You’re Being Shaped By This (And You Don’t Even Notice) | Luba Kassova
You don’t see this — but it shapes how you think, what you believe, and how you see the world.
In this episode of Catch the Upswing, Jessica Espinoza sits down with Luba Kassova — researcher, journalist and co-founder of the audience-strategy consultancy AKAS, and author of the Missing Perspectives Series — to explore how the stories we see (and don’t see) shape our understanding of the world.
From losing and reclaiming her own voice to leading groundbreaking research on the “Missing Perspectives of Women” in the news, Luba reveals how systemic bias operates in ways most of us don’t even notice — and what it means for leadership, media, and society.
This conversation goes beyond media — it’s about power, visibility, and the forces that shape whose voices are heard and whose are not.
🎙️ In this episode, we explore:
Why women’s perspectives are still largely missing from the news
How that shapes the stories we hear — and the ones we don’t
Why we often don’t even notice the bias around us
What this does to confidence, ambition, and opportunity
How AI is repeating the same patterns at scale
What it takes to find your voice — and use it
🎯 Explore Luba’s work:
Website: https://www.lubakassova.com/en
Substack (Lubascope — social commentary with heart and fact): https://lubakassova.substack.com/
Missing Perspectives of Women reports (available on her website)
🔗 Referenced in the episode:
Edith Eger (psychologist, Holocaust survivor, author of The Choice)
⏱️ Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:47 Luba Kassova: The Writer Giving Voice to the Unheard
02:17 I Made Myself Obsolete and Invisible
06:14 The Warning Signs of a Midlife Crisis
08:06 Why So Many Women Never Get Access to the Right Tools
10:00 The Voice That Says: Stay Small
11:47 How Girls Are Socialised to Disappear
14:37 Where That Inner Critical Voice Comes From
16:57 Her Mother’s Advice That Changed Everything
18:05 What It Means to Give Voice to the Voiceless
21:50 The Shocking Truth About Women in the News
26:52 Why Progress for Women Flatlined
29:13 The Grammys Myth: Are Women Really Dominating?
31:47 Why We Don’t Even Notice Male-Dominated Media
37:10 What This Does to Society in Real Life
42:13 AI Is Repeating the Same Biases
46:33 What Happens If Superintelligence Inherits Human Bias?
50:35 What Gives Luba Hope Right Now
53:35 Luba’s Definition of Hope
55:58 How to Turn Outrage Into Opportunity
58:17 Where to Follow Luba’s Work
01:00:03 Never Waste a Good Midlife Crisis
01:00:37 Let’s Crowdsource the Tools That Help
#CatchTheUpswing#Leadership #MediaBias #SystemsChange #WomenInMedia
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