (they're linked in every episode!), you’ll leave each convo with new questions, deeper insight, and maybe a little fire in your belly.
Subscribe to Assigned Reading to explore feminist essays, feminist theory, and radical ideas in real, unfiltered conversation.
This show is for you if…
• You believe feminism is about action, not just vibes.
• You love a good essay and an even better rant.
• You’re tired of “both sides” bullshit and want conversations that actually go deep.
• You crave smart, messy, honest dialogue—not polished, performative nonsense.
• You want to rethink success, leadership, and liberation on your own damn terms.
• You miss the feeling of staying up late arguing big ideas with your smartest, fiercest friends.
• You’re ready to rage, cry, laugh, and reimagine everything with us.
• You want to be part of building feminist futures—and you know it starts with bold conversations.
• You’re here for nuance, not hot takes.
• You want media that actually respects your intelligence and your rage.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast focuses on a range of themes within feminist theory, discussing essays from influential thinkers like bell hooks and Roxane Gay, with episodes exploring topics such as intersectional feminism, social justice, and queer liberation, aiming to make complex ideas accessible and relatable.
This isn’t your average podcast—it’s a radical little book club for your ears.
Each week on Assigned Reading, feminist business coach Becky Mollenkamp invites a brilliant guest to read and unpack a feminist essay. Together, they dive into the juicy, nuanced, sometimes uncomfortable questions these texts raise about power, identity, leadership, liberation, and more.
If you’ve ever wanted to have big conversations about big ideas—but without having to get dressed, make small talk, or leave your introvert bubble—you’re in the right place.
🎧 This show is for the nerdy, the thoughtful, the socially conscious.
💬 It’s for people who crave deeper dialogue, new perspectives, and human connection in a world full of sound bites.
📚 Think of it as a feminist book club you don’t have to RSVP for.
Assigned Reading is here to help you feel less alone, more seen, and newly inspired—with accessible essays, warm rapport, and the kind of smart conversations that stay with you.
🚨 Sign up for Becky’s newsletter, Feminist Rants Are My Superpower: https://beckymollenkamp.com/rants
🎤 PROUD MEMBER OF THE FEMINIST PODCASTERS COLLECTIVE 🎤 http://feministpodcastcollective.com/
In this powerful conversation, Becky Mollenkamp and Faith Clarke unpack Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s iconic essay *We Should All Be Feminists*. They explore how feminism intersects with race, colonization, shame, and identity. Faith shares deep insights from a Black Caribbean lens, and the two reflect on how culture is created—and can be disrupted.
This week’s text: ✍️ “We Should All Be Feminists” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This week’s guest: Faith Clarke is an organizational health and inclusion specialist for organizations committed to healthy workplace culture. She’s redefining work ecosystems for post-pandemic humans looking to do work better. From computer programmer on Wall Street to autism advocate to organizational health expert, Faith’s whole career has been influenced by systems and engineering—she helps people by creating systems that integrate human motivation.
Find Faith:
🌐 https://faithclarke.com
Discussed in this episode
- Chimamanda’s evolving views on trans women and nuance in public dialogue
- Patriarchy’s harm to men and the myth of neutrality
- The prison of whiteness and how identity shapes oppression
- Black women’s complicated relationship with feminism
- Storytelling and culture-building as resistance
- Shame, fear, and the backlash to DEI
- Social Change Now framework by Deepa Iyer
- Misogynoir and internalized misogyny
Resources mentioned
Disclaimer
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