WEBVTT - Jennifer Siebel Newsom Meets The Moment 0:00:01.720 --> 0:00:05.200 When Jennifer Siebel Newsom arrived at the California Governor's office, 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:08.400 she scrapped the traditional first lady title and made up 0:00:08.440 --> 0:00:08.800 her own. 0:00:09.760 --> 0:00:11.440 She was a Division I soccer. 0:00:11.160 --> 0:00:14.520 Recruit to Stanford, where she later got her MBA, then 0:00:14.560 --> 0:00:19.840 became a documentary filmmaker, sparking national conversation for the last 0:00:19.880 --> 0:00:22.840 seventeen years. She's best known for being the wife of 0:00:22.880 --> 0:00:25.840 Governor Gavin Newsom. Not what you might expect from a 0:00:25.880 --> 0:00:28.720 girl who grew up in a prominent conservative family and 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:32.640 now stands by her husband's side throwing flames at President Trump. 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:37.320 I feel like sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:40.960 I mean, mistakes are just that high. We can't check 0:00:41.040 --> 0:00:44.239 out and move to another country or hide under a 0:00:44.320 --> 0:00:45.880 log like we can't. 0:00:46.000 --> 0:00:46.959 That's not who we are. 0:00:48.159 --> 0:00:50.800 I spent three days with Siebel Newsom and her husband, 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:53.320 the Governor, to find out more about life in the 0:00:53.360 --> 0:00:56.480 Newsom family at their home in Marin County and the 0:00:56.520 --> 0:01:00.000 Governor's office in Sacramento. You can listen to my conversation 0:01:00.200 --> 0:01:02.520 with the Governor in another episode of the Circuit Pod. 0:01:03.280 --> 0:01:06.199 In this episode, I talked to Siebel Newsom about pushing 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:10.559 back against President Trump. Holding tech companies accountable, raising four 0:01:10.680 --> 0:01:15.040 kids under intense public scrutiny, and whether her husband should. 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:16.479 Make a run for the White House. 0:01:17.400 --> 0:01:23.600 Here's my conversation with California First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom. 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:25.600 Thank you so much for doing this. Thank you really 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:26.120 appreciate you. 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:28.600 And you know, I know you don't open your house 0:01:28.680 --> 0:01:30.520 up very often, so thank you. 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:34.160 Thank you for course here, happy to be with you. 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:37.240 You want to be called first partner instead of first lady. 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:40.040 How are you trying to change the stereotype of what 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:42.240 it means to be a politician's wife. 0:01:43.160 --> 0:01:44.600 That's a great question. 0:01:46.319 --> 0:01:51.640 So I we agreed to give me the title first 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:53.960 Partner to really signify to. 0:01:53.920 --> 0:01:56.880 The world what's possible that there will be. 0:01:57.120 --> 0:02:01.880 A female governor LGBTQ plus governor in the future. Also, 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:04.920 we felt it was important to really shine a light 0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:09.360 on partnership, and partnership makes the world go round. We 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:12.440 do live in a society that values the rugged individual 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:18.920 and doesn't place enough value on the feminine and care 0:02:19.160 --> 0:02:22.360 and partnership and collaboration, and so for me, I really 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:25.120 wanted to put out to Californians that I wanted to 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:29.200 partner with California moms and families and women and children, 0:02:30.000 --> 0:02:33.200 and that I would be their partner, and that I 0:02:33.240 --> 0:02:36.239 also was a partner to the governor. I'm the first 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:38.160 person that sees them in the morning, the last person 0:02:38.200 --> 0:02:41.839 before bed at night. We share our thoughts, our passions, 0:02:42.000 --> 0:02:46.079 our concerns for California and for the world. And while 0:02:46.520 --> 0:02:50.080 I am holding down the fort and so focused on 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:56.680 ensuring that I raise healthy, whole kind, contributing citizens, I 0:02:56.720 --> 0:03:02.320 am also his partner in both and publicly and then 0:03:02.360 --> 0:03:05.480 doing the other things that enable us to live in 0:03:05.520 --> 0:03:10.560 this state and live this life, and hopefully our lived 0:03:10.600 --> 0:03:15.639 experiences can help inform making California better for California families. 0:03:16.000 --> 0:03:18.280 What was it like to trade one stage for another 0:03:18.480 --> 0:03:20.360 and go from Hollywood to politics. 0:03:21.040 --> 0:03:26.160 Well, I think I was grateful for the experience that 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:29.240 I had in the entertainment industry, just in terms of 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:37.440 the storytelling component, not being afraid to give speeches. 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:40.600 And speak publicly, and I think just like the public nature. 0:03:40.640 --> 0:03:44.760 But you know, I made my first documentary misrepresentation after 0:03:45.200 --> 0:03:51.360 experiencing in the entertainment industry. This not just misrepresentation, but 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:54.080 the underrepresentation of women of positions of power, and influence, 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:58.960 and I happen to be introduced to my husband in 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:02.880 that time period where thinking about making this documentary and 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.400 noted that there are all these powerful women in the 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:09.040 real world, but the entertainment industry was sort of limiting 0:04:09.080 --> 0:04:12.320 powerful women initially to sort of oar youth, our beauty, 0:04:12.360 --> 0:04:13.160 and our sexuality. 0:04:13.200 --> 0:04:15.440 And I felt like it was really important. 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:18.320 To expose that that the media at the time wasn't 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:22.560 giving justice to what a powerful woman really was outside 0:04:22.560 --> 0:04:26.200 of our sexuality. And so I think just bringing those 0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:31.360 experiences into the dating and then marrying a public servant 0:04:31.960 --> 0:04:35.960 gave me this like different perspective on everything. Media is 0:04:35.960 --> 0:04:39.960 the greatest cultural communicator of our time, and so for me, 0:04:40.880 --> 0:04:45.440 what I experienced growing up and ultimately what I then 0:04:45.480 --> 0:04:48.640 experienced in the entertainment industry helped me to kind of 0:04:48.800 --> 0:04:51.240 form narratives that ultimately I think could be helpful to 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:55.720 the general public and Californians in the role of first partner. 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:57.520 I want to linger on the Hollywood thing for a 0:04:57.560 --> 0:05:00.479 moment and how women have been historically represent there. But 0:05:00.520 --> 0:05:04.080 you were typecast as a trophy wife, yes, right, And 0:05:04.240 --> 0:05:06.159 is it true that your agent wanted you to take 0:05:06.200 --> 0:05:09.560 Stanford off your resume, so you wouldn't seem smart. 0:05:09.360 --> 0:05:11.800 Yes, and to lie about my age, which I didn't 0:05:11.800 --> 0:05:15.640 do either, because that's not you know, those are my values. 0:05:15.680 --> 0:05:18.039 And I was proud of my Stanford MBA, and I 0:05:18.080 --> 0:05:20.240 was proud of my Stanford undergraduate degree. And I was 0:05:20.720 --> 0:05:24.920 proud of not just being educated and informed, but also 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.440 of having lived and having had lived experiences. 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:29.159 And I didn't want to pretend to be someone that 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:29.679 I wasn't. 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:33.000 So you're still you're a prolific filmmaker. 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:35.560 You've covered these issues from the representation of women, to 0:05:36.160 --> 0:05:40.800 raising young men to inequality. What are you taking from 0:05:40.880 --> 0:05:45.320 your filmmaking in terms of informing your agenda? How is 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:48.880 what you've learned over the course of your career informing 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:51.280 what you think the government needs? 0:05:51.720 --> 0:05:55.960 Well prior to entertainment, but in the entertainment industry, I 0:05:55.960 --> 0:05:57.320 obviously saw a dearth of. 0:05:57.320 --> 0:05:58.960 Women in positions of power and influence. 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:04.719 And I also saw women's voices be silenced because women 0:06:04.800 --> 0:06:07.760 weren't the majority of writers, directors, and producers. 0:06:08.640 --> 0:06:14.800 And similar to the political world, women may be rising 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.159 in terms of our numbers and representation. 0:06:16.760 --> 0:06:20.840 But women don't have the same voice and power in politics, 0:06:21.120 --> 0:06:24.880 and so I do think that my experiences in that 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:33.520 particular industry influenced my observation in politics, that women's voices 0:06:33.720 --> 0:06:37.760 were not as valuable, that our stories weren't being told, 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:42.279 that our perspectives weren't necessarily being listened to, and therefore 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:47.160 the policies that were being created weren't always helping our 0:06:47.200 --> 0:06:51.520 progress because they were made by and informed by a 0:06:51.560 --> 0:06:54.560 male perspective for the most part. So again, even if 0:06:54.600 --> 0:06:56.560 things were shifting, just as they started to shift in 0:06:56.600 --> 0:07:01.160 the entertainment industry, we were still not achieving the progress 0:07:01.160 --> 0:07:03.720 that was possible. Again because at the end of representation 0:07:04.040 --> 0:07:06.520 and the misrepresentations. 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.840 You're still making movies, you're being first partner, you're a 0:07:08.880 --> 0:07:12.520 mom to four kids. How do you divide your time 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:16.200 between Sacramento and here? I mean, you're spending a lot 0:07:16.200 --> 0:07:18.840 of time in the car, right, Like what's your daily 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:19.760 and weekly reas well? 0:07:19.760 --> 0:07:21.200 We used with a great question. 0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.200 I mean, I think for all of us working moms, 0:07:23.320 --> 0:07:24.880 it's a juggle, it's messy. 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:28.280 It takes a village, right, It really does take a team. 0:07:28.760 --> 0:07:31.280 We did live in Sacramento for six years, and that 0:07:31.520 --> 0:07:34.960 was we also lived there during the pandemic. Our world, 0:07:35.080 --> 0:07:38.120 in a sense was smaller. We had fewer friends, a 0:07:38.160 --> 0:07:40.840 smaller community. It was work, work, work, and the kids. 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:43.480 I do have some wonderful girlfriends up there, but it 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:46.560 really was a smaller community. I think moving back here 0:07:46.640 --> 0:07:48.760 has been a transition, and that's part of why I 0:07:48.760 --> 0:07:52.320 feel like our home is a transition because work is 0:07:52.360 --> 0:07:55.320 there for him or it's been in La since the fires. 0:07:55.720 --> 0:07:57.480 I mean, it's been in the Central Valley the entire 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:02.320 time he's been governor, and so we're just constantly, like 0:08:02.480 --> 0:08:05.800 on the road, trying to be as efficient with our 0:08:05.840 --> 0:08:09.320 time as possible. But it's super messy, and the kids 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:13.480 let you know when you've been gone too long, whether 0:08:14.240 --> 0:08:16.840 it's just that he's been gone too long, or I've 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:19.120 been gone too long, or just we're not present or 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:21.240 what have you. And so you know, it's just like 0:08:21.360 --> 0:08:26.040 any working famili's struggle of balance. And I would say 0:08:26.240 --> 0:08:29.200 I'm pretty proud. I mean, my team's been awesome. I'm 0:08:29.200 --> 0:08:31.560 not in Sacramento as much as I used to be, 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:34.360 and that is a bummer for me because I really 0:08:35.080 --> 0:08:38.120 enjoy all of that and the work that we're doing 0:08:38.200 --> 0:08:40.520 out of my office. It's we're so focused on We've 0:08:40.520 --> 0:08:43.400 been California for All Women's Agenda, California for All Kids' Agenda, 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:47.720 and all of our work on belonging and California really 0:08:47.880 --> 0:08:53.360 becoming the state of community and connection and social wellbeing. 0:08:54.040 --> 0:08:55.840 But they are also chapters. 0:08:55.880 --> 0:09:00.160 And so I'm just finishing my next documentary, Misrepresentation two 0:09:00.200 --> 0:09:03.560 point zero, which really looks at tech facilitated gender based 0:09:03.600 --> 0:09:06.280 violence is the new backlash against girls and women's mental 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.440 health agency and political efficacy. So I've been on the 0:09:09.480 --> 0:09:11.440 road with that or I've been more focused on that. 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.800 We just launched our Women's Wealth Gap Initiative and Council, 0:09:15.480 --> 0:09:18.240 and there's a lot of delegation going on. And it's 0:09:18.280 --> 0:09:21.520 really about partnership, right, So when you ask that big 0:09:21.600 --> 0:09:23.240 question of how do you do it all, I only 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:24.320 do it through partnership. 0:09:24.520 --> 0:09:25.960 I could not do this on my own. 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:30.320 And I definitely feel like I have partners in all 0:09:30.360 --> 0:09:35.679 these different places in my life and it is exciting. 0:09:36.080 --> 0:09:38.240 But it's not easy, right. 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:40.400 As I think just even raising four kids today, as 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:42.160 I imagine for you, is not easy. 0:09:42.400 --> 0:09:45.719 It's not easy. No, definitely not easy. It's awesome, but 0:09:45.800 --> 0:09:46.840 it's definitely not easy. 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:51.480 Yeah, yeah, you and the governor met on a blind date. 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:54.960 He was in the headline San Francisco's most Eligible bachelor, 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:57.679 Mayor McCatty. I think I read. 0:09:57.800 --> 0:09:59.839 Not untouched by scandal either. 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:01.360 How did you handle all that? 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:04.520 I honestly knew nothing about him. I was in my 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:09.160 own little world in the entertainment industry, trying to write 0:10:09.240 --> 0:10:13.600 stories for female protagonists and to kind of uplift what 0:10:13.760 --> 0:10:18.240 I thought were inspiring stories that weren't out there as 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:19.800 a producer and also acting. 0:10:20.840 --> 0:10:22.520 But you had to start googling at some point. 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:24.760 Yeah, I don't know if. I honestly don't know if 0:10:24.800 --> 0:10:25.920 I did. I really no. 0:10:25.920 --> 0:10:26.000 No. 0:10:26.320 --> 0:10:30.400 Actually, the friend, the mutual friend that had introduced us, 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:35.000 like sent me an article of him with a basketball 0:10:35.200 --> 0:10:38.880 in a bus. And my dad played my dad, we 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:41.240 all played basketball. Basketball was actually my favorite sport. I 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:44.160 played soccer overseas on the under twenty three national soccer team, 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:46.839 and I played at Stanford, but basketball was my favorite sport. 0:10:46.880 --> 0:10:49.600 And I almost left Stanford to go play basketball at 0:10:49.600 --> 0:10:52.080 Princeton because I've been recruited to play there. Wow, and 0:10:52.800 --> 0:10:55.400 I love basketball, and that was like kind of cool. 0:10:56.320 --> 0:10:59.679 Then he was a basketball player, and really that's all 0:10:59.679 --> 0:11:00.000 I knew. 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:01.640 I promise you I knew nothing. 0:11:02.040 --> 0:11:05.480 I'd done a commercial with his brother in law a 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:08.360 year or so prior, and we were a married couple 0:11:08.559 --> 0:11:10.440 in this commercial, and his brother in law was saying, 0:11:10.440 --> 0:11:12.400 you need to meet my brother, and I knew nothing 0:11:12.400 --> 0:11:15.400 about him because I wasn't focused on politics. 0:11:15.400 --> 0:11:17.480 I wasn't really interested, but it. 0:11:17.400 --> 0:11:22.200 Was sort of it just became this beautiful friendship and 0:11:22.240 --> 0:11:24.200 relationship and partnership. 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.720 And then four kids later. Here we more kids later. 0:11:26.960 --> 0:11:28.360 We're gonna talk about your kids in a moment. 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:30.439 But you used to be a registered Republican. 0:11:30.760 --> 0:11:31.440 I was. Ye. 0:11:31.720 --> 0:11:35.440 Your parents contributed to Ronda Santis' campaign for Florida governor. 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:36.920 I know your cousin Tom Siebel. 0:11:37.040 --> 0:11:37.319 Don't. 0:11:37.480 --> 0:11:41.120 No, he's not my cousin. So my dad is a 0:11:41.880 --> 0:11:45.400 wonderful human. I was raised in a conservative household, kind 0:11:45.440 --> 0:11:49.880 of Reagan esque household. I didn't know any different than 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:51.040 to kind of Revere Reagan. 0:11:51.120 --> 0:11:51.960 I grew up. 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:55.560 In that generation, and I lived and worked in Africa 0:11:55.600 --> 0:11:58.600 and Latin American all over the world with indigenous communities 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:04.239 and bush women in particular. And when I graduated college 0:12:04.480 --> 0:12:07.800 and was working for conservation international. I started to kind 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:10.559 of connect the dots, but didn't really pay much attention 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:15.760 to political parties. And then I think I at one 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:20.959 point tried to be the version of declined to state 0:12:21.000 --> 0:12:24.679 but went independent instead and made that mistake just because 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:27.240 I wasn't ready to just jump in just because he 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:30.960 was a Democrat, but I'm one hundred percent of progressive. 0:12:31.000 --> 0:12:33.000 How does this dynamic work in your own family, Like, 0:12:33.040 --> 0:12:35.440 what's the conversation like at the Thanksgiving table? 0:12:36.160 --> 0:12:37.640 Do you talk about politics? 0:12:38.200 --> 0:12:42.520 My mom and dad really respect. Gavin is an entrepreneur, 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:46.960 He's a businessman. He is very forward thinking, very fair, 0:12:47.160 --> 0:12:52.600 very balanced. I can be a little feistier. I feel 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:56.839 a real responsibility to fight up for and on behalf 0:12:56.920 --> 0:13:02.439 of women and girls. It's like, yeah, yeah, so I 0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:05.160 think it's you know so, I think that's very much 0:13:05.920 --> 0:13:10.959 what can sometimes historically have triggered my dad because I'm. 0:13:10.800 --> 0:13:13.760 The eldest of well we were five, I lost my older. 0:13:13.559 --> 0:13:16.880 Sister, and I think some of my dad's friends, to 0:13:16.880 --> 0:13:20.880 be honest, in his conservative financial circles that he worked in, 0:13:21.360 --> 0:13:22.160 were a little. 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:22.880 Bit shocked by this. 0:13:23.360 --> 0:13:28.960 You know, Stanford graduating soccer, playing basketball, tennis, whatever athlete 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:33.720 star who he raised, who then went and got her 0:13:33.840 --> 0:13:38.440 MBA kind of challenging him in certain realms just related 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:40.199 to equality. 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.479 And my dad's always been the biggest. 0:13:42.160 --> 0:13:48.240 Champion of women and girls and underprivileged communities. He was 0:13:48.320 --> 0:13:52.319 giving scholarships when he could to those who were under resource. 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:54.240 But I think it was just a little bit of 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:56.200 a check on the patriarchy that. 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:58.160 I started to bring home. 0:13:58.840 --> 0:14:01.160 And so it was, you know, at a time where 0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:04.559 I think that generation of men weren't ready for it, 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:08.800 and we're less comfortable because they were used to being 0:14:09.320 --> 0:14:11.920 the boss. And I think we've grown through that, and 0:14:12.000 --> 0:14:15.480 there's so much I love my dad so much. He 0:14:15.640 --> 0:14:19.280 is so kind like my husband, and I think he's 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:25.120 grown with me and seeing Okay, she's totally fair, right, 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:29.240 and that our perspective is not a threat. 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:30.960 We're not taking away from them. 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:35.880 It's just a shift in mentality and perspective generationally that 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:39.400 my husband and I are equals. Were not in a 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:44.200 household where I walk around on eggshells and where I 0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:48.040 don't have financial control or say and so it's just 0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:51.800 a different generation. And I feel like my dad and 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:54.160 I have grown even closer as a result of some 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:55.240 of these conversations. 0:14:55.520 --> 0:14:57.200 Well, part of the reason I ask is because I 0:14:57.680 --> 0:14:59.600 this is happening in a lot of families right now. 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:01.160 Hard to talk about politics. 0:15:01.200 --> 0:15:03.800 Families are breaking up, book clubs are breaking up. 0:15:03.840 --> 0:15:05.680 You know, how do you talk to your family when 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:07.200 you disagree about politics? 0:15:07.400 --> 0:15:10.320 If I may correct the record as well, my mom 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:12.760 and dad were invited to a fundraiser by a mutual 0:15:12.840 --> 0:15:14.880 friend in Florida, which is why they gave money to 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:17.280 Ron DeSantis, and they did not like the way it 0:15:17.320 --> 0:15:20.480 was manipulated by the Desantas camp. But what I will 0:15:20.520 --> 0:15:24.760 say is that I think these conversations are hard. I 0:15:24.800 --> 0:15:28.840 don't think technology has helped in any way. In fact, 0:15:28.880 --> 0:15:33.920 it's further so division and othering, and it's one of 0:15:33.960 --> 0:15:35.760 the reasons I think we're in such a crisis in 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:40.920 this country, because most people in public service are in 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:45.600 it for the right reasons, and most people I would 0:15:45.720 --> 0:15:52.520 argue that I know who are still voting conservative or Republican. 0:15:53.200 --> 0:15:56.680 They're just not getting all the facts of the other side. 0:15:56.800 --> 0:15:59.480 And so I really think so much of this has 0:15:59.560 --> 0:16:04.920 to do with the misinformation and again the othering that's 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:10.000 sadly been the biggest negative outcome of this technological revolution. 0:16:11.320 --> 0:16:12.640 Well, we're going to talk a little bit more about 0:16:12.680 --> 0:16:14.480 that way. You just touched a little bit up on 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:16.120 growing up. You know, you grew up in this area. 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:18.960 What was it like growing up, Jennifer Sebel? 0:16:29.040 --> 0:16:32.920 You know, I really, I mean, I really woke up 0:16:32.960 --> 0:16:36.080 after my sister died, But I also. 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:41.440 Lived with a lot of guilt and pain. 0:16:41.800 --> 0:16:51.280 And the beauty of surviving that was that there were 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:57.880 so many beautiful moms and older women and older. 0:16:57.160 --> 0:17:02.280 Sisters who came in to support me and my family. 0:17:02.360 --> 0:17:07.800 But I think it was that sort of embracing. 0:17:09.400 --> 0:17:16.479 Of the feminine and how my parents themselves disconnected and 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:18.200 we just spent a lot of time in nature. 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:19.320 We spent a lot of time. 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:26.119 I spent a lot of time in gardens, in parks, healing. 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:29.040 We moved to Montana for a year. 0:17:29.800 --> 0:17:33.040 My dad worked and commuted from there, and you know, 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:36.479 I just spent really time lost in the wilderness. And 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:41.000 I think that between nature and the feminine and women 0:17:41.520 --> 0:17:47.679 and animals, I got through it to come out on 0:17:47.720 --> 0:17:52.719 the other side and realize that I survived. 0:17:52.240 --> 0:17:52.680 And have. 0:17:56.119 --> 0:18:02.720 This opportunity to be service and be about more than 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:04.840 myself and try to make a difference in the world 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:08.160 and try to help other people and try to prevent suffering, 0:18:08.200 --> 0:18:09.760 a necessary suffering in pain. 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:10.880 Thank you for sure. 0:18:10.960 --> 0:18:12.920 And you know I've read about how you've talked about 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.560 how she inspired her life in public service, and you've 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:18.800 said you tried to be two people, to be perfect 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:20.680 because you didn't feel like you were enough. 0:18:21.240 --> 0:18:22.800 Do you feel like you're enough now? 0:18:23.960 --> 0:18:24.320 I do? 0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:26.160 I do. 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:32.960 I don't think, though, that the world sees women as enough. 0:18:33.560 --> 0:18:34.120 I don't. 0:18:34.640 --> 0:18:38.280 I think we sadly live in a patriarchal society. I 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:45.159 think our countries become even more patriarchal in that women are. 0:18:45.040 --> 0:18:48.360 Still relegated to second class citizens. And we only have to. 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:52.200 Look at some of the policies that the current administration 0:18:52.359 --> 0:18:57.480 has championed, not just related to reproductive care, but obviously 0:18:57.640 --> 0:19:02.280 reproductive care, but ripping families apart, ripping children away from 0:19:02.320 --> 0:19:09.880 their mothers and their grandmothers, ripping healthcare away from vulnerable communities, 0:19:10.320 --> 0:19:13.959 snap benefits, you name it. And again I equate it 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:17.320 to a backlash because we have made progress, and I 0:19:17.400 --> 0:19:20.760 think there are so many good human beings that see 0:19:20.760 --> 0:19:23.879 the value and the feminine, that see the value in 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:28.240 us standing in our power and having voices and using 0:19:28.320 --> 0:19:32.359 our voices to champion policies and practices that could make 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:33.320 the world a better place. 0:19:34.000 --> 0:19:35.360 And yet there are a. 0:19:35.320 --> 0:19:39.160 Few that are now in power that are threatened by 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:42.560 that and want to kind of push us back to 0:19:43.320 --> 0:19:46.640 the olden days where women had less power and privilege. 0:19:47.000 --> 0:19:52.040 And so it's a crazy time to be a woman. 0:19:52.840 --> 0:19:57.080 And while I feel enough, I do feel like my 0:19:57.240 --> 0:20:01.119 battle is to help other women feel like they're enough, 0:20:01.960 --> 0:20:07.840 and to help the world and those in power see 0:20:08.040 --> 0:20:10.919 our value. 0:20:10.040 --> 0:20:12.280 And stop rendering us invisible. 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:16.000 How do you and the governor's support and challenge each 0:20:16.000 --> 0:20:18.280 other in your political ambitions? 0:20:18.920 --> 0:20:24.639 So we inform each other big time. He's learned so 0:20:24.760 --> 0:20:27.399 much from my documentaries, and. 0:20:27.440 --> 0:20:31.240 He says that, and he admits that he's like literally 0:20:31.320 --> 0:20:33.560 line for line from by film, and so it's awesome 0:20:33.600 --> 0:20:37.240 because he really gets it, misrepresentation, the mask you live in, 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:39.800 Like he understands, he sees the connectivity. 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:43.720 He is so bright and such a policy wonk. 0:20:43.640 --> 0:20:47.680 And I into it a lot, and I will check 0:20:47.720 --> 0:20:50.439 him with that, but I also don't know what I 0:20:50.440 --> 0:20:55.000 don't know, and I admire how studied he is and 0:20:55.040 --> 0:20:58.959 how informed he is, So you know, I'm always going 0:20:59.040 --> 0:21:03.119 to lean into centering women, supporting women because we are 0:21:03.119 --> 0:21:07.119 the backbones of our families, our communities, our economy. And 0:21:07.200 --> 0:21:11.280 I'm always going to lean into protecting and safeguarding children's 0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:15.240 rights and safety and giving kids the best start in life. 0:21:15.280 --> 0:21:18.040 And he already knows all of the policy stuff, but 0:21:18.080 --> 0:21:20.560 I'm going to always kind of bring the heart in 0:21:20.800 --> 0:21:24.240 and the check in just to make sure that there's 0:21:24.320 --> 0:21:30.360 balance in California driving innovation while also keeping our kids safe. 0:21:30.400 --> 0:21:31.439 That's not negotiable. 0:21:32.160 --> 0:21:35.320 And so that's really the dance, which he is a 0:21:35.400 --> 0:21:40.120 father totally gets. He also is an entrepreneur. We're both entrepreneurs. 0:21:40.160 --> 0:21:42.520 We're both really creative. We both think outside of the box. 0:21:43.480 --> 0:21:47.959 And he is even more of like a futurist and 0:21:48.000 --> 0:21:50.640 gets it in a way that I would argue. 0:21:50.800 --> 0:21:51.400 I feel like. 0:21:51.600 --> 0:21:53.959 The speed of technology and what it's doing to our 0:21:54.000 --> 0:21:57.720 nervous systems is a bit out of control and that 0:21:57.760 --> 0:21:59.359 we kind of need to come back to the speed 0:21:59.400 --> 0:22:04.480 of nature mother nature, which is just about balance. Technology 0:22:04.520 --> 0:22:06.600 is here to stay. I just want a little more 0:22:06.600 --> 0:22:09.680 balance for all of us. There's so many incredible things 0:22:09.680 --> 0:22:13.359 that we can solve with technology, and I want to 0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:16.119 make sure that it's in check and that there's a 0:22:16.160 --> 0:22:20.639 balance and harmony, because technology shouldn't replace the real world, 0:22:21.040 --> 0:22:22.399 and it is for so many people. 0:22:23.080 --> 0:22:26.440 Does he come to you for support or advice or validation? 0:22:27.000 --> 0:22:29.680 Oh, yes he does. Yeah. I mean he's hard on himself. 0:22:30.280 --> 0:22:33.160 He's really hard on himself, and I think he knows 0:22:33.200 --> 0:22:34.679 I'm going to give it to him straight. 0:22:35.440 --> 0:22:38.680 Some partners of government leaders enjoy the opportunity and the 0:22:38.680 --> 0:22:40.120 attention that comes with this position. 0:22:40.600 --> 0:22:43.760 Do you enjoy it or has it taken some getting 0:22:43.880 --> 0:22:44.199 used to? 0:22:46.960 --> 0:22:51.840 It's a good question. I just am a worker bee. 0:22:51.840 --> 0:22:54.600