INTERVIEW: New Laura Bell Bundy podcast explores ‘Women of Tomorrow’
Image: Laura Bell Bundy and Shea Carter co-host the Women of Tomorrow podcast. Image courtesy of Broadway Podcast Network / Provided by Kampfire PR with permission.
Although Laura Bell Bundy’s theatrical and music career has hit the pause button because of the COVID-19 pandemic, she is staying busy and producing important work. The Broadway performer, star of Legally Blonde adn Hairspray, recently launched a new podcast called Women of Tomorrow. On the show, Bundy explores the power of women and the stories they have to tell. The podcast was inspired by Bundy’s album of the same name.
The inaugural episode of Women of Tomorrow features Democratic Senate nominee Amy McGrath, whose election against Republican incumbent Sen. Mitch McConnell gained national attention. McGrath’s electoral efforts didn’t bring a blue Senate seat to Kentucky, but she made a countrywide name for herself.
McGrath’s visit to the podcast was thematically tied to Bundy’s song “Get It Girl You Go,” which also had a music video featuring female Democratic candidates running for national office. Future episodes promise conversations on equal pay, beauty standards, social media, domestic violence and motherhood, among other topics.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Bundy about the new podcast project. In addition to her successful Broadway career, she has appeared on numerous TV shows and in many films, in addition to writing songs, recording albums and producing her own content. On the podcast, she is joined by co-host Shea Carter, and they both have partnered with the Broadway Podcast Network to distribute their episodes. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
When you were creating the album Women of Tomorrow, was the podcast in the back of your mind?
I think I always wanted the album to educate, inform and empower women — as each song explores a different issue women are facing today — but I didn’t think of doing [a] podcast until after I had finished a majority of the album and realized the amount of research I had been doing to write each song. I had learned quite a bit of women’s history as well, and I felt like there was an opportunity to give more to my audience. The podcast was the opportunity to do that.
What can listeners expect on each episode?
They can expect to hear a song from the album, the history behind the subject matter of that song, and hearing from a guest that is an expert on each subject — politicians, doctors, authors, artists, athletes, etc. We will also talk about ways to move forward if we are knee deep in an issue … and hopefully have a laugh, too.
How do these different women inspire you each and every day?
I’m constantly inspired by women. Women have birthed the human race. They don’t ever stop. Their pulse is deep in the veins of our world in ways they historically do not get credit for. They are called the weaker sex, and yet they come from below zero to make sure you are fed, picked up, educated, loved, scrubbed and protected. The women of yesterday have paved the way for the women of today, and we have to make a better world for the women of tomorrow. The women I am featuring on this podcast have broken barriers in their fields or uncovered more empowering ways for women to function in society. They are paving the way for women’s equality. They make me wanna keep going till we get that equality. That’s how I am inspired each and every day … for the next generation.
How important are the powerful voices of women in this current political climate?
Women make up over 50% of the population. They are also at the epicenter of family and children in many cases. When you put women in politics they are more in touch with what other women and children need — aka more Americans. The womxn in this 2020 election are mothers, doctors, teachers, LGBTQ, Black, Latinx, Asian, Middle Eastern, former military. They truly represent the melting pot that is America, and many are not career politicians. They are women who felt change needed to be made and took action. Their voices are incredibly powerful, and whether or not they are elected, they are still making change.
After you’ve addressed each song in podcast form, will the podcast be over? Or do you hope to keep going?
Yup, I plan to keep going, whether that be by writing more songs or by exploring other songs. My overall goal is to eventually turn this body of music and work into a stage show.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Women of Tomorrow, co-hosted by Laura Bell Bundy and Shea Carter, is now available via the Broadway Podcast Network. Click here for more information.
