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The ROAR Podcast

The ROAR Podcast

Written by: Danielle Davies
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 🎙 Welcome to The ROAR Podcast. Hosted by Danielle Davies, ROAR features curious conversations about women, culture, and the systems shaping our lives. Each episode explores a surprising truth about women’s experiences, from the gender pay gap to infertility, aging, motherhood, sexuality, power, and the invisible forces shaping our world. Through thoughtful conversations with writers, journalists, activists, and experts, ROAR uncovers the stories and patterns that help us better understand women’s lives today. If you’ve ever thought “Why didn’t anyone tell us this?" you’re in the rightDanielle Davies Social Sciences
Episodes
  • From Frustration to Legacy: Ambition, Speaking for Pay & Making It Without Losing It with Jess Ekstrom

    From Frustration to Legacy: Ambition, Speaking for Pay & Making It Without Losing It with Jess Ekstrom
    May 5 2026
    What happens when frustration becomes a lifelong operating system? In this episode of Roar, Danielle Davies sits down with Jess Ekstrom, an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and founder ofboth Headbands of Hope and Mic Drop Workshop , for a conversation that is equal parts practical, personal, and unexpectedly profound. What begins with a childhood camping trip and a tangled Walkman cord quickly expands into a wide-ranging discussion about advocacy, economic empowerment, ambition, legacy, and what it really means to build something without losing yourself in the process.What You'll Hear in This Episode• Why Jess's dad's response to a frustrated middle-schooler became the foundation for everything she's built• How Jess ended up being the first woman to speak at a conference that had been running for 15 years, and why that's not a compliment• The moment she asked an event organizer why they booked her, and what his honest answer revealed about the speaking industry• Why women second-guess their place on stage while men confidently ask for $50,000, and what's actually behind that gap• Danielle's own experience taking Jess's free course and landing a $2,500 paid speaking gig almost immediately after• Jess's philosophy on over-delivering vs. gatekeeping, and why she pushed back on advice to hold more back• The Bernie Madoff connection in Jess's family, and how that trauma quietly turbocharged her hustle• What happened when Jess accidentally signed up for a death-and-dying silent retreat in Asheville, and how it reframed her entire relationship with ambition• The shift from checklists to legacy: how Jess thinks about building things that outlive her goals• Practical speaking tips: the 'spotlight to lighthouse' mindset shift, the 'start button' technique, and why being relatable is your competitive edge in the age of AI• The 'contribution vss. completion' framework from her upcoming book, and why most of us are exhausted because we keep chasing 'done'• Her upcoming book Making It Without Losing It (available TODAY!)Links & Resources: 📖 Jess's new book, Making It Without Losing It, available TODAY! https://shorturl.at/DC2bi🌐 Jess’s website: www.JessEkstrom.com🆓 The FREEBIE Class that Danielle took that TOTALLY WORKED: https://micdropworkshop.com/home-free-webinar🎤 Mic Drop Workshop: https://www.micdropworkshop.com📚 Headbands of Hope: https://www.headbandsofhope.comRelated Episodes:Our convo with NYT Bestselling author Katherine Center: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0mBOic9PTXjWbtLwSuYLdV?si=2c46bd9a10934a1aA chat with visibility dynamo Cheldin Barlatt Rumer: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5H8J8d2zKXqpptZG53k2wr?si=b9fd9904efd74f60Follow & Subscribe to Roar:🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@roarpod📩 Newsletter: https://substack.com/@roarwithdanielledavies🙋 Be a guest: https://www.danielledavies.com/be-a-guestConnect with Danielle:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roarwithdanielledaviesLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielledaviesmedia/Website: https://www.danielledavies.com/#RoarPodcast #JessEkstrom#MicDropWorkshop #WomenWhoSpeak #SpeakingForPay #MakingItWithoutLosingIt#WomenInBusiness #WomenInLeadership #DanielleDavies #PublicSpeaking#WomenEmpowerment #HeadbandsOfHopeWhat You'll Hear in This Episode
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    56 mins
  • The Work No One Sees with Rebekah Pierce

    The Work No One Sees with Rebekah Pierce
    Apr 28 2026
    Did you ever think of the work you naturally do as a women, mom, and/or teacher, work that holds up the whole system, isn't actually harmless? In fact, Rebekah Pierce uses a different word for it: Destructive. In this episode of Roar, Danielle Davies sits down with educator, author, and womanist, Rebekah Pierce to talk about something that feels specific to classrooms, but isn't. Because while this conversation starts with teaching, it quickly becomes about something much bigger: who is expected to carry people, absorb pressure, and create stability inside systems that were never designed to support them in the first place. Rebekah's work challenges one of the most deeply ingrained assumptions in education—that learning begins with productivity. Instead, she asks a different question: what happens when we center humanity first? And even more importantly: Who is already doing that work, without recognition?Together, Danielle & Rebekah talk about:🔥Why classrooms often rely on emotional labor more than curriculum🔥The invisible work teachers do to create safety, stability, and trust🔥 How "care" becomes an expectation, not a choice🔥The womanist lens: who is doing the sustaining work, and why🔥What it means to operate inside systems that were never built for wholeness🔥 How women internalize the role of "holding everything together"🔥The cost of constantly choosing humanity inside productivity-driven environments 🔥Why systems don't change This conversation starts in a classroom, but it doesn't stay there. Because once you see it, you can't unsee the ways women hold space, absorb impact, and make things work that were never designed to.Key Takeaways:Systems often function because of people, not because they work well.Emotional labor is not extra. It's what makes environments survivable. Women are disproportionately expected to carry that labor.Care has been reframed as obligation instead of choice.Real change would require systems to stop relying on over-functioning individuals.Links related to this discussion:Before the Lesson BeginsRebekah's Substacks:https://captainjacknovellaseries.substack.com/https://rebekahlynnpierce.substack.com/Rebekah's websiteMarcus GarveySojourner TruthRelated Convos: Why Women Are Taught to Be Palatable with Sophie Jane Lee: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2NK45ObtHFc3G9PTgFoiro?si=FcPMySeIRHSvJNX9MYyc4QThe Lie of "Doing it All" with Gifty Enright: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/SPCahSAXG2b💥 Don’t Miss a Conversation🎧Follow & Subscribe on:Apple (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-roar-podcast/id1791584834), Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/5A3yVooECAKII1a3HV3bcf) YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@roarpod📩 Sign up for Danielle’s newsletter🙋‍♀️ Want to be on Roar? 🤝 Want to partner with us? danielle@danielledavies.com👕 Get your Roar Merch🔗 ConnectInstagram LinkedIn ⁠ https://www.danielledavies.com/#RoarPodcast #WomenAndWork #EmotionalLabor #Education #Womanism #InvisibleLabor #Leadership #CareWork #SystemicChange
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Is this Normal? The Sex Questions Women Don't Ask Out Loud

    Is this Normal? The Sex Questions Women Don't Ask Out Loud
    Apr 21 2026
    What if the questions you've been quietly googling are the ones everyone else is asking too?In this episode of Roar, Danielle Davies hosts a candid, unfiltered roundtable conversation about sex, the kind women usually have in whispers, group texts, or not at all. Joined by pelvic floor PT Caitlyn Tivy, sex therapist Alex Robboy, and sexual wellness founder Lisa Kinsella, this conversation brings together three distinct perspectives on women's bodies, desire, and agency.Because for something that plays such a significant role in our lives, many women were taught that sex was either private, taboo, or something that should just "work itself out."This conversation breaks that silence.From pain and discomfort to desire, communication, and the reality of navigating sex across different life stages, this episode creates space for honesty, without shame, performance, or perfection. Danielle and her guests explore what it means to actually understand your body, communicate your needs, and question what we've been taught is "normal."Together, they talk about: 🔥 Why so many women are asking "is this normal?" and why that question matters🎤 The things we were never taught about our bodies (and should have been)🧠 How shame shapes our relationship with sex, often without us realizing it🌿 The role of pelvic health in comfort, pleasure, and function💥 Why desire changes, and why that's not a problem to fix📣 How to have honest (and sometimes awkward) conversations about sex👑 The gap between what women are told and what they actually experience⚡ Why more information leads to better—not more "perfect"—sexThis episode is a reminder that sex isn't something you're supposed to just figure out alone and that asking questions is often the first step toward agency, comfort, and connection.If you've ever wondered, "Is this normal?," you're not alone.🔑 Key TakeawaysYou're not the only one asking the questions you think are "weird."There is no single definition of "normal" when it comes to sex.Your body is not the problem—lack of information often is.Desire changes over time, and that's part of being human.Honest conversations create better experiences than silent assumptions.🔗 Links mentioned in this episodeC. Tivy ConsultingThe Center for GrowthLUWI💥 Don’t Miss a Conversation🎧Follow & Subscribe on Spotify 📩 Sign up for Danielle’s newsletter🙋‍♀️ Want to be on Roar? 🤝 Want to partner with us? danielle@danielledavies.com👕 Get your Roar Merch🔗 ConnectInstagram LinkedIn Website #RoarPodcast#WomensHealth #SexEducation #WomensBodies #PelvicHealth #SexTherapy#WomensWellness #NormalizeTheConversation #WomenAndPower #DanielleDavies#WomensVoices #LetsTalkAboutSex
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    1 hr and 26 mins
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