Hello solutionaries,
Recently, I’ve been to the movies to watch Devil Wears Prada 2. Being a fashion lover it was clear that this movie would be right for me. But honestly, the film totally got me because it described beautifully and painfully what journalists, like me, go through.
Getting less and less money, being replaced by AI, getting fired and seeing how good quality media are closing down one by one. My heart still didn’t recover from the shock that in 2025, YES!Magazine closed down after 30 years of operation. If the film is still screening in your cinemas, do go and watch the movie.
Devil Wears Prada 2, Source: Veronika Perková
Feminist Interview
The film inspired me to kick myself and write to Anna Hathaway. She is one of a few famous people (along with Leonardo di Caprio) that I would love to interview because I admire her active role in supporting women’s rights. I have already crafted a pitch but I’m wondering what is the best way to contact her. Any ideas? Do you know anyone who works in Hollywood and might know her?
I’ve also been wanting to send you an interview for a long time but this semester I was busy teaching my university course “How to be a successful freelance interviewer for blogs, media and companies”. Now that the semester is over, I’m planning to approach another well-known woman – the Slovak ex-president Zuzana Čaputová.
In spite of being incredibly popular, Čaputová decided to not run for elections (similarly to ex-PM Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand or ex-PM Sanna Marin in Finland). Being interested in politics, I’d love to understand more in depth what female politicians go through. I’m again turning to you for help – if you happen to know anyone who knows her, would you please let me know?
Environmental Book Club
This month Katharina and I decided to take a break from feminist literature and explore another area of our interest – nature conservation. We bumped into an incredibly intriguing book called Bright Green Lies by Derrick Jensen, Lierre Keith, and Max Wilbert.
We’re halfway through, and this book has confirmed what I’ve thought for a long time. The environmental movement has gone off the rails. In the past 20 years, it has become dominated by “bright green environmentalists” who have convinced most people that we can have a healthy planet and keep the same high level of consumption, economic growth, and population growth.
Bright Green Lies, Source: Veronika Perková
We are being told by environmentalists that instead of reducing our consumption, we just need to redesign the systems, use better technology, consume more sustainably and as you might guess, switch to renewable sources of energy.
But as the authors of Bright Green Lies state, “We can’t have it all.” And if we want our planet to survive, we do have to change our lifestyle—radically.” This inconvenient truth is hard to grasp but necessary if we want to move on. Because honestly, the past five decades of the environmental movement have neither stopped nor slowed down environmental destruction of the planet.
And so we should face the following truths:
- Our current way of life requires enormous amounts of energy. Instead of asking how we can continue living unsustainably like this, we should ask, “How can we stop it?”
- Renewable sources of energy, such as wind, solar, hydro, and biomass, will never replace fossil fuels, especially oil. Richard Heinberg has a good article on the failure of the renewable energy transition.
- Renewable sources of energy are not as clean as most people think and hence are not a solution.
The book is not an easy read. It’s very technical and scientific and contains a lot of data but that in my view makes it even more trustworthy. While reading it I reached out to the authors to ask them for a digital copy and I was happy that they gladly gave it to me. I plan to discuss this book in my journalism classes next semester.
In my next newsletter, I will talk more in-depth about the myth that solar energy is a clean source and thus a solution.
Feminist Community
In May I organized my second feminist meetup in Brno with the theme: “Am I good enough? A conversation about the societal pressure that women feel” . I booked a beautiful lounge in an Asian restaurant and we had complete privacy to talk things through.
There was a wide array of guests – a member of Czech Parliament, a marketing consultant for Czech Pirate Party, two Instagram influencers, one lawyer who is an expert on mining law, as well as a librarian cum local politician and a founder of a feminist organization.
Here are some of the questions that I asked:
- Societal Pressure on Women: What pressures do you feel from society regarding roles such as being a perfect parent, balancing work and family, appearance, and professional achievements? And how do you deal with them?
- Experiences with Gender Expectations: How often have you been told what you should or shouldn’t do because of your gender? How did you respond then versus how would you now?
- Support Systems: Where do you find support and understanding—in family, partners, friends—and who is your key supporter when facing challenges?
- Political Perspectives: How do you navigate ideological differences and discuss differing views in society?
I loved the ambience and the exchange of ideas and experiences. Jana, one of the members sent me a message afterwards saying: “Veronika, today’s meetup was amazing again! I’m so grateful that I can be part of this community of women, which you’re building. It’s giving me so much energy.” Such feedback keeps me going!
In the past month I was brainstorming about various discussion topics and I came up with 60 ideas! They range from the classics like equal pay, engaged fatherhood and modern self-defense to more unconventional topics like prepping, drink spiking, sexting and contraception myths. I plan to invite guests who will speak about these topics and some of them have already confirmed their interest. I’m so thrilled!
Next time, our feminist meetup will be very special. We’ll talk about “Female sexuality and pleasure” with certified sex coach Zuzana Křížová, the owner of Rozkoššš, a unique design store focused on female sexuality. She will walk us through her store and then we’ll grab a prosecco!
If you’re around, feel free to join us. ❤️
And if you’ve finished reading here, please let me know how you like this newsletter and if there’s anything else that you’d like to read about.
Warmly,