Kamala Harris and the US women in Paris

Also: We're asking the wrong questions about Michelle Wu [❤️ Donate]( [View in Browser]( August 11, 2024  Dear Cog reader, To celebrate her 60th birthday, philanthropist Melinda Gates has been interviewing women of all ages about their "biggest life transitions." She's talked to Reese Witherspoon, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey, among others. This week, I happened upon a clip of [Gates' interview with Billie Jean King]( Through the work of her[foundation]( King has talked for years about the benefits of sport for girls: It gives them confidence and teaches them to trust their bodies. In the interview I watched, she noted that [94%]( of women in the C-suite identify as athletes. "Girls that do sports learn how to lead," King said. "They learn how to make decisions, live with it and move on."  As a life-long athlete myself, I believe this to be true. It's why I insist my own kids participate in sports, and it's why I continue to challenge my friends' kids in pick-up soccer games and attempt to run (emphasis on attempt) 400 meter repeats on my local track. I'm not as fast as I used to be - a real salient theme of middle age it seems - but I want to see what I'm capable of.  The King interview clip was exceptionally well timed, too, as the American women at the Paris Olympics have been dominant. By the time this note arrives in your inbox, we'll know the outcome of the gold medal game between the U.S. and Brazil in women's soccer (I'll be rooting hard for [my beloved USWNT]( and the [women's basketball final]( will be underway. This week for Cog, sports journalist Lisa Liberty Becker [runs down all the ways]( in which the American women have excelled in this year's Summer Games, and what it means to her.  Whether it's Katie Ledecky [setting records]( in the pool or Gabby Thomas (the [first Harvard graduate]( to win a gold medal in track and field) [rounding the curve]( I can't help but see a connection between the "firsts" happening for women on the field, and off. Vice President Kamala Harris is now the first Black and Asian American woman nominated for president to a major party ticket. Historically, I've considered it a flex to know women by their first names only. Think about it:  Beyonce, Madonna, Cher, Venus, Serena. But Laura Hertzfeld made me think twice about that when it comes to politics. She examines what's in a name - and [why we should all be calling the vice president by her full one]( And then there's Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, who announced a couple of weeks ago that she is pregnant with her third child. Wu is a woman of many firsts: First woman and non-white person to be elected Boston's mayor. Youngest person elected to the office in nearly 100 years. A first-generation American. There was no shortage of hot takes about her stated intention to not take parental leave. Our contributor, "Motherbrain" author Chelsea Conaboy, had [a more nuanced view.]( She put all the pressure Wu's received to take paid leave in the context of a political system that is unfriendly to caregivers.  The women athletes in Paris are breaking records and striving to do better than those who came before them. Harris and Wu, in their own ways, are also pushing beyond what's been possible so far. But as true "firsts" they don't have a tried and true roadmap. There are no norms for the first woman president - or for a big city mayor, who's soon to be a mother of three and running for re-election. Like high-performing athletes, I imagine Harris and Wu make the best decisions they can and keep on moving, believing in their abilities to figure it out as they go. Regardless of your politics, we're bearing witness to history and it's exciting to watch. About two-thirds of the way through her interview with Gates, Billie Jean King explained what it's like to play tennis again after many years off the court. Now 80, King described the near-spiritual experience she has when she swings the racket and feels its strings strike the ball, the sounds of the court and deciding fast between hitting a topspin, sidespin or slice. "I have to use all of myself. That's what's great about sports," she said.  You have to keep your wits about you.   Until soon, Cloe Axelson Senior Editor, Cognoscenti Editor's note: We have a new address: newsletters@email.wbur.org. Be sure to add us to your contacts - or for Gmail users, move us into your primary folder - so you never miss a newsletter. Reply to this email if you have any questions; we'd love to help. Must Reads [We're asking the wrong questions about Michelle Wu]( When Chelsea Conaboy heard Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's pregnancy announcement, she had questions about how the mayor would work, heal and manage life with a newborn. "These questions - all of them - were the wrong ones," Conaboy writes. "The one we should be asking isn't should she or shouldn't she, but why does it matter?" [Read more.]( [We're asking the wrong questions about Michelle Wu]( When Chelsea Conaboy heard Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's pregnancy announcement, she had questions about how the mayor would work, heal and manage life with a newborn. "These questions - all of them - were the wrong ones," Conaboy writes. "The one we should be asking isn't should she or shouldn't she, but why does it matter?" [Read more.]( [Call the vice president by her (last) name]( There's certainly a place for the familiarity the vice president has invited into her campaign that reaches voters across generations, writes Laura Hertzfeld. But we can and should move to the formal when we're talking about Kamala Harris and her campaign in our workplaces, in our newsrooms and even at the dinner table. [Read more.]( [Call the vice president by her (last) name]( There's certainly a place for the familiarity the vice president has invited into her campaign that reaches voters across generations, writes Laura Hertzfeld. But we can and should move to the formal when we're talking about Kamala Harris and her campaign in our workplaces, in our newsrooms and even at the dinner table. [Read more.]( [The American women are crushing it - and it's a joy to watch]( In Paris, the U.S. women have showed that women can do anything and be anything, writes Lisa Liberty Becker. It's been such fun to admire these athletes' perseverance and determination, their sportsmanship and their ability to get the job done. [Read more.]( [The American women are crushing it - and it's a joy to watch]( In Paris, the U.S. women have showed that women can do anything and be anything, writes Lisa Liberty Becker. It's been such fun to admire these athletes' perseverance and determination, their sportsmanship and their ability to get the job done. [Read more.]( [What Mass. legislators can learn from Tim Walz]( The fecklessness and secrecy of the Massachusetts Legislature is all the more contemptible when viewed against the much more inspiring backdrop of what's happening on the national stage, writes Miles Howard. [Read more.]( [What Mass. legislators can learn from Tim Walz]( The fecklessness and secrecy of the Massachusetts Legislature is all the more contemptible when viewed against the much more inspiring backdrop of what's happening on the national stage, writes Miles Howard. [Read more.]( What We're Reading "Republicans are alienating a large part of the American public and they just don't see it. And because they don't see it, they've given Democrats an opportunity to do what Nixon did: to make their party the party of the silent majority and to define Republicans as one of the worst things a party can be in modern American politics." " [The Real Reason Trump and Vance Hate Being Called 'Weird]( The New York Times. "Then along came Polar Park, which opened three years ago, and put the Canal District's emergence on overdrive. As with many stadium deals that require public financing, building Polar Park was controversial. But so far, the bet seems to be paying off." "[In Worcester, a ballpark and a neighborhood rise together]( The Boston Globe. "After an hour of conversation, Pelosi seemed to come up with a credo that was in line with [Lyndon] Johnson. 'You take a punch, but you have to be willing to throw a punch. For the children.' " "[Nancy Pelosi's Art of Power]( The New Yorker.   "It's not enough to encourage mothers to run, or even to elect a few to higher office. It will take real structural changes to political institutions." - Chelsea Conaboy, "[We're asking the wrong questions about Michelle Wu](   ICYMI [Newport Folk Festival and the art of the good surprise]( Each time I open a news app or website, some new turn of events awaits, writes Jonathan D. Fitzgerald. But for one weekend a year, Newport Folk Festival invites us to "be open," and maybe even surprised by joy. [Read more.]( [Newport Folk Festival and the art of the good surprise]( Each time I open a news app or website, some new turn of events awaits, writes Jonathan D. Fitzgerald. But for one weekend a year, Newport Folk Festival invites us to "be open," and maybe even surprised by joy. [Read more.]( If you'd like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 🔎 Explore [WBUR's Field Guide]( stories, events and more. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.](   [Donate](   # # Want to change how you receive these emails? 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