Lena Dunham Is Hosting A New Feminist Podcast Featuring Zadie Smith, Amy Sedaris And Emma Stone

At some point, between laying on the floor ranting about Flaubert while high on opium tea and the present, Lena Dunham has become one of the most powerful and politically engaged young voices in pop culture — one which now casually hangs with the leading Democratic Presidential candidate and comfortably dances about reproductive rights with Lil Jon.

For some people, this has been a problem. Opponents of Girls, for instance, regularly criticise the creator for her privilege and take offence at the suggestion her experience or opinion is representative of all young women. They’ve called out her cast’s lack of diversity and apparent lack of genuine agency, and labelled Dunham as self-obsessed — despite the show’s relative irony and self-awareness, its name can now pretty much be used as a shorthand for millenial angst.

But since then, Dunham’s made a concerted effort to change this. She’s addressed criticisms in Girls to mixed effect, and she’s tried to highlight a broader array of voices in her recently released newsletter Lenny. In her opening message last month she noted it wouldn’t just be for “straight, white, cisgender women” and she’s largely made good on that promise. The last four editions have featured equal numbers of stories from queer women and women of colour, while foregrounding universal and important issues like wage inequality.

Now, she’s invited more excellent ladies to the party. To celebrate the paperback release of her memoir Not That Kind Of Girl, Dunahm is hosting a special five-part podcast series for BuzzFeed called Women Of The Hour. Expanding on the personal ideas presented in her book, she’s collated a bunch of different perspectives on “work, education, activism, love, sex, daring and dealbreakers” from women she “loves and admires”.

“Our goal was to bring you news and wisdom you can use from women living their best life,” she said on Twitter overnight. “Please subscribe if you like bad-asses, deep questions, giggling, sexual healing, Gaia life force, style, summer-camp, cute kids, the Internet and feminine power.”

The first preview is now online:

And here’s some of that incredible lineup:

– Writer and trans rights activist Janet Mock

– Comedian, actress and writer Amy Sedaris

– Lena’s sister, poet Grace Dunham

– Actress Emma Stone

– TV personality Beth Stern

– 85-year-old actress and Girls guest star June Squib

– Actress Emily Ratajkowski

– Screenwriter and TV producer Mara Brock Akil

– Girls co-star Jemima Kirke

– Author Zadie Smith

– SNL player Aidy Bryant

– Rookie writer Lola Pellegrino

– BuzzFeed writer and Another Round host Tracy Clayton

– Filmmaker and artist Sam Taylor-Johnson

If nothing else, this will have all been worth it to know the legendary Zadie Smith sometimes goes into “a Beyoncé Google hole for hour hours” as well.

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The first episode of Women Of The Hour will be released November 5.