Welcome to The Bossy Nurse Podcast, a show about nurse creators, innovators, risk-takers,
and the ideas that shape their success.
In this episode, Marsha Battee sits down with Anna Stoecklein, creator and host of The Story of Woman Podcast, and how she turned a world too often told without a gender lens into an award-winning podcast that grew from her living room to an interview with Hillary Clinton and an on-the-ground series in Kenya documenting women and girls affected by FGM/C.
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Key takeaways
- A “gender lens” changes the story especially in healthcare, policy, and the systems nurses work inside every day.
- Research matters, but stories move hearts and minds, especially when a topic is complex and culturally rooted.
- Partnership is essential when reporting across communities and languages especially with sensitive, high-stakes topics.
Show notes / what you’ll hear in this episode:
- How Anna’s nursing background shows up in her storytelling, even after stepping away from bedside work.
- Why The Story of Woman Podcast exists: to explore the economy, healthcare, city design (and more) through the female gaze.
- The book that lit the match for Season One and why podcasting can make dense ideas more accessible.
- What it really takes to reach “high-caliber” guests, building a clear mission, pitching with confidence, and staying consistent through lots of “no’s.”
- FGM/C: What it means and why it’s not confined to one region of the world.
- How Anna’s Kenya series came together with Orchid Project, and why telling the story across two communities matters.
- The “belonging, becoming, being” framework and how it can shift bias and deepen understanding across cultures.
- Behind the Hillary Clinton interview: the seed, the strategy, and the two-week timeframe.
- What’s next for Anna? Listen to the epsiode to find our more!
Resources mentioned
- The Story of Woman (podcast/site): thestoryofwomanpodcast.com
- The Story of Woman in Kenya (FGM/C series):
- Kenyan Journalist and Storyteller, Evelyn Wambui
- Orchid Project
- Unwell Women (book) — by Eleanor Cleghorn
- Invisible Women (book) — by Caroline Criado Perez
- Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
Where to find Anna online
- Website / Podcast hub: thestoryofwomanpodcast.com
- Email: hello@thestoryofwomanpodcast.com
- Instagram: @the.storyofwoman
- X (Twitter): @storyofwoman_
- TikTok: @the.storyofwoman
- Facebook: thestoryofwoman.podcast
- LinkedIn: The Story of Woman
- YouTube: The Story of Woman channel
- Patreon: Become a Patron
Bio: Anna Stoecklein | The Story of Woman Podcast
Anna Stoecklein is the creator and host of The Story of Woman, an award-winning podcast that examines our world through the female lens, covering everything from healthcare and the economy to climate justice, city design, sports, and beyond.
A former emergency department nurse in New York City, Anna launched the podcast out of a passion for storytelling and a desire to continue helping others in a new way. In just three years, she has grown the show from recording in her living room to interviewing figures such as Hillary Clinton and Cherie Blair, and producing an immersive, on-location series in Kenya.
Her recent work in Kenya explored the experiences of women affected by Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), documenting how survivors are using their stories to drive change in their communities, and the world.
Timestamps
- [00:30:48] The “sliding doors” moment that sparked the podcast (starting with Invisible Women)
- [00:33:58] What The Story of Woman means and why the lens matters
- [00:40:12] Pitching authors: creating a mission/vision doc and aiming high
- [00:43:59] Healthcare episodes + Unwell Women and the history that still echoes today
- [00:45:25] What FGM/C is, and why it’s a global issue
- [00:47:23] Partnering with Orchid Project and shaping the Kenya series
- [00:50:00] Belonging, becoming, being: understanding culture without flattening it
- [01:01:20] How the Hillary Clinton interview happened (hard work + the right connection)
