The Cut

In 2014, Sophia Amoruso was the founder and CEO of Nasty Gal and her book #Girlboss was a New York Times bestseller – plus responsible for coining the hashtag-turned-cultural-phenomenon. Since then her company has folded and the "girlboss" has been declared all but dead... yet Sophia is haunted by its ghost. Today, she addresses the legacy of the phenomenon, what makes her cringe when she reads her book today, and how she’s remaking her life with new ambitions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Aurora James was launching her luxury shoe line, Brother Vellies, she didn’t know that she’d eventually launch a non-profit and an equity fund dedicated to supporting black-owned businesses. But after the pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 that’s what she did. Today, we talk to Aurora about how that’s going, and how she keeps her own company aligned with her values. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Claire Mazur and Erica Cerulo love a steamy, swoony romance novel. They also love a good business opportunity (Claire & Erica were behind the beloved yet shuttered retail company Of a Kind). And as they got deeper into the romance genre, they saw one: people don’t just read romance novels – they build universes around them with fan fiction and lively TikTok discussion. So Claire & Erica launched 831 Stories, an entertainment media company built around romance novels. Today, we chat about what that really means, and how they’ve learned to work together over their 14-year business partnership (spoiler: it involves learning to fight). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, the start of a new special series about work. Hosted by friend of The Cut Samhita Mukhopadhyay, former executive editor of Teen Vogue and author of The Myth of Making It: A Workplace Reckoning. We’ll talk to women at the top of their fields, each with different perspectives on ambition and success. Women business leaders who pay their employees almost as much as they make. Women who have been held accountable — unfairly, or fairly — for their management decisions. And women who are very careful about the opportunities they say yes to. That’s where we start, with celebrity esthetician and skincare expert, whose products have a cult-like following: Renée Rouleau. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Female athletes, both college and professional, continue to make gains in pay and TV-airtime equity, shatter records and break into once male-dominated sports. Today's conversation delves into those topics and more with three accomplished athletes. It comes to you from a rooftop panel at this year's South by Southwest conference. Guests: Dina Asher-Smith, World Champion and the fastest British woman in history. Haley Rosen, former professional soccer player and founder and CEO of Just Women’s Sports and Chloe Kim, American snowboarder and two-time Olympic gold medalist. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today's episode illuminates an essential foundation of Black life: namely, Black love. A new book from Zando Press assembles letters and original illustrations on the topic from celebrated Black writers and thinkers. The collection, Black Love Letters, explores the concept of Black love in all its facets, from diasporic connection to familial and community care to romance. Its array of contributors includes Dr. Imani Perry, Michael Eric Dyson, Tarana Burke, and the Reverend Al Sharpton. Lindsay spoke to Natalie Johnson, who conceived of and co-edited Black Love Letters with Cole Brown, about the process of bringing the idea to life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our guest on In Her Shoes this week is Geraldine Chung, the founder of the beloved online fashion brand LCD. It began as an online destination, showcasing an inspired mix of emerging independent designers. The brand grew fast—within a few years, Chung went on to open a brick and mortar location in Los Angeles. But like so many other small businesses, LCD took a big revenue hit during the pandemic. It's been difficult for small brands like it to regain stability, much less profitability. Earlier this month, Chung announced in a very candid Instagram post that she's shutting down the business. We wanted to talk to her about how she reached this decision, and ask her to reflect on what she learned in a decade of building and evolving the brand in a changing retail landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mara Hoffman started her eponymous label in 2002 out of her Upper East Side apartment. More than a decade in, she had an epiphany about the fashion industry: without sustainable practices, it was a toxic business that was bad for the earth. And with the perspective of becoming a new mom, she was also thinking about her legacy differently. Hoffman began transforming her business practices, with a commitment to sustainability as a core principle. This fall, Hoffman was awarded the Environmental Sustainability Award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. On today's episode of In Her Shoes, we'll explore how she thinks about sustainable growth, and talk about the impact she wants to make on the wider fashion industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Audie Cornish is a journalism vet whose voice was our north star on NPR’s, All Things Considered for ten years. After being a public radio girl for most of her career, she’s embarking on a new journey. She’s now hosting a weekly Podcast on CNN called The Assignment with Audie Cornish. She talked about leaving NPR, her career in public radio and of course, what it’s been like starting something new. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As Olivia Rodrigo releases Guts, we take stock of the singer-songwriter who seemed to come out of nowhere, fully realized as an artist, back in 2021. How did Olivia surprise us so much before, and can she repeat her success a second time? Sam chats with Lindsay Zoladz, pop music critic at The New York Times, about the dualities of Olivia Rodrigo: She's an artist who is both quiet and loud, young and old at heart, and a former Disney child star whose lyrics are a gut punch. We also trace her inspirations from Alanis Morisette to Taylor Swift and explore why we can't get enough of Olivia's music in a year that's seen the pop culture power of women and girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tracy Margolies is the Chief Merchandising Officer at Saks Fifth Avenue. She continues to create innovative conversations and connections in fashion, changing the way we think about brands and shop them too. In this episode, Tracy talks about her career, her start in the industry and what it’s like balancing motherhood. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Katori Hall has a way of making the most dynamic, interesting characters come to life and there’s been no better display of that than the world she’s created on the show P-Valley. On this episode, Katori talks about her career, her writing process and what's next in her journey. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices